Chapter 2 Summary PDF

8/30/24, 11:52 AM Chapter 2: Summary Chapter 2: Summary --- # Theories of Development: Comprehensive Summary Chapter 2, "Theories of Development," explores the various theories that attempt to...

8/30/24, 11:52 AM Chapter 2: Summary Chapter 2: Summary --- # Theories of Development: Comprehensive Summary Chapter 2, "Theories of Development," explores the various theories that attempt to explain how people grow and change throughout their lives. It covers a wide range of perspectives, including psychodynamic, behavioural, cognitive, and contextual theories. These theories are crucial in understanding different aspects of development, from infancy to old age, and they provide frameworks for interpreting the changes that individuals undergo. --- ## Conclusion The chapter concludes by emphasizing the diversity and complexity of developmental theories, each offering unique insights into the human lifespan. While some theories focus on specific stages or aspects of development, others provide broader frameworks that incorporate a range of influences, including biological, social, and cultural factors. Understanding these theories allows professionals and individuals to better anticipate and support developmental changes throughout life. --- ## Key Points Developmental Theories: Theories of development help organize and make sense of the complex processes of human growth, offering frameworks for understanding changes across the lifespan. Psychodynamic Theories: Focuses on the influence of unconscious drives and childhood experiences, as seen in Freud’s and Erikson’s stages of development. Behavioural Theories: Pavlov’s classical conditioning and Skinner’s operant conditioning explain how behaviour is learned through interactions with the environment. Cognitive Theories: Piaget’s stages of cognitive development and Vygotsky’s social-cultural theory explore how thinking and problem- solving evolve over time. Contextual Approaches: Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory emphasizes the multiple layers of environmental influence on development. Nature vs. Nurture: The ongoing debate over the roles of genetics (nature) and environment (nurture) in shaping human development. Stages vs. Continuity: Theories differ on whether development is a continuous process or occurs in distinct stages. Active vs. Passive: Some theories view individuals as active participants in their development, while others see them as more passive recipients of environmental influences. Cultural and Social Influences: Many theories now recognize the importance of cultural and social contexts in shaping development. Applications of Theories: Developmental theories are applied in various fields to understand and support individuals through different life stages. --- ## Summary 1. Introduction to Developmental Theories: The chapter begins by explaining the role of theories in understanding development, highlighting how they provide systematic frameworks for interpreting human behaviour across different life stages. 2. Psychodynamic Theories: These theories, including Freud's psychosexual stages and Erikson's psychosocial stages, focus on the influence of early experiences and unconscious processes in shaping personality and behaviour. 3. Behavioural Learning Theories: Pavlov’s classical conditioning and Skinner’s operant conditioning are discussed as key behavioural theories that explain how behaviour is learned and reinforced through interactions with the environment. 4. Cognitive Developmental Theories: The chapter covers cognitive theories like Piaget's stages of cognitive development, which describe how thinking and reasoning develop from infancy through adulthood. 5. Contextual Approaches: Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory is presented as a model that emphasizes the multiple environmental contexts that influence development, from immediate family to broader societal factors. 6. Nature vs. Nurture: The chapter discusses the debate between genetic and environmental influences on development, exploring how both factors interact to shape an individual’s growth. 7. Stages vs. Continuity: Different theories are compared on whether they view development as a continuous process or as occurring in distinct, qualitative stages. 8. Active vs. Passive Development: Theories are also compared on whether they see individuals as actively shaping their own development or as being shaped by external forces. 9. Cultural and Social Contexts: The importance of considering cultural and social factors in development is emphasized, particularly in theories that recognize the diversity of developmental pathways. 10. Applications in Real Life: The chapter concludes with a discussion of how these theories are applied in real-world settings, such as education, https://loop.cloud.microsoft/print/eyJwIjp7InUiOiJodHRwczovL2VkaXRoY293YW51bmkuc2hhcmVwb2ludC5jb20vOmZsOi9yL2NvbnRlbnRzdG9y… 1/4 8/30/24, 11:52 AM Chapter 2: Summary psychology, and healthcare, to support individuals through various life stages. --- # Theories of Development: Summary Table Developmental Nature vs. Theory Key Theorists Main Concepts Focus Nurture Psychodynamic Sigmund Freud, Erik Unconscious drives, Early childhood Emphasizes both Erikson stages of personality experiences, identity 1 development (psychosexual and psychosocial stages) Behavioural Ivan Pavlov, B.F. Classical Learned behaviours Emphasizes nurture Skinner conditioning, operant 2 conditioning, reinforcement, punishment Cognitive Jean Piaget, Lev Stages of cognitive Thinking, reasoning, Interaction of both Vygotsky development, social problem-solving 3 interaction, language as a tool for development Contextual Urie Bronfenbrenner Ecological systems Interaction between Emphasizes theory, multiple individual and interaction of both 4 levels of context environmental influence Social Cognitive Albert Bandura Observational Influence of Emphasizes 5 learning, modelling, observed behaviours interaction of both self-efficacy New SUMMARY 2.1 Describe the various developmental theories and explain how they are beneficial. Theories are useful in organising and explaining the process of development and in stimulating and guiding developmental research, theory and practice. Theories differ in the degree to which they emphasise maturation versus experience, continuous versus stage-like development, the individual’s active versus passive participation, and the breadth of theoretical focus. 2.2 Analyse how psychodynamic theories have influenced our thinking about development. Freud’s and Erikson’s theories see development as a dynamic process that occurs in a series of stages, each involving psychological conflicts that the developing person must resolve. According to Freud, personality development is energised by the conflicting functions of the id, ego and superego. Erikson’s theory outlines eight developmental stages that encompass the entire lifespan; by resolving the basic crisis of each stage — such as trust versus mistrust in infancy or intimacy versus isolation in young adulthood — the developing person attains what Erikson terms a virtue. So, for instance, the infant who resolves the trust/mistrust crisis attains the virtue of hope; the young adult who resolves the intimacy/isolation crisis attains love. Object relations approaches such as Mahler’s and Stern’s emphasise development as resulting from a child’s mental representations of early social and emotional relationships with parents and important others. Psychodynamic theories help us to understand the importance of attachment in intimate relationships throughout life and to conceptualise the process of identity formation in adolescence and adulthood, to name just two lifespan applications. 2.3 Examine how developmental theories based on learning theories have contributed to our understanding of developmental change. Pavlov’s theory emphasises learning through classical conditioning as the main process through which developmental changes occur. Skinner’s operant conditioning theory emphasises the influence of reinforcement, punishment, extinction and shaping on developmental change. Bandura’s social cognitive theory emphasises reciprocal and interactional processes involving direct observational learning, mod-elling and vicarious reinforcement. Learning theories have applications across the lifespan, particularly in helping us to understand the influence of learning on development and helping individuals modify or eliminate problematic behaviours and learn new, desirable behaviours. https://loop.cloud.microsoft/print/eyJwIjp7InUiOiJodHRwczovL2VkaXRoY293YW51bmkuc2hhcmVwb2ludC5jb20vOmZsOi9yL2NvbnRlbnRzdG9y… 2/4 8/30/24, 11:52 AM Chapter 2: Summary 2.4 Justify how cognitive developmental theories help us to understand changes in thinking and problem solving throughout the lifespan. Piaget’s theory explains the underlying structures and processes involved in the development of children’s thinking and problem solving. Piaget suggested that thinking develops in a series of increasingly complex and sophisticated stages, each of which incorporates the achievements of those preceding it. The develop-ing person achieves new ways of thinking and problem solving through the joint processes of assimilation (fitting a new scheme into an existing one) and accommodation (changing an existing scheme to meet the challenges of a new situation). Neo-Piagetian theorists Case and Fischer emphasise the role of mental space, skills acquisition, and information processing capacity in cognitive development. Information-processing theory focuses on the steps involved in thinking. Information is stored in the sensory register, then in STM, and finally in LTM. As people grow older, they experience cognitive changes in control processes, metacognition and their knowledge bases. Cognitive theories help us to understand and foster intellectual development, problem-solving abilities and critical thinking skills throughout the lifespan. 2.5 Describe how contextual approaches to development have broadened our view of developmental change. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory proposes that the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem and macrosystem form interactive and overlapping contexts for development. Vygotsky emphasises the contribution of history and culture to development, which takes place within a child’s zone of proximal development. Lerner’s contextual approach emphasises the dynamic, interactive, reciprocal relationships between individual development and changes in the contexts in which development occurs, such as education, work and family. Elder suggests education, work and family create the social trajectories, or pathways, that guide individual development. Ethological theory focuses on the developmental roles of behavioural dispositions and traits, such as temperament and attachment, that are thought to have evolutionary survival value for the human species. These theories are very useful in explaining how development throughout the life course interacts with and is influenced by the context in which the development occurs. 2.6 Compare and contrast how adult developmental changes differ from child and adolescent changes. Normative-crisis theories focus on fairly predictable changes that occur over the lifespan, particularly during the adult years. Timing-of-events theory emphasises the role of both normative and non-normative transitions in an individual’s life course and how social expectations may be internalised in a ‘social clock’ against which we judge our own development. Dynamic systems theory views the child’s mind, body, physical and social worlds as a dynamic integrated system. A change in the system leads the child to modify and re-organise their behaviour so the various components of the system work together in a more complex and effective manner. 2.7 Evaluate how comparing and contrasting developmental theories assists us in understanding developmental change. Although developmental theories differ in both focus and explanatory concepts, collectively they provide a fairly comprehensive view of the process of developmental change. By systematically organising what we already know about development and proposing explanations that can be tested through formal and informal observations, developmental theories can be useful for non-experts, as well as experts. KEY TERMS accommodation In Piaget’s theory, the process of modifying existing ideas or actions and skills to fit new experiences. adaptation Piaget’s term for the process by which development occurs; concepts are deepened or broadened by assimilation and stretched or modified by accommodation, through interaction with the environment. assimilation In Piaget’s theory, a method by which a person responds to new experiences by using existing concepts to interpret new ideas and experiences. attachment An intimate and enduring emotional relationship between two people, such as infant and caregiver, characterised by reciprocal affection and a periodic desire to maintain physical closeness. behaviour modification A body of techniques based on behaviourism for changing or eliminating specific behaviours. classical conditioning A form of learning in which an organism associates a neutral stimulus with a stimulus that leads to a reflexive response. Once the connections between the two stimuli are made, the new stimulus will produce the behaviour by itself. dynamic systems approach The view of the child’s mind, body, physical world and social environment as part of an integrated, dynamic system. Changes to any part of this system will lead to changes in the system as a whole. ego According to Freud, the rational, realistic part of the personality which coordinates impulses from the id with demands imposed by the superego and by society. id In Freud’s theory, the part of an individual’s personality that is present at birth; unconscious, impulsive and unrealistic; and that attempts to satisfy a person’s biological and emotional needs and desires by maximising pleasure and avoiding pain. information-processing theory Explanations of cognition that focus on the precise, detailed features or steps of mental activities. These theories often use computers as models for human thinking. long-term memory (LTM) The largest memory storage area of the information-processing system which permanently preserves our knowledge base through storing, managing and retrieving information for use at any later time. metacognition Knowledge and thinking about cognition; knowing how learning and memory operate in everyday situations, and how one can improve cognitive performance through the use of metacognitive strategies. normative-crisis model Explanations that view developmental change in terms of a series of distinct periods or stages influenced by physical and cognitive performance. object relations The child’s relationships with the important people (called objects) in their environment and the process by which their qualities https://loop.cloud.microsoft/print/eyJwIjp7InUiOiJodHRwczovL2VkaXRoY293YW51bmkuc2hhcmVwb2ludC5jb20vOmZsOi9yL2NvbnRlbnRzdG9y… 3/4 8/30/24, 11:52 AM Chapter 2: Summary become part of the child’s personality and mental life. observational learning The tendency of a child to imitate or model behaviour and attitudes of parents and other nurturant individuals. operant conditioning According to Skinner, a process of learning in which a person or an animal increases the frequency of a behaviour in response to repeated reinforcement of that behaviour. punishment According to Skinner, any stimulus that temporarily suppresses the response that it follows. reinforcement According to Skinner, any stimulus that increases the likelihood that a behaviour will be repeated in similar circumstances. scheme According to Piaget, a specific structure or organised pattern of behaviour or thought that represents a group of ideas and events in a person’s experience. sensory register A component of the information-processing system where sights and sounds are immediately represented but only briefly stored. short-term memory (STM) The limited-capacity memory storage area of the information-processing system which stores information for only a short length of time, merely seconds, without rehearsal. social trajectory The pathway or direction that development takes over an individual’s life course, which is influenced by the school, work, family and other important social settings in which they participate. superego In Freud’s theory, the part of personality that acts as an all-knowing, internalised parent. It has two parts: the conscience, which enforces moral and social conventions by punishing violations with guilt, and the ego-ideal, which provides an idealised, internal set of standards for regulating and evaluating one’s thoughts, feelings and actions. theory A set of statements that are an orderly and integrated description, explanation and prediction of human behaviour in various developmental domains. A theory’s continued existence depends on scientific verification. All theories must be tested using a set of research strategies. timing-of-events model Explanations that view developmental change in terms of important life events such as marriage and parenthood that people are expected to complete according to a culturally determined timetable. zone of proximal development According to Vygotsky, the level of difficulty at which problems are too hard for children to solve alone but not too hard when given support from adults or more competent peers. https://loop.cloud.microsoft/print/eyJwIjp7InUiOiJodHRwczovL2VkaXRoY293YW51bmkuc2hhcmVwb2ludC5jb20vOmZsOi9yL2NvbnRlbnRzdG9y… 4/4