Piaget versus Eriksson

Running head: PIAGET VERSUS ERIKSSON
Piaget versus Eriksson
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Piaget versus Eriksson
Eriksson in his theory of psychosocial development believed in the importance of early childhood. He was interested in how children socialize and how this socialization affects their sense of self than focusing on cognitive development (Weiten, 2011). The theory identifies eight distinct stages each with double outcomes. According to the theory if a child successfully completes on stage he/she turns into a healthy personality and he successfully interacts with other children. Incase the child fails to successfully complete the first stage, then his ability to finish the other stages is minimal and he may result into a more unhealthy personality and sense of self. Therefore, in each stage a child faces challenges and the outcome depends on how the challenges are handled.
On the other hand, Piaget’s theory of cognitive development is concerned with how children think. According to Piaget the process of how the child thinks changes as the child matures physically and interacts with the world around them. As a child learns, he/she expands and modifies his schema or mental models through the process of assimilation and accommodation. Piaget proposes four stages of child development (Weiten, 2011). Therefore, both Eriksson and Piaget are concerned with the development of the child although Eriksson’s development stages tend to be longer than the Pigiet’s development stages.
Developmental Psychology Issues
Eriksson and pigeot views on development stages create different developmental psychology issues. The debate about developmental psychology rotates around various important questions; “is development due more to genetics or environment? Does development occurs slowly and smoothly, or do changes happen in stages? Do early child hood experiences have the greatest impact on development, or are later events equally important?” The answer to these questions can be found by discussing the different issues in developmental psychology as addressed by the different theorists (Shaffer & Kipp, 2010).
Heredity versus Environment (Nature versus Nurture)
The debate over this issue is whether ideas are inborn or they develop through experience. Some philosophers believe than ideas are inborn while others believe that the mind is a blank slate at birth, that it is experience that determines knowledge. According to Eriksson development is caused by interaction between ideas and knowledge received through experience. But Pieget theory argues that people are born with ideas which they use as they into adults. Some development stages are biological like adolescent and puberty but environmental factors tent to affect them; the diet and nutrition the child is introduced to may influence whether puberty or adolescent to comes earlier or late (Hill, 2001).
Active versus Passive Learning
This debate is whether a child actively contributes to his own development, or whether it is the passive recipient of the environment that influences. The question whether people actively seek knowledge and self-understanding, or whether people passively react to what they experience and learn. Pieget support...