Stages of Development for Adolescence

Adolescence

Introduction

Development does not end once a person reaches physical maturity , but continues throughout life . Developmental psychologists seek to describe and analyze the regularities of human development across the entire life span . It focuses primarily on those aspects of development that make one person similar to another as a species (Atkinson , 1993

Four theories of human development shall be taken into consideration and they are Freud 's psychosexual stages , Erikson 's psychosocial stages Piaget 's Cognitive stages , and Vygotsky 's sociocultural stages

Discussion

Just prior to maturity is

the stage of adolescence . This is the period where the physical and psychological changes take place . The beginning of adolescence is indicated by changes known as puberty Puberty

Generally , girls mature earlier than boys . Girls between the ages of 10 or 11 , develop breasts and their hips become more rounded . These physical changes affect personality , as when girls become more ladylike . Boys undergo certain changes , such as a change in voice , rapid growth in height , growth of hair on the face , chest , and other parts of the body . Radical changes in attitudes and interests may occur , but there is consciousness in acting the role of adults . Conflicts may be experienced or may arise as a result of psychological behavior patterns in the attempt to achieve maturity

A . Psychosexual Stages by Sigmund Freud

Sigmund Freud (1940-1961 ) hypothesized that each individual goes through five psychosexual stages . The psychosexual stages are five different developmental periods - oral , anal , phallic , latency , and genital stages - during which the individual seeks pleasure from different areas of the body associated with sexual feelings . Freud emphasized that the child 's first five years are most important to social and personality development . Freud pointed out that satisfying one of the child 's needs becomes a source of potential conflict between the child , who wants immediate gratification , and the parent , who places restrictions on when , where , and how the child 's needs should be satisfied . Freud 's psychosexual stages are part of his larger psychoanalytic theory in personality . Thus according to him , a child will encounter different kinds of problems in infancy and childhood which will shape his social and personality development (Atkinson 1993

B . Psychosocial Stages by Erik Erikson

In addition , according to Erik Erikson , a child will encounter different kinds of problems in infancy and childhood , which will shape one 's social and personality development

A child according to Erikson will encounter a particular psychosocial problem at each stage . If he successfully solves the problem , he will develop a good social trait that will help him solve the next problem If he is unsuccessful , he will develop a bad social trait that will hinder his or her solving new problems at the next stage . These stages according to Erikson , are concepts that succinctly capture the distinctiveness of each particular stage (Atkinson , 1993

Erikson labels his stages accordingly as Trust versus mistrust Autonomy versus Shame and doubt , Initiative versus guilt , Industry versus inferiority , Identity versus role confusion , Intimacy versus Isolation , Generativity...