Child psychology

1. According to Freud, Erikson, Piaget,
Presented by:
Roshni Maurya
MDS
First
Year

2.  Psychology: is the science dealing with human
nature, function and phenomenon of his soul in the
main.
 Child psychology : is the science that deals with the
mental power or interaction between the conscious
and subconscious element in a child.

3.  KNOWLEDGE OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY WILL HELP US
TO:
 UNDERSTAND THE CHILD BETTER
 BETTER PLANNING & INTERACTION
 UNDERSTANDS PROBLEMS OF PSYCHOSOMATIC
ORIGIN
 CHILD UNDERSTANDS ORAL HYGIENE
 MODIFY CHILD’S DEVELOPMENTAL PROCESS

4. Classified into 2 groups:
PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORIES
o Psychosexual theory by Sigmund Freud
o Psychosocial theory by Eric Erickson
o Cognitive theory by Jean Piaget
BEHAVIOUR LEARNING THEORIES
o Classical conditioning theory by Ivan Pavlov
o Operant conditioning theory by B. F. Skinner
o Social learning theory by Albert Bandura
o Hierarchy of needs by Maslow

5. THEORIES OF PSYCHODYANAMIC
DEVELOPMENT
 PSYCHOANALYTICAL THEORY GIVEN BY SIGMUND
FREUD IN 1905:
 Body has 2 types of neurons:
 Phi neuron : concerned with condition of emotion
 Psi neuron : concerned with storage of emotion

6. TOPOGRAPHIC MODEL
HUMAN
TRIAD
CONSCIOUS
MIND
PRECONSCI
OUSMIND
SUBCONSI
OUS
MIND

7. CONCIOUS MIND: Is paying attention at that moment.
PRECONCIOUS MIND: Involves ordinary memory &
knowledge; things we are aware of but not paying attention
at all moments.
UNCONCIOUS/SUBCONCIOUS MIND: Is part of mind
which thinks & acts independently.

8. DIVIDED INTO 3 PARTS:
 ID
 EGO
 SUPER EGO
 ID : It is the basic structure of personality, serves as the reservoir of instincts.
 Present at birth as impulse and strives for immediate pleasure & gratification.
 E.g.; need to eat is based on pleasure principle i.e. the child wants food
irrespective of external circumstances

9. EGO: It is a part of self that is concerned with overall functioning & organization
of personality.
 Capacity to test reality
 Utilization of ego defense mechanism
 Memory ,language & creativity
E.g. hunger must wait until food is given
SUPER EGO: It is part of personality that is internalized representation of the
values & molars of the society as taught by parents & others. It is essentially an
individual conscience & it judges whether the action is right or wrong.

11.  Freud outlined 5 stages of manifestations of the sexual
development:
 ORAL STAGE(0-1.5 YEARS)-
 Erogenous zone in focus : Mouth
 Gratifying activities : Nursing, eating, mouth movements i.e.
sucking , biting & swallowing.
 Interaction with enviornment: the child’s personality is controlled
by the id & demands immediate gratification , responsive nurturing
is the key.
 Symptoms of oral fixation: smoking, nail biting, drinking, sarcasm.

12.  ANAL STAGE (1.5-3YEARS):
 Erogenous zone in focus: Anus
 Gratifying activities: Bowel movements & withholding of such
movement.
 Interaction with enviornment: Toilet training.
 Symptoms of anal fixation
 ANAL-EXPULSIVE PERSONALITY : sloppy, disorganised,
reckless, careless & defiant
 ANAL-RENTENTIVE PERSONALITY : Clean, orderly,
intolerant to uncleanliness.

13. PHALLIC STAGE9(4-5 YEARS)
 Erogenous zone in focus: Genitals
 Gratifying activities: Genital fondling
 Interaction with enviornment: child’s feeling of greater attachment with
parent of opposite sex
 Symptoms of phallic fixation:
 MEN: Anxiety & guilty feeling about opposite sex & narcissism.
 Oedipus complex: tendency of young boy child being attached more to
mother than father.
 Electra complex :tendency of girl child developing more than affection for
father than mother.

14. Latency (5 years-puberty):
 Erogenous zone in focus :None
 Interaction with enviornment: children focus energy on other
aspects of life e.g. culture forming beliefs & values, developing
friendship & engaging in sports.
GENITAL STAGE(from puberty onwards)
 Erogenous zone in focus: Genital
 Gratifying activities: Heterosexual relationships
 Interaction with enviornment: marked by pursuit for relationship.
 Symptoms of genital fixation: does not cause fixation, if difficulty
persists damage was done at earlier stages of oral, anal, phallic
stages.

15. Phallic
Stage
Child’s
pleasure
focuses on
genitals
Latency
Stage
Child
represses
sexual
interest
and develops
social and
intellectual
skills
Anal Stage
Child’s
pleasure
focuses on
anus
Genital
Stage
A time of
sexual
reawakening;
source of
sexual
pleasure
becomes
someone
outside of the
family
Oral Stage
Infant’s
pleasure
centers on
mouth
Freudian Stages
6 yrs to
puberty
Birth to 1½
yrs
1½ to 3
yrs
Puberty
onward
3 to 6
years

16. FREUD’S THEORY:
MERIT
 One of the earliest and the most comprehensive theory
of life long psychological development.
DEMERITS:
 Freud formulated this theory by his extensive studies on
adult psychological patients & hence its extrapolation to
children is not very justified.
 The theory is based on obsessed observation of the
psychologist.

18. Erikson’s Theory
Erik Erikson was a follower of Sigmund Freud who
broke with his teacher over the fundamental point of
what motivates or drives human behavior.
For Freud it was biology or more specifically the
biological instincts of life and aggression.

20. Erikson’s Theory
For Erikson, who was not trained in
biology and/or the medical sciences
(unlike Freud and many of his
contemporaries), the most important
force driving human behavior and the
development of personality was social
interaction.

21. Erikson’s Theory
Erikson left his native Germany in the 1930's and
immigrated to America where he studied Native
American traditions of human development and
continued his work as a psychoanalyst.
His developmental theory of the "Eight Stages of Man" was
unique in that it covered the entire lifespan rather than
childhood and adolescent development.

22. Erikson’s Theory
Erikson’s view was that the social environment
combined with biological maturation provides each
individual with a set of “crises” that must be resolved.
The individual is provided with a "sensitive period" in
which to successfully resolve each crisis before a new crisis
is presented.

23. Erikson’s Theory
The results of the resolution, whether successful or not,
are carried forward to the next crisis and provide the
foundation for its resolution.

24. Erikson’s Eight Stages
Trust vs.
Mistrust Infancy
Child develops a belief
that the environment
can be counted on to
meet his or her basic
physiological and
social needs.

25.  Birth to age 1
 Totally dependent on others
 Caregiver meets needs: child develops trust
 Caregiver does not meet needs: child
develops mistrust
 Basic strength: Hope
◦ Belief our desires will be satisfied
◦ Feeling of confidence

26. • This stage identifies with development
of separation anxiety in the child. So if
necessary to provide dental treatment at
this early age, it is preferable to do with
the parent present and preferably with
parent holding the child
• Once the child loses basic trust with
world, it is very difficult to gain
confidence of the child and will require
special efforts to establish support with
the dentist and staff.
Dental Application

27. Erikson’s Eight Stages
Autonomy
vs. Shame &
Doubt
Toddlerhood
Child learns what
he/she can control and
develops a sense of
free will and
corresponding sense
of regret and sorrow
for inappropriate use
of self-control.

28.  Ages 1-3
 Child able to exercise some degree of choice
 Child’s independence is thwarted: child
develops feelings of self-doubt, shame in
dealing with others
 Basic Strength: Will
◦ Determination to exercise freedom of choice in face
of society’s demands

29. • Child is moving away from mother, but
still retreat to her in threatening
situations. So parent’s presence is
essential in dental clinic
• At this stage as the child takes pleasure
in doing tasks by himself; dentist must
obtain co-operation from him by making
him believe that the treatment is his
choice , not of his parents dentist.

30. Erikson’s Eight Stages
Initiative vs.
Guilt
Early Childhood
Child learns to begin
action, to explore, to
imagine as well as
feeling remorse for
actions.

31.  Ages 3-5
 Child expresses desire to take initiative in
activities
 Parents punish child for initiative: child
develops feelings of guilt that will affect self-
directed activity throughout life
 Basic strength: Purpose
◦ Courage to envision and pursue goals

32. • Child can be encouraged to view this visit
as a new adventure and encouraged to
genuine success in it. If this visit fails, it
can lead to sense of guilt in the child.
• He is inherently teachable at this stage
and so can be taught about various things
in dental set up. Independence has to
reinforced rather than dependence.

33. Erikson’s Eight Stages
Industry vs.
Inferiority
Middle
Childhood
Child learns to do
things well or correctly
in comparison to a
standard or to others

34.  Ages 6-11
 Child develops cognitive abilities to enable in
task completion (school work, play)
 Parents/teachers do not support child’s
efforts: child develops feelings of inferiority
and inadequacy
 Basic strength: Competence
◦ Exertion of skill and intelligence in pursuing and
completing tasks

35. • Child drives for sense of industry and
accomplishment, co-operation with
treatment can be obtained. This need to be
+vely reinforced.
• Co-operation at this stage depends on
whether heshe understands what is
needed to please dentistparents, whether
the peer group is supportive and whether
the desired behaviour is reinforced by the
dentist.

36. Erikson’s Eight Stages
Identity vs.
Role
Confusion
Adolescence
Develops a sense of self in
relationship to others and
to own internal thoughts
and desires
• social identity
• personal identity

37.  Ages 12-18
 Form ego identity: self-image
 Strong sense of identity: face adulthood with
certainty and confidence
 Identity crisis: confusion of ego identity
 Basic strength: Fidelity
◦ Emerges from cohesive ego identity
◦ Sincerity, genuineness, sense of duty in
relationships with others

38.  Behavior management of adolescents
can be challenging. Any orthodontic
treatment should be carried out if
child wants it and not parents as this
stage, parental authority is rejected.
Approval of peer group is extremely
important.

39. Erikson’s Eight Stages
Intimacy vs.
Isolation Young
Adulthood
Develops ability to give
and receive love; begins
to make long-term
commitment to
relationships

40.  Ages 18-35 (approximately)
 Undertake productive work and establish
intimate relationships
 Inability to establish intimacy leads to social
isolation
 Basic strength: Love
◦ Mutual devotion in a shared identity
◦ Fusing of oneself with another person

41. • At this stage, external appearances are very
important as it helps in attainment of
intimate relation. These young adults seeks
orthodontic treatment to correct their
dental appearances and this is
characterized as internal motivation.
• But alteration of appearances can also
interfere with previously established
relations, so the tertament options must be
fully explained to and discussed with the
young adults.

42. Erikson’s Eight Stages
Generativity
vs.
Stagnation
Middle
Adulthood
Develops interest in
guiding the
development of the
next generation

43.  Ages 35-55 (approximately)
 Generativity: Active involvement in
teaching/guiding the next generation
 Stagnation involves not seeking outlets for
generativity
 Basic strength: Care
◦ Broad concern for others
◦ Need to teach others

44. Erikson’s Eight Stages
Ego-
integrity vs.
Despair
Later
Adulthood
Develops a sense of
acceptance of life as it
was lived and the
importance of the people
and relationships that
individual developed
over the lifespan

45.  Ages 55+
 Evaluation of entire life
 Integrity: Look back with satisfaction
 Despair: Review with anger, frustration
 Basic strength: Wisdom
◦ Detached concern with the whole of life

46.  Stages 1-4
◦ Largely determined by others (parents, teachers)
 Stages 5-8
◦ Individual has more control over environment
◦ Individual responsibility for crisis resolution in each
stage

47. MERITS:
 Based on age wise classification of an individual.
Hence easy to apply at any stage of development.
 Simple & comprehensive to understand.
DEMERITS:
 Based on extreme ends of personality.

48. Acc. To Piaget the foll. mechanism help the child to progress from one
stage to another.
 OPERATION: An action that the child performs mentally & is
reversible.
 SCHEMATA : Represents a dynamic process of differentiation &
reorganization of knowledge.
 ASSIMILATION : New object interpreted in terms of idea or action the
child has already acquired.
 ACCOMMODATION : AN individual tendency to modify action to fit
into a new situation.
 EQUILIBRIUM: State established as new knowledge to the child.

49.  It has been categorized into 4 major stages:
 Sensorimotor stage (0 - 2 years)
 Pre-operational stage (2 - 7 years)
 Concrete operational stage (7-11 years)
 Formal operational stage (11-15 years)

50. Preoperational Stage:
The child begins to represent the world with words
and images. These words and images reflect
increased symbolic thinking and go beyond the
connection of sensory information and physical action.
Formal Operational Stage
The adolescent reasons in more abstract idealistic
and logical ways.
Sensorimotor Stage:
The infant constructs an understanding of the world
by coordinating sensory experiences with physical
actions: progressing from reflexive, instinctual action
at birth to the beginning of symbolic thought toward
end of the stage.
Concrete Operational Stage:
The child can now reason logically about concrete
events and classify objects into different sets.
Figure 2.3
11–15 years
of age
through
adulthood
Birth to 2
years of age
2 to 7 years
of age
7 to 11 years
of age
Piaget’s Four Stages of Cognitive Development

52.  Sensorimotor stage : child begins to interact with the environment,
can be given toys while sitting in dental clinic or chair in his /her
hand.
 Preoperational stage : pre operational stage constructivism: child
explores things, surveys dental chair, airway syringe etc.
• Cognitive Equilibrium :child explained about equipment &
allowed to deal with it.
• Animism : co-relates with other familiar objects.

53.  Concrete operations: concrete instructions i.e. brushing
technique. Abstract instruction like retainer wearing &
cleaning every night.
• Centering: allow to hold mirror to see what is
happening.
• Ego centering :child achieves level of understanding &
involves in the treatment.

54.  Formal operations: Peer influence & abstract thinking increase. They
play an imp. Role in orthodontic appliance and braces. Acceptance
from peers can be used for motivation for dental treatment.

55.  MERITS : Most comprehensive theory of cognitive
development. The theory propagated that we can learn as
much about children’s intellectual development from
examining their incorrect & correct answers to items.
 DEMERITS: Underestimates children’s abilities.
Overestimates age difference in thinking. Vagueness about the
process of change. underestimates the role of the social
environment.

57. 1. None of these theories are completely correct and
none of them are incorrect. They are proposals that
shed light on the development of human beings...
Guidance of a child’s behaviour in the dental office is
an essential prerequisite to complete dental care. TO
treat a child successfully or to manage a child in
dental setting, one should have sufficient knowledge
on psychological and personality development at
different stages of childhood.