The Psychoanalytic Theory Of Human Development Research

Erikson’s (1968, 1980, 1982) psychosocial stages of development provide a framework for the different stages of development throughout the human lifespan. These stages of development begin at birth and continue until death, and separate the lifespan into eight stages based on chronological age. Within these eight different aging stages are corresponding psychosocial stages. Each of these psychosocial stages represent a conflict between two characteristics of development for that particular time period in a person’s life.

Counselling and psychotherapeutic theory is a way of understanding human development and experiences in relation to the environment. Each theory is based on a set of principles and concepts that have been derived from observable behaviour. However, each theory has identified limitations and no single theory is appropriate for all clients or all presenting issues.

The lifespan development theories analyze development from different perspectives including, behavioral perspective, psychoanalytical perspective, Piaget's-cognitive developmental theory, ethology and evolutionary developmental psychology, information processing, ecology systems theory, Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory and lifespan perspective theory (Newman & Newman, 2014). Each of these theories have been supported and proven by major theorist, and they help in providing the reasons behind some reactions and behaviors as observed in both the continuous and discontinuous processes of growth.

This essay will demonstrate my understanding of developments which occur at each stage of an individual's life cycle. I will relate these developments to two relevant psychological theories and discuss how an individual's needs must be met to enable them to develop.

Behaviour determined by irrational forces, unconscious motivations 0biological/instinctual drives, evolve through key psycho sexual stages in first 6 years of life

Life span developmental psychology takes a scientific approach to human growth and change, focusing on change during the life span. There are three main aspects to life span development: cognitive, social, and physical development. This class is not simply a discussion of nature vs. nurture, it explores the interaction between genetic and environmental factors that orient us towards specific behaviors. Initially, my views on life span development were limited to more sociological factors, and did not take into consideration physical developments of the brain. In relation to my personal and professional identity this course has made me realize that development occurs on a spectrum and that not everyone develops at the same time, in the same ways, making me more understanding and compassionate towards those who developed differently than me. The three most important lessons I have learned from this class are that development occurs throughout the entire life span, infants begin learning at a very young age, and that senescence begins as early as young adulthood.

Development psychology refers to the scientific study of the systematic psychological changes that normally occur to human beings throughout their growth period from birth to old age. It was originally concerned with children and infants, but it has since expanded to include the entire life span of mankind including adolescence and adulthood. Development psychology covers the extent to which human development occurs through gradual accumulation of knowledge, and the extent to which children born with inmate mental structures learn through experience. Several psychological theories and approaches like the behavioral, humanistic, psychoanalytic, biological, and cognitive approaches have been developed to explain the

The three theories I have chosen to discuss are all extremely relevant ideas; although I prefer Erik Erikson’s stage of psychosocial development. Erik Erikson’s theory covers a person’s entire lifespan showing the many different stages throughout one’s life. A person is always

The development of a child is viewed from a number of different perspectives by several developmental theorists. While some say that development continues throughout the life, others would hold an opinion that children stop to develop as soon as they mature. Therefore, lifespan developmental theorists have focused on a number of areas while studying the development of an individual. Some of these areas include cognitions, social development, sexual development, moral development and more. Each of these theories is important in order to completely analyze the process whereby which a child matures and transitions into an adult.

Developmental Psychology has widened my perspective and knowledge of the nature of development from humans’ infancy to adolescence and emerging adulthood. Although I have learned about biological, cognitive, and socioemotional processes and periods of development, I am especially interested in socioemotional development in infancy because it is the foundation for a child’s future development. That is to say, if children have a healthy socioemotional development from infancy, they will have a healthy life later on. By understanding the developmental process in infancy, I will be fully prepared when I have children or when my family’s members do.

According to Crawford and Walker(2010), the life course is defined in literature as, “The progression and path an individual takes from conception to death.” (Crawford and walker, 2012, p.3). The study of the life course and human development is extremely complex and could be described as interdisciplinary as it encompasses many fields of study. When examining the life course of individuals it is necessary to consider all of the various factors that affect human behaviour. These may include; psychological, biological, social, behavioural, cognitive or culture factors. Age can also be considered as a factor that influences lifespan development. In the early 19th century, the term “age related change” was regarded as only applicable to the early childhood stage but in recent years, psychologists have come to accept that age related changes occur throughout the entire life span. According to Boyd and Bee (2014), other earlier theories included Charles Darwin’s suggestion that, “the wide variety of life forms that exist on earth evolved gradually as a result of the interplay between environmental factors and genetic process.” (Boyd and Bee, 2014, p.3) Therefore Darwin proposed that it was either solely, “nature” or “nurture” that influenced the human development, but instead, a combination of both. In this assignment, I am going to focus on the specific psychological factors that influence human behaviour during the life course. I will compare two different psychological

The life span perspective in Paul Baltes ' view is the "study of constancy and change in behaviour throughout the life course from conception to death.” (Baltes, 1987, p.611). Being a development psychologist, Baltes constructed seven frameworks that shows that development is multi directional, which means different processes of change all through the lifespan. Secondly, development is multiply influenced by a person 's development, an effect brought about from both biological and environmental factors. Thirdly, understanding development requires multiple disciplines, development that analyse in all directions so that it can be understood through many perspectives

The basic concept in psychoanalytic therapy is the concept of the human nature. The Freudian view human nature as ‘deterministic’ – meaning that it is determined at birth and that behaviour is unconsciously driven by the psychosexual stages that one goes through during their first

Developmental psychology is the point of view that occurs in learners over the course of a period of time. The developmental perspective includes theories that are continuous and discontinuous. Discontinuous theories are stage-like. The processes of learning and development involve distinct stages, which are characterized by qualitative differences in behavior. Theorists who use discontinuous theories use a specific beginning and end period for each stage. Continuous theories explain that learning and development generally happen in incremental processes. Learning involves changes throughout the lifespan. “Contemporary views on the nature of cognitive development have been vastly influenced by the work of one man. This was Jean Piaget (1896-1980), once a biologist, who turned his

“Early life experiences impact the person across their lifespan” is conveyed in the Jane Piaget theory ‘Stages of cognitive development’ (1936) and Erik Erikson theory ‘Psychosocial stages’ (1950). Piaget argued that children develop knowledge by constructing their experience and observe with their own ideas about how the thing works.(Burton, L.J., Westen, d. & Kowalski, R.M. 2015) He developed 4 stages of his theory: Sensorimotor Stage, Preoperational Stage, Concrete Operational Stage and Formal Operational Stage. At the same time, Erik Erikson proposed a psychoanalytic theory of psychosocial development comprising eight stages from infancy to adulthood. At every stage, a person will encounter a psychological crisis, the development of