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Erik Erikson's psychosocial theory of development focuses on the social and emotional aspects of human growth. A child’s cognitive development underlies what Erikson describes and arguably, without the cognitive skills described by Piaget, the psychosocial stages that Erikson describes would not be possible. Erikson's stages emphasize an individual's main psychological struggles or conflicts they are likely to experience as they age. These psychological conflicts are either resolved or not because of interactions with the social environment. He proposes a more or less binary solution to identify formation at each phase of life. For example, a child either establishes a basic trust in others that their needs will be met, or they develop mistrust. Each of these outcomes will carry deep consequences for the future.

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Jean Piaget's description of cognitive development is markedly different from psychosexual and psychoanalytic approaches. He was concerned primarily with cognitive abilities. Instead of basically just making up a complex inner life and mode of relating to mommy’s breast, he described the kinds of cognitive tasks children are actually increasingly able to do as they age. Unlike Sigmund Freud and Melanie Klein and more like Anna Freud and Mahler, he actually studied child development in the real world. He advanced the science of child psychiatry not by speculating about why children do what they do, but actually describing what they do.

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Following Freud, there were many researchers trying to make sense of child development using his psychosexual approach as a framework. Among those that adopted the psychoanalytic approach was his daughter, Anna Freud, who has been called “the mother of child psychoanalysis.” Other mothers include the developers of Object Relations including Melanie Klein and Margaret Mahler.

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This is not medical advice. Please see a licensed physician for any personal questions regarding your own or our child's health.