Research

The Psychodynamic Perspective

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Institution

The Psychodynamic Perspective

In psychology, the psychodynamic perspective places an emphasis on the unconscious psychological development and important contends that a child experiences in shaping their adult personality (Baltes, 1987). This perspective mainly originates from the work of Sigmund Freud, but it has evolved considerably. Some concepts remain controversial while others have help up to empirical criticism. However, psychodynamic perspective still influences many areas of contemporary psychology. Freud’s work has been influential and controversial as well. His theory; psychosexual stages of development talks about the series of psychosexual stages a child goes through leading to the development of adult personality (Hudson–Barr et al., 2004).

Feud provides five stages of development; oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital stage (Baltes, 1987). During these stages, the pleasure-seeking energies focus on the erogenous areas. The erogenous areas are parts of the body sensitive to stimulation. The erogenous areas serve as a source of pleasure in each stage. There are conflicts in each stage of growth that can either build growth or slow development depending on how they are resolved. Failure to resolve conflict at a certain stage result in fixation until when resolved.

The first stage is the oral stage from birth to 1 year with the mouth as the erogenous area. The mouth is the primary sources of stimulation for an infant (Kendra, 2019). Activities like sucking and tasting gives an infant pleasure. A child depends entirely on a caretaker thus; oral stimulation helps them develop trust and comfort. The weaning process is a main conflict in this stage as the child depends less on the caretaker. If a child s fixated at this stage, they may develop problems like drinking and nail-biting.

The second stage is the anal stage is from 1 to 3 year with the bowel and bladder as the erogenous zones. The ability to control bowel and bladder movement is the primary focus. Toilet training is the main conflict at this stage (Kendra, 2019). An inappropriate parental response at this stage could result in a messy personality. Third stage is the phallic stage between 3 and 6 years. The genitals are the erogenous area. A child is able to differentiate between male and female. Feud provides that boys develop the Oedipus complex while girls develop the Electra complex at this stage (Kendra, 2019). However, he argues that women remain fixated to this stage, but Horney a psychologist disputed this argument claiming that men develop womb envy as well.

The fourth stage is called latent between 6 years and puberty. The inactive sexual feelings are the erogenous area. Superego continues to develop and a child develops values, social skills, and relationship with adults and peers. The sexual energy is repressed or dormant at this stage. Fixation results in inability to have long-lasting relationships and immaturity. The genital stage is the last psychosexual stage. It is from puberty to death with maturing sexual desires as the erogenous area (Kendra, 2019). Individual develop a strong sexual desire to their opposite sex. Maintaining a balance in all aspects of life is the main goal at this stage. Ego and superego are fully developed here.

There are criticisms of Feud’s psychosexual stages like the theory places more focus on male development compared to female. Testing the theory scientifically is hard as concepts like libido cannot be measured or tested (Lerner et al., 2013). Also, the future predictions of the theory are too vague. The theory does not use empirical research.

In summary, Feud’s theory has made an important contribution to our understanding of human development. It emphasizes on the importance of the early development which play a vital role in the process of development.

Running head: THE PSYCHODYNAMIC PERSPECTIVE 1

THE PSYCHODYNAMIC PERSPECTIVE 3

References

Baltes, P. B. (1987). Theoretical propositions of life-span developmental psychology: On the dynamics between growth and decline. Developmental psychology, 23(5), 611.

Holditch-Davis, D., Scher, M., Schwartz, T., & Hudson–Barr, D. (2004). Sleeping and waking state development in preterm infants. Early human development, 80(1), 43-64.