Erikson’s Psychosocial Developmental Theory

Developmental theories present systematic ways of thinking about how human beings grow from babies to
Erik Erikson
adolescents was antoimportant
to adults figure in
elderly people, andthethefields of psychoanalytic
various and psychological
changes they undergo development.
as they make this passage.He
was alsodevelopmental
Different famously known for coining
theories the popular
describe phrase
different types“identity crisis”.Jean
of changes. His work on child
Piaget's development
influential theorieshas
been studied
describe and considered
how people's sincedevelopment
intellectual 1959. evolves over time. Lawrence Kolhberg's theories describe
Central
moral to much
evolution of his
over timework was his
as people theory
grow, andonEric
psychosocial development
Erikson and (which,
Robert Kegan haveunlike Freud’s
created theory
theories that of
development,
describe focusesand
how identity on the
social development
nature andchange
of the self not sexual
with development). As it became
increasing maturity. We've known, Erikson’s
described early
Psychosocial
human Developmental
development in detail inTheory produced
our Child a framework
Development Topic for organizing
Center , whichhuman growth,
you may through
wish to look atallwhen
stages
of have
you life, into eight distinct stages:
a moment.
Stage 1: Trust vs. Mistrust

In Stage 2: Autonomy
general, vs. Shame
developmental and Doubt
theories view development as progress from simple to more complex
Stage 3: Initiative
understandings
Stage but
stages, 4: Industry
DEVELOPMENTAL
vs.self
of the Guilt
and the world over time. Progress may be continuous in nature, or occurring in
vs. Inferiority
the momentum is most always forward toward greater, more complex understandings. For
Stage 5:prior
Identity
to vs. Role Confusion
THEORIES
example, achieving "object permanency", babies do not understand that objects (toys, people)
Stage 6:toIntimacy
continue vs. Isolation
exist even when out of sight. Instead of looking for a toy now covered with a blanket, they
Stage quickly
instead 7: Generativity vs. Stagnation
lose interest in the toy as though it never existed. As they grow, babies come to master the
Stage
idea 8: Integrity
of object vs. Despair
permanency, and thereafter will begin looking for objects hidden from their view.
Freud’s Psychosexual Developmental Theory
According to Encyclopedia Britannica, Sigmund Freud “may justly be called the most influential intellectual
legislator of his age.” While creating the modern field of psychoanalysis, Freud also went on to make many
other significant contributions to the sciences including the assertion of his Psychosexual Developmental
Theory which tackles the stages of child development. 
Freud’s theory of psychosexual development was one of the most important psychological theories of the 20th
century. Freud explained that child experiences, experienced at different ages in childhood, directly dictate
personality and behavior patterns in the later adult. He explained that childhood experiences are intensely
linked to healthy development for children. According to Freud, childhood development follows five distinct
stages:
Oral Stage
Anal Stage
Phallic Stage
Latent Stage
Genital Stage
Like Erikson’s theory described earlier, Freud’s stages correspond with specific developmental stages in the
lifespan. For example, the oral stage corresponds with infancy (birth to one year of age) and is identified by the
child’s oral-fixated behaviors. Babies explore the world with their mouths, including breast or bottle feeding.
According to Freud, these stages of a child’s development are centered around sexual development. So, babies
in the oral stage gain a lot of satisfaction from putting items in their mouths – their fingers, toys, and the like.
That’s because he believed that the libido at this stage is centered in the mouth.
Bowlby’s Attachment Theory
John Bowlby was another groundbreaking psychologist and theorist in matters of development. He also crafted
one of the earliest known child development theories which still sees prominent use and citation today.
In Bowlby’s Attachment Theory, he asserted that much of child development is based on the innate need of
children to form attachments. These attachments may involve any number of people, places, or things and
ultimately have a substantial effect on the developmental patterns a person experiences throughout their life.
Bowlby was a psychoanalyst like Freud, and as such, he placed a lot of importance on early childhood and
how experiences during that period of life could determine whether or not a child would grow up to have
significant mental health problems.
His theory is strongly rooted in evolutionary psychology – he believed that humans, like any other animal, are
biologically predisposed to form attachments to others as a survival mechanism. He believed that children have
a two-and-a-half-year window (which he called the “critical period”) to form strong attachments to others and a
five-year window during which children are “sensitive” to forming attachments.
Bowlby believed that children that do not form attachments during the critical period or sensitive period are
likely to not form strong attachments at all. What’s more, he posited that infants who experience consistent
interruptions in their attachment experiences with their primary caregivers will potentially have
significant emotional, social, and cognitive deficits as adults.
In other words, this theory suggests that infants form a working model of understanding themselves, other
people, and the world in general based on the relationship they have with their caregiver, be that their mother,
father, or someone else. His groundbreaking work on child development seems to be more popular than ever. 

Piaget’s Cognitive Developmental Theory

Piaget’s Cognitive Developmental Theory states that children, quite simply, think differently than adults. While
this may seem obvious to some, this was a revolutionary theory that went on to provide the foundations for
several other theories to come. Piaget’s theory on a child’s development being tied to their developmental
milestones has gone on to be one of the top theories in the world. 
Essentially, this theory divided the child life into four separate categories, or stages, each of which carries its
own important qualities and vulnerabilities:
Sensorimotor stage: Birth to two years
Preoperational stage: 2 to 7 years
Concrete operational stage: 7 to 11 years
Formal operational stage: ages 12 and up
According to Piaget, each of these stages was marked by a specific developmental goal. Object permanence
(the ability to understand that an object that is out of sight still exists) is the goal of the sensorimotor stage.