Psychology › Section I · Lifespan development › Topic I.2
Lifespan theories
Five thinkers shaped how psychology describes growing up: Freud, Erikson, Piaget, Vygotsky and Kohlberg. This topic sets out what each proposed, how they answer the big questions of development, and how well each has held up against later evidence.
In this topic
- Theories as maps, and Freud's start
- Erikson's eight psychosocial stages
- Piaget: children build their understanding
- Piaget's first two stages
- Piaget's later stages, and the verdict
- Vygotsky: learning through others
- Kohlberg: stages of moral reasoning
- Questioning Kohlberg
- Worked example: scoring Heinz
- Worked example: a lesson in conservation
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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