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CHILD DEVELOPMENT

“The unrememberable and unforgettable”… Doug Watt

Sue Gehardt: “Why love matters”? A readable key book on child development, drawing together material from other
sources, such as Allan Schore’s more difficult but equally important book; “Affect regulation and the development of
the self”
Quotes:
 “The foundations are built during pregnancy and in the first two years of life... This is when the social brain is
shaped, the emotional style and emotional resources established”
 “Small differences in the foundations make huge differences in the outcome”
 “The poorly handled baby develops a more reactive stress response and different biochemical patterns from a
well handled baby… our minds emerge and emotions are organised in engagement with others, not in
isolation”
 “Babies of agitated mothers may stay over aroused and have a sense that feelings explode out of you, there is
nothing to be done about it. Well managed babies come to expect a responsive world”
 “Researchers have found that the most difficult and irritable babies do fine when with responsive parents, no
such thing as a difficult baby which is largely the perception of the parent.”

Difficult parents:
1) Neglectful; the child develops a depressed way of interacting, less positive feelings and their left brains are
less active, perform less well on cognitive tasks and are insecurely attached.
2) Intrusive; mother may be depressed but is also angry even if covertly, and is hostile to the baby, but is also
overly involved with the baby. The child is insecurely attached in an avoidant or chaotic way.

Parents … bring the baby into the emotional world by identifying feelings and labelling them. Children of depressed
parents are 6 times more likely to be depressed themselves as adults.

The Brain; Neuro-science and psychotherapy:

The brain more than doubles in weight in the first year of life, this growth is experience dependent: As are the
emotional, cognitive and verbal development and their related growth and development areas within the brain.
Schore describes how the most important and vital aspect of relationship is in looking at faces, the open eyes,
including the large pupil size, large dilated pupils are signs of pleasure and interest and invite a positive response. The
baby smiles more, and the mothers care more: “The reciprocal and sustained, face to face gaze transactions” this
directly effects the development of the brain and the release of neuroendocrine, which bring pleasure and directly
stimulates the growth and development of the brain. However a negative look and interactions stimulates the
production of cortisol which in turn prevents the development of the brain.

“The volume of the brain in general and in particular the size of the prefrontal cortex (which is so important in
controlling and self calming) is directly affected by abuse or neglect, the earlier the abuse or neglect the smaller the
brain volume”

The prefrontal part of the cortex has a unique role; linking the sensory areas of the cortex; thoughtful responses to
emotions, within the emotional and survival areas of the sub-cortex, which are responsible for our emotional
intelligence. This area, the orbito-frontal cortex develops after birth and does not mature until toddler-hood… this
development is directly related to the baby’s experience of his / her interaction with people… i.e. it is experience
dependent. The first area to develop is the social brain and is highly responsive to social experience.

Experience with the Romanian orphans who were left without contact with adults has shown that they have a virtual
black hole where this area of their brains should be. There is little hope of full recovery or of developing this part of
the brain.

“Mentalising… The capacity to recognise others minds, develops as a result of healthy attachments, people who have
a borderline disorder grow up avoiding his because it would involve recognising the parent’s lack of love or hatred”

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Schore: “Affect regulation and the development of the self” Drawing on research in neurobiology and infant
research Schore proposes that an infants affective interactions with the early human social environment directly and
indelibly influence the post natal maturation of brain structures the will then regulate all future socio emotional
functioning… the first relationship, with one’s mother acts as a template as it permanently shapes the individuals
capacity to enter all later relationships. …. Early postnatal development represents an experiential shaping of the
infants genetic potential. … 70% of the cerebral cortex’s genetic content is added after birth.”

The Interpersonal World of the Infant:   Daniel Stern: In this significant contribution Stern proposes a model of
child development based on an assumption that the child has a sense of self at birth. This fits well with what we
experience as Transactional (Script) Analysts. This is a radical shift from traditional views such as Mahler’s. Stern
came to this view as a psychoanalyst from ongoing research and observations of infants.

Infants begin to experience a sense of an emergent self from birth. They are pre-designed to be aware of self –
organising processes. They never experience a period of total self / other undifferentiation. There is no confusion of
self and other in the beginning or at any point during infancy. They are pre-designed to be selectively responsive to
external social events and never experience an autistic like phase.

During the period of 2 – 6 months the infant consolidates the core sense of self as a separate, cohesive, bounded,
physical unit with a sense of their own agency, affectivity and continuity in time. There is no symbiotic like phase. In
fact the subjective experiences of union with another can occur only after a core self and a core other exists.”

The four senses of the self. Each one defines a different domain of self-experience and social relatedness.

1) The emergent self 0 – 2 months. In which the infant responds to the environment, and develops their sense
of self.

2) The core self 2-6 months. The ifant appears in social interaction to be an integrated whole. They are
controlling their own actions, own their own affectivity, with a sense of continuity and a sense of others
versus others.

3) The subjective self 7-15 months. In this phase the infant develops a sense of themselves with others.
including attachment.

4) The verbal self 16 months +. During the 2nd year language emerges. A new medium to exchange with others
and create shared meanings. Language causes a split, an alienation, in the self between the verbal self and the
emergent, core, and inter-subjective relatedness, all of which continue to have experiences.

Mahlers Developmental Theory (From Object relations In Psychoanalytic theory Greenberg & Mitchell 1983)
Mahler’s (very different) model was evolved from the Freudian drive theory and ideas regarding development, which
saw the need for the child to gain genital primacy in overcoming the Oedipus complex, and also built upon object
relations theory. Mahler saw the primary need as coming to terms with the human environment, with success as being
the completion of the separation / individuation process, which based upon her ideas of the relationship between the
self and its objects.

Mahler stressed the importance of both the conscious and unconscious attitudes of parents towards children as the key
factor in their development.
1.  The normal autistic phase:
The neonate appears to be oblivious to all stimulation; the infant is operating as a closed system, removed from
external reality. The new born lacks the capacity to be aware of the world, or to relate to it. Limited experience of
maintenance or disruption of homeostasis.
2.  The Normal symbiotic Phase:
After 3 – 4 weeks the infant starts to respond to the environment. This brings with it the “dim awareness of the mother
as an external object”. Cathexis is now directed towards the periphery as well as inwards. From the infants perspective
there is no distinction between the self and the other object, the mother and baby form a symbiotic & omnipotent unit.

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The baby starts to organise experience. Initially this is categorised as good (pleasurable) or bad (painful). These are
related to the maintenance of homeostasis. ”Islands of good and bad begin to form in the as yet undifferentiated matrix
of Id and Ego.” Early precursors of the sense of self and others are laid down during this phase. Both the autistic and
symbiotic phase fall within Freud’s primary narcissism epoch.
Mahler describes Narcissism as the cathexis of a still merged image of self and object.  
3.  The Differentiation sub phase.
From 4 – 10 months the first phase of separation / individuation begins. (Mahler called this hatching!). Initially the
child explores the mother then further a field, scanning the world then back to mother. The child develops the capacity
to differentiate between outside and internal sensations, between external objects.
 4.  The Practising Sub phase
There are two parts to this phase: Early practising and the practising sub phase proper (From the time of walking
upright). The baby can now move some way from the mother, although mother is still home base! Inanimate objects
may become transitional objects (Winnicott 1965). There is an increasing differentiating from mother. The Child
perceives himself as omnipotent. The mother must be willing to relinquish ownership of the child’s body and respond
with the child at the child’s pace.
 5.  The Rapprochement sub phase.
The continued development and expansion of the child’s world has a price. Between 15 – 18 months the child comes
to a realisation that contrary to his earlier narcissistic view of himself he is in fact a very small person in a very big
world. There follows a loss of the idealised self, and an increase in separation anxiety. There is also a new realisation
is also that mother is a separate person. There is at 18 – 24 months a rapprochement crises, a difficult time, the manner
of resolution determines many features of later personality development. During this phase the child experiences a
need for help from outside, simultaneously he in the service of individuation and separation the child needs to deny
that it actually comes from another person. This ambivalence leads to intense neediness often rapidly alternating with
intense battles. The very intense fear of loss of mother’s love, and the re-engulfment in the symbiosis is central to the
splitting of good and bad objects in the transference process involved with a Borderline personality disorder.
Successful resolution of this splitting process is seen as central to healthy development. (In Freudian terms the child is
moving from oral to anal phase of development.)
 6.  The phase of Libidinal object constancy
This is an open ended phase, with the results variable throughout life. The two principle tasks are to find a stable sense
of the self and others. The child attains a sense of individuated self with a sense of the other as a positively cathected
presence. This permits adequate functioning in the absence of the other. (Psychological constancy similar to Piaget’s
object constancy).
 Separation = emergence from the symbiosis with mother.
 Individuation = achievements marking the child’s own characteristics
What is Attachment?
Attachment is a special emotional relationship that involves an exchange of comfort, care, and pleasure. The roots of
research on attachment began with Freud's theories about love, but another researcher is usually credited as the father
of attachment theory.
John Bowlby devoted extensive research to the concept of attachment, describing it as a "lasting psychological
connectedness between human beings" (Bowlby, 1969, p. 194). Bowlby shared the psychoanalytic view that early
experiences in childhood have an important influence on development and behavior later in life. Our early attachment
styles are established in childhood through the infant/caregiver relationship.
In addition to this, Bowlby believed that attachment had an evolutionary component; it aids in survival. "The
propensity to make strong emotional bonds to particular individuals is a basic component of human nature" (Bowlby,
1988, 3).
Characteristics of Attachment
Bowlby believed that there are four distinguishing characteristics of attachment:
1. Proximity Maintenance - The desire to be near the people we are attached to.

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2. Safe Haven - Returning to the attachment figure for comfort and safety in the face of a fear or threat.
3. Secure Base - The attachment figure acts as a base of security from which the child can explore the
surrounding environment.
4. Separation Distress - Anxiety that occurs in the absence of the attachment figure

Attachment theory; Bowlby 1951 wrote that mother love in infancy is as important for mental health as vitamins and
proteins are for physical health. Individuals with any kind of psychiatric disorder always show a disturbance in their
social relationships…. This has been caused by disturbed bonding in childhood. There is a general tendency in infancy
to seek attachments. The strength of attachment refers to the intensity of the behaviours, the security to confidence the
child has in the attachment figure being there when needed. (Nb. Famous experiments with monkeys by Harlow and
Zimmerman 1959, the warm cloth mother was more important than the wire but feeding mother)

During the 1970's, psychologist Mary Ainsworth further expanded upon Bowlby's groundbreaking work in her now-
famous "Strange Situation" study. The study involved observing children between the ages of 12 to 18 months
responding to a situation in which they were briefly left alone and then reunited with their mother (Ainsworth, 1978).

Based on these observations, Ainsworth concluded that there were three major styles of attachment: secure attachment,
ambivalent-insecure attachment, and avoidant-insecure attachment. Researchers Main and Solomon (1986) added a
fourth attachment style known as disorganized-insecure attachment. Numerous studies have supported Ainsworth's
conclusions and additional research has revealed that these early attachment styles can help predict behaviors later in
life.

There are 3 types of attachment in infants in the “strange situation” experiment designed by Ainsworth

 (15%) Anxious – avoidant. (Indifference to relationships, the mother is largely ignored)

 (70%) Securely attached.
 (15%) Anxious – resistant. (Ambivalent re relationships, the baby is wary and unsettled in mothers presence)
 Main et al. (1991) describe a 4 th attachment type… Chaotic: unorganised / traumatic unresolved grief is a
category used in the Adult attachment interview… This is where the parent is feared, as fear normally creates
and increases proximity seeking behaviour however when the parent is feared the child faces internal conflict
and becomes chaotic.

Characteristics of Secure Attachment

Children who are securely attached generally become visibly upset when their caregivers leave, and are happy when
their parents return. When frightened, these children will seek comfort from the parent or caregiver. Contact initiated
by a parent is readily accepted by securely attached children and they greet the return of a parent with positive
behavior. While these children can be comforted to some extent by other people in the absence of a parent or
caregiver, they clearly prefer parents to strangers.

Parents of securely attached children tend to play more with their children. Additionally, these parents react more
quickly to their children's needs and are generally more responsive to their children than the parents of insecurely
attached children. Studies have shown that securely attached children are more empathetic during later stages of
childhood. These children are also described as less disruptive, less aggressive, and more mature than children with
ambivalent or avoidant attachment styles.

As adults, those who are securely attached tend to have trusting, long-term relationships. Other key characteristics of
securely attached individuals include having high self-esteem, enjoying intimate relationships, seeking out social
support, and an ability to share feelings with other people.

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In one study, researchers found that women with a secure attachment style had more positive feelings about their adult
romantic relationships than other women with insecure attachment styles (Mccarthy G., 1999)

Characteristics of Ambivalent Attachment

Children who are ambivalently attached tend to be extremely suspicious of strangers. These children display
considerable distress when separated from a parent or caregiver, but do not seem reassured or comforted by the return
of the parent. In some cases, the child might passively reject the parent by refusing comfort, or may openly display
direct aggression toward the parent.

According to Cassidy and Berlin (1994), ambivalent attachment is relatively uncommon, with only 7% to 15% of
infants in the United States displaying this attachment style. In a review of ambivalent attachment literature, Cassidy
and Berlin also found that observational research consistently links ambivalent-insecure attachment to low maternal
availability. As these children grow older, teachers often describe them as clingy and over-dependent.

As adults, those with an ambivalent attachment style often feel reluctant about becoming close to others and worry that
their partner does not reciprocate their feelings. This leads to frequent breakups, often because the relationship feels
cold and distant. These individuals feel especially distraught after the end of a relationship. Cassidy and Berlin
described another pathological pattern where ambivalently attached adults cling to young children as a source of
security (1994).

Characteristics of Avoidant Attachment

Children with avoidant attachment styles tend to avoid parents and caregivers. This avoidance often becomes
especially pronounced after a period of absence. These children might not reject attention from a parent, but neither do
they seek our comfort or contact. Children with an avoidant attachment show no preference between a parent and a
complete stranger.

As adults, those with an avoidant attachment tend to have difficulty with intimacy and close relationships. These
individuals do not invest much emotion in relationships and experience little distress when a relationship ends. They
often avoid intimacy by using excuses (such as long work hours), or may fantasize about other people during sex.
Research has also shown that adults with an avoidant attachment style are more accepting and likely to engage in
casual sex (Feeney, J., Noller, and Patty 1993). Other common characteristics include a failure to support partners
during stressful times and an inability to share feelings, thoughts and emotions with partners.

Characteristics of Disorganized Attachment

Children with a disorganized-insecure attachment style show a lack of clear attachment behavior. Their actions and
responses to caregivers are often a mix of behaviors, including avoidance or resistance. These children are described as
displaying dazed behavior, sometimes seeming either confused or apprehensive in the presence of a caregiver.

Main and Solomon (1986) proposed that inconsistent behavior on the part of parents might be a contributing factor in
this style of attachment. In later research, Main and Hesse (1990) argued that parents who act as figures of both fear
and reassurance to a child contribute to a disorganized attachment style. Because the child feels both comforted and
frightened by the parent, confusion results.

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When I was one I was just begun...

When I was one I was just begun

When I was two I nearly new
When I was three I was nearly me
When I was four I was that much more
When I was five I was just alive
Now that I am six I'm as clever as clever
I think I'll stay six for ever and ever.
A.A.Milne

Pam Levin – the Cycles of Power _ taj article 1982 –

A classic TA article for which she won the Eric Berne memorial prize.

While it has little in common with the more recent research ideas on child development – it is a really nice metaphor
for child needs during development.

1) The power of being – it is ok for you to be here – 0-6 months

2) The power of doing – ok to explore the world – 6 – 18months
3) The power of thinking – ok to think for self and be different – 18 months to 3 yrs
4) The power of identity – ok to be you – the sex you are etc… 3 yrs – 6yrs.
5) The power of being skilful – ok to do your own thing your way – 6 yrs – 12 yrs
6) The power of regeneration – ok to become sexual and adult – 13 - 18
7) The power of re-cycling – reprocessing all the stages – 19 onwards.

Erik Erikson's theory of ego psychology holds certain tenets that differentiate his theory from Freud's. in relation to
TA it is important to remember that Erikson was for some time Eric Berne’s analyst.

 The ego is of utmost importance.

 Part of the ego is able to operate independently of the id and the superego.
 The ego is a powerful agent that can adapt to situations, thereby promoting
 mental health.
 Social and sexual factors both play a role in personality development.

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Erikson's theory was more comprehensive than Freud's, and included information about "normal" personality
as well as neurotics. He also broadened the scope of personality to incorporate society and culture, not just
sexuality

Erik Erikson Psychosocial Worksheet

Psychosocial Zones
Stages Psychosocial
Psychosexual Zones/Stages Psychosexual Modes Radius of Significant
Normal Growth Crises Modalities
Relations

Oral-Respiratory-Sensory- Passive Incorporative To get

Trust vs. Mistrust Maternal Person
Kinesthetic Active Incorporative to take

Autonomy vs. Shame- Retentive To hold (on)

Anal-Urethral-Muscular Parental Persons
Doubt Eliminative To let (go)

To "make"
Intrusive (going after)
Initiative vs. Guilt Infantile-Genital-Locomotor Basic Family
Inclusive To "make
like" (playing)

To make things
Neighborhood,
Industry vs. Inferiority Cerebral-Cortical/"Latency" To make things
School, Community
together

To be oneself (or
Peer Groups and
Identity vs. Role not to be)
Puberty Outgroups; Models of
Confusion/Diffusion To share being
Leadership
oneself

Partners in friendship,
sex, competition, To lose and find
Intimacy vs. Isolation Genitality cooperation oneself
(heterosexual, in another
homosexual)

To let be
Generativity vs. To make be
Divided labor and
Stagnation/Self- To take care of
shared household
Absorbtion)

To be through
having been
"Mankind" To face not
Integrity vs. Despair
"My Kind" being
(To be a has-
been)

The Developmental Stages of Erik Erikson

By Arlene F. Harder, MA, MFT
"It is human to have a long childhood; it is civilized to have an even longer childhood. Long childhood makes a
technical and mental virtuoso out of man, but it also leaves a life-long residue of emotional immaturity in him."
— Erik Homburger Erikson (1902-1994)

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Our personality traits come in opposites. We think of ourselves as optimistic or pessimistic, independent or dependent,
emotional or unemotional, adventurous or cautious, leader or follower, aggressive or passive. Many of these are inborn
temperament traits, but other characteristics, such as feeling either competent or inferior, appear to be learned, based
on the challenges and support we receive in growing up.
The man who did a great deal to explore this concept is Erik Erikson. Although he was influenced by Freud, he
believed that the ego exists from birth and that behavior is not totally defensive. Based in part on his study of Sioux
Indians on a reservation, Erikson became aware of the massive influence of culture on behavior and placed more
emphasis on the external world, such as depression and wars. He felt the course of development is determined by the
interaction of the body (genetic biological programming), mind (psychological), and cultural (ethos) influences.
He organized life into eight stages that extend from birth to death (many developmental theories only cover
childhood). Since adulthood covers a span of many years, Erikson divided the stages of adulthood into the experiences
of young adults, middle aged adults and older adults. While the actual ages may vary considerably from one stage to
another, the ages seem to be appropriate for the majority of people

Stage 1 - Basic Trust vs. Mistrust >> Drive and Hope

Birth – 18 months

 Developing trust is the first task of the ego, and it is never complete.
 The child will let mother out of sight without anxiety and rage because she has become an inner certainty as
well as an outer predictability.
 The balance of trust with mistrust depends largely on the quality of maternal relationship.

Stage 2 - Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt >>> Strength, courage and willpower

18 months – 3 years

 If denied autonomy, the child will turn against him/herself urges to manipulate and discriminate.
 Shame develops with the child's self-consciousness.
 Doubt has to do with having a front and back -- a "behind" subject to its own rules. Left over doubt may
become paranoia.
 The sense of autonomy fostered in the child and modified as life progresses serves the preservation in
economic and political life of a sense of justice.

Stage 3 - Initiative vs. Guilt >> Purpose

The play age = 3 – 5yrs

 Initiative adds to autonomy the quality of undertaking, planning, and attacking a task for the sake of being
active and on the move.
 The child feels guilt over the goals contemplated and the acts initiated in exuberant enjoyment of new
locomoter and mental powers.
 The castration complex occuring in this stage is due to the child's erotic fantasies.
 A residual conflict over initiative may be expressed as hysterical denial, which may cause the repression of
the wish or the abrogation of the child's ego: paralysis and inhibition, or overcompensation and showing off.
 The Oedipal stage results not only in oppressive establishment of a moral sense restricting the horizon of the
permissible, but also sets the direction towards the possible and the tangible which permits dreams of early
childhood to be attached to goals of an active adult life.

After Stage 3, one may use the whole repetoire of previous modalities, modes, and zones for industrious, identity-
maintaining, intimate, legacy-producing, dispair-countering purposes.

Stage 4 - Industry vs. Inferiority >> Method and Competence

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School - 6 – 12 years

 To bring a productive situation to completion is an aim which gradually supersedes the whims and wishes of
play.
 The fundamentals of technology are developed
 To lose the hope of such "industrious" association may pull the child back to the more isolated, less conscious
familial rivalry of the Oedipal time
 The child can become a conformist and thoughtless slave whom others exploit.

Stage 5 - Identity vs. Role Confusion (or "Diffusion") >> Devotion and Fidelity

12 – 18 years

 The adolescent is newly concerned with how they appear to others.

 Ego identity is the accrued confidence that the inner sameness and continuity prepared in the past are matched
by the sameness and continuity of one's meaning for others, as evidenced in the promise of a career.
 The inability to settle on a school or occupational identity is disturbing.

Stage 6 - Intimacy vs. Isolation >> Affiliation and Love

18 – 35 years

 Body and ego must be masters of organ modes and of the other nuclear conflicts in order to face the fear of
ego loss in situations which call for self-abandon.
 The avoidance of these experiences leads to isolation and self-absorption.
 The counterpart of intimacy is distantiation, which is the readiness to isolate and destroy forces and people
whose essence seems dangerous to one's own.
 Now true genitality can fully develop.
 The danger at this stage is isolation which can lead to sever character problems.

Erikson's listed criteria for "genital utopia" illustrate his insistence on the role of many modes and modalities in
harmony:

 mutuality of orgasm
 with a loved partner
 of opposite sex
 with whom one is willing and able to share a trust, and
 with whom one is willing and able to regulate the cycles of work, procreation, and recreation
 so as to secure to the offspring all the stages of satisfactory development

Stage 7 - Generativity vs. Stagnation >> Production and Care

Ages 35 - 65

 Generativity is the concern in establishing and guiding the next generation.

 Simply having or wanting children doesn't achieve generativity.
 Socially-valued work and disciples are also expressions of generativity.

Stage 8 - Ego Integrity vs. Despair >> Wisdom

65 - death

 Ego integrity is the ego's accumulated assurance of its capacity for order and meaning.

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 Despair is signified by a fear of one's own death, as well as the loss of self-sufficiency, and of loved partners
and friends.
 Healthy children, Erikson tells us, won't fear life if their elders have integrity enough not to fear death.

Freud

According to Sigmund Freud, personality is mostly established by the age of five. Early experiences play a large role
in personality development and continue to influence behavior later in life.

Freud's theory of psychosexual development is one of the best known, but also one of the most controversial. Freud
believed that personality develops through a series of childhood stages during which the pleasure-seeking energies of
the id become focused on certain erogenous areas. This psychosexual energy, or libido, was described as the driving
force behind behavior.

If these psychosexual stages are completed successfully, the result is a healthy personality. If certain issues are not
resolved at the appropriate stage, fixation can occur. A fixation is a persistent focus on an earlier psychosexual stage.
Until this conflict is resolved, the individual will remain "stuck" in this stage. For example, a person who is fixated at
the oral stage may be over-dependent on others and may seek oral stimulation through smoking, drinking, or eating.

Oral Stage: Age Range: Birth to 1 Year - Erogenous Zone: Mouth

During the oral stage, the infant's primary source of interaction occurs through the mouth, so the rooting and sucking
reflex is especially important. The mouth is vital for eating, and the infant derives pleasure from oral stimulation
through gratifying activities such as tasting and sucking. Because the infant is entirely dependent upon caretakers (who
are responsible for feeding the child), the infant also develops a sense of trust and comfort through this oral
stimulation.

The primary conflict at this stage is the weaning process--the child must become less dependent upon caretakers. If
fixation occurs at this stage, Freud believed the individual would have issues with dependency or aggression. Oral
fixation can result in problems with drinking, eating, smoking or nail biting.

Anal Stage - Age Range: 1 to 3 years

Erogenous Zone: Bowel and Bladder Control

During the anal stage, Freud believed that the primary focus of the libido was on controlling bladder and bowel
movements. The major conflict at this stage is toilet training--the child has to learn to control his or her bodily needs.
Developing this control leads to a sense of accomplishment and independence.

According to Freud, success at this stage is dependent upon the way in which parents approach toilet training. Parents
who utilize praise and rewards for using the toilet at the appropriate time encourage positive outcomes and help
children feel capable and productive. Freud believed that positive experiences during this stage served as the basis for
people to become competent, productive and creative adults.

However, not all parents provide the support and encouragement that children need during this stage. Some parents'
instead punish, ridicule or shame a child for accidents. According to Freud, inappropriate parental responses can result
in negative outcomes. If parents take an approach that is too lenient, Freud suggested that an  anal-expulsive
personality could develop in which the individual has a messy, wasteful or destructive personality. If parents are too
strict or begin toilet training too early, Freud believed that an anal-retentive personality develops in which the
individual is stringent, orderly, rigid and obsessive.

Phalic Stage - Age Range: 3 to 6 Years - Erogenous Zone: Genitals

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During the phallic stage, the primary focus of the libido is on the genitals. At this age, children also begin to discover
the differences between males and females.

Freud also believed that boys begin to view their fathers as a rival for the mother’s affections. The Oedipus
complex describes these feelings of wanting to possess the mother and the desire to replace the father. However, the
child also fears that he will be punished by the father for these feelings, a fear Freud termed castration anxiety.

The term Electra complex has been used to described a similar set of feelings experienced by young girls. Freud,
however, believed that girls instead experience penis envy.

Eventually, the child begins to identify with the same-sex parent as a means of vicariously possessing the other parent.
For girls, however, Freud believed that penis envy was never fully resolved and that all women remain somewhat
fixated on this stage. Psychologists such as Karen Horney disputed this theory, calling it both inaccurate and
demeaning to women. Instead, Horney proposed that men experience feelings of inferiority because they cannot give
birth to children.

Latent Period - Age Range: 6 to Puberty - Erogenous Zone: Sexual Feelings Are Inactive

During the latent period, the libido interests are suppressed. The development of the ego and superego contribute to
this period of calm. The stage begins around the time that children enter into school and become more concerned with
peer relationships, hobbies and other interests.

The latent period is a time of exploration in which the sexual energy is still present, but it is directed into other areas
such as intellectual pursuits and social interactions. This stage is important in the development of social and
communication skills and self-confidence.

Genital stage - Age Range: Puberty to Death- Erogenous Zone: Maturing Sexual Interests

During the final stage of psychosexual development, the individual develops a strong sexual interest in the opposite
sex. This stage begins during puberty but last throughout the rest of a person's life.

Where in earlier stages the focus was solely on individual needs, interest in the welfare of others grows during this
stage. If the other stages have been completed successfully, the individual should now be well-balanced, warm and
caring. The goal of this stage is to establish a balance between the various life areas.

Jean Piaget's Background

Jean Piaget was born in Switzerland in 1896. After receiving his doctoral degree at age 22, Piaget formally began a
career that would have a profound impact on both psychology and education. After working with Alfred Binet, Piaget
developed an interest in the intellectual development of children. Based upon his observations, he concluded that
children were not less intelligent than adults, they simply think differently. Albert Einstein called Piaget's discovery
"so simple only a genius could have thought of it."

Piaget's stage theory describes the cognitive development of children. Cognitive development involves changes in
cognitive process and abilities. In Piaget's view, early cognitive development involves processes based upon actions
and later progresses into changes in mental operations.

Key Concepts

Schemas - A schema describes both the mental and physical actions involved in understanding and knowing. Schemas
are categories of knowledge that help us to interpret and understand the world.

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In Piaget's view, a schema includes both a category of knowledge and the process of obtaining that knowledge. As
experiences happen, this new information is used to modify, add to, or change previously existing schemas.

For example, a child may have a schema about a type of animal, such as a dog. If the child's sole experience has been
with small dogs, a child might believe that all dogs are small, furry, and have four legs. Suppose then that the child
encounters a very large dog. The child will take in this new information, modifying the previously existing schema to
include this new information.

Assimilation - The process of taking in new information into our previously existing schema's is known as
assimilation. The process is somewhat subjective, because we tend to modify experience or information somewhat to
fit in with our pre-existing beliefs. In the example above, seeing a dog and labelling it "dog" is an example of
assimilating the animal into the child's dog schema.

Accommodation - Another part of adaptation involves changing or altering our existing schemas in light of new
information, a process known as accommodation. Accommodation involves altering existing schemas, or ideas, as a
result of new information or new experiences. New schemas may also be developed during this process.

Equilibration - Piaget believed that all children try to strike a balance between assimilation and accommodation,
which is achieved through a mechanism Piaget called equilibration. As children progress through the stages of
cognitive development, it is important to maintain a balance between applying previous knowledge (assimilation) and
changing behaviour to account for new knowledge (accommodation). Equilibration helps explain how children are
able to move from one stage of thought into the next.

Characteristics of the Sensorimotor Stage:

The first stage of Piaget’s theory lasts from birth to approximately age two and is centered on the infant trying to make
sense of the world. During the sensorimotor stage, an infant’s knowledge of the world is limited to their sensory
perceptions and motor activities. Behaviors are limited to simple motor responses caused by sensory stimuli. Children
utilize skills and abilities they were born with, such as looking, sucking, grasping, and listening, to learn more about
the environment.

Object Permanence:

According to Piaget, the development of object permanence is one of the most important accomplishments at the
sensorimotor stage of development. Object permanence is a child's understanding that objects continue to exist even
though they cannot be seen or heard.

Substages of the Sensorimotor Stage:

The sensorimotor stage can be divided into six separate substages that are characterized by the development of a new
skill.

Reflexes (0-1 month):

During this substage, the child understands the environment purely through inborn reflexes such as sucking and
looking.

Primary Circular Reactions (1-4 months):

This substage involves coordinating sensation and new schemas. For example, a child may such his or her thumb by
accident and then later intentionally repeat the action. These actions are repeated because the infant finds them
pleasurable.

Secondary Circular Reactions (4-8 months):

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During this substage, the child becomes more focused on the world and begins to intentionally repeat an action in
order to trigger a response in the environment. For example, a child will purposefully pick up a toy in order to put it in
his or her mouth.

Coordination of Reactions (8-12 months):

During this substage, the child starts to show clearly intentional actions. The child may also combine schemas in order
to achieve a desired effect. Children begin exploring the environment around them and will often imitate the observed
behavior of others. The understanding of objects also begins during this time and children begin to recognize certain
objects as having specific qualities. For example, a child might realize that a rattle will make a sound when shaken.

Characteristics of the Preoperational Stage:

The preoperational stage occurs between ages two and six. Language development is one of the hallmarks of this
period. Piaget noted that children in this stage do not yet understand concrete logic, cannot mentally manipulate
information, and are unable to take the point of view of other people, which he termed egocentrism.

During the preoperational stage, children also become increasingly adept at using symbols, as evidenced by the
increase in playing and pretending. For example, a child is able to use an object to represent something else, such as
pretending a broom is a horse. Role playing also becomes important during the preoperational stage. Children often
play the roles of "mommy," "daddy," "doctor" and many others.

Egocentrism:

Piaget used a number of creative and clever techniques to study the mental abilities of children. One of the famous
techniques egocentrism involved using a three-dimensional display of a mountain scene. Children are asked to choose
a picture that showed the scene they had observed. Most children are able to do this with little difficulty. Next,
children are asked to select a picture showing what someone else would have observed when looking at the mountain
from a different viewpoint.

Invariably, children almost always choose the scene showing their own view of the mountain scene. According to
Piaget, children experience this difficulty because they are unable to take on another person's perspective.

Conservation:

Another well-known experiment involves demonstrating a child's understanding ofconservation. In one conservation
experiment, equal amounts of liquid are poured into two identical containers. The liquid in one container is then
poured into a different shaped cup, such as a tall and thin cup, or a short and wide cup. Children are then asked which
cup holds the most liquid. Despite seeing that the liquid amounts were equal, children almost always choose the cup
that appears fuller.

Piaget conducted a number of similar experiments on conservation of number, length, mass, weight, volume, and
quantity. Piaget found that few children showed any understanding of conservation prior to the age of five.

Tertiary Circular Reactions (12-18 months):

Children begin a period of trial-and-error experimentation during the fifth substage. For example, a child may try out
different sounds or actions as a way of getting attention from a caregiver.

Early Representational Thought (18-24 months):

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Children begin to develop symbols to represent events or objects in the world in the final sensorimotor substage.
During this time, children begin to move towards understanding the world through mental operations rather than
purely through actions.

Characteristics of Concrete Operations:

The concrete operational stage begins around age seven and continues until approximately age eleven. During this
time, children gain a better understanding of mental operations. Children begin thinking logically about concrete
events, but have difficulty understanding abstract or hypothetical concepts.

Logic:

Piaget determined that children in the concrete operational stage were fairly good at the use of inductive logic.
Inductive logic involves going from a specific experience to a general principle. On the other hand, children at this age
have difficulty using deductive logic, which involves using a general principle to determine the outcome of a specific
event.

Reversibility:

One of the most important developments in this stage is an understanding of reversibility, or awareness that actions
can be reversed. An example of this is being able to reverse the order of relationships between mental categories. For
example, a child might be able to recognize that his or her dog is a Labrador, that a Labrador is a dog, and that a dog is
an animal.

Characteristics of the Formal Operational Stage:

The formal operational stage begins at approximately age twelve to and lasts into adulthood. During this time, people
develop the ability to think about abstract concepts. Skills such as logical thought, deductive reasoning, and systematic
planning also emerge during this stage.

Logic:

Piaget believed that deductive logic becomes important during the formal operational stage. Deductive logic requires
the ability to use a general principle to determine a specific outcome. This type of thinking involves hypothetical
situations and is often required in science and mathematics.

Abstract Thought:

While children tend to think very concretely and specifically in earlier stages, the ability to think about abstract
concepts emerges during the formal operational stage. Instead of relying solely on previous experiences, children
begin to consider possible outcomes and consequences of actions. This type of thinking is important in long-term
planning.

Problem-Solving:

In earlier stages, children used trial-and-error to solve problems. During the formal operational stage, the ability to
systematically solve a problem in a logical and methodical way emerges. Children at the formal operational stage of
cognitive development are often able to quickly plan an organized approach to solving a problem.

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