Ch 2: Theories of Development Flashcards
Theory
Set of concepts intended to describe & explain some aspect of life experience.
What makes a theory good?
A good theory is FALSIFIABLE, in that is is TESTABLE.
Capable of being studied.
Thomas Hobbes
Philosopher. Believed we are all born selfish & thus in sin & need to be monitored.
This view was later adopted by Freud.
Rosseau
Believed we are all born good (unlike Hobbes).
This view was later adopted by Carl Rogers and Abe Maslow.
John Locke
Believed at birth, that the mind was a “tabula rasa”.
At first, the mind is empty, and it is to be written with experience. This view was later adopted by Watson and Skinner.
Controversy: Nature vs Nurture
Nature: behavior is due to strong genetic influence.
Nurture: behavior is is mainly a function of experiences and learning.
Controversy: Activity vs. Passivity
Activity: kids play an active role in shaping their own development. Kids play an active role in determining how their parents treat them.
ex- angry, irritable kid is more likely to be spanked.
Passivity: kids are driven by heredity and environmental events that impinge on them (behaviorist belief), and do not have much say in their fate.
Controversy: Continuity vs Discontinuity
Continuity: believe development takes place in small steps without sudden change, much like slow motion shots (behaviorists). Quantitative change.
Discontinuity: believe that development takes place in stages, each of which is quantitatively different than the stage before it and after it (Piaget & Freud).
Controversy: Universality vs Context Specific
Universality: believe that the same type of change occurs in all humans. Piaget- believed all humans go through the same stages of life at about the same time.
Context Specific: believe that how people develop depends on society, sub-culture or the home that they are raised in. (Believed by Watson & Skinner).
Psychoanalytic Theory
Freud believed that human conflicts are linked to problems managing sexual and aggressive inborn drives. All people are born with a fixed amount of psychic energy that becomes redistributed (among id, ego, super ego) throughout life.
Freud also believed that infants are born with only an id.
Id, ego, superego
Id: involved raw, primitive, untamed sexual and aggressive instincts. Operates on pleasure principle (I want it all & I want it now!)
Ego: Operates on the reality principle, seeking realistic ways to goal attainment.
ex- 5 year old wants to stay up later, id tells you to demand it. Ego tells you to ask nicely and cooperate.
Superego: Third structure of personality. Operates on morality principle (seeking perfection). Components are the consequence (feeling guilty). Ego ideal= the qualities we feel proud of and and aspire to attain.
Freud believed ______ was more important than _____ in development, but also recognized the contribution of _____.
1) nature
2) nurture
3) environment
What are the 5 psychosexual stages proposed by Freud?
1) Oral stage
2) Anal stage
3) Phallic stage
4) Latency stage
5) Genital stage
Oral Stage
Birth to 1.5 years old.
Zone pleasure in mouth, gums, teeth
Oral aggressive striving = using mouth, teeth to destroy, chew (i.e. tootsie pop)
Anal Stage
1.5 to 3 years old.
Zones of pleasure in anus, rectum.
Pleasure in retaining feces, and letting feces out
There isn’t an innate disgust to feces. The first significant confrontation/disputes about potty training (especially if mom is very pushy).
Adults who have money but are cheap (“tightwads”), may be fixated at which stage?
Anal Stage.
Phallic Stage
3 to 6 years old.
Sexualized attachment to parent of opposite sex.
Oedipus Complex.
Freud claimed girls’ sexual attachment to dad ends more gradually and ends due to her fear of losing mom’s life.
Freud saw most emotional problems in this stage.
According to Freud, most problems are linked to the _____ stage.
Phallic.
Latency Stage
6 to 12 years old.
Sexual & aggressive drive to become more latent or submerged.
Genital Stage
Puberty & up. Full fledged genital sexuality achieved.
Do Neo-Freudians have an emphasis on social or sexual explanations in behavior?
Neo-Freudians had more of a social (rather than sexual) emphasis in explaining behavior. Erik Erikson (a descriptive psychologist) posited 8 psychological stages.
Erikson’s 8 psychological stages (know 1-6).
1) Trust vs. Mistrust (Freud’s oral stage- birth to 1)
2) Industry vs. Inferiority (Freud’s latency stage- 6 to 12)
3) Identity vs. Role Confusion (Freud’s genital stage- teen)
4) Intimacy vs. Isolation (20s)
5) Generaltivity vs. Stagnation
6) Integrity vs. Despair
Trust vs. Mistrust
Freud’s oral stage, birth to 1. Trust: established when mother is loving attuned to infant’s need & fulfills needs soon after they are apparent.
Industry vs. Inferiority
Freud’s latency stage, 6 to 12.
Industry: sense of competency and purpose. The child takes change and focuses energy on friends, doing well in school & sports.
Inferiority: sense of not measuring up to peers’ abilities.
Identity vs. Role Confusion
Freud’s genital stage, teen.
Identity: clean, uncontaminated sense of who you are, and what your goals and values are.
Role Confusion: a fragmented sense of one’s identity with a coach, teacher, celebrity.. but they don’t feel like a person in their own right.
Intimacy vs. Isolation
20s.
Intimacy: emotional closeness to one person. Attached to their needs and enough trust to share your innermost feelings.
Isolation: being cut off emotionally from the closeness, like an island onto yourself.
Generality vs. Stagnation
Generality: are you invested in the next generation (through involvement with one’s kids or something meaningful).
Stagnation: life does not seem meaningful.
Integrity vs. Despair
Integrity: accepting our own mortality. Hopefully dreading that life has been worthwhile in spite of losses and mistakes.
Despair: depression, bitterness, anger, etc.
-i.e. you’re old and sick and can’t redo life
Bob is questioning himself, which shows he is in Erikson’s stagnation stage?
“Has my life been meaningful?”
Behaviorist theories of development: behaviorists argue that personality is composed of a bunch of _____ habits, _______, and ______ ______.
learned habits, conditioning, and classical conditioning.
Observational Learning
Believed by behaviorists (i.e. J.B. Watson) that how a person turns out depends entirely on the environment in which he or she grows up.
i.e. Classical Conditioning
Classical Conditioning (Watson)
A neutral stimulus comes to elicit response through its associationwith a stimulus that already elicits the response- i.e. "Little Albert" Conditioned stimulus (rat) & unconditioned stimulus (loud noise) -> elicit fear -> due to pairing of time between CS & UCS, CS alone can now elicit fear.
Operant Conditioning (Skinner) & its 2 Basic Principles
Some response increases or decreases in frequency due to the consequences of that response.
2 Principles: Reinforcement increases frequency of behavior vs. Punishment decreases frequency of some response. (Positive and negative reinforcement).
Positive & Negative Reinforcement
+Certain response is increased in frequency due to the ADDING a reward. (i.e. allowance for cleaning)
-Certain response increased because of the SUBTRACTION of something unpleasant. (i.e. buckling settle for beeping to stop)
Positive & Negative Punishment
+Adding something unpleasant. (i.e. running across street decreases in frequency due to positive punishment, unpleasant stimulus.
-Taking away something pleasant (i.e. Dad takes away phone for running across street).
Acquisition vs. Extinction
Acquisition involves a response being acquired (like pressing a bar to give you 25 cents)
Extinction may occur as a result of punishment or stopping reinforcement.
What works best when acquiring (first learning) a new behavior? When maintaining a behavior?
At first, a continuous schedule or reinforcement.
i.e. quarter received every time bar is pressed.
To maintain (trying to get used to), a partial schedule is most effective.
i.e. bar pushed continuously but quarter only received every 8th time on average– example: slot machines!
Piaget’s Theory of Intellectual Development
A staged theory when a child emerges from stage 2 to 3. He can now engage in logical thinking as demonstrated by conservation ability (volume, #, gender do not change when objects are altered- i.e. Mom’s not a man just because she cut her hair short).
What is a major criticism of Piaget’s learning theory?
It underestimates cognitive abilities of young kids. Some kids in pre-operational stage are able to think logically.
Evolutionary Psychology
Believed by ethologists, who are likely to emphasize the impact of species specific behaviors that are linked to evolution.
i. e. It is adaptive to be afraid of the dark.
i. e. A gosling’s (baby goose) tendency to follow the first moving object it sees in the first 12-36 hours after hatching.
Eclectic Theorists
Believe that no one theory can explain human development, therefore they incorporate many of the major theories as part of one overall theory.
