When comparing the work of Sigmund Freud and Jean Piaget two things come to mind, they both had a lasting and profound impact on the field of psychology and both received a great amount of criticism regarding their theories. Freud is considered the founder of psychoanalysis, which is based on childhood development and psychosexual stages. Piaget was the top developmentalist of the 1960s and 1970s. His theory of cognitive development was as well studied as Freud's theory of psychosexual development was a generation before. While they both had many criticisms of their work, both Freud and Piaget influenced their respective fields of psychology so much that today their thoughts and concepts are still studied and referenced everyday. Freud’s theories have revolutionized how we think. The impact Piaget has had on developmental psychology has guided social norms of human development and education. This essay will compare and contrast the theories of Freud and Piaget.
In examining the Freudian view of human development, the main characteristic of human development is one of a primitive and sexual nature. Freud defines the id as a unconscious part of the mind focused on the primitive self and is the source of the demands of basic needs. Freud explains that the mind of an infant consists only of the id, driving the basic needs for comfort, food, warmth, and love. In later stages of early development, as a child’s mind begins to grow, the ego is formed. The ego is defined as the connection between consciousness and reality that controls one’s thought and behavior. In late pre-school years a child begins to develop what is called a superego. At this stage values are internalized, and the complex connection between the id, ego, and supere...
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...s. Throughout the stages of development Freud argues that the powerful human influence came from the parents. Piaget believed that peers are as important or more important than parents are. They both agree that a young child is affected by his parents’ standards, but he is not simply a passive recipient of those standards. Piaget did seem to build on one of Freud’s ideas in that while Freud was only interested in moral feelings like guilt and shame, Piaget expanded his theory to look at the development of moral judgment.
Piaget and Freud’s theory are universally known and used in every aspect of human development. While parts of each are used to guide the current theories of human development, ultimately the Freudian and Piagetian theory are very different and have different explanations for what is characteristically observed through human growth and development.
Theorists such as Piaget looked at the cognitive development of children. Piaget believed that children developed thoughts as a result of their experiences. He also suggested that childrenâ€TMs thinking and learning is different to adults. Children have four stages of cognitive development. Stage 1 is Sensori-motor, from 0-2 years babies learn through their senses and interaction with their environment and understand the world through actions. Stage 2 is Pre-operations, from2-7 years, children learn through experiences with real objects and use words to make sense of the world around them. Stage 3 is Concrete operations, from 7-11 years, children continue to learn through real objects and gain extra information from using language. Stage 4 is Formal operations, from 11 years to adult, children and adults learn to use abstract thinking to understand the world. An example of this theory linking to practice is in school, milk is served in blue cups, but if the milk is served in a pink cup one day they wonâ€TMt believe itâ€TMs milk because of past experiences. Freud has helped influence current practise by making us understand that there is a conflict between our unconscious and conscious thoughts and
Jean Piaget's legacy is one that has affected a wide disparity of disciplines. Commonly acknowledged as one of the foremost psychologists of the 20th century, certainly the premiere child developmental psychologist, Piaget preferred to be referred to as a genetic epistemologist. This is because he identified child psychology as being limited to merely the study of the child, whereas his main focus was the study of the origins, characteristics, and limitations of knowledge, usually as seen in the development in children. It has been said of him that "he approached questions up until then exclusively philosophical, in a resolutely empirical manner, and made epistemology (the study of knowledge), into a science separate from philosophy, but related to all of the human sciences." (Gruber and Voneche, 18)
A well-known psychologist, Jean Piaget is most famous for his work in child development. In his theory of cognitive development, Piaget presents four stages of mental development: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational. Piaget explains the adaptation processes that allow transition from one stage to the next. He also emphasizes the role of schemas as a basic unit of knowledge.
Developmental theories are often based on an age-related stages, or milestones, that signify meaningful changes in physical, cognitive, behavioral and social aspects within the human lifespan. One of the most well known developmental theories is Sigmund Freud’s psychosexual stages of development. Freud, like others after him, theorized that early childhood experiences play an important role in personality development. Although, contemporary developmental theories include adolescence, adulthood, and late adulthood, the theories early focus on childhood development makes this approach particularly useful when working with children.
Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky spent their lives constructing theories to explain human growth and development. Both theorists are, today, considered leading contributors to the field of developmental psychology. The purpose of this paper is to explain how a better understanding of Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s theories will provide you with a better understanding of how we ourselves learn and grow as students in today. This will be accomplished by summarizing, comparing,
Many people have made astounding contributions to the school of psychology. One of them was Jean Piaget and his theories on the cognitive developmental stages. Jean Piaget was born in Neuchatel, Switzerland on August 9, 1896. He received a doctorate in biology at the age of 22. When he was younger, he became instantly interested in psychology and began researching and studying it. In Piaget’s research, he created an inclusive theoretical system for the development of cognitive abilities. His work was similar to Sigmund Freud, but Piaget focused on the way children think and obtain knowledge. At the age of ten, he wrote his first scientific paper. As a young teen, he was publishing papers in earnest. He was considered a great expert in the field.
Jean Piaget was one of the most prominent researchers of the 20th century in the field of psychology and human development. He concentrated his attention on the biological influences on the psychological portrait of the person and developmental stages. Piaget pointed out that the development of a person passes through certain stages; each stage can be characterized by specific features. He argued that learning about the world was possible through personal experience. However, his inspiration of developing the idea of cognitive growth and changes of people came while researching child behavior. Moreover, it is important to note that his research was based on the observation of behavior of his own three children (Berlin, Zeanah & Lieberman, 2008).
Lev Vygotsky and Jean Piaget are the two most influential developmental psychologists in history so one might think they would have very similar theories but this could not be more wrong. Piaget (1896-1980) Piaget 's theory stems from the idea that children develop in mostly solitary and are unable to see others perspective and progress through four stages of development(book). A major challenge to Piaget’s theory is Lev Vygotsky’s (1896-1934) sociohoristic theory which suggests that children acquire the tools of thinking and learning through social interacrtion with family and peers (seans book). Both of these psychologists’ theories are very similar in a number of ways but have a few crucial differences which separate them. (BOOK)
Sigmund Freud believed that adults seduced children and this is where their problems came up in adulthood. As for all things, many people did not agree with Freud’s theory. “Freud believed that people could be cured by making conscious their unconscious thoughts and motivations, thus gaining insight” (McLeod, “Psychoanalysis”). According to Freud’s Psychoanalytical Theory, there are three elements of personality the id, ego and superego. The id is an individual’s inner child.
Psychology is defined as the science of mind and behavior its immediate goal is to understand humanity by both discovering general principles and exploring specific cases. There have been numerous developments of psychology thanks to the magnificent works of Jean Piaget, Lawrence Kohlberg, and Sigmund Freud. Each discovery has its own point of view; Piaget’s theory of Cognitive Development point was made for parents and teachers challenge the child's abilities, Kohlberg’s theory of Moral Development was based on the understandings of moral concepts such as justice, rights, equality and human welfare. The Freud's Theory of Psychosexual Development centered on the effects of the sexual pleasure drive on the individual psyche.
The similarities in the theories, including the development perspective and dialectical approach, are very complex and focus upon the fundamentals of each theory. The differences in each theory make them very unique, including the autonomous and heteronomous approaches for each respective theory. The four cognitive stages of Piaget’s theory, including sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operations, and formal operations, provide a clear, effective progression of an individual’s development path from infancy to adulthood. This is very unique to Piaget’s theory and is utilized immensely in academic studies of psychology. The fundamental aspects of Vygotsky’s theory, including cultural and historical factors contributing to the individual’s development is also very unique and is regularly utilized in academic studies. Without the research that each theorist conducted and presented, the psychology studies that we know today would not be the same. The work of both respective theorists will continue to be utilized in academia and in psychology for many years to
Developmental psychology is an area of research dedicated to the understanding of child-development. Throughout history many theories have been used to attempt to explain the complex process. Two of those theorists, Freud and Erikson, were instrumental in creating a foundation for child-psychology to build on. From a Freudian perspective, human development is centered on psychosexual theory. Psychosexual theory indicates that maturation of the sex drives underlies stages of personality development. Alternatively, Erikson is considered a neo-freudian scholar who developed psychosocial theory. In Erikson models there are eight major conflicts that occur during the course of an individual’s life.
The theories of Jean Piaget and Lawrence Kohlberg contributed greatly to the field of psychology. They are similar in some ways and distinct in others, but both theories served to lay the foundation for a major facet of modern developmental psychology.
Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development focuses on the concept of schemas and cognitive thought that helps an individual organize knowledge and understand the world in comparison to Erikson’s theory which focuses on conflicts that arise between and within the ego. Accommodation and assimilation occur throughout Piaget’s theory as a result of children
Erikson’s developmental theory was very detailed as compared to Freud. His theory describes the influence of social experiences in one’s life; however Freud described development based on sexuality. Another major difference between Freud and Erikson’s developmental theory is the end result of the stages. Freud believed that when fixation occurs in one stage, the problems occur associated with that stage would be permanent. However Erikson claims that the outcome of a particular stage is temporary and can be altered by experiences in later years.