Behavioral Science and Piaget's Theory

Introduction to Behavioral Medicine

• Presented by Prof. Alaa Darweesh, Professor of Psychiatry
• Focuses on the introduction to behavioral medicine

Chapter Outline

• What is Behavioral Medicine?
• Why study behavioral medicine?

Behavioral Science

• The study of human habits, actions, and intentions
• Three domains: Psychology, Sociology, and Anthropology
• Psychology is the scientific study of the human mind and its functions and behavior

Relevance and Importance of Behavioral Science to Health & Medicine

• Relevance is demonstrated in the etiology of illness, presentation of illnesses, delivery of health care, and aspects of social and psychological treatment
• Behavioral and social factors are crucial in planning for health care, assessing, and treating both physical and psychiatric disorders.

Merits of an Education in Psychology

• Enhances critical thinking skills
• Improves communication skills
• Fosters understanding of the interplay between biology, environment, and experiences in shaping who we are and how we behave

Major Perspectives of Psychology

• Biological: Views behavior from a biological functioning perspective
• Psychodynamic: Believes behavior is motivated by inner unconscious forces
• Cognitive: Examines how people understand and think about the world
• Behavioral: Focuses on observable behavior
• Humanistic: Contends that people can control their behavior and strive to reach their full potential

Developmental Psychology

• Presented by Prof. Alaa Darweesh, Professor of Psychiatry
• Outlines principles of mental development
• Discusses life tasks and characteristics of mental development at each stage of the life cycle
• Explains the influence of genetic and environmental factors on mental development

Human Life Span Development

• The progression of humans throughout their lives

Human Pass Through 7 Life Stages

• Infancy (birth to one year)
• Early Childhood (1-6 years)
• Late Childhood (6-12 years)
• Adolescence (12-18 years)
• Early Adulthood (19-40 years)
• Middle Adulthood (40-65 years)
• Late Adulthood (65 years and older)

Growth and Development

• Growth: Measurable physical changes throughout life (height, weight, body shape, teeth)
• Development: Changes in intellectual, mental, and emotional skills over time

Four Main Types of Growth and Development

• Physical: Body growth (height, weight, brain, senses, motor skills, health)
• Mental: Intellectual development (problem-solving, learning, attention, memory, language, thinking, reasoning, creativity)
• Emotional: Feelings (love, hate, joy, fear, excitement)
• Social: Interactions and relationships with others

Nature and Nurture

• The interplay between heredity and environment in influencing behavior and development
• Heredity sets an upper limit on intelligence, regardless of environmental factors
• Heredity also influences physical activity potential

Genetics, Role of Learning, Nature and Nurture Studies

• Potential for behavior appearance determined by genetics and limited by appearance
• Learning plays a role
• Methods for studying the effects of nature and nurture include twin studies, adoption studies, and comparisons of twins in different environments

Table: Characteristics Influenced Significantly by Genetic Factors

• Shows physical, intellectual, and emotional characteristics influenced by genetics (Height, Weight, Memory, Shyness, Intelligence, Extraversion, emotionality, etc.)

Theories of Development

• Psychoanalytical Theory of Development (Sigmund Freud)
• Psychosocial Theory of Development (Erik Erikson)
• Cognitive Theory of Development (Jean Piaget)
• Theory of Moral Development (Lawrence Kohlberg)

Psychoanalytic Theories (Sigmund Freud)

• Mental life is primarily unconscious
• Mental life is heavily colored by emotion and early experiences with parents
• Problems are often rooted in early life experiences
• This approach was developed by a medical doctor who specialized in neurology

Freud's Structures of Personality

• Id: Primarily unconscious
• Ego: Conscious
• Superego: Primarily unconscious

Psychosexual Development Stages:

• Oral Stage (birth to 18 months), pleasure centers around the mouth (sucking, chewing, biting).
• Anal Stage (18 months to 3 years), pleasure centers around the anus (eliminative functions).
• Phallic Stage (3 to 6 years), pleasure focused on genitals (self-manipulation), Oedipus complex emerges.
• Latent Stage (6 years to puberty), repressed interest in sexuality, social and intellectual skills develop.
• Genital Stage (puberty onward), sexual reawakening, sexual pleasure comes from outside the family.
• Fixation occurs when conflicts in a stage aren't resolved

Examples of Fixations

• Oral: Smoking, overeating
• Anal: Neatness, orderliness
• Phallic: Pornography
• Genital: Difficulties in romantic relationships

Psychosocial Theory of Development (Erik Erikson)

• Motivation for human behavior is social (desire to affiliate with others)
• Development consists of eight stages throughout the lifespan
• Conflicts in each stage are opportunities for growth
• People will go through the stages no matter how they resolved

Erik's Theory's Assumptions

• Stages to development that each present a challenge
• Negative resolutions result in imperfections; people still go through all phases
• Regardless of how someone resolves a stage, they will move onto the next

Stages of Psychosocial Development

• Trust vs. Mistrust (0-1 years): Basic needs and trust are met
• Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt (1-3 years): Developing self-control
• Initiative vs. Guilt (3-6 years): Learning to assert oneself socially
• Industry vs. Inferiority (6-12 years): Developing a sense of accomplishment
• Identity vs. Role Confusion (12-18 years): Exploration of one's own identity
• Intimacy vs. Isolation (19-29 years): Developing loving relationships
• Generativity vs. Stagnation (30-64 years): Contributing to society
• Integrity vs. Despair (65+ years): Acceptance of one's life

Parenting Style

• Authoritarian: Rigid rules, little flexibility
• Permissive: Lenient, inconsistent rules
• Authoritative: Clear guidelines, reasoning, encouragement
• Uninvolved: Detachment, minimal interaction

Cognitive Theory of Development (Jean Piaget)

• Children actively construct their understanding of the world
• Development progresses through four stages
• Children progress through Sensorimotor, Preoperational, Concrete operational, and Formal operational stages
• Progress occurs through different types of reasoning

Piaget's Four Stages of Cognitive Development

• Sensorimotor (0–2 years): Understanding the world through senses and actions
• Preoperational (2–7 years): Symbolic thinking (use of words, images) and egocentrism
• Concrete Operational (7–11 years): Logical reasoning (conservation, reversibility) related to concrete examples
• Formal Operational (11–up): Abstract reasoning, hypothetical situations

Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development (Lawrence Kohlberg)

• Moral development, like cognitive development, follows stages.
• Kohlberg posed moral dilemmas to people of varying ages to analyze stages of moral development
• Three levels of moral reasoning: pre-conventional, conventional, and post-conventional

Kohlberg's Moral Levels and Stages:

• Level 1 (Pre-conventional): Moral reasoning is based on rewards and punishment
• Level 2 (Conventional): Moral reasoning is driven by social approval and authority
• Level 3 (post-conventional): Moral reasoning is based on universal ethical principles

Self-Concept

• Infants lack a self-concept at birth
• Self-recognition develops gradually (usually around 18-24 months)
• Social development and self-concept grow together

Death and Dying (Kubler-Ross)

• Death is the end of a lifespan
• People react to death in various ways
• Kubler-Ross developed a five-stage model of grief to explain this process (Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance)

This quiz explores the contributions of behavioral science to health care and its impact on psychological conditions. Additionally, it delves into Piaget's Cognitive Development Theory, including its stages and key concepts related to children's learning. Test your understanding of these important psychological frameworks.