Parenting Styles Diana Baumrind researched parent-child interactions and described three overall categories of parenting styles:  Authoritarian Parents: Set strict standards for their child’s behavior and apply punishments for violations of these rules without explanation or discussion. Children are more likely to distrust others and be separated from their peers.  Permissive Parents: They do not have clear guidelines for their children. Family members may perceive that they can get away with anything at home. Children from permissive homes are more likely to have emotional control problems and are more dependent.  Authoritative Parents: They set consistent standards for their children’s behavior but the standards are reasonable and explained. Children from authoritative homes have higher academic averages and are more sociable. STAGE THEORIES Continuity vs. Discontinuity: Whether we develop continually from birth to death or of it happen in fits or starts with periods of rapid development. We know our biological growth is discontinuous, but our thought and behavior growth is more confusing. Several theorists conclude that we pass through certain stages in the development of certain psychological traits. Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud theorized that we pass through 4 psychosexual stages. Freud said we could be fixated in one of these stages, making us preoccupied with the behaviors in associate with that stage. The stages are as follows:  Oral Stage: Babies seek pleasure through their mouths and Freud theorized that if we get fixated in this stage we might overeat, smoke, and have childlike dependence on things and people.  Anal Stage: This stage develops during toilet training, if one is fixated in this stage, one might be retentive or expulsive.  Phallic Stage: Babies realize there gender and this causes conflict in the family. Freud said that boys go though the Oedipus complex, when boys resent their father’s relationship with their mother. For girls, this is called the Electra complex. Fixation in this stage causes relationship problems.  Latency Stage: A period of calm between the ages of 6 and puberty. Sexual feelings are pushed out of conscious awareness.  Genital Stage: The stage where people remain for the rest of their lives, the focus of sexual pleasure is the genitals. Erik Erikson Erik Erikson was a Neo-Freudian theorist that created the psychosocial stage theory. It consists of eight stages, each stage centering on a specific social conflict:  Trust Versus Mistrust: Babies learn whether or not they can trust that the world provides for their needs.  Autonomy Versus Shame and Doubt: Toddlers begin to exert their will over their own bodies for the first time. Toddlers learn potty training and controlling their temper in this stage.  Initiative Versus Guilt: We feel a natural curiosity about our surroundings. If this initiative is encouraged, we will be comfortable asking questions in the future. If it is scolded, we will feel guilty about asking questions.  Industry Versus Inferiority: This happens around preschool and first grade. If we do as well as our peers, we feel competent. If we feel inferior, we will have an inferiority complex.  Identity Versus Role Confusion: Our main social task is to discover what social identity we are most comfortable with. We might try out different roles in this stage. Conflict in this stage may lead to an identity crisis later in life.  Intimacy Versus Isolation: Young adults who established stable identities must figure out how to balance their ties and efforts between work and relationships with other people.  Generativity Versus Stagnation: We start looking critically at our life path and we might try to seize control of our lives and ensure that things go as planned.  Integrity Versus Despair: Toward the end of life, we look back at our accomplishments and decide if we are satisfied with them or not.