Theoretical Perspective

reflects the infant’s need for gratification from the mother.

reflects the toddler’s need for gratification along the rectal area.

reflects the preschooler’s gratification involving the genitals.

sexual desires are repressed and all the child’s available libido is channeled into socially acceptable outlets such as schoolwork or vigorous play that consume most of the child’s physical and psychic energy.

characterized by the maturation of the reproductive system, production of sex hormones, and a reactivation of the genital zone as an area of sensual pleasure.

In this stage, infants construct an understanding of the world by coordinating sensory experiences (such as seeing and hearing) with physical, motoric actions—hence the term sensorimotor.

In this stage, children begin to go beyond simply connecting sensory information with physical action and represent the world with words, images, and drawings.

In this stage, children can perform operations that involve objects, and they can reason logically when the reasoning can beapplied to specific or concrete examples.

In this stage, individuals move beyond concrete experiences and begin to think in abstract and more logical terms.

The development of trust during infancy sets the stage for a lifelong expectation that the world will be a good and pleasant place to live.

after gaining trust in their caregivers, infants begin to discover that their behavior is their own. They start to assert their sense of independence or autonomy.

As preschool children encounter a widening social world, they face new challenges that require active, purposeful, responsible behavior.

Children now need to direct their energy toward mastering knowledge and intellectual skills.

individuals need to find out who they are, what they are all about, and where they are going in life.

At this time, individuals face the developmental task of forming intimate relationships.

By generativity Erikson means primarily a concern for helping the younger generation to develop and lead useful lives.

During this stage, a person reflects on the past

operant conditioning the consequences of a behavior produce changes in the probability of the behavior’s occurrence.

emphasizes that cognitive processes have important links with the environment and behavior. His early research program focused heavily on observational learning (also called imitation or modeling), which is learning that occurs through observing what others do.