Читать книгу Child Development From Infancy to Adolescence - Laura E. Levine - Страница 99

We begin our discussion of theories with psychoanalytic theory (psyche = the mind; analysis = looking at the parts of something to see how they relate) because it was the first theory to describe stages of development through childhood. In this theory, developed by Sigmund Freud (1856–1939), biological urges move each person through a series of stages that shape the personality. Although psychoanalytic theory has been controversial throughout its existence, many of its concepts have influenced current ideas about how the mind works.

Psychoanalytic theory: Freud’s theory in which the way we deal with biological urges moves us through a series of stages that shape our personality.

Sigmund Freud. Sigmund Freud developed the theory of psychoanalysis in the early 1900s. Many of his ideas continue to influence the way we think about the impact of early experience on later development.

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Freud theorized that personality is made up of three parts: the id, the ego, and the superego. According to Freud, we are all born with an id, which consists of our basic drives. The id seeks immediate gratification for all its urges. Infants want what they want, when they want it. As children grow older, they begin to become aware of the reality of the world around them and begin to develop the ability to think and control their emotions. This ability to negotiate between the demands of basic drives and the real world is the job of the ego. As the ego develops, children are still motivated by their basic drives, but they are now able to interact in the real world to get their needs met. Finally, sometime between the ages of 5 and 7, children begin to incorporate moral principles that work against the drive-motivated functioning of the id. These moral principles are maintained by the superego. Freud believed that children do not have any conscience, or internal sense of guilt that guides their actions until they develop a superego. Figure 2.1 illustrates how these three parts of the personality operate within an individual.

Id: According to psychoanalytic theory, the part of the personality that consists of the basic drives, such as sex and hunger.

Ego: The part of the personality that contends with the reality of the world and controls the basic drives.

Superego: Freud’s concept of the conscience, or sense of right and wrong.

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Figure 2.1 Id, ego, and superego.