Notes on theories of development

Introduction
• The developmental changes that occur
from birth to adulthood were largely
ignored throughout much of history.
Children were often viewed simply as small
versions of adults and little attention was
paid to the many advances in cognitive
abilities, language usage, and physical
growth. Interest in the field of child
development began early in the 20th-
century and tended to focus on abnormal
behavior.

Introduction
• The following are just a few of the
many theories of child development that
have been proposed by theorists and
researchers. More recent theories
outline the developmental stages of
children and identify the typical ages at
which these growth milestones occur.

Child Developmental Theories:
Psychoanalytic theories
– Emotional development: Erik Erikson
– Development of sexuality: Sigmund
Freud
Behavioral theories (Pavlov, and
Skinner)
Social Development Theories (John
Bowlby)
Cognitive theories (Jean Piaget)
Moral Development (Piaget and
Kohlberg)
Spiritual Development (JW Flower)

– Emotional development: Erik Erikson
– Development of sexuality: Sigmund Freud
Erik H Erikson
Emotional or personality development is a
continuous process. Erikson described it as
. In
each stage a central problem exists for
which a solution should be found. Solving
each at particular stage lays the basis for
progress to the next stage.

Erik H Erikson
Stage
Approximate
Age
Erikson’s Stages
Tasks
Negative
Counter
Part
Infancy 0 – 1 yrs Sense of
trust
Mistrust
Toddler 1 – 3 yrs Sense of
autonomy
Shame &
doubt
Preschool 3 – 6 yrs Sense of
initiative
Guilt

Erik H Erikson
Stage
Approximate
Age
Erikson’s Stages
Tasks
Negative
Counter
Part
School 6 – 12 yrs Sense of
industry
Inferiori
ty
Early
Adolescence
12 – 16 yrs Sense of
identity
Identity
diffusion

Erik H Erikson
Stage
Approx
imate
Age
Erikson’s Stages
Tasks
Negative
Counter
Part
Late Adolescence &
Young Adult
16 – 40
yrs
Sense of
intimacy &
solidarity
Isolation
Middle aged Adult 40 – 60
yrs
Sense of
generativity
Stagnation
Late Adulthood/Old
Age
>60 yrs Sense of
Egointegrity
Despair

Autonomy vs. Shame/Doubt

Erik H Erikson
Initiative Vs Guilt

Erik
H Erikson
Children at this stage have a
strong sense of duty. They
want to engage in tasks in
their social world that they
an carry out successfully, and
they want this to be
recognized by adults and
their peers. The danger of
this part is the development
of inferiority if parents
expect a level of achievement
that children are unable to
attain.
Industry Vs Inferiority

Erik H
Erikson
According to Erikson, an
adolescent’s main task is
developing a sense of self.
Adolescents struggle with
questions such as “Who am I?”
and “What do I want to do with
my life?” Success in this period
brings self esteem. The danger is
the development of role confusion
in their dreams of future, a life
full of conflicting desires,
possibilities and chances.
Identity Vs Confusion

Erik H Erikson
After we have developed a sense
of self in adolescence, we are
ready to share our life with others.
However, if other stages have not
been successfully resolved, young
adults may have trouble developing
and maintaining successful
relationships with others. Adults
who do not develop a positive self-
concept in adolescence may
experience feelings of loneliness
and emotional isolation.
Intimacy Vs Isolation

– Development of sexuality: Sigmund Freud
Freud (1905) proposed that psychological
development in childhood takes place in a
series of fixed psychosexual stages: oral,
anal, phallic, latency, and genital.
These are called psychosexual stages
because each stage represents the
fixation of libido (roughly translated as
sexual drives or instincts) on a different
area of the body.

Behavioral theories (Pavlov, and
Skinner)
• Behavioral theories of development
focus on how environmental interaction
influences behavior and are based upon
the theories of theorists such as
Watson ,Pavlov, and Skinner.
• These theories deal only with
observable behaviors. Development is
considered a reaction to rewards,
punishments, stimuli, and reinforcement.

Social Development Theories (John
Bowlby)
–Socialization, or social development, means
training a child in the culture of the group. A
newborn infant is not a social being.
–There is a great deal of research on the
social development of children.
–John Bowbly proposed one of the earliest
theories of social development. Bowlby
believed that early relationships with
caregivers play a major role in child
development and continue to influence social
relationships throughout life.

Piaget's (1936) theory of cognitive
development explains how a child
constructs a mental model of the world.
Theorist Jean Piaget suggested that
children think differently than adults and
proposed a stage theory of cognitive
development. He was the first to note
that children play an active role in gaining
knowledge of the world.

• Jean Piaget believed that children go
through a number of fixed stages on their
way to independent thinking.
• His theory on cognitive development,
though, is perhaps the most widely
accepted and most cited.
• Piaget believed that all children will go
through the following stages in order, the
age ranges are only a general guideline.
• Each child matures in his own time, and
even siblings don't do the same things at
exactly the same age.

1. Sensori-Motor Stage. This stage begins at
birth and lasts till the child is about 2 years old.
It is called Sensori-Motor Stage, because
children’s thinking involves seeing, hearing,
moving, touching, testing and so on. This stage
marks a transitional stage for a person from a
biological to a psychological being. In the first
few weeks of life the baby’s behaviour consists
simply of reflex responses, such as sucking,
stepping and grasping. Later the reflex
disappears and the baby chooses what and when
to grasp.

1. Sensori-Motor Stage.
During this period the infants attain the
concept of object permanence. This refers to
the understanding that objects and events
continue to exist even when they cannot
directly be seen, heard or touched.
A second major accomplishment in the Sensori-
Motor period is learning to reverse actions.
E.g., we give a toy to a child that has ten
detachable parts. We detach all parts.
Through trial and error, the child gradually
learns to attach all the parts of the toy.

2. Pre-Operational Stage (2 to 7 Years). This
stage is called Pre-Operational because the
children have not yet mastered the ability to
perform mental operations. Children’s thinking
during this stage is governed by what is seen
rather than by logical principles. Following are
the accomplishments of Pre-Operational
Stage:

2. Pre-Operational Stage (2 to 7 Years).
a. Semantic function. During this stage the
child develops the ability to think using
symbols and signs. Symbols represent
something or someone else; for example, a
doll may symbolize a baby, child or an adult.
b. Egocentrism. This stage is characterized by
egocentrism. Children believe that their way
of thinking is the only way to think.

2. Pre-Operational Stage (2 to 7 Years).
c. Decentering. A pre-operational child has
difficulty in seeing more than one dimension or
aspects of situation.
d. Animism. Children tend to refer to inanimate
objects as if they have life-like qualities and are
capable of actions.
e. Seriation. They lack the ability of classification
or grouping objects into categories.
f. Conservation. It refers to the understanding
that certain properties of an object remain the
same despite a change in their appearance.

3. Concrete Operational Stage (7 to 11 years).
At this stage a child is concerned with the
integration of stability of his cognitive
systems. He learns to add, subtract, multiply
and divide. He is in a position to classify
concrete objects. In short, children develop
the abilities of rational thinking but their
thinking is tied to concrete objects.

4. Formal Operational Stage (11 & above). This
type is characterised by the emergence of
logical thinking and reasoning. Other
important cognitive attainments during this
period are: the ability to think about the
hypothetical possibilities and to solve
problems through logical deductions and in a
systematic manner.

Moral Development (Piaget and Kohlberg)
According to Piaget, moral development parallels
mental development and consists of two stages:
respect for rules and sense of justice. The first
stage, from about 3 – 11 years of age, Piaget
terms a ‘morality of restraint’. Rules are
considered sacred because they are laid down by
the parents or other adults in authority.
Punishment for infraction of the rules is
compensatory or vengeful.
The second stage, occurring from 12 years on, is
called the morality of reciprocity or cooperation.
Because the adolescent can think abstractly and
is becoming increasingly sensitive to other
persons, rules can be changed if this action is
advantageous to all.

Kohlberg)
Lawrence Kohlberg (1958) agreed
with Piaget's (1932) theory of moral
development in principle but wanted to
develop his ideas further. He identified
three distinct levels of moral reasoning
each with two sub-stages. People can only
pass through these levels in the order
listed. Each new stage replaces the
reasoning typical of the earlier stage. Not
everyone achieves all the stages.

Kohlberg)
Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development
 Level I: Preconventional morality - At
the pre-conventional level (most nine-
year-olds and younger, some over nine),
we don’t have a personal code of
morality. Children make moral
judgements only on the basis of what
will bring them reward or punishment.
It focus on meeting the need of self.

Kohlberg)
 Level II: Conventional morality - At the
conventional level (most adolescents
and adults), we begin to internalize the
moral standards of valued adult role
models. It mainly focus on others.
Correct behaviour is that which those
in authority will approve and accept.

Moral Development (Piaget and Kohlberg)
Level III: Postconventional morality -
Individual judgment is based on self-
chosen principles, and moral reasoning is
based on individual rights and justice.
According to Kohlberg this level of moral
reasoning is as far as most people get. Only
10-15% are capable of the kind of abstract
thinking necessary for stage 5 or 6 (post-
conventional morality). That is to say, most
people take their moral views from those
around them and only a minority think
through ethical principles for themselves.

Kohlberg)

Stages of Faith
James W. Fowler developed a theory of
six stages that people go through as their
faith matures based on the work of Jean
Piaget and Lawrence Kohlberg. The basic
theory can be applied, not only to those in
traditional faiths, but to those who follow
alternative spiritualities or secular
worldviews as well.

Stages of Faith
Age
N
o
Stage Description
0 – 1
years
0 Primal/
Undifferen
tiated
No special faith.
1 – 7
years
1 Intuitive -
Projective
This is the stage of preschool
children in which fantasy and
reality often get mixed
together. However, our most
basic ideas about God are
usually picked up from our
parents and/or society.

Stages of Faith
Age
N
o
Stage Description
7 – 12
years
2 Mythic -
Literal
When children become school-
age, they start understanding the
world in more logical ways. They
generally accept the stories told
to them by their faith community
but tend to understand them in
very literal ways. [A few people
remain in this stage through
adulthood.]

Stages of Faith
Age
N
o
Stage Description
12 – 18
years
(Puber
ty)
3
Synthet
ic -
Convent
ional
At this point, their life has grown
to include several different social
circles and there is a need to pull it
all together. When this happens, a
person usually adopts some sort of
all-encompassing belief system. At
this stage, authority is usually
placed in individuals or groups that
represent one's beliefs. [This is the
stage in which many people remain.]

Stages of Faith
Age
N
o
Stage Description
21 + ?
Late
Adoles
cence
&
Young
Adult
4
Individuat
ive -
Reflective
This is the tough stage, often
begun in young adulthood, when
people start seeing outside the
box and realizing that there are
other "boxes". They begin to
critically examine their beliefs on
their own and often become
disillusioned with their former
faith.

Stages of Faith
Age
N
o
Stage Description
35 + ?
(Adult
s )
5 Conjunctiv
e
It is rare for people to reach
this stage before mid-life. This is
the point when people begin to
realize the limits of logic and
start to accept the paradoxes in
life. They begin to see life as a
mystery and often return to
sacred stories and symbols but
this time without being stuck in a
theological box

Stages of Faith
Age
N
o
Stage Description
45 + ? 6 Universa
lizing
Few people reach this
stage. Those who do live
their lives to the full in
service of others without
any real worries or doubts.

Notes on theories of development

Notes on theories of development

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