mahlers theory?

Question

what's the mahlers theory?

the one that has something to do with child development. oh and what;s the difference between the psychosexual stages and the mahlers theory?

Answer 1

Do you mean Mahler's theorem... I don't understand it at all but this is what Wikipedia says.

Answer 2

Mahler's Normal Autistic Phase

Birth to 4 weeks

* State of half-asleep, half-awake
* Major task to phase is to achieve homeostatic
equilibrium with the environment
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Mahler's Normal Symbiotic Phase

3-4 weeks to 4-5 months

* Dim awareness of caretaker, but infant still functions as if he and caretaker are in state of undifferentiation or fusion
* Social smile characteristic (two to four months)

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Child Development: Mahler's First Subphase - Differentiation

5 to 10 months

* Process of hatching from autisic shell, i.e., developing more alert sensorium that reflects cognitive and neurological maturation

* Beginning of camparative scanning, i.e., comparing what is and what is not mother

* Characteristic anxiety: stranger anxiety, shich involves curiosity and fear (most prevalent around 8 months)
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Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Mahler's Second Subphase - Practicing

10 to 16 months

* Beginning of this marked by upright locomotion -- child has new perspective and also mood of elation
* Mother used as home base
* Characteristic anxiety: separation anxiety
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Mahler's Third Subphase - Rapprochement

16 to 24 months

* Infant now a toddler -- more aware of physical separateness, which dampens mood of elation
* Child tries to bridge gap between himself and mother -- concretely seen as bringing objects to mother
* Mother's efforts to help toddler often not perceived as helpful, temper tantrums typical
* Characteristic event: rapprochement crisis. Wanting to be soothed by mother and yet not be able to accept her help
* Symbol of rapprochement: child standing on threshold of door not knowing wich way to turn in helpless frustration
* Resolution of crisis occurs as child's skills improve and child able to get gratification from doing things himself
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Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Child Development: Mahler's Object Constancy Phase

24 to 36 months

* Child better able to cope with mother's absence and engage substitutes

* Child can begin to feel comfortable with mother's absences by knowing she will return

* Gradual internalization of image of mother as reliable and stable

* Through increasing verbal skills and better sense of time, child can tolerate delay and endure separations
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That is Mahler's theory of child stage development...Now on to Freud...
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Child Development: Freud's Oral Phase

The oral phase begins at birth and lasts eight months. It is characterized by the infant's concern for his mouth and gratification he feels from oral stimuli. The most obvious oral activity the child derives pleasure from is eating. Oral stimulation, however, is also produced by engaging in such activities as sucking, biting, swallowing and manipulating various parts of the mouth. Freud contended that these activities are he child's means of fulfilling his sexual urges. Hence, Eros (the life instinct) makes its appearance. But Thanatos (the death instinct) is also seen since quite frequently children destroy objects they come in contact with, often by biting them.

During this phase, the child's personality is controlled by the id. He demands immediate gratification of his wants.

Other phases related to Oral Phase:

* Trust vs. Mistrust

* Primary narcissism

* Need-satisfying

* paranoid-schizoid position

* part-object relations

* normal autism

* Birth
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Child Development: The Anal Phase

The anal stage of motivational development is characterized by the child's central area of bodily concern in the rectum. Bowel movements become a source of pleasure to the child. He may defecate often to achieve this pleasure. This, however, would bring him into conflict with his parents. The conflict leads the child to develop an ego. He comes to realize that he cannot always do what he wants when he wants. He learns that there are certain times when it it appropriate to expel waste and other times when it is inappropriate. He gradually comes to understand his mother's wishes and abides by them.
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Child Development: Freud's Genital Phase

The genital phase is the longest of the five stages. It lasts seven years from ages eleven to eighteen. This period is similar to the anal stage. There is a renewed interest and pleasure derived from excretory activity. In addition, masturbation takes place and is engaged in much more frequently at this time than during the anal stage.

In the beginning of the genital phase, the person seeks associations with members of his own sex just as in the latency period. But the associations are stronger in the genital phase and Freud believed that they are homosexual in nature, even though homosexual activity may not take place. As this period progresses, however, the homosexual tendencies are supplanted by heterosexual ones and toward the latter part of this phase, the child makes contact and forms relationships with members of the opposite sex.

Also at this time, the superego undergoes further development and becomes more flexible. In the latency period the superego is quite rigid. The child adopts rules in the most literal sense. During the genital phase, the individual realizes that some rules are less vital than others. Consequently, his behavior will reflect this. He accepts some rules or norms and makes exceptions to others.
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Child Development - Freud's Phallic Phase

The child's central interest shifts to the genital region. This stage is called the phallic phase nd lasts from approximately two years of age to age six. Sexual gratification becomes more erotic during this time as evidenced by the child's masturbation: actual manipulation of the genitals.

It is during this stage that he phallus acquires a special significance. Freud believed that the increased awareness in the male of his sexual organs leads him to subconsciously desire his mother. In addition, the male child grows envious and resentful of his father and wishes to replace him as the object of his mother's love. The situation is called the Oedipus Complex.

Similarly, a female undergoes a complex wherein she desires her father and rivals with her mother for her father's affections. This is called the Electra Complex. This complex involves penis envy on the part of the female child. She believes that she once had a penis but that it was removed. In order to compensate for its loss, Freud believed the girl wants to have a child by her father. Eventually, however, both the boy and the girl pas through these complexes. Once this happens, they begin to identify with the parent of their own sex. This marks the end of the phallic phase and the beginning of a new one.
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Child Development: Latency

The period of latency is characterized by indifference to sexually related matters. During this time, the child's identification with the parent of his own sex becomes stronger. The child imitates his or her behavior -- speech, gestures, mannerisms, as well as beliefs and value systems. The child also incorporates more and more of the beliefs and values of his culture. Thus, the super-ego is developing to a greater extent. (It began to develop during the late anal and phallic stages. The child comes to distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable behavior in his society.

The period of latency is also marked by the fact that children seek associations ( or playmates) of their own sex. Boys prefer the company of boys and consciously avoid girls. Girls prefer contact with other girls and avoid boys. This period of sexual latency lasts five years, from ages six to eleven.