Freud’s Psychosexual Stages and Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages

This article explores Freud’s Psychosexual Stages and Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages and their impact on child development. It discusses the different stages and their effects on trust, autonomy, initiative, industry, and cognitive development. The article also provides an overview of other theories of child development.

Freud’s Psychosexual Stages and Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages
Ages Freud’s Psychosexual Stages Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages
0-1 year Oral: Child derives pleasure from thumb sucking, nail
biting, excess eating or smoking, if they are devoid of
feeding from breast or bottle.
Trust vs. Mistrust: Depending
upon the love or care the child
receives, they develop a trust or
mistrust over their caregiver.
1-3 years Anal: Toddlers learn to control bladder / bowel
movement. Parents play a big role in toilet training the
child, or else it might develop into a problem in the
later stages.
Autonomy versus shame and
doubt: Children exercise
autonomy over their over their
eating and toilet habits with the
help of their motor and mental
skills.
3 - 6
Years
Phallic: Children become aware of genital stimulation,
and develop a sexual urge towards the opposite sex
parent. They start relating with same sex parent. Boys
identify with the Oedipus complex while girls with
Electra complex.
Initiative versus guilt: Children
starts controlling their setting.
Being encouraged by their
parents, they develop a sense of
purpose, or else they foster a
guilt feeling.
6 - 11
Years
Latency: The child’s libido decreases, as they become
more involved in the social interaction with adults or
peers.
Industry versus inferiority:
Children learn new skills as they
interact socially. However, any
negative experiences, both at
home or school leads to
inferiority complex.
(Berk, 2019, pp.16)
Psychoanalytic perspective - Psychosexual and psychosocial growth occurs in stages and
are universal. Distinctive instincts are directed through child-rearing. (Berk, 2019, pp.32)
Behaviorism and social learning theory - Growth is enhanced through increased learning,
however, the conduct strengthened and exhibited differs from one child to another. The
growth takes place through training and modelling. (Berk, 2019, pp.32)

Piaget’s theory suggests that mental growth occurs in stages but continues to grow along
with the brain and as the child interacts in the real world in a motivating surrounding. (Berk,
2019, pp.32)
Information processing – Children enhances their insight, attention, memory, and problem-
solving abilities. They become energetic, thinking individuals and alter their thoughts as their
brain evolves and face new situational burdens. (Berk, 2019, pp.32)
Ethology and evolutionary developmental psychology – Children slowly develops
numerous adaptive behaviors, as they witness new complex stages. Development and
genetics impacts conduct, and knowledge provides increased greater flexibility and
adaptability. (Berk, 2019, pp.32)
Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory – Learning language and going to schooling takes place in
stages. Interacting with specialists in a society results in continuous changes varying between
cultures. Genetics, brain development and interaction with specialists in a society lead to
growth. (Berk, 2019, pp.32)
Ecological systems theory – The traits of children along with the influence of their setting
lead to the alteration in the development process in numerous ways.
Dynamic systems perspective – The brain, body and environment create a unified structure
leading to mastering new skills. (Berk, 2019, pp.32)
Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development
Stages Ages Explanation
Sensorimotor 0–2 years Children learn new things
with the help of motor
activity.
Preoperational 2–7 years Acquiring language and
imagination with the help of
symbols.
Concrete operational 7–11 years Reasoning improves, though
they are yet to reach the
level of adult intelligence.
Formal operational 11 years onwards Able to relate thoughts to
abstract, create hypothesis

and assume relationship
between different concepts.
(Berk, 2019, pp.20)

Reference –
Berk, L. (2019). Child Development. 9th ed. London: Pearson Education, Inc.