Theoretical Analysis of My Psychosocial Development - Essay Example

Theoretical Analysis of My Psychosocial Development For the scope of this assignment, I chose to analyze myself since there is hardly anyone whose life journey I know as well as I know my own. I can trace my earliest consciousness back to the time when I was three years old. I have no thought in my mind of the first three years. Today, when I recall memories from the past, I see myself kissing my mother in the cheek. I remember one dream in particular in which something held my hand in hand and flew me room to room in my home. That was the scariest yet the most adventurous of my earliest dreams. I remember the yellow lemon cake that I had cut on my third birthday. My father bought me a toy-car that drove forward on its own after I screeched it against the floor backwards. I remember once my brother bought a pencil case that had a piano fitted in it. I wanted the same, but somehow could not get one. I was very upset. My aunt took me to the market with her, bought me a similar pencil case and kissed me. I loved her for that. Years went by and I was promoted from nursery to the first and then the second grade. In my childhood, I loved cakes but never had money to buy a full cake just for myself. A piece or two wouldn’t do! While I was in my second grade, I got seriously ill one day, so mom and dad came to pick me up two hours earlier than the break-off time. Mom knew I liked cakes, so bought me a full-sized cake on our way back to the home. She told me that I could eat that full. I loved mama for that. As a child, I was very fascinated by the armed forces. When I saw them marching in the TV, I so hoped I would be one of them some day. One night, I dreamt of flying an aircraft above a snowy field with trees whose leaves were shed off in the autumn season. As I grew up, I started to take interest in studies. Securing first position was more important than anything else in the world. I loved the tough time I gave my friend who wanted to stand first instead. In the school, I was more of a bully. I liked to tease my class fellows. Once, I was reported to the principal for that who sent a warning letter at my home. That day onwards, I changed my attitude for the better. I would rather utilize the energy in studies. In my teenage, I became very health conscious. I was a bit overweight. I tried one or two weight loss pills but they caused me acne. Then I started to skip meals, but that made me feel lethargic and undone. Besides, I was hardly losing the weight. I conducted a thorough research upon the internet to learn what kind of diet would help me lose weight. Finally, I developed a menu with balanced diet. I started to take low-fat and high fiber meals more often than three standard times a day. That helped me shed off the extra fat. According to Sigmund Freud, there always exists a conflict between an individual’s id and superego. “The id is driven by the pleasure principle, which strives for immediate gratification of all desires, wants, and needs. If these needs are not satisfied immediately, the result is a state anxiety or tension” (Cherry, 2011). Id is very essential for a healthy lifestyle and is the fundamental sign of life. People who lose their id lose their life, though they physically survive. Nevertheless, id has to be restricted in order to live a decent lifestyle. My id caused me to tease my class fellows. It had to be controlled because it was making me happy on the cost of others’ peace of mind. When my father interrogated me upon receiving the warning letter, I adopted the defense mechanism of denial. I told my father that there had been confusion. The actual boy that had caused the mischief was a class fellow with the same surname as mine. I totally denied that I had caused any mischief, though I knew that I would actually not cause the mischief again or I would not be able to defend myself through denial the next time. Erik Erikson interpreted the psychosocial development as a staged process. The fundamental assumption of Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development is that human personality is shaped by the social experiences people undergo at different stages in their life. Erikson’s stages represent different areas of life. Thus, if an individual manages to master a stage, he gains competence in that area of ego identity. One measures less on those dimensions of the ego identity, in whose stages one fails. “In each stage, Erikson believed people experience a conflict that serves as a turning point in development. In Erikson’s view, these conflicts are centered on either developing a psychological quality or failing to develop that quality” (Cherry, 2011). Ego strength and quality is achieved from mastering the individual stages. I hardly remember when I had been in the first stage since I was an infant back then. Even the memories of the second and the third stages are so vivid that I can hardly make out when I started to make personal choices in the foods, when I started to use the toilet independent of my mom or how was my social interaction in the preschool years. However, since I think I feel pretty much secure and confident, I can assume that I would have mastered the first two stages. Although I am not guilty, yet I am quite hesitant in taking initiatives. Perhaps, I didn’t have frequent opportunities to influence others in the preschool years. My earliest memories of childhood start to become prominent from the forth stage onwards. I remember how much my parents and teachers encouraged me when I would achieve good position in the school. This led me to achieving the first position in the subsequent classes. During adolescence, as I said, I used to be a bully in the school. Perhaps that was my way of exploring myself and my limits as people do in the fifth stage. However, since I was discouraged on that note, I am not quite sure how would I feel in the future. Nevertheless, I personally acknowledge that my attempt to explore my identity through teasing others was wrong. But since things changed for the better since then, I am hopeful that the long term results will be favorable. I shall be able to socialize with others while respecting their feelings and this would enable me to make more friends. Although I am an adult now, yet I am yet not exploring relationships and all that forms part of the sixth stage. I am yet to experience much of the sixth stage, and complete seventh and eighth stage. Four types of life styles have been identified by Alfred Adler; “The first type is well adjusted and does not strive for personal superiority but seeks to solve problems in ways that are useful to others as well as himself. The second type wants to prove his personal superiority by ruling others. The third type wants to get everything through others without an effort or struggle on his part. The fourth type avoids every decision” (Durbin, 1986). Today, when I reflect upon my lifestyle, I realize that I have lived a mix of the first two types of lifestyles described by Adler, though the second type reflects more in my life style. I tried to rule over others by teasing them. Although I have abandoned that practice to much an extent today, yet I frequently get outraged when I am in argument with someone. I should indeed, deal with others patiently. Nevertheless, I am not the kind of person who would ever be happy by getting things from others and lying astray. Also, I don’t avoid decisions so my life does not at all accord with the forth type of lifestyle. I believe that life is the name of struggle. As long as an individual struggles, he/she lives. As soon as he/she stops the struggles, he/she may continue to breathe but that is not what we call “life”. Humans’ strive for newer goals and objectives makes them live. These days, I am striving to reduce my weight. Karen Horney explains numerous causes of basic anxiety that include but are not limited to, direct or indirect domination, indifference, erratic behavior, lack of respect for the childs individual needs, lack of real guidance, disparaging attitudes, too much admiration or the absence of it, lack of reliable warmth, having to take sides in parental disagreements, too much or too little responsibility, over-protection, isolation from other children, injustice, discrimination, unkept promises, hostile atmosphere, and so on and so on. (Horney, 1946, p. 41). Of the ten neurotic needs identified by Horney (1942), some that I strongly feel include the need for approval and affection, which include the neurotic need for; approval and affection, power, prestige, personal admiration and personal achievement. I have always strived to achieve all of these in my life. Jean Piaget asserts that an individual’s cognitive development happens in four fundamental stages, namely the sensorimotor stage, the preoperational stage, the concrete stage and the formal operations stage (“Piaget’s cognitive stages”, 1990). I don’t remember anything about myself when I was in the sensorimotor stage of cognitive development because I was below two years of age back then. However, I am a normal person with above average IQ, so I can say that I must have done very good in the sensorimotor stage. I have slight memories of the preoperational stage since that commenced from the time I started to walk and ended at age 7. It was this stage in which I saw that scariest dream. Perhaps, my thoughts were influenced by the superman cartoons that I used to watch. I have been very active physically as well as mentally in my concrete stage. My curiosity accompanied with parents’ and tutors’ encouragement caused me to hold first position in the successive classes. I have yet to experience the formal operations stage. Kohlberg classified the stages of philosophical and psychological development into three levels namely the pre-conventional, conventional and the post-conventional level. Each of these levels is further divided into two stages. In my life to date, I have seen only the pre-conventional and a bit of the conventional level. “In the first stage of this level, people behave according to socially acceptable norms because they are told to do so by some authority figure (e.g., parent or teacher). This obedience is compelled by the threat or application of punishment” (Barger, 2000). The incident in which I was sent a warning letter at home by the principal applies here. The second stage doesn’t apply on my case because I agree that I am sometimes wrong in my thoughts. I believe that acting always in my personal interest is not correct. By changing my habit of teasing others, I have complied with the first stage i.e. good boy/girl stage of the second level. By concentrating upon my studies, I have complied with the second stage i.e. law and order stage of the second level. Abraham Maslow identified and characterized all human needs into five types, namely the physiological needs, safety needs, belongingness needs, esteem needs and self-actualization needs. Maslow has arranged these five types of needs in a hierarchical fashion which accords with the relative importance of these needs. Needs decline in their importance as we move from the base to the top of the pyramid. Maslow believes that an individual can only attain the stage of self-actualization when all of his lower level needs have been satisfied. “Only when the lower order needs of physical and emotional well-being are satisfied are we concerned with the higher order needs of influence and personal development. Conversely, if the things that satisfy our lower order needs are swept away, we are no longer concerned about the maintenance of our higher order needs” (Chapman, 2010). In my case, my physiological and safety needs have always been fully satisfied. My love and belongingness needs were also adequately satisfied as I have lived with my family throughout my life and my relations with my siblings and parents are wonderful. My parents have always been there for me when I needed them. From the earliest memories of my childhood when I used to kiss mom and when my dad took an early leave from the work just to pick me up from the school as I was ill to date, I hardly remember a day when I slept with harsh feelings about my family. My esteem needs have also been adequately met as I have been receiving rewards and appreciation from both my parents and tutors in all these years for displaying good academic performance. Perhaps, this is the reason why I have started to care something as ordinary as controlling weight. I mean I wouldn’t die if I look overweight, I am not obese either! Just to shed off some extra pounds, I have been trying a myriad of diets. This tells that I feel myself free enough to concentrate on such things as weight control. This is what I call self-actualization! Bibliography: Barger, Robert N. “A summary of Lawrence Kohlbergs stages of moral development.” 2000. http://www.csudh.edu/dearhabermas/kohlberg01bk.htm. Chapman, Alan. “Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.” 2010. http://www.businessballs.com/maslow.htm. Cherry, Kendra. “The Id, Ego and Superego.” 2011. http://psychology.about.com/od/theoriesofpersonality/a/personalityelem.htm. Cherry, Kendra. “Eriksons Theory of Psychosocial Development.” 2011. http://psychology.about.com/od/psychosocialtheories/a/psychosocial.htm. Durbin, Chaplain Paul G. “Alfred Adlers Four Basic Lifestyles.” 1986. http://www.infinityinst.com/articles/adler.html. “Piaget’s cognitive stages.” 1990. http://www2.honolulu.hawaii.edu/facdev/guidebk/teachtip/piaget.htm. Horney, Karen. Self-Analysis. UK: Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd, 1942. Horney, Karen. Our Inner Conflicts. UK: Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd, 1946. Read More