Compare and contrast the theories of Jean Piaget ‘s cognitive development and Erikson’s

psychosocial development?

Jean Piaget and Erik Erikson were two psychologists who each put forward theories of
development. While they were vastly different theories, they did share some similarities.
First, both psychologists were stage theorists, who believed that development occurs in
distinct stages rather than a gradual continuous process. They also believed that in these
stages, certain challenges in the environment would forward development, although they
disagreed on what those challenges were and where they stemmed from.
One of the most widely known perspectives about cognitive development is the cognitive
stage theory of a Swiss psychologist named Jean Piaget. Piaget created and studied an
account of how children and youth gradually become able to think logically and
scientifically. A child's cognitive development is not just about acquiring knowledge, th e
child has to develop or construct a mental model of the world. Piaget proposed that cognition
developed through distinct stages from birth through the end of adolescence. By “stages” he
meant a sequence of thinking patterns with four key features:
1.The stages always happen in the same order, 2.No stage is ever skipped, 3.Each stage is a
significant transformation of the stage before it, 4.Each later stage incorporated the earlier
stages into itself. Basically, this is a “staircase” model of development. Piaget proposed four
major stages of cognitive development.
The first stage is called the sensorimotor stage – birth to age 2.
In Piaget’s theory, the sensorimotor stage occurs first, and is defined as the period when
infants “think” by means of their senses and motor actions. Sensorimotor is when infants
continually touch, manipulate, look, listen to, and even bite and chew objects. According to
Piaget, these actions allow children to learn about the world and are crucial to their early
cognitive development. The second stage is called preoperational thinking – age 2 to 7.
In the preoperational stage, children use their new ability to represent objects in a wide
variety of activities, but they do not yet do it in ways that are organized or fully logical. This
is where symbolic thoughts develop. The third stage is called Concrete Operational Stage
Age 7 to 11. In this stage children mentally “operate” on concrete objects and events. They
are not yet able, however, to operate or think systematically about representations of objects
or events. Children between the ages of seven to eleven learn to reason and perform mental
problems on numbers, they also look into problems from different perspectives and can
reverse activities mentally. The fourth stage is formal operation stage. It occurs from eleven
years of age to adulthood. Abstract thinking takes center stage. Similarly, in this stage
hypothesis formation and deduced reasoning become easier to understand. Piaget considered
the concrete stage a major turning point in the child's cognitive development because it marks
the beginning of logical or operational thought. This means the child can work things out
internally in their head rather than physically try things out in the real world.

Unlike Piaget, who focused on cognitive development, Erikson emphasized on healthy ego
development. One of the best-known theories of social development is the Eight Psychosocial
Crises of Erik Erikson. Like Piaget, Erikson developed a theory of social development that
relies on stages, except that Erikson thought of stages as a series of psychological or social or
psychosocial crises turning points in a person’s relationships and feelings about themselves.
His first stage is Trust vs mistrust. It occurs in children below the age of one. The theory
posits that, in this stage, the infant is totally dependent on parents and caregivers. Thus, trust
is established when the infant feels safe under care; likewise mistrust occurs when safety is
minimal. The second stage is autonomy vs Shame and Doubt. This takes place between one
and three years of age. The child develops some sense of independence through learning
 basic life skills. When children accomplish the purpose of the stage they feel secure. Failure,
on the other hand, leads to self-doubt and insecurity. The third stage is initiative vs Guilt, this
takes place between three and six years of age, children become aware of the social
environment. Social settings affect the children to exert authority when opportunity is
provided. The fourth stage is industry vs Inferiority. It covers the ages of six to twelve;
competition with fellow children brings out the abilities and skills of the children. A feeling
of competency for the victors follows while feelings of doubts linger on the minds of
unsuccessful children. The fifth stage is identity vs Confusion. The period coincides with the
onset of adolescence up to young adulthood. An individual forms an identity, understands
his/her role in society and experiences a sense of direction in life. Those who do not succeed
emerge bruised with feelings of insecurity of the future. The sixth stage is Intimacy vs
Isolation. Relationships are significant factors for the success of individuals; success depends
on healthy and secure relationships. Lack of identity leads to lower self-esteem and higher
rates of depression. The seventh stage is Generativity vs stagnation. In adulthood, people are
productive in their lives through family, work and career. Success in this stage exudes
feelings of accomplishment to the society. Failure leads to stagnation in life and unproductive
lives. The eighth stage is Integrity vs Despair. Eric’s last stage deals with the period of old
age, people look back into their lives, and accomplishment during one’s life brings bout
feelings of contentment while failure leads to disappointment at the wasted opportunities.
Additionally, satisfaction follows those who have accomplished their life long wishes. Their
stages also shared the similarity that they continued through adulthood and did not stop in
childhood, Piaget's theory includes four stages of development, an individual reaches the
final stages at around age 11. Erickson's theory contains eight stages and an individual
reaches the last stage at age 55 or 65. both psychologists were stage theorists, who believed
that development occurs in distinct stages rather than a gradual continuous process. Piaget’s
stages emanated from research and observation while in Erikson’s case it came from
experience. The two psychologists agreed that on the debate of nature vs. nurture,
development was more influenced by nurture. Erikson dwelled on personality development
while Piaget focused on cognitive development. Piaget's first stage takes place during a
child's first two years, while Erickson’s first stage describes the first year. Piaget views an
adolescent as a rational being with rational thoughts. Piaget solely focuses on changes in his
theory of four stages, totally ignoring ego in his analysis. Erickson uses the social setting as
the basis on his theory. Erik posits that at this stage, the teenager focuses on independence
and self discovery. Piaget used ideas influenced by biology to explain children's development
while Erickson developed ego in this theory, a term that was introduced by Freud's
psychoanalysis. Both were developmental psychologists who brought another perspective and
tradition to their work. Their theories have a profound impact on society, especially in early
childhood. In summary both of their theories have influenced upcoming psychologists and
individuals to gain inspiration from their work and to teach and understand children in the
best way possible.
Overall a good paper. However, more critiques should have been included.
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