224. CCA Study Notes: Piaget, Erikson, and Maslow’s Theories of Human Development

The Big Picture

People change throughout life. Different theorists created ways to explain parts of this development.

Piaget focused on how children think and learn. Erikson described psychosocial development from infancy through old age. Maslow organized human needs from basic survival needs to reaching one’s full potential.

These theories look at different parts of human development, so keeping their main focus separate makes them easier to remember.

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Course Notes: Key Ideas You Need to Know

Important Development Terms

Development means maturation toward adulthood. It usually includes physical changes and increases in ability and function.

A developmental task is an activity that must be mastered during a stage of development.

The three theories on this page focus on different parts of development:

• Piaget focused on cognitive, or intellectual, development.
• Erikson focused on psychosocial ⓘ development.
• Maslow focused on human needs and psychosocial well-being.

Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development

Jean Piaget was a Swiss developmental psychologist. His theory of intellectual or cognitive development was published in 1936.

The theory focuses on children from birth through adolescence and covers areas such as language, morals, memory, and reasoning.

Piaget’s Main Assumptions About Children

Piaget based his theory on several assumptions:

• Children build knowledge through their own experiences.
• Children learn things on their own without influence from adults or older children.
• Children have an instinctive motivation to learn.
• Children do not need rewards to motivate learning.

Piaget’s Four Stages

1. Sensorimotor Stage

Age: Birth to 18–24 months.

Children learn through motor activity rather than symbols.

Learning comes from experience and trial and error.

2. Preoperational Stage

Age: 2 through 7 years.

Memory and imagination develop during this stage.

Children are egocentric. This means they have difficulty thinking outside their own point of view.

3. Concrete Operational Stage

Age: 7 to 11 years.

Children begin working things out mentally to solve problems.

They become able to solve problems without having to encounter the situation physically in the real world.

4. Formal Operational Stage

Age: 11 years and older.

Intellectual development continues.

People build on what they already know without changing how they acquire or understand knowledge.

Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development

Erik Erikson studied psychological development.

His theory contains eight stages of psychosocial development. These stages cover life from infancy through old age.

Each stage involves a crisis between two opposing forces. One example is trust versus mistrust.

What happens in one stage can affect later stages. For example, an infant who develops mistrust may later have difficulty forming trusting, intimate relationships.

A toddler who does not get the chance to learn by doing may develop doubt about their abilities. That doubt can affect later attempts at independence.

Erikson’s Eight Stages

1. Trust Versus Mistrust

Age: 0–1 year.

Babies learn whether they can trust that their needs will be met.

Developing trust begins to help the baby see the world as a safe place.

2. Autonomy Versus Doubt

Age: 1–3 years.

The toddler learns independence and develops self-confidence.

When the toddler does not learn independence, feelings of shame and doubt can develop.

3. Initiative Versus Guilt

Age: 3–6 years.

The young child learns to begin activities.

Successfully developing initiative helps the child seek challenges later in life.

4. Competence Versus Inferiority

Age: 6–12 years.

The child develops physical, cognitive, and social skills.

This task teaches independence and responsibility.

5. Identity Versus Role Confusion

Age: 12–20 years.

The adolescent tries different roles.

The goal is to form one unique identity.

6. Intimacy Versus Isolation

Age: 20–40 years.

The young adult forms close, permanent relationships.

The person also makes career commitments.

7. Generativity Versus Stagnation

Age: 40–65 years.

The person in middle adulthood helps younger people develop their lives.

8. Integrity Versus Despair

Age: 65 years and older.

The older person looks back on life.

This reflection may bring satisfaction or disappointment.

Factors That Influence Psychosocial Health

According to Erikson, several factors influence psychosocial health.

Personality

Personality includes the thought patterns, feelings, characteristics, and behaviours that make a person unique.

Family Background

Children raised in caring and loving families are more likely to have good psychosocial health than children who are not.

Serious family problems can harm psychosocial health. These problems can include abuse, neglect, distrust, anger, and substance abuse.

Problems experienced during childhood can affect trust and intimacy ⓘ later in life. Some people may also repeat patterns learned during childhood.

Environment

Experiences outside the family also influence psychosocial health.

For children and adolescents, these experiences include:

• school
• media
• friends
• acquaintances

For adults, experiences at work and in the community also matter.

Access to social support systems, including health care and social welfare, can influence psychosocial health.

Life Circumstances

Serious losses and tragedies can affect psychosocial health.

Examples include losing a parent during childhood or losing a child. A person who experiences such a loss may struggle with psychosocial health afterward.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Abraham Maslow developed a theory about human needs.

A need is something necessary or desirable for maintaining life and psychosocial well-being.

Maslow arranged needs in a hierarchy, which means an order of importance.

Lower-level needs are normally met before higher-level needs. People sometimes deliberately ignore one need for a period of time to meet another need instead.

Maslow’s Five Levels of Needs

From lowest to highest, the levels are:

1. Physical needs
2. Safety
3. Love and belonging
4. Self-esteem
5. Self-actualization

Physical needs must be met first.

Self-actualization is the fulfillment of a person’s potential. It is the last need in the hierarchy.

Physical Needs

Physical needs are the most basic needs for survival.

Examples include:

• drinking when thirsty
• sleeping when tired
• eating when hungry

Some physical needs involve maintaining homeostasis, which means keeping consistent levels in different body systems.

Maintaining a normal and constant body temperature is one example.

When a person lacks more than one need, the person is likely to focus on physical needs first. Someone who is extremely hungry, for example, may find it hard to focus on anything except food.

Safety Needs

After physical needs are met, the next level involves a safe environment.

Children need environments that feel safe and predictable. They commonly react with fear or anxiety when these needs are not met.

For adults, safety needs may become especially noticeable during emergencies such as war and disasters.

Safety needs can also help explain why people prefer familiar situations or do things such as buying insurance and contributing to savings.

Love and Belonging Needs

Love includes deep affection, tenderness, and devotion. Romantic love also includes physical desire.

Belonging involves having a rightful place in:

• society
• a peer group
• a family

A peer group is a group of friends or acquaintances.

People need to be around others. Unmet love and belonging needs often lead to feelings of loneliness and rejection.

The information on this theory also describes reports of clients recovering slowly or dying when they lack love and belonging. The risk is greatest among children and older people.

Love and Belonging in Long-Term Care

Maslow believed unfamiliar surroundings increase the need for love and belonging.

Clients entering long-term care may leave behind:

• their homes
• friends
• neighbours
• pets
• belongings
• familiar surroundings

CCA action: A support worker must be sensitive to clients who struggle with settling into their new environment.

Self-Esteem Needs

Esteem means the worth, value, or opinion a person has of someone.

Self-esteem involves thinking well of oneself and being well thought of by others.

When self-esteem needs are met, a person feels:

• confident
• adequate
• useful

When these needs remain unmet, the person may experience:

• inferiority
• worthlessness
• helplessness
• possibly depression

Illness or injury can affect a client’s self-esteem.

CCA action: A support worker can help meet a client’s self-esteem needs by being sensitive to the client’s feelings and encouraging as much independence as possible.

Self-Actualization Needs

Self-actualization means realizing one’s full potential.

It involves learning, understanding, and creating to the best of one’s ability.

Self-actualization is the highest need in Maslow’s hierarchy and is rarely met. Most people continue trying to learn and understand more.

The need for self-actualization can be postponed, and life will continue.

Ideas about self-actualization can also differ between societies. Some societies focus on fulfillment of the whole society or culture, while others focus on fulfillment of the individual.