Children Development Theories

Children Development Theories

The field of developmental psychology attributes its success to two psychologists Jean Piaget and Erik Erikson, who through different ideologies have impacted the study of childhood development (Gabriel Asirifi, 2019). Piaget based his research on cognitive development, which centres on the way children acquire knowledge based on their environment. Erikson, on the other hand, emphasized the emotional development by modifying Freud’s psychosexual development to psychosocial development. The duo’s studies contain some similarities and contrasts based on their reasoning on the different aspects of childhood development.

Both psychologists emphasize the development of a child as a process that proceeds in stages and phases. Piaget believes that a child’s development changes from one step to the other. He opines that the first stage in the development of children is the sensorimotor stage, Preoperational, Concrete period and finally, the formal operation Period, which is characterized by precise thinking. Similarly, Erikson explains the development of a child in terms of phase and groups them into eight stages, starting with Trust vs Mistrust and ends with Integrity vs despair. The environment of a person also plays a vital role in their development which follows a person until old age.

Conversely, it is also notable that the two hold some differences in their studies. While Piaget starts his theory at the little age of two years, Erikson starts his argument at twelve months. Based on these aspects, it is right to conclude that Erikson values each step of a child’s development, unlike Piaget, who might assume that not all stages are essential in a child’s development. Moreover, there is a contrast when it comes to Piaget cognitive theories and Erikson’s first four theories. Erikson gives a difference between two aspects of the development of a child, for example, contrasts trust and mistrust and how they are built up with the growth of a child. Piaget, on the other hand, gives a generalized view of aspects of child development.

Piaget and Erik Erikson were among the founding fathers of different theories that served to explain the development of a child from a younger ager to an older age. The duo helped to expand the assumptions involved in the process of adaptation, assimilation and accommodation. These psychologists both grouped their theories in the form of steps. The steps showed the development of children in terms of phases. However, the two contrasted in the way they placed emphasis on the steps and how each step served its purpose in children development.

Reference

Antwi, Gabriel. (2019). THE THEORIES OF DEVELOPMENT STUDIES.