Theoretical Perspectives on Human Development - Essay Example

Freud’s Psychoanalytic theory is related to the working of the unconscious mind. “Sigmund Freud believed that human beings possess minds that are divided into two parts: an unconscious and a conscious” (Slupesky, 2004). Freud believed that human development takes place in a predetermined order. This theory believes that unhealthy people can suffer from irrational pleasure-seeking or guilt because they are in an unconscious state of mind and are not aware of the unconscious processes taking place in their minds.

The therapy for such people includes bringing an understanding of the unconscious into the conscious to make the person understand the choices that he or she has in life. Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development Similar to Freud, Erikson also believed that human development takes place in a predetermined order. Erikson’s theory focused more on the social development of a person whereas Freud focused the psychological development. Erikson expanded Freud’s theory by mentioning that the process of human development continues throughout the life of a human.

According to this theory, there are eight stages of human development and each stage has two possible outcomes, which include the development of a healthy or unhealthy personality. Cherry (2006) differentiates Freud’s theory from Erikson’s theory and states, “Unlike Freud’s theory of psychosexual stages, Erikson’s theory describes the impact of social experience across the whole lifespan”. Piaget’s Cognitive Developmental Theory Jean Piaget, who found education to be one of the most important parts of human life, believed that information is not injected into the minds of children from the outside environment; rather they construct the cognitive words on their own by going through four essential stages of constructing a word.

“Piaget conjectured that cognitive development occurs in stages. As these stages progress, the child's thought processes become more and more sophisticated” (Favilla, 2010). Piaget focused more on a child’s intellectual development and transitions from childhood and youth. Piaget’s theory is similar to the other two theories in the sense that he also mentioned some stages, which a human passes during the process of development. Constructive Developmental Theory and relation with Strongest Perspective Kegan’s constructive development theory is based on the understanding of how a person develops during adulthood depending on his or her way of knowing.

This theory conceptualizes the human development process from the stage of infancy through childhood. Constructive development theory extends Piaget’s cognitive developmental theory in the sense that it also views children moving towards complex mental processes from simple ones. Both theories focus on the importance of intellectual development and consider the importance of some essential stages from infancy to adulthood.