Stages of Child Development

Paper Summary:

This paper compares and contrasts the theories of child development by Sigmund Freud, Jean Piaget and Erik Erikson. It shows how Freud's theory was based in the psychoanalytic perspective, Erikson's theory is from the psychosocial perspective and Piaget used a cognitive approach. The paper looks at their approaches regarding sensorimotor development, cognitive development and the different stages of child development.

From the Paper:

"Piaget's stages are different to Freud's and Erikson's since Piaget only focused on the child to a point in adolescence. Also, Piaget is not concerned with psychosocial development except in terms of moral development. Piaget is somewhat similar to Freud in that during the sensorimotor stage the child learns about the environment through sensation and movement. Unlike either Freud or Erikson, Piaget concentrated on external influences such as the parents through which the child learns to shape behavior. During the preoperational stage, the child uses cognitive development and especially language to relate to what is in the environment (Issacs, 1972). In contrast to the bodily sensations that Freud described, Piaget maintained that the child gained pleasure from thoughts and fantasies. The stage of concrete operations is one of learning abstract thinking and rational judgments. The child's interaction with the world is completely on the cognitive level. The stage of formal operations provides a guide for the teenage years and for life because of fully developed reasoning powers (Issacs, 1972)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Freud, S. (1991). On sexuality. New York: Penguin.
• Friedman, L. (2000). Identity's architect. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
• Issacs, N. (1972). Brief introduction to Piaget. New York: Agathon Press.

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