Stages of Personality Development

Freud’s Psychosexual Development
0 – 18 mo	Oral	Oral gratification
18 mo – 3 yr	Anal	Independence and control (voluntary sphincter control)
3 – 6 yr	Phallic	Genital focus
6 – 12 yr	Latency	Repressed sexuality; channeled sexual drives (sports)
13 – 20 yr	Genital	Puberty with sexual interest in opposite sex

Sullivan’s Interpersonal Theory
0 – 18 mo	Infancy	Anxiety reduction via oral gratification
18 mo – 6 yr	Childhood	Delay in gratification
6 – 9 yr	Juvenile	Satisfying peer relationships
9 – 12 yr	Preadolescence	Satisfying same-sex relationships
12 – 14 yr	Early adolescence	Satisfying opposite-sex relationships
14 – 21 yr	Late adolescence	Lasting intimate opposite sex relationship

Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory
0 – 18 mo	Trust vs. mistrust	Basic trust in mother figure & generalizes
18 mo – 3 yr	Autonomy vs. shame/doubt	Self-control/independence
3 – 6 yr	Initiative vs. guilt	Initiate and direct own activities
6 – 12 yr	Industry vs. inferiority	Self-confidence through successful performance and recognition
12 – 20 yr	Identity vs. role confusion	Task integration from previous stages; secure sense of self
20 – 30 yr	Intimacy vs. isolation	Form a lasting relationship or commitment
30 – 65 yr	Generativity vs. stagnation	Achieve life’s goals; consider future generations
65 yr - death	Ego integrity vs. despair	Life review with meaning from both positives and negatives; positive selfworth

  

Mahler’s Theory of Object Relations
0 – 1 mo	1. Normal autism	Basic needs fulfillment (for survival)
1 mo – 5 mo	2. Symbiosis 3. Separation – individuation	Awareness of external fulfillment source
5 mo – 10 mo	– Differentiation	Commencement of separateness from mother figure
10 mo – 16 mo	– Practicing	Locomotor independence; awareness of separateness of self
16 mo – 24 mo	– Rapprochement	Acute separateness awareness; seeks emotional refueling from mother figure
24 mo – 36 mo	– Consolidation	Established sense of separateness; internalizes sustained image of loved person/object when out of sight; separation anxiety resolution

  

Pepleu’s Interpersonal Theory
Infant	Depending on others	Learning ways to communicate with primary caregiver for meeting comfort needs
Toddler	Delaying satisfaction	Some delay in self-gratification to please others
Early Childhood	Self-identification	Acquisition of appropriate roles and behaviors through perception of others’ expectations of self
Late Childhood	Participation skills	Competition, compromise, cooperation skills acquisition; sense of one’s place in the world