Overview Of Piaget, Kohlberg, And Erikson And Their Different Theories

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Overview of Piaget, Kohlberg, and Erikson and their different theories

One of the first researchers to develop an in-depth chart of the early beginnings of an infant to the constant wheels are turning adolescent was none other than Jean Piaget. He believed that all children travel through the same phases, never skipping even one before entering into the next stage. Piaget stated that throughout each the individual is no smarter than one in a more advanced stage, only their thinking process varies. These four stages are known as the Periods of Cognitive Development. Piaget introduced schemas during that time, which are mental images or generalized ideas formed while experiencing the world.
The first stage is called Sensorimotor, which occurs from 0-2 years of age. During this time infants form simple ideas about their surroundings. The infant decides which objects are appropriate for sucking. They accomplish this through assimilation, where they try out new objects to see how it fits into their environment. Also when an object will not work, as they like, he or she may use accommodation, and will change it around to make it work for the particular schema they would like. At first an infant does not think about something that is not currently present. When they see something then they will react. Later around 4 to 8 months the infant will start to develop object performance, where they realize something still exists even if it is out of sight. Around 18 to 24 months their grasp of this concept is fully developed. During this time they also begin to appreciate cause and effect, and try out different things to see what reaction might occur. Around 8 to 9 months and peaking at 13 months, stranger anxiety kicks in, and the infant becomes very upset when separated from their primary care giver.
The second phase is called Preoperational Development, taking place from 2- 6 years of age. Children begin to represent things th...