Developmental Theories of Psychology - Research Paper Example

? Development Theories of Psychology and Number: Introduction Over the past Centuries, stages that a child passesfrom birth to adulthood were largely ignored in psychological studies. Children were perceived as small adults with no reasoning ability, and little attention was paid to their cognitive developments, physical growth, and language usage, which occurred between childhood and adolescent stages. Psychologists began expressing their interests in studying child development between childhood and adolescent stages in the early 20th Century. Earlier researches, however, mainly focused on studying abnormal behaviors in the children. Later on, researchers became increasing interested in studying other topics, which include typical child development and factors affecting child development. Studying and understanding child development theories is essential in allowing us to appreciate emotional, social, educational, and cognitive growth that a child undergoes from birth to early adulthood. Development theorists have come up with grand theories, which attempt to describe every aspect of child development, usually by using stage approach. This research paper describes three grand development theories, which include Freud’s theory of psychosexual development, Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, and Kohlberg’s theory of moral development. It also compares and contrasts how the three theories describe developments in children and adolescents, in terms of physical, cognitive, and psychosocial developments. Development Theories Freud’s Theory of Psychosexual Development Sigmund Freud believes that personality is mostly developed at the age of five. A child’s personality is largely affected by his or her early experiences and continues to influence the development of behavior later in life (Miller, 2009). According to Freud, personality develops through a series of childhood stages. During theses stages, pleasure-seeking energies of the id mainly target certain erogenous areas. Therefore, libido, or the psychosexual energy become the key driving force behind behavior (Miller, 2009). If a child successfully completes the psychosexual stages, the he or she is likely to develop a healthy personality. But if certain issues are not appropriately addressed in these stages, then a fixation is likely to occur. Fixation means that the child will be forced to complete the psychosexual stages before advancing to the next stages of development. For instance, a child stuck in this stage will be over-dependent on others and may require oral stimulation through eating, drinking, or smoking (Shaffer & Kipp, 2009). Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Piaget’s development theory describes the cognitive development of children (Flavell, 1996). This mainly involves changes in cognitive abilities and processes. According to Piaget, early cognitive development is based on physical actions and later on changes in mental operations (Flavell, 1996). There are four concepts that Piaget developed in explaining cognitive development theory: Schemas: this describes both the physical and mental actions that are involved in knowing and understanding. It entails the category of knowledge and the process for acquiring that knowledge (Flavell, 1996). Assimilation: this is the process of taking in new information based on the previously existing schema. This process is usually perceived as subjective because the child has to modify information or experience to somehow fit into his or her preexisting experiences and beliefs (Flavell, 1996). Accommodation: this is the process of altering or changing the preexisting schema, or ideas so as to take in new information, or experience (Flavell, 1996). This process can also lead to the development of new schema. Equilibration: according to Piaget, children always seek to balance between assimilation and accommodation that is achieved through a process known as equilibration (Flavell, 1996). Children need to maintain a balance between assimilation (applying previous knowledge), and accommodation (changing previous experience to accommodate new knowledge) so as to pass through the stages of cognitive development (Flavell, 1996). Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development Lawrence Kohlberg expanded Piaget’s theory of psychosexual development to explain the development of moral reasoning (Lerner, 2002). He suggested six stages within three different levels to explain moral development process. Kohlberg suggested that moral development is a continuous process throughout an individual’s lifespan (Lerner, 2002). Level 1 is Pre-conventional Morality, and it includes the following stages, Obedience and Punishment, and Individualism and Exchange. Level 2 is Conventional Morality, and it includes Interpersonal Relationships and Maintaining Social Order stages. Level 3 is Post conventional Morality, and it includes Social Contract and Individual Rights and Universal Principles stages (Lerner, 2002). Use of the Theories in Mental Health Treatment Freud’s theory of psychosexual development is largely used in counseling psychology. This is a field of psychology that focuses on a wide range of mental health issues (Shaffer & Kipp, 2009). Counseling psychologist usually help clients suffering from vocational problems, depression, family or social problems, and anxiety. A child or an adolescent who develops social problems like drinking and smoking is likely to be considered that he or she is undergoing fixation. This is according to Freud’s theory that suggests that a child must successfully complete all the psychosexual stages in order to advance to other stages. A smoking child or adolescent is considered not to have completed all the psychosexual stages. This is a psychological disorder or a mental illness that requires counseling. With Freud’s theory, counseling psychologists are capable of understanding the cause of mental illness in the child or adolescent, and this in turn, facilitates treatment (Shaffer & Kipp, 2009). According to Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, children and adolescent get involved in abnormal behavior because of particular behaviors and thoughts that are based on their poor judgments or false assumptions (Shaffer & Kipp, 2009). In mental health, treatment is focused on helping the abnormal child or adolescent to develop new values and thought processes. Psychological counseling or therapy helps the maladjusted individuals to stop learning maladaptive habits, and replace them with useful habits (Shaffer & Kipp, 2009). Kohlberg’s theory of moral development perceives the cause of mental illness from a socio-cultural perspective. It suggests that abnormal behavior is learned within a social context ranging from culture, to the community, and to the family (Miller, 2009). Cultural variables and beliefs are acquired through cognitive and learning processes. They in turn, influence the production of abnormal behavior. For instance, bulimia and anorexia nervosa are psychological disorders that are common in Western cultures that value the thin female body (Miller, 2009). These patients require counseling that is focused on helping them to forgo their cultural variables, and adopt new, healthy eating habit. Normal Child/adolescent Vs Abnormal Child/adolescent The development theories discussed above have stages that the theorists suggest must be fulfilled before advancing to other stages. Successful completion of a stage guarantees a child an opportunity to advance to the nest stages of development. Successful completion of a stage means that an individual has acquired all the values, personality, behavior, and knowledge that are prerequisites for the next stage. A child who has acquired all the necessities of a stage is considered normal, while those who have not are considered as abnormal. Freud has divided stages of development into psychosexual stages. This is because he believes that libido or psychosexual energy is the key driver of behavior development. A child who successfully completes a psychosexual stage advances into the next stage, and he or she is considered normal, while those who do not complete the stage are fixed. This means that they are naturally restrained to complete the stage, and this may lead to development of psychological disorders such as mental illness (Levy et al. 1995). Piaget’s and Kohlberg’s development theories take a similar approach in the describing development, though different from Freud’s approach. Piaget’s and Kohlberg’s theories suggest that process of moral development involve stages that must be completed before advancing to the next stage (Levy et al. 1995). They believe that stages of moral development are the defining points for adult personality development, as opposed to Feud who believes in psychosexual stages as the defining points. Unlike Feud, both Piaget and Kohlberg agree that children understand the world through action and perception (Levy et al. 1995). At this stage, children acquire new skills, and they perceive rules as absolute and fixed. At the pre- school level, the child begins developing independently acquired skills, and they are able to make thoughts with words and images. Kohlberg refers to this stage as the conventional stage. At the conventional stage, the child begins stressing on conformity, and how opportunities influence relationships (Levy et al. 1995). The last stages in both Piaget’s and Kohlberg’s theories are concrete operational sub period and post-conventional stages respectively. At these stages, children are capable of making logical operations and thinking. However, because logical thinking arises, their imaginations are still challenged by reality. They also begin to account for the differing beliefs, opinions, and values of other people (Levy et al. 1995). Both the third stages can be equated to Feud’s latency period, where intellectual and social skills are the key drivers of development. During this stage, primitive and imagination drives are overpowered by the conscious view of reality, and the notion of how other people express themselves. Similar to Feud’s stages of development, Piaget’s and Kohlberg’s stages must also be successfully completed for the child to advance to the next stage, and be considered as normal. Those who fail to pass these stages are considered abnormal. This is because they may develop over-dependency on other people, or oral stimulation through eating, drinking, or smoking (Levy et al. 1995). Both Piaget’s and Kohlberg’s theories explain the development of moral reasoning, however, Piaget described a two-stage moral development process, while Kohlberg’s theory outlined six stages within three different levels (Levy et al. 1995). Conclusion Development theories are essential in allowing us to appreciate emotional, social, educational, and cognitive growth that a child undergoes from birth to early adulthood. Development theorists have come up with varying approaches to explain how personality and behavior are developed within different individuals. For example, Feud’s theory takes psychosexual stages into account, while Piaget’s and Kohlberg’s theories consider cognitive approach and moral development respectively. All these theorists have divided development process into three distinct stages. This can be largely categorized into birth to two years, pre-school level, and the post-school level. They further argue that a child must successfully complete one stage before advancing to the next stage. Children who successfully complete a given stage are considered as normal, while those who do not achieve all requirements of a stage are considered as abnormal. References Flavell J. H. (1996). PIAGET’S LEGACY. Psychological Science (Wiley-Blackwell) , 7(4), 200- 203. Lerner R. M. (2002). Concepts and theories of human development. New York: Routledge. Levy G, Lysne M, Underwood L. (1995). Children's and Adults' Memories for Self-Consistent and Inconsistent Content. Journal Of Social Psychology , 135(1), 113-115. Miller P. H. (2009). Theories of Developmental Psychology. New York: Worth Publishers. Shaffer D. R, Kipp K. (2009). Developmental Psychology: Childhood and Adolescence. Florence: Cengage Learning. Read More