Flashcards
Theories of Human Development
Cards in this deck (36)
- 1Definition of TheoryA theory is a set of statement that is orderly, describes, explains or predicts certain behaviors’ in developmental domains.
- 2Four Main Developmental Theories1. Psychoanalytical theory
2. Learning theory
3. Cognitive theory
4. Sociocultural theory - 3Categories of Human Development Theories- Freud, Erikson & Piaget
STAGE THEORISTS
Biological–maturational forces
Parents are supporters of development
Watson, Skinner and Bandura
LEARNING THEORISTS
Emphasis on environment
Parents are children s trainers - 4Psychoanalytical Theory (Freud)Originated from Sigmund Freud - childhood experiences and unconscious desires influenced behavior. His assumption focused on nurture.
Human instincts motivate behaviour
Three components of personality:
Id: impulsive, selfish part of personality
Ego: rational aspect that seeks to gratify instincts
Superego: internalised moral standards - 5Pyschosexual Theory (Freud)Freud's Five stages of development:
Oral, anal, phallic, latent and genital
Defence mechanisms
Repression
Regression
Projection
Reaction formation - 6Phsychosexual/Psychosocial Stages (Freud vs Erikson)
- 7Pyschosocial Strengths & Weaknesses (Erikson)Strength
Emphasis on interaction of biological and social influences
Weaknesses
Sometimes vague and difficult to test
Describes development but not how it occurs - 8Learning Theories (Classical Conditioning)Pavlov
UCS: automatic, unconditioned stimulus
UCR: automatic, unconditioned response
CS: conditioned stimulus
CR: conditioned response - 9Learning Theories (Operant Conditioning)Behaviourism: conclusions should be based on observable behaviour
Learner’s behaviour is more/less probable depending upon contingent consequences - 10Learning Theories (Operant Conditioning)Reinforcement occurs when a consequence strengthens a response or makes it more likely to occur
Two forms of reinforcement:
Positive: something ‘good’ is added
Negative: something ‘bad’ is removed/avoided - 11Learning Theories (Operant Conditioning)Punishment decreases the strength of a behaviour or makes it less likely to occur
Two forms of punishment:
Positive: something ‘bad’ is added
Negative: something ‘good’ is removed - 12Social-Cognitive Theory (Bandura)Formerly called social-learning theory
Emphasises the motivating, self-regulating role of cognition
Includes observational learning - 13Social-Cognitive Theory (Bandura)Person/group acts in any given environ
Behaviour is influenced by personal & social environment
Self-effacy - Belief in ones self - 14Social-Cognitive Theory (Bandura)Observational learning
Accomplished by observing the behaviour of others (models)
Learners pay attention, construct mental representations and use them to guide behaviour (Bobo doll study) - 15Cognitive theory (Piaget)Intelligence: process that helps a person adapt to the environment
Constructivism: construct new understanding based on experiences
Interaction between biological maturation and experience is responsible for developmental progress from one stage to the next - 16Cognitive stages of DevelopmentSensorimotor stage
Infants deal with the world through their senses and their motor skills
Preoperational stage
Preschoolers use symbolic thought but not logical problem solving or conservation - 17Cognitive stages of DevelopmentConcrete operations stage
Trial-and-error approach to problem solving
Formal operations stage
Adolescents are able to think abstractly and hypothetically - 18Challenges to Cognitive theoryVygotsky
Cognitive development is shaped by sociocultural context
Information-processing approach:
Examines fundamental processes of attention, memory, decision making etc. - 19Cognitive StrengthsStrengths: Theories have been applied to cognitive therapies such as Rational Emotive Therapy (irrational to rational thoughts)
It is reductionist. Reduces human behavior to individual processes. Humans are a product of all processes working together, not as separate parts. - 20Cognitive StrengthsOne strength of the cognitive approach is that it looks at thought processes which were ignored by other psychologists, especially behaviourists. Processes such as memory, attention and perception have been studied as they have an effect on our behaviour. Considerable research by Loftus and Palmer (1974) has shown that memories on eye witness testimony are unreliable
- 21Cognitive Strengthsits theories have been applied to cognitive therapies such as Rational Emotive Therapy. This therapy has been successful in changing irrational thoughts into rational thoughts so that behaviour improves. Ellis found that Rational Emotive Therapy is successful 90% of the time.
- 22Cognitive WeaknessesIt is too mechanical. Cannot compare processes as humans are complex and certain emotions can change the output of ones behavior
- 23Cognitive WeaknessesOne weakness of the cognitive approach is that it is reductionist. An example of this is that it reduces human behaviour down to individual processes such as memory and attention. This is a weakness because the human is a product of all the processes working together and not just individual parts.
- 24Psychodynamic StrengthOne strength of the psychodynamic approach is that they focused on the effects that childhood experiences have on the developing personality. This is a strength because Freud was the first psychologist to realise the importance of childhood.It also led to other psychologists including Piaget developing theories on childhood.
- 25Psychodynamic StrengthIt takes both nature and nurture into account. This is a strength because it emphasises the importance of both. An example of this is that Freud's assumption of childhood experiences focused on nurture whereas the ID, Ego and Super-ego focused on nature.
- 26Psychodynamic Weaknessit is unfalsifiable. This is a weakness because the assumptions can not be scientifically measured or proved wrong. An example of this is the idea of the mind being split into three parts.
- 27Psychodynamic WeaknessIt is deterministic. This is a weakness because it suggests that behaviour is pre-determined and people do not have free will. An example of this is the psychosexual stages.
- 28Biological StrengthIt is very scientific. Experiments used are measurable, objective and can be repeated to test for reliability. Also, the researcher has more control over the variables.
- 29Biological StrengthIt is deterministic. This is a strength because it increases the likelihood of being able to treat people with abnormal behaviour and provides explanations about the causes of behaviour. This understanding can then be used to improve people's lives.
- 30Biological WeaknessIt focuses too much on the 'nature' side of the nature/nurture debate. It argues that behaviour is caused by hormones, neurotransmitters and genetics. One theory is that schizophrenia is genetic, however, twin studies show that it is not completely genetic and the environment has a part to play.
- 31Biological WeaknessOne weakness of the biological approach is that it is nomothetic. This is a weakness because it develops theories about disorders and generalises them to apply to everyone. It does not take into account the view that humans are unique. An example of this is that General Adaptation Syndrome assumes that everyone responds in the same way to stress but does not take into account that some people have more support than other
- 32Behaviourist StrengthIt has successfully applied classical and operant conditioning to its theories. Systematic desensitisation is based on classical conditioning and is useful for treating phobias.
- 33Behaviourist StrengthOne strength of the behaviourist approach is that it uses scientific methods of research. This is a strength because the experiments are objective, measurable and observable. An example of this is Bandura's bobo doll study of aggression..
- 34Behaviourist WeaknessIt focuses too much on the 'nurture' side of the nature/nurture debate. It suggests that all behaviour is learned but cognitive and biological elements have been proved to affect behaviour. An example of this is the assumption that people learn behaviour by observing others getting rewarded for certain actions.
- 35Behaviourist WeaknessOne weakness of the behaviourist approach is the ethical issues raised by using animals in experiments. This is because animals can not consent to take part and are unable to withdraw. An example of a behaviourist animal study is Pavlov's dogs which led to classical conditioning principles being developed.
- 36THEORIES vs APPROACH 1. Psychoanalytical theory 2. Learning theory 3. Cognitive theory 4. Sociocultural theory1. Psychodynamic/Pyschosocial approach
2. Biological approach
3. Cognitive approach
4. Behaviourist approach