Theories of Development
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Since time immemorial, development theorists have tried to understand why people behave the way they do. Some of the most notable psychologists whose works have continued to be used in reference to human development include Jean Piaget, Sigmund Freud, and Erik Erikson. Even though these three individuals developed varying theories, they believed that human development took place in a sequence of distinct stages. In each of the stages, an individual exhibits unique behaviour which mare influenced by cognitive advancements. The identified stages are linked to age, thus enhancing the ideology that development is intermittent.
Sigmund Freud described development as a process that entails stages classifying early childhood as the most critical stage in personality development (Morss, 2020). He believed that during the first five years, an individual actively develops their unique personality based on the fact that one learns to understand the world around them from observation and reaction to events. Erik Erikson also contended that human development was heavily dependent on one’s early childhood stage (Green & Piel, 2015). He believed that with every stage of development presents particular challenges that help build an individual’s personality. However, he proceeded to establish eight distinctive stages which produce varying outcomes based on how one handles the difficulties presented.
Jean Piaget based his study on testing the level of intelligence among children. The study was aimed at investigating the children’s thought process. According to the Swiss psychologist, as children mature into adulthood, their thought processes go through changes as one learns to actively interact with their immediate environment (Morss, 2020). He proceeds to note that children tend to develop mental models, otherwise known as schema, which are a direct presentation of the world as they see it. Thus as a child matures to adulthood, their schema expands and changes as a result of active accommodation and assimilation.
References
Green, M. G., & Piel, J. A. (2015). Theories of human development: A comparative approach. Psychology Press.
Morss, J. (2020). The Concept of Developmental Stage: Hall, Freud, and Piaget. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Psychology.