Developmental

Theorists

Ariana Boudreau
Social Development -
Erikson
 Explanation

Erikson made a theory about psychosocial development making eight stages

from birth to adulthood. In each stage the experiences a person has can have
a positive or negative impact on their personality. These traits are developed
from the environment around the person. Culture and society can greatly
influence a person’s ego. Each personality builds on the one developed in the
previous stage. This is called the epigenetic principle. How people socialize
affects their identity.
 Stage 3- Initiative vs. Guilt

Ages 3-5 is referred to as the play age. During this time period the basic virtue is
purpose. By playing children can explore their personal skills. At school children
now have to interact with others which helps them make decisions and try to be a
leader. When children feel criticized or controlled they develop a sense of guilt. This
can lead to them feeling intrusive and make them start to lack initiative. Children
might over step boundaries which can result in punishment. Since this is also the age
where children ask tons of questions, if their parents or anyone treats the questions
as annoying or dumb then the child will feel guilty. The feeling of too much guilt can
also make children lack creativity and interaction with others. Guilt to a certain
extent is okay so children can discover their conscience. The virtue of purpose will
be gained if guilt and initiative is well balanced.
Examples
Guilt- A student has to keep
asking for help with a puzzle and
the teacher seems to be getting
annoyed. THe child will start to
feel guilty for needing help.
Initiative- A student always tries
to help the teacher by feeding
the class pet or helping with
morning circle. The teacher
being happy about this will
indicate to the child that they
are doing something right which
will help their self- esteem.
Implications

This information can help me teach because now I know how

important it is to treat all questions like they are important because
children start to feel like a nuisance when people seem uninterested
in talking to them and spending time with them. I also plan on giving
my students jobs so they can feel like a leader whether it is a line
leader or doing the calendar. I also want to give the students a choice
of who to play with and what to do so that they feel like they can
make decisions and take initiative.
What I learned

I learned how psychosocial skills are built on one another. The

earliest are crucial in developing a person's identity. I also now know
why it is called psychosocial, “psycho” stands for the individuals
needs and “social” because of the conflicts with society. For teaching
it is important to help students find a balance between initiative and
guilt.
Moral Development -
Kohlberg
Explanation

Lawrence Kohlberg based his theory of moral development on Jean

Piaget's moral judgement theory. Kohlberg’s theory focuses on how
people decide what is right or wrong. HE tried to get a deeper level of
thinking out of people by asking why they do what they do. His
theory is arranged into six stages or three levels. The three levels are
preconventional, conventional, and postconventional.
Preconventional Level

The preconventional level focuses on pre-K, most elementary, some

middle school, and a few high schoolers. Young children’s morals are
based on the expectations of adults. This level has two stages,
obedience and punishment orientation , and individualism and
exchange. In the first stage behavior is determined by consequences.
Individuals are good to avoid being punished. If punished, something
wrong has been done. The second stage focuses on how individuals
try to get what they want by trade- off. People do things just to
receive a reward.
Examples
Stage 1- During my observation
the children would talk quietly
at lunch because they knew if it
got too loud lunch would be
silent.
Stage 2- One student is at lunch
and sees another student with a
snack they like so they ask for
some. The second student will
only give him some of his snack
if he gets something he wants in
return.
Implication

Morality can be taught through stories and discussions. Talking to

children after something wrong is done asking them questions like
how the decision affects others and why the decision was made.
Another thing to do is encourage role playing games which allow the
child to learn how to think for other people's point of view.
What I learned

I learned how important it is to get children to say why they did what
they did especially when it wasn’t the best choice. Kohlberg focuses
on the thinking process behind decisions not the actual decision. I
think it is really important to actually think through decisions and the
effect they have on others. It is also crucial that not only teachers but
family, friends, etc teach about morality.
References

https://www.simplypsychology.org/Erik-Erikson.html

https://youtu.be/SIoKwUcmivk

https://www.simplypyschology.org/Kohlberg.html

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Lawrence-Kohlbergs-stages-of-moral-development