Erikson, another psychoanalytic theorist shared most of Freud's basic assumptions, but there were some crucial differences. Erikson de-emphasized the centrality of sexual drive and instead focused on a stepwise emergence of a sense of identity. He agreed with Freud that the early years are highly important but he argued that identity is not fully formed at the end of adolescence but continues to move through further developmental stages in adult life. Erikson stated the main quality developed in adolescence was identity versus role confusion. He stated that children of this age need to adapt to a sense of self, the physical changes of puberty, make occupational choices; achieve adult-like sexual identity and search for new values (UOP 2002).
Learning theories represent a very different theoretical tradition; one which the emphasis is much more on the way the environment shapes the child than on how the child understands their experiences. The most central of these theories are classical and operant conditioning. Classical conditioning is based on the theory that other stimuli that are present just before or at the same time as the unconditional stimulus will eventually trigger the same response. Classical conditioning is of special interest in the study of child development because of the role it plays in the development of emotional responses. Operant conditioning unlike classical conditioning involves the attaching an old response to a new stimulus, achieved by the application of appropriate principles of reinforcement. The two most common are positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement (UOP 2002).