From birth to adulthood, we all go through developmental stages. Developmental psychology is the study of progressive changes in behavior and abilities, from conception to death (Coon & Mitterer, 2013). There are many theories that have evolved over the years regarding how human develops and mature from childhood into adulthood. Two important development theorists are Piaget and Erickson, who both have different theories on human transformation that takes place from birth. Piaget’s theory of cognitive development has four stages which include the sensorimotor stage, the Preoperational stage, the Concrete operational stage, and the Formal operational stage (Coon & Mitterer, 2013). However, Erickson’s psychosocial theory involve eight stages …show more content…
Jean Piaget’s theory follows a sequence of a child transitioning from one stage to another. Piaget believed that through learning children adjust by change, based on assimilation and accommodation (Coon & Mitterer). Assimilation uses existing knowledge in new situations while accommodation modifies new information in new situations (Coon & Mitterer, 2013). Piaget first stage of sensorimotor comprise of sensory and motor development skills from ages 0-2. At this stage is where movement and senses become coordinated. I believe at the age of one is when I started walking, and my ability to hear and see is also involved in this stage. Piaget second stage is believed to take place …show more content…
His first stage is based on trust versus mistrust, which is experienced in the first year of life. This is where comfort given to babies established trust, while mistrust is established by cold unpredictable parents. At this stage, I was dependent on my parents to provide love and comfort. This allowed me to have a sense of trust and it allows me to grow up giving people the benefit of the doubt. The second stage is autonomy versus shame and doubt, which occurs at ages 1-3. Autonomy can be established by allowing the child to try new skills, while shame and doubt may occur if parents are overly protected of children. At the age of 2, my parents took me the climbing wall, which is where I learned to climbed. The next stage occurs at ages 3-5, which deals with initiative versus guilt. Initiative is established when parents give children freedom to play and select their own activities. Guilt occurs when parents criticize and discourage a child. At the age of 4, I wanted to choose the foods I want to eat and the toys I want to play with. Stage four occurs between the ages of 6-12. Erickson labelled this stage as industry versus inferiority. A feeling of industry may arose when children are praised for their work, while inferiority occurs when a child is unappreciated. In middle school, I won a prize for dancing at my school barbeque. The next stage of Erickson’s