Theories in Developmental Psychology Outline PDF

Theories in Developmental Psychology 1) The role of Dev Psy: a) To describe developmental change (how) b) To explain this change (why) 2) The goal of Dev Theories: a) To provide plausible solutions to these questions b) To generate testable hypotheses/predict...

Theories in Developmental Psychology 1) The role of Dev Psy: a) To describe developmental change (how) b) To explain this change (why) 2) The goal of Dev Theories: a) To provide plausible solutions to these questions b) To generate testable hypotheses/predictions about children’s behavior 3) Origins of Thought about Human Development: a) John Locke “Tabula Rasa” (blank slate)-infants don’t understand anything because they weren’t exposed to the outside world to learn and observe. Shaped by experience. b) William James (empirical position)-infants perceive this world in a “blooming buzzing confusion”. c) Charles Darwin-human evolution and natural selection. 4) Behaviorism: a) Classical conditioning-when you learn to associate two things. For example, if a dog hears a bell every time it gets food, it will start to drool when it hears the bell, even if there's no food. This is learning by association. i) Psychologists: Pavlov, Watson and Rayner b) Operant conditioning-learning through rewards or punishments. If a dog gets a treat for sitting, it will learn to sit more often. This is learning by consequences. i) Psychologists: E. Thorndike, B. F. Skinner 5) Maturationism: a) Maturational approach-children’s abilities are determined by genetic inheritance. b) Children’s skills develop in particular orders, these “Biological timetables” (continuous view) of development are set out in advance by genetics. 6) The psychodynamic approach (Freud): a) Childhood experience-matter. b) Development of personality consists of id, ego, superego. i) Id-impulsive part, the first component to evolve, pleasure principle.  ii) Ego-moderator, tries to balance two extremes, rational, socially acceptable behaviors. iii) Superego-control freak, internalization of parental or societal values, ability to apply learned moral values to your acts (conscience). 7) 8) Psychosocial theory (Erikson)-development happens in eight stages across the lifespan. In each stage, an individual must accomplish certain tasks to successfully transition into the next stage, if not, there might be risks that prevent the smooth transition. 9) Ethological theory: a) Imprinting behavior (Konrad Lorenz)-sudden, biologically primed form of attachment. It’s a critical period for attachment. E.g., when the newborn ducks follow around an adult of a completely different species. b) Ethological theory-a theory which holds that behavior must be viewed and understood as occurring in a particular context and as having adaptive or survival value. c) John Bowlby’s attachment theory: i) Bowlby was influenced by ethology, particularly the idea that certain behaviors, like forming attachments, are biologically programmed and evolved to ensure survival. ii) “Maternal deprivation theory”-when the infant did not receive maternal love and care at an early age. It leads to socioemotional difficulties in forming healthy relationships with others (especially with affection). 10) Social learning theory (Bandura)-learning by observations. Children exposed to the aggressive behavior of another person were likely to imitate that behavior. a) Cognitive process: Attend to a model’s behavior (to pay attention); b) Retain (to remember); c) Reproduce (to imitate); d) Motivation (her motivation to produce the behavior is influenced by her own standards and her tendency to compare herself with others.) 11) Piaget’s theory-a child is actively seeking new information.  a) Constructionist theory: children’s thinking changes qualitatively (discontinuous view) with age and that it differs from the way adults think. Cognitive development results from a process of development in which children actively construct their own development by coming up with theories and testing them. 12) Sociocultural theory (Lev Vygotsky)-development as emerging from children’s interactions with more skilled people, and the institutions and tools provided by their culture (e.g., peer tutoring). a) 13) Nativist theory-our cognitive abilities are innate, provided by genetic inheritance (Noam Chomsky, E. Spelke). a) Chomsky – we are born with a mental structure that assists us in learning language. 14) Evolutionary theory: a) Liz Spelke – ‘Core knowledge’ theory. Emphasizes the adaptive nature of cognition: children experiment with different approaches, keeping the most successful ones.  b) Susan Carey – ‘The origin of concepts’ theory. Such a description of human development could be seen as goal-directed cognition in her theory of conceptual change. 15) Information processing approach-a flow of information through the cognitive system, input/stimulus-> proceeding this information->ending with output response. Attempts to understand how the cognitive processes that an adult uses (memory, attention, perception, motor control) develop over the lifespan. 16) Neo-Piagetian theories: a) Executive control structure-a ‘mental blueprint or plan for solving a class of problems’. i) a representation of the problem ii) a representation of the goal of the problem iii) a representation of a strategy for attaining the goal 17) Connectionist model-like virtual versions of the networks of neurons in the brain. They consist of many interconnected nodes that jointly process information. Researchers use these models to explore how thinking and problem-solving might work. a) But how do these connectionist models simulate development? i) a) The networks of neurons in our brains are naive; b) our responses to stimuli in the environment will produce a naive response (pre-reading child will produce an odd response); c) gradually, as we are exposed to reading practice and tuition, the neural networks in our brain retune in order to produce accurate reading. 18) Bayesian modeling-our brains/minds use prior knowledge and conditional probabilities to form our understanding of the world around us. a) Children have naive theories about work. A child may test their understanding of the word "newspaper" by applying it to similar objects, learning through experience whether their usage is correct. Theory Strength Weakness Behaviorism 1. Based on 1. Ignores (Pavlov, Watson, observations. internal Skinner) 2. Helps in mental teaching and processes. parenting 2. Ignores settings children's (reward and individual punishment) learning 3. New healthy abilities. habits: 3. Reward and repetitive punishment conditioning can be manipulative and controlling. Children might start to do their routine things only because they expect something in return. Maturational 1. It recognizes 1. Continuous (nature) that certain view: child physical, might skip a cognitive, certain stage emotional and these abilities “milestones" unfold will happen naturally as at a different a child ages, time. regardless of 2. Not every environmenta behavior is l factors. predetermine 2. “Biological d by genetics. timetable” Ignores gives a environmenta clearer l factors. picture for 3. Ignores indiv. parents, what Differences. milestones to 4. ‘Wait and expect at a see’ approach certain age. doesn’t work all the time, sometimes children need  help to develop certain skills. Psychodynamic 1. Childhood 1. Difficult to approach (Freud, experiences- test Erickson) matter. We scientifically can test it by (e.g., looking at the unconscious problems processes). people face 2. Freud states in adulthood personality (childhood development traumatic happens events). during the 2. It helps to first 6 years, understand when it's a “major” tasks life-long or skills of a process. certain age 3. Conflict- that a child driven needs to focused. acquire. 4. It doesn’t consider people with disabilities. 5. It focuses on typical, Western, and nuclear family dynamics. It doesn’t consider single-parent families. Social learning 1. We can 1. A child might theory (learning observe how not copy by observations) children tend observed to copy the behavior. behavior of 2. They didn't people check what around them. would 2. “Modeling” happen if the can help in children were parenting. If with their a parent mother. wants their 3. They did not child to read test whether  books, a children parent will repeated this know that behavior they need to when left start reading alone. Do in front of the they need a child to set a father to good repeat this example. behavior? 3. This theory 4. Ignores explains why individual some people differences. are 5. Difficulty aggressive. explaining new behavior (artistic skills, photography, problem- solving). Children sometimes display those behaviors without a specific role- model or by observational learning. Constructionism 1.Qualitatively 1. Lacks (Piaget) (discontinuous view): cultural children can skip certain importance stages of development. (minimal). A child develops at their 2. Overemphasi own pace. s on self- 2. Children test their learning. theories (e.g., a child Children touches a hot stove for learn on their the first time, own, but they understands that it’s also learn a painful and thinks lot from carefully before teachers, touching it the next peers, and time). parents. 3. Piaget states that small children are not capable  of complex cognitive thinking. However, some children can understand complex guidance even if it’s out of their stage of development. 4. Indiv differences: why some kids learn faster. Sociocultural 1. Children learn 1. Lacks (Vygotsky) primarily from emphasis on social individual interactions. development. 2. Children learn 2. Doesn’t by specify how communicating much with their peers. assistance is We can test it by needed for looking at better siblings development. relationships. If a What type child learns (emotional, faster, whether cognitive) of they have older support? siblings or not 3. Doesn’t talk (e.g., sibling about rivalry, starts biological walking earlier, factors/differ learns number ences (brain faster). maturation, sensory abilities). 4. Is it applicable to all cultures or only specific ones (during Soviet times)? Evolutionary 1. The adaptive 1. Not all the (Darwin, Spelke, approach- time. Cary) children Children experiment often repeat with different the same approaches mistakes all and keep over again. only 2. Too focused successful on ancestorial ones. development. 2. Helps to Behaviors explain universal that have behaviors been adaptive throughout (stocking up the years. food for 3. Early life- winter) in the experiences past, may not matter (attachment be as relevant styles). E.g., in the modern if a mother world. was absent 3. Individual during the differences child’s (why do formative years, then some this child children might face experience certain anxiety problems as during exams an adult (fear and others of abandonment don’t?). , rejection, 4. Reduces fear of close complex contact with human others). behaviors to basic biological drives (survival and reproduction).