Erik Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development:

Erik Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development:

Erik Erikson was an ego psychologists who developed one of the most popular and influential theories of development. Erik Erikson's theory of psychosocial development is one of the best-known theories of personality in psychology. Erikson believed that personality develops in a series of stages. Erikson believes that in each stage, people experience a conflict that serves as a turning point in development. In Erikson's view, these conflicts are centered on either developing a psychological quality or failing to develop that quality. If people successfully deal with the conflict, they emerge from the stage with psychological strengths that will serve them well for the rest of their life. If they fail to deal effectively with these conflicts, they may not develop the essential skills needed for a strong sense of identity and self.

·         Stages

o    1 Hopes: trust vs. mistrust                                  (oral-sensory, birth – 2 years)

o    2 Will: autonomy vs. shame and doubt             (muscular-anal, 2–4 years)

o    3 Purpose: initiative vs. guilt                             (genital, preschool, 4–5 years)

o    4 Competence: industry vs. inferiority              (latency, 5–12 years)

o    5 Fidelity: identity vs. role confusion                 (adolescence, 13–19 years)

o    6 Love: intimacy vs. isolation                             (young adulthood, 20–24, or 20–39 years)

o    7 Care: generativity vs. stagnation                     (middle adulthood, 25–64, or 40–64 years)

o    8 Wisdom: ego integrity vs. despair                   (late adulthood, 65 – death)

Description of Piaget’s Theory on the Stages of Cognitive Development

Piaget (1973) developed a systematic study of cognitive development in children. His work included a theory on cognitive development, detailed observational studies of cognition in children, and a series of tests to reveal differing cognitive abilities.

Through his work, Piaget (1973) showed that children think in considerably different ways than adults do. This did not mean that children thought at a less intelligent degree, or at a slower pace, they just thought differently when compared to adults. Piaget’s work showed that children are born with a very basic genetically inherited mental structure that evolves and is the foundation for all subsequent learning and knowledge. He saw cognitive development as a progressive reorganization of mental processes resulting from maturation and experience.

To explain his theory, Piaget identified the following four stages in development of cognition:

• Sensory-Motor (Ages Birth Through Two)
• Preoperational (Ages Two Through Seven)
• Concrete Operations (Ages Seven Through Eleven)
• Formal Operations (Ages Eleven Through Sixteen)

At each stage, the child will acquire more complex motor skills and cognitive abilities. Although different behaviors characterize different stages, the transition between stages is gradual, and a child moves between stages so subtly that he may not be aware of new perspectives gained. However, at each stage there are definite accompanying developmental changes in the areas of play, language, morality, space, time, and number (Singer & Revenson, 1997).