-
Period: 998 to 999
Piaget's Cognitive Theories of Development
Jean Piaget developed a widely accepted theory of cognitive development. This theory includes four stages that take place throughout one's life. The first stage is the sensorimotor stage, which takes place at 0-2 years of age. The second stage is the preoperational stage, which takes place at 2-6 years of age. The third stage is the concrete operational stage, which takes place at 6-11 years of age. The last stage is the formal operational stage, which takes place at 11 years old through life. -
Period: 1000 to 1002
Cognitive: Sensorimotor Stage (0-2 years)
The sensorimotor stage takes place in infancy (0-2 years of age). During this stage, there are two main goals. One goal is for an infant to start learning about the world through their senses. An example of this is when babies pick up items and trying to taste or shake them. Another goal that an infant should reach during the sensorimotor stage is object permanence. Object permanence means that an infant recognizes that something still exists if it leaves their line of sight. -
Period: 1002 to 1006
Cognitive: Preoperational Stage (2-6 years)
The preoperational stage is where children start to use symbols and language to communicate. They also start to play make-believe, like house or dress up. During this stage, children do not understand conservation. This means that when a piece of paper is cut they believe that they have more paper than a person who has a full uncut sheet. Children during this stage also start to think with logic, but their logic is only based on past experiences. This means that it is often flawed. -
Period: 1006 to 1011
Cognitive: Concrete Operational Stage (6-11 years)
Children in the concrete operational stage begin to develop some of the qualities that they lacked in the previous stages. In this stage, children should understand conservation, and they should start to think with more logic. Children also will start to understand numbers, and they will begin to use and develop their memory. They will also develop reversibility. It is the recognition that if something moved or changed it still is the same size and material as before. -
Period: 1011 to 1100
Cognitive: Formal Operational Stage (11+ years)
The formal operational stage a few key components. The first component is that children/adults will start to deal with abstract ideas and solutions. They can also think in hypothetical situations and come up with multiple solutions for the situation. Lastly, egocentrism starts to develop, and this means that small things get blown out of proportion in one's mind. For example, if a basketball player misses a free throw he believes his life is over, but egocentrism is typically grown out of. -
Period: to
Erikson's Theory of Psychosocial Development
Erik Erikson's theory of psychosocial development splits social and personality develop into 8 distinct categories that span one's lifetime. The categories are trust vs. mistrust, autonomy vs. shame, initiative vs. guilt, industry vs. inferiority, identity vs. role confusion, intimacy vs. isolation, generativity vs. stagnation, and integrity vs. despair. -
Period: to
Psychosocial Development: Trust vs. Mistrust (0-12 months)
The first stage of Erikson's theory is trust vs. mistrust. This stage is where a baby starts to view their world and their surroundings as safe and nurturing or insecure. These feelings are installed by the child's caregiver. If a caregiver is nurturing and present, then a baby will trust their caregiver. They will view the world in a positive light. If if the caregiver is absent and irresponsible, then the baby will not be able to trust its caregiver or the world. -
Period: to
Psychosocial Development: Autonomy vs. Shame (1-3 years)
The second stage is autonomy vs. shame. Children of this age are supposed to start to do and learn things on their own, and they try to become more independent. This has been called the "me do it" phase because children try to take control over decisions. Some of these decisions include getting dressed, being in charge of activities, and making their own food. If children are not allowed to go through this phase, they can start to doubt themselves as they will feel like they are wrong. -
Period: to
Psychosocial Development: Initiative vs. Guilt (3-6 years)
In the initiative vs. guilt stage, a child starts to develop friendships and interact with their peers. They also start to make up games with their imagination. Children at this age also are very curious, and this leads children to ask the question "why?" often. If a child is not allowed to play with friends, they can begin to become antisocial and pull away from social situations, and if children sense that they are annoying someone with questions, they will become less creative and curious. -
Period: to
Psychosocial Development: Industry vs. Inferiority (6-11 years)
In this stage, a child starts to compare themself to others, specifically their peers. Children who feel good about themselves tend to have a sense of pride, whereas children who feel inferior to their peers tend to become insecure. An example of this is a student who does well in school tends to take more pride in their schoolwork by turning in high-quality material. On the other hand, a student who doesn't do well in school may feel inferior and stop turning in homework. -
Period: to
Psychosocial Development: Identity vs. Role Confusion (11-18 years)
The main goal for an adolescent in this stage is for them to figure out who they are. During this time, adolescents have to answer many questions about themselves and their future, like, "Who should I be?" or "What am I going to do with my life?" Adolescents who are successful at finding their identity will be able to have a strong sense of themselves, and they will stand up for themselves as well. Adolescents who don't do this will be unsure of themselves, their future, and their identity. -
Period: to
Psychosocial Development: Intimacy vs. Isolation (18-40 years)
The main purpose of this stage is for a person to find a life partner, meaning that they develop a loving relationship with someone. This stage directly correlates to identity vs. role confusion because people who are sure of themselves and their identity are better equipped to find this type of relationship. People who are unsure of themselves often find themselves alone or in a bad relationship/situation. -
Period: to
Psychosocial Development: Generativity vs. Stagnation (40-65 years)
In this stage, a person should want to start improving themselves, whether that be by volunteering or finding their life's passion. Typically, people who do not take an active role in giving back and improving themself have very few connections with people, and they tend to become unsatisfied with their life. -
Period: to
Psychosocial Development: Integrity vs. Despair (65+ years)
The main goal of this stage is for a person to reflect on their life. If they are successful at this stage, a person will view themselves as well accomplished and fulfilled. If a person does not successfully complete this stage, they will focus on all of the things that they didn't do, couldn't do, or wouldn't do. This can cause great sadness in a person, as they would feel like a lot of their life was left unlived. -
Period: to
Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development
Lawrence Kohlberg developed a theory of moral development based on Piaget's theory of cognitive development. This theory of moral development has three levels with two sublevels in each level. The levels are pre-conventional, conventional, and post-conventional. The sublevels are avoid punishment, self-interest and reward, social approval, obey rules and authority, the balance of social order, and internal moral principles. -
Period: to
Moral Development: Preconventional, Avoid Punishment (Childhood)
The first stage of moral development is to avoid punishment. This means a person bases their decision on whether or not they would get in trouble. When a decision ends in punishment, it is viewed as bad, and the opposite if it doesn't end in punishment. The majority of people in this stage of moral development are children, but many children move onto other levels later in life. -
Period: to
Moral Development: Preconventional, Self Interest and Reward (Childhood/Adolescence)
The next stage of moral development is the self-interest and reward stage. In this stage, people know that they could get punished, but they still make the decision hoping that it will work out in their favor. For example, student 1 helps student 2 cheat on a test. Student 1 knows that cheating is wrong, but they still help student 2. Student 1 now thinks that since they helped out student 2, student 2 will help them out in the future. This stage is commonly seen in children and adolescents. -
Period: to
Moral Development: Conventional, Social Approval (Adolescents/Early Adulthood)
The third stage of moral development is the social approval stage. People in this stage base their decisions and morals based on what everybody else does or believes. People in this stage are more concerned about what others think, and they are more concerned about blending into the crowd. Adolescents and young adults are most likely to be in this stage of moral development. -
Period: to
Moral Development: Conventional, Follow rules and authority (Adolescents/Adulthood)
The next stage of moral development is the follow rules and authority stage. People in this stage of moral development base their decisions and morals based off of what the rules say. Even if their peers make a different decision or the rules are unjust, this person will still base all of their decisions and morals on what the rules tell them they can or cannot do. Some adolescents and most adults reach this stage of moral development. -
Period: to
Moral Development: Post-Conventional, Balance of Social Order (Some Adults)
The fifth stage of moral development is balance of social order. People only abide by the rules when they judge them to be fair. For example, a police officer sees a thief steal a purse. Later, the same police officer sees the thief getting beaten up by a man. The law says that the man beating up the thief is guilty of assault. The police officer chooses to ignore the law and let the man beat the thief up because he is getting what he deserved. Only some adults reach this stage of development. -
Period: to
Physical Development
There are many different physical landmarks that a person reaches throughout their lifetime. -
Period: to
Physical Development: Infancy (0-1 years)
There are several different physical milestones that an infant should reach during their first two years of life. Within the first six months of life, an infant should gain 5-7oz a week, and they should grow .5-1 inch a month. Within the first 6-12 months, an infant's growth rate should slow to about 3-5oz a week and 3/8 inches a month. Along with the physical milestones an infant reaches within the first year, they should also start to hold their heads up, sit, and crawl. -
Period: to
Physical Development: Infancy (1-2 years)
Growth slows down for children between the ages of 1-2. Children should grow roughly 4-5 inches a year, and they should only gain 5 lbs as well. Children should also begin to walk, run, and climb during this stage. They also should start to develop their fine motor skills. This allows infants to feed themselves via holding utensils or bottles. By the age of 2, 55% of a child's brain is developed. -
Period: to
Physical Development: Early Childhood (2-6 years)
During the period of early childhood, a child's growth rate slows even more. Children in this age group gain about 5-7 pounds a year, and they will only grow about 2-3 inches a year. Children will be able to walk without stumbling or falling, talk, and take care of most daily and bodily functions. By the age of 6, a child's brain is roughly 90% developed. -
Period: to
Physical Development: Middle Childhood (6-11 years)
Children in this stage gain roughly 5-7 pounds a year, and they will grow about 2.5 inches a year. The main event that happens in this stage of physical development is the first stages of puberty start to happen. Girls and boys will start to grow at a faster rate, and they will begin to see new things throughout their bodies. Girls tend to start puberty around the age of 9, which is before boys do. -
Period: to
Physical Development: Adolescence (11-18 years)
This stage has the largest amount of changes when it comes to physical development. During this time, girls and boys start to go through puberty. Girls begin to develop fat around the thighs and hips, get acne, grow pubic hair, grow roughly 3.2 inches per year, and start their menstrual cycle. Boys start puberty a couple of years after girls, and they develop pubic hair, acne, their voice deepens, testicles drop, and have a large growth spurt. -
Period: to
Physical Development: Emerging Adulthood (18-25)
There are only a few things that happen during this stage of development. The most important thing that happens is that the brain is fully developed by the age of 25. Also, a person will stop growing because the process of puberty is completed. A person during this stage is at their peak physical performance, meaning that they are in the best shape of their life. -
Period: to
Physical Development: Adulthood (25-65 years)
Many physical changes happen throughout this time period. For many people, their hair starts to gray, hair begins to thin, they gain weight (especially around the midsection), metabolism slows, wrinkles develop,and vision begins to decline. Women's menstrual cycles end during this stage of life, meaning that they will no longer be able to bear children. -
Period: to
Physical Development: Late Adulthood (65+ years)
Many of the things that happen in the previous stage of physical development continue in the stage of late adulthood. A person's hair continues to gray and thin, more wrinkles are produces, and vision still continues to decline. Along with these developments, other things start to happen as well. A person's sense of touch, taste, smell, and hearing all start to diminish; people begin to become shorter; and their brain function begins to deteriorate.