FREE ESSAY ON COMPARING PIAGET AND ERIKSON

COMPARING PIAGET AND ERIKSON

Comparing Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development to
Erikson's Stages of Social Development
Child psychologist, Jean Piaget, believed that a
person understands whatever information fits into his
established view of the world. Piaget described four
stages of cognitive development and related them to 
a person's ability to understand. 
The Sensorimotor Stage occurs from birth to 2 
years. It is during this stage that the child 
learns about his or herself and the environment 
around them by use of motor and reflex actions. 
The Preoperational Stage begins from about the 
time the child starts to talk to about age 7. With 
the child's new knowledge of language, he is able 
to begin using symbols to represent objects and 
personify them as well. 
The Concrete Stage occurs from about first grade 
to early adolescence. The child has now developed an 
ability to make rational judgements. There is no 
longer the need to live in a fantasy world as 
much.
The final stage in Piaget's Cognitive Development is
the Formal Stage. There is no longer the need for 
concrete objects to make rational judgements. He is 
now capable of hypothetical and deductive reasoning. 
Psychiatrist Erik Erikson believed that each 
person had Eight Stages of Development. He called 
them the "Eight Stages Of Man." These stages were 
formulated, not through experimenting, but through 
wide ranging experience in psychotherapy. 
Stage 1, Learning Basic Trust Versus Basic Mistrust,
is the period of infancy through the first one or 
two years of life. A child, well handled, nurtured, 
and loved, will develop trust and security. Badly 
handled, the child becomes insecure and mistrustful.
Stage 2, Learning Autonomy Versus Shame, occurs 
between 18 months and 2 years. Autonomy is not, 
however, entirely filled with self assurance, 
initiative, and independence. For children in the 
early part of this stage, there is a stormy self 
will, tantrums, stubbornness and negativism.
Stage 3, Learning Initiative Versus Guilt, occurs 
from 3 1/2 years to 5 years. During this stage, 
the healthily developing child learns to imagine, to 
broaden skills through active play. 
Stage 4, Industry Versus Inferiority, occurs from 
5 years to 12 years of age. This stage has the 
child mastering more formal skills of life, such as, 
relating with peers according to rules, progressing 
from free play to play that may consist of rules 
and demand formal teamwork, and mastering reading,
mathematics and social studies. 
Stage 5, Learning Identity Versus Identity 
Diffusion, occurs from 13-14 years to 20 years of 
age. Now an adolescent, the child learns how to 
answer satisfactorily and happily the question of 
"Who am I?" Most boys and girls experiment with 
minor delinquency, rebellion, self doubts and so on.
Stage 6, Learning Intimacy Versus Isolation, 
occurs from 20-25 years of age. The successful young 
adult, can for the first time, experience true 
intimacy. 
Stage 7, Learning Generativity Versus
Self-Absorption, occurs from 25-30. This stage has 
the adult being very generative, both in marriage 
and parenthood. 
Stage 8, Integrity Versus Despair, occurs from 
30-40 years. He trusts, he is independent and he 
dares the new. He is proud of what he creates- his 
children, his work, or his hobbies.
Piaget and Erikson have very different views on
the ways a child develops. Piaget's first stage, 
birth - 2 years, has the child imitating behavior, 
exploring their own body and senses. He feels the 
child, at age 0-4 months, has the basic "out of 
sight, out of mind" attitude. Erikson, however, feels 
that the child that is nurtured and loved, will
develop trust, security and optimism. 
Piaget's stages from 2 years to 4 years, have 
the child living in a basic fantasy world. While 
Erikson's stage, at this same age, has the child 
focused on himself. He is oriented to his parents 
and needs limits, support, and secure environment. 
Through ages 5-7 years, Piaget notes the same 
behavior as when the child was 2-4 years, with the 
added development of concrete mental operations. 
Erikson notes that the child now identifies with 
his/her own gender, enjoys group play and maintains 
his orientation to the parent.
The 7-11 years, according to Piaget, are 
Concrete Operation years. He begins to think 
rationally and to generalize. Erikson shows his child 
continuing his enjoyment in group play and in peer 
relationships. He is often competitive, impressed by 
older role models, learns behavior from parents, 
peers, and role models. 
The years of 12-16 for the Piaget child, show 
him capable of cognitive problem solving and decision 
making. Erikson's child, during these same years, is 
oriented to the present rather than the future. He 
is preoccupied with self presentation, physical 
maturity, and acceptance by peer group. 
During the ages of 16-18 years, Piaget's child 
is capable of synthesizing a wide range rational 
material. Erikson's child is primarily concerned with 
his individual identity, financial independence, 
deepening relationships, self exploration, distancing 
from family and making own decisions. 
In conclusion, Piaget and Erikson see the 
development of children in 2 very different ways. 
Piaget believed that a person understood whatever 
information fit into his established view of the 
world. His stages were based on research, while 
Erikson's were based on experience. There are no
similarities in the stages of these 2 men. Erikson's 
stages lean more to the realistic side, in my 
opinion. Life and experience was the best teacher in 
this case. 
Bibliography
Works Cited
North Central Regional Educational Laboratory
Program Implications Based on Children's Cognitive 
and Social Development
Encarta Encyclopedia 2000
Piaget's Cognitive Stages
Encyclopedia Britannica CD ROM
Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development 
Child Development Institute
Stages of Social Emotional Development In 
Children and Teenagers
An article by Jim Anderson, SSP
The ABC Classroom: I am, I belong, I can