2. Theories Flashcards
What are 2 aims of developmental psychology?
To describe developmental change
To explain developmental change
What do developmental theories do?
organise and integrate existing information into coherent accounts of development
Generate testable hypotheses about children’s behavior
In what situations can theories be long lasting? (2)
1) Broad scope
2) Novelty
What is broad scope of theories?
When a theory has advanced til it has a sufficiently broad scope which attempts to account for more than 1 developmental phenomenon. (eg. Piaget’s constructionist argument)
What is novelty of explanation?
Offer new way of describing or explaining developmental change, not been considered before.
An important alternative; continue to be referred to as influential theories
Eg. connectionist and dynamic systems models of development
What did John Locke argue about ‘empiricism’?
Argued that infants are born into the world Tabula Rasa (‘blank slate’). Understand nothing of the world since they have not learned anything yet
What did Descartes argue about ‘nativism’ (maturational theory)?
Argued that the mind imposes some kind of order on the environment to comprehend it
What was the gist of maturationists’ argument?
Development is shaped more by a genetic blueprint, rather than the environment
Draw on Charles Darwin’s ideas about human evolution and natural selection
“Newborns infants perceive only a blooming buzzing confusion”. Who said this? What theory is this?
William James. Empricism.
What is the focus of behaviourism?
Focused on role of learning of behaviours
Changes in behaviour are driven by experience, and these changes happen gradually and continuously (rather than in stages, such as sudden insight)
What are the 2 types of conditioning for behaviourism?
Classical conditioning
Operant conditioning
What is classical conditioning? (Ivan Pavlov)
Learning an association between two stimuli and behave accordingly
What is operant conditioning?
a type of learning in which new behaviors are learned in response to a specific stimulus. Controlled by a manipulation of the consequences of behavior.
What is the impact of reward and punishment on behaviour?
Rewards will increase likelihood of recurring behavior
Punishment will decrease likelihood of recurring behavior
Who advocated the role of operant conditioning in development? What was his favourite “punishment” strategy?
Patterson - punishment of children’s aggressive behaviour by ‘time out’ (brief isolation) can diminish aggressive behaviour. Incorporated into many applied programmes to help change children’s behaviour, including hyperactivity and aggression.
What is maturational theory?
Argued that children’s abilities are more determined by genetic inheritance than experience. Development of certain skills unfold in particular chronological orders
‘Biological timetables’ of development set out in advance by the genes of our species
What is one evidence for maturational theory?
Development of certain motor skills develops in specific trajectories.
Twin studies: one twin given more practice but skill acquisition still around similar time
What does Freud’s theory of psychodynamics argue? (3 points)
Describe internal motivations and personalities of individuals
Argued that adults’ motivations and personalities largely formed through experiences of infancy & childhood
Development occurs in discrete stages and determined largely by biologically-based drives shaped by encounters with the environment.
What are the 3 components of personality?
Id - Instinctual drives
Ego - Rational and reality-bound aspect
Superego - Emerges when child internalizes societal morals, values and roles, and develops a conscience
What are the 5 stages of Freudian development?
Oral - eating and taking things into the mouth
Anal - learns to postpone gratification; discipline (ie. the pleasure of expelling faeces)
Phallic - Increases in sexual urges alerts children to gender differences; critical to gender identity formation
Latency - Sexual urges repressed
Genital - Altruistic love joins selfish love; need for reproduction underlies adoption of adult responsibilities
What are the stages of Eriksonian development? (8)
Infancy Early Childhood Play age School age Adolescence Young adulthood Adulthood Mature age
What is the task and risk of infancy stage?
Task - to develop basic trust in oneself and others
Risk - mistrust of others and lack of self-confidence
What is the task and risk of early childhood stage?
Task - to learn self-control and establish autonomy
Risk - shame and doubt about one’s capabilities
What is the task and risk of play age?
Task - to develop initiative in mastering environment
Risk - feelings of guilt over aggressiveness
What is the task and risk of school age?
Task - to develop industry
Risk - feelings of inferiority over real or imagined failure to master tasks
What is the task and risk of adolscence?
Task - to achieve a sense of identity
Risk - role confusion over who and what individual wants to be
What is the task and risk of young adulthood?
Task - To achieve intimacy with others
Risk - Shaky identity may lead to avoidance of others and isolation
What is the task and risk of adulthood?
Task - to express oneself through generativity
Risk - Inability to create children, ideas or products may lead to stagnation
What is the task and risk of mature age?
Task - to achieve a sense of integrity
Risk - doubts and unfulfilled desires may lead to despair
How does 5 stages of Freudian development affect adult outcomes?
The way the child negotiates oral, anal, and phallic stages impacts emotional development and adult personality
What theory did Erik Erikson develop? (neo-freudian)
psychosocial theory.
Series of 8 stages over the lifespan
Each stage characterised by personal and social tasks that the individual must accomplish, & risks faced if one fails to proceed through the stages successfully
What is ethological theory? (John Bowlby)
The notion that behavior should be viewed as occurring in particular context, and as having adaptive/ survival value. Closely related to Darwin’s theory of evolution.
What is imprinting? What is its adaptive value?
Young ducklings following around an adult of an entirely different species
A sudden, biologically primed form of attachment
Involves a critical period
Highly adaptive behavior as it creates a strong proximity between infant and parent
What are ethologists’ main method of study? What are their goals?
Observation of children in their natural surroundings. Goals: to develop detailed descriptions and classifications of behavior
What is the usefulness of ethology?
Helps us understand that many behaviours (eg. smiling and crying) have a biological basis and play an important role in ensuring caregivers meet children’s’ needs.
What is the maternal deprivation hypothesis? (John Bowlby)
Attachment bonds between infants and parent in the first years of life are vital to ensure well-adjusted socioemotional development. Highlights adaptive value of early human relationships. Specific experience of bonding with a parent at critical stage of development is vital for normal development of attachment relationships.
What are the limitations of behaviourism?
Doesn’t explain more creative kinds of learning such as spontaneous problem solving
Which psychologist majorly opposed to behaviourism?
Jean Piaget - described sudden insightful shifts in knowledge in young children from one developmental stage to another to the next
What does the social learning theory propose?
proposes that children learn by observing and imitating others. Alternative to operant and classical conditioning. Learning through imitation shows importance of cognition to observational learning.
What are the 4 cognitive processes that influence how well a child learns through observation?
Attention: child must pay attention to behavior
Retain: child must retain the behavior in memory
Reproduce: child must have the physical and intellectual capacity to reproduce the observed behavior
Motivation: child must be motivated to reproduce the behavior
What is one prominent study of the social learning theory? (hint: Albert Bandura)
Aggression. Bobo doll. Children exposed to aggressive behavior of another person were likely to imitate that behavior.
What does the constructionist theory propose?
Proposed that children’s thinking changes qualitatively with age. Children as “little scientists”; actively construct their development by coming up with theories and testing them
What are the 4 periods of cognitive development?
Reliance on sensory and motor abilities to learn (infants)
Reliance on mental structures and symbols/language (preschool)
Reliance on logic (schooling years)
Reason about abstract ideas (adolescence)
What does Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory propose?
Emphasises impact of social and cultural experience on child development. Sees development as emerging from child’s social interactions, and the institutions and tools provided by their culture.
Describe the sociocultural theory.
More experienced people in the social environment (eg. parents, teachers) provide assistance to the child, enabling child to gradually learn to function independently. Suggests that the social world mediates individual cognitive development.
What is an evolutionary theory proposed by Jerry Fodor?
Argues that many human cognitive functions are subserved by ‘modules’ specially designed to process specific information.
Eg. ‘language acquisition device’ module
specialised system for learning language.
How do ‘modules’ fit into evolutionary theory?
Our inheritance provides these modules/
When the brain and body matures, such modules will naturally come into action and help us understand the world in ways that evolution has prepared us for.
What do information processing theories focus on?
Focuses on the flow of information through the cognitive system, beginning with an input or stimulus and ending with an output or response, like the way computers process information. Specific operations between input and output
How are information processing theories important in developmental psychology?
Explores how cognitive processes develop over the lifespan. Cognitive processes include memory, attention, perception, motor control. Valuable in studying how children develop an understanding of reading, mathematics, and science, as well as social behaviours
What are some key assumptions of information processing theories?
Thinking is information processing
There are mechanisms/processes of change underlying the processing of information
Cognitive development is a self-modifying process
Careful task analysis is crucial
