Psychological Research and Human Behavior Throughout the Life Cycle
Posted on May 1, 2024 in Psychology and Sociology
Models of Development
- Mechanistic: Focuses on individual mechanisms and the influence of environmental factors.
- Organismic: Views the organism as a whole, with irreversible changes and universal laws of development.
- Systemic Dialectic: Emphasizes the interaction between the subject and the environment, with the individual seeking balance.
Stages of the Life Cycle
Childhood
- Early Childhood (0-3 years): Formation of the ego and assimilation of experiences into the body.
- Second Infancy (3-6/7 years): Egocentric attitude and accelerated adaptation to the world.
- Third Childhood (6/7-11/12 years): Overcoming egocentrism and accelerated socialization through schooling.
Adolescence (12-18 years)
- Transition from childhood to adulthood.
- Physiological Level: Imbalance of functions, growth hormones, and development of sexual organs.
- Intellectual Level: Intellectual egocentrism, followed by correction of thought and reality.
- Emotional Level: Development of personal identity, narcissism, loneliness, and sexual instinct.
- Social Level: Dissatisfaction and conflicts due to the gap between inner world and reality.
Personality
- Temperament: Inherited biological traits, difficult to modify.
- Character: Habits acquired during life, forming specific behaviors.
- Trait: Specific form of behavior.
- Type: Set of traits.
Theories of Personality
Freud’s Psychoanalytic Perspective
- Topical Model: Consciousness, unconscious, and id.
- Structural Model: Id, ego, and superego.
- Defense Mechanisms: Sublimation, fantasy, displacement, projection, and repression.
- Manifestations of the Unconscious: Dreams, neurosis, and psychosis.
Theory of Sexuality
- Oral Stage: Pleasure through the mouth.
- Anal Stage: Pleasure through bowel movements.
- Phallic Stage: Discovery of sexual organs and Oedipus/Electra complex.
- Latency Stage: Little sexual activity.
- Genital Stage: Focus on sexuality.
Skinner’s Operant Conditioning
- Behavior is shaped by its consequences.
- Reinforcement strengthens behavior.
- Punishment weakens behavior.
- Modification of Behavior: Eliminating undesirable behaviors and replacing them with desirable ones.
Humanist Perspective
- Focuses on the individual’s feelings, perceptions, and life vision.
- Rogers’ Person-Centered Therapy: Individuals have the capacity to change and make decisions.
- Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: Biological needs to psychological motivations, with self-actualization as the highest level.
