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Case Study of a Woman With a Strong Sense of Self

he was to follow with all her children. Each child was weaned when ready, rather than being forced to stop; Maggie recalls Charlie continuing to breast feed until he was almost a year old, though he was also starting to eat solid food at the time. Breast feeding allowed Maggie to come through the initial phase of Freud's first psychosexual stage, the oral phase, feeling well cared for. She recalls watching her younger siblings breast feed without jealousy, feeling comforted by the sight. This initial stage allowed Maggie to develop a solid id, the foundation for the rest of her personality.

In Erik Erikson psychosocial theory, which expands on Freud's writings by postulating a series of psychological crises faced by the developing child, this period requires the individual to learn trust and overcome mistrust. Maggie believes that her strong bond with her parents, especially her mother, enabled her to deal with this important first milestone. Although later experience has taught her to temper that trust and give it advisedly, she is still able to trust others and believes in her own ability to inspire trust in others.

Harry F. Harlow (19--), in his study of the development of relationships between mother and child in rhesus monkeys, notes that the successful mother-child bond gives the child the self-confidence needed for curiosity and exploration (p. 76). The successful establishment of trust then releases the child to start to enter subsequent phases of development. This development is progressive. Harlow (19--) argues, "Once an ability shows itself it is here to stay, and will influence everything that happens afterward" (p. 94). Maggie believes that her mother's unconditional care and undivided attention laid the important foundation for her subsequent ability to develop a positive, well-integrated personality.

Although her father later told her that, during the first few years of her life, money was very tight...

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Case Study of a Woman With a Strong Sense of Self. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 04:43, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1689575.html