Piaget's Theory Of Psyychosexual Development

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Jean Piaget is largely regarded as one of the fathers of developmental psychology. His theories have shaped experimentation and statistical analyses in psychology for years. Even Piaget’s theories which are relatively sound and a good base for further theories, have fallen victim to problems with experimentation practise. Piaget used his own children as examples, thus yielding a very small sample size which allowed for individual differences to occur in the results. It is thus difficult to apply his observations to a wider population. Piaget believed that all children will automatically move to the next stage of development as they mature. Other data disputes this, arguing that environmental factors may play a role in the development

His theory stated that there were different stages to sexual developments. The Oral Stage occurs from birth to one year old. Freud stated that an infant 's primary interaction with the world is through the mouth. The infant gets pleasure from oral stimulation through activities such as tasting and sucking. Freud believed that if this oral stimulation need was not met, the child could develop an oral fixation later in life for example thumb-sucking and fingernail biting .The Anal Stage (1 to 3 years of age) is a stage in which Freud believed that the primary focus of the libido was on controlling bladder and bowel movements. Too much pressure from toilet-training the infant could result in a need for order later on in life, while too little pressure from parents can lead to messy or destructive behaviour down the road for the infant. The Phallic Stage (between 3 to 6 years of age) was the stage in which Freud suggested that the primary focus of the id 's energy is on the genitals. Freud believed that boy 's experience an ‘Oedipal Complex’ and that girl 's experience an ‘Electra Complex,’ meaning an attraction to the opposite sex parent. To manage this internal conflict, children adopt the values and characteristics of the same-sex parent, thus forming the superego. The Latent Stage (the stage occurs between the ages of 6 to 11 years) and Freud believed that the superego continues to develop while the id 's energies are suppressed. Children develop social skills, values and relationships with peers. The Genital Stage (11 to 18 years) includes the onset of puberty which causes the libido to once again become active. A keen interest in the opposite sex is developed. If development has been successful to the Genital Stage, the individual will continue to develop into a well-balanced person. This Freudian theory was criticised because it is focused almost entirely on male