UNIVERSITY OF PESHAWAR

DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY

DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY ASSIGNMENT

TOPIC: CRITICAL ANALYSIS ON FOLLOWING THEORIES

 PSYCHOANALYSIS BY SIGMUND FREUD
 COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT THEORY BY JEAN PIAGET
 SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT THEORY BY ERIK ERIKSON

NAME: HAMNA SHAHZAD

BS 3RD SEMESTER SECTION C
ROLL NO.: 19
SUBMITTED TO: MA’AM SIDRA BATOOL
SUBMISSION DATE: 5TH-JANUARY-2023
Contents
PSYCOANALYSIS...................................................................................................................3
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT THEORY..............................................................................5
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT THEORY......................................................................................7
REFERENCES………………………………………………………………………………...9
 PSYCHOANALYSIS
Psychoanalytic theories describe development as primarily unconscious (beyond awareness)
and heavily colored by emotion. Psychoanalytic theorists emphasize that behavior is merely a
surface characteristic and that a true understanding of development requires analyzing the
symbolic meanings of behavior and the deep inner workings of the mind. Psychoanalytic
theorists also stress that early experiences with parents extensively shape development. These
characteristics are highlighted in the main psychoanalytic theory, that of Sigmund Freud
(1856–1939).

The Unconscious Mind:

Freud (1900, 1905) developed a topographical model of the mind, whereby he described the
features of the mind’s structure and function. Freud used the analogy of an iceberg to
describe the three levels of the mind. On the surface is consciousness, which consists of those
thoughts that are the focus of our attention now, and this is seen as the tip of the iceberg. The
preconscious consists of all which can be retrieved from memory. The third and most
significant region is the unconscious. Here lie the processes that are the real cause of most
behavior. Like an iceberg, the most important part of the mind is the part we cannot see.
Sigmund Freud emphasized the importance of the unconscious mind, and a primary
assumption of Freudian theory is that the unconscious mind governs behavior to a greater
degree than people suspect. Indeed, the goal of psychoanalysis is to make the unconscious
conscious. Freud (1923) later developed a more structural model of the mind comprising the
entities (what Freud called “the psychic apparatus”).
 Id (Instincts)
 Ego (Reality)
 Superego (Morality)
These are not physical areas within the brain, but rather hypothetical conceptualizations of
important mental functions. The id, ego, and superego have most commonly been
conceptualized as three essential parts of the human personality.

Psychosexual stages:
As Freud listened to, probed, and analyzed his patients, he became convinced that their
problems were the result of experiences early in life. He thought that as children grow up,
their focus of pleasure and sexual impulses shifts from the mouth to the anus and eventually
to the genitals. As a result, we go through five stages of psychosexual development:
 Oral Stage (Birth to 1.5 years)
 Anal Stage (1.5 to 3 years)
 Phallic Stage (3 to 6 years)
 Latency Stage (6 years to Puberty)
 Genital Stage (Puberty onwards)
Our adult personality, Freud (1917) claimed, is determined by the way we resolve conflict
between sources of pleasure at each stage and the demands of reality. Freud’s theory has been
significantly revised by a few psychoanalytic theorists. Many of today’s psychoanalytic
theorists maintain that Freud overemphasized sexual instincts; they place more emphasis on
cultural experiences as determinants of an individual’s development. Unconscious thought
remains a central theme but thought plays a greater role than Freud envisioned.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS ON PSYCOANALYSIS

1. One of the largest criticisms of the psychoanalytic theory is that it places far too much
emphasis on childhood. For one, Freud’s theory says that personality development occurs
during childhood, but many modern psychologists say that this development is lifelong.
2. A similar criticism is that the minds of children do noy attain as much trauma that Freud
linked many psychological illnesses to.
3. Along with that, Freud’s idea of repression is rebuked by most modern psychologist who
say repression is a rare phenomenon and that intense stress and pain causes better
remembrance of an event.
4. On the other hand, criticism of this theory was directed on his idea of the unconscious
mind. Critics stated that the unconscious mind did not consist of hidden or repressed,
passionate emotions. Instead, it was underlying information such as cognition, memory,
perception, as well as emotion, but generally not the repressed kind.
5. Similarly, the theory is too simple to ever explain something as complex as a human
mind, and that Freud overemphasized sex and was unbalanced here.
 COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT THEORY

Piaget’s theory states that children go through four stages of cognitive development as they
actively construct their understanding of the world. Two processes underlie this cognitive
construction of the world: organization and adaptation. To make sense of our world, we
organize our experiences (Carpendale, Muller, & Bibok, 2008). For example, we separate
important ideas from less important ideas, and we connect one idea to another. In addition to
organizing our observations and experiences, we adapt, adjusting to new environmental
demands (Byrnes, 2008). Piaget (1954) also held that we go through four stages in
understanding the world. Each stage is age-related and consists of a distinct way of thinking,
a unique way of understanding the world. Thus, according to Piaget (1896–1980), the child’s
cognition is qualitatively different in one stage compared with another. The four Piaget's
cognitive development stages are as under:

 Sensorimotor stage (Birth to 2 years)

 Preoperational stage (Ages 2 to 7 years)
 Concrete operational stage (Ages 7 to 11 years)
 Formal operational stage (Ages 12 and up)

CRITICAL ANALYSIS ON COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT THEORY

 Underestimation of Children's Intellectual Abilities:
During the 1960's and 1970's, researchers identified shortcomings in Piaget's theory. Critics
main argument was that Piaget described tasks with confusing and abstract terms and using
overly difficult tasks. Basically, Piaget underestimated children's abilities (Wood, 2008).
Researchers have found that young children are capable and can succeed on simpler forms of
tasks requiring the same skills. Secondly, Piaget's theory predicts that thinking within a
particular stage would be similar across tasks. For example, all preschool children should
perform at the preoperational level in all cognitive tasks.
. Third, his efforts to teach children developmentally advanced concepts would be
unsuccessful. However, researchers have found that in some circumstances, children often
learn more advanced concepts with brief instruction. All of this research has led up to the
belief that children may be more competent that Piaget gives them credit form, especially in
their practical knowledge.

 Unscientific Methods:
According to Edwards et al. (2000) Piaget's work is characterized by: lack of controls, small
samples, and absence of statistical analysis in his research. Much of this form of criticism has
originated from Empiricism and Logical Positivism, which was extremely popular at the
time. However, Piaget was a structuralist, and his scientific orientation was very different
from tradition research being done at this time in America. Piaget attempted to identify
universal features of cognitive development by observing children in specific situations. He
believed that small samples of children and the methods he used were adequate if he was able
to identify the structures common to all individuals. However, it is reasonable to question the
reliability of Piaget's work.

 Overlooking Cultural Effects:

Some believe that Piaget overlooked the effects of student's cultural and social groups. It
appears the stages of development constructed by Piaget are representative of Western
society and culture. In his work, scientific thinking and formal operations are presumed
worthy levels to be reached by children. However, in other cultures there may be a much
higher regard for the basic level of concrete operations (Edwards, Hopgood, Rosenberg, &
Rush, 2002).
 SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT THEORY
In Erikson’s theory, eight stages of development unfold as we go through life. At each stage,
a unique developmental task confronts individuals with a crisis that must be resolved.
According to Erikson, this crisis is not a catastrophe, but a turning point marked by both
increased vulnerability and enhanced potential. The more successfully an individual resolves
the crises, the healthier development will be. According to Erikson, the primary motivation
for human behavior is social and reflects a desire to affiliate with other people and the
developmental change occurs throughout the life span. The eight stages of development given
by Erik Erikson are as follows:

 Trust vs. Mistrust

 Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt
 Initiative vs. Guilt
 Industry vs. Inferiority
 Identity vs. Role Confusion
 Intimacy vs. Isolation
 Generativity vs. Stagnation
 Ego Integrity vs. Despair

CRITICAL ANALYSIS ON SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT THEORY

A critical look at this theory however shows it to be a beautiful almost poetic description of
life rather than a strictly scientific society that indicates the factors determining development.
The theory is based on speculation and interpretations, although it is not as far-fetched as
Freud’s interpretation (Louw, 1998).

 No attention toward emotional and cognitive development

The point of criticism is that this theory covers only a few aspects of human developments,
such as individual’s basic attitude towards other people and towards life. Consequently, it
does not deal with other developmental aspects at all. For instance, no attention is given to
cognitive development, and very little to emotional development (Louw, 1998).

 Vague causes of development

On the other hand, Erikson’s theory can be criticized for being vague about the causes of
development. What kinds of experiences must a child have to develop autonomy as a toddler,
initiate as a preschool child, or a stable identity during adolescents? Why exactly, is a sense
of trust so important for the development of autonomy, initiative and identity? Unfortunately,
Erikson is not very explicit about these important issues. So, Erikson’s theory is really a
descriptive overview of human social and emotional development that does not adequately
explain how or why this development takes place (Shaffer, 2009).

 Self- Based theory

Erikson’s thinking was shaped by his own varied experiences. Erikson’s revision of Freud’s
theory which emphasizes sociocultural determinants rather than sexual determinants of
development and posits a series of eight psychosocial conflicts that people resolve
successfully to display healthy psychological adjustment (Shaffer, 2009)

 Identity Development
Adolescence represents an optimal time for identity development due to a variety of physical,
cognitive, and social factors. Although Erikson believed identity was largely “fixed” by the
end of adolescence, he did suggest that identity continues to evolve throughout adulthood.
Unfortunately, he did not give detail on what this process looks like. Research shows that
identity development continues to be an ongoing process throughout adulthood. Just as in
adolescence, vocations, ideologies, and relationships continue to remain important identity
issues. Several studies have been presented to support this notion. In contrast to Erikson’s
extensive writings on the adolescent identity formation process, he did not offer detailed
comments regarding identity’s evolution throughout the adult life. As a result, he has been
criticized for extending his theory beyond adolescence without providing much detail. To
complicate matters further, Erikson conveys contradictory messages speaking on identity
development beyond adolescence (Sokol, 2007). According to Erikson the final identity is
“fixed at the end of adolescence”. He suggests that identity concerns fade as issues of
intimacy (followed by generativity and ego integrity) become the focus (Erikson, 1968).
Alternatively, Erikson proposed that identity defining issues of adolescence do not remain
fixed; they retain flexibility for modification throughout the adulthood years due to new life
experiences. Clearly these two statements appear contradictory; therefore, it is difficult to
assess identity development beyond adolescence from his perspective (Sokol, 2009).
REFERENCES:
 Santrock, J.W. (2010). Life-Span Development (13th Ed). McGraw-Hill Education.
 Myers, D. (2010). Psychology in modules: Personality. New York: Worth Publishers.
 Eric. Ed. (2009). Piaget's stages of cognitive development. Retrieved April 30, 2009, from
About.com: Psychology Website
http://psychology.about.com/library/quiz/bl_piaget_quiz.htm
 Academia.edu. (2018) Critical Analysis on Psychosocial Theory of Erik Erikson.
Retrieved from
https://www.academia.edu/13435846/Critical_Analysis_on_Psychosocial_Theory_of_Eri
k_Erikson
 Shaffer, D. R. & Kipp, K. (2010). Developmental Psychology: Childhood and
Adolescence (8th ed.). USA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.