Psych 1101 Chapter 13 Psychosexual Stages of Development Freud maintained that children pass through a series of psychosexual stages during which the id s pleasure seeking energies focus on distinct pleasure sensitive areas of the body called erogenous zones Oral stage 0 18 months pleasures centers on the mouth Anal stage 18 36 months centers on bowel bladder elimination Phallic stage 3 6 years pleasure centers on the genitals we develop a gender identity Boys experience the Oedipus complex with unconscious sexual desires toward their mother and hatred of their father They cope with these threatening feelings through identification with their father thereby incorporating many of his values and developing a sense of what psychologists now call gender identity The boy will develop castration anxiety without a father the boy will never be a fully functioning healthy individual Girls go through the electra complex where they have an interest in their father and get angry and jealous that they do not have a penis Latency stage 6 years to puberty in which sexuality is dormant gives way to the genital stage puberty on as sexual interests mature Neo Freudian Psychodynamic Theories Neo Freudians accepted Freud s basic ideas regarding personality structures the importance of the unconscious the shaping of personality in children and the dynamics of anxiety and defense mechanisms However Neo Freudians placed more emphasis on the conscious mind in interpreting experience and they argued that we have more positive motives than sex and aggression Projective Personality Assessment Projective tests provide ambiguous stimuli that are designed to trigger projection of one s inner dynamics Rorschach inkblot test seeks to identify people s inner feelings and conflicts by analyzing their interpretations of 10 inkblots critics question the validity and reliability Humanistic Theories View personality with a focus on the potential for healthy personal growth Self actualization Maslow the hierarchy of needs the motivation to fulfill one s potential and self transcendence is the desire to find meaning and purpose beyond the self the ultimate psychological needs that arises after basic physical and psychological needs are met and selfesteem is achieved Carl Rogers to nurture growth in others Rogers advised being genuine empathic and accepting offering unconditional positive regard In such a climate people can develop a deeper self awareness and a more realistic and positive self concept Humanistic perspective attention is directed from the motives of troubled people to the growth potential of healthy people who are thought to be basically good Trait Theories Objective Personality Assessment Researchers have isolated five distinct personality dimensions dubbed the Big Five OCEAN openness conscientiousness extraversion agreeableness neuroticism emotional stability versus instability Social Cognitive Theories Applies principles of learning cognition and social behavior to the understanding of personality Reciprocal determinism refers to the interacting influences between personality and environmental factors