Theory and Research in Human Development

• Scientific theory of development:

  • A set of logically related concepts or statements that seek to describe and explain development and predict behavior under certain conditions
  • Theories inspire further research and predict results through generating hypotheses
  • Developmental science offers different perspectives through research
  • Common themes are discussed as the basic theoretical issues in development
• Basic Theoretical Issues in Development:

  • Is development reactive or active?
  • Is development continuous or discontinuous?
  • Is there one course of development or many?
  • What is the relative influence of nature and nurture?
• Issue 1: Reactive or Active Development:

  • Reactive development: belief that individuals are shaped by experiences over time
  • Active development: belief that individuals create experiences for themselves and are motivated to learn about the world
• Issue 2: Continuous or Discontinuous Development:

  • Continuous development: gradual and incremental changes
  • Discontinuous development: abrupt and even changes
• Issue 3: One Course of Development or Many:

  • One course of development: assumes people follow the same sequence of development
  • Many courses of development: acknowledges unique combinations of personal and environmental circumstances leading to different paths of change
• Issue 4: Relative Influence of Nature and Nurture:

  • Nature: influence of hereditary information received at conception
  • Nurture: influence of physical and social forces before and after birth
  • Theories vary in emphasis on nature and nurture
• Theoretical Perspectives:

  • Psychoanalytic (Freud, Erikson)
  • Behaviorism (Watson, Skinner, Bandura)
  • Cognitive (Piaget, Vygotsky, Information Processing Approach)
  • Contextual (Bronfenbrenner, Wilson's Evolutionary/Sociobiological Perspective, Ethology)
• Psychoanalytic Perspective:

  • Freud's Psychosexual Development: belief in biological drives shaping behavior
  • Erikson's Psychosocial Development: emphasis on society's influence on personality
• Behaviorism Perspective:

  • Watson's Classical Conditioning: learning based on stimulus association
  • Skinner's Operant Conditioning: learning based on behavior consequences
  • Bandura's Social Learning Theory: behaviors learned through observation and imitation
• Cognitive Perspective:

  • Piaget's Cognitive Stage Theory: cognitive development in four stages
  • Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory: development influenced by social interactions
  • Information Processing Approach: thought processes central to development
• History of the Science:

  • Darwin's Theory of Evolution
  • Hall and Gesell's Normative Approach
  • Binet and Simon's Mental (Intelligence) Test
• Darwin's Theory of Evolution:

  • Emphasized natural selection and survival of the fittest
  • Influence found in important developmental theories
• Hall and Gesell's Normative Approach:

  • Measures behavior in individuals to represent typical development
  • G. Stanley Hall and Arnold Gesell made significant contributions
• Binet and Simon's Mental (Intelligence) Test:

  • Constructed the first successful intelligence test
  • Used normative approach in the context of intelligence
• Theoretical Perspectives Impact:

  • Learning theories demonstrate how behaviors result from experience
  • Cognitive perspective highlights the central role of thought processes in development
• Cognitive development is a product of children's attempt to understand and act upon their world
• Cognitive development starts with an inborn ability to adapt to the environment
• Cognitive growth occurs through three interrelated processes: organization, adaptation, and equilibration
• Jean Piaget's Cognitive-stage Theory
• Organization:

  • Creation of categories or systems of knowledge that eventually becomes increasingly complex cognitive structures called schemas
• Adaptation:

  • Children handle new information in light of what they already know
  • Adjustment to new information about the environment is achieved through assimilation and accommodation
• Equilibration:

  • Tendency to seek a stable balance among cognitive elements
  • Achieved through a balance between assimilation and accommodation
• Lev Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory
• Described cognitive growth as a collaborative process
• Zone of proximal development (ZPD) is the difference between what a child can do alone and with help
• Zone where scaffolding is needed to help a child master a task
• Observes and analyzes mental processes involved in making sense of incoming information and performing tasks effectively
• Compares the brain to a computer where mental processes are studied between inputs and outputs
• Uses observational data to infer what goes on between a stimulus and a response
• Development of computational models that analyze specific steps people go through in gathering, storing, retrieving, and using information
• Piaget's Cognitive-stage theory is active, discontinuous, with one course of development, and influenced by both nature and nurture
• Information Processing is active, continuous, with one course of development, and influenced by both nature and nurture
• Vygotsky's Sociocultural theory is active, both continuous and discontinuous, with many possible courses of development, and influenced by both nature and nurture
• Evolutionary/Sociobiological perspective is both reactive and active, both continuous and discontinuous, with one course of development, and influenced by both nature and nurture