Developmental Theories Module 2

• Scientific theory of Development

  A set of logically related concepts or statements that seek to describe and explain development and to predict the kinds of behavior that might occur under certain conditions
• Hypothesis


  Explanations or predictions that can be tested by further research
• Assumptions about development


  • Whether people are active or reactive in their own development
  • Whether development is continuous or occurs in stages
• Mechanical model


  People are like machines that react to environmental input. It results from the operation of biological parts in response to external or internal stimuli.
• Organismic model


  People are active, growing organisms who set their own development in motion. They initiate events; they do not just react. The driving force for change is internal.
• Quantitative change


  A change in number or amount, such as height, weight, or vocabulary size.
• Qualitative change


  Development that is discontinuous and marked by the emergence of new phenomena that could not be easily predicted on the basis of past functioning.
• Theoretical perspectives


  • Psychosexual Development
  • Psychosocial stages
  • Psychoanalytic
  • Behaviorism
  • Classical and Operant Conditioning
  • Social Learning Theory
  • Cognitive Stage Theory
  • Sociocultural Theory
  • Information Processing Approach
  • Bioecological Approach
  • Ethology
  • Sociobiological
• Sigmund Freud's psychosexual development theory

  Reactive, Qualitative
• Sigmund Freud's psychosexual development stages

  1. Oral stage

  2. Anal stage

  3. Phallic stage

  4. Latent stage
• Erik Erikson's psychosocial development theory


  Reactive, Qualitative
• Erikson's theory covers 8 stages across the lifespan, with each stage involving a crisis in personality - a major psychosocial challenge that is particularly important during that stage.
• Behaviorism


  Describes observed behavior as a predictable response to experience. Considers development as both reactive and continuous.
• Classical conditioning


  A type of learning in which a response (salivation) to a stimulus (a bell) is elicited after repeated association with a stimulus that normally elicits the response (food)
• Operant conditioning


  A type of learning where an individual learns from the consequences of "operating" the environment. It involves consequences rather than the predictors of behavior.
• Social learning theory


  The impetus for development is bidirectional (reciprocal determinism). People learn appropriate social behavior chiefly by observing and imitating models.
• Cognitive stage theory (Piaget)


  Organismic, Discontinuous
• Piaget's cognitive development processes

  1. Organization

  2. Adaptation (Assimilation and Accommodation)

  3. Equilibration
• Sociocultural theory (Vygotsky)


  Children learn collaboratively through social interaction and shared activities. Adults or more advanced peers must help direct and organize a child's learning.
• Zone of proximal development (ZPD)


  The gap between what children are already able to do by themselves and what they can accomplish with assistance
• Information processing approach


  Seeks to explain cognitive development by analyzing the processes involved in making sense of incoming information and performing tasks effectively
• Bioecological theory (Bronfenbrenner)


  The child is not just an outcome of development, but an active shaper of development. To understand development, we must see the child within the context of the multiple environments surrounding them.
• Evolutionary/sociobiological theory


  Draws on findings of anthropology, ecology, genetics, ethology, and evolutionary psychology to explain the adaptive, or survival, value of behavior for an individual or species
• Erikson's theory states that there are eight stages of psychosocial development throughout life
• People are like machine that react to environmental input
• Organismic Model

  
  

  Sees people as active, growing organism who set their own development motion.
• Psychosexual Development


  Proposed the provinces of the mind: Id, Ego, and Superego
• Newborns


  • Governed by the ID
• First year or so


  • The ego, which represents reason, develops gradually
• 1. 6 years old


  • Superego, which includes conscience and incorporates socially approved behavior into the child's system
• 5 stages of Psychosexual DevelopmentThe first three stages are crucial for personality development as they are at risk of fixation
• Oral Stage


  The mouth is vital for eating, and the infant derives pleasure from oral stimulation through gratifying activities such as tasting and sucking
• Anal Stage


  • The primary focus of the libido was on controlling bladder and bowel movements
  • Anal-expulsive - messy, wasteful, destructive
  • Anal-retentive - stringent, orderly, rigid, obsessive
• Phallic Stage


  • Children also begin to discover the differences between males and females
  • Oedipus Complex - wanting to possess mother; Castration Anxiety
  • Electra Complex -> Penis Envy
• Latent Stage


  • Children develop social skills, values, and relationships with peers and adults outside of the family
  • The superego continues to develop while the id's energies are suppressed
• Psychosocial Development


  • Extended Freudian Theory emphasizes the influence of society in developing personality
  • Covers 8 stages across lifespan
  • Each stage involves a crisis in personality - a major psychosocial challenge that is particularly important during that stagethe
• Behaviorism


  • Describes observed behavior as a predictable response to experience; Considers development as both reactive and continuous
• Classical Conditioning


  • A type of learning in which a response (salivation) to a stimulus (a bell) is elicited after repeated association with a stimulus that normally elicits the response (food)
  • John B. Watson - claimed that he could mold any infant in any way he the "Little Albert" experiment - he taught an 11-month-old baby known as "Little Albert" to fear furry, white objects
• Operant Conditioning


  • A type of learning where an individual learns from the consequences of "operating" the environment
  • It involves consequences rather than predictors of behavior
• Social Learning Theory


  • He suggested that the impetus for development is bidirectional called reciprocal determinism: The person acts on the world as the world acts on the person
  • Maintains that people learn appropriate social behavior chiefly by observing and imitating models; or in short, by watching people which is called observational learning or modeling