Freud’s developmental stages are most controversial because of his theory. He believed that we develop through stages based upon “a particular erogenous stage.” (Heffner 2011) His theory was that during each stage, the child will become fixated on a particular erogenous zone which can either mean them over-indulging when they become an adult.
The developmental stages begin with the ‘Oral Stage’ which takes place at birth to 18 months. During this stage, infants depend a lot of oral fixations. They tend to find libido gratification from oral exploration in the world and they also learn to trust in adults. In terms of their personality, given their oral dependency, some believe that it can lead to pessimism …show more content…
The ideas of projective tests were intended to uncover such unconscious desires that are hidden from conscious awareness. The key to projective tests is to provide the participant with an unclear stimulus or question so the underlying and unconscious motivations or attitudes are revealed. The well-known type of projective test is the Rorschach Inkblot Test which consists of 10 different cards that depict an ambiguous inkblot. The participant is expected to describe what they see in the image; gestures, tone of voice, and other reactions are noted and taken into consideration.
While many therapists use Projective tests as icebreakers to encourage clients to open up and discuss issues, they have some weaknesses and limitations. Based on the examiner’s attitude or the test setting, it can heavily influence the client’s answers and since the scoring is fairly subjective, the interpretation of answers can and may vary from one examiner to the next. Furthermore, the validity of projective tests is up to question. Validity refers to whether or not a test is measuring what it's supposed to