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Personality Development Guide – Stages of Development

Personality Development Guide - Erik Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development

As we have already seen, personality development begins from conception and goes on till death; it passes through different phases at different ages in a person’s life. It is just like a planted seed, passes through various stages before we identify it as a fully grown, flowering tree. The development of personality in a single person also passes through different stages during the course of life.

Many theories have been put forward regarding the development of personality. Some of the theories that we will focus on are:

  • Sigmund Freud’s Psychosexual Stage Theory
  • Erik Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development

Sigmund Freud’s Psycho-sexual Stage Theory

The concept of Id, Ego and Superego was presented by Sigmund Freud, which stated that individuality develops as an infant passes through the life phases and grows into an adult. He believed that every stage in life is important and particularly the childhood experiences. He also suggested that at every stage, human mind has unconscious desires and when those are not appropriately satisfied, it can lead to undesirable lifelong consequences.

In connection to this, he developed a theory that sexuality starts from very birth and passes through all phases of life until death.

 boy

Freud’s psycho-sexual stages 

According to this theory, there are stages of psychosexual development that influence the personality, life and health of a person. These stages should be completed and one has to move on to the next stage as a normal development process. If this does not happen there occurs a fixation. If there is any fixation at any stage, one can remain trapped in that stage and face adverse consequences during the life course.

The Oral stage – Birth to 1 year

The primary pleasure source is the mouth.

  • Mouth is used for sucking, eating, sensing and satisfaction.
  • Pleasure is derived from mouthing, sucking, licking, etc to obtain oral stimulation.
  • The child is dependent on caretakers and uses this stage to develop a sense of trust.

The conflict here is to wean the child from the dependence on the caretakers.

Strong conflicts can result in fixation. If fixation occurs at this stage, the child can have problems with dependency. It can result in behaviour that seeks pleasure through mouth just as it is in this stage.

Oral fixation can result in two types of personalities like the receptive ones or the aggressive ones.

Oral Receptive personality – Persons tend to release their stress through activities involving the use of mouth in a receptive manner. They are generally dependent, sensitive and passive. For example, person might get indulged in smoking, drinking, eating or nail biting habits.

Oral Aggressive personality – Persons tend to be hostile and usually use the mouth for their aggression. For example, verbally abusive persons, those who are easily irritated and people who vocally express their aggression.

 

 cute baby

# The Anal stage – 1-3 years

The primary pleasure source is anus and bladder control

Main focus is controlling the bowel and bladder movements.

The conflict is toilet training.

Successful toilet training process and gaining control results in feeling of independence and gives a positive feeling to the child. They grow up as more competent and dynamic individuals.

If fixation occurs during this stage, it can have negative effects on the growth of the child. Parental approach towards toilet training plays an important role in the development of the child’s personality and lasts for later years.

Anal fixation can result in two types of personalities like retentive ones and the expulsive ones.

Anal retentive personality – This can occur if the toilet training stage is started too early or the child is strictly dealt with or punished for not getting trained. The child can develop as an individual seeking order, neatness and can tend to be obstinate and a perfectionist.

Anal expulsive personality – This can occur if the toilet training stage is taken too leniently. This can result in child growing up with lack of self-control, being messy, careless and destructive.

Baby Playing with his toys

#  The Phallic stage – 3-6 years

The primary pleasure source is the genitals.

Children begin understanding the differences between males and females.

The conflict at this stage differs for boys and girls and is usually seen by the end of this stage.

Phallic Fixation can result in

The Oedipus complex – This is a set of feelings that the boys experience where they develop a feeling of possessiveness for their mothers and desire to act in place of their father. Additionally, they may also develop fear that their father may become aware of their feelings and will hence punish them for the same. This fear is called as ‘castration anxiety’.

The Electra complex – These are similar feelings experienced by girls and are desirous of their father. They may experience ‘penis envy’.

By overcoming these feelings and desires a child learns to identify the same-sex parent and begins relating to them.

A 10 years old boy

#  The Latency period – 6 years to puberty

The pleasure source is the sexual feelings that are dormant and may be channelized and directed to creative and intellectual activities.

Children become more aware of peer groups and relations.

They begin taking interests in academics, sports, hobbies and enjoy making friends with same sex.

This stage is crucial for the development of self confidence, social interactions and communication skills.

 

#  The Genital period – Puberty to death

The pleasure source is the developing sexual interests.

Physical changes in the body develop a sense of sexual interest in the opposite sex.

This stage is important for a person to develop sound relationships as it focuses on the wellbeing and interests of others. A well-balanced person is able to better adapt to social rules and proves to be a better individual when related to others.

The success of earlier stages forms the foundation for this stage. People, who have gone through the earlier stages successfully, find it easier to attain balance between different areas of life. Those who have hard times in dealing with any of the earlier stages seem to be trapped in it. They might exhibit undesirable behaviors related to that stages they are trapped in and thus form important traits of their personality.

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