Unit 1 - Development Theories

• Human behavior is complex – there are many factors at play that shape an individual's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors at any given moment
• Human development


  The biological and psychological development of the human being throughout the lifespan
• Developmental psychology


  The scientific study of psychological human development which aims to explain growth, change and consistency through out the lifetime
• A significant proportion of theories within this discipline focus upon development during childhood
• Developmental psychologists study a wide range of theoretical areas

  • Biological
  • Social
  • Emotion
  • Cognitive processes
• Importance of development psychology

  • It allows us to fully appreciate the cognitive, emotional, physical, social, and educational growth that children go through from birth and into early adulthood
  • It helps psychologists better understand how and why an individual thinks, feels and behaves the way they do
  • It helps identify ways they can better facilitate their growth and development and reach their full potential
• Goals of developmental psychology

  • Describe
  • Explain
  • Optimize development
• Normative development


  Typical patterns of change
• Idiographic development


  Individual variations in patterns of change
• Although there are typical pathways of development that most people will follow, no two persons are exactly alike
• Human changes explored in developmental psychology

  • Cognitive
  • Motivational
  • Biological
  • Social
  • Emotional
  • Intellectual
• Continuity view


  Change is gradual
• Discontinuity view


  Development proceeds through a sequence of separate stages
• Biological changes provide the potential for these changes
• Nature


  The process of biological maturation inheritance and maturation
• Nurture


  The impact of the environment, which involves the process of learning through experiences
• Developmental psychology as a discipline did not exist until after the industrial revolution
• Child development that occurs from birth to adulthood was largely ignored throughout much of human history
• Developmental changes during adulthood is an even more recent area of study, mainly due to advances in medical science, enabling people to live to old age
• Importance of childhood


  • Early childhood may be the most important life stage for brain development
  • Babies' brains develop in response to stimulation
  • Babies who are stimulated develop more quickly and have a more secure self-image
• Child development


  The complete time from conception to an independent individual. It is the journey of child growth.
• Rules of developing theories

  • Development is similar for each individual
  • Development builds upon earlier learning
  • Development proceeds at an individual rate
  • The different areas of development are interrelated
  • Development is a lifelong process
• Theories of child development provide a framework for thinking about human growth and learning
• Developmental psychologists strive to understand, explain, and predict behaviours that occur throughout the lifespan
• Major theories


  • Albert Bandura - Social Cognitive Theory
  • Lawrence Kohlberg - Stages of Moral Development
  • Lev Vygotsky - Socio-cultural Theory
  • Jean Piaget - Cognitive Development Theory
  • Sigmund Freud - Psychosexual Development Theory
  • Erik Erikson - Psychosocial Development Theory
  • John Bowlby & Mary Ainsworth - Attachment Theory
  • Urie Bronfenbrenner - Bio Ecological Theory
• Cognition


  The mental activities that help us function, including problem-solving, figuring out how the world works, developing models and concepts, storing and retrieving knowledge, understanding and using language, and using self-talk and inner thoughts
• Schema


  A mental container we build to hold our experiences, which can take the form of images, models, and/or concepts
• Assimilation


  Incorporating new experiences into our existing schema/categories
• Accommodation


  Adjusting our schema to better fit our experiences
• Stages of cognitive development


  • Sensorimotor Stage (Birth to Age 2)
  • Preoperational Stage (Age 2 to 7)
  • Concrete Operational Stage (Age 7 - 11)
  • Formal Operational Stage (Age 11+)
• Object permanence


  The idea that objects exist even when they can't be seen
• Egocentrism


  Children focus on themselves and how actions will impact them, rather than others
• Conservation


  The ability to understand that a quantity is conserved (does not change) even when it is arranged in a different shape
• Reversibility


  Awareness that actions can be reversed