Erikson’s Stages of Development

Erik Erikson, a German psychoanalyst, lived from 1902 until 1994. He is famous for developing the psychosocial theory of development, which is today used to examine behavior at various phases of development, from childhood to death. Individuals between the ages of 19 and 35, according to Erikson, go through a period known as intimacy and solidarity vs. love and solitude (Beyers & Seiffge-Krenke, 2010). People at this stage tend to settle down and seek love by starting families. Young adults can also be observed looking for love. If they are unable to locate it, they will feel lonely and rejected. Between the age of 35 and 65, individuals get obsessed with career, work, and family issues (Hart, 2013). At this stage, people also make major shifts such as leaving households or even changing careers. The stage from the maturity till death involves reflection where individuals flashback on the main events in their lives.

Piaget’s Stages of Development

In 1936, Piaget came up with a theory which explains how cognitive development in individuals takes place (Piaget, 2008). Piaget focused more on the ages between 0 and 11. However, he stated that individuals with 11 years and above undergo a stage known as formal operation stage when people develop the ability to think logically and form test hypotheses (Bjorklund & Causey, 2017).

Kohlberg’s Stages of Development

In 1958, Lawrence Kohlberg decided to add more ideas to what Piaget had done. Kohlberg, therefore, came up with different levels of human development. At the second stage, he focused his thoughts on adolescent and adults where he decided that it is at this stage that people begin forming moral standards (Gibbs, 2013). Individuals become aware of the general rules that are used in society. According to Patton et al. (2016), the third level occurs from late adulthood to death. At the third level, people make judgments based on their principles.Individuals realize that rules are good for them, but there can be situations which can force them to work against and apply their moral guidelines.

References

Beyers, W., & Seiffge-Krenke, I. (2010). Does identity precede intimacy? Testing Erikson’s theory on romantic development in emerging adults of the 21st century. Journal of adolescent research, 25(3), 387-415.

Bjorklund, D. F., & Causey, K. B. (2017). Children’s thinking: Cognitive development and individual differences. SAGE Publications.

Gibbs, J. C. (2013). Moral development and reality: Beyond the theories of Kohlberg, Hoffman, and Haidt. Oxford University Press.

Hart, R. A. (2013). Children’s Participation: The theory and practice of involving young citizens in community development and environmental care. Routledge.

Kurtines, W. M., Gewirtz, J., & Lamb, J. L. (2014). Handbook of Moral Behavior and Development: Volume 1: Theory. Psychology Press.

Patton, L. D., Renn, K. A., Guido, F. M., Quaye, S. J., & Forney, D. S. (2016). Student development in college: Theory, research, and practice. John Wiley & Sons.

Piaget, J. (2008). Developmental Psychology: Incorporating Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s theories in classrooms.