Ch 2: Theories of Development

Question 1

Theory

Answer 1

Set of concepts intended to describe & explain some aspect of life experience.

Question 2

What makes a theory good?

Answer 2

A good theory is FALSIFIABLE, in that is is TESTABLE.

Capable of being studied.

Question 3

Thomas Hobbes

Answer 3

Philosopher. Believed we are all born selfish & thus in sin & need to be monitored.
This view was later adopted by Freud.

Question 4

Rosseau

Answer 4

Believed we are all born good (unlike Hobbes).

This view was later adopted by Carl Rogers and Abe Maslow.

Question 5

John Locke

Answer 5

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.

Question 6

Controversy: Nature vs Nurture

Answer 6

Nature: behavior is due to strong genetic influence.
Nurture: behavior is is mainly a function of experiences and learning.

Question 7

Controversy: Activity vs. Passivity

Answer 7

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.

Question 8

Controversy: Continuity vs Discontinuity

Answer 8

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).

Question 9

Controversy: Universality vs Context Specific

Answer 9

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).

Question 10

Psychoanalytic Theory

Answer 10

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.

Question 11

Id, ego, superego

Answer 11

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.

Question 12

Freud believed ______ was more important than _____ in development, but also recognized the contribution of _____.

Answer 12

1) nature
2) nurture
3) environment

Question 13

What are the 5 psychosexual stages proposed by Freud?

Answer 13

1) Oral stage
2) Anal stage
3) Phallic stage
4) Latency stage
5) Genital stage

Question 14

Oral Stage

Answer 14

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)

Question 15

Anal Stage

Answer 15

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).

Question 16

Adults who have money but are cheap (“tightwads”), may be fixated at which stage?

Answer 16

Anal Stage.

Question 17

Phallic Stage

Answer 17

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.

Question 18

According to Freud, most problems are linked to the _____ stage.

Answer 18

Phallic.

Question 19

Latency Stage

Answer 19

6 to 12 years old.

Sexual & aggressive drive to become more latent or submerged.

Question 20

Genital Stage

Answer 20

Puberty & up. Full fledged genital sexuality achieved.

Question 21

Do Neo-Freudians have an emphasis on social or sexual explanations in behavior?

Answer 21

Neo-Freudians had more of a social (rather than sexual) emphasis in explaining behavior. 
Erik Erikson (a descriptive psychologist) posited 8 psychological stages.

Question 22

Erikson’s 8 psychological stages (know 1-6).

Answer 22

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

Question 23

Trust vs. Mistrust

Answer 23

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.

Question 24

Industry vs. Inferiority

Answer 24

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.

Question 25

Identity vs. Role Confusion

Answer 25

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.

Question 26

Intimacy vs. Isolation

Answer 26

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.

Question 27

Generality vs. Stagnation

Answer 27

Generality: are you invested in the next generation (through involvement with one’s kids or something meaningful).
Stagnation: life does not seem meaningful.

Question 28

Integrity vs. Despair

Answer 28

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

Question 29

Bob is questioning himself, which shows he is in Erikson’s stagnation stage?

Answer 29

“Has my life been meaningful?”

Question 30

Behaviorist theories of development: behaviorists argue that personality is composed of a bunch of _____ habits, _______, and ______ ______.

Answer 30

learned habits, conditioning, and classical conditioning.

Question 31

Observational Learning

Answer 31

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

Question 32

Classical Conditioning (Watson)

Answer 32

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.

Question 33

Operant Conditioning (Skinner) & its 2 Basic Principles

Answer 33

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).

Question 34

Positive & Negative Reinforcement

Answer 34

+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)

Question 35

Positive & Negative Punishment

Answer 35

+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).

Question 36

Acquisition vs. Extinction

Answer 36

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.

Question 37

What works best when acquiring (first learning) a new behavior? When maintaining a behavior?

Answer 37

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!

Question 38

Piaget’s Theory of Intellectual Development

Answer 38

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).

Question 39

What is a major criticism of Piaget’s learning theory?

Answer 39

It underestimates cognitive abilities of young kids. Some kids in pre-operational stage are able to think logically.

Question 40

Evolutionary Psychology

Answer 40

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.

Question 41

Eclectic Theorists

Answer 41

Believe that no one theory can explain human development, therefore they incorporate many of the major theories as part of one overall theory.