Compare and contrast Freuds and Piagets development models - Term Paper Example

Compare and contrast Freud’s and Piaget’s development models. Are there important developments that seem to happen at about the same age, for each author? Explain how each model explains such events/stages. Can the models’ explanations be reconciled, or do they contradict each other? How could Piaget claim that Freud’s explanations are insufficient? Jean Piaget (1896-1980) worked on the development of intellectual capabilities of children. The way he viewed the development of children’s mind and their intellectual capabilities is enormously exceptional especially in educational theories.

He proposed that children cannot commence certain type of tasks until they are mature enough to do so. He further stated that children’s psychological process doesn’t develop smoothly instead there are certain transitions that take them into new capabilities and area. He saw that the transitions take place at the age of 18 months, 7 years and 11 years. These ages are the ages of immaturity irrespective of the brightness and sharp mindedness of a child. Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development i.

Sensori-motor (from birth to 2 years) ii. Pre-operational (2 to 7 years) iii. Concrete Operational (7 to 11 years) iv. Formal Operational (11 years and onwards) In contrast to that, Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) defines that personality development can either results in successful and healthy completion of personality and may also result in failure and unsuccessful personality. Freud believed that personality is developed through different stages depending upon the erogenous zone. He categorizes personality development through the following steps: Freud’s Personality Development Stages i.

Oral stage (Infancy to 18 months) ii. Anal Stage (18 months to 3 years) iii. Phallic Stage (3 years to 6 years) iv. Latency Stage (6 years to puberty) v. Genital Stage (puberty and onwards) As per the observation, both the model reconcile with each other because they both define more or less the same stages of development in a bit different way. They both agree on a same point that psychological development of children depends upon different transitions and it doesn’t grow smoothly. 2. Compare and contrast Freud and Piaget’s theories about the developmental origin of morality (ethics).

What processes lead to / are necessary for the development of morality? What is the nature of a moral rule/ judgement? In what way is morality essentially social, for each author? How do they think that moral judgements reflect the person’s past? Piaget’s believed that while growing up children go through 2 stages of development. The first stage is called as heteronymous morality and the second stage is called as autonomous morality. In the first stage that is heteronymous morality, children believe that rules are rules and there is no way of escaping them.

At this stage, children often have the fear of punishment. At this stage, Piaget believes that it is because of the child’s relation with those who are in authority that are the adults who command them to follow the rules. According to Piaget’s, the second stage, which is autonomous morality begins at the age of 10 when children understand that rules are characterized by people for people. Children who uses autonomous morality take into account the feeling of others, try to cooperate and understand the wants and need of other people. 3. Briefly describe Skinner’s ideas about the relationship between freedom and dignity.

How does punishment relate to each other notion; and in what way(s) do freedom and dignity affect our punitive social practices? Finally, how do these ideas relate to the science of behaviour as envisaged by Skinner- i.e. what effects have freedom and dignity had on the development of a science of behaviour and what are the consequences of a science of behaviour for freedom and dignity?