Theoretical Perspectives

Before we discuss any one period of the lifespan, we need to first consider the different theoretical perspectives that inform our understanding of human development.

Four Categories of Developmental Theories

Psychoanalytic: Psychoanalytic theories are characterized by a focus on emotions and conflict. These theories tend to be interested primarily in what is happening in the unconscious mind.

Cognitive: Cognitive theories are characterized by a focus on thoughts and how we process information.

Learning/Behavioral: Learning/behavioral theories are quite different from both Psychoanalytic and Cognitive theories because these theories focus exclusively on observable behavior.

Contextual: Contextual theories are characterized by a focus on the settings of development. In other words, these theories attempt to understand how the environment in which we live influences development.

Before we discuss each of these theories in more detail, we must first consider what we even mean by the term "theory."

Theories are the explanations of how facts fit together.

Without theories, the science of human development would not exist, and we would only have an accumulation of facts without any logical order or purpose. In the same way we need a blueprint to be able to build a house; we need theories to help build a science.

Now that we know what constitutes a theory, we can devote much more detail to each of the different categories of developmental theories. In the next section, we will discuss the following developmental stage theories:

Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory
Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development
Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development.

Characteristics of Stage Theories

As we will see, each of these stage theories offers different perspectives on development. Despite these differences, however, these theories can all be characterized as stage theories because they share the following characteristics:

All stage theories refer to qualitative changes. Remember from our first lesson that qualitative change refers to changes in kind or type. For example, Erik Erikson's theory emphasizes how the psychosocial conflicts we experience change as we age, whereas Piaget's theory describes how our ability to process information changes over time.

All stage theories are also characterized by a hierarchical order. This means that stage theorists believe that we must pass through one stage in order to move on to the next stage, that we must pass through the stages in chronological order, and that we cannot go back once we have passed through a stage.

Finally, all stage theories are considered to be universal. This implies that there are no individual or cultural differences in how people experience the stages. In other words, stage theorists believe that all people, regardless of gender, race, culture, etc., all pass through the stages in the same order and experience the stages in the same way.

Now that we know what we mean by a stage theory, we can begin to discuss in more detail the different stage theories that are important in human development.