Running head: Overview of Psychological Development Theories 1

An Overview Of Psychological Development Theories Applied To Teachers

Mihir Patel
Ivy Tech Community College Franklin















Overview Of Psychological Development Theories 2

Abstract
In the world of teaching, it is important to take into account a multitude of theories that have been
presented overtime, especially those related to development. Understanding these psychological
theories give teachers insight into the stages that the children they are teaching are in, and better
prepares them to teach them effectively. It is imperative that the school teacher has a grasp on what
to do and what not to do when it comes to teaching children throughout their school experience.
There are many proper ways to foster development in the growing child, and these ways can be
compared and contrasted across the different psychological theories that are available. The basic
principles of multiple theorists including Erik Erickson, Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky are
observed. These theories all relate to development, but vary in their specific focus. It is the duty of
the teacher to understand and apply these theories in order to most effectively foster development.











When it comes to basic levels of developmental psychology, it is important to get a good
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understanding of what some of the most accepted schools of thoughts believe. In terms of
development, there are main ideas that explain this. One of the most popular theories on
development, Eriksons theory of psychosocial development. This theory spans the entire life from
birth to death, and is broken up into multiple categories. They are known as the stages of
psychosocial development, and are lightly influenced by Sigmund Freuds psychoanalytic theory.
Although there are elements of Freuds theory, there is a lot less emphasis on the sexual content of
Freuds theories, and is instead focuses more on ego qualities that are present throughout the
different stages. The basic premise behind Eriksons theory of psychosocial development views
the process of life from birth to death as a series of stages that are present in all humans. The ages
at which these stages occur are all varied, and reflect what Erikson believed to be the most
significant times in life, and contain the most developmental differences in terms of growth. Each
stage also has a name that is associated with it, and has a basic premise or question that it asks. The
name is classified as the psycho social crisis, and is the main conflict that occurs during that time
of the individuals life. The first stage, which crisis is Basic Trust vs. Mistrust, lasts from birth to
age 2 (Snowman, p. 23). In this stage, the existential question is "can I trust the world". Essentially,
the child must either learn to know that they are able to trust their parents, or if they cannot rely on
them for protection. The mother is the primary provider of security at this stage. Moving into 2-4
years of age, the developmental stage is autonomy vs. shame and doubt. The question in the stage
is "is it okay to be me". This stage is concerned with the child becoming more comfortable in their
own skin. The child learns to wander about and perform tasks for themselves. Examples in this
stage include the child dressing themselves, or going to that bathroom on their own. Following the
autonomy vs. shame and doubt stage is the stage which the crisis is initiative vs. guilt. This stage
lasts between the ages of 4 and 5 in the preschool child. Autonomy grows in this stage, and the
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identity really begins to form for the child. Between the ages of 5 and 12 years the child is in the
industry vs. inferiority stage. This stage is mainly concerned with the child actually functioning
properly in the society in which they are raised in. If the child is developing properly at this stage,
then the child will function normally in school and recreational sports. Moving into the high school
age the crisis the individual goes through deals with identity vs. role confusion. This age group
sees a lot more growth and development of the individuals personality, and they really find
themselves either being included or excluded in social groups. Most of the socialization at this
stage occurs in school. After high school, from ages 20-39 the individual is in the intimacy vs.
isolation. This is when the individual figures out whether or not they are able to obtain and sustain
romantic relationships with another person. The primary existential question asked in this stage is
"can I love"? During 40-69, the individual grows older and the social crisis that the individual is
facing is generatively vs. stagnation. During this time in the individuals life, it is determined
whether or not they are continuing to grow and develop, or if their life has become so routine that
it is stagnant. From the age of 65 years until the individual dies the stage that they are in ego
integrity vs. despair stage(Snowman p. 23). A large portion of what is going on internally for an
individual in this stage has to do with reflecting on the experiences that have occurred throughout
their life. From this point, the individual will determine for themselves whether or not they feel
that they have had a successful life. Now it is important to keep in mind that if an individual fails to
achieve the desired result from a developmental stage, it is likely that the individual will not
develop any of the traits that are achieved in the later stages. This is a major way that this theory
has Freudian influence. Some of the developments, however, can be helped along. Just because a
child develops at a slower rate than their peers does not necessarily mean that they will not develop
completely normally throughout life. As an example, a child in the age range of 5 to 18, the child
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has many milestones to pass. The child has to develop their identity and then find themselves
fitting into social circles with children their age. If the child failed to develop their identity, it may
be difficult for them to assimilate into a social environment. From a teaching aspect children may
be coaxed to develop socially if they are falling behind. An example would be a teacher providing
extra activities that focus primarily on developing the childs identity. As the child is young, it is
important that they are able to develop some sort of identity of themselves.
A second, equally monumental psychological theory is Piaget's theory of cognitive
development. There are some similarities between Piaget's theory of cognitive development and
Eriksons theory of psychosocial development. For one, they both focus on multiple stages
throughout an individuals life, and are primarily meant to demonstrate milestones that occur
throughout someones life. There is however, a solid difference between the two theories in that
Piaget's theory has stages that are all contained under a larger umbrella of milestones. For instance,
the very first stage of Piaget's theory is the sensorimotor stage, which lasts from birth to two years
of age. Technically, the age extends until the child acquires the use of language (Tuckman).
However, there are multiple different elements to the stage. It is mostly concerned with physical
movements such as reflexes and gross motor growth in the beginning of life, and progress to the
psychosocial aspects of toddlerhood. Following the sensorimotor stage is the pre-operational stage
where the child learns language and learns how to distinguish themselves from another person.
There are many terms that describe certain elements of personality that are related to the stage in
question. Following this stage is the concrete operational stage, which is when the child is between
seven and 11 years of age, and is very concerned with the use of logic in their day to day life.
Reasoning skills are developed and the child learns to understand their surroundings on a deeper
more meaningful level. The final stage of Piaget's theory is the Formal operational stage, and
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begins in adolescence and goes all the way into adulthood. This is where the consciousness is
developed, and grows and adapts to understanding the world around the individual more and more
as time progresses. Going back to the example of the school teacher, and working alongside the
children, there are a number of tools that a teacher may use in order to assist in their students
development. Since Piaget's theory of development is more concerned with cognition rather than
the ego, logic games and discussions would be more specific to developing the children.
A third and final contributor to this realm of psychology would be Vygotsky. Vygotsky is
the father of a theory that is known as Social Development Theory. A cornerstone of Vygotsky's
theory is that community plays a strong role for individuals to "make meaning" out of life. His
belief was that a child had to learn social values before they were able to become culturally
acclimated. This is almost backwards compared to Piaget's theory, which believes that the
individual goes through processes of learning themselves and then are able to move onto social
values and cultural understanding (McLeod). Another major difference between the two theorists
is that Vygotsky believes that development is central to what the culture itself contains. Piaget held
more of a belief that development was universally similar, and that culture did not have an impact
on how a child would grow and develop. Vygotsky and Piaget were around at the same time, and
Vygotsky places a lot of emphasis on areas where Piaget seemed to not take notice of, and these
are the larger criticism of Pagets theories. A major aspect of Vygotskys theory is that
development can be sped up by placing the child along with individuals who have a higher
developmental level, but not one that is out of reach. This idea is called the zone of proximal
development, and states that individuals can see growth in development if they are exposed to
others of a higher developmental level (Mcleod). So for teachers, it would actually be advised that
the children be placed with children who have a higher level of development. As stated before, the
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increased level of development will help tug the lower developed children along.
After reviewing each of these theories, there are quite a few similarities and differences
between them. Although some of the theories are slightly different as far as what they reference, it
must be decided what the most relevant theory is to development. This opinion would be very
subjective, but it can be argued what theory is the most indicative of true childhood development.
Eriksons theory is great at focusing on what needs are required to foster increased development.
Piaget represents cognitive milestones that help assimilate growing children into the broader
society. Finally, Vygotsky shows us that development can be altered both positively and
negatively, based on the developmental level the children is placed around. As far as classroom
implementation is concerned, portions of each psychological theory should be used. There are
different aspects that assist growing children into functioning members of society, and each of the
elements that these theorists purposed should not be discounted.









Sources

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McLeod, S. A. (2007). Lev Vygotsky. Retrieved from
http://www.simplypsychology.org/vygotsky.html

Snowman, J., & McCown, R. R. (2009). Psychology applied to teaching (12th ed.). Boston:
Houghton Mifflin Co..

Tuckman. Bruce W., and David M. Monetti. Educational Psychology. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth,
2010. Print.