Theories

Theories

1. Psychodynamic

   • Freud
     • Main focus: Personality, psychoanalytic Key concepts: id, ego, super ego; psychosexual conflicts; defence mechanisms STAGE THEORY
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   • Erikson
     • Main focus: Personality; psychosocial Key concepts: lifespan development; psychosocial crisis STAGE THEORY
   • Mahler
     • Main focus: personality (social, emotional self) Key concepts: birth of psychological self; separation-individuation STAGE THEORY
   • Stern
     • Main focus: personality (interpersonal, cognitive, emotional self) Key concepts: Interpersonal sense of self; RIGS STAGE THEORY

2. Behavioural

   • Skinner
     • Main focus: Learning Key concepts: Operant conditioning, reinforcement, punishment
   • Pavlov
     • Main focus: learning Key concepts: Classical conditioning

3. Cognitive

   • Piaget
     • Main focus: Cognitive (thinking, problem solving) Key concepts: Schemes, assimilation, accommodation, equilibrium, mental space (Neo-piagetian) STAGE THEORY
   • Case; Fischer
     • Main focus: cognitive; problem-solving skills and capabilities Key concepts: skill acquisition; optimal performance; higher level skills PROCESS-ORIENTED THEORY
   • Information Processing
     • Main focus: cognitive; processing of info; problem solving and other mental abilities Key concepts: sensory register; STM; LTM; metacognition, knowledge base, control processes PROCESS-ORIENTED THEORY

4. Contextual

   • Lorenz, Tinbergen (ethological)
     • Main focus: Adaptation to biological and ethological contexts Key concepts: Behavioural dispositions; evolutionary adaptations PROCESS-ORIENTED THEORY
   • Bronfenbrenner (ecological)
     • Main focus: interactive contextual influences Key concepts: microsystem, exosystem, mesosystem, macrosystem PROCESS-ORIENTED THEORY
   • Vygotsky (sociocultural)
     • Main focus: contextual; cultural/historical influences Key concepts: Dialogues; zone of proximal development (ZPD) PROCESS-ORIENTED THEORY
   • Lerner & Elder
     • Main focus: individual change within social and historical contexts Key concepts: Multiple organisational levels of reciprocal, dynamic change; social trajectories

5. Adult & Lifespan

   • Normative-crisis
     • Main focus: personality (social, behaviour, life structure, coping mechanisms) Key concepts: Adult development; mature coping mechanisms (Vaillant); eras; transitions, and life structures (Levinson). STAGE THEORY
   • Timing-of-events
     • Main focus: Personality (social, behaviour, life structure) Key concepts: Adult development; normative & non-normative events; social clock PROCESS-ORIENTED
   • Dynamic Systems
     • Main focus: Change is ongoing Key concepts: Biological makeup, differences in individual skills STAGE-LIKE

6. Social Cognitive Learning

   • Bandura
     • Main Focus: learning behaviour, cognitive response patterns, social roles Key concepts: imitation, social learning, modelling, cog. learning, reciprocal determinism, skills, capabilities PROCESS-ORIENTATED