Piaget's and Freud's Theory

Piaget's and Freud's Theory

Case Study 1 (Dawn's Behavior)

The behavior demonstrated by Dawn can be best described by the Piaget's theory. This theory addresses the aspects of development and nature of human intelligence and behavior. In the case study, it is quite apparent how the change in the life of Dawn causes a change in her behavior. The behavior of an individual is greatly influenced by his/her environment and its observations. Piaget's theory is aimed at describing the cognitive development of children (Murray, 2010).

In the case study, it is demonstrated as how the child's behavior changes as a result of reduced attention by her parents. Before the birth of her brother Darren, she was paid proper and sufficient attention by her parents. Piaget's theory suggests that the reality is a system of dynamic changes. As an individual continues to experience changes, his/her behavior also changes accordingly. Dawn used to behave in a friendly manner. Her parents were able to please her by playing little games that delighted her. But all this used to happen before the birth of Darren. After Darren was born, the attention of the parents for Dawn declined, and as a result the behavior of Dawn also started to change. It was found that Darren had a congenital heart problem, for which continued medical treatment was required. This required both extra addition as well as money.

One of the key concepts of Piaget's theory is schemas, that is defined as mental and physical actions and activities that are associated with knowing and understanding things. From Piaget's perspective, schemas comprises of both knowledge and the process for obtaining this knowledge. With the passage of time, the experiences change and thus modify the existing understanding of the children.

Now let us apply this aspect of Piaget's theory to the case study of Dawn. Before the birth of Darren, whole of the attention and love of her parents was dedicated to her. Dawn had this experience for four years and thus she developed an understanding regarding the world that things would go on like this always. She got used to of being attended intensively by her parents. But contrary to her understanding and expectation, the situation changed after the birth of her brother. Her father got worried due to the increased requirements of money to carry on his son's treatment, for which he started to make overtime in ...