CHAPTER 2

Theories of Human Development

Theories of Human Development

Theory: Ideas proposed to describe/explain certain phenomenaOrganizes facts/observationsGuides collection of new data

Should be internally consistentFalsifiable: Hypothesis can be testedSupported by data

Freud: Psychoanalytic Theory

Instincts and unconscious motivation Id, Ego, and Superego formed from psychic

energy (Libido) Id: Instinctual nature of humansEgo: Rational and objectiveSuperego: Internalized moral standards

Dynamic system: Regular conflicts within

Freud’s Psychosexual DevelopmentChild moves through five stagesStages result from conflict between Id &

SuperegoConflict creates anxietyEgo defends against anxiety with defense

mechanismsEarly experiences have long-term effects on

personality

Strengths and Weaknesses of Freud’s Theory

StrengthsAwareness of unconscious motivationEmphasized important early

experienceWeaknesses

Ambiguous, inconsistent, not testableNot supported by research

Erik EriksonMost influential neo-FreudianSome differences with Freud

Less emphasis on sexual urgesMore emphasis on rational egoMore positive, adaptive view of human

natureDevelopment continues through

adulthood

Erikson’s Stages

Trust vs. Mistrust: Importance of responsive caregiver

Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt: Preschool Initiative vs. Guilt: Preschool Industry vs. Inferiority: School-age children Identity vs. Role Confusion: Adolescence Intimacy vs. Isolation: Young adult Generativity vs. Stagnation: Middle ageIntegrity vs. Despair: Old Age

Strengths and Weaknesses of Erikson

StrengthsFocus on identity crisis of adolescence still

most relevantEmphasis on rational and adaptive nature Interaction of biological & social influences

WeaknessesSometimes vague and difficult to testDoes not explain how development comes

about

Learning Theories: Classical Conditioning

Behaviorism: Conclusions should be based on observable behavior only

Tabula Rasa - Environmental view Association Learning

UCS: Built-in, unlearned stimulusUCR: Automatic, unlearned responseCS: Stimulus causes learned responseCR: Learned response

The three phases of classical conditioning

Learning Theories: Operant Conditioning

Probability of behavior based on environmental consequencesReinforcement

Pleasant consequenceIncreases probability

Punishment Decreases probabilityUnpleasant, aversive

Possible consequences of whining behavior. Moosie comes into the TV room and sees his father talking and joking

with his sister. Lulu, as the two watch a football game. Soon Moosie begins to whine, louder and louder, that he wants them to turn off the television so he can play Nintendo games. If you were Moosie’s father, how would you react? Here are four possible consequences of Moosie’s behavior. Consider both the type of consequences – whether it is a pleasant or aversive stimulus – and whether it is administered (“added to”) or withdrawn. Notice that reinforcers strengthen whining behavior, or make it more likely in the future, whereas punishers weaken it.

Bandura: Social Cognitive Theory

Formerly called social learning theoryHumans think, anticipate, believe, etc.

Cognitive Emphasis: Observational learningBoBo doll studiesModel praised or punished

Child learned to imitate rewarded modelVicarious reinforcement

Learning Theory: Strengths & Weaknesses Strengths

Precise and testable theoryCarefully controlled experimentsPractical applications across lifespan

Weaknesses Inadequate account of lifespan changes Ignored genetic and maturational

processes

Piaget: Cognitive Developmental Theory

Intelligence: Ability to adapt to environment Constructivism: Understanding based on

experience Interactionist

Both biological maturation and experience required for developmental progress

At each new stage, children think in a qualitatively different way

Cognitive Developmental Theory

StrengthsWell-accepted by developmentalistsWell-researched, mostly supported Influenced education and parenting

Weaknesses Ignores motivation and emotionStages not universal especially the last one

Contextual/Systems Theories

Lev Vygotsky: Sociocultural perspectiveCognitive development is a social processProblem solving aided by dialogues

Gottlieb: Evolutionary/Epigenetic SystemsGenes, neural activity, behavior, and

environment mutually influential

Normal genes and normal early experiences most helpful

Gottlieb – Developmental Psychobiology

Interaction: Biological & environmental influences

Individual programmed through evolution Current behavior results from past adaptation Ethology: Behavior adaptive to specific

environmentsE.g., food scarcity creates nomadic behaviorsSpecies-specific behavior of animals &

humans

Gottlieb: EpigenesisInstinctual behavior may or may not occurDepends on early physical and social

environmentsGenes alone don’t influence behaviorA system of interactionsPeople develop in changing contexts

HistoricalCultural

Strengths and Weaknesses

StrengthsStresses the interaction of nature

and nurtureWeaknesses

Only partially formulated and testedNo coherent developmental theory