Stages Of Growth & Development
Stage / Freud/Erickson
Age (Psychosexual)
Toddler Autonomy vs. sense of
(12 to 36 Shame & doubt
months) (ages 1-3) Newfound sense
of independence as a result
of having learned some
basic self-care skills—
walking, feeding, and
toileting.
Preschool Initiative vs. Guilt
(4 to 7 years) (ages 3-6) Child develops
the ability to initiate and
direct own activities.
Because they are developing
a super ego (conscience),
conflicts arise from their
desire to explore and the
limits placed upon them by
caregivers—leads to feeling
of frustration and guilt
Piaget
(Cognitive)
Sensorimotor &
Preconceptual Phase
- Appear mature but are really
primitive;
- Differentiation of self from
objects—increased tolerance
of separation from parents
- Object permanence has
advanced—increasingly aware
of existence of objects of
objects behind doors, in
drawers, etc.
- Domestic mimicry
- Embryonic concept of time
—a vagus concept
- “Why?” and “How?’
predominate language.
Preoperational Phase (2-7)
- A shift from totally
egocentric thought to social
awareness occurs—ability to
consider another’s viewpoint
begins. Egocentricity is still
evident.
- Play is this child’s way of
understanding, adjusting to,
and working out life’s
experiences
- Magical thinking—thoughts
are powerful—guilt may result
from bad thoughts or wishes
- Words are accepted literally
—“you are bad” means that “I
am a bad person,” not merely
that my actions were bad.
Kohlberg
Spiritual/moral
Kohlberg said nothing.
- Associate God with
something special
- Assimilate behaviors
(folding hands in prayer)
associated with God
- Comforted by spiritual
routines (bedtime prayers
- Near end of toddler- hood,
religious teachings such as
reward and fear of
punishment may influence
their behavior
Preconventional/Premoral
- Moral judgment is at its
most basic level—little
concern for why something
is wrong.
- Actions are directed
toward fulfilling their needs
and less frequently the need
of others.
- These children have a very
concrete sense of justice
- fairness involves the
philosophy of “you scratch
my back and I’ll scratch
yours, “ with no thought of
loyalty or gratitude.
-Development of conscious
is strongly linked to
spiritual; development.
Behave correctly to avoid
punishment, guilt.
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Play
- Parallel play—the toddler
plays alongside, not with
other children
- Inspects toys; talks to toys;
tests its strength and
durability
- Invents uses for toys
- Imitation is a
distinguishing characteristic
of play—engages in fantasy
- Associative play—group
play in similar or identical
activities, but without rigid
organization or rules.
Provides physical, social,
and mental development,
with refinement of motor
skills. Includes: jumping,
running, and climbing, as
well as the use of tricycles,
sports equipment,
constructive and creative
toys, etc.
- Imitative, imaginative
and dramatic play –
probably the most
characteristic & persuasive
preschool activity. For self
expression; involves the
reproduction of adult
behavior. Toward the end of
the preschool period
children want to do adult
activities not just pretend.
Common
Problems/Concerns
- Temper tantrums
- Toilet training – voluntary
sphincter control is achieved
between 18 & 24 months of age.
NOTE: bowel training is usually
accomplished before bladder
training because of its greater
regularity and predictability.
- Negativism—persistent “no”
answers
- May begin to ask questions
about sex.
- Fear: of the dark; being alone;
of animals; pain (and the objects
or persons associated with pain);
ghosts; sexual matters; etc.
- Inability to separate reality
from fantasy may lead to fears
and anxieties—television
programs may lead to animism.
BY 5 or 6 they usually relinquish
these fears.
- Susceptible to the effects of
excess stress because of their
inability to cope.
- Some preschoolers are prone to
acts of aggression; reinforcement
can shape aggressive behavior—
to get attention—neg. or pos.
- Modeling the behavior of
significant others—this can be
good or bad
 Stages Of Growth & Development
Stage/Age Freud/Erickson
(Psychosexual)
School age Industry vs. Inferiority
(6-12 years) (ages 6-11) Learning to
achieve, compete, perform
and developing a sense of
self confidence because of
successes. Thrive on
accomplishments and praise.
May develop a sense of
inferiority when tasks are too
difficult, thus producing
failure—need support.
Adolescence Identity vs. Role confusion
(12 to 18 or 20) (group identity vs. alienation-
age 12-20) Stage is marked
by dramatic physiological
changes associated with
sexual maturation that leads
to marked preoccupation with
appearance and body image.
Identity development takes
place in this stage as the
youth seeks autonomy, group
identity, and to answer the
question, “Who am I?” This
is essential for making adult
decisions—marriage,
vocation. Failure to develop
a sense of self identity can
lead to isolation and inability
to develop lasting
attachments in future.
Piaget
(Cognitive)
Conceptual thinking.
(concrete operations) These
children are able to use
thought processes to
experience events and actions
—to understand relationships
between things and ideas
(reasoning); their mental
processes allow them to see
things from another’s point of
view. Learn to master skills
such as: conservation,
classification, reasoning,
comprehension, and reading .
Abstract thinking. The
period of formal operations.
These people now think in
the realm of what is possible
—beyond the present and
concrete. They are
concerned with future events
such as marriage, college,
and vocations. Their
thoughts are influenced by
logical principles rather than
their own perceptions and
experiences. They are able to
understand that few concepts
are absolute or independent
of other influencing factors.
Kohlberg
Spiritual/moral
- Reward and punishment
guide their judgment—they
adopt and internalize the
moral values of their parents;
they learn standards for
acceptable behavior, act
accordingly & feel guilty
when they violate them.
However, they do not
understand the reasons
behind the rules.
- These children view God as
a human; they are fascinated
with the concepts of heaven
and hell and may fear hell as
punishment.
Adolescents, to gain
autonomy from adults, often
substitute their own set of
morals and values. They
seek to establish and
internalize a set of morals
and values that they have
tested and found to be worthy
of living by—this often
means questioning and
sometimes abandoning
existing morals and values.
Often when adults merely
ascribe to a code of morals
and values verbally, without
actually adhering to the
codes, adolescents will be
inclined to abandon such
codes.
Play
Play takes on a group or
clique form (team play) —it
involves increased physical
skill, intellectual ability, and
fantasy. A sense of belonging
to a team is important.
- Games have fixed, rigid
rules; Conformity and ritual
permeate their play;
- School-aged children gain a
sense of power from playing
games where they can use
fantasy and imagination to
gain mastery over others who
otherwise dominate them.
While the parents of
adolescents remain their
primary influence, they are
ever moving away from
parental dependency and
toward autonomy. Their
peers play an ever increasing
role in terms of significance.
To belong is of utmost
importance. Their play is
group (peer) oriented and is
more about relationships than
play. Sexual activity and
romance preoccupy many
adolescents. The leisure-time
activities amongst
adolescents assist in the
development of their social,
physical, and cognitive skills.
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Common
Problems/Concerns
- Peer influence and
pressure becomes a
contending factor for
parental influence.
- School-aged children seek
greater autonomy with
increasing age—leads to
family conflict.
- Antisocial behavior may
develop—lying, stealing,
and cheating
- Stress can mount from
pressures such as those to
excel academically, peer
pressures, and family
conflicts, etc.
- Destructive behavior
- Sexual experimentation
There is great pressure on
adolescents to become
sexually active.
Adolescents often
experiment in sexual
activities—petting,
fondling, heterosexual
intercourse, homosexual
(oral and anal ). Few are
aware of the dangers
associated with sexual
experimentation.
- Adolescents have a sense
of indestructibility. This
often leads them to
destructive behavior such as
drinking and driving in a
manner that is dangerous.
Auto accidents are the
number one killer of
adolescent males.