My+Baby's+In+Love+With+Stages+of+Development

1. Introduction
Development in humans is in constant dispute; topics such as the difference between instinct and quickly learned processes, cognitive abilities over time, and other important debates. However if one studies the theories of different psychologists over time, it is easy to see quite a bit of overlap in the issues being addressed. The theories and approaches vary, as one would expect, based on the psychologist's personal beliefs and the period in which they lived, but most of the theories contribute to each other or describe the same phenomena from different angles.

Just to get warmed up and to illustrate one argument about what humans are born with, we look at Charles Spearman's theory of //g.// Spearman believed that all humans were born with a General Intelligence factor (//g//) which determined their overall level of intelligence, which could then be applied to different activities and areas of study. For example, individuals who perform well in math will also perform well in english, foreign language, etc. //g// is supposedly a measurable quantity and is similar, although not the same as, IQ. However Gardner came along and said that Spearman was not in fact describing one intelligence that was applicable to all areas, but rather that there were multiple kinds of intelligences that people developed over time in different areas because they were born with potential in those areas. Spearman's idea of a general intelligence would fall under instinctual things, or things that humans are born with and never have to learn or acquire, while Gardener's theory more closely identifies with the idea that humans have the ability to learn things very quickly (like taste-aversion learning or a fear of heights, neither of which humans are born with but will quickly develop,) or more slowly.



2. Freud's Theory
Freud developed five basic stages of development, centered around obsessions humans have at different times of their lives. All five stages have presumably presented themselves by around age 12 or 13, although the last stage is suggested to last until the individual is at least 30 years old and possibly never go away.

Disclaimer: It is almost universally agreed that nobody will ever universally agree on specific times these stages occur (3-6 months vs. 2-7 months,) but most scientists have the same general time periods attributed to each stage. This goes for all theories discussed on this page.


 * Time It Occurs || Name of Stage || Description of Stage ||
 * 0 to 1.5 years || Oral Stage || The infant takes pleasure from putting things in its' mouth. Not only does it take pleasure, but it uses the mouth as a means to explore and learn about new objects. The possibility of an oral fixation developing from this stage comes from varying levels of oral stimulation. If the child's parents always let the child have a binky or something to suck on, the child will expect it. However a fixation could also develop if a child was not given enough things to suck on. ||
 * 1.5 to 3 years || Anal Stage || In this stage, the child takes pleasure in holding in or releasing feces at times of its' own choosing. This is the potty training age, so the child begins to experiment with his or her power to retain or expel feces- it is regarded as a great power. A fixation or aftereffect may arise if the child holds feces in too much (they will become uptight, possibly introverted,) or if the child expelled feces to often (they will become disorganized.) ||
 * 3 to 6 years || Phallic Stage || The child will take pleasure in handling his or her own genitals. During this time, Freud proposed that children suffered from the Oedipus Complex (boys,) or the Electra Complex (girls.)* These are two different names for the same thing: the child has sexual desires for the parent of the opposite sex, and views the parent of the same sex as a rival for the affection of the parent of the opposite sex. Freud proposed that although children did not consciously know what was entitled in these also subconscious thoughts, the sexual drive was there all the same. ||
 * 6 years to puberty || Latency Stage || Freud proposed that in this period, children had no sexual thoughts. Even subconsciously, children were not thinking anything remotely sexual and were going about their lives playing with children of the same sex and being happy-to-lucky little tykes. ||
 * Puberty onwards || Genital Stage || Coming out of sexual thoughts hibernation, this stage presumably lasts for the rest of a person's life. Sexual urges reinstate themselves and they are manifested upon peers of the opposite sex. The focus is on pleasure via the genitals, hence the name. Some have proposed that this stops at around 30 years for women, but there is little (if any,) evidence to prove this true. ||



*Note: Freud disagreed with the idea of naming the complex twice, one for each gender. This was added by later psychoanalyst.

3. Erikson's Theory
Erik Erikson came later on than Freud and reinvented the psychological stages of development in people based on the conflicts they face and must solve before the next stage can be reached. Psychologists often argue over how many stages Erikson actually thought of because some see certain stages as being 'too much,' and think they should be divided into separate stages, but the average amount of stages is between 5 and 8. For the purpose of this page, 8 different stages will be discussed, and 8 different conflicts will be assessed.

The process starts right from the first day of birth and each stage has a proper resolution and an improper resolution. Should a situation be resolved properly, the individual will proceed to the next stage with a new understanding of themselves and their responsibilities. However if a stage is improperly addressed, there can be harmful lasting perceptions of the self and conflicts. In some cases, mild psychological disorders like anxiety may arise from an improperly resolved Eriksonian conflict.


 * Time it occurs || Argument of stage || Description of stage ||
 * 0 to 1.5 years || Trust vs. mistrust || Children learn when to trust and when not to trust, and learn that what is good for their parents is good for them. According to Piaget, babies of this age do not have the cognitive ability to realize that they are a separate entity from somebody else. Babies think that they and their mother are one person, which explains this stage. If handled well, the stage will result in a sense of safety. If not, it could result in lasting anxiety. ||
 * 1.5 to 3 years || Autonomy vs. self- doubt || Here children grapple with the concept that they are able to make their own decisions, and to control what happens to them. If it is handled well, the children will move onto the next stage with a very clean concept of self and ability to make things happen. If not, there may be a constant feeling of inadequacy. ||
 * 3 to 6 years || Initiative vs. guilt || By this time, children have not only recognized that they can control their own actions, but they have developed a sufficient enough sense of right and wrong that they can assess themselves on a moral level. This is where the argument comes in- and children who successfully move past this stage will be confident in their decision making abilities. However children who move past this stage without having truly learned their lesson will most likely have doubts about their worth. ||
 * 6 to puberty || Competence vs. inferiority || Children go to school for the first time in this period of their lives, and interacting with their peers becomes a larger issue. While it is nurturing for a child to interact with other children, there are a few ways this can go wrong. If one child feels inadequate as a result of another child during this stage, they may grow up with feelings of failure. ||
 * Adolescence || Identity vs. role confusion || This may be the most difficult time for any child to live through, with all the physical and mental changes constantly happening. While adolescents try to identify who they are and what they want, they will most likely run into trouble and incorrectly identify who they are and what their role is. They will try again until they get it right, but until that is successfully accomplished, an adolescent can feel fragmented and invalid. ||
 * Early Adutlhood || Intimacy vs. isolation || Intimacy begins by establishing close relationships with friends and family and then working out form there. Most people have an intimate relationship with someone, but not all people have a romantic relationship. No matter how many close relationships a person has, isolation can always occur if somebody wants romance and doesn't get it. Denial can occur here if the person is in a deep enough state of distress over lack of companionship. ||
 * Middle Adulthood || Generativity vs. stagnation || Generativity can be a scary thing for aging adults. While most will experience this while trying to raise children, it can be happened upon in any number of ways. A person who feels that they are observing a generational gap may feel that they are isolated from those around them and that they are growing older (and therefore useless,) and this stage can disturb a person's sense of future and success in life. ||
 * Later Adulthood || Ego-integrity vs. despair || Integrity refers to a person looking back on their life and deciding that they have made a significant contribution to the world during their life and that they have been happy. Despair is when a person looks back on life in the same way and gets a result like “I haven't done enough,” I can't believe I'm old,” etc. This can cause problems like feelings of fatality and disappointment with life overall. ||

4. Overlap
After studying the theories of these two considerably different psychologists, who approached the same situation through different psychological lenses, we see some overlap. For example, if one takes the theories of Jean Piaget into consideration along with these two, some major conclusions can be reached. Freud says that between three and six years, children will develop the Oedipus/Electra complex and will subconsciously view the parent of the same sex as competition, and will literally have the desire to kill one parent so that they can be the sole recipient of the opposite parent's attention. Although he is not quite saying the same thing as Erikson, both men are saying something similar. Freud focuses on the guilt kept in the Id in relation to these unacceptable feelings towards the same sex parent, and Erikson focuses on guilt in general- just not something as specific as Freud. Both men address guilt in this stage of life, and for the same reason: children have matured enough to understand that their actions will have consequences and are able to somewhat process what general kinds of repercussions and consequences will be involved. Piaget says that this kind of logic and cognitive ability has just started developing at this stage in childhood, almost not enough to even be worth mentioning, but it contributes to the overlap.

Both Freud and Erikson say that after puberty and well into adulthood there is desire for connection with somebody of the opposite sex. Freud, true to Freudian form, says that this attraction is mainly (if not fully,) sexual and that each sex is driven towards the other due to sexual attraction. Erikson says something similar: anybody unable to connect romantically with somebody of the opposite sex is very likely to suffer all kinds of mental conditions like repression, depression, anxiety, and other serious ailments. Again, they are essentially saying the same thing, one simply says it a little differently from the other and goes more in depth. These interpretations of Freud and Erikson's theories (taken from psychology textbooks,) line up nearly perfectly. It is important to remember that there is discretion and there are other interpretations of these theories that make them not so compatible, but there is an acknowledged connection between many different theories of child development.

Sean Skahill