Developmental Theories

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Theorists consider that emotional, social, cognitive and moral skills develop in stages.

1. Psychosocial - Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development is most widely used. At each stage, children confront a crisis that requires the integration of personal needs and skills with social and cultural expectations. Each stage has two possible components, favorable and unfavorable.
2. Psychosexual – Sigmund Freud considered sexual instincts to be significant in the development of personality. At each stage, regions of the body assume prominent psychologic significance as source of pleasure.
3. Cognitive – Jean Piaget proposed four major stages of development for logical thinking. Each stage arises from and builds on the previous stage in an orderly fashion.
4. Moral – Lawrence Kohlberg’s theory of moral development is based on cognitive development and consists of three major levels, each containing two stages.

Stage	Erikson	Freud	Piaget	Kohlberg
Infancy (birth to 1 year)	Trust vs. mistrust	Oral	Sensorimotor (birth to 2 years)
Toddlerhood (1-3 years old)	Autonomy vs. same and doubt	Anal	Sensorimotor (1-2 years); preoperational (preconceptual) (2-4 years)	Preconventional
Preschool (3-6 years old)	Initiative vs. guilt	Phallic	Preoperational (preconceptual) (2-4 years); preoperational (intuitive) (4-7 years)	Preconventional
School Age (6-12 years)	Industry vs. inferiority	Latency	Concrete operations (7-11 years)	Conventional
Adolescence (12-18 years)	Identity vs. role diffusion (confusion)	Genital	Formal operations (11-15 years)	Postconventional

Source: Lippincott’s Review Series

Other Nursing Articles you may want to look at:

• Jean Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Born: Aug 9, 1896 Birthplace: Neuchâtel, Switzerland Died: Septemberr 17, 1980 Location of death: Geneva, Switzerlandd Cause of death: unspecified Gender: Male Race or Ethnicity: White Occupation: Psychologistt Nationality: Switzerland Executive summary: Elaborated the stages of childhood   Sensorimotor (0-2 years) Development proceeds from reflex activity to representation and sensorimotor solutions to problems Pre-operational (2-7 years) Problems solved through representation; language development; (2-4 years); thoughts and language both egocentric;
• Lawrence Kohlberg’s Development of Moral Reasoning Born:October 25, 1927 Birthplace: Bronxville, New York, United States Died: January 19, 1987 Location of death: Cape Cod, Massachusetts, United States Nationality: American Occupation: Psychologist, College Teacher Level of Moral development Stage of Reasoning Approximate Age Preconventional “do’s and don’ts” Stage 1: (Punishment and Obedience Orientation). Right is obedience to power and avoidance of punishment. (“I must follow the rules otherwise I will be punished”). Stage 2:
• Sigmund Freud’s Psychosexual Theory of Human Development AKA Sigismund Schlomo Freud Born:May 6, 1856 Birthplace: Freiberg, Moravia Died: September 23,1939 Location of death: London, England Cause of death: Euthanasia [1] Remains: Cremated, Golders Green Crematorium, London, England Gender: Male Religion: Atheist Race or Ethnicity: White Occupation: Psychiatrist Nationality: Austria Executive summary: Die Traumdeutung He was the first one to suggest that psychological problems might have their roots in how children were treated. Freud believed that
• Erik Erikson’ s Theory of Psychosocial Development AKA Erik Homburger Erikson Born: June 15, 1902 Birthplace: Frankfurt am Main, Germany Died: May 12, 1994 Location of death: Harwich, MA Cause of death: unspecified Religion: Jewish Race or Ethnicity: White Occupation: Psychologist Nationality: United States Executive summary: Eight Stages of Childhood Stages Developmental Task or Conflict to be Resolved Oral-Sensory (birth to 1 year) Trust vs. mistrust. Babies learn either to trust or to mistrust that other
• The APGAR Scoring System The APGAR Scoring System was developed by Dr. Virginia APGAR as a method of assessing the newborn’s adjustment to extrauterine life. It is taken at one minute and five minutes after birth. With depressed infants, repeat scoring every five minutes as needed. The one minute score indicates the necessity for resuscitation. The five minute