Developmental Theories: Cognitive and Psychosocial Development

Contrasting Developmental Theories
First/Last Name
Department of Psychology, Purdue University Global
PS220: Child and Adolescent Psychology
Instructor’s Name
Date
Please contrast two developmental theories – Piaget’s Cognitive-Developmental Theory and a second theory of your choice that has been covered in this class. Identify your theory choice by listing it in the table. Contrast the theories by filling out each cell of the table.
Theory

Piaget

Erikson

Main Characteristics of Theory

Piaget believes that cognitive development among children occasions in four stages.
The sensorimotor stage, which is from birth to two years.
The preoperational state from age two to seven years.
The concrete operational stage is from seven to eleven years.
The formal operational stage is from age twelve and up (Cherry, 2015).

A person’s personality develops through a series of eight distinct stages from childhood to adulthood. A psychosocial crisis characterizes the stages that one has to overcome for personality development. The stages are; trust vs. mistrust, autonomy vs. shame and doubt, initiative vs. guilt, industry vs. inferiority, identity vs. confusion, intimacy vs. isolation, generatively vs. stagnation, and integrity vs. despair (Maree, 2021, pp. 1110-12).

Domain of focus (physical, cognitive, social/emotional, or combination of several domains)

The theory focuses on cognitive development, which grows as children acquire intelligence throughout the different stages (Cherry, 2015).

The theory focuses on the social and emotional development of an individual. By completing the different psychosocial stages, one achieves a healthy personality and acquires essential virtues (Maree, 2021, pp. 1110-12).

Continuous or Discontinuous Development?

The development is a continuous process of growth from one stage into the next, more like a staircase process as children construct and acquire knowledge based on the ideas they come across at every stage of their lives.

The development is continuous, from the first stage to the last, as one grows through to adulthood and must be completed if one is to proceed to other stages.

Stance on Influence of Nature and Nurture?

According to Piaget, both nurture and nature influence cognitive development. Nature ensures that the body and mind are mature enough to learn, while the way children are nurtured facilitates their response to learning (Cherry, 2015).

Erikson’s theory focuses on the importance of social interactions in a person’s life. These interactions play an integral role in resolving conflicts in each stage, which is an influence of nurture.

Example of Theory Concept applied to child development (cite textbook information/research findings to support your ideas)

The concepts of egocentrism, reversibility, and constancy that characterize the preoperational stage of the theory have been applied to assess the IQ of children aged 4-7years. According to Marwaha, Goswami, and Vashist, perceptual and cognitive egocentrism among the kids was at 10.7% and 31.7%; centration was at 96.3%, while 99% lacked the concept of revers...