Differences of Freud and Erikson’s Stages

There are different ways of identifying developmental process of human. Because of the fact that human being has really complex component, we cannot use one way to divide process or examine their nature. Here are two big famous scientists who are Eric Erickson and Sigmund Freud will show us developmental stages of human from different point of views but also they have common point of view in different types. Freud’s Psychosexual Stages Oral Stage (Birth to 18 months): During the oral stage, the child if focused on oral pleasures (sucking).Too much or too little gratification can result in an Oral Fixation or Oral Personality which is evidenced by a preoccupation with oral activities. Personality wise, these individuals may become overly dependent upon others, gullible, and perpetual followers.
. Personality wise, these individuals may become overly dependent upon others, gullible, and perpetual followers. Example: I can give my cousin’s child as an example; after he born, first 12 months, his only need is to be feed by his mother and when he feeds, he looks like enjoying and taking pleasure because of doing that.Anal Stage (18 months to three years). The child’s focus of pleasure in this stage is on eliminating and retaining feces. Through society’s pressure, mainly via parents, the child has to learn to control anal stimulation. In terms of personality, after effects of an anal fixation during this stage can result in an obsession with cleanliness, perfection, and control (anal retentive).
Example: after fist and half year; I realized that my cousin’s children starts to hold my hand, or when I give him a toy which he is not interested, he drop it or when he wants to be cared, he holds my hand.Phallic Stage (ages three to six). The pleasure zone switches to the genitals. Freud believed that during this stage boy develop unconscious sexual desires for their mother. Because of this, he becomes rivals with his father and sees him as competition for the mother’s affection. It was added that girls go through a similar situation, developing unconscious sexual attraction to their father. Although Freud Strongly disagreed with this, it has been termed the Electra complex by more recent psychoanalysts.

According to Freud, out of fear of castration and due to the strong competition of his father, boys eventually decide to identify with him rather than fight him. By identifying with his father, the boy develops masculine characteristics and identifies himself as a male, and represses his sexual feelings toward his mother. Example: My neighbor’s daughter became extremely jealous to her father. Especially one day, we were going a part all together and her mother put on a golden earrings. His father said to her mother:”it is looking wonderful”.Her daughter started to cry and said that” you became more wonderful than me” and she forced her mother to put off them. It was really clear example for me.
Latency Stage (age six to puberty): It’s during this stage that sexual urges remain repressed and children interact and play mostly with same sex peers. Example: At this stage; children starts to preschool or kind of schools and they starts to play with their peer instead of playing family, and an interaction starts to be happen. Genital Stage (puberty on).The final stage of psychosexual development begins at the start of puberty when sexual urges are once again awakened. Through the lessons learned during the previous stages, adolescents direct their sexual urges onto opposite sex peers; with the primary focus of pleasure is the genital. Example: When my cousin was 7 years old, she started to spend much more time in front of mirror; also she used to play with her other’s make-up staff and had a big interest for his father. Ego Defense MechanismsDenial: When people are overwhelmed by the anxiety present within a situation, they can engage an even more severe form of memory repression.
It can be said that arguing against an anxiety provoking stimuli by stating it doesn’t exist. Example: In the one movie I watched, it was a movie related to war, a mother receives word that her Son has been killed, and yet refuses to believe it, still setting the table for him, keeping his room and clothes current. Projection: In projection, anxiety is reduced by claiming another person actually has the unpleasant thoughts that you are thinking.You are attributing your own repressed thoughts to someone else. Example: When I was 17 years old, my mother and father always told me that I should behave kindly everyone and this idea was embedded to my mind but there was a girl and I really did not like her and my defense mechanism allow me to think non-anxiety provoking thought that “This person does not like me “. Rationalization: This is a post-hoc (after the fact) defense mechanism. Rationalization allows finding logical reasons for inexcusable actions.
Example: When people cheating on taxes, they think that it is better to keep this money for myself because I am sure that government will spend this money for army or some of high-level administrator will steal this money from government. Regression: Because of partial fixations in any of the psychosexual stages of development, regression can occur when an individual is faced with high levels of stress in their life. Regression is the giving up of mature problem solving methods in favor of child like approaches to fixing problems.Example: When I was so stressed because of exams, I had a bad news from home, after that I went to corner and started to cry like a child and eat so much chocolate. This was the way of my problem solving. Repression: The most basic defense mechanism. Sometimes referred to as: defensiveness.
Repression can be conscious but is most commonly unconscious. Repression does not have to be total, partial memories where only the single piece of damaging information is “forgotten” is common.Example: In a movie I watch, there was a women who was experienced sexual abuse at her childhood but she forgot this bad event because of trauma and anxiety. Displacement: Displacement is the shifting of intended targets, especially when the initial target is threatening. It means that taking out impulses on a less threatening target. Example: when a person has argue with his boss, he cannot yell or say bad words or shut the door to front of his boss, because he can lose his job and he was threat for him, instead of that, when he came to home, he slams the door and yells to his wife.Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages Infant (Trust vs.
Mistrust); Children needs maximum comfort with minimal uncertainty to trust himself/ herself, others, and the environment. When the parents present consistent, adequate, and nurturing care, the child develops basic trust and realizes that people are dependable and the world can be a safe place Example: When mother leaves his children in the room alone, he starts to cry because he can’t feel safe without her. The safety feeling occurs because of his mother. Early Childhood (Autonomy vs.Shame ;amp; Doubt): Children works to master physical environment while maintaining self-esteem. If parents guide children gradually and firmly, praise and accept attempts to be independent, autonomy develops. The result will be a sense of will which helps us accomplish and build self-esteem as children and adults If parents are too permissive, harsh, or demanding, the child can feel defeated, and experience extreme shame and doubt, and grow up to engage in neurotic attempts to regain feelings of control, power, and competency.
Example: When my nephew 2. years old, she has already started to learn toilet training. There was a special corner in the house and she always did her toilet need there. After that, her mom started to warn her not to do it and force her to use bathroom. Then I realized that when she does her toilet needs at the corner without noticed by anyone, she show little shame to her mom because she knows that she should have used bathroom like her mom said. Preschooler (Initiative vs. Guilt) Begins to initiate, not imitate, activities; develops conscience and sexual identity.
The child becomes curious about people and models adults. If parents are understanding and supportive of a child’s efforts to show initiative, the child develops purpose, and sets goals and acts in ways to reach them. Example: In a movie I watched, there was a little child who was 5 years old, he tried to play locked door with key, when he explored that he could open the locked door with key by turning right side, at the second and third time, his aim was directly open the door and opening locked door became his purpose. School-Age Child (Industry vs.Inferiority) Children tries to develop a sense of self-worth by refining skills. It occurs during Latency, but Erickson did not think this was a rest period; the child begins school and must tame imagination and impulses, and please others. If adults support the child’s efforts, a sense of competence develops.
Example: when children start to school, the aim is just to adapt to new environment and friends. But I can remember that my family was very interested in my homework and exams. At once, I got the highest grade in class and my family was so supportive about it.That was the first time that I taste success and I started have a feeling, I started to want to have the highest grade. The competency feeling was born in my deep inside. Adolescent (Identity vs. Role): Confusion tries integrating many roles (child, sibling, student, athlete, and worker) into a self-image under role model and peer pressure.
Young adults attempt to develop identity and ideas about strengths, weaknesses, goals, occupations, sexual identity, and gender roles. Teens “try on” different identities, going through an identity crisis, and use their friends to reflect back to them.Example: I had a friend when I was at boarding school, there was a girl who is kind of rocker girl at first. After a while, she started to hang with extremely religious people and became a member and strong supporter of them. When these things were happened, she was eighteen years old and she had identity crisis. Young Adult (Intimacy vs. Isolation): individual learns to make personal commitment to another as spouse, parent or partner.
Intimacy is the ability to be close, loving, and vulnerable with romances and friends.It is based in part upon identity development, in that you have to know yourself to share it. The virtue gained here is love. Failure to develop intimacy can lead to promiscuity (getting too close too quick and not sustaining it), or exclusion (rejecting relationships and those who have them) Example: I can give example from myself. This age is in the interval of university experience. There can be a lot of people who we fall in love or we can meet the right guy or maybe we can gain so many friends quickly and we cannot sustain it as we think.But our personality is developed now and we know ourselves.
Middle-Age Adult (Generativity vs. Stagnation): Seeks satisfaction through productivity in career, family, and civic interests. If you have a strong sense of creativity, success, and of having “made a mark” you develop generativity, and are concerned with the next generation; the virtue is called care, and represents connection to generations to come, and a love given without expectations of a specific return Example: Maybe our family can be given as an example.My mother loves me without any condition and whatever I do I know that she will support me. And she always said that you are the most valuable creature I ever had. Older Adult (Integrity vs. Despair) Reviews life accomplishments, deals with loss and preparation for death.
This entails facing the ending of life, and accepting successes and failures, ageing, and loss. People develop ego integrity and accept their lives if they succeed, and develop a sense of wisdom a “detached concern with life itself in the face of death itself. Those who do not feel a sense of despair and dread their death; it’s too late to change their lives. Example: My grandmother always said that everything is too late to change things for us when I visit her. She told me her mistakes, regrets, loss…She seems like that she is ready for death for any moment. She accepts everything she did in her life and thinks that she completed her mission. All these process which including Erickson’s developmental stages and Freud’s psychosexual stages help me understand about my whole developmental process.
I think this me the best of knowing ourselves. Now I can mean some my actions or my friends’ actions logically and understand the real reason of behavior. I think that everybody should learn these stages for their good.References 1. Richard Niolan, Ph. D, Resources for students and Professors (www. psychpage.
com) 2. David B. Stevenson ’96, Brown University 3. Psychology website:
htm”>www. psychology. about. com/library/bl_psychosocial_summary. htm