Write a well-organized essay for the question

Scoring: 10 points total for answering one essay question.

Time: You have 25 minutes to complete this part of the test.

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1. 
   Twelve-year-old Ella will be in middle school next year. She will be going through many developmental changes in the next several years. Jean Piaget, Eric Erikson, and Lawrence Kohlberg each developed theories of childhood development. Define one of the developmental stages described by each researcher. Then describe how each of those developmental stages might apply to Ella.
   

Each researcher has proposed many different types of developed theories of childhood development. Taking Ella as an example, I would like to focus on one of the four stages of Jean Piaget’s cognitive development theory, one of the eight emotional development conflicts created by Eric Erikson, and one of the three stages of Lawrence Kohlberg's moral reasoning. First, Jean Piaget proposed the formal operational stage as one of the four stages of cognitive development. In the formal operational stage, children start developing abstract thinking. With regard to that, they will have the ability to use abstracts and have more complex thinking. For example, they start using logical thinking, deductive reasoning, and hypothetical situations.  Second, Eric Erikson presented his theory of eight conflicts in emotional development. He proposed the stage of identity vs. role confusion conflict, which is descripting the individuals between 12-18 years old. In this age period, the main task adolescents face is to find their identity and who they are. It involves exploring ideas, different roles and selves to try to find the right one. In addition, during this stage, individuals will explore their independence, which would play a huge role in their future. Third, Lawrence Kohlberg proposed a theory of three stages of moral reasoning. One of these stages was identified as the conventional level, in which individuals accept societal rules and norms. Also, maintain good societal relationships. In this stage, the individual is more concerned with following the rules instead of questioning the rules' fairness. Back to Ella’s case, according to Piaget's theory, the formal operational stage, she would start to have the ability to think hypothetical situations, have better problem solving skills, and she can find multiple solutions for complex problems. Next, following Erikson's theory, Ella is in the identity vs. role confusion conflict. In this case, Ella is probably going to be in many different social circles, getting to explore different perspectives and opinions. However, the outcome can either be positive or negative, which means she may find her identity and transition into the next stage successfully or she may experience role confusion and struggle in the future. Ella is going to be more independent as well. Last, refer to Kohlberg's moral development theory, Ella is going to be at the conventional stage at that moment. She may start thinking about maintaining social order, observing social rules, and trying to please others without questioning the rules themselves. Therefore, these are the possible changes when a person is growing up. Each stage has a different outcome and those outcomes determine how a person’s life looks.