Human Development Theories - Assignment Example

The psychoanalytic theory postulates that a person’s development is characterized by three key parts, which include the ego, superego, and id.  Within these developmental parts are five additional stages including oral, latency, anal, phallic, and genital phases. The ego, according to Sigmund Freud, is the self-image (Thomas, 2001).  Superego, on the other hand, includes societal morals and ethics that are learned from parents and guardians. Lastly, it is an individual’s instant pleasure principles of instant gratification (Thomas, 2001).

According to Erik Erickson, psychosocial theory explains human developmental stages in relation to nurture and nature. This theory postulates that the early stages of human development through the adolescent stage are highly determined by nurture and nature aspects in relation to the socialization process.

The cognitive theory, on the other hand, focuses on an individual’s thoughts and behaviors. This is what marks it as a personality theory. This is because thoughts determine an individual’s emotions and behaviors. Most cognitive theorists explain this philosophy metaphysically that individuals who lack emotions and behaviors could not function (Thomas, 2001).  This is a value-laden assumption of the theory, which can easily be explained rather philosophically than scientifically.

In conclusion, the cognitive theory is much more inclined toward the Christian perceptive of human development explanations. This is because it postulates that thoughts often come first before any actions or feelings. This could only be in the spiritual world, which is a more appropriate environment for a Christian believer. Christians strongly believe in the existence of supernatural forces behind an individual’s social actions through his or her beliefs. After a discussion about these theories, I conclude by postulating a question that is the belief that a leader’s rate of success depends on the way different people behave?