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Kiley Maloney
Dr. Swartz
AP Psychology - F
February 27, 2011

Human Development Essay

In psychology there are many theories that describe development in terms of stages. A
stage is a developmental period during which characteristic patterns of behavior are exhibited
and certain capacities become established. Piaget, Erikson, and Kohlberg each created their
own stage theories of human development. Piaget’s theory is based on cognitive development,
and is broken up into four stages: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal
operational. Erikson based his theory on a psychosocial crisis occurring at each of his eight
stages of life, all dictated by age. Finally, Kohlberg’s model posits three levels of moral
reasoning, each of which can be divided into two stages. By looking to these three models, the
stage development of where a four year old child, and an adolescent are at can be evaluated.

According to Piaget’s theory on development, a four-year old would be in the

preoperational period, and a teenager would be in the formal operational period. During the
preoperational period, which extends from age 2 to age 7, children gradually improve in their use
of mental images. By this age, the individual’s thought is marked by egocentrism (limited ability
to view the world from another’s perspective), centration (inability to focus on more than one
aspect of a problem at a time) and irreversibility (inability to mentally undo an action).The
individual would have acquired telegraphic speech (omitting nonessential words) and a dramatic
increase in vocabulary, short-term memory, and attention span. At this stage, the child would be
learning conservation, Piaget’s term for the awareness that physical quantities remain constant
in spite of of changes in their shape or appearance. As for the teenager, she would be
categorized in the formal operational period, which typically begins around 11 years of age.
Children begin to apply their operations to abstract concepts in addition to concrete objects. This
stage is marked by an improvement in deductive reasoning, problem solving becoming more
systematic, with alternative possibilities considered before the solution is selected. In addition,
thought becomes more abstract and reflective, the individual develops the ability to mentally
manipulate abstract concepts as well as concrete objects. The individual also engages in
idealistic contemplation of hypotheticals, “what could be,” and his/her long-term memory
continues to improve as elaboration is added to encoding strategies. An example that an
individual in this stage might be mulling over hypothetical possibilities related to abstractions
such as justice, love, and free will.

In Erikson’s stage theory, the four-year old would fall into the third stage, called initiative
versus guilt, and the teenager would fall in the fifth stage, called identity versus confusion. In
Erikson’s third stage, from ages 3 to 6, children experiment and take initiatives that may
sometimes conflict with their parents’ rules. Overcontrolling parents may begin to instill feelings
of guilt, and self-esteem may suffer. Children’s independence will begin to emerge and the ideal
situation, children will retain their sense of initiative while learning to respect the rights and
privileges of other family members. In this stage, the social world is extended beyond the family
and first friendships are formed. As for the adolescent in the fifth stage, the individual is
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struggling to form a clear sense of identity. He or she is asking who I am and where am I going
in life? This struggle involves working out a stable concept of oneself as a unique individual and
embracing an ideology or system of values that provides a sense of direction, hence identity
versus confusion. The individual also experiences increased interactions with opposite-sex
peers, dating begins, and realistic considerations about abilities and training requirements
become more influential in thoughts about vocations and jobs.

The third stage theory, Kohlberg’s model is the most influential of a number of competing
theories that attempt to explain how youngsters develop a sense of right and wrong. His theory
focuses on moral reasoning rather than overt behavior. A four-year old would be categorized to
be in the preconventional level, which is where children think in terms of external authority. This
period is broken into two stages: punishment orientation and naive reward orientation. Acts are
wrong because they are punished or right because they lead to positive consequences. Since
at this point in development the child ‘s thought is processed by egocentrism, he/she sees the
world from his/her perspective solely, so it makes sense that their moral reasoning of what is
right and wrong is determined this way as well. Apart from themselves and experiencing right or
wrong, the child does not know unless they are punished or rewarded for an action. As for the
adolescent, she would be in the postconventional level. Again, it is broken into 2 stages, 5 and
6; social contract orientation and individual principles and conscience orientation. This level
working out a personal code of ethics. Acceptance of rules is less rigid, and moral thinking
shows some flexibility. Subjects at the postconventional level allow for the possibility that
someone might not comply with some of society’s rules. With thought becoming more abstract
and reflective, an individual at this level of moral reasoning starting to question the absoluteness
of laws and beginning to form a personal code of ethics makes perfect sense. These subjects
are abstract and as that way of thinking develops, so should this aspect of moral reasoning.