Psychosexual (Freud) Vs. Psychosocial (Erickson)

Student Name

Institution

Course Name/Number

Instructor

Due Date

Psychosexual (Freud) Vs. Psychosocial (Erickson)

Theories of development are fundamental in enhancing the understanding of how people transform from one age group to another. Human beings understand physical, social, psychological, and biological development through the guided by several theoretical frameworks. The theoretical bases for understanding human growth are set by authors and scholars who have a deeper acquaintance of the matter. Such famous scholars and scientists are Freud and Erickson. Freud focuses on psychosexual development seeks to elaborate on how people develop based on needs during the growth and development process. Erickson is highly determined on creating an understanding of the psychosocial, meaning psychological factors and the surrounding that influences a person’s mental and physical growth. The application of the knowledge utilized by each scholar enhances an understanding of human and social dynamics that are essential in the upbringing and shaping of human behaviors. Freud emphasizes biological and basic needs factors, while Erickson's perspective is intertwined with one's life's environmental and social attributes.

The first difference is that Freud is concerned with biological aspects, while Erickson focuses on environmental factors. According to Fliegel (1973), Freud's perception of growth is based on the bodily elements that play a significant role in a child's development. In this case, the ability to learn is determined by the biological makeup of a child. To determine the biological markup, Freud believes that genetic markers help children perceive learning and social behaviors. For example, a parent who has high intelligence, children under that lineage will be equally sharp in learning soft-mortar skills. On the same note, when children hail from a lineage that has slow comprehension and learning perception, they will take equally long to grasp learning contexts.

On the contrary, Erickson believes that learning is substantially dependent on environmental factors. According to Knight (2017), the environment indeed affects how people carry on their lives, mainly due to observing and adjusting behaviors. In the same way, children rely on their environment to shape their outlook and translate such observations into knowledge. For instance, when a child notices certain behavior from their surroundings, Erickson considers it as an observatory. However, from his perspective, Erickson opines that observatory learning can be limited in many aspects, primarily considering that it can lead to the acquisition of negative learning attributes. Therefore, practical leaning from the environment should be well controlled through guidance.

Secondly, Freud's and Erickson's perspective of development vary in that Freud's basic needs are vital in development, while Erickson argues that social needs contribute significantly to a child's growth. To support Freud's postulation of the values of basic needs, Stevenson (1996) evaluated the "Freud’s psychosexual stages of development" and concluded that basic needs contribute to how children...