1

Running head: THEORIES OF PSYCHOSOCIAL AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

Theories of Psychosocial and Cognitive Development

Jason Burton
EDUC 250
Educational Psychology
Dr. Julie Bilz

2
Running head: THEORIES OF PSYCHOSOCIAL AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
Abstract
This research paper looks into the detailed understanding of three
developmental theories. The three developmental theories being viewed are
Eriksons Psychosocial Development theory, Piagets Cognitive Development theory,
and Vygotskys Cognitive Development theory. The purpose of this research is
comparison and elaboration on the three theories as they relate to the educational
field.
Throughout the first three sections of this research paper, the three theories
are broken down into detailed examples that describe their stages and give an
overall view of the theory. The sections also contain an example of incorporation of
each theory in a classroom setting.
Following the three explanatory sections, a fourth section containing an
evaluation showing strengths and weaknesses of two particular theories. The
theories Psychosocial and Cognitive development theories are compared through
gathered research supporting scholarly arguments.
The last section of the research paper is an overall reflection of the theories
and their effectiveness in the classroom. The section views the usefulness of each
theory in the classroom and allows readers to base their own opinions off of
researched findings.

3
Running head: THEORIES OF PSYCHOSOCIAL AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

Section One: Erikson: Psychosocial Development

Erik Erikson developed a psychoanalytic theory which identifies eight

stages that each individual should experience and pass through from early
childhood to adulthood. Throughout each of the eight Erikson stages, a
person faces developmental obstacles in which they must overcome. Without
successful completion of overcoming obstacles in each stage, an individual
may result in mental side effects. The eight stages are: Trust vs. Mistrust
(birth to 1 year), Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt (2 to 3 years), Initiative vs.
Guilt (4 to 5 years), Industry vs. Inferiority (6 to 11 years), Identity vs. Role
Confusion (12 to 18 years), Intimacy vs. Isolation (young adulthood),
Generativity vs. Stagnation (middle adulthood), and Integrity vs. Despair
(older adulthood).
The main conflict of ages five through eighteen is that this is the time
period in which humans begin to find themselves as individuals. Children in
this stage begin to worry about doing task the right way and becoming
responsible. They also begin to form moral values from their early life
experiences. Erikson believes that this stage is crucial in the development of
self-confidence.

4
Running head: THEORIES OF PSYCHOSOCIAL AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

As an educator, teachers can incorporate activities such inquiry

learning to help students develop initiative or identity. Inquiry learning is
creating a learning environment in which the students pose questions or
scenarios to why the answer is correct rather than just showing them the
rights and wrongs. This type of learning forces student to find the information
beyond the answer, which in turn helps develop them into well rounded
individuals. The initiative to know more will soon follow as their life identity
forms.
Section Two: Piaget: Cognitive Development
Piaget's theory of cognitive development is a broad theory about the
nature and development of human intelligence. This theory was developed
by psychologist Jean Piaget. Piaget believed that a persons childhood
experiences played a large role in the progression of mental development.
He believed that children learned through active involvement and exploring
the world.
Piagets basic principles of cognitive development were Scheme,
Organization, Adaptation, Equilibration, and Disequilibration. Scheme is the
organized pattern of behavior or thought. Organization is the tendency to
coherently systematize and combine processes into general systems.
Adaptation is the process of creating a good fit between ones conception of
reality and ones experiences. Equilibration is the tendency to organize
schemes to allow better understanding of experiences. Disequilibrium is the

5
Running head: THEORIES OF PSYCHOSOCIAL AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

perception of a discrepancy between existing scheme and new information

that one is driven to resolve.
Piagets stages of cognitive development are Sensorimotor,
Preoperational, Concrete Operational, and Formal operational. These stages
are broken down into age ranges and characteristics by Piaget. The
Sensorimotor stage is birth to two years. This stage is characterized as the
stage that develops schemes primarily through sense and motor activities.
Recognizes performance of objects not seen. The preoperational stage is
roughly ages two years old to seven years old. The preoperational stage is
characterized as the point in a childs life in which their thinking centers on
mastery symbols, which permits them to benefit much more from past
experiences. Piaget believed that many symbols were derived from mental
imitation and involve both visual images and bodily sensations. The Concrete
operational stage is classified as elementary to early middle school level
children, with the age ranging from seven years old to early teen years.
Concrete operational stage is when children become less influenced by
perceptual centration, irreversibility, and egocentrism. During this time
period schemes have begun to develop that allow a greater understanding of
such logic based task as conservation, class inclusion, and seriation. The
formal operational stage ranges from middle school to high school and then
also continues into life after high school. During this stage, children reach the
point of being able to generalize and engage in mental trial and error by
thinking up hypothesis and testing them in their heads.

6
Running head: THEORIES OF PSYCHOSOCIAL AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

An activity that could be conducted in the classroom to illustrate

Piagets theory would be to have students engage in hands on role playing
activities. This could be done effectively in a history style of setting by
grouping students into various ethnic groups. Students would be required to
conduct themselves as their assigned role would in their natural setting. This
allows students to research into a given subject while also seeing things from
another perspective.
Another activity that could be conducted in the lower elementary
classes would be hands on mathematical stations. This would allow students
to learn through simulation and gather a better understanding of the desired
concept. Activities that involve role playing can be huge in cognitive
development.

Section Three: Vygotsky: Cognitive Development

Vygotskys cognitive developmental theory began to appear in
psychological literature in the early 1980s. This theory differed from Piagets
theory in regard to the major forces that shape learning and thinking,
particularly with the respect to the roles of culture social interaction, and
formal instruction. Vygotskys theory is often referred to as a sociocultural

7
Running head: THEORIES OF PSYCHOSOCIAL AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

theory because it mentions that our thinking process is a function of both

social and cultural forces. Vygotsky's theories stress the fundamental role of
social interaction in the development of cognition as he believed strongly
that community plays a central role in the process of creating meaning.
Culture values and practices help shape children into the lifelong
individual they become. Typically, parents morals and ethics are a direct
result of their cultural upbringing. This then become the standard for living
for the children involved. This directly has an impact on the development of
that childs cognitive development. As a child grows older and becomes an
adult, their thought process remains the same that they have been brought
up with. Through cultural influences the child becomes and adult and then
goes on to influence the same morals and cultural ethics on the next
generation.
Classroom incorporation of this theory can be done through the
concept of scaffolding. Scaffolding refers to a variety of instructional
techniques used to move students progressively toward stronger
understanding and, ultimately, greater independence in the learning process.
This teaching technique allows teachers to lead students in the direction of
the answer, yet not giving the student the direct answer. Students will not
only learn the answer but how to come up with the answer which is a
valuable life lesson in the classroom.
Section Four: Evaluation of Theories:

8
Running head: THEORIES OF PSYCHOSOCIAL AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

As with everything in life, every theory comes with both pros and cons.
Through evaluation, researchers can gather strengths and weaknesses of
both psychosocial development and cognitive development theories.
The Psychosocial development theory shows great strength in its
ability to provide a broad framework from which to view development
throughout the entire lifespan. This allows researchers to have a further
detailed explanation and evaluation tool for their scholarly questions.
According to psychology.about.com, researchers have found evidence
supporting Erikson's ideas about identity and have further identified different
sub-stages of identity formation. Some research also suggests that people
who form strong personal identities during adolescence are better capable of
forming intimate relationships during early adulthood.
The weakness of the psychosocial development theory is that the
exact mechanisms for resolving conflicts and moving from one stage to the
next are not well described or developed. The theory fails to detail exactly
what type of experiences are necessary at each stage in order to
successfully resolve the conflicts and move to the next stage.
The cognitive development theory has a strength of consistency in the
educational world. According to research conducted by
psychology.about.com, the fact that Piaget's focus was on qualitative
development, led to many educational programs now being built upon the
belief that children should be taught at the level for which they are

9
Running head: THEORIES OF PSYCHOSOCIAL AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

developmentally prepared. In addition to this, a number of instructional

strategies have been derived from Piaget's work. These strategies include
providing a supportive environment, utilizing social interactions and peer
teaching, and helping children see fallacies and inconsistencies in their
thinking.
A weakness of the theory according to Saul McLeod of
simplypsychology.org, is that the theory was constructed on the research
from a small sample size. Piaget carried out his studies with a handful of
participants, and in the early studies he generally used his own children. This
sample is by many to be declared biased. Accordingly, the results of these
studies cannot be generalized to children from different cultures.

10
Running head: THEORIES OF PSYCHOSOCIAL AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

Section Five: Reflection

Both of these theories have had a direct impact on the world of
education. These theories have created a guideline for many, and a sense of
a how to manual to approach certain topics.

Their impact is significant as

well as is their usefulness in the classroom.

Psychosocial Development can have a large impact on the classroom.
Based on the idea of psychosocial development, inquiry based learning has
begun to work its way into the majority of lesson plans around the world.
Inquiry based learning allows the students to become well rounded problem
solvers while still achieving the desired educational goal of coursework
completion. This theory allows for teachers to evaluate their inquiry style
lesson plans and incorporate variations into the classroom.
Cognitive Development elaborates on the idea of students engaging in
hands on learning. The theory also focuses on the idea of different cultural
learning environments. Through this theory a teacher can successfully
evaluate lesson plans to meet the various needs of all types of students. This
theory also depicts the idea of social interaction which is a big part of
learning in the classroom. The wide variety of information in this theory
allows for a teacher to take a common subject and reiterate that same
subject to various types of students.

11
Running head: THEORIES OF PSYCHOSOCIAL AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

References
Cherry, K. A. (2005). Erikson's stages of psychosocial development. Retrieved
from
http://psychology.about.com/od/psychosocialtheories/a/psychosocial.htm
McLeod, S. A. (2009). Jean Piaget. Retrieved from
http://www.simplypsychology.org/piaget.html
Snowman, J., & McCown, R. R. (2015). Psychology applied to teaching (14th
ed.). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.