Informal Theories of Human Development: A Discussion on Piaget and Freud

This essay discusses the theoretical approaches of Jean Piaget and Sigmund Freud on human development, identifying their strengths and weaknesses. It also explores the influence of family and relationships on personality and struggles related to sexuality, gender roles, intimacy, and identity.

The informal theories of the human development are used to advise the majority of the
people. According to the opinions of Hoffnung et al. (2016), the informal theories on the
development are majorly used for the understanding of the children and the adults. The theories
tend to help us in the organisation as well as the understanding of the various conflicting
information that exists regarding development. The theories state that the development of the
concerned human being is influenced by the inborn biological drives of the person as well as the
unconscious and conscious expertise in the emotional and the social arena. The following essay
attempts a discussion on the theorists as well as the theoretical approaches that were put forth by
Jean Piaget and Sigmund Freud by explaining their focus as well as identifying their strengths
and the weaknesses of the theories.
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) is mainly known as the father of psychoanalysis. Cramer
(2014) opines that the main focus of Freud lies in the understanding and the caring of the various
issues that are related to psychology that form the basis of the psychodynamic theory. Freud in
his psychoanalytic theory suggests that the forces of the unconscious assist in the understanding
of the behavior and the personality of people during the resolution of the conflicts between the
social expectations and the biological drivers. Hoffnung et al. (2016) states that the superego is
considered to be the ethical and the moral component of the personality of the human beings.
The strengths and the weaknesses of the Freudian theory are balanced. Cramer (2014)
states that the theory has been famous for its comprehensive nature as well as an impressive
variety and range of the explanation of the phenomenon. Hoffnung et al. (2016) seconds that the
theory is rich in heuristic as well as applied worth. This has helped in influencing the
thinkers, who do not belong to the realm of the personality psychology, to implement the
Freudian theory and ideas. However, the Freudian theory tends to fail in terms of the testability

and the precision. Cramer (2014) opines that it held a pessimistic view towards the conditions of
the humans who were considered to be amoral creatures that are driven by irrationality.
Brown and Desforges(2013) state that Jean Piaget (1896-1980) was one of the most
powerful developmental psychology researchers of the twentieth century. There are four major
concepts in this theory. Hoffnung et al. (2016) states the scheme, as stated by Piaget, refers to an
organised behavioural pattern or the specific structure that helps in the representation of the
greater number of events and the ideas that a person holds expertise in. The assimilation refers to
the schema that is used for the dealing with a fresh situation or object. The third step deals with
the accommodation and is known to be implemented in the cases wherein the existing knowledge
does not work. The last step is the equilibrium which helps in the movement of the development.
McLeod (2018) states that Piaget believed in the progress of the cognitive development in leaps
and bounds. The cognitive development of the child can be explained through the development
of the mental models. Brown and Desforges (2013) further state that according to Piaget, the
process is a resultant of the biological growth and the environmental interaction.
Barrouillet(2015) state that Piaget’s theory has contributed majorly in the education of the
children, thereby leading to a change in the views of the people regarding the
same.Erneling(2014) state that the wide use of the theory of Piaget has helped in the
development of the strategies and the programs that are related to the development of the
children. However, the theory lacks in the proper formal operations due to the fact that the
children do not transit from one stage to the other in the same manner.
Jean Piaget, along side Sigmund Freud, is recognized to be one of the most influential
psychological thinkers and is known to have a huge contribution in the fields of pedagogy,
cognitive and developmental psychology as well as the cognitive revolution similar to the novel

concept of sexuality that was put forth by Freud. The theories help the readers to in the
development and the improvement of the personality of the given person. The theories also help
in the better understanding of the influence of the family as well as the relationships on the
present personality of the person and the struggles that the person faces in terms of the sexuality,
gender roles, intimacy and identity.