Erikson, Piaget & Psychology Theories & Concepts Explained

Integrity vs Despair: Why Some Age in Peace and Others Don’t

A 78-year-old man opens a shoebox of old photographs. One picture makes him smile. The next one, taken the year his first marriage ended, makes him go quiet for a long time. Erik Erikson believed moments like this sit at the heart of integrity vs despair, the last of his eight psychosocial stages. What happens next depends less on how...

Piaget’s Theory of Moral Development: Why Kids Blame the Cups

A boy named John opens a door and accidentally smashes 15 cups. Another boy, Henry, breaks just one cup while sneaking jam he was told not to touch. Who was naughtier? Many 6-year-olds say John, because he broke more. Most 10-year-olds say Henry. That flip sits at the heart of Piaget’s theory of moral development, and the reasons behind it...

Havighurst vs Erikson: 6 Life Periods vs 8 Stages Compared

A 16-year-old fills out her first job application on Saturday and lies awake on Sunday night wondering who she really is. Robert Havighurst would point to the first scene: a concrete skill her culture expects her to learn right now. Erik Erikson would point to the second: an inner struggle over identity. That split sits at the heart of Havighurst...

Erikson and Bronfenbrenner: Why the Same Child Can Turn Out So Differently

Picture a nine-year-old who tells her parents, “I’m just stupid.” Is she stuck in a developmental stage, or is her classroom failing her? That question sits right where Erikson and Bronfenbrenner meet. Erik Erikson described the psychosocial crises people work through across the lifespan. Urie Bronfenbrenner mapped the settings where those crises actually play out. Students often learn them as...

Freud’s Oral Stage: Oral Receptive vs Oral Aggressive Types

Picture two classmates in your 9 a.m. lecture. One has chewed through two pen caps before the professor finishes the first slide. The other has a sarcastic comment ready for every point on the screen. Sigmund Freud would say both habits could trace back to the same starting point: Freud’s oral stage, the period when a baby’s whole world revolves...

Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory: The Surprising Reason Perks Don’t Boost Motivation

Sarah just got the raise she had been asking for all year. Her paycheck went up, her complaints about the parking situation got resolved, and her manager even upgraded her office chair. Three months later, she is just as checked out as before. This is the exact puzzle Herzberg’s two factor theory was built to explain. Some workplace conditions stop...