Psychological Development Theories
Sigmund Freud proposed that personality develops through psychosexual stages, where conflicts can cause fixation at particular stages. These include the oral stage birth−1, anal stage (1-3), phallic stage (3-5), latency period 6−puberty, and genital stage (puberty onward). Each stage focuses on different body areas as sources of pleasure and psychological development.
Erik Erikson expanded on Freud's work with his psychosocial stage theory, focusing on how social interactions shape identity. Each stage presents a specific challenge, from trust vs. mistrust in infancy to integrity vs. despair in old age. Successfully resolving each stage's conflict builds psychological strength for future challenges.
Jean Piaget revolutionized our understanding of children's thinking with his four stages of cognitive development. He discovered that children of similar ages often make similar "mistakes" in reasoning. His stages include the sensorimotor stage birth−2,exploringthroughsenses, preoperational stage 2−7,usingsymbolsbutlimitedlogic, concrete operational stage (8-12, developing logical thinking and understanding conservation), and formal operational stage 12+,abstractthinkingandhypothesizing.
👉 Remember: Piaget's theory has been criticized for underestimating children's abilities - many children progress through these stages faster than he predicted!