5 perspectives of human development

Psychoanalytic theory- Freud

Behavior is controlled by powerful unconscious urges

Oral stage (birth to 12-18 months)

Baby’s source of pleasure involves the mouth (sucking and feeding)

Anal stage (12-18 months to 3 years)

Toilet training

Phallic stage (3 to 6 years)

Zone of gratification shifts to genitals

Latency stage (6 years to puberty)

Child represses sexual interests and develops social and intellectual skills

Genital stage (puberty onward)

A time of sexual reawakening; source of sexual pleasure becomes someone outside the family

Psychoanalytic theory- Erikson

Personality is influenced by society and develops through crises. Emphasis on family and culture- not sexual

Learning perspective

Views human development as changes in behavior resulting from experience and adaptation to the environment. Modifications to behavior with punishment and reward

Cognitive theory- Piaget

intellectual advancement occurs throughout life because humans seek cognitive equilibrium (mentally balanced)

Contextual theory- Bronfenbrenner

based on the idea that the relationships children have with parents and caregivers impacts their development

Evolutionary perspective

Human beings are the product of adaptive processes. Founded on Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, including the process of “survival of the fittest” and natural selection