Comparing Piaget And Erikson's Four Stages Of Development

People have been studying and developing theories over development for a very long time. Jean Piaget and Erik Erikson were some theorist that helped open the world of physiological development. Jean Piaget was born August 9, 1896 in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. He was a clinical psychologist. Piaget is most known for his theory in child development. Piaget's theory is known as the cognitive development theory. Another great theorist was Erik Erikson. Erikson was born June 15, 1902. Erikson was a developmental psychologist. Erikson’s theory is known as the stages of psychological development.

Jean Piaget’s theory stated that there were four main stages of cognitive development: the sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational and formal operational

The first stage is trust Vs. mistrust(birth- 1 ½ ). During this stage an infant doesn’t know who it can trust and who it can’t so they tend to stay close to their primary caregiver. The second stage is Autonomy Vs. Shame and Doubt(1 ½ till 3). In this stage children will start to state their independence, by wanting to dress themselves and not wanting as much help from others. The third stage is Initiative Vs. Guilt(3-5). This stage states that children will start to interact with others and learn how they affect others. Stage four is the competence Vs. inferiority(5-12). This stage is where children will start to form groups or cliques and figure out who they are. Identity Vs. role confusion(12-18) is stage five. In this stage children start to become more independent, and begin to look towards the future such as careers and relationships. Stage six intimacy Vs. isolation(18-40) is where people will start to share themselves more intimately with others. In stage seven Generativity vs. Stagnation(40-65) people start to establish careers and settle down. The last stage, Ego Integrity vs. Despair is the stage where people become senior citizen and start to think about retirement and slowing