Theories of Human Development

Theories of Human Development

Psychosocial Theory of Development (Erik Erikson)

  • Erikson proposed a psychosocial theory of development, stating that an individual’s personality develops throughout their lifespan
  • Erikson’s theory includes eight stages of development, each presenting a psychosocial conflict or crisis
  • Each crisis needs to be resolved for the individual to develop a healthy personality
  • The first stage, trust vs mistrust, explores the child’s sense of safety in the world
  • In adolescence, the key crisis is identity vs role confusion, where the individual tries to figure out who they are

Cognitive Development Theory (Jean Piaget)

  • Piaget proposed a theory focussed on cognitive development, stating that children go through four stages of cognitive growth
  • The sensorimotor stage (birth to 2 years) involves learning through senses and actions
  • The preoperational stage (2-7 years) shows children start to engage in symbolic play and learn to manipulate symbols
  • The concrete operational stage (7-11 years) involves developing logical thought about concrete events
  • The formal operational stage (12+ years) sees children develop abstract and moral reasoning

Psychosexual Theory of Development (Sigmund Freud)

  • Freud’s theory focusses on psychosexual development, suggesting personality develops through five stages related to our inherent sexual drive
  • Not resolving a stage may lead to fixation and influence adult behaviour
  • The stages include the oral stage (birth to 1 year), the anal stage (1-3 years), the phallic stage (3-6 years), the latency stage (6 years to puberty), and the genital stage (puberty onwards)

Social Learning Theory (Albert Bandura)

  • Bandura proposed that learning happens in a social context through observation and modelling of others’ behaviour
  • Children pay attention to the behaviour of models (parents, peers, etc.) and retain this information
  • If the behaviour is positively reinforced, the child is likely to imitate it
  • This theory highlights the importance of reinforcement and punishment in shaping behaviour

Humanistic Theory of Development (Abraham Maslow)

  • Maslow suggested that individuals are motivated to fulfil their needs in a hierarchy from basic survival needs to self-fulfilment
  • The five-level hierarchy includes physiological needs, safety needs, love and belonging needs, esteem needs, and finally the need for self-actualization
  • Self-actualization is the highest level and represents the fulfilment of personal potential

Remember that there are many theories of human development and these can be complementary or contradictory, depending on their focus. Using several theories can provide a more comprehensive understanding.