Growing Up There Are Many Theorist Who

¶ … Growing Up

There are many theorist who attempt explain or describe the different stages of development. Freud talks about the individuals stages of psychosexual development. According to Freud there are five stages of psychosexual development. Erickson talks about the eight stages of psychosocial development. Piaget discussed four different stages of cognitive development. In this paper I will discuss these theorist and their theories of development, through middle and late childhood and adolescents. I will also utilize different aspects of these theories to create my own theories.

Erikson's five stages of psychosocial development go from birth to adolescents and the other three describes adulthood (Kendra, 2010). In the first stage trust vs. mistrust, goes from birth to one-year-old. In this stage of development trust is developed based on dependability and quality of the child's caregiver. The second stage is autonomy vs. shame and doubt; this is the early childhood stage which focuses on the child developing a sense of personal control, toilet training in an important part of this stage of development. In the third stage initiative vs. guilt, the child begins to assert themselves and their power in their play and take control of their own world. In the fourth stage, industry vs. inferiority, which is about age 5 to 11, children begin to develop a sense of pride in their accomplishment. In the fifth stage of development, identity vs. confusion -- the child explores his/her sense of self and develop a sense of independence. The other three stages of development describe adulthood.

Freud's five stages of development begin with the Oral stage of development during infancy, where the child is fixated on sucking and using the mouth. The second stage is the anal stage, where the primary focus is on bladder control and bowel movements. In this stage the child must become toilet trained, where they can control their bladder and bowel movements. In the phallic stage, the focus is on the genitals. Children discover their genitals and know there are differences between males and females. The latent period begins around the time children enters school, where they become aware of their peers and social relationships. In this period Freud believes there is still sexual energy, which is directed on other things like intellectual pursuits and social interactions (Kendra, 2010). The Genital stage of development is where the individual develops a strong sexual interest in the opposite sex. In this stage the individual begins to recognize the needs of others, and not just focus on their own needs, their generally occur during adolescents.

Piaget's first stage of development is the sensorimotor stage which is exhibited in the infancy. The infant exhibits their inability to think, their innate reflexes and they cannot distinguish themselves from their surroundings ("Piaget's Theory," 1980). The preoperational stage is the part of the child's life where they are egocentric; they exclude the perception of others. The concrete operational stage is where the child begins to think logically. The child begins to understand different concepts. The formal operational stage is the young adolescent age. The child is able to consider all possibilities, solve complex problems. During the adolescents years of growing is where the body is developing and puberty steps in, both males and females there are hormonal changes that also causes physical changes.

Each of these theorists has different ways of describing the stages of development. One thing remains the same for each theorist, if the child does not successfully pass through the different stages of development, it will affect their development and affect their personality development later. An example of Freud's development process, if the child does not pass through the anal stage successfully they can become rigid and orderly (anal) later in life. In Erikson's trust vs. mistrust if the caretaker fails to establish trust with the infant, the child can grow up with fears and develop difficulty trusting people.