Comparing Erikson's Eight Stages Of Development

We all develop at different paces, some slow and some fast. Some of us were able to walk earlier, or able to speak earlier. There are many different theories on the different stages of how we develop. How we development determines who we are as a person as we grow older. Some theories only go up until adulthood around age eighteen. Others go all way up until we pass away. Erik Erikson said that there are eight stages of life, that determine our lifestyle. Jean Piaget only focused on the children rather than the entire life span. Erikson and Piaget have some different theories, but they also have some similarities.

Erik Erikson says that each stage of life is a crucial point, that the outcome of each stage will affect the person’s life. He has

The first stage a child will go through would be trust or mistrust, During the child’s first year or so depending on how the child is cared for. “They will develop a sense of trust which will carry with them to other relationships.”(McLeod, 2008). During Erikson’s second stage a child will develop autonomy vs. shame and doubt, children need to be given the opportunity to assert themselves, as dressing themselves, or picking out their own toys. The third stage would be during the time they start school. This stage will determine the initiative of the child or the guilt. Industry vs. inferiority is the fourth stage of Erikson’s theory, these kids will be roughly ages five to twelve. During this time the child needs to learn to read and write and do these things by themselves. The fifth stage will contain the child’s

Piaget was quite interested by how well a child could count or spell, he was interested in the fundamental concepts like the idea of number, time and quantity so on emerged. Instead of having stages for the entire life. Piaget mainly focuses on the childhood. In Piaget’s theory there are four stages; sensorimotor stage, preoperational stage, concrete operations, and formal operations. Sensorimotor stage contains from birth to two years of age, where the child begins to understand themselves and how things work. They do this through the interactions they have with other people and their environment (Stage Theory of Cognitive Development (Piaget)). The preoperational stage is from ages two to seven, during this stage young children start looking of things as symbols. They start thinking of things that “stand for something other than itself.” (McLeod, 2009). During the concrete operational stage, which is from seven to eleven years, it begins the start of logical or operational thinking (McLeod, 2009). The formal operation stage includes ages eleven to fifteen. During this stage children no longer need to have concrete items to make rational judgements (Stage Theory of Cognitive Development