Freud created crude theories that jump started research and
observations into human development.
Ego psychology: He
also did observations in regards to the personality as it is formed by the ego,
id, and superego.
Ego –part of personality that acts as a moderator between
superego and id; intermediary between person and outside world. Governed by
reality and acceptable ways of fulfilling urges according to societal rules.
Id – instinctual and primal part of personality. Lead by
urges to fulfill desires which would lead to satisfaction.
Superego – basically the conscience of a person – creates satisfaction
if the societal rules have been followed; creates guilt if they have not.
Freud called the conflict between the 3 parts of the
personality the unconscious conflict and it would lead people to develop
defense mechanisms to help alleviate the anxiety that the conflict was
creating. 7 common defense mechanisms are:
Regression – person acts or thinks
the way they did when they were younger or less mature; happens when a person
will not acknowledge to himself what he is thinking, feeling, or wanting to do.
Denial – person will not believe that
a situation or event is true
Rationalization – used to make up
reason to defend beliefs, feelings, or actions that are contrary to societal
rules
Projection – person tells himself
that their own thoughts and feelings are really someone else’s
Displacement – person’s feelings or
opinions about something are unjustifiably associated with something else
Sublimation – involves taking a
feeling or behavior that is contrary to societal rules and changing it to fit
those rules
Psychosexual
Development: He focused on the basic drive of people for achieving pleasant
sensual feelings. This is not just related to sex but to a range of satisfying
physical feelings. The drive to satisfy those feelings is the libido (Id). He
focused his observations into 5 stages of psychosexual development.
1)
Oral Phase – Infants feel satisfaction in
exploring their world through the 5 senses, including taste. Satisfaction is
also brought to them through sucking on a nipple or bottle b/c it gives them
food & nourishment.
2)
Anal Phase – Child’s activities are mainly
focused on giving and withholding – especially in toilet training where they
must hold onto waste and release it in an acceptable societal form – in a
bathroom. Infants feel satisfaction after completing a bowel movement
3)
Phallic Phase – starts in infancy and progresses
through early childhood.
a.
Oedipus complex - States that boys become
attracted to their mother and feel competition toward their fathers. Child
becomes afraid b/c father is stronger and bigger so they choose other females to
focus on.
b.
Electra complex – affects girls who become
jealous of the attention their father gives their mother
4)
Latency phase – erotic drives and urges are not
strong; they are dormant
5)
Puberty or Genital Stage – hormones become activated
and create urges as the body matures. Adolescents are taught to focus their
energy on opposite sex friends and not their parents. Acceptable sexual
behavior is taught to adolescents through societal rules. This stage continues
throughout their life and ppl develop satisfaction by achieving their life
goals.
Erikson probably took on the part of Freud theory that
states that if resolution of one stage is not obtained, the person may become ‘fixated’
or stuck at that stage of development leading to lack of resolution in each
stage thereafter.
References:
Zastrow, C.H. & Kirst-Ashman, K.K. (2004). Understanding Human Behavior.
Thomson Learning, Inc., Belmont, CA. p. 88-91.
