Children Cannot Help but Notice About Certain

¶ … children cannot help but notice about certain unusual behavioral, cognitive, emotional, and physical traits and wonder if they are "normal." The puzzle of human development has been a popular area of study and, as a result, there is a wealth of theories striving to understand the many twists and turns of maturation. Erik Erikson, a developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst; Jean Piaget, a Swiss biologist and Lev Vygotsky, a Russian psychologist, put forth three of the most well-known theories on aspects of human development.

Erikson believed humans went through eight distinct physical and emotional developmental periods called "psychosocial stages." In each stage Erikson proposed that humans confront a task or dilemma and that their ability to address each challenge would further define their personality and abilities. The stages correspond to specific physical stages and are as follows: Trust vs. Mistrust (infancy), Autonomy vs. Shame (toddler), Initiative vs. Guilt (preschool), Industry vs. Inferiority (elementary), Identity vs. Role Confusion (adolescence), Intimacy vs. Isolation (young adulthood), Generativity vs. Stagnation (middle age) and Integrity vs.

Despair (retirement) (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2002). Psychologists today say Erikson's theory is not accurate, particularly in the early stages of life, because it does not take different cultures into consideration. Another criticism is that Erikson based his theory on his observations of men and that women tend to focus on intimacy earlier in their lives, often during or even a little bit before adolescence (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2002). However, Erikson's theory provides a general understanding of the stages most people go through during maturation.

Piaget, like Erikson, also believed that people went through developmental stages. Piaget focused on cognitive development and identified only four stages: Sensorimotor (birth until two-years-old), Preoperational stage (two until seven-years-old), Concrete Operations stage (seven until 12-years-old), and Formal Operations stage (12 through adulthood) (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2002). At each stage Piaget believed children thought and reasoned very differently and by noting the developments and limitations of each stage parents and teachers would be more successful in helping a child reach his or her optimal intelligence and ability.

Piaget believed more in providing children with rich learning experiences and allowing them to explore these experiences independently. Piaget's theories inspired many changes in the way children are educated to allow for more self-discovery. However, some psychologists criticize his rigid age parameters for each stage, noting that while humans appear to go through these stages, they do not always go through them at the specific times Piaget described. Unlike Piaget and Erikson, Vygotsky believed that nurture, or environment, was more influential to a person's development than intrinsic or natural changes.

Vygotsky did believe that biological factors played a role in a human's development, but not to the extent of Piaget and Erikson. One of Vygotsky's greatest discoveries was that at different stages children are ready for specific kinds of information. He believed that maxium cognitive growth occurred when children were challenged to reach a little beyond their abilities, but not to the point of frustration. His theory evolved into the idea of the Zone of Proximal Development or ZPD.

By receiving help from a more accomplished individual, enough to complete the task, but not too much, provides children with an optimal learning environment. Vygotsky's theories, like Piaget's played a tremendous role in developing modern educational practices. However, some psychologists criticize Vygotsky's dismissal of the importance of children interacting with peers. Parents, teachers and other caregivers need to know various theories on human development so as learn optimal methods for teaching and raising children. For example, a kindergarten teacher who wants to teach children to recognize the.