When comparing the work of Sigmund Freud and Jean Piaget two things come to mind: both have had a profound and lasting impact on the field of psychology and both have received a great deal of criticism regarding to their theories. Freud is considered the founder of psychoanalysis, which is based on childhood development and psychosexual stages. Piaget was the greatest advocate of development in the 1960s and 1970s. His theory of cognitive development was as well studied as Freud's theory of psychosexual development was a generation earlier. Although both had much criticism of their work, both Freud and Piaget influenced their respective fields of psychology so much that today their thoughts and concepts are still studied and cited every day. Freud's theories revolutionized the way we think. The impact Piaget had on developmental psychology guided the social norms of human development and education. This essay will compare and contrast the theories of Freud and Piaget. When examining 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 is the source of basic need demands. Freud explains that a child's mind consists only of the id, which drives basic needs for comfort, food, warmth, and love. In the later stages of early development, when a child's mind begins to grow, the ego is formed. The ego is defined as the connection between consciousness and reality that controls thought and behavior. In late preschool age the child begins to develop what is called the Superego. In this phase the values ​​are internalized and the complex connection between Id, Ego and Super... at the center of the card... s. Throughout all stages of development Freud argues that powerful human influence came from parents. Piaget believed that peers were as important as or more important than parents. Both agree that a young child is influenced by his parents' standards, but is not simply a passive recipient of those standards. Piaget seemed to build on one of Freud's ideas in that while Freud was only interested in moral feelings such as 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 every aspect of human development. Although parts of each are used to guide current theories of human development, ultimately Freudian and Piagetian theories are very different and have different explanations for what is typically observed through human growth and development..