Freud's Psychosexual Development Theory

Theories of development relied heavily on unconscious desires for Freud. His main contribution to theories of development is the idea that one can repress thoughts, and have the issue of expressing these thoughts with maladaptive behavior. However, the way that Freud explained these developmental errors seemed to be tinted through a lens of desire and sexual impulse that may not apply in every situation. Freud's stages of psychosexual development were the oral stage, anal stage, phallic stage, latent stage, and genital stage. Proper development in all corresponding stages indicated healthy development.

Erikson's Theory of Psychosocial Development

Erik Erikson's theories of development did not focus on unconscious sexual repression, but on the social interaction, one has during developmental stages. To Erikson, the main characteristics of human development did occur in stage, but the main influence seems to be certain situations one may encounter with others and how those situations are dealt with. According to Erikson, these occurrences did not take place until one was sexually mature, but across the entire life span. In this, Erikson progressed Freud's theory by acknowledging the initial stages of development and adding onto them by taking into account social influences and later stages of life.

Cognitive Development Theories

Cognitive theories of development focus on studying the mind and thought patterns and how these cognitive factors affect human development. This type of thinking studies how one's thoughts impact the way they view and behave in the world, and how these thoughts can be changed in order to better influence human development.

Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development

Jean Piaget's theory focused on the way that a child thinks instead of an adult. These days, this thought seems to be common sense, but understanding the world from a child's perspective is harder than it seems. Piaget argued that the thought processes that a child has mature just as much as their physical state. As a result, he split cognitive development into four different stages: sensorimotor, pre-operational, concrete operational, and formal operational. A good way to view these is through child toys, designed according to human development and many ideas that Piaget had. Sensorimotor toys focus on motor activities, and pre-operational toys focus on developing language. Lastly, concrete and formal operational stages involve understanding mental and abstract operations.

The downsides and critiques of this theory revolve around its lack of acknowledgment for the physical processes associated with development. Piaget's view differs from that of Freud's in that it is not focused on factors that motivate behavior, but rather, intellectual development.

Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development

Similar to Piaget's theory, Lawrence Kohlberg developed theories of development focusing on the moral aspects of human nature. He claimed that humans develop in six stages associated directly with their moral influence and the ability for moral reasoning. The main idea behind Kohlberg's theory is that as one learns right behavior from wrong, their development progresses. This may look like individual learning not to lie to others.

Critiques of this theory explain that it does not account for physical development either, as well as relying heavily on cultural characteristics, which are not the same across all societies. Therefore, markers of moral development would be skewed if measured.

Bowlby's Attachment Theory

Other theories of development focus on the role of caregivers in a child's developmental stages, and how this affects their development for the rest of life. John Bowlby pointed out the fact that humans not only need differing types of social interaction in life, but they also form deep attachments, which affects their style of attachment throughout the rest of life. Bowlby explained this through the fact that some individuals strive to maintain a reliant connection in their adult relationships while others are more avoidant.