Theory and Research 03 18 2015 Theory set of interrelated ideas intended to explain the workings of highly complex events Issues in the study of child development Psychoanalytic theory Freud s theory that the structure of personality is composed of the id ego and superego and that mental health depends on keeping the balance between them o Psychoanalytic theory focuses on the emotional and motivational aspects of development Learning theory is concerned generally with the effects of the environment on behavior and more specifically how those who deal with children can control their behavior Piaget s theory focuses on the development of intellectual functioning adaptive problem solving reasoning and concept formation Is development continuous or discontinuous o Some theorists say that children go through various developmental stages defined by reorganizing changes Refers to the time elapsing between any two sequential Freud developmental changes the reorganize the system proposed that personality emerges into five development stages organized around qualitatively different aspects of sexual functioning o Theorists who accept the concept of stages view development as discontinuous Piaget proposed that cognitive development emerges in a series of four sequential stages organized around a qualitatively distinct forms of thinking and problem solving Are there critical periods in development o Some believe children go through critical periods or sensitive phases during which certain forms of experience have very specific effects on development Is development the product of nature or nurture o Nature refers to genetic effects nurture refers to environmental effects on development Psychoanalytic theory Freud Psychoanalytic theory Freud s theory that the structure of personality is composed of the id ego and superego and that mental health depends on keeping the balance between them personality development and psychopathology on development Psychoanalytic theory focuses on the emotional and motivational How children feel and learn to develop their emotions on the way aspects of development they interact with the world o Freud was interested in how we express and organize our emotions Mind has three levels o Conscious the current thought process o Preconscious things that you aren t currently thinking about but that you can be if you wanted too everyday ordinary memory Accessible retrievable memory o Unconscious things that are pushed back and repressed that we don t know we have but yet still influence us Not accessible memories may surface from here unwillingly but they cant be called up Where you themes drives motives are o From birth people have biologically based sexual and aggressive instincts that unconsciously motivate everything humans think say or do throughout their life Our personality is organized within us unconsciously Instincts are expressed in the form of libido a form of energy that drives all thinking and behavior Libido is stored in the id reservoir of libido Structure of Personality Tension of the id is expressed through investment in libido focused activities in objects and activities that are pleasurable Can be in reality or fantasy like dreams All activities are unconscious thus we are all unaware of our instincts and their virtually irresistible effects on our behavior The process of investment in infants pleasure principle an approach that demands instant gratification They find this in their mothers breasts Parents begin to socialize their children to teach them to seek pleasure in more socially acceptable ways This demands the development of the ego The component of personality that uses conscious perception and intelligence to find pleasure in a world where needs are not typically met on demand Because the ego recognizes the frustrations of living in the real world it functions on the basis of the reality principle Superego is the seat of morality it has two components Conscience collection of beliefs attitudes and rules for behavior that function as an internal standard for the appropriateness of behavior Ego ideal an internalized image of distinctly human form that the child and later the adult unconsciously strives to become There is nothing ideal about the ego its features may be positive or negative or both Psychodynamics o The id ego and superego interact in a dynamic system The ego attempts to satisfy the id s desires and balances the superego s desire o The ego fails to satisfy the id because it can t find love and hate objects in civilized society Results in unconscious anxiety which undermines its ability to function o If the ego does its job too well it violates the rules of superego Resulting in unconscious guilt which also impairs the ego s ability to function o The ego can fight back against the guilt and anxiety with defense mechanisms unconscious mental strategies that provide temporary relief from anxiety and guilt Repression forces libido back into the id stifling all Denial conveniently wipes out memories of traumatic desire for an object events Rationalization reduces the desire for an object by depreciating its value If defense mechanisms are overused they distort a persons view of reality laying the foundation for mental illness Psychosexual development o Personality emerges over the first five to six years of life in a progression of psychosexual stages of development o Each stage is defined by the presence of the libido in a particular part or zone of the body Libido s presence creates an erogenous zone that is highly sensitive to sexual stimulation and a focus of pleasure o Oral stage first 18 months of life Pleasure comes from variations of sucking behavior This stage ends when the child goes from sucking to sipping o Anal stage Idea is going from breastfeeding bottle to a sippy cup Pleasure comes from the act of defecation Ends when the child is potty trained o Phallic stage somewhere between ages 4 and 5 the libido shifts to the genitals Child selects the opposite sex parents as a love object during this stage which creates emotional conflict with the child and within in the family Called an oedipal complex in males and the Electra complex in females This conflict is resolved when the child internalizes a superego by identifying with the same sex parent o Latency stage Repression of sexual and aggressive drives during middle childhood o Genital stage begins in adolescence and extends through adulthood Rebirth of the sexual and
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