MODULE 2

LESSON 4
Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory

Introduction

Module 2 comprises Lessons 4, 5, 6 which are mainly theories of development. These are
Psychoanalytic or Psychosexual Theory, Cognitive Theory, and Psychosocial Theory. These
have become the basis or reference in understanding the behaviour of individuals.

Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory speaks about how personality is developed among

individuals. Freud theorized that the personality is formed through conflicts among the
three fundamental structure of the mind: the id, ego and superego. As a psychologist and a
neurologist, Freud became famous for inventing and developing the technique of
psychoanalysis, a clinical method of treating psychopathology.
In this lesson, Freud presents a very interesting theory about personality, its
components and development. Read on and hopefully it will also somehow lead you to
understand more of your own personality.

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
 Explain Freud’s view about child and adolescent development; and
 Draw implications of Freud’s theory to education.

Activity
Did you ever experience an instance where you were made to make a difficult decision?
Briefly narrate the situation and indicate what the decision was about, the factors that were
involved in making the decision.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________.

Analysis
1. What factors influenced you in making your decision?
2. Which of the following did you consider most in making your decision: what will make
you feel satisfied, what is most beneficial and practical, or what you believed was the right
thing to do?

Abstraction
Now let’s find out what is Freud’s point of view on personality development.

Stages of Psychosexual Development by Freud

Freud’s theory views personality development according to stages experienced in the

growing years of infancy and adolescence. His theory includes five distinct stages which
give prominence to sexual feelings or emotions. According to Freud, a person goes through
the sequence of these five stages and along the way there are needs to be met. Whether
these needs are met or not, determines whether the person will develop a healthy
personality or not. The theory is quite interesting for many because Freud identified
specific “pleasure areas” or the so called erogenous zone that become focal points for the
particular stage. The pleasure areas or erogenous zone are the part of the body that can
provide satisfaction to the individual. If needs are not met along the area, a fixation or
attachment occurs.

Oral Stage (birth to 18 months)

In this stage, the erogenous zone is the mouth. During the oral stage, the baby is
focused on oral pleasures or it is the mouth that gives him the satisfaction like sucking of
fingers, toes or nipples. Too much or too little satisfaction can lead to an Oral Fixation or
Oral Personality which is shown in an increased focus on oral activities. This type of
personality may be oral receptive, that is, have a stronger tendency to smoke, drink
alcohol, overeat, or oral aggressive, that is, with a tendency to bite his or her nails, or use
curse words or even gossip. As a result, as these persons grow, they may become too
dependent on others, easily fooled, and lack leadership traits. On the other hand, they may
also fight these tendencies and become pessimistic and aggressive in relating with people.
Anal Stage (18 months to 3 years)
The child’s focus of pleasure in this stage is the anus. The child finds satisfaction in
eliminating and retaining feces or solid waste from the body. At this time, parents put
emphasis on toilet training of the child. Let us remember that between one year and a half
to three years the child’s favourite word might be “No!” Therefore, a struggle might exist in
the toilet training process when the child retains feces when asked to eliminate, or may
choose to defecate or discharge when asked to hold feces for some reason. In terms of
personality, fixation during this stage can result in being anal retentive, where the person
becomes obsessed with cleanliness, perfection, and control; or anal expulsive where the
person may become messy and disorganized.

Phallic Stage (ages 3 to 6)

The pleasure or erogenous zone is the genitals. During the preschool age, children
become interested in what makes boys and girls different. Pre-schoolers will sometimes be
seen fondling their genitals. Freud’s studies led him to believe that during this stage boys
develop unconscious sexual desire for their mother. Boys then see their father as a rival for
her mother’s affection. Boys may fear that their father will punish them for these feelings,
thus, the castration anxiety. These feelings comprise what Freud called Oedipus Complex.
This complex is based on Greek Mythology where Oedipus unintentionally killed his father
and married his mother Jocasta.
On the other hand, psychoanalysts also believed that girls may also have a similar
experience, developing unconscious sexual attraction towards their father. This is what is
referred to as the Electra Complex.

Latency Stage (age 6 to puberty)

It’s during this stage that sexual urges remain repressed. The children’s focus is the
acquisition of physical and academic skills. Boys usually relate more with boys and girls
with girls during this stage.

Genital Stage (puberty onwards)

The fifth stage of psychosexual development begins at the start of puberty when sexual
urges are once again awakened. In the earlier stages, adolescents focus their sexual urges
towards the opposite sex peers, with the pleasure centered on the genitals.

Components of Personality by Freud

Freud described the personality structures as having three components, the id, the ego,
and the superego. For each person, the first to emerge is the id, followed by the ego, and
last to develop is the superego.
While reading about the three components, use the graphic organizer below to put
your notes and questions about them.
 superego

id
ego

The id. A child is born with the id. The id plays a vital role in one’s personality because
as a baby, it works so that the baby’s essential needs are met. The id operates on the
pleasure principle. It focuses on immediate satisfaction of its consideration for the
reality, logicality or practicality of the situation. For example, a baby is hungry, it’s id wants
food or milk… so the baby will cry. When the child needs to be changed, id cries. When the
child is uncomfortable, in pain, too hot, too cold, or just wants attention, the id speaks up
until his or her needs are met.
Nothing else matters to the id except the satisfaction of its own needs. It is not
oriented towards considering reality nor the needs of others. Just see how babies cry any
time of day and night! They have no regard of whether mommy is tired or daddy is
sleeping. When the id wants something, it wants it now and it wants it fast!

The ego. As the baby turns into a toddler and then into a pre-schooler, the ego slowly
begins to emerge. The ego operates using the reality principle. It is aware that others also
have needs to be met. It is practical because it knows that being impulsive or selfish can
result to negative consequences later, so it reasons and considers the best response to
situations. As such, it is the deciding agent of the personality. Although it functions to help
the id meet its needs, it always takes into account the reality of the situation. For example,
although you are already hungry, you need to wait because the program has not started yet.

The superego. Near the end of the preschool years, or the end of the phallic stage, the
superego develops. The superego embodies a person’s moral aspect or the moralizer. It
tells you what is right and what is wrong. It is likened to conscience because it exerts
influence on what one considers right and wrong. This develops from what the parents,
teachers and other persons impart in order to be good or moral. For example, you rather
choose to stay at home than going out with friends because it is a necessity at this time of
pandemic.

Personality Adjustment

Freud said that a well-adjusted person is one who has strong ego, who can help satisfy
the needs of the id without going against the superego while maintaining the person’s
sense of what is logical, practical and real. Of course, it is not easy for the ego to do all that
and strive a balance. If the id exerts too much power over the ego, the person becomes
too impulsive and pleasure-seeking behaviour takes over one’s life. On the opposite
direction, one may find the superego so strong that the ego is overpowered. The person
becomes so harsh and judgmental to himself and other’s actions. The person’s best effort
to be good may still fall short of the superego’s expectations.
The ability of a learner to be well-adjusted is largely influenced by how the learner was
brought up. His experiences about how his parents met his needs, the extent to which he
was allowed to do the things he wanted to do, and also how he was taught about right and
wrong, all figures to the type of personality and consequent adjustment that a person will
make. Freud believed that the personality of an individual is formed early during the
childhood years.

Topographical Model of the Mind

This model illustrates the status of the mind in terms of the level of our understanding of
oneself and the world within us. Freud considered the concept of the human mind as
indicator of personality.

The unconscious. Freud said that most of what we go through in our lives,
emotions, beliefs, feelings, and impulses deep within are not available to us at a conscious
level. He believed that most of what influence us is our unconscious. The Oedipus and
Electra Complex mentioned earlier were both buried down into the unconscious, out of our
awareness due to the extreme anxiety they caused. While these complexes are in our
unconscious, they still influence our thinking, feeling and doing in perhaps dramatic ways.
The conscious. Freud also said that all that we are aware of is stored in our
conscious mind. Our conscious mind only comprises a very small part of who we are so
that, in our everyday life, we are only aware of a very small part of what makes up our
personality; most of what we are is hidden and out of reach.
The subconscious. The last part is the preconscious or subconscious. This is the
part of us that we can reach if prompted, but is not in our active conscious. Its right below
the surface, but still “hidden” somewhat unless we search for it. Information such as our
telephone number, some childhood memories, or the name of your best childhood friend is
stored in the preconscious.
Because the unconscious is so huge, and because we are only aware of the very small
conscious at any given time, Freud used the analogy of the iceberg to illustrate it. A big part
of the iceberg is hidden beneath the water’s surface.
 The water, may represent all that we are not aware of, have not experienced, and
that has not been made part of our personalities, referred to as the nonconscious.

Freud’s Conception of the Human Psyche

(The Iceberg Metaphor)

Comprehension check: (Just answer it yourself to check if you really understand Freud’s
concepts).
1. Talking bad things about people is a personality which belongs to what psychosexual
stage?
2. If you immediately confront someone about something without knowing the real
scenario, which component of the personality is activated?
3. Do you agree that our conscious mind is only aware of a very small part of our
personality?

Application
1. Now that you know Freud’s theory, briefly narrate your personal experience where you
think your Id, Ego, and Superego were activated or functioning. Describe how did each
function based on your experience. Write in 1 paragraph.

WRITE YOUR ANSWER

Evaluation
Test I. Direction: Draw a table of 2 columns. Label Column 1 with the Stages of
Psychosexual Development and Column 2 with the corresponding, distinct
description of behaviour in each stage. (10 pts.)
Test II. Discuss
1. Freud emphasizes the development of personality in his theory. How does the
development of personality develop according to Freud? (10 pts.)
2. As teachers, what is the importance of this theory (Freud’s Stages of Psychosexual
Development) to teaching? How can this theory be applied in teaching children and
adolescent? (10 pts.)

WRITE YOUR ANSWER

LESSON 5
Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development

Introduction

One aspect of development with which schools are most concerned with is cognitive
development. This development refers to the activities that involve thinking, perceiving,
and problem solving. It is the development of knowledge or general understanding.
Jean Piaget is one of the cognitive theorist whose Cognitive Theory of Development has
been applied widely to teaching and curriculum design especially in preschool and
elementary curricula.
In this lesson, you will see how the mind works according to stages. You will come to
understand the cognitive development of children and also identify ways of applying this
understanding in the teaching of learners.

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
 Describe Piaget’s stages ;
 Match learning activities to the learner’s cognitive stage; and
 Draw learning principles based on Piaget’s Theory.

Activity
Read the situations below. Can you relate the situations with your personal experience
when you were young? Read and see yourself with these children.
 1. It was Via’s birthday. Her aunt wanted to give her money. She showed 100 peso bill
and two 50 peso bills for Via to choose. Via chose the two 50 peso bills instead of the
one 100 peso bill.
2. Cousins, Josh, 10; Carl, 8; and Miel, 4 were sorting out their stuffed animals. They
had 7 bears, 3 dogs, 2 cows and 1 dolphin. Aunt Dianne, a psychology teacher, enters
and says, “Good thing you’re sorting those. Do you have more stuffed animals or
more bears?” Josh and Carl say, “Stuffed animals.” Miel says, “Bears.”
3. While standing on her wooden crib, seven-month old Tanya accidentally threw her
toy on the floor. Her dad picked it up. Tanya threw the toy again and again that
made her father frown. Tanya appeared to enjoy throwing the toy the whole time.

Analysis
1. On situation 1: Why do you think Via prefers the 50-peso bills?
2. On situation 2: Why do you think Miel answered “Bears?”
3. On situation 3: Why do you think Tanya appeared to enjoy throwing her toy?

Abstraction
Now, let’s explore on how our mind thinks.
Although intellectual growth is continuous, Piaget found that mental abilities tend to
appear at certain stages of development. Piaget and his colleagues found that although
mental abilities appear around a certain age level, some children will show the ability
earlier and some later than others. The actual age at which an ability appear may vary from
child to child but the order in which mental abilities appear does not vary since mental
development is always an extension of what has already preceded. Thus, although children
of the same age have different mental abilities available to them, the order with which the
abilities emerge is constant.
In the activity presented above, the children in the situation were of different ages, so
they should have apparent differences in the way they thought. They were in different
stages of cognitive development.
Basic Cognitive Concepts
The following are terms related to how concepts or ideas are formed or processed in our
mind.
Schema. Piaget used the term “schema” to refer to the cognitive structures by which
individuals intellectually adapt to and organize their environment. It is an individual’s way
to understand or create meaning about a thing or experience. It is like the mind has a
filing cabinet and each drawer has folders that contain files of things he has had an
experience with. For instance, if a child’s sees a dog for the first time, he creates his own
schema of what a dog is. It has four legs and a tail. It barks. It’s furry. The child then “puts
this description of a dog “on file” in his mind. When he sees another similar dog, he “pulls”
out the file (his schema of a dog) in his mind, looks at the animal, and says, “four legs, tail,
and barks, furry…. That’s a dog!”
Assimilation. This is the process of fitting a new experience into an existing or
previously created cognitive structure or schema. If the child sees another dog, this time
a little smaller one, he would make sense of what he is seeing by adding this new
information (a different looking dog) into his schema of a dog.
Accommodation. This is the process of creating a new schema. If the same child now
sees another animal that looks a little bit like a dog, but somehow different, he might try to
fit it into his schema of a dog, and say, “Look mommy, what a funny looking dog. Its bark is
funny too!” Then the mommy explains, “That’s not a funny looking dog. That’s a goat!” With
mommy’s further description, the child will now create a new schema, that of a goat. He
now adds a new file in his filing cabinet.
Equilibration. Piaget believed that people have the natural need to understand how the
world works and to find order, structure, and predictability in their life. Equilibration is
achieving proper balance between assimilation and accommodation. When our
experiences do not match our schemata (plural of schema) or cognitive structures, we
experience cognitive disequilibrium. This means there is a discrepancy between what is
perceived and what is understood. We then exert effort through assimilation and
accommodation to establish equilibrium once more.
Cognitive development involves a continuous effort to adapt to the environment in terms
of assimilation and accommodation.
Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development
Piaget categorizes the child’s thought processes into four main stages.
Stage 1. Sensori-motor Stage. The first stage corresponds from birth to infancy. This is
the stage when a child who is initially reflexive in grasping, sucking and reaching becomes
more organized in his movement and activity. He has no awareness of objects, hence no
concepts of objects. The term sensori-motor focuses on the prominence of the sense and
muscle movement through which the infant comes to learn about himself and the world.
In working with children in the sensori-motor stage, teachers should aim to provide a rich
and stimulating environment with appropriate object to play with.
This stage is highlighted by a behaviour known as object permanence.
Object permanence is the ability of the child to know that an object still exists even
when out of sight. This conforms to the principle, “out of sight, out of mind”. So when an
object like a ball rolls and vanishes, the child’s attention is not anymore on the ball for he/
she thought it is still there.
Stage 2. Pre-Operational Stage. The preoperational stage covers from about 2 to 7 years
old, roughly corresponding to the preschool years. Intelligence at this stage is intuitive in
nature. At this stage, the child can now make mental representations and is able to pretend,
the child is now ever closer to the use of symbols.
This stage is highlighted by the following:
a. Symbolic Function. This is the ability to represent objects and event. A symbol is a thing
that represents something else. A drawing, a written word, or a spoken word comes to be
understood as representing a real object like a real MRT train. Symbolic function gradually
develops in the period between 2 to 7 years. Krista, a two-year old may pretend that she is
drinking from a glass which is really empty. Though she already pretends the presence of
water, the glass remains to be a glass. At around four years of age, Jason, may after
pretending to drink from an empty glass, turns the glass into a rocket ship or a telephone.
By the age of 6 or 7 the child can pretend play with objects that exist only in his mind.
Lourd, who is six, can do a whole ninja turtle routine without any costume nor “props”. Zea,
who is 7 can pretend to host an elaborate princess ball only in her mind.
b. Egocentrism. This is the tendency of the child to only see his point of view and to
assume that everyone also has his same point of view. The child cannot understand the
perspective of others. You see this in five year-old boy who buys a toy truck for his
mother’s birthday. Or a three year old girl who cannot understand why her cousins call her
daddy “uncle” and not daddy. Furthermore, the child here seems selfish in the eyes of most
people since he/she does not allow anybody use his/her things.
c. Centration. This refers to the tendency of the child to only focus on one aspect of a thing
or event and exclude other aspects. For example, when a child is presented with two
identical glasses with the same amount of water, the child will say they have the same
amount of water. However, once water from one of the glasses is transferred to an
obviously taller but narrower glass, the child might say that there is more water in the
taller glass. The child only focused or “centered” only one aspect of the new glass, that it is a
taller glass. The child was not able to perceive that the new glass is also narrower. The child
only centered on the height of the glass and excluded the width in determining the amount
of water in the glass.
d. Irreversibility. Pre-operational children still have the inability to reverse their thinking.
They can understand that 2 + 3 is 5, but cannot understand that 5-3 is 2.
e. Animism. This is the tendency of children to attribute human like traits or
characteristics to inanimate objects. When at night, the child is asked, where the sun is, she
will reply, “Mr. Sun is asleep.”
f. Transductive reasoning. This refers to the pre-operational child’s type of reasoning that
is neither inductive nor deductive. Reasoning appears to be from particular to particular
i.e., if A causes B, then B causes A. For example, since her mommy comes home everyday
around six o’clock in the evening, when asked why it is already night, the child will say,
“because my mom is already home”
Stage 3. Concrete- Operational Stage. This stage is characterized by the ability of the
child to think logically but only in terms of concrete objects. This covers approximately the
ages between 8-11 years or the elementary school years.
The concrete operational stage is marked by the following:
a. Decentering. This refers to the ability of the child to perceive the different features of
objects and situations. No longer is the child focused or limited to one aspect or dimension.
This allows the child to be more logical when dealing with concrete objects and situations.
b. Reversibility. During the stage of concrete operations, the child can now follow that
certain operations can be done in reverse. For example, they can already comprehend the
commutative property of addition, and that subtraction is the reverse of addition. They can
also understand that a ball of clay shaped into a dinosaur can again be rolled back into a
ball of clay.
c. Conservation. This is the ability to know that certain properties of objects like number,
mass, volume, or area do not change even if there is a change in appearance. Because of the
development of the child’s ability of decentering and also reversibility, the concrete
operational child can now judge rightly that the amount of water in a taller but narrower
container is still the same as when the water was in the shorter but wider glass. The
children progress to attain conservation abilities gradually being a pre-conserver, a
transitional thinker and then a conserver.
d. Seriation. This refers to the ability to order or arrange things in a series based on the
dimension such as weight, volume or size.
Stage 4. Formal Operational Stage. In the final stage of formal operations covering ages
between 12 and 15 years, thinking becomes more logical. They can now solve abstract
problems and can hypothesize.
This stage is characterized by the following:
a. Hypothetical Reasoning. This is the ability to come up with different hypothesis about a
problem and to gather and weigh data in order to make a final decision or judgment. This
can be done in the absence of concrete objects. The individuals can now deal with “what if”
questions.
b. Analogical reasoning. This is the ability to perceive the relationship in one instance and
then use that relationship to narrow down possible answers in another similar situation or
problem. The individual in the formal operations stage can make an analogy. If United
Kingdom is to Europe, then Philippines is to ___. The individual will reason that since the UK
is found in the continent of Europe then the Philippines is found in what continent? Then
Asia is his answer. Through reflective thought and even in the absence of concrete objects,
the individual can now understand relationships and do analogical reasoning.
c. Deductive Reasoning. This is the ability to think logically by applying a general rule to a
particular instance or situation. For example, all countries near the North Pole have cold
temperatures. Greenland is near North Pole. Therefore, Greenland has cold temperature.
Comprehension check:
This time, let’s see if the content is understood. You don’t need to write your
answer. It is simply checking it yourself.
1. On what stage do you belong now? Why do you think so?
2. In real life scenario, is there a possibility that at your age now you still have that
preoperational thought like being egocentric? How?

Application
This activity requires you to identify and describe an individual’s cognitive level
according to Piaget. Choose a story you want to use for this activity. It can be from a story
you have read or a movie or “telenovela” /”teleserye” that you watched or planned to
watch. Use the matrix below to relate the characters to Piaget’s stages of cognitive
development.
Title of Story/Movie: _________________________________________________________________________
Write a brief summary of the story

__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________.
Character
Piagetian Connection
Description

Father What is his stage of cognitive development?

Examples: Cite instances why you say he is in this stage.
(what he thought, his reactions and attitudes)

Mother What is her stage of cognitive development?

Examples: Cite instances why you say she is in this stage.
(what she thought of, how she thought, her reactions and
attitudes)

Children What is his/her stage of cognitive development?

Examples: Cite instances why you say he is in this stage.
(what he/she thought of, how he/she thought, his/her
1. reactions and attitudes)

2.

3.
 Other Characters What is his/her stage of cognitive development?
Examples: Cite instances why you say he/she is in this stage.
(what he/she thought of how he/she thought, his/her
reactions and attitudes)

Evaluation
Test I. Tell what stage of cognitive thinking does each of the following situations
belong. Write your answer before each number. (1pt. each)
1. He loves burger so he wants everyone in the family to eat burger during meal time. 2.
A student can give his/ her views of what would he/she do if he/she becomes the President
of the Philippines. 3.
One assumes that a typhoon is coming because the clouds get darker.
4. Eliza assured her mother that Thea is a good friend because Thea’s mother is also a good
friend of Eliza’s mother.
5. Son: “Is it bed time Mom?
Mother: “Why?”
Son: “Because the air conditioner is switched on.”
Test II. Answer what are asked.
1. Give an example of an act or situation revealing the following mode of thinking
enumerated below. Note: Have your own personal example, not copied. (2 pts. each)
a. Conservation
b. Animism
c. Egocentrism
d. Symbolic Function
2. How does an individual develop his/her cognitive skills according to Piaget? (5pts.) 3.
What learning principles can you draw or cite out of Piaget’s theory? Give at least 2 with an
example for each principle. (You can refer to the principles discussed in the previous
lessons.) (10pts.)
Example: Principle of readiness. It can be applied by matching the subject matter to the
cognitive level of the students. So, high school learners should be exposed more on problem
solving and abstraction activities, while the elementary on visual and concrete activities.
WRITE YOUR ANSWER
LESSON 6
Erikson’s Psycho-Social Theory

Introduction

Erik Erikson, a psychoanalytical theorist was influenced by Freud. His psychosocial

theory is still about personality development where he incorporated cultural and social
aspects into Freud’s biological and sexually-oriented theory. He described the impact of
social experience across the whole life span on the formation of personality.
In this lesson, discussion and analysis of personality and behaviour will be emphasized
through Erikson’s eight developmental stages of human development. Each stage has
corresponding descriptions which will help us understand how personality is formed and
what are the factors that influence it.

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
 Explain the 8 stages of life,
 Write a short story of your life using Erikson’s stages as framework, and
 Suggest ways on how Erikson’s theory can be utilized in teaching.

Activity
Erik Erikson’s Stage Theory of Development Questionnaire
This time you will personally discover the kind of personality you have by answering
Erik Erikson’s Stage Theory of Development Questionnaire. This contains selected items
from Rhona Ochse and Cornelis Plug’s self-report questionnaire assessing the personality
dimensions associated with Erikson’s first 5 stages of psychosocial development.
Indicate how often each of these statements applies to you by using the following
scale:
 0= never applies to you
1= occasionally or seldom applies to you
2= fairly often applies to you
3= very often applies to you

Stage 1: Trust Versus Mistrust

Score
(Infancy and Early Childhood)

___1. I feel pessimistic about the future of humankind.

___2. I feel the world’s major problems can be solved.

___3. I am filled with admiration for humankind.

___4. People can be trusted.
___5. I feel optimistic about my future.
Total Score Stage 1

Stage 2: Autonomy Versus Shame and Doubt

Score
(Infancy and Childhood)
___6. When people try to persuade me to do something I don’t want to, I
refuse.
___7. After I have made a decision, I feel I have made a mistake.
___8. I am unnecessarily apologetic.
___9. I worry that my friends will find fault with me.
___10. When I disagree with someone, I tell them.
Total Score Stage 2

Stage 3: Initiative Versus Guilt

Score
(Infancy and Childhood)
___11. I am prepared to take a risk to get what I want.
___12. I feel hesitant to try out a new way of doing something.
___13. I am confident in carrying out my plans to a successful conclusion.
___14. I feel what happens to me is the result of what I have done.
___15. When I have difficulty in getting something right, I give up.
Total Score in Stage 3

Stage 4: Industry Versus Inferiority

Score
(Infancy and Childhood)
 ___16. When people look at something I have done, I feel embarrassed.
___17. I get a great deal of pleasure from working.
___18. I feel too incompetent to do what I would really like to do in life.
___19. I avoid doing something difficult because I feel I would fail.
___20. I feel competent.
Total Score in Stage 4

Stage 5: Identify Versus Identity Diffusion

Score
(Adolescence)
___21. I wonder what sort of person I really am.
___22. I feel certain about what I should do with my life.
___23. My worth is recognized by others.
___24. I feel proud to be the sort of person I am.
___25. I am unsure as to how people feel about me.
Total Score in Stage 5

Stage 6: Intimacy Versus Isolation

Score
(Early Adulthood)
___26. I feel that no one has ever known the real me.
___27. I have a feeling of complete “togetherness” with someone.
___28. I feel it is better to remain free than to become committed to
marriage for life.
___29. I share my private thoughts with someone.
___30. I feel as though I am alone in the world.
Total Score in Stage 6
Scoring:
Items on the questionnaire were derived from Erikson’s statements about each stage.
Scores for each subscale range from 0 to 15, with high scores reflecting greater strength
on a particular personality dimension.
1. The response to item 1 should be reversed (0 = 3, 1 = 2, 2 = 1, 3 = 0) and then added to
the numbers given in response to items 2, 3, 4, and 5 to obtain a trust score.
2. Responses to items 7, 8, and 9 should be reversed and added to items 6 and 10 to assess
autonomy.
3. Answers to 12 and 15 should be reversed and added to items 11, 13, and 14 to measure
initiative.
4. Answers to 16, 18, and 19 should be reversed and then added to 17 and 20 to calculate
industry.
5. Responses to 21 and 25 must be reversed and added to 22, 24, and 25 to obtain a
measure of identity.
6. Answers to 26, 28, and 30 are reversed and added to 27 and 29 to give intimacy.
(Source: Ochse, R., & Plug, C. (1986). Cross-cultural investigation of the validity of Erikson’s thery of
personality development. Journal of Personality and social Psychology, 50, 1240-1252)

Analysis
1. Plot your score for each stage. Encircle your score for each stage
Mistrust Stage 1 Trust
()— ()—()—()—()—()—()—()—()—()—()—()—()—()—()—()
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Shame and Doubt Stage 2 Autonomy

()— ()—()—()—()—()—()—()—()—()—()—()—()—()—()—()
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Guilt Stage 3 Initiative

()— ()—()—()—()—()—()—()—()—()—()—()—()—()—()—()
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Inferiority Stage 4 Industry

()— ()—()—()—()—()—()—()—()—()—()—()—()—()—()—()
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Role Confusion Stage 5 Identity

()— ()—()—()—()—()—()—()—()—()—()—()—()—()—()—()
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Isolation Stage 6 Intimacy

()— ()—()—()—()—()—()—()—()—()—()—()—()—()—()—()
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

What did you discover about yourself in this questionnaire?

Answer:
Abstraction
Now, it’s time to know more about the theory!
Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development
The term psychosocial is derived from the two source words- psychological (or the
root, ‘psycho’ relating to the mind, brain, personality, etc) and social (external
relationships and environment).
This theory helps us understand and explain how personality and behaviour develop in
people. As such, Erikson’s theory is useful in teaching, parenting, self-awareness, managing
and coaching, dealing with conflict, and generally for understanding self and others.
There are eight stages of psychosocial development. Each stage involves psychosocial
crisis of two opposing emotional forces that must be resolved with a satisfactory balancing
of opposites.
If each stage is managed well, we carry away a certain virtue or psychosocial strength
which help us through the rest of our lives. On the other hand, if we don’t do well, we
develop maladaptation and malignancies which endanger future development.
Malignancy is the worse of the two for it involves too little of the positive and too much
of the negative aspect of the task like a person who can’t trust others. A maladaptation is
not quite as bad for it involves too much of the positive and too little of the negative,
such as a person who trusts too much.
The Eight Psychosocial Stages of Development
1. Stage of Basic Trust vs Basic Mistrust – from birth to 18 months
The first critical pair of opposites is trust versus mistrust. The infant learns either trust
or mistrust. At this stage, he/she is totally dependent upon others for survival. The
fundamental task in this stage is the achievement of a basic sense of trust that someone will
protect, care for, and nurture him/her without eliminating the capacity to mistrust.
To come out of this stage, a baby must achieve a proper balance of trust (which allows
intimacy) over mistrust (which permits self-protection). If trust predominates, children
develop what Erikson calls the virtue of hope: the belief that their needs will be met and
their wishes can be attained. If mistrust predominates, children will view the world as
unfriendly and unpredictable. They may become overwhelmed by disappointment and will
have trouble developing close relationships.
The mother plays a principal role in this stage. Her caregiving procedures will
determine largely the establishment of trust and mistrust. The mother’s “sensitive care of
the baby’s individual needs” lays the groundwork for the child’s sense of being all right, of
being oneself, and of becoming what other people trust one will become.
 The new baby interacts with his parents. If the parents are reliable, consistent in their
handling of the child, he comes to fell that he can rely on them, trust them.
The sense of trust usually extends to parents, siblings, and others in the infant’s
immediate environment. Attachment may be expressed in smiling, babbling, climbing to
the mother or crying when the mother leaves. At about three months, the baby can
discriminate between his mother and other adults but at this age babies accept mother
substitutes quite readily.
Maladaptation/Malignancy
The maladaptation developed in this stage is called sensory maladjustment which is
characterized as overly trusting, not believing that anyone would mean them harm, and
using all the defences at their command to find an explanation or excuse for the person
who did them wrong. On the other hand, too much mistrust will develop malignancy called
withdrawal which is characterized by depression, paranoia, and possibly psychosis.
2. Stage of Autonomy vs Shame – from 18 months to three years
The next crisis is autonomy versus shame and doubt, or self-control versus external
control. The task is to achieve a degree of autonomy while minimizing shame and doubt.
The push toward autonomy (independence or self-determination) is related to maturation.
Toddlers try to use their developing muscles to do everything themselves – to walk, to
feed and dress themselves, and to expand the boundaries of their world.
During this stage, the virtue of will emerge: the growing power to make one’s own
decisions, to apply oneself to tasks, and to use self-restraint. Having come through Stage 1
with a sense of basic trust in the world and an awakening sense of self, toddlers, according
to Erikson, begin to trust their own judgment and to substitute it for the mother’s.
To strike the proper balance, children need the right amount of control from adults –
neither too much control nor too little. Otherwise, they themselves, and the fear of losing
control may result to inhibitions, doubt, and shame.
The major issue is autonomy – the ability to do as one pleases, not to be pushed
around by others. At the same time, he worries, doubts that he is capable of doing the
things he wants to do.
This is the time when the children emerge from their almost total independence upon
mothering and begin to stand on their own. Because of their increased locomotion and
motor skills, this is a time of intense exploration which brings the toddlers into
confrontation with cultural prohibitions and restrictions. Children learn that the world is
full of “no’s” and “don’t’s.” Their need to be independent, and yet most often restricted, will
affect their sense of personal autonomy. Oftentimes this curbing and redirecting children’s
impulses will be upsetting. If children at this stage are punished excessively for exploring, if
they received harsh toilet training, or if they are over protected, then this period will be
characterized by personal shame.
 In Erikson’s terms, failure to achieve autonomy evokes shame manifested in feelings of
worthlessness and incompetence. Probably this manifestation could be seen in the
toddlers’ saying “no” to suggestions or being plainly negativistic, going limp all over,
running away, or having a tantrum.
Maladaptation/Malignancy
Impulsiveness is the maladaptation developed when one has a little shame and doubt. It
is a sort of shameless willfulness to jump into things without proper consideration of your
abilities. While too much shame and doubt will develop malignancy called
compulsiveness. This is a feeling that everything must be done perfectly by following
rules precisely to avoid mistakes.
3. Stage of Initiative vs Guilt – from three to six years
Erikson’s third crisis - initiative versus guilt is a conflict between children’s urge to
form and carry out goals and their moral judgments of what they want to do. The task is to
learn initiative without too much guilt. Initiative means a positive response to the world’s
challenges, taking on responsibilities, learning new skills, feeling purposeful.
If the crisis is resolved well, children acquire the virtue of purpose: “The courage to
pursue valued goals, uninhibited by the defeat of infantile fantasies, by guilt and by fear of
punishment.”
If the crisis is not resolved well, children may become guilt-ridden and repressed – they
may turn into adults who inhibits their own impulses and are intolerant of others. In
extreme cases, they may suffer from psychosomatic illness, impotence, or paralysis. On the
other hand, if initiative is overemphasized, they may feel that they must be constantly
achieving.
Erikson calls on parents to help children strike a healthy balance – to let them do things
on their own but to provide guidance and set firm limits.
Maladaptation/Malignancy
Too much initiative and too little guilt will develop maladaptive behaviour called
ruthlessness. It is characterized as heartless or having no mercy feeling. It is the goals that
matters for people having this, and they don’t care who they step on. On the other hand, too
much guilt will develop inhibition, that is, not trying things because the person having this
is so afraid to start and take a lead, and has fear of failing.
4. Stage of Industry vs Inferiority – from 6 to 12 years
Erikson sees middle childhood as a time relative of emotional calm, when children can
attend to their schooling and learn the skills culture requires. The characteristics crisis of
this period is that of industry versus inferiority, and the issue to be resolved is the child’s
capacity for productive work.
 The virtue that develops with successful resolution of the crisis is competence, a view of
the self as able to master and complete tasks. As children compare their own abilities
with those of their peers, they construct a sense of who they are. If they feel inadequate by
comparison, Erikson believes they may return to “the more isolated, less cool-conscious
familial rivalry of the oedipal time.” If on the other hand, they become too industrious, they
may neglect their relations with other people.
Children develop a general sense of personal mastery of a great number of activities and
games – swimming, skating, camping, and bicycling. If children are not encouraged to
actively engage in these activities, their sense of mastery will give way to personal
inferiority, this is the time when the child needs to master his surroundings or else suffer
the bitter consequence of inferiority.
Maladaptation/Malignancy
Too much industry will lead to maladaptive tendency called narrow virtuosity. This is
characterized by pushing one area of competence without allowing the development of
broader interest. This is evident among children who aren’t allowed to “be children” like
child actors, child athletes, child prodigies of all sort. But when one has a little industry, a
malignancy called inertia is developed, meaning never trying, never doing because of
inferiority complex.
5. Stage of Identity vs Role Confusion – from 12 to 18 years
According to Erikson, the chief task of adolescence is to achieve ego identity and avoid
role confusion. Ego identity means knowing who you are and how you fit in to the society.
So if identity is attained, one has a sense of oneself as a unique human being with a
meaningful role to play in society. However, if not, role confusion predominates, which
means one has uncertainty about one’s place in society and the world. A common question
asked by most adolescents is “Who am I?”
The search for identity is a lifelong search, which comes into focus during the
adolescence and may recur from time to time during adulthood. Erikson emphasizes that
this effort to make sense of the self and the world is a healthy, vital process that contributes
to the ego strength of the adult.
Erikson sees the danger of this stage as identity (or role) confusion, which can express
itself in a young person’s taking an excessively long time to reach adulthood. However, a
certain amount of identity confusion is normal and accounts for the chaotic, volatile nature
of much adolescent behaviour, as well as teenager’s self-consciousness about their
appearance.
If you successfully negotiate this stage, you will have the virtue called fidelity –
sustained loyalty, faith, or a sense of belonging to friends and companions to a loved one,
or to set of values, an ideology, a religion, a movement, or an ethnic group. Fidelity
represents a higher level of the virtue of trust, developed in infancy; not only the capacity
to trust others and oneself, but the capacity to be trustworthy. According to Erikson, failure
to achieve fidelity results in such common adolescent attitudes of being not assertive and
aggressive.
The thoughts, efforts, and concerns of the individual at this stage center mainly on
making himself acceptable to the opposite sex. An important development task is one’s
acceptance and learning of sex roles. This comes, hand in hand, with the achieving of
independence of parents and family, although this may have to be postponed at a later
stage. Rebelliousness, defiance, and the use of drugs are expressions of adolescents in
facing against strict parental regulation. Where the adolescents and their parents have
maintained rapport and mutual respect, the parents’ influence tends to remain strong and
role confusion is lessened.
Maladaptation/Malignancy
Too much “ego identity will develop a maladaptive tendency called fanaticism. This a an
idealistic thought that one’s way is the only way, and one’s beliefs and lifestyles are
promoted without regard to other’s rights to disagree. In contrast, lack of identity will
result to a malignant behaviour called repudiation. This is characterized by rejection –
rejection of their membership in the world of adults and rejection of their identity.
6. Stage of Intimacy vs Isolation – 18 or 20 to 30 years
The sixth of Erickson’s eight crises and what he considers the major issue of young
adulthood is intimacy versus isolation. The task is to achieve some degree of intimacy, as
opposed to remaining in isolation. According to Erickson, young adults need and want
intimacy; that is, they need to make deep personal commitments or close relationship to
others as a lover, a friend, and as a participant in society. If they are unable or afraid to do
this, they may become isolated and self-absorbed.
The sense of identity developed during adolescence, enables young adults to fuse their
identity with that of others. Young adults resolve conflicting demands of intimacy,
competitiveness, and distance and develop an ethical sense. They are ready to enter into a
loving heterosexual relationship with the ultimate aim providing a nurturing environment
for children.
The virtue that develops during young adulthood is the virtue of love, or mutuality of
devotion between partners who have chosen to share their lives. People also need a certain
amount of temporary isolation in order to think through some important choices on their
own. As young adults resolve the demands of intimacy, competitiveness, and distance, they
develop an ethical or righteous sense, which Erikson considers the mark of an adult.

Maladaptation/Malignancy
 A maladaptive tendency promiscuity is evident when one has too much intimacy. This is
the tendency to become intimate too freely, too easily, and without any depth to your
intimacy like your relationships with friends, neighbors, community , as well as with your
lovers. Meanwhile, exclusion is the malignancy characterized by the tendency to isolate
oneself from love, friendship, and community and to develop hatefulness in compensation
for one’s loneliness.
7. Stage of Generativity vs Stagnation – from 40 to 60 years
At about age 40, according to Erikson, people go through their seventh crisis, that of
generativity versus stagnation. Generativity is the concern of mature adults for
establishing and guiding the next generation and all future generations. It is an extension of
love into the future. The virtue of care is developed. Looking ahead to the waning of their
lives, people feel a need to participate in the continuation of life. If this need is not met,
Erickson says, people become stagnant, inactive or lifeless like caring for no one, or not
becoming productive member of the society.
People’s impulse to foster the development of the young is not limited to guiding their
own children. It can be expressed through such activities as teaching and mentorship – a
mutually fulfilling relationship that satisfied a young individual’s need for guidance as well
as an older person’s needs. Generativity can also take the form of productivity or creativity
(in the art, for example) or self-generation, the further development of personal identity.
Maladaptation/Malignancy
Too much generativity will result to overextension, that is, having no time for
themselves, for rest and relaxation because of being generative. One overextends his time
to clubs, holding many jobs, taking many classes that they no longer have time for any of
them. While if one has little generativity, he has the rejectivity tendency. This is a feeling of
focusing on themselves, trying to recapture their youth because of panic at getting older
and not having experienced or accomplished what they imagined they would when they
were younger.
8. Stage of Integrity vs Despair – from 60 till death
The task on this stage, integrity versus despair is to develop ego integrity with minimal
amount of despair. Erikson sees older people as confronting the need to accept the way
they have lived their lives in order to accept approaching death. They struggle to achieve a
sense of integrity, of coherence and wholeness of their lives rather than give way to despair
over their inability to relive their lives differently.

People who succeed in this final task gain a sense of the order and meaning of their lives
within the larger social order, past, present, and future.
In this stage, one looks back on what it has been and one looks ahead to the unknown,
which is death.
 The virtue that develops during this stage is wisdom – an informed and detached
concern with life itself in the face of death itself. An example is approaching death without
fear. According to Erikson, wisdom includes acceptance of the life one has lived, without
major regrets for what could have been or for what one should have done differently. It
includes acceptance of one’s parents as people who did the best they could and thus are
worthy of love, even though they were not perfect. It implies acceptance of one’s death as
the inevitable end to a life lived as well as one knew how to live it.

Maladaptation/Malignancy
The maladaptive tendency is presumption, a belief that he/she alone is right, does not
respect the ideas and views of the young. This is what happens when a person “presumes”
ego integrity without actually facing the difficulties of old age. The malignant tendency is
disdain, a contempt of life, one’s own or anyone’s . The person becomes very negative and
appears to hate life.
Comprehension check:
Now, let’s make a summary to check your understanding. Fill in the blanks with
the appropriate information needed.
Stage 1
Crisis:__________________Virtue_________________Maladaptation:____________ Malignancy:________
Stage 2
Crisis:________________ Virtue:________________Maladaptation:__________ Malignancy:_______
Stage 3
Crisis:_________________Virtue:_____________Maladaptation:_______________Malignancy:_________
Stage 4
Crisis:________________Virtue:_____________Maladaptation:______________Malignancy:___________
Note: Do the same with the rest of the stages. Follow the format shown above. Use the back
space of this page.

Educational Implications
Because the human infant is born in condition of complete dependence, adults are
tempted to exploit the period of dependency and to control and manipulate children to
satisfy their own needs.
Between one a half and three years, children can be trained to form correct toilet habits
by being shamed every time they make a mistake.
 From three to six, children can be made to comply with certain demands by making them
feel guilty. If adults control and manipulate children in such ways, children are prevented
from achieving normal social development.
Teachers at the preschool level, together with parents and other members of the
immediate family, should allow the children to engage in considerable free experiment to
encourage the development of autonomy but provide some guidance to reduce the
possibility of the establishment of doubt. More specifically, teachers should subtly direct a
child who is attempting something beyond his capabilities.
Teachers in the kindergarten level should allow children considerable self-initiated
activities and intervene only when a child infringes on the rights of others.
Teachers in the elementary level should make the classroom situation as meaningful to
the pupils as possible so as to facilitate personal industry and mastery. Pupils should be
encouraged to compete with themselves instead of with others.

Application
1. Write your own life story using the stages of psychosocial development as
framework. Go through each of the stages that apply to you (most probably, stages 1-5 or
6). Ask information from your parents and other significant persons in your life. You can
look at old baby books and photo albums if available.
WRITE YOUR ANSWER
MY LIFE STORY

Evaluation
Test I. Given are the crises developed according to Erikson’s stages. Write one
sentence description of each crisis and give two (2) real examples of behaviour or
actuations for each based on your experience or observations. (2 pts. each)
a. Autonomy
b. Initiative
c. Industry
d. Role confusion
e. Mistrust
Test II. Discuss briefly.
1. Ideas about virtues, maladaptation and malignancy are introduced in Erikson’s theory.
What virtues, maladaptation and malignancy are developed in you? Give one (1) example
for each and describe each behaviour. (10 pts.)
2. Social and emotional development has to undergo stages with crisis. As a teacher in the
future how will this theory help you in teaching especially adolescents? Suggest at least 3
ways with specific examples. (10 pts.)
WRITE YOUR ANSWER
SUMMARY of MODULE 2
Lessons 3, 4 and 5 of Module 2 expound the technicalities of the different theories of
human development which were founded by renowned authorities like Freud, Piaget, and
Erikson. Freud elaborated how sexual behaviour and personality are developed according
to stages, Piaget illustrated the different mental capacities of an individual by stages, and
Erikson described the different behaviour developed with social interaction.
Each theory describes the stages of development that an individual has to undergo with
the corresponding descriptions of behaviour or personality for each stage. Such
descriptions give the future teachers the idea on how to handle children and adolescents as
their clients in the future. The concepts in each theories likewise bring very important
implications that teachers should consider and apply in instruction, management,
counselling, parenting, and facilitating learning.
REFERENCES of MODULE 2
A. Books
Acero, V. et al. (2003). Human Development and Learning. Manila: Rex Book Store.
Acero, V. et al. (2008). Child and Adolescent Development. First Edition. Manila: Rex
Book Store
Conception, B. et al. (2015) Licensure Examination for Teachers Reviewer. Manila:
MET Review Publishing House
Corpuz, B. & Salandanan G. (2007). Principles of Teaching. Manila: Lorimar Publishing
Corpuz, B. & Salandanan G. (2015) Principles of Teaching (with TLE). Manila: Lorimar
Publishing, Inc.
Corpuz, B. et al. (2015). Child and Adolescent Development: Looking at Learners at
Different Life Stages. Manila: Lorimar Publishing, Inc.
Lucas, M. & Corpuz B. (2007). Facilitating Learning: A Metacognitive Process. Manila:
Lorimar Publishing, Inc.
Zulueta, Francisco M. (2007). Principles and Methods of Teaching. Manila:National
Book Store.
Papalia, D. (2006). A Child’s World: Infancy to Adolescence. New York: McGraw-Hill
Co.
B. Electronic Resources
www.healthline.com.>health>piaget. Retrieved July 4, 2020
www.verywellmind.com>piaget-stages-of cognitive Retrieved June 5, 2020
www.verywellmind.com>erik-erks. Retrieved July 5, 2020
www.healthline.com>health> psychosexual stages Retrieved June 16, 2020