Do you agree with each learner’s assessment of the theories? Why or why not? What major points are missing from the arguments? 

 Abiola post

Erik Erikson’s developed eight stages of development begin from birth to older adult but a child’s selfhood and emotional development in Erikson’s theory begin in the third stage of child development initiative versus guilt, occurs from the age of three to six years. In this stage, the child’s self-concepts largely consist of observable characteristics, such as their name, physical appearance, possessions, and their everyday behaviours. They are also able to describe themselves in terms of typical emotions and attitudes where the degree of agreement with a battery of such statements coincides with maternal reports of their personality traits, indicating that older preschooler has a sense of their own timidity, agreeableness, and positive or negative affect. This is supported by this emerging grasp of personality, when given a trait label they would engage in appropriate motives and feelings. But, if this is lacking, either through criticism or control, children develop a sense of guilt. This may make them feel bothersome to others which in terms affect their self-esteem and their ability to initiate social contact.

The theory that can closely relate to Erikson is Piaget’s theory of cognitive development. He also focuses on the various stages of a child, in transitioning from one stage to the other follows a sequence.  The two theories build on the idea that personality development takes place across a person’s lifespan. Therefore, children get inspiration from the surroundings through the learning process. In turn, kids learn through pretend play and the emergence of language (which Piaget so strongly emphasizes) would appear to be an important ingredient in the ego-developmental crises of which Erikson also describes. Also the child is still largely preoccupied with his own body, and the crisis at this stage is concerned primarily with the control of motor activity. The feelings of shame and, doubt which threaten the child at this stage are also pre-verbal and are experienced in terms of visual and kinesthetic sensations. 

The most outstanding difference between the theories of Piaget and Erikson is Piaget’s greater’ emphasis on the child’s cognitive and affective ego-centrism. For Erickson,  greater attention to these matters of a child’s cognition and ego- centrism would appear warranted,  for example, the child’s cognitive difficulty, in separating their own, ways of thinking from that of others would seem especially important to issues which pertain to the linking of view points. This would occur during processes of when a child would identify themselves by stating their name (My name is Joe) and age (I am 4 years old).

 Desiree post

Erikson’s theory on social development explains how children first begin to understand themselves, and the social world around them. He suggested that play was the safest and most influential way for children to learn and develop. Erikson stated that play allows them the opportunity to try new skills, learn from their peers, and not be prone to criticism and structure from adults. In comparison, Maria Montessori argued that children are a direct reflection of what they learn from their environment and who they are around. She too believed that children should develop using self-teaching strategies, such as finding ways to solve problems without the help of the teacher.

            With both these theorist, it is safe to say that their argument proves some accurate points. Even as adults, we learn best from experiences and not from what others tell us. Allowing children to experience, feel, express, new emotions and actions themselves, they are able to learn. For example, both theories support allowing a child to learn to ride bike, they fall, experience the pain, get up and practice until they have perfected it. The same could be said about learning your personality, they type of people you are socially and physically attracted to, all are preferences learned by personal growth and development.