Human Development Theories Essay

Piaget claimed that children were in charge of the construction or the building of their own knowledge and that construction was superior to instruction (Gordon and Browne, 2004). Piaget thought that educators should provide a stimulating environment and have the children explore. Teachers should watch and also interact with the children, but they should let the children find and experience new ideas and knowledge on their own. (Crain, 2005)One of Piaget's major contributions is what is known as the general periods of development. He found four major general periods or stages of child development (Crain, 2005, p. 115): Sensorimotor Intelligence (birth to two years). Babies organize their physical action schemes, such as sucking, grasping, and hitting. Preoperational Thought (two to seven years). Children learn to think but their thinking is illogical and different from that of adults. Concrete Operations (seven to eleven years). Children develop the capacity to think systematically, but only when they can refer to concrete objects and activities. Formal Operations (eleven to adulthood). Young people

The five key aspects of theoretical orientation to development include: psychoanalytic, cognitive, behavior and social cognitive, ethological, and ecological. Each one of these happen to contribute an important piece to the life-span development puzzle. Although some of these theories may contradict the others they all work together to make us understand the things that happen throughout life. Together the coincide to let us see the total picture of development and the great things that come along with it.

There are many different theories of development which we use to understand children’s behaviour, reactions and the way in which they learn.

At the centre of Piaget's theory is the principle that cognitive development occurs in a series of four distinct, universal stages, each characterized by increasingly sophisticated and

B) our ability to modify our behavior based on the prospect of rewards or punishment.

I learned about human development theories and theorists such as Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development of life, John Bowlby’s attachment theory. I was able to apply developmental stages, theories.

The study of human development is a science. It is based on theories, data, analysis, critical thinking, and sound methodology (Berger). Five characteristics of Development that will be discussed in this paper are multidirectional, multi-contextual, multicultural, multidisciplinary and plasticity. There are also five theories of development which are psychoanalytical, behaviorism, cognitive, socio-cultural, and epigenetic theory. Together these characteristics and theories can be used together to get a better understanding of the human development and how much genetics play a role in development and how much the

These beliefs support scientific facts about different aspects of life. They take the form of philosophical models that effect the scientific positions they have impact on. This is by identifying the essential characteristics of humans and in many cases the scientific events that relates to the researches (Lerner, 2002, p.48). To understand human development, it is not sufficient to obtain a data from one theory or methodology. It is very vital to combine and integrate philosophical theory, methodology and the results of a research to gain the best understanding of the subject scientific scholarship. This kind of integration can provide the research and theory with a clear meaning and definition. This definition is derived from philosophical perspective. This is why we should focus on understanding and examining philosophical assumptions pertaining to the study of human development (Lerner, 2002,

Development psychology refers to the scientific study of the systematic psychological changes that normally occur to human beings throughout their growth period from birth to old age. It was originally concerned with children and infants, but it has since expanded to include the entire life span of mankind including adolescence and adulthood. Development psychology covers the extent to which human development occurs through gradual accumulation of knowledge, and the extent to which children born with inmate mental structures learn through experience. Several psychological theories and approaches like the behavioral, humanistic, psychoanalytic, biological, and cognitive approaches have been developed to explain the

The Bioecological Model of Human development identifies that humans are not really developing in isolation; however in relation to things such as their home, school, family, society and community. The model of human development which was created by Urie Bronfenbrenner was done to assist everyone in getting a better accepting of how the growth of human development starts and also how it plays a vital role throughout the life of an individual. The various stages of development basically originate from the well-known people such as Gardner Erikson Piaget, and these men are the models in which the cognitive development first came on the scene.

The development of a child is viewed from a number of different perspectives by several developmental theorists. While some say that development continues throughout the life, others would hold an opinion that children stop to develop as soon as they mature. Therefore, lifespan developmental theorists have focused on a number of areas while studying the development of an individual. Some of these areas include cognitions, social development, sexual development, moral development and more. Each of these theories is important in order to completely analyze the process whereby which a child matures and transitions into an adult.

There are many theories on how a human develops. Most babies follow a certain pattern of development but the controversy is which person 's developmental pattern of development is correct? Erik Erickson, Sigmund Freud and Jean Piaget 's developmental theories are similar. Each of the theories goes through a human 's development chronologically, giving a guideline of when certain developments happen. For example when a child is supposed to walk or when a child is going to speak. It is only a guideline and these theories are not supposed to be held too strictly.

Jean Piaget is one of the pioneers to child development, he was an important factor in the growth, development and one of the most exciting research theorists in child development. A major force in child psychology, he studied both thought processes and how they change with age. He believed that children think in fundamentally different ways from adults.. Piaget’s belief is that all species inherit the basic tendency to organize their lives and adapt to the world that’s around them, no matter the age. Children develop schemas as a general way of thinking or interacting with ideas and objects in the environment. Children create and develop new schemas as they grow and experience new things. Piaget has identified four major stages of cognitive development which are: sensorimotor stage, preoperational stage, concrete operations, and formal operations. According to the text here are brief descriptions of each of Piaget’s stages:

There are three foundations of human development. The foundations are the biological development, psychological development, and social development. The concept of human diversity and cultural competences demonstrates how different people can be. General systems theory and social order are connected in some way.

Jean Piaget, a cognitivist, believed children progressed through a series of four key stages of cognitive development. These four major stages, sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational, are marked by shifts in how people understand the world. Although the stages correspond with an approximate age, Piaget’s stages are flexible in that if the child is ready they can reach a stage. Jean Piaget developed the Piagetian cognitive development theory. Piaget’s theory of cognitive development proposes that a child’s intellect, or cognitive ability, progresses through four distinct stages. The emergence of new abilities and ways of processing information characterize each stage. Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development suggests that children move through four different stages of mental development. His theory focuses not only on understanding how children acquire knowledge, but also on understanding the nature of intelligence.