This paper examines the developmental theories of Sigmund Freud, Erik Erikson, and Ivan Pavlov as they relate to child and adolescent development and learning. The paper argues that meaningful learning cannot occur until a child has reached the necessary physical, psychological, and emotional milestones. It compares the three theorists across key dimensions — including their views on developmental stages, the sources of conflict, and the interplay of cognitive, physical, and emotional growth — and applies these frameworks to educational practice. The analysis concludes that while each theory is imperfect, together they offer valuable guidance for teachers seeking to align instruction with children's developmental readiness.
All of us were children once — yet psychologists throughout the ages have taken radically different views of the developmental processes through which children become adults. The theories of Freud, Erikson, and Pavlov shaped the landscape of many aspects of developmental psychology as we know it today. Although their theories share certain similarities, each theorist took a different approach to the application of his work. An understanding of these three major theories is important in helping children and adolescents reach their full potential as adults. This paper reviews the theories of Freud, Erikson, and Pavlov in relation to child and adolescent development, supporting the thesis that learning cannot take place until the child has reached the necessary physical, psychological, and emotional milestones to do so.
Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic approach is heavily individualistic, emphasizing the relationship of the child with his or her parents. The first key concept in Freud's theories is that the child proceeds through a series of stages, beginning in a state of polymorphous perversity. The child then desires the so-called "phallic mother." Gradually, the child becomes socialized into a state of normal sexuality with a healthy, repressive — but not overly repressive — superego (Stevenson, 2004).
Freud's second key concept is that if a child becomes "stuck" in any one of these stages, they will develop a psychological disorder that will manifest in some area of their life. Freud saw the individual as being affected by potential conflicts in development that could, for example, arrest the child or adult in a permanent developmental impasse. A person could become fixed in the oral or anal stage of development if his or her conflict was not resolved (Stevenson, 2004). Freud's multi-tiered stages of development stress the sexual nature of the evolution of human personality to the exclusion of almost all other drives.
The third key concept of Freud's theories centers on the importance of repression and the long-term effects of the first five years of life. A fixation on the mother causes the young boy to develop an Oedipal complex, as he desires to displace his father. The girl develops resentment of her mother because she was not born with a penis, and as a result of penis envy, transfers her desire for a penis to a desire for her father. Eventually, the boy learns to identify with his father, just as the girl learns to emulate her mother. Freud theorized that the repressive stage of sexual development, which occurs after age five, temporarily suspends this conflict and enables the child to become a fully socialized adolescent and adult later on, with appropriate, non-familial, transferred objects of affection.
Erik Erikson was a key critic of Freud's psychoanalytic theories. Erikson stressed the social component of human development and advocated a multi-stage process of development, in contrast to Freud's emphasis on infant sexuality (David & Clifton, 2008). Erikson's first key concept held that human conflict was never-ending, shifting the focus away from personal identity alone. His second key concept is that each stage of development is marked by a more general conflict — for example, "trust versus mistrust" (David & Clifton, 2008). The third concept is that not only the family, but a broad range of relationships, plays a key role in social development.
Ivan Pavlov also emphasized the early stages of development in his approach to learning. However, he stressed the ability of the individual to be influenced by the environment and social conditioning. This contrasts with Erikson's and Freud's theories, in which the individual proceeds through universal, internal psychological stages of growth ("Ivan Pavlov," 2008). The first key concept is that we learn behaviors in response to external factors in our environment. The second key concept is that we make a judgment as to whether a stimulus is positive or negative. The third key concept is that these responses are malleable and can change over time.
"Similarities and differences across all three theorists"
"How body, mind, and emotion interact in growth"
"Applying developmental theory to classroom practice"
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