Developmental stage theories

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In psychology, developmental stage theories are theories that divide psychological development into distinct stages which are characterized by qualitative differences in behavior. [1]

Contents

There are several different views about psychological and physical development and how they proceed throughout the life span. The two main psychological developmental theories include continuous and discontinuous development. [2] In addition to individual differences in development, developmental psychologists generally agree that development occurs in an orderly way and in different areas simultaneously. [3] [ page needed ]

Stage theories

The development of the human mind is complex and a debated subject, and may take place in a continuous or discontinuous fashion. [4] Continuous development, like the height of a child, is measurable and quantitative, while discontinuous development is qualitative, like hair or skin color, where those traits fall only under a few specific phenotypes. [5] Continuous development involves gradual and ongoing changes throughout the life span, with behavior in the earlier stages of development providing the basis of skills and abilities required for the next stages. [6] On the other hand, discontinuous development involves distinct and separate stages, with different kinds of behavior occurring in each stage. [3] [ page needed ]

Stage theories of development rest on the assumption that development is a discontinuous process involving distinct stages which are characterized by qualitative differences in behavior. They also assume that the structure of the stage is not variable according to each individual; however the time of each stage may vary individually. [1] While some theories focus primarily on the healthy development of children, others propose stages that are characterized by a maturity rarely reached before old age.

Ego-psychology

The psychosexual stage theory created by Sigmund Freud (b.1856) consists of five distinct stages of Psychosexual development that individuals will pass through for the duration of their lifespan. Four of these stages stretch from birth through puberty and the final stage continues throughout the remainder of life. [7] Erik Erikson (b.1902) developed a psychosocial developmental theory, which was both influenced and built upon by Freud, which includes four childhood and four adult stages of life that capture the essence of personality during each period of development. [8] Each of Erikson's stages include both a positive and negative influences that can go on to be seen later in an individual's life. His theory includes the influence of biological factors on development. [9] Jane Loevinger (b.1918) build on the work of Erikson in her description of stages of ego development.

Individuation and attachment in ego-psychology

Margaret Mahler (b.1897) theory of separation-individuation in child development contains three phases regarding the child's object relations. John Bowlby (b.1907) 's attachment theory proposes that developmental needs and attachment in children are connected to particular people, places, and objects throughout our lives. These connections provide a behavior in the young child that is heavily affected and relied on throughout the entire lifespan. In case of maternal deprivation, this development may be disturbed. [10] Robert Kegan (b.1946) provided a theory of the evolving self, which describes the constructive development theory of subject–object relations. Martin Buber also explores this idea of evolving self through the theory of subject-object relations. [11] His theory builds off of Piaget's stages of cognitive development particularly in early to late adulthood and how adults acquire knowledge.

Cognitive and moral development

Cognitive development

Piaget's cognitive development theory

Jean Piaget's cognitive developmental theory describes four major stages from birth through puberty, the last of which starts at 12 years and has no terminating age: [12] Sensorimotor: (birth to 2 years), Preoperations: (2 to 7 years), Concrete operations: (7 to 11 years), and Formal Operations: (from 12 years). Each stage has at least two substages, usually called early and fully. Piaget's theory is a structural stage theory, which implies that:

  • Each stage is qualitatively different; it is a change in nature, not just quantity;
  • Each stage lays the foundation for the next;
  • Everyone goes through the stages in the same order.
Neo-Piagetian theories

Neo-Piagetian theories criticize and build on Piaget's work. Juan Pascaual-Leone was the first to propose a neo-Piagetian stage theory. Since that time several neo-Piagetian theories of cognitive development have been proposed. [13] These include the theories of Robbie Case, Grame Halford, Andreas Demetriou and Kurt W. Fischer. The theory of Michael Commons' model of hierarchical complexity is also relevant. The description of stages in these theories is more elaborate and focuses on underlying mechanisms of information processing rather than on reasoning as such. In fact, development in information processing capacity is invoked to explain the development of reasoning. More stages are described (as many as 15 stages), with 4 being added beyond the stage of Formal operations. Most stage sequences map onto one another. Post-Piagetian stages are free of content and context and are therefore very general.

Lawrence Kohlberg (b.1927) in his stages of moral development described how individuals developed moral reasoning. [14] Kohlberg agreed with Piaget's theory of moral development that moral understanding is linked to cognitive development. His three levels were categorized as: preconventional, conventional, and postconventional, all of which have two sub-stages. James W. Fowler (b.1940), and his stages of faith development theory, builds off of both Piaget's and Kohlberg's schemes.

Learning and education

Maria Montessori (b.1871) described a number of stages in her educational philosophy. Albert Bandura (b.1925), in his social learning theory, emphasizes the child's experiential learning from the environment. [15]

Spirituality and consultancy

Inspired by Theosophy, Rudolf Steiner (b.1861) had developed a stage theory based on seven-year life phases. Three childhood phases (conception to 21 years) are followed by three stages of development of the ego (21–42 years), concluding with three stages of spiritual development (42-63). The theory is applied in Waldorf education [16]

Clare W. Graves (b.1941) developed an emergent cyclical levels of existence theory. It was popularized by Don Beck (b.1937) and Chris Cowan's as spiral dynamics, and mainly applied in consultancy. Ken Wilber (b.1949) integrated Spiral Dynamics in his integral theory, which also includes psychological stages of development as described by Jean Piaget and Jane Loevinger, the spiritual models of Sri Aurobindo and Rudolf Steiner, and Jean Gebsers theory of mutations of consciousness in human history.

Other theories

Lev Vygotsky (b.1896) developed several theories, particularly zone of proximal development. Other theories are not exactly developmental stage theories, but do incorporate a hierarchy of psychological factors and elements. Abraham Maslow (b.1908) described a hierarchy of needs. [17] James Marcia (b.1937) developed a theory of identity achievement and identity status.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Developmental psychology</span> Scientific study of psychological changes in humans over the course of their lives

Developmental psychology is the scientific study of how and why humans grow, change, and adapt across the course of their lives. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to include adolescence, adult development, aging, and the entire lifespan. Developmental psychologists aim to explain how thinking, feeling, and behaviors change throughout life. This field examines change across three major dimensions, which are physical development, cognitive development, and social emotional development. Within these three dimensions are a broad range of topics including motor skills, executive functions, moral understanding, language acquisition, social change, personality, emotional development, self-concept, and identity formation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Educational psychology</span> Branch of psychology concerned with the scientific study of human learning

Educational psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the scientific study of human learning. The study of learning processes, from both cognitive and behavioral perspectives, allows researchers to understand individual differences in intelligence, cognitive development, affect, motivation, self-regulation, and self-concept, as well as their role in learning. The field of educational psychology relies heavily on quantitative methods, including testing and measurement, to enhance educational activities related to instructional design, classroom management, and assessment, which serve to facilitate learning processes in various educational settings across the lifespan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean Piaget</span> Swiss psychologist, biologist, logician, philosopher and academic (1896–1980)

Jean William Fritz Piaget was a Swiss psychologist known for his work on child development. Piaget's theory of cognitive development and epistemological view are together called "genetic epistemology".

Lawrence Kohlberg was an American psychologist best known for his theory of stages of moral development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Index of psychology articles</span>

Psychology is an academic and applied discipline involving the scientific study of human mental functions and behavior. Occasionally, in addition or opposition to employing the scientific method, it also relies on symbolic interpretation and critical analysis, although these traditions have tended to be less pronounced than in other social sciences, such as sociology. Psychologists study phenomena such as perception, cognition, emotion, personality, behavior, and interpersonal relationships. Some, especially depth psychologists, also study the unconscious mind.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piaget's theory of cognitive development</span> Theory that discusses human intelligence from an epistemological perspective

Piaget's theory of cognitive development is a comprehensive theory about the nature and development of human intelligence. It was originated by the Swiss developmental psychologist Jean Piaget (1896–1980). The theory deals with the nature of knowledge itself and how humans gradually come to acquire, construct, and use it. Piaget's theory is mainly known as a developmental stage theory.

Lawrence Kohlberg's stages of moral development constitute an adaptation of a psychological theory originally conceived by the Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget. Kohlberg began work on this topic as a psychology graduate student at the University of Chicago in 1958 and expanded upon the theory throughout his life.

Cognitive development is a field of study in neuroscience and psychology focusing on a child's development in terms of information processing, conceptual resources, perceptual skill, language learning, and other aspects of the developed adult brain and cognitive psychology. Qualitative differences between how a child processes their waking experience and how an adult processes their waking experience are acknowledged. Cognitive development is defined as the emergence of the ability to consciously cognize, understand, and articulate their understanding in adult terms. Cognitive development is how a person perceives, thinks, and gains understanding of their world through the relations of genetic and learning factors. There are four stages to cognitive information development. They are, reasoning, intelligence, language, and memory. These stages start when the baby is about 18 months old, they play with toys, listen to their parents speak, they watch tv, anything that catches their attention helps build their cognitive development.

Loevinger's stages of ego development are proposed by developmental psychologist Jane Loevinger (1918-2008) and conceptualize a theory based on Erik Erikson's psychosocial model and the works of Harry Stack Sullivan (1892-1949) in which "the ego was theorized to mature and evolve through stages across the lifespan as a result of a dynamic interaction between the inner self and the outer environment". Loevinger's theory contributes to the delineation of ego development, which goes beyond the fragmentation of trait psychology and looks at personality as a meaningful whole.

Stages of development may refer to:

The model of hierarchical complexity (MHC) is a framework for scoring how complex a behavior is, such as verbal reasoning or other cognitive tasks. It quantifies the order of hierarchical complexity of a task based on mathematical principles of how the information is organized, in terms of information science. This model was developed by Michael Commons and Francis Richards in the early 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Positive adult development</span>

Positive adult development is a subfield of developmental psychology that studies positive development during adulthood. It is one of four major forms of adult developmental study that can be identified, according to Michael Commons; the other three forms are directionless change, stasis, and decline. Commons divided positive adult developmental processes into at least six areas of study: hierarchical complexity, knowledge, experience, expertise, wisdom, and spirituality.

Infant cognitive development is the first stage of human cognitive development, in the youngest children. The academic field of infant cognitive development studies of how psychological processes involved in thinking and knowing develop in young children. Information is acquired in a number of ways including through sight, sound, touch, taste, smell and language, all of which require processing by our cognitive system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neo-Piagetian theories of cognitive development</span>

Neo-Piagetian theories of cognitive development criticize and build upon Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andreas Demetriou</span> Greek Cypriot developmental psychologist (born 1950)

Andreas Demetriou is a Greek Cypriot developmental psychologist and former Minister of Education and Culture of Cyprus. Founding Fellow and current president of The Cyprus Academy of Sciences, Letters and Arts.

Moral development focuses on the emergence, change, and understanding of morality from infancy through adulthood. The theory states that morality develops across a life span in a variety of ways and is influenced by an individual's experiences and behavior when faced with moral issues through different periods of physical and cognitive development. Morality concerns an individual's reforming sense of what is right and wrong; it is for this reason that young children have different moral judgment and character than that of a grown adult. Morality in itself is often a synonym for "rightness" or "goodness." It also refers to a specific code of conduct that is derived from one's culture, religion, or personal philosophy that guides one's actions, behaviors, and thoughts.

Role-taking theory is the social-psychological concept that one of the most important factors in facilitating social cognition in children is the growing ability to understand others’ feelings and perspectives, an ability that emerges as a result of general cognitive growth. Part of this process requires that children come to realize that others’ views may differ from their own. Role-taking ability involves understanding the cognitive and affective aspects of another person's point of view, and differs from perceptual perspective taking, which is the ability to recognize another person's visual point of view of the environment. Furthermore, albeit some mixed evidence on the issue, role taking and perceptual perspective taking seem to be functionally and developmentally independent of each other.

Child lying refers to children displaying varying degrees of deceptive behavior in a social situation. Children have been observed lying as early as age 2 and their deceptive skills increase sharply as they mature into adolescence. Children who have advanced cognitive skills for their age have an increased tendency to begin lying at earlier ages. Children may lie for various reasons including, but not limited to, escaping punishment for not obeying a task, through observation of their parents and peers, or lacking a comprehensive understanding of basic morality.

The Washington University Sentence Completion Test (WUSCT) is a sentence completion test created by Jane Loevinger, which measures ego development along Loevinger's stages of ego development. The WUSCT is a projective test; a type of psychometric test designed to measure psychic phenomenon by capturing a subject's psychological projection and measuring it in a quantifiable manner. The test has been characterized as a good test for clinical use as it can measure across distinct psychopathologies and help in choosing treatment modalities; to this end, it is used by many clinical psychologists and psychiatrists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juan Pascual-Leone</span>

Juan Pascual-Leone is a developmental psychologist and founder of the neo-Piagetian approach to cognitive development. He introduced this term into the literature and put forward key predictions about developmental growth of mental attention and working memory.

References

  1. 1 2 Hayslip Jr., Bert; Neumann, Craig S.; Louden, Linda; Chapman, Benjamin (2006). "Developmental Stage Theories". In Hersen, Michel; Thomas, Jay C. (eds.). Comprehensive Handbook of Personality and Psychopathology, Vol. 1. Personality and Everyday Functioning. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 115–141. ISBN   9780471488385. OCLC   59279973.
  2. ↑ Eysenck, Michael W. (2017). "Developmental approach". Simply Psychology: 121–175. doi:10.4324/9781315517933-9. ISBN   9781315517933.
  3. 1 2 Carter, Linda; Grivas, John (2004). Psychology for South Australia: Stage 1. Milton, Qld.: Jacaranda. ISBN   9780731400942. OCLC   224074696.
  4. ↑ "What Is Lifespan Development? | Introduction to Psychology". courses.lumenlearning.com. Retrieved 2021-03-18.
  5. ↑ Crain, William (2015-10-02). Theories of Development: Concepts and Applications: Concepts and Applications. Psychology Press. ISBN   978-1-317-34322-6.
  6. ↑ "Themes and Theories of Child Development". highered.mheducation.com. Retrieved 2021-03-06.
  7. ↑ "Freud and the Psychodynamic Perspective | Introduction to Psychology". courses.lumenlearning.com. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
  8. ↑ Berk, Laura (2018). Development Through The Lifespan (7th ed.). Boston: Pearson. p. 184. ISBN   978-0-13-441969-5.
  9. ↑ Knight, Zelda Gillian (2017). "A proposed model of psychodynamic psychotherapy linked to Erik Erikson's eight stages of psychosocial development". Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy. 24 (5): 1047–1058. doi:10.1002/cpp.2066. ISSN   1099-0879. PMID   28124459.
  10. ↑ Schaffer, H. Rudolph (2004). Introducing child psychology. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub. ISBN   0-631-21627-8. OCLC   51799325.
  11. ↑ Richardson, Kathleen (March 2019). "The human relationship in the ethics of robotics: a call to Martin Buber's I and Thou". AI & Society. 34 (1): 75–82. doi:10.1007/s00146-017-0699-2. ISSN   0951-5666. S2CID   14638499.
  12. ↑ "Cognitive Development | Encyclopedia of Special Education: A Reference for the Education of Children, Adolescents, and Adults with Disabilities and Other Exceptional Individuals - Credo Reference". search.credoreference.com. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
  13. ↑ Demetriou, A. (1998). Cognitive development. In A. Demetriou, W. Doise, K. F. M. van Lieshout (Eds.), Life-span developmental psychology, pp. 179-269. London: Wiley.
  14. ↑ Kohlberg, Lawrence (1987). The Measurement of Moral Judgement. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN   0-521-32565-X.
  15. ↑ Bandura, Albert (1970). Social learning and personality development. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. ISBN   0-03-910038-3. OCLC   898963514.
  16. ↑ Lievegoed, Bernard (1997). Phases: The Spiritual Rhythms of Adult Life. Forest Row, GB: Rudolf Steiner Press. ISBN   1-85584-056-1.
  17. ↑ Maslow, Abraham H. (1943). "A theory of human motivation". Psychological Review. 50 (4): 370–396. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.334.7586 . doi:10.1037/h0054346. hdl:10983/23610. ISSN   0033-295X. OCLC   1318836. Archived from the original on 2017-09-14. Retrieved 2007-03-13– via psychclassics.yorku.ca.
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