Introduction
Although each person has a unique life trajectory, there are general psychosocial and biological changes that every individual experiences once they reach a certain age. The field of psychology has identified roughly five phases of human development: infancy, childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, and middle-late adulthood. The third, adolescence, is one of the most important and generally memorable stages. It starts with the onset of puberty and transitions into adulthood, lasting approximately from the ages of thirteen to eighteen. Adolescence has several unique features that have been interpreted in different ways by developmental theorists.
Discussion
The stage of adolescence is accompanied by various physical, emotional, cognitive, and social changes. Firstly, fluctuations in sex hormones such as estrogen and testosterone cause the physical changes linked with sexual maturation. Secondly, abstract and complex cognition develops in different parts of the brain, increasing adolescents’ emotional propensity for risky behavior. Thirdly, social relationships between teenagers and parents undergo a phase of redefinition during which adolescents grow more autonomous compared to childhood, and parenting features such as distant surveillance and psychological control become more prominent. Peer interactions and romantic connections are crucial sources of help and companionship, although they can lead to the development of harmful behaviors. Generally, adolescence is defined by sexual maturation, the onset of abstract thinking, and social pressure.
Piaget, Freud, and Erikson each emphasized different parts of the adolescent experience depending on their model of human behavior. Piaget focused on teenagers’ cognitive changes and their burgeoning ability to assess the effect of abstract notions and imagine situations or occurrences that they have never witnessed or directly experienced (Babakr et al, 2019). Freud was centered on biological maturation and defined adolescence as the onset of the “genital stage,” defined by the subconscious conflict of the ego between the superego’s constraints and the id’s urges (Perret-Catipovic & Ladame, 2018). Erikson stressed the social changes that occur due to identity confusion (Maree, 2021). While Piaget focused on cognitive development and Freud on sexual, the basis of adolescence for Erikson was social identity formation.
Erikson’s theory is the most useful to explain adolescence because it builds on Freud’s and takes a more expansive view of personality. He argued that developing a sense of self-identity is more important than sexual maturity and emphasized its social and cultural aspects. Identity, according to Erikson, is a feeling of self-continuity (Maree, 2021). Like Freud, he saw adolescence as a period of turbulence and stress caused by an identity crisis and a period when the adolescent is plagued by their lack of identity. Erikson’s theories were criticized since they were centered on his studies of adolescents in therapy rather than being representative of teenagers from the general population. Although Erikson’s theories have garnered some controversy, they are still the most useful approach to understanding the various phases of human development.
Conclusion
In conclusion, adolescence is an important stage of cognitive, physical, and social development. Piaget, Freud, and Erikson each focused on different aspects that fit their wider framework for understanding human personality. Nevertheless, the area where most psychologists agree is the significance of the adolescent years in terms of changes. The advances in self-control and identity, socialization, separation from parents, and development of cognitive processes are the primary tasks of this stage. The differences in theories are mostly related to whether adolescence is a crisis or a progressive stage, whereas both elements are relevant for it – this period is both turbulent and productive.
References
Perret-Catipovic, M., & Ladame, F. (2018). Adolescence and psychoanalysis: The story of the history. In Adolescence and Psychoanalysis (pp. 1-16). Routledge. Web.
Maree, J. G. (2021). The psychosocial development theory of Erik Erikson: critical overview. Early Child Development and Care, 191(7-8), 1107-1121. Web.
Babakr, Z., Mohamedamin, P., & Kakamad, K. (2019). Piaget’s cognitive developmental theory: Critical review. Education Quarterly Reviews, 2(3). Web.