Erikson and Piaget theories Erikson proposed that the main aim of development was not biological survival but, rather , the formation of identify. According to him, a child passes through various stages of development, and at each stage, a crisis must be negotiated. Successful negotiation of these crises develops a person's identity. The crises a child faces throughout development are not solely individual. Children are shaped by other individuals, who in turn are shaped by their socio- cultural millieu.                                                          Piaget regarded children younger than five years as premoral. This means that children this age do not as yet understand rules and do not judge whether or not a rule has been broken. When they play a rule- orientated game, such as marbles, they do it purely for pleasure or to explore and manipulate the material. In the process, they do not care about winning or losing and do not try to coording their behaviour with that of their friends.