Theorist Sigmund Freud is well known for his theories about personality development. Freud states that development of an individual's personality happens through stages based on a particular erogenous zone. When a stage is unsuccessfully completed the individual becomes absorbed in that particular zone, and they may indulge in it once they are adults (Freud, 2012).
Freud explains the steps as the three stages of development –the oral phase. This stage happens in the period of the birth of a child up to 18 months. A child in this stage pleasures in sucking. Too much sucking or less of it may lead to oral fixation. This kind of fixation can be evidenced by a preoccupation with oral activities like overeating drinking alcohol, smoking or even biting nails. On their personality, the individual may become perpetual followers and over depended on other for survival(Freud, 2012).
The anal stage comes after the oral stage from 18 months to three years. In this stage, the child focuses on how to control feces. The child is usually under pressure from the parents and the society, and so they must learn the right ways of eliminating wastes and retaining it. During this stage, two personalities develop. A child can be over obsessed with control and cleanliness. On the other side, a child can become disorganized and messy (Freud, 2012).
A child then undergoes the phallic stage. A child at this time focuses on genitals the boy child develops unconscious sexual desires for their mother and fights for the mother's affection with the father. The boy develops Oedipus complex, which is associated with fears that the father will punish the boy for his desires. Due to fears of punishment by the father the boy decides to identify with the father and through this relation, the boy learns masculine characteristics from the father. Failure in completing this stage results in the confused sexual identity or sexual deviances (Freud, 2012).
The latency stage follows in the period between six years to puberty. In latency stage, the child's sexual desires remain suppressed, and they mingle a lot with the same sex (Salkind, 2004).
Lastly, the genital stage happens from puberty onwards where the individual pleasures in genitals. In this stage, the sexual desires are awakened again though the desires are now directed to the opposite sexes (Salkind, 2004).
Theorist Erik Erikson in a psychosocial theory also explained the step involved in the development. Erikson's theory is based on ego which a child develops ideas attitudes and skills. The right ideas attitudes and competencies help the child to become a successful member of the society. In his theory, Erikson highlighted eight stages of development in which the psychological conflicts must be overcome for the child to be successful (Schultz, 2013). The stages are as follows:
Trust vs. mistrust stage falls in the period between birth and 12 months where the infants are supposed to learn that adults are to be trusted. This trust is gained when the adult provides the basic need for the child's survival. When the care givers are not responsive the child develops feelings of fear mistrust and anxiety (Schultz, 2013).
In ages 1-3 years, the toddlers go through autonomy vs. shame. The child begins to explore their world, and they can now control their actions. They develop likings to some elements in the environment like toys, food and clothing. The child works to develop independence. The child desires to do things on their own, and when denied these chances, they develop doubts about their abilities, which may result to low self-esteem (Salkind, 2004).
The initiative vs guilt takes place at the age of 3-6 years. The child in this stage is capable of coming up with initiatives and controlling their activities in the social world. When the child is left to explore and make choices, they develop a sense of purpose and self-confidence. Those who are over controlled by parents result in having guilt feelings (Schultz, 2013).
Between 6-12 years, the children are involved in the conflict between industry and inferiority. They start comparing themselves with their peers. The child is capable of showing pride and accomplishment in their schoolwork, family life, and social activities. If the child does not learn to get well with their peers and family, they develop inferiority complex into their maturity stage (Schultz, 2013).
At ages 12-18 the child if faced with the identity versus confusion where the adolescence focuses on the development of a sense of self. When individuals in this stage do not search for their identity, they develop a weak sense of identity (Salkind, 2004).
The next stage is the early adulthood from the 20s through 40s. The adults in this stage are concerned about intimacy and isolation. They focus on sharing their lives with others, and when this stage is not well developed the individual fails in making lasting relationships, and they may end up in loneliness (Schultz, 2013).
The middle adulthood, which comes at the age of 40s, involves generativity vs. stagnation. They focus on their contribution to building others. Those who do not master generativity may experience stagnation. Lastly, at 60s a stage called late adulthood, the individuals’ focuses on integrity vs. despair. They reflect their life for the feeling of satisfaction or failure. Those who were not successful end up feeling depressed (Salkind, 2004).
Criticisms reveal that Freud based his study on troubled adults but not on children. His work was mainly focused on sexuality especially when he focused on sexual desires (Salkind, 2004).
Erikson's theory is very relevant since it highlights the development of oneself and others. His approach is based on practical field study and clinical therapy, and he incorporated cultural and social aspects (Schultz, 2013).
In my view, I subscribe to Erikson's theory because it is relevant to the modern life and it explains the development of behavior from different perspectives. This theory is useful in various ways like parenting, teaching, learning and managing self-awareness and overall the relationship between one and others in the society.
REFERENCES
Freud, S. (2012). A general introduction to psychoanalysis. United States: Renaissance Classics.
Salkind, N. J. (2004). An introduction to theories of human development. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Schultz, D. P. (2013). Theories of personality. Belmont: Wadsworth.
