Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory

Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory (Personality)

Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, a cornerstone of modern psychology, suggests that unconscious desires and internal conflicts—especially those shaped by early childhood and psychosexual development—drive human behavior.

Psychosexual Development

• Oral Stage (0–1 yrs) – Infant
Example: A baby finds comfort in sucking a pacifier or thumb.
• Anal Stage (1–3 yrs) – Toddler
Example: A toddler learns to control bowel movements, which builds self-control.
• Phallic Stage (3–6 yrs) – Preschoolers
Example: A child begins to notice gender differences and may imitate the same-sex parent.
• Latency Stage (6 – puberty) – School age
Example: Children focus on school, friendships, and hobbies, not sexual feelings.
• Genital Stage (puberty onwards) – Adolescence
Example: Teenagers start forming romantic relationships and mature sexual interests.

Personality Components

• ID – Pleasure principle (infancy)
Example: A baby cries until fed, wanting immediate satisfaction.
• EGO – Reality principle (preschooler)
Example: A child learns to wait for their turn to play.
• SUPEREGO – Morality principle (end of preschool)
Example: A child feels guilty after lying to a parent.

3 Levels of Mind

• Conscious – What we are aware of
Example: Knowing you’re hungry and choosing to eat.
• Unconscious – Thoughts, beliefs, feelings deep within
Example: Hidden anger influencing how you treat others without realizing it.
• Subconscious (Pre-Conscious) – Hidden unless searched
Example: Remembering an old friend’s name after thinking hard.

Piaget’s Cognitive Development Theory

3 Basic Cognitive Concepts

1. Schema – Building blocks of knowledge
Example: A child knows that dogs bark and have four legs.
2. Adaptation Processes:
   • Assimilation – Using existing schema
   Example: A child sees a zebra and calls it a horse.
   • Accommodation – Changing schema when it doesn’t work
   Example: The child learns zebras are different and creates a new category.
   • Equilibration – Balancing new info with existing schema
   Example: The child adjusts understanding to fit both horses and zebras properly.
3. Stages of Cognitive Development

Stage 1: Sensorimotor (0–2 yrs)

• Object Permanence – Knowing objects exist even when out of sight
Example: A baby searches for a toy hidden under a blanket.

Stage 2: Preoperational (2–7 yrs)

• Symbolic Function – Representing objects/events mentally
Example: A child uses a stick as a pretend sword.
• Egocentrism – Seeing only own point of view
Example: A child thinks everyone sees the same thing they do.
• Centration – Focus on one aspect only
Example: Choosing a taller glass even if it has less water.
• Irreversibility – Inability to reverse thinking
Example: A child doesn’t understand that pouring juice back returns it to the same amount.
• Animism – Giving human traits to objects
Example: A child thinks the sun is sad when it rains.
• Transductive Reasoning – A causes B means B causes A
Example: A child thinks they caused a sibling’s illness by being bad.

Stage 3: Concrete Operational (7–11 yrs)

• Decentering – Considering multiple aspects
Example: A child understands that a short, wide glass can hold the same as a tall, thin one.
• Reversibility – Understanding reverse operations
Example: A child knows water poured into another glass can be poured back.
• Conservation – Understanding that properties remain the same
Example: Realizing clay rolled into a ball is still the same amount of clay.
• Seriation – Arranging objects in order
Example: Ordering sticks from shortest to tallest.

Stage 4: Formal Operational (12+ yrs)

• Hypothetical Reasoning – Thinking in terms of “what if”
Example: "What if gravity stopped?" type questions.
• Analogical Reasoning – Using known ideas to solve new problems
Example: Using a puzzle-solving strategy for a new kind of game.
• Deductive Reasoning – Applying general rules to specific cases
Example: Knowing all birds have wings, so if something is a bird, it must have wings.