Theories of Human Development

For additional material related to the content of this chapter, please see Chapter 2, Chapter 4, Chapter 15 .

Vignette

The Browns were a family of four: mother, Ann; father, Ben; early adolescent, James; and toddler, David. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, both parents were in the workforce, James was in middle school and in after-school programs, and David was in a full-day center-based early care and education arrangement. When the pandemic hit, they all needed to shelter at home full time. Initially, both parents worked from home, but they did not have separate rooms to work from or bandwidth for multiple wireless connections. The family was physically isolated from their extended family, friends, coworkers, and teachers. Ann and Ben were highly concerned about their future, including lost wages, mounting bills, and financial independence. James began online education, but he struggled to stay engaged without the stimulation of hands-on activities in challenging classes, such as science, and rewards of socializing with his close buddies. David was enrolled in an online preschool, but he did not attend well or learn from the experience. Ann quit work to care for David and to support James. Ann set aside time each morning for learning activities with David, who seemed to thrive cognitively and socially with the increased attention of his mother. Ben also set aside time each afternoon for reviewing the day’s lessons and assignments with James. When James returned to school, he willingly wore a mask every day because he recognized it was the agreed-upon solution to maintaining his social connection with peers .

Overview

Theories of development grow out of keen observations, insights, and preliminary research. They offer a narrative of changes associated with growth/maturation and a network of contemporaneous connections among a selective set of behaviors and processes. They attempt to explain what is behind observed behaviors. They address the roles of nature and nurture and stimulate further scientific research to validate the theories (see , for a comprehensive discussion). The theories and the scientific evidence to validate them provide ways of thinking that parents, clinicians, educators, and even public officials have understood and used in their daily life and practice. In this chapter we review several influential theories of child development. To demonstrate their heuristic value, we discuss how these theories can help us figure out the effects of living through the time of COVID-19 on children’s functioning and development.

The chapter describes three different theoretical perspectives on children’s development. Stage theories (Freud, Erikson, Piaget, Kohlberg, Bowlby) tell us what develops. These theories, which stress universal patterns of change, launched important research and clinical traditions. They have become less influential recently due to the rise of sociocultural theories (Vygotsky, Feuerstein, Bronfenbrenner, and Masten) that focus on how variations in social and environmental factors influence development. A third most recent perspective, dynamic systems theory (DST), focuses on the probabilistic nature of phase transitions that depend on the interactions among tiny changes in multiple systems rather than on predetermined plans. This last perspective is well aligned with other interdisciplinary approaches that study the relationship of biologic processes, environmental influences, and behavior.

Stage theories of universal developmental change

Sigmund Freud: Psychosexual Development

Freudian Stages

Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) posited that behavior was motivated by a life force—the libido—that at different developmental stages was primarily expressed in different parts of the body. In the first year of life the child focuses on oral sensations such as sucking, focusing primarily on relations with the mother. Freud called the unbridled quest for need satisfaction that begins at birth and continues through life the “id.”

Libidinal energy then shifts to anal needs (roughly age 1–3 years). These sensations metaphorically relate to issues of control: of holding on and resistance to letting go. Toilet training occurs during this period. To cope with the pressures to regulate these needs, the child develops the “ego.” The ego provides the means of self-control to mediate between the child’s id and the demands of external reality. When the conflict between the id and the ego cannot be resolved, the ego resorts to solutions acceptable to the id, termed “defense mechanisms.” Examples of defense mechanisms include regression, where the child retreats to more infantile ways of behaving and projection, where the child blames another person for feelings the child cannot accept in oneself.

Children then move to the phallic stage (ages 3–5 years). The child is driven by sexual attraction to the parent of the opposite sex and wishes to harm the parent of the same sex. There are strong strictures against fulfilling these desires. This tension is resolved by identifying with the parent of the same sex. This resolution is achieved by developing the “superego,” which serves both as a conscience and a codebook of socially acceptable behavior. Difficulties in the phallic stage are thought to influence the lifelong expression of sexuality and the individual’s moral standards.

Next the child enters the latency period, in which Freud conceptualized minimal tension (see Chapter 8 ). That stage ends when the hormonal changes of puberty manifest themselves and start the genital stage (adolescence). Many of the battles of childhood arise again and need to be refought. The results shape the pattern of subsequent development and the strength of the ego and the superego.

Limitations

Freud’s theory was based on interviewing his adult patients about their dreams and their childhood memories, not based on observations of children. Freud’s emphasis was on the development of boys and on heterosexual identity and relationships. Freud’s depiction, particularly of the phallic stage, has been very controversial as society has changed its norms for sex role and sexuality.

Erik Erikson: Psychosocial Development

Erik Erikson (1902–1994) revised and expanded Freudian theory in 1963. Erikson called attention to the growth of cognitive and muscular skills such as talking and walking (i.e., ego skills) that pose developmental challenges because they bring to the child’s attention new aspects of the world. The attempt to master these challenges shapes the child’s developmental trajectory. For example, walking enables exploration of the environment and presents the child with new opportunities and dangers. Erikson took into account the cultural influences on the growing child’s attempts at mastery. Blending multiple sources of growth (drives, ego skills, and culture), Erikson described the life span with eight specific stages, each a dynamic tension between two opposing forces.

Eriksonian Stages

The first stage (infancy) represents the tension between basic trust and mistrust. It embeds Freudian analyses of the oral stage in a broader interplay between parent and child. Reliable, sensitive child rearing builds the child’s sense of trust in the parent, whereas negligent care builds a sense of mistrust. These interactions lead to the individual’s proclivity to give or not to give to others. Additionally, the child must find a balance between safety and danger. The outcome of judging situations to be safe rather than dangerous produces a sense of hope, which is pervasive throughout life.

The second stage (age 2–3 years) represents the tension between autonomy and shame and doubt. Children’s growing language and muscular control provide opportunities both for independence and for going beyond permissible boundaries. Parents place limits on their children, and children must learn to inhibit urges and practice self-control without feeling shame or losing self-esteem when they fail. Arriving at the delicate balance between control of the self and control by others generalizes to the child’s attitudes toward law and order.

The third stage (age 4–5 years) represents the tension between initiative and guilt. Like Freud, Erikson characterizes the third stage in terms of the acquisition of sex role and a functioning superego; however, Erikson notes that emerging phallic concerns create in boys the male modality of intrusion and in girls the female modality of receptivity. These tendencies prompt the child to search for the gender-appropriate models and identify with them. Males thrust themselves into social interactions, whereas females are receptive to others’ wishes. The phallic analogy of intrusion is extended to ego skills that enable children to create their own projects and purposes. These are fostered by the capacity for imaginative play. But imaginative activities and children’s plans can lead into taboo territory. Children must learn to discern for themselves, not just from parental directives, when they have crossed the line into unacceptable thoughts, feelings, and actions. This tension is the origin of the superego and guilt. Attempts to find the appropriate balance of personal initiatives with moral strictures shape the child’s sense of purpose.

The fourth stage (age 6–12 years) represents the tension between industry and inferiority. Erikson drew attention to the role of schooling and its demands for mastery of the technological order. This stage lays the groundwork for children’s sense of competence.

The fifth stage (adolescence) represents the tension between identity and role confusion. The teen years are marked by physical changes and hormonal surges that seem unpredictable and uncontrollable to teenagers. The demands of adulthood are beginning to become apparent. Therefore, teenagers need to test and gain acceptance for who they are, particularly with their peers. Identity refers not only to sexuality but also to their fit in the structure of society, in school, in their peer groups, and in the ethos of the culture such as presented by the media.

Erikson was a pioneer in describing development throughout the life span. For Erikson the healthy, mature adult was productive at work and was in a mutually satisfying relationship. The latter stages of development were steps toward achieving these endpoints.

The sixth stage (young adulthood) represents the tension between intimacy and isolation. This period is often when adults form committed relationships and begin families. Erikson extended the challenge of forging relationships with significant others to friends and colleagues and to building a collaborative style of interaction.

The seventh stage (middle adulthood) represents the tension between generativity and stagnation. Erikson’s definition of healthy relationships requires shared responsibilities and fostering a new generation both in the family and at work. The eighth and final stage of development (old age) represents the tension between integrity and despair. Many cultures value elder wisdom; however, if persons did not achieve their goals in relationships or work, then they may be left with a sense of disappointment. Erikson’s wife, Joan, added a different perspective to this stage, focusing on the challenges of dealing with declining abilities while retaining self-esteem and dignity.

Limitations

Erikson’s stages remain tied to Freudian constructs. Empirical support for the stages is limited. However, as a heuristic and framework, the stages prove very powerful.

Jean Piaget: Cognitive Development

Jean Piaget (1896–1980) focused his theory of development ( ) on how the child develops a logical and scientific framework for understanding the physical world. He posited that children’s understanding goes through a series of age-linked qualitative changes or stages. Each stage is a filter that selects and organizes what the child perceives and understands. Each stage is a framework that provides the building blocks for the next, thus there is a definite order in which understanding emerges. Development occurs when children discover a discrepancy between their current understanding of reality (assimilation) and the features of the world that don’t mesh with that understanding (accommodation). To resolve the mismatch, children modify their framework. The novel framework may open up new challenges that are more complicated and far reaching.

Sensorimotor Stage

During the sensorimotor stage, which unfolds over the first 24 months of life, a child’s body is the source of experiences. The child is born with a set of rigid motor activities (reflexes), such as sucking or grasping. Initially the reflexive acts are performed separately and directed toward specific objects. Gradually the child begins to adapt these reflexes to different objects, such as sucking differently on a nipple than on one’s fingers. Later the infant combines these reflexes as in grasping the object that is sucked. This experimentation leads to a better understanding of the external objects to which the child is trying to adapt. The ability to use more than one action simultaneously enables the child to construct sequences that facilitate the creation of sequential goal-directed behavior. In the second year of life these reflexes become internalized. For example, Piaget’s infant daughter first opened up her mouth while figuring out how to get into a drawer. Opening her mouth represented the act of opening the drawer. The child’s ability to represent leads to language learning since language is representational (see Chapter 44 ). The first words, however, may be idiosyncratic. One child called dogs “voo-voos,” based on the barking sound of dogs. Representational thought further enables the toddler to infer that objects that disappear from view and are outside the range of action nevertheless exist. By the end of the sensorimotor period the child is able to conceptualize a world that exists independent of one’s actions upon it (object permanence), and consequently the child can play hide and seek. Representational thought also enables the child to watch someone perform a novel behavior and then carry out the same behavior later (deferred imitation).

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