12 unpleasant experience and cover it with the pleasant experience. In other words,
the individuals try to forget their unpleasant experiences and cover it with the pleasant experience as cited in Weiner, 1980, p. 64-65.
The individuals avoid talking about the topics which will make them remember their bad experiences. In some cases, the individuals’ bad experiences
will make them do the negative action or reaction in the reality Weiner, 1980. For instance, a woman, who becomes a victim of rape, will isolate herself to
interact with others because of her bad experience in the past. Denial is one of defense mechanisms which are the effort to protect the
individuals from pain and bad experience. Weiner 1980 defines denial as a rejection or refusal to accept the situation which makes the individuals remember
their unpleasant experiences. The individuals reject or refuse the existence of this situation consciously. In other words, the unpleasant or bad experiences are
recalled in their mind and make them to avoid the situation which brings them into the similar experiences.
b. Theory of Human Development
Freud 1969 states that an indiv idual’s childhood experience also
influences the individual’s emotion, instinct, and motivation in his behaviour
unconsciously. Erikson 1963 explains about theory of human development which affects
an individual’s identity and motivation unconsciously p. 247-269. He explains the human stages from the infant stage until the adult stage.
13 1
Basic Trust vs. Basic Mistrust In the early stage of childhood, the role of a mother is really important to
build a basic trust between a child and a mother, and also between a mother and a child. The reason is when a child trusts his mother; he will trust others, including
himself. It will be different if a mother does not play her role well in his childhood. In this case, he will be difficult to trust his mother and others,
including himself. 2
Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt In this stage, a child wants to do everything by himself. He will have his
pride when he successfully reaches his goal. If his parents are able to recognize his capability in reaching his goal, the child will develop a sense that he is able to
control his muscles, his impulses, and also himself. It is what we often call the sense of autonomy.
The main problem of this stage is what does he do based on what he wants? Or what does he do based on what his parents want? When a child tries to
follow what his parents want, the sense of shame and doubt will raise. The reasons are because he will feel doubt whether what he does is wrong or not, and he will
feel shame when other people think what he does is wrong. In this stage, the control of ego is very important to choose the certain decision.
3 Initiative vs. Guilt
This stage is also called as the genital stage of classical psychoanalysis. A child wants to learn and try something new in this stage. When his parents give
14 him a freedom and an opportunity to initiate motor play, such as running, riding a
bike, wrestling, and also skating, he will have a sense of initiative reinforced. On the other hand, the child who fails to face this stage will often feel
guilty. He will evaluate what he does is wrong even though other people do not see what he does actually. Furthermore, the feeling of guilt comes from his mind
and thought which evaluate himself as the wrong person. 4
Industry vs. Inferiority The child enters the school life and he learns to compete to produce
something with his classmates. He will try to produce and encourage his efforts to make, do or build practical things to get recognition from his parents. It will
enhance the sense of industry. On the other hand, when parents see his effort in doing, making, building, and produce something as easy making a mess, it will
enhance the sense of inferiority of the child. He will often compare himself to others so that he will feel inferior.
5 Identity vs. Role Confusion
In this stage, a young person will face some social problems which are related to his physiological development. It will challenge him to play his role in
the society in order to find and develop his identity. When his parents and people around him support and help him solve his challenges and problems, he will be
successful to develop his strong identity. However, when a young person fails to struggle and find out his identity
because of an unfortunate childhood or social circumstances, he will show a certain amount of role confusion. The role confusion is a sense of not knowing
