VII.

DEVELOPMENTAL HISTORY

Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory

The client is in oral stage. Sucking is his way of gratification. And caregiver should

provide oral stimulation by giving pacifiers or not discouraging thumb sucking to prevent pencil

chewing, cigarette smoking, and nail biting in later life. In the case of J.M.A., he becomes

satisfied in sucking, specifically in drinking water in a bottle and in breastfeeding. He also learns

to do thumb sucking.

Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory

The developmental task of infant according to Erikson is to develop trust versus mistrust,

a crucial stage wherein the child learns how to love and be loved. Caregiver must meet the infant

needs like food, warmth/cuddled the infant, and play with him to gain his trust. Infant who did

not develop trust during his infancy period will have difficulty in interacting with other people as

he grows. The mother told the student nurse that she cuddles her son when he cries, gives milk to

him when he is hungry. In this way, trust is being developed in J.M.A.

Jean Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development

According to this theory, infants are in sensorimotor stage in which the infant responds

easily to the sounds they hear. They react to simple perceptual and motor adaptation stimuli.

They lack on cognitive awareness of what is happening to their surroundings. Hand-mouth and

ear-eye coordination develop. They begin to look at objects, grab and put them on their mouth.

Their attention is easily caught by hearing different sounds. This is same in the situation of

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J.M.A. in which he easily responded to the sounds produced by the rattle and the bell when the

student-nurse tried to play with the infant.

Kohlberg’s Moral Development

Based on this theory, the client is in prereligous/premoral stage. Immediate gratification

of self needs is important (self-centered). Good-bad orientation is very common. When he does

what his caregiver told him to do so, he is labeled as “good”, and “bad” if he did not or could

not. Praising the infant is an important thing to do to acknowledge his given effort. The mother

described her son as a happy child and sees to it that she always praises him whenever he smiles

and does what she told him to do.

VIII. PLAY BEHAVIOR

Infants’ play is called solitary play. In this kind of play, self is the interest of infants.

They enjoy the presence of other people but just play alone by themselves. In the case of J.M.A.,

the infant plays with the use of rattle and mobile because he is captivated to the sounds that the

rattle and mobile produce. His mother also often placed him on a mattress for him to roll over.

He has an older brother (5 years old) who always plays and talks to him.

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