Integrating the Field of Developmental Psychology: A Review of the Literature

Childhood Developmental Stage

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Childhood Developmental Stage

The developmental stage selected is childhood ages ranging from 3-12 years old. Raising school children can be viewed as a very difficult task. Watching children try out new activities can also be the highest point in the lives of parents. However, achieving success is accompanied by frustrations, which encourage individuals to accept their weaknesses and celebrate on building their strengths. Toddlers and preschoolers demand supervision as they gradually become ready for independence. Learning to make healthy choices does not come easily for many.

Describe the significant physical, emotional, cognitive, and social features of that age group.

Children ages 3-12 tend to be very active in their physical activities. This is the age associated with too much play, especially because at this stage, children tend to discover new things around them. This is also the stage where children desire a lot that is within their environment. Emotions are more attached to the close and inner circle of their families and close friends, while on the cognitive aspect, most of their actions are subconscious in a way. Differentiating between right and wrong is in most cases challenging, as beliefs, rules, and regulations are not yet mastered (Newman & Newman, 2014). There is a need to appreciate the weaknesses of children at this age generally, and more so, realize their preferences to understand their abilities and strengths.

Developmental theorists

a) Sigmund Freud

According to Freud, each developmental stage focuses more on sexual activity and more so, the pleasure received from different areas of the body of an individual. Basing consideration on the oral phase, children aged 3-12 years are more focused on the desires that they consistently derive from biting with their mouth and sucking. This theorist believes that children shift their interests and love towards their parents of the opposite sex, and tend to resent their parents from the same sex.

This idea is commonly referred to as the Oedipus complex. It is closely mirrored from the events emanating from the tragic play, in which a king, Oedipus, manages to marry his mother and goes ahead to kill his father. Another part of the theorist was more focused on the identification of the parts of consciousness (McAdams et al. 2016). As they grow, they tend to develop a more accurate appreciation of what is essentially possible. Freud calls this the ‘ego.' Over time, children aged 3-12 grow and come to realize the need to internalize and represent the values and the rules of their parents. The internalized rules are referred to as superego’, which form the basis of developing the conscience of a child. This is where one tends to struggle with the concepts of right and wrong.

b) Erik Erikson

Erik Erikson used the work developed by Freud to come up with concepts of his own, and the theory about human stage development, which is explained from birth to death. Contrary to Freud’s primary focus on sexuality, Erik Erikson focuses on the sense of identity among individuals, and how it develops or fails to develop among people. People have abilities which make them productive and satisfied in the society. Erik's theory combines how individuals develop their beliefs in a psychological perspective and how they learn to live among people (Sokol, 2009).

Stages as described by this theorist include; trust versus mistrust, initiative versus guilt, autonomy versus doubt, identity versus identity confusion, generativist versus stagnation, intimacy versus isolation and integrity versus despair. Children between the age of 3-12 years’ experience initiative versus guilt in their lives. The gain a desire to try new aspects and learn new things. At this point, caregivers need to give children safe environments to experiment and discover their potential (Sokol, 2009).

c) Lawrence Kohlberg

Kohlberg believed that these stages are cumulative in life and that there was a need to develop an understanding of each and the abilities which are gained at prior stages of development. The first stage is preconvention, where children tend to worry about what is right in a wrong so that they do not get into any trouble (Tucker-Drob & Briley, 2015).

The second is conventional, where people act in moral ways just because they believe that rules are the only way through which personal relationships can be positively created. The final is the post-conventional which describes people who tend to gauge morality based on the set of beliefs they have embraced, and think they are right at all times. Children between ages 3-12 fall in the pre-conventional category.

Summarize the theory you find most useful to explain that developmental stage.

Sigmund Freud’s theory is the most helpful to explain the developmental stage, between 3-12 years. Most children at this stage start to gain a sense of identity. This, in turn, makes them identify with other members of the society, and remain attentive to what goes on around them. While most children are not able to recognize between wrong and right, in most cases, their actions are sensitive to what is around them and more so, what they prefer, or think is the right thing to do.

References

Briley, D. A., & Tucker‐Drob, E. M. (2015). Comparing the developmental genetics of cognition and personality over the lifespan. Journal of Personality, 85(1), 51-64.

Newman, B. M., & Newman, P. R. (2014). Development through life: A psychosocial approach. Cengage Learning.

Sokol, J. T. (2009). Identity development throughout the lifetime: An examination of Eriksonian

theory. Gradua3te Journal of Counseling Psychology, 1(2), 14.