Stages of Development

Theory A systematic statement of principles that provides framework for explaining some phenomenon. Developmental Theories provide road maps for explaining human development.

Developmental Task A skill or growth responsibility arising at a particular time in an individual s life, the achievement of which will provide a foundation for the accomplishment of future tasks.

Freud s Psychoanalytic Theory Infant Freud termed the infant period as the oral phase because infants are so interested in oral stimulation or pleasure during this time. According to this theory, infant s suck for enjoyment or relief of tension, as well as for nourishment. Toddler |Freud describes the toddler as an anal phase because during this time, children s interests focus on the anal region as they begin toilet training. Elimination takes a new importance for them. Children find pleasure in both the retention of feces and defecation. This anal interest is part of toddlers self-discovery, a way of exerting

independence, and probably accounts for some of the difficulties parents may experience in toilet-training children of this age. Preschool During this preschool period, children s pleasure zone appears to shift from anal to genital area. Freud called this period the phallic phase . Masturbation is common during this phase. Children may also show exhibitionism, suggesting they hope this will lead to increased knowledge of two sexes. School-Age Freud saw the school-age as a latent phase , a time in which children s libido appears to be divided into concrete thinking. He saw no developments as obvious as those in earlier periods appearing during this time. Adolescent Freud termed the adolescent period the genital phase . Freudian theory considers the main events of this period to be the establishment of new sexualaims and finding of new love objects.

Erikson s Theory of Psychosocial Development TheInfant According to Erikson, the development task for infants is learning trust vs.

mistrust (other terms are learning confidence or learning love ). Infants whose needs are met when those needs arise, whose comforts are quickly removed, who are cuddled, played with, and talked to, come to view the world as a safe place and people as helpful and dependable. However, when their care is inconsistent, inadequate, or rejecting, this fosters a basic mistrust.

The Toddler Erikson defines the development task of the toddler age as learning autonomy vs. shame and doubt . Autonomy (self-government or independence) builds on children s new motor and mental abilities. Children take pride in new accomplishments and want to do everything independently. When caregivers are impatient and do everything for them, this enforces a sense of shame and doubt. The Preschooler The developmental task of the preschooler period is learning initiative vs. guilt . Learning initiative is learning how to do things. Children can initiate motor activities of various sorts on their own and no longer merely respond to or imitate actions of their children or their parents. If children made to feel that their motor activity is bad (perhaps in a small apartment or hospital), their questions are nuisance, or their play is silly and stupid, they may develop a sense of guilt over a self-initiated activities that will persist in later life. The Shool-Age Erikson viewed the developmental task of the school-age period as a developing industry vs. inferiority , or accomplishment rather than inferiority. During the preschool period, children learned initiative-how to do something. During schoolage, children learn how to do things well. When they are encourage in their efforts to do practical things and are praised and rewarded for the finished results, their sense of industry grows. Parents who see their children s efforts at making and doing things as merely a busy work or who do not show appreciation for their children s efforts may cause them to develop a sense of inferiority rather than pride and accomplishment. The Adolescent

Erikson believed the new interpersonal dimension that emerges during adolescence is a sense of identity vs. role confusion . To achieve this, adolescents must bring together everything they have learned about themselves as a son or daughter, an athlete, a friend, a fast-food cook, a student, and so on, and integrate these different images into a whole that makes sense. If adolescents cannot do so, they are left with role confusion; that is, they are left unsure of what kind of person they are and are uncertain what they can do or what kind of person they can become.

The Young Adult The developmental crisis of the young adult is achieving sense of intimacy vs. isolation . Intimacy is the ability to relate well with other people, not only with the members of the opposite sex but also with one s own sex to form a long-lasting friendships. Because there is always the risk of being rejected or hurt when offering love or friendship, individuals cannot offer it if they do not have confidence they can cope with rejection or if they did not develop a sense of trust as an infant. The Middle-Aged Adult The developmental task of middle-age is to establish a sense of generativity vs. stagnation . People extend their concern from just themselves and their families to the community and the world. They may become politivally active, work to solve environmental problems, or to participate in far-reaching community or world-based decisions. People with the sense of generativity are self-confident and better able to juggle their various lives. People without this sense, become stagnant or selfabsorbed. The Older Adult Older adult play a role in childrearing today because many of them give childcare to young children while parents work. The developmental task of older adults is integrity vs. despair . Older adults with integrity feel good about the life choices

they have made; those with a feeling of despair wish life begin over again so that things could turn out differently.

Piaget s Theory of Cognitive Development The infant Piaget referred to the infant stage as the sensorimotor stage . Sensorimotor intelligence is practical intelligence, because words and symbols for thinking and problem solving are not yet available for this early age. At the beginning of infancy, babies relate to the world through their senses, using only reflex behavior. As infants progresses through this stage, they learn the basic concept that people are entities separate from objects. The Toddler During this period, preoperational thought is developed. Children relearn on a conceptual level some of the lessons they mastered as infants at the sensorimotor level, before having language. Now, children are able to use symbols to represent objects. They may have difficulty viewing one object as being different from another,however. The Preschooler Piaget saw preschool children as moving on to a substage preoperational thought termed intuitive thought. During this time, children tend to look at an object and see only one of it s characteristics (referred to as centering). Centering contributes to the preschooler s lack of conservation (the ability to discern truth, even though physical properties change) or reversibility(the ability to retrace steps). Preschool thinking is also influenced by role fantasy, or how children would like something to turn out. Children use assimilation (taking in information and changing

it to fit their existing ideas). Later, children learn accommodation(they change their ideas to fit their reality rather than the reverse). Egocentrism, or perceiving that one s thoughts and needs are better or more important than those of others, is also strong during this p-eriod. The School-Age Piaget viewed school age as a period during which concrete operational thought begins as school-age children can discover concrete solutions to everyday problems and recognize cause-and-effect relationships. The Adolescent Piaget saw adolescent as the time when cognition achieves its final form, that of formal operational thought . When this stage reached, adolescent are capable of thinking in terms of possibility what could be (abstract thought) rather than being limited to thinking about what already is (concrete thought). This makes it possible for adolescents to use scientific reasoning or also understand deductive reasoning, or reasoning that proceeds from the general to the specific.

Kohlberg s Theory of Moral Development The Infant The infant period is a prereligious stage . Infants have little concept of any motivating force beyond that of their parents. Infants learn that when they do certain actions, parents give affection and approval; for other actions, parents scold and label the behavior bad . To support this stage of development, it is important for caregivers to praise infants for doing what they have been asked to do. The Toddler

Toddlers begins to formulate a sense of right and wrong, but their reason for doing right is centered most strongly in mother or father says so rather than in any spiritual or societal motivation. Kolhberg referred to this as a punishment

obedience orientation (a child is good because a parent says a child must be good, not because it is right to be good .

The Preschool Preschoolers tend to do good out of self-interest rather than out of true intent to do good or because of a strong spiritual motivation. Because of egocentrism, a preschooler may do things for others only in return for things done for him or her. This means it may be necessary to remind children of actions taken on their behalf or trade off actions. The School-Age Child School-age children enter a stage of moral development termed conventional development , a level at which many adults continue to function. Young school-age children adhere to phase of development termed the nice girl, nice boy stage. Children engaged in actions that are nice or fair rather than necessarily right. The Adolescent As adolescent become capable of abstract thought, they become capable of internalizing standards of conduct (they do what they think is right regardless of whether anyone is watching). This termed postconventional development and is the mature form of moral reasoning.