EDU/305 v14
Theorist Comparison Table
Complete the table by responding to the prompts in the Prompt column for each theorist.
Prompt
Piaget
Bandura
Freud
Erickson
Vygotsky
Watson
Write the name
of the theory.
4 Stages of
Cognitive
Development
Social Learning
Theory
Child
Psychoanalysis
8 Stages of
Psychosocial
Development
Sociocultural
Cognitive
Development
Behaviorism
Write a 1-2
sentence
summary of the
theory’s main
ideas.
Piaget felt like
children’s
cognitive
development
happens in
stages.
Observation and
modeling play a
primary role in
how and why
people learn.
Child analysis
should stick to the
basic theories of
psychoanalysis.
Children should
only be analyzed
when they reach
the latency
period.
Erikson beliefs
that a person
passes through
eight
developmental
stages that build
on each other. At
each stage we
face a crisis. By
solving these
crises, we develop
psychological
strength.
A child’s cognitive
development and
learning ability can
be guided and
mediated by their
social interactions.
Watson believed
that a child’s
environment is the
factor that shapes
behaviors over their
genetic makeup or
natural temperature.
Write a 1-2
sentence
explanation of
how the theory’s
research was
conducted.
Piaget studied
children from
infancy to
adolescence
using naturalistic
and controlled
observations.
Bandura studied
three different
models for his
research. A live
model, a symbolic
model, and a
verbal
instructional
Freud studied
little girls and
boys by gaining
their trust and
attention in the
preliminary
stages, then
began therapy
Erikson studied
people in ever age
group listed in the
8 stages of
development.
Vygotsky placed
children in a
setting with more
knowledgeable
older people and
studied their
cognitive growth
of learning from
Watson used a
famous experiment
to research his
theory known as the
“Little Albert”
experiment.
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Theorist Comparison Table
EDU/305 v14
Page 2 of 3
Prompt
Piaget
Bandura
Freud
model with
children.
with each
individual child.
Erickson
Vygotsky
Watson
someone more
knowledgeable.
Write a 1-2
sentence
explanation of
how the theory
reflects
continuous
development or
list the distinct
stages and their
timing.
Sensorimotor (0-2
years old)
Preoperational (27 years old)
Concrete
operational (7-11
years old)
Formal
operational (11adulthood)
Because Bandura
believed learning
comes from
observing and
modeling,
development is
continuous form
infancy to
adulthood.
By using
storytelling as a
therapeutic tool,
as the child
began to express
him/herself Freud
interpreted and
learned to
understand their
feelings.
Infancy (birth to
18 months)
Early Childhood
(18 months to 3
years old)
Play Age (3-6
years old)
School Age (6-12
years old)
Adolescence (1220 years old)
Young Adulthood
(20-35 years old)
Middle Adulthood
(35-65 years old)
Late Adulthood
(65-Death)
Vygotsky’s theory
lines up directly
with the saying
“you never too old
to learn.” The
cognitive
development of
children are
primarily based on
learning from
someone older
and more
knowledgeable
than them. This
person is usually
their teacher or
parents.
Write a 1-2
sentence
explanation of
how the theory
applies to early
childhood
teaching and
learning.
This theory
applies to early
childhood
teaching and
learning because
we now have a
bases of
understanding
what stage of
development a
child is and where
Badura’s theory
applies to early
childhood
education
because a lot of
primary age
teaching and
learning are
repeating and
observing by the
students
With the use of
storytelling as a
tool in studying
children, early
childhood
teaching and
learning are most
common in
elementary
school age kids
especially from K2.
Erikson set a
criterion based on
his studies of
each age group.
The study of Early
Childhood to
Adolescence
applies for the
educational goals
a teacher is trying
to reach with their
class
Early childhood
learning usually
starts with
kindergarten
teachers being the
first models for
early learners.
This theory
applies for early
teaching as the
students are
receiving
Copyright 2022 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved.
Watson used the
Little Albert
experiment to
reflect a continuous
conditioning of the
little boy’s mind that
shows what he
believed that the
child’s environment
influences what
he/she learns.
Theorist Comparison Table
EDU/305 v14
Page 3 of 3
Prompt
Piaget
Bandura
Freud
Erickson
they should be
cognitively.
Vygotsky
information from a
more
knowledgeable
source.
Copyright 2022 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved.
Watson