Commission on Higher Education

Region IV-A
Division of Rizal
University of Rizal System-Rodriguez

Stages of Human Development

Submitted by:
Aurelius Maximus Dometita
BACHELOR OF SECONDARY EDUCATION MAJOR IN ENGLISH-II

Submitted to:
Mrs. May Cortez

THE CHILD AND ADOLESCENT LEARNER AND LEARNING PRINCIPLES

 Commission on Higher Education
Region IV-A
Division of Rizal
University of Rizal System-Rodriguez

Human development is defined as the process of enlarging people's freedoms and

opportunities and improving their well-being. It refers to the real freedom people decide who to be,
what to do, and how to live. It is the progress of society toward improvements in the human
condition including elements such as rights, freedom, opportunity, and quality of life. Human
development does not only come or happen on a single occasion or time. It comes with stages as
our body and cognition develop. The stages of human development consist of stages beginning
from prenatal development, infancy, early childhood, middle childhood, adolescence, early
adulthood, middle adulthood, and late adulthood. In these stages, milestones, growth, and
development happen. As time progresses, several deep studies about this field are being
conducted.
There are four significant psychologists mentioned regarding the study of human
development. They are Sigmund Freud, Erik Erikson, Jean Piaget, and Lawrence Kohlberg.
Let us first focus on Sigmund Freud. Sigmund Freud was an Austrian neurologist and the
founder of psychoanalysis. In line with the stages of human development, he proposed the theory
of psychosexual analysis. In this theory, he proposed five different stages that a person goes
through for them to develop. He believed that personality developed through a series of childhood
stages in which the pleasure-seeking energies of the id become focused on certain erogenous
areas. An erogenous zone is characterized as an area of the body that is particularly sensitive to
stimulation. During the five psychosexual stages, which are the oral, anal, phallic, latent, and
genital stages, the erogenous zone associated with each stage serves as a source of pleasure.
The libido is what’s called the driving force of the development of this behavior.
The first stage is called The Oral stage. This stage occurs within the age range from birth to
a year old. During this stage, Freud stated that the infant’s primary source of interaction or
pleasure occurs through the mouth. Meaning that the erogenous zone being triggered is the
mouth. In this stage, the mouth is vital for the pleasure development of an infant. It is vital for
eating, and it gives the infant pleasure from oral stimulation through gratifying activities such as
tasting and sucking. Examples of the things an infant does in order for the erogenous zone to be
triggered are thumb sucking, breastfeeding, and bottle feeding.
Next is the second stage called The Anal stage. During this stage, the erogenous zones
being triggered are the Bowel and Bladder control. This stage occurs during the ages of 1 to 3
years old. Freud stated that during the anal stage, the primary focus of the libido was controlling
bladder and bowel movements. Developing this control leads the child to have a sense of
accomplishment and independence. At this stage, the success rate of developing this sense of
pleasure is dependent upon the way in which a parent approaches toilet training. A parent who
utilizes praise and rewards for using the toilet at the appropriate time gives positive outcomes that
give the child a sense of capability and accomplishment.
The third stage is called The Phallic stage. This stage happens at the ages ranging from 3
to 6 years old. This stage triggers the genitals as its erogenous zone. Freud stated that during this
stage, the children begin to discover the difference between the male and female gender. Freud
stated that in this stage, children of the two genders begin to develop such desires. First is the
male. They begin to develop the Oedipus Complex. It is described as the feeling of wanting to
possess the mother and having the desire to replace the father. On the other hand, females
develop the Electra Complex in which females also experience the same feeling as for Oedipus
Complex. But according to Freud, females experience penis envy instead of the first mentioned
complex.
The fourth stage is The Latent Period. This stage happens between the ages ranging from
6 years old to puberty. In this stage, a person’s sexual desires are inactive. Freud stated that the
continuous development of the ego and superego contributes. The stage begins around the time
that children enter school and become more concerned with peer relationships, hobbies, and other
interests. Children develop social skills, values, and relationships with peers and adults outside of
the family. The latent period is a time of exploration in which sexual energy is repressed or
dormant. This energy is still present, but it is sublimated into other areas such as intellectual
pursuits and social interactions.
And lastly, The Genital Stage. This is the final stage of the psychosexual analysis proposed
by Freud. This stage happens during the puberty stage up to death. This stage triggers the
maturing sexual interests of a person. Freud stated that during the final stage of psychosexual
development, the individual develops a strong sexual interest in the opposite sex. This stage
begins during puberty and lasts throughout the rest of a person's life.
The next psychologist who contributed to the study of the stages of human development is
Erik Erikson. Erik Erikson was an American-German psychoanalyst who was known for his theory
on the psychological development of Human Beings. This theory proposes eight stages through
which a healthily developing human should pass from infancy to late adulthood.
The first stage in this theory is called Trust vs. Mistrust. This happens during the birth of a
child up to 12 to 18 months old. During this stage, the infant either comes to view other people and
himself or herself as trustworthy or comes to develop a fundamental distrust of his or her
environment.
The second stage is called Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt. This stage occurs from ages 18
months to 3 years old. During this stage, Erikson stated that Toddlers who are encouraged to
explore and do things on their own will develop autonomy, whereas those who are overly restricted
will feel shame and doubt, leading to a lack of independence and confidence.
The third stage is called Initiative vs. Guilt. This happens between the ages of 3 to 5 years
old which is also referred to as the “play age”. Erikson stated that during this stage, children
develop their interpersonal skills as they spend a good amount of time playing with other children.
They develop self-confidence as they take initiative and make decisions for themselves.
The next and fourth stage is called Industry vs. Inferiority. This occurs from ages 5 to 12
years old. According to him, feelings of pride and accomplishment start to develop. In this stage,
children who lack confidence might consistently seek adults' help to accomplish a task, leading to
a sense of inferiority. On the other end of the spectrum, when children take competency too far off
limits, they may not settle for anything less than perfect.
The fifth stage in his theory is Identity vs. Confusion. This stage happens from ages 12 to
18 years old. Erikson stated that in this stage, a person visualizes a clear picture of his or her
future. Thus, it gives a strong sense of identity to a person. Adolescents seek a sense of self and
personal identity, through an intense exploration of personal values, beliefs, and goals.
The next stage is called Intimacy vs. Isolation. In this stage, a person enters or seeks a
“safe” relationship that is filled with commitment and love. The major conflict at this stage of life
centers on forming intimate, loving relationships with other people. Success at this stage leads to
fulfilling relationships. Those who have intimacy are successful in their ability to open up to others
about their lives and ability to have personal, romantic relationships. On the other hand, isolation
includes depression, lack of close friends, separation from family, and loneliness.
The seventh stage of Erik Erikson’s theory is Generativity vs. Stagnation. This occurs
between the ages of 40 to 65 years old. Erikson stated that in this stage, the desire to give to
family and community is high, thus it encompasses the desire for accomplishment at work (The
distinction between generativity and stagnation is that generativity refers to an individual making
their impression and achieving goals related to their stage of adulthood, stagnation refers to a lack
of ambitions and a tendency to become stuck in one place).
The last stage of Erik Erikson’s theory is called Integrity vs. Despair. This occurs at the age
of 65 years and over. In this stage, the feeling of pride in what a person has accomplished or
achieved gives feelings of satisfaction and on the other hand, regretting life choices and missing
opportunities.
Let us now proceed to the third mentioned psychologist who paved the way for the study of
the stages of human development – Jean Piaget. Jean Piaget was a Swiss psychologist who was
known for his child development works. His theory on the cognitive development of a human being
provided us with knowledge of how human cognition works. The theory of Cognitive Development
suggests that children move through four different stages of learning namely the sensorimotor
stage, preoperational stage, concrete operational stage, and formal operational stage. Piaget
stated that children take an active role in the learning process, acting much like little scientists as
they perform experiments, make observations, and learn about the world. As kids interact with the
world around them, they continually add new knowledge, build upon existing knowledge, and
adapt previously held ideas to accommodate new information.
Let us now proceed to the first stage of Piaget’s theory called the Sensorimotor Stage. This
occurs starting from birth up to the age of 2. During this stage, infants and toddlers acquire
knowledge through sensory experiences and manipulating objects. A child's entire experience at
the earliest period of this stage occurs through basic reflexes, senses, and motor responses. In
this stage, children go through a period of dramatic growth and learning. As kids interact with their
environment, they continually make discoveries about how the world works. they tend to know and
learn the world through movements and sensations, realize that things continue to exist even if not
seen, gain knowledge on the basic actions such as sucking, grasping, looking, and listening,
develop a sense of separation between people and objects around them, and realize that their
action can cause things to happen around them. In this stage, cognitive development that occurs
during this period takes place over a relatively short time and involves a great deal of growth.
The second stage of cognitive development is called the Preoperational Stage. This occurs
at the ages of 2 to 7 years. In this stage, kids learn through pretend play but still struggle with logic
and taking the point of view of other people. They also often struggle with understanding the idea
of constancy. They begin to think symbolically and learn to use words and pictures to represent
objects, tend to be egocentric and struggle to see things from the perspective of others, and get
better with language and thinking, but still tend to think in very concrete terms; making the
emergence of language is one of the major hallmarks of the preoperational stage.
The third stage is called the Concrete Operational Stage. In this stage of cognitive
development, children tend to be very concrete and literal in their thinking. They become much
more adept at using logic. The egocentrism of the previous stage begins to disappear as kids
become better at thinking about how other people might view a situation. This occurs at the ages 7
up to 11 years old. Piaget said that kids at this point in development tend to struggle with abstract
and hypothetical concepts. As thinking becomes much more logical during the concrete
operational state, it can also be very rigid. Children’s characteristics change in this stage, they now
begin to think logically about concrete events, start to understand the concept of conservation,
their thinking becomes more logical and organized, but still very concrete, and they start to use
inductive logic, or reasoning from specific information to a general principle.
The fourth and final stage of the theory of Piaget is called the Formal Operational Stage.
This stage happens from age 12 and up. He stated that at this point, adolescents and young
adults become capable of seeing multiple potential solutions to problems and thinking more
scientifically about the world around them, which involves an increase in logic, the ability to use
deductive reasoning and an understanding of abstract ideas. This stage states that people under
this stage develop the ability to systematically plan and reason about hypothetical situations. Thus,
making the ability to think abstractly is the key hallmark of this stage. Major characteristics and
developmental changes that occur in this stage are they begin to think abstractly and reason about
hypothetical problems, they think more about moral, philosophical, ethical, social, and political
issues that require theoretical and abstract reasoning, and start to use deductive logic, or
reasoning from a general principle to specific information.
The last psychologist who participated in providing us with information and knowledge
about the stages of human development was Lawrence Kohlberg. Lawrence Kohlberg was an
American psychologist and is best known for his theory of stages of moral development. This
theory provides us with 6 different stages that a person undergoes. This theory proposed that
moral development occurs in a series of six stages and that moral logic is primarily focused on
seeking and maintaining justice. Kohlberg's theory is broken down into three primary levels that
contain two stages each. The levels are the pre-conventional morality level, which contains stage
1: obedience and punishment, and stage 2: Individualism and exchange, the conventional morality
level, which contains stage 3: developing good interpersonal relationships, and stage 4:
maintaining social order, and lastly the post-conventional morality level, which contains stage 5:
social contract and individual rights, and stage 6: universal principles.
Let us now focus on the first level and the stages under it. Level 1. Pre-conventional
morality. It is the earliest period of moral development. It lasts until around the age of 9. At this
age, children's decisions are primarily shaped by the expectations of adults and the consequences
of breaking the rules. During this level, children accept the authority of others. Preconventional
morality is when people follow rules because they don't want to get in trouble, or they want to get a
reward. Under this level are the first and second stages. The first stage, called “Obedience and
Punishment”, says that people at this stage see rules as fixed and absolute. Obeying the rules is
important because it is a way to avoid punishment, telling us that moral development, obedience,
and punishment are especially common in young children, but adults are also capable of
expressing this type of reasoning. The second stage referred to as “Individualism and Exchange”,
states that children account for individual points of view and judge actions based on how they
serve individual needs.
Next in line is Level 2. Conventional Morality and the stages under it. Conventional Morality
focuses on the acceptance of authority and conforming to the norms of the group. During this time,
adolescents and adults internalize the moral standards they have learned from their role models
and from society. Under this level are the third and fourth stages. The third stage called
“Developing Good Interpersonal Relationships”, refers to the moral development that is focused on
living up to social expectations and roles. It is also called the “good boy-good girl” orientation.
While the fourth stage referred to as “Maintaining Social Order”, states that people begin to
consider society as a whole when making judgments. Making emphasis on maintaining law and
order by following the rules, doing one’s duty, and respecting authority.
The last and final level in the theory proposed by Kohlberg is Level 3. Post-Conventional
Morality and the two final stages under it. Post-Conventional Morality says that people under this
stage develop an understanding of abstract principles of morality. Under the last level are the two
last stages. The fifth stage referred to as “Social Contract and Individual Rights”, states that Rules
of law are important for maintaining a society, but members of the society should agree upon
these standards. This means that social contracts and individual rights make people begin to
account for the differing values, opinions, and beliefs of other people. The final and sixth stage for
the final level is called “Universal Principles”, which states that people must follow internalized
principles of justice, even if they conflict with laws of nature. Kohlberg based the final stage on
universal ethical principles and abstract reasoning.

THE CHILD AND ADOLESCENT LEARNER AND LEARNING PRINCIPLES