PSYCHOLOGY
Developmental Psychology refers to the learning and explanation of behaviors elicited by human beings during their life span. Life begins at birth and psychologists have various categories that have been used to define certain stages. In childhood, for example there is early, middle, and late childhood. Various psychologists had different explanations for what went on during teenage or adolescent years. Some even refer to this stage as the stage of storm and confusion. This essay summarizes three theories, that of Erik Erikson and Anna Freud, and Sigmund Freud, whilst attempting to shed some light on what they asserted to be the cause of certain behavior during the adolescent period such as adolescents trying to find their identity and at the same time struggling with rebellion.
According to Erik Erikson stages of development, each individual must pass through eight stages of psychosocial development for them to have undergone a healthy development. In these psychosocial stages, adolescents who fall under the ages of 13 to 19 undergo a psychosocial crisis known as Identity vs. Role confusion. This is where the teenager experiencing adolescence undergoes a struggle of who they are, who they can be and they strive to maintain the relationships with their peers and role models who help them to figure out who they are so that they can have their own identity.
When it comes to rebellion that most adolescents have at this age, Sigmund Freud used psychoanalytic theory to explain these behaviors. Freud believed that adolescence was a stage marked by intense feelings of anxiety and tension. He believed that the physiological aspect and the psychological aspect played a role in contributing to emotional, physical, and social changes in adolescents. The physiological changes according to Freud led to emotional changes such as moodiness, anxiety, and hate which are all emotions that may contribute to the aspect of rebellion in teenagers (Podolsky 28).
Anna Freud on the other hand viewed puberty somewhat closely to what Sigmund did, she majorly emphasized on the interconnection between the Id the Ego and the Super ego. According to Anna Freud, there were certain hindrances or challenges to development during adolescence, which stemmed from the issues of these three personalities. For instance in a case where the Id overpowered the ego, which is the rational part of the mind, the individual would enter their adult life with a carefree sort of mentality. A hedonist philosophy that would see them live a life that was full of self-indulgence and personal gratification; the person’s previous character would be nowhere to be seen. In a situation where the adolescent becomes unable to rationalize the ego and the super ego rebellion and delinquency would culminate.
The significance of these theories basically boils down to the fact that adolescents are constantly struggling with who they are and the people they look up to as their role models or peers form an important part of their lives. In an instance where they are unable to form concrete identities of themselves, they end up experiencing role confusion which in many cases is linked to a strong Id thus there is a lot of wayward behavior and rebellion. Parenting becomes the perfect example in application of this knowledge especially while dealing with adolescents. Hawaiian culture is a little bit different in comparison to the other states, they have held on to certain traditions passed down over several generations for instance respect for elders, family and understanding. Families are closely knit and as such, it becomes easier for children transitioning to adulthood to relate with adults and for the adults to understand them simply because they can resonate with the process of growth therefore the people in this area, and especially elders seem to understand the way to handle adolescents going through transitions. The only difference is that in the Hawaiian culture adolescents don’t act out as much.
Works Cited
Podolsky, E. “Sigmund Freud and Psychoanalysis.” The Medical annals of the District of Columbia 1950: 24–28. Print.
