Growth and Development Theories

Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development

• Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget posited that children go through four distinct stages of cognitive development.
• These stages are the sensorimotor stage (birth to 2 years), the preoperational stage (2 to 7 years), the concrete operational stage (7 to 11 years) and the formal operational stage (12+ years).
• Different types of thinking and understanding characterise each stage, and children must complete each stage to progress.

Freud's Psychosexual Stages of Development

• Sigmund Freud proposed that a child's personality develops in a series of stages, each focused on a different part of the body.
• These stages are the oral phase (birth to 1-1.5 years), the anal phase (1.5 to 3 years), the phallic phase (3 to 6 years), the latency phase (6 years to puberty), and the genital phase (puberty onwards).
• Conflicts or problems encountered during these stages can influence future development.

Erik Erickson's Psychosocial Stage Theory

• Erickson expanded on Freud's theories, proposing that individuals pass through eight stages of psychosocial development from birth to adulthood.
• Each stage is characterised by a crisis that can have a positive or negative outcome for personality development.
• Important stages include trust vs mistrust (birth to 1 year), autonomy vs shame and doubt (2 to 3 years), initiative vs guilt (3 to 5 years), and industry vs inferiority (6 to 11 years).

Vygotsky's Socio-cultural Theory

• Lev Vygotsky introduced the concept of the 'Zone of Proximal Development'.
• This refers to the range of tasks a child can do with help but cannot yet accomplish independently.
• Social interaction plays a vital role in cognitive development, emphasising the role of cultural and social contexts in learning.

Bandura's Social Learning Theory

• Albert Bandura believed people learn from one another via observation, imitation, and modeling.
• He introduced the concept of observational learning or modelling, where learning happens by watching others.
• He proposed that reinforcement or punishment can shape behaviour, but people can also learn through the observed consequences of others' actions (vicarious reinforcement or punishment).

Bowlby's Attachment Theory

• John Bowlby proposed that attachment is a vital part of emotional development.
• He identified four primary characteristics of attachment; proximity maintenance, safe haven, secure base, and separation distress.
• The quality of early attachment relationships can significantly impact later emotional and social development.