Psychosexual and Psychosocial Theories

Psychosexual Theory

Freud thought that psychological adjustment depends on how childhood conflicts between sexual impulses (which shift with age) and societal expectations are resolved. He believed that parents must help children balance the biological needs of the self-centered id (the unconscious mind), the ego (the conscious, rational mind), and the superego (the conscience) in order for optimal personality development.

Freud is considered the father of psychoanalysis for his ideas of the unconscious, and many of his terms are commonly used, such as defense mechanisms like repression, denial, etc. Although many modern educators and psychologists now see Freud’s theory as overemphasizing the sexual, his belief that early childhood experiences have a long-term impact in our lives is now an accepted principle of development.

Psychosocial Theory

A student of Freud’s daughter, Erik Erikson (1902-1994), expanded his psychosexual theory to create a new theory based on emotional development over the entire lifespan. Rather than focusing on sexual development, Erikson hypothesized that personality was created by the social relationships children experience. Like Freud, Erikson thought that development is discontinuous. He also agreed that how children resolve basic developmental issues at each stage determined their future personality adjustment; however, he broadened the issues.

Stages	Ages
Trust vs. mistrust	Birth to 18 months
Autonomy vs. doubt/shame	18 months to 3 years
Initiative vs. guilt	3 to 5 years
Industry vs. inferiority	5 to 12 years
Identity vs. role confusion	Adolescence
Intimacy vs. isolation	Young adulthood
Generativity vs. stagnation	Middle adulthood
Ego integrity vs. despair	Maturity

Erikson's theory strongly influenced Western developmental psychology and inspired later humanist theorists such as Carl Rogers and Alfred Adler.