developmental psychology

1. ASSIGNMENT
EDU211
COURSE TITLE: DEVELOPMENTAL
PSYCHOLOGY
TOPIC:
1. DEFINE THE FOLLOWING TERMS: PSYCHOLOGY, DEVELOPMENTAL
PSYCHOLOGY, GROWTH, MATURATION AND DEVELOPMENT.
2. LIST AND DISCUSS THE VARIOUS BRANCHES OF PSYCHOLOGY.
3. DISCUSS: A) THE SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT IN DEVELOPMENTAL
PSYCHOLOGY, B) RESEARCH TECHNIQUES IN PSYCHOLOGY C) THE
METHODS OF STUDY IN DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
4. LIST AND DISCUSS THE PRINCIPLES OF DEVELOPMENT. EXPLAIN
THE EDUCATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THESE PRINCIPLES.
5. DEFINE THE TERMS: COGNITION AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
6. DISCUSS THE PROCESSES INVOLVED IN COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
7. DESCRIBE PIAGET’S MODEL OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT[ AND
EXPLAIN ITS EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS.
8. DEFINE THE TERM PERSONALITY AND PERSONALITY
DEVELOPMENT.
9. EXPLAIN THE MAJOR TENETS OF PSYCHOANALYSIS
10.DESCRIBE FREUD’S STAGES OF PSYCHOSEXUAL DEVELOPMENT.
BY
NAME: CHRISTOPHER CHUKWUMEZIE CHUKWUDI
MAT NO: EDU1511497
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONAL MANAGEMENT
FACULTY OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF BENIN
BENIN CITY
MARCH 2018

2. WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGY
Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behavior. Psychology is a multifaceted
discipline and includes many sub-fields of study such areas as human development, sports,
health, clinical, social behavior and cognitive processes.
WHAT IS DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
Developmental psychology is the scientific study of how and why human beings change over
the course of their life. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to
include adolescence, adult development, aging, and the entire lifespan. Developmental
psychologists aim to explain how thinking, feeling and behaviour change throughout life. This
field examines change across three major dimensions: physical development, cognitive
development, and socioemotional development
WHAT IS GROWTH
HUMAN GROWTH. Human growth from infancy to maturity involves great changes in body size
and appearance, including the development of the sexual characteristics. The growth process is
not a steady one: at some times growth occurs rapidly, at others slowly. Individual patterns of
growth vary widely because of differences in heredity and environment. Children tend to have
physiques similar to those of their parents or of earlier forebears; however, environment may
modify this tendency. Living conditions, including nutrition and hygiene, have considerable
influence on growth.

3. WHAT IS MATURATION
Maturation is the process by which we change, grow, and develop throughout life.
Developmental psychologists look at many different types of maturation throughout the lifespan.
The types of maturation that we'll focus on in this lesson are physical maturation and cognitive
maturation.
WHAT IS DEVELOPMENT
But development is not simply about the interactions between human groups; it also involves the
natural environment. So, from another point of view, development is about the conversion of
natural resources into cultural resources. This conversion has taken place throughout the history
of human societies, although the process has generally increased in pace and complexity with
time.
BRANCHES OF PSYCHOLOGY
Abnormal Psychology
Abnormal psychology is the area that looks at psychopathology and abnormal behavior. Mental
health professionals help assess, diagnose, and treat a wide variety of psychological disorders
including anxiety and depression. Counselors, clinical psychologists, and psychotherapists often
work directly in this field.
Behavioral Psychology
Behavioral psychology, also known as behaviorism, is a theory of learning based on the idea that
all behaviors are acquired through conditioning. While this branch of psychology dominated the

4. field during the first part of the twentieth century, it became less prominent during the 1950s.
However, behavioral techniques remain a mainstay in therapy, education, and many other areas.
People often utilize behavioral strategies such as classical conditioning and operant conditioning
to teach or modify behaviors. For example, a teacher might use a system of rewards in order to
teach students to behave during class. When students are good, they receive gold stars which can
then be turned in for some sort of special privilege.
Biopsychology
Biopsychology is a branch of psychology is focused on how the brain, neurons, and nervous
system influence thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. This field draws on many different
disciplines including basic psychology, experimental psychology, biology, physiology, cognitive
psychology, and neuroscience.
People who work in this field often study how brain injuries and brain diseases impact human
behavior. Biopsychology is also sometimes referred to as physiological psychology, behavioral
neuroscience, or psychobiology.
Clinical Psychology
Clinical psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the assessment and treatment
of mental illness, abnormal behavior, and psychiatric disorders. Clinicians often work in private
practices, but many also work in community centers or at universities and colleges. Others work
in hospital settings or mental health clinics as part of a collaborative team that may include
physicians, psychiatrists, and other mental health professionals.

5. Cognitive Psychology
Cognitive psychology is the branch of psychology that focuses on internal mental states. This
area of psychology has continued to grow since it emerged in the 1960s.
This area of psychology is centered on the science of how people think, learn, and remember.
Psychologists who work in this field often study things such as perception, motivation, emotion,
language, learning, memory, attention, decision-making, and problem-solving. Cognitive
psychologists often use an information-processing model to describe how the mind works,
suggesting that the brain stores and processes information much like a computer.
Comparative Psychology
Comparative psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the study of animal
behavior. The study of animal behavior can lead to a deeper and broader understanding of human
psychology. This area has its roots in the work of researchers such as Charles Darwin and
Georges Romanes and has grown into a highly multidisciplinary subject. Psychologists often
contribute to this field, as do biologists, anthropologists, ecologists, geneticists, and many others.
Counseling Psychology
Counseling psychology is one of the largest individual subfields within psychology. It is centered
on treating clients experiencing mental distress and a wide variety of psychological symptoms.
The Society of Counseling Psychology describes the field as an area that can improve
interpersonal functioning throughout life by improving social and emotional health as well as
addressing concerns about health, work, family, marriage, and more.

6. Cross-Cultural Psychology
Cross-cultural psychology is a branch of psychology that looks at how cultural factors influence
human behavior. The International Association of Cross-Cultural Psychology (IACCP) was
established in 1972, and this branch of psychology has continued to grow and develop since that
time. Today, increasing numbers of psychologists investigate how behavior differs among
various cultures throughout the world.
Developmental Psychology
Developmental psychology focuses on how people change and grow throughout the entire
lifespan. The scientific study of human development seeks to understand and explain how and
why people change throughout life. Developmental psychologists often study things such as
physical growth, intellectual development, emotional changes, social growth, and perceptual
changes that occur over the course of the lifespan.
These psychologists generally specialize in an area such as infant, child, adolescent, or geriatric
development, while others may study the effects of developmental delays. This field covers a
huge range of topics including everything from prenatal development to Alzheimer's disease.
Educational Psychology
Educational psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with schools, teaching
psychology, educational issues and student concerns. Educational psychologists often study how
students learn or work directly with students, parents, teachers, and administrators to improve
student outcomes. They might study how different variables influence individual student

7. outcomes. They also study topics such as learning disabilities, giftedness, the instructional
process, and individual differences.
Experimental Psychology
Experimental psychology is the branch of psychology that utilizes scientific methods to research
the brain and behavior. Many of these techniques are also used by other areas in psychology to
conduct research on everything from childhood development to social issues. Experimental
psychologists work in a wide variety of settings including colleges, universities, research centers,
government and private businesses.
Experimental psychologists utilize the scientific method to study a whole range of human
behaviors and psychological phenomena. This branch of psychology is often viewed as a distinct
subfield within psychology, but experimental techniques and methods are actually used
extensively throughout every subfield of psychology. Some of the methods used in experimental
psychology include experiments, correlational studies, case studies, and naturalistic observation.
Forensic Psychology
Forensic psychology is a specialty area that deals with issues related to psychology and the law.
Those who work in this field of psychology apply psychological principles to legal issues. This
may involve studying criminal behavior and treatments or working directly in the court system.
Forensic psychologists perform a wide variety of duties, including providing testimony in court
cases, assessing children in suspected child abuse cases, preparing children to give testimony and
evaluating the mental competence of criminal suspects.

8. This branch of psychology is defined as the intersection of psychology and the law, but forensic
psychologists can perform many roles so this definition can vary. In many cases, people working
within forensic psychology are not necessarily "forensic psychologists." These individuals might
be clinical psychologists, school psychologists, neurologists or counselors who lend their
psychological expertise to provide testimony, analysis or recommendations in legal or criminal
cases.
Health Psychology
Health psychology is a specialty area that focuses on how biology, psychology, behavior and
social factors influence health and illness. Other terms including medical psychology and
behavioral medicine are sometimes used interchangeably with the term health psychology. The
field of health psychology is focused on promoting health as well as the prevention and treatment
of disease and illness.
Health psychologists are interested in improving health across a wide variety of domains. These
professionals not only promote healthy behaviors, they also work on the prevention and
treatment of illness and disease. Health psychologists often deal with health-related issues such
as weight management, smoking cessation, stress management, and nutrition.
They might also research how people cope with illnesses and help patients look for new, more
effective coping strategies. Some professionals in this field help design prevention and public
awareness programs, while others work within the government to improve health care policies.

9. Industrial-Organizational Psychology
Industrial-organizational psychology is a branch that applies psychological principles to research
on workplace issues such as productivity and behavior. This field of psychology, often referred
to as I/O psychology, works to improve productivity and efficiency in the workplace while also
maximizing the well-being of employees. Research in I-O psychology is known as applied
research because it seeks to solve real-world problems. I-O psychologists study topics such as
worker attitudes, employee behaviors, organizational processes, and leadership.
Some psychologists in this field work in areas such as human factors, ergonomics, and human-
computer interaction. Human factors psychology is an interdisciplinary field that focuses on
topics such as human error, product design, ergonomics, human capability, and human-computer
interaction. People who work in human factors are focused on improving how people interact
with products and machines both in and out of the workplace. They might help design products
intended to minimize injury or create workplaces that promote greater accuracy and improved
safety.
Personality Psychology
Personality psychology is the branch of psychology that focuses on the study of the thought
patterns, feelings, and behaviors that make each individual unique. Classic theories of
personality include Freud's psychoanalytic theory of personality and Erikson's theory of
psychosocial development. Personality psychologists might study how different factors such as
genetics, parenting, and social experiences influence how personality develops and changes.

10. School Psychology
School psychology is a field that involves working in schools to help kids deal with academic,
emotional, and social issues. School psychologists also collaborate with teachers, students, and
parents to help create a healthy learning environment.
Most school psychologists work in elementary and secondary schools, but others work in private
clinics, hospitals, state agencies, and universities. Some go into private practice and serve as
consultants, especially those with a doctoral degree in school psychology.
Social Psychology
Social psychology seeks to explain and understand social behavior and looks at diverse topics
including group behavior, social interactions, leadership, nonverbal communication, and social
influences on decision-making.
This field of psychology is focused on the study of topics such as group behavior, social
perception, nonverbal behavior, conformity, aggression, and prejudice. Social influences on
behavior are a major interest in social psychology, but social psychologists are also focused on
how people perceive and interact with others.
Sports Psychology
Sports psychology is the study of how psychology influences sports, athletic performance,
exercise and physical activity. Some sports psychologists work with professional athletes and
coaches to improve performance and increase motivation. Other professionals utilize exercise
and sports to enhance people’s lives and well-being throughout the entire lifespan.

11. PRINCIPLES OF DEVELOPMENT
Development is Continuous:
The process of growth and development continues from the conception till the individual reaches
maturity. Development of both physical and mental traits continues gradually until these traits
reach their maximum growth. It goes on continuously throughout life. Even after maturity has
been attained, development does not end.
Development is Gradual:
It does not come all on a sudden. It is also cumulative in nature.
Development is Sequential:
Most psychologists agree that development is sequential or orderly. Every species, whether
animal or human, follows a pattern of development peculiar to it. This pattern in general is the
same for all individuals. The child crawls before he creeps, stands before he walks and babbles
before he talks.
COGNITION AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
Cognitive development is a field of study in neuroscience and psychology focusing on a child's
development in terms of information processing, conceptual resources, perceptual skill, language
learning, and other aspects of the developed adult brain and cognitive psychology. Qualitative
differences between how a child processes their waking experience and how an adult processes
their waking experience are acknowledged. Cognitive development is defined in adult terms as
the emergence of ability to consciously cognize and consciously understand and articulate their

12. understanding. From an adult point of view, cognitive development can also be called
intellectual development
Cognition development
What is cognition? The word comes from the Latin root cognoscere, which means “to know”.
When we talk about cognition, we are usually referring to everything that is related to
knowledge. In other words, the accumulation of information that we have acquired through
learning or experience.
The most accepted definition of cognition is the ability to process information though
perception (stimuli that we receive through our different senses), knowledge acquired through
experience, and our subjective characteristics that allow us to integrate all of this information to
evaluate and interpret our world. In other words, cognition is the ability that we have to
assimilate and process the information that we receive from different sources (perception,
experience, beliefs…) to convert them into knowledge. Cognition includes different cognitive
processes, like learning, attention, memory, language, reasoning, decision making, etc., which
form part of our intellectual development and experience.
PROCESSES INVOLVED IN COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
What happens with the non -adaptive components of the cognitive schemas?
As soon as cognitive development is conceptualized in terms of adaptation to the environment,
all components of a schema that were denoted above as “non-adaptive” can be classified in two
main groups. With regard to further adaptation, they can be either neutral or impedimental. We

13. suggest that the process of exclusion of the “wrong” component depends primarily on its
potential role in the further development of the adaptive cognitive structure.
Thus, when a component of the cognitive schema is just useless but remains neutral with regard
to the efficiency of the interactions between the organism and the environment, there is no
objective need in any active process for its exclusion from the entire schema. We suggest that
existence of such a component of the schema can be best described in terms of extinction.
Although these components are not completely removed, they are never activated
in response to events in the environment. As time goes by, these superfluous components
become extinct. The problem of exclusion
of these elements is very close to the more frequently investigated problem of forgetting in
general, and thus remains outside the focus of this paper.
However, some of the components of the developing cognitive schemas are not as harmless to
adaptation.
Holding a hammer incorrectly, thus leading to an injury, provides a good example of this type of
non-adaptability of the developing schema. In such a case an impedimental component is
activated in response to some event in the environment (event A); the organism fails to react
adequately. Thus, the main precondition for further successful adaptation is to prevent the
activation of this harmful component in response to the event A. From the perspective of
adaptation, the most secure way would be simply to exclude the “wrong” part of the schema
from the cognitive structure. However, this simple possibility does not exist for the human
cognitive system. Therefore, the process of exclusion of the impedimental component is rather
complicated and requires active “cognitive dissimilation”. A general framework for an
explanation of this process is proposed in the next section.

14. How does the active process of cognitive dissimilation occur?
As discussed above, activation of the harmful component in response to the
event Ashould be blocked so that the organism could meet the demands of the Environment. In
other words, this “wrong” component should be dissimilated from the cognitive schema
activated by the event A. However, it cannot be dissimilated “to nowhere”.
Moreover
, it is not plausible that this component can be simply transferred to some other cognitive
schema. In our opinion, a model of cognitive dissimilation should conceptualize it as a process
including several steps.
First, the isolation of the impedimental component requires a very specific “buildup” of an
existing schema. This additional part of the schema plays the role of an “internal policeman”. It
is activated in response to the event A, together with the entire cognitive schema. However, the
function of this new structure is to block an activation of the “wrong” component and to prevent
a harmful (or just unnecessary) reaction of the organism. In this step of dissimilation, total
loading on the cognitive system becomes much higher in response to the event A. The higher the
probability of activation of the “wrong” component was, the more loaded would be the process
of its active blocking.
As a result of active isolation, activation of the impedimental component in response to the
event A decreases as time goes by. Finally the whole “built up” structure transforms to a separate
declarative schema outside the entire schema. As a result, the cognitive system includes a correct
cognitive schema (the “wrong” component is
dissimilated) and an additional declarative schema is created based on the dissimilated
component. This means the

15. organism has knowledge of what is wrong. When the event A occurs, only the correct schema is
activated. However, the declarative schema described above can also be activated in response to
some other event (event B). Continuing the example of holding a hammer incorrectly, the
event A is the necessity to actually use this tool, while the event Bcould be a situation that
requires teaching another person how to use the hammer on a nail.
Describe Piaget’s model of cognitive development
To Piaget, cognitive development was a progressive reorganization of mental processes resulting
from biological maturation and environmental experience. He believed that children construct an
understanding of the world around them, experience discrepancies between what they already
know and what they discover in their environment, then adjust their ideas accordingly.
Moreover, Piaget claimed that cognitive development is at the center of the human organism, and
language is contingent on knowledge and understanding acquired through cognitive
development. Piaget's earlier work received the greatest attention.
Child-centered classrooms and "open education" are direct applications of Piaget's views.
Despite its huge success, Piaget's theory has some limitations that Piaget recognized himself: for
example, the theory supports sharp stages rather than continuous development
Piaget noted that reality is a dynamic system of continuous change. Reality is defined in
reference to the two conditions that define dynamic systems. Specifically, he argued that reality
involves transformations and states. Transformations refer to all manners of changes that a
thing or person can undergo. States refer to the conditions or the appearances in which things or
persons can be found between transformations. For example, there might be changes in shape or

16. form (for instance, liquids are reshaped as they are transferred from one vessel to another, and
similarly humans change in their characteristics as they grow older), in size (a toddler does not
walk and run without falling, but after 7 yrs of age, the child's sensory motor anatomy is well
developed and now acquires skill faster), or in placement or location in space and time (e.g.,
various objects or persons might be found at one place at one time and at a different place at
another time). Thus, Piaget argued, if human intelligence is to be adaptive, it must have functions
to represent both the transformational and the static aspects of reality. He proposed that operative
intelligence is responsible for the representation and manipulation of the dynamic or
transformational aspects of reality, and that figurative intelligence is responsible for the
representation of the static aspects of reality
Pre-operational stage
By observing sequences of play, Piaget was able to demonstrate that, towards the end of the
second year, a qualitatively new kind of psychological functioning occurs, known as the Pre-
operational Stage. It starts when the child begins to learn to speak at age two and lasts up until
the age of seven. During the Pre-operational Stage of cognitive development, Piaget noted that
children do not yet understand concrete logic and cannot mentally manipulate information.
Children's increase in playing and pretending takes place in this stage. However, the child still
has trouble seeing things from different points of view. The children's play is mainly categorized
by symbolic play and manipulating symbols. Such play is demonstrated by the idea of checkers
being snacks, pieces of paper being plates, and a box being a table. Their observations of
symbols exemplifies the idea of play with the absence of the actual objects involved.

17. The pre-operational stage is sparse and logically inadequate in regard to mental operations. The
child is able to form stable concepts as well as magical beliefs. The child, however, is still not
able to perform operations, which are tasks that the child can do mentally, rather than physically.
Thinking in this stage is still egocentric, meaning the child has difficulty seeing the viewpoint of
others. The Pre-operational Stage is split into two substages: the symbolic function substage, and
the intuitive thought substage. The symbolic function substage is when children are able to
understand, represent, remember, and picture objects in their mind without having the object in
front of them. The intuitive thought substage is when children tend to propose the questions of
"why?" and "how come?" This stage is when children want to understand everything.
Symbolic function substage
At about two to four years of age, children cannot yet manipulate and transform information in a
logical way. However, they now can think in images and symbols. Other examples of mental
abilities are language and pretend play. Symbolic play is when children develop imaginary
friends or role-play with friends. Children's play becomes more social and they assign roles to
each other. Some examples of symbolic play include playing house, or having a tea party.
Interestingly, the type of symbolic play in which children engage is connected with their level of
creativity and ability to connect with others. Additionally, the quality of their symbolic play can
have consequences on their later development. For example, young children whose symbolic
play is of a violent nature tend to exhibit less prosocial behavior and are more likely to display
antisocial tendencies in later years

18. ITS EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS
1. A focus on the process of children’s thinking, not just its products. In addition to
checking the correctness of children’s answers, teachers must understand the processes
children use to get to the answer. Appropriate learning experiences build on children’s
current level of cognitive functioning, and only when teachers appreciate children’s
methods of arriving at particular conclusions are they in a position to provide such
experiences.
2. Recognition of the crucial role of children’s self-initiated, active involvement in
learning activities. In a Piagetian classroom the presentation of ready-made knowledge
is deemphasized, and children are encouraged to discover for themselves through
spontaneous interaction with the environment. Therefore, instead of teaching didactically,
teachers provide a rich variety of activities that permit children to act directly on the
physical world.
3. A deemphasis on practices aimed at making children adultlike in their thinking.
Piaget referred to the question “How can we speed up development?” as “the American
question.” Among the many countries he visited, psychologists and educators in the
United States seemed most interested in what techniques could be used to accelerate
children’s progress through the stages. Piagetian-based educational programs accept his
firm belief that premature teaching could be worse than no teaching at all, because it

19. leads to superficial acceptance of adult formulas rather than true cognitive understanding
(May & Kundert, 1997).
4. Acceptance of individual differences in developmental progress. Piaget’s theory
assumes that all children go through the same developmental sequence but that they do so
at different rates. Therefore, teachers must make a special effort to arrange classroom
activities for individuals and small groups of children rather than for the total class group.
In addition, because individual differences are expected, assessment of children’s
educational progress should be made in terms of each child’s own previous course of
development, not in terms of normative standards provided by the performances of same-
age peers.
WHAT IS PERSONALITY
Personality is defined as the set of habitual behaviors, cognitions and emotional patterns that
evolve from biological and environmental factors.[1] While there is no generally agreed upon
definition of personality, most theories focus on motivation and psychological interactions with
one's environment. [2] Trait-based personality theories, such as those defined by Raymond Cattell
define personality as the traits that predict a person's behavior. On the other hand, more
behaviorally based approaches define personality through learning and habits. Nevertheless, most
theories view personality as relatively stable
WHAT IS PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT ?
Personality development is defined as a process of developing and enhancing one’s personality.
Personality development helps an individual to gain confidence and high self esteem.

20. Personality development also is said to have a positive impact on one’s communication skills and
the way he sees the world. Individuals tend to develop a positive attitude as a result of
personality development.
THE MAJOR TENETS OF PSYCHOANALYSIS
In order to evaluate the strengths of Freud's theory of psychoanalysis, one must consider a few of the
qualitiesthatmake a theory of personality or behavior "great." Among the many qualities that people
considertobe importantare that the theoryaddressesitsproblem,canbe appliedinpractical ways, fits
with other theories, and withstands the test of time. In addition, a good theory, according to many
philosophers of science, is falsifiable, able to be generalized, leads to new theories and ideas, and is
recognized by others in the field. Clearly psychoanalysis meets many of these criteria.
As noted previously, Freud coined the term "psychoanalysis" in 1856. Even today, as we are
rapidly approaching the twenty-first century, psychoanalysis remains as a valid option for
patients suffering from mental illnesses. The acceptance and popularity of psychoanalysis is
apparent through the existence of numerous institutes, organizations, and conferences established
around the world with psychoanalysis as their focus. The theory of psychoanalysis was
innovative and revolutionary, and clearly has withstood the test of time.

21. Perhaps even more noteworthy than the longevity of psychoanalysis is the fact that it has served
as a catalyst to many professionals in the field of psychology and prompted them to see
connections that they otherwise would have missed. Psychoanalysis enlightened health
professionals about many aspects of the human mind and its inner workings, phenomena that had
previously been inexplicable. As a direct result of psychoanalysis, approaches to psychological
treatment now considered routine or commonplace were developed worldwide (Farrell, 1981, p.
202).
By far one of the greatest strengths of psychoanalysis is that it is a very comprehensive theory.
Psychoanalysis, originally intended as a theory to explain therapeutic or psychological concepts,
explains the nature of human development and all aspects of mental functioning. However, many
experts contend that psychoanalysis can also be used to describe or explain a vast array of other
concepts outside of the realm of the psychological field. For example, religion, Shakespeare's
character "Hamlet," the nature of companies and their leaders, or an artist's paintings can all be
explained by the principles of psychoanalysis. This comprehensiveness suggests that the theory
of psychoanalysis is, at least to some extent, pointing in the general direction of the truth.
FREUD’S STAGES OF PSYCHOSEXUAL DEVELOPMENT.
Oral Stage (0-1 year)
In the first stage of personality development, the libido is centered in a baby's mouth. It gets
much satisfaction from putting all sorts of things in its mouth to satisfy the libido, and thus its id
demands. Which at this stage in life are oral, or mouth orientated, such as sucking, biting, and
breastfeeding.

22. Freud said oral stimulation could lead to an oral fixation in later life. We see oral personalities
all around us such as smokers, nail-biters, finger-chewers, and thumb suckers. Oral personalities
engage in such oral behaviors, particularly when under stress.
Anal Stage (1-3 years)
The libido now becomes focused on the anus, and the child derives great pleasure from
defecating. The child is now fully aware that they are a person in their own right and that their
wishes can bring them into conflict with the demands of the outside world (i.e., their ego has
developed).
Freud believed that this type of conflict tends to come to a head in potty training, in which adults
impose restrictions on when and where the child can defecate. The nature of this first conflict
with authority can determine the child's future relationship with all forms of authority.
Early or harsh potty training can lead to the child becoming an anal-retentive personality who
hates mess, is obsessively tidy, punctual and respectful of authority. They can be stubborn and
tight-fisted with their cash and possessions. This is all related to pleasure got from holding on to
their faeces when toddlers, and their mum's then insisting that they get rid of it by placing them
on the potty until they perform!
Not as daft as it sounds. The anal expulsive, on the other hand, underwent a liberal toilet-
training regime during the anal stage. In adulthood, the anal expulsive is the person who wants
to share things with you. They like giving things away. In essence, they are 'sharing their
s**t'!' An anal-expulsive personality is also messy, disorganized and rebellious.

23. Phallic Stage (3 to 5 or 6 years)
Sensitivity now becomes concentrated in the genitals and masturbation (in both sexes) becomes a
new source of pleasure. The child becomes aware of anatomical sex differences, which sets in
motion the conflict between erotic attraction, resentment, rivalry, jealousy and fear which Freud
called the Oedipus complex (in boys) and the Electra complex (in girls).
This is resolved through the process of identification, which involves the child adopting the
characteristics of the same sex parents.