Human Development Stage Theories

Paper Summary:

The stage theories are important tools in understanding the psychology of human development and they offer reasonably simple explanations of human behavior. The question that arises is how accurate a theory that is based on characterizing human behavior in general can be when applied to one particular person. This consideration is investigated in the paper by exploring one individual and how stage theories can be applied. The person chosen is a young adult who owns his own home, is married and is planning to have children in a few years. He has graduated from college, is working and is studying towards gaining a masters degree. This individual's development is considered by looking at three stage theories and how each of these apply to his life. The first stage theory is the social development theory of Erikson. The second is the cognitive development theory of Piaget and third is the moral development theory of Kohlberg.

From the Paper:

"The next stage theory to be considered is Piaget's. While Erikson's focused on social development, Piaget focuses on cognitive development. Piaget's theory involves four stages an individual develops through from birth to adulthood, with the individual developing new skills at each stage. These stages are sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational. The sensorimotor period occurs from birth to age two. In this stage, infants "learn about their world through their senses and motor behavior? (Seamon & Kenrick 1994, p. 368). The preoperational period occurs between ages two and seven. This stage is defined by the individual's lack of ability to think logically. The concrete operational period occurs between ages seven and twelve. This stage is defined by the individual's ability to think logically. At this stage the individual is able to think about concrete problems, but not rational ones."

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• Comparison Essay # 114041 : "Freud, Erikson, and Pavlov: The Stages of Human Development"

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