The Psychology Book

260

I

n the early part of the 20th
century, two main approaches
in psychology examined the
psychological development of
humans from childhood to
adulthood: the psychoanalytic
theory of Freud gave an account
of psychosexual development
in children, and behaviorism
explained the mechanics of the
learning process. However, the
study of development itself—the
psychological, emotional,
and perceptual changes that
occur during a lifetime—did not
evolve until the 1930s, when Jean
Piaget overturned conventional
thinking with the idea that a child
is not just a “miniature adult”
gaining knowledge as his or her
body matures, but at the same
time is also going through radical
psychological changes.

Piaget raised some fundamental

questions: whether we acquire

knowledge gradually or in distinct

stages; whether certain abilities

are innate or learned; and how the

environment affects development.

His cognitive development theory

suggested that a child’s growth into

adulthood is divided into several

developmental stages, and within

each stage the child learns by doing

rather than instruction. Piaget’s

ideas set the stage for the new field

of developmental psychology and

shaped the curricula of schools

up to the present day.

Other developmental theories

soon emerged. Although broadly

agreeing with Piaget’s findings,

Lev Vygotsky argued that it was

necessary for a child to have adult

guidance at various stages in his

learning, and also stressed the

importance of a child’s social

and cultural environment. Erik

Erikson also built on Piaget’s

ideas, identifying eight stages

of psychosocial development,

including the “identity crisis”

of adolescence; while Lawrence

Kohlberg came up with six stages

of moral development in his studies.

With the “cognitive revolution”

that followed World War II,

psychologists such as Albert

Bandura looked at the issue of

development again, this time

in the light of cognitive models

of information processing. Bandura

retained elements of both Piaget’s

stages of development and

Vygotsky’s social constructivism

in his social learning theory.

Cognitive psychology also brought

new ideas about learning,

especially the acquisition of

INTRODUCTION

1920 S

The psychoanalytic world is

divided on issues of child

development between

Anna Freud’s conservative

approach and Melanie Klein’s

“revolutionary” one.

1936

Jean Piaget suggests that

cognitive processes

develop in a series of

well-defined stages

through childhood.

1950

Eric Erikson publishes

Childhood and Society,

which includes an

exposition of the eight

stages of psychosocial

development.

1958-60

John Bowlby

publishes a series of

articles rejecting

psychoanalytic and

behavioral theories

of attachment.

1957

Noam Chomsky

challenges traditional

theories of language

learning in Syntactic

Structures.

1946

Kenneth and Mamie Clark

found the Northside Center

for Child Development in

Harlem, New York, where

they examine the formation

of racial bias.

1915

In a new edition of

Three Essays on the

Theory of Sexuality,

Freud adds a section

outlining his theory

of psychosexual

development.

1930 S

Lev Vygotsky’s

sociocultural theory of

learning emphasizes the

importance of the

community in learning

and development.