The first module in Theoretical Foundations of Social Work deals with the theories of human development, which explains the concepts of: The Stages of Psychosexual Development and Defense Mechanisms by Sigmund Freud, the Stages of Psychosocial Development by Erik Erickson, Humanistic Approach by Maslow, Stages of Cognitive Development by Piaget and Moral Development by Kohl Berg.
As a social worker, the reviewer doesn’t have to think twice before saying that these concepts are truly relevant in her life. Psychological approaches are very much essential for a better understanding of an individual as well as the others around him or her before one goes into the field of Human …show more content…
Erickson’s theory of psychosocial development has eight distinct stages and he explains that there is a crisis at each stage and, these crises are of psychosocial nature because they involve the psychological needs of the individual conflicting with the needs of society. And according to his theory, successful completion of each stage leads to a healthy personality and acquisition of basic virtues. Abraham Harold Maslow, an American psychologist was best known for creating the Hierarchy of Needs, a theory of psychological health predicated on fulfilling innate human needs in priority, culminating in self-actualization. In Maslow’s theory, self-actualization is a stage of personal development in which individuals reach their maximum potential. His Humanistic theories propose that individuals are responsible for their own actions and can change these if they wish to do so. But these theories have also been subject to strong criticism. Even then, the impact of humanistic theories has persisted and does indeed constitute a lasting contribution to our understanding of human …show more content…
He viewed cognitive development as stemming primarily from children’s active efforts to make sense out of the world around them, plus the process of maturation. In fact he observed and studied his own children through each stage of their cognitive development. The theory of cognitive development focuses on mental processes such as perceiving, remembering, believing, and reasoning. Reasoning is the essence of intelligence, and reasoning is what Piaget studied in order to discover “how we come to know”. Piaget believed that cognitive development is cumulative; that is, understanding a new experience grows out of a previous learning