shift is wild

Fundamentals · chapter 38 · Growth and Development

Specific Developmental Theories

The 14 things this section of the textbook says that you are most likely to be asked about — quoted word for word, not retold. Then 5 practice questions with the reasoning.

Skip to the questions ↓

Key points

  1. Purpose of developmental theories

    Theories of development help provide a framework for healthcare providers to understand how patients develop over their life span.

  2. Nursing use across life span

    While growth and development are not linear, theories of development can help nurses care for and interact with patients based on their developmental needs.

  3. Common assessment toolbox

    Most importantly, when healthcare providers understand and appreciate theories of development, they have a common toolbox for assessing and interacting with patients through the life span.

  4. Erikson stage outcomes

    Erikson believed there are two outcomes at each stage: successful completion or unsuccessful completion. Successful completion leads to advancing to the next stage in a healthy and holistic manner.

  5. Unsuccessful Erikson stages

    Unsuccessful completion of a stage can lead to unsuccessful completion of subsequent stages and an unhealthy self-attitude (Erikson, 1963).

  6. Trust and reliable care

    If the child receives reliable and predictable care from their caregiver(s), they will feel safe and develop a sense of trust.

  7. Autonomy caregiver balance

    It is important for caregivers to strike a balance between encouraging children to complete age-appropriate tasks by themselves—such as getting dressed and taking dishes to the sink—while providing constructive guidance that sets up children to succeed.

  8. Identity stage focus

    The foundation of this stage is an individual’s search for a sense of personal identity, particularly in two realms: sexual and occupational.

  9. Piaget cognitive stages

    Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development claims that individuals pass through four stages from birth to adolescence, noting changes in the person’s ability to use logic and scientific theory along the way.

  10. Concrete operational thinking

    During this stage, children can solve problems more systematically than in previous stages, though their thinking remains focused on concrete objects and events rather than abstractions or hypotheticals.

  11. Formal operational skills

    People who successfully pass through the fourth and final stage of Piaget’s theory achieve the skill of hypothetical thinking, logical thought, deductive reasoning, and systemic planning.

  12. Kohlberg moral stages

    The foundational understanding of Kohlberg’s theory is that moral reasoning develops in stages (Kohlberg, 1981).

  13. Conventional morality basis

    Moral reasoning at this level is based on one’s own interpretation and internalization of societal expectations. Individuals make decisions based on how they may impact interpersonal relationships in addition to their own self-interest.

  14. Freud mind structures

    Freud also believed the mind has three fundamental structures: the id, the ego, and the superego.

Terms to know

generativity
In this context, generativity is when an individual makes a mark on the world with something that will outlast their own life.
object permanence
The landmark achievement during this stage is object permanence, which is the understanding that an object still exists even after it is hidden or moved from sight.
dramatic play
A landmark of thinking during this stage is dramatic play, in which participants use their imagination to take on roles and characters as they interact with their surroundings.
reversibility
One major concept gained during this stage is reversibility, or the ability to understand a process and the steps of a process in any order.
decentering
Another skill acquired during this stage is decentering, or the ability to investigate more than one problem at a time.
conservation
Children also acquire the concept of conservation: they understand that something may change its size or appearance without also changing its quantity.

Practice questions

Stuck on select-all-that-apply? How to take them one option at a time.

The graded version needs JavaScript. Every question is below anyway, with the answer and why.

Every question here, with the answer

  1. A nurse is planning care for an infant who has experienced inconsistent caregiving. Which nursing approach best supports Erikson’s trust vs. mistrust stage?

    1. Provide reliable, predictable comfort and basic care as consistently as possible.
    2. Ask the infant to lead a group play activity with other children.
    3. Focus teaching on future occupational identity and peer roles.
    4. Encourage the infant to complete dressing tasks independently.

    Answer: Provide reliable, predictable comfort and basic care as consistently as possible.

    In Erikson’s first stage, infants rely on caregivers for safety and consistent care. Reliable and predictable caregiving helps the infant feel safe and develop trust, whereas the other options match later developmental stages.

  2. A nurse is coaching caregivers of a 2-year-old who becomes upset while trying to dress independently. Which caregiver responses support Erikson’s autonomy vs. shame and doubt stage? Select all that apply.

    1. Invite the child to carry dishes to the sink when appropriate.
    2. Take over all dressing to prevent mistakes and keep the child from struggling.
    3. Give constructive guidance that helps the child succeed.
    4. Criticize the child’s slow attempts so the child learns to do it correctly.
    5. Allow the child to try age-appropriate dressing tasks independently.

    Answer: Invite the child to carry dishes to the sink when appropriate., Give constructive guidance that helps the child succeed., Allow the child to try age-appropriate dressing tasks independently.

    Toddlers in this stage need opportunities to develop control and independence while still receiving guidance. Taking over tasks or criticizing the child can promote shame, doubt, or feelings of inadequacy.

  3. A 4-year-old in a clinic uses a toy medical kit and pretends to examine a doll. Which interpretation by the nurse best reflects Piaget’s theory?

    1. This shows conservation, which develops during concrete operational thinking.
    2. This shows inferential reasoning, which is key to formal operational thinking.
    3. This shows object permanence, the landmark of sensorimotor thinking.
    4. This is dramatic play, a landmark of preoperational thinking.

    Answer: This is dramatic play, a landmark of preoperational thinking.

    A 4-year-old is in Piaget’s preoperational stage, where dramatic play is a major landmark. Object permanence, conservation, and inferential reasoning belong to other cognitive stages described in the section.

  4. A nurse is evaluating whether a 13-year-old can engage in formal operational thinking during health teaching. Which behaviors would be consistent with this stage? Select all that apply.

    1. Reasons about an abstract idea as well as a tangible example.
    2. Uses deductive reasoning to explain a choice.
    3. Discusses a hypothetical situation and what might happen next.
    4. Creates a systematic plan for completing a task.
    5. Searches for a hidden toy to show object permanence.

    Answer: Reasons about an abstract idea as well as a tangible example., Uses deductive reasoning to explain a choice., Discusses a hypothetical situation and what might happen next., Creates a systematic plan for completing a task.

    Formal operational thinking includes hypothetical thinking, deductive reasoning, systematic planning, and the ability to reason about abstract as well as tangible ideas. Object permanence is the landmark achievement of the sensorimotor stage, not formal operational thinking.

  5. A nurse is explaining unit rules to a 14-year-old. Using Kohlberg’s conventional morality level, which explanation is most developmentally aligned?

    1. These rules help everyone do their duty and keep the unit orderly.
    2. If you do not follow the rules, you will be punished.
    3. Rules should be ignored whenever your personal universal ethics conflict with them.
    4. Follow the rules only when doing so benefits you overall.

    Answer: These rules help everyone do their duty and keep the unit orderly.

    At the conventional morality level, moral reasoning is connected to societal expectations, duty, and social order. Punishment and personal benefit reflect pre-conventional reasoning, while universal ethics reflects post-conventional reasoning.

Where every quote comes from

Section 38.2 Specific Developmental Theories of Fundamentals of Nursing by Christy Bowen, Lindsay Draper, Heather Moore, OpenStax, 2024. Read the whole section free at openstax.org.

The textbook is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. This page quotes it word for word and adds the headings, the order and the practice questions; references to the book's figures and stray spaces left by its formatting are removed. The page is shared under the same licence. Nothing here is sold.