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A Difference in Childhood Development

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Running Head: A DIFFERENCE IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT

PSY 104: Child and Adolescent Development

September 14, 2012

A Difference in Child Development

Throughout the years, there have been many great theorists to contribute to

the world of psychology. Three of the most well-known of these theorists are Jean

Piaget, Erik Erikson, and Sigmund Freud. All three of these men have contributed

to the world of psychology in ways that have proved to change history and how we

study science and even more so the development of children. From the dynamics

of the development of the child and adolescent mind to the underlying causes for

most adult sexual disorders, the work that these men did throughout their lifetimes

proved to produce amazing results for not only managing to turn their names into

household names of their time but also going down in history for bringing to one’s

attention that which no one had ever dared to touch before. Although the theories

contributed by these men are each significant and all are in relation to childhood

and adolescent development, they also each possess certain distinct qualities that

allow them to stand out beside their creator.

According to Jean Piaget, his observations allowed him to gather that

children reason and understand differently depending upon age in a manner of

progression through a series of cognitive stages and although the rate in which they

progress may differ, eventually all children go through these stages in the same

order (Flavell, 1963). Piaget used children from infancy to adolescence to carry out

his own investigations including his own 3 children. He used research methods

including naturalistic observations and clinical interviews and observations.

Through these observations, he was able to scientifically conclude that children

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