When comparing the works of Sigmund Freud and Jean Piaget, two things come to mind: they both had a lasting and profound impact on the field of psychology and both both have received considerable criticism regarding their theories. . Freud is considered the founder of psychoanalysis, based on childhood development and psychosexual stages. Piaget was the foremost developmentalist of the 1960s and 1970s. His theory of cognitive development has been as well studied as Freud's theory of psychosexual development was a generation earlier. Although they both had many critiques of their work, Freud and Piaget influenced their respective fields of psychology so much that today their thoughts and concepts are still studied and referenced daily. Freud's theories revolutionized our way of thinking. Piaget's impact on developmental psychology guided social norms of human development and education. This essay will compare and contrast the theories of Freud and Piaget. Looking at the Freudian view of human development, the main characteristic of human development is primitive and sexual in nature. Freud defines the id as an unconscious part of the mind focused on the primitive self and which is the source of the demands of basic needs. Freud explains that an infant's mind consists solely of the id, which meets the basic needs of comfort, nourishment, warmth, and love. In later stages of early development, as the child's mind begins to grow, the ego is formed. The ego is defined as the link between consciousness and reality that controls a person's thinking and behavior. By the end of the preschool years, the child begins to develop what is called a superego. At this stage, values ​​are internalized, and the complex connection between the id, ego, and super...... middle of paper ......s. Throughout the stages of development, Freud argues that powerful human influence came from parents. Piaget believed that peers are as important, if not more important, than parents. They both agree that a young child is affected by his parents' standards, but he is not simply a passive receiver of those standards. Piaget appears to build on one of Freud's ideas in that, while Freud was only interested in moral feelings like guilt and shame, Piaget expanded his theory to examine the development of moral judgment. Piaget and Freud's theory are universally known and used in all aspects. of human development. Although parts of each are used to guide current theories of human development, Freudian and Piagetian theories are ultimately very different and have different explanations for what is typically observed across human growth and development...