CHILD DEVELOPMENT THEORIES

A) Sigmund Freud Theory of Psychosexual Stages Talks about psychosexual stages, he developed a theory of how our sexuality starts from a very young age and develops through various fixations. If these stages are not psychologically completed and released, we can be trapped by them and they may lead to various defence mechanisms.

B) Erik Erikson Theory of Psychosocial Development He discusses about psychosocial stages. His ideas were greatly influenced by Freud. Erikson says that the individual develops on three levels simultaneously: Biological, social and psychological. His model was in 5 stages; up to the age of 18 years and three stages beyond into adulthood. Difference between Freud and Erickson: Freud was an id psychologist, Erikson was an ego psychologist. He emphasized the role of culture and society and the conflicts that can take place within the ego itself, whereas Freud emphasized the conflict between the id and the superego.

C) Jean Piaget Theory of Cognitive Development Piaget was the first psychologist to make a systematic study of cognitive development. His contributions are theory of cognitive child development, observational studies of cognition in children and different cognitive abilities. There Are Three Basic Components To Piaget's Cognitive Theory: 1. Schemas - the basic building block of intelligent behavior a way of organizing knowledge. 2. a process of adaptation- equilibrium, assimilation and accommodation 3. Stages of Development: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, formal operational D) Lev Vygotsky Sociocultural Theory The work of Lev Vygotsky known as Social Development Theory. He developed his theories at around the same time as Jean Piaget. Vygotsky developed Zone of proximal development (ZPD) - a term for the range of tasks that a child can complete. E) John Bowlby Attachment Theory
Bowlby believed that there are four distinguishing characteristics of attachment: Proximity Maintenance - The desire to be near the people we are attached to. Safe Haven - Returning to the attachment figure for comfort and safety in the face of a fear or threat. Secure Base - The attachment figure acts as a base of security from which the child can explore the surrounding environment. Separation Distress - Anxiety that occurs in the absence of the attachment figure.

F) Albert Bandura Social Learning Theory

The social learning theory of Bandura emphasizes the importance of observing and modeling the behaviors, attitudes, and emotional reactions of others. In his
famous Bobo doll experiment, Bandura demonstrated that children learn and imitate behaviors they have observed in other people

G) Lawrence Kohlberg Theory of Moral Development His theory of moral development was dependent on the thinking of Jean Piaget and John Dewey. He believed that people progressed in their moral reasoning through a series of stages. There are 3 levels: pre-conventional, conventional, post-conventional.