Chapter 1 - Theories of Development Flashcards

1
Q

Theory

A

An organized set of ideas designed to explain and make predictions about development;

A source of predictions that can be tested through research

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2
Q

The 5 Major Theoretical Perspectives in Child Development

A

Biological

Psychodynamic

Learning

Cognitive-developmental

Contextual

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3
Q

James Mark Baldwin

A

First psychologist appointed at University of Toronto

An advocate for staged development theories

Theorized that development begins from simple behavioural movements, to more complex movement, into abstract thought in adulthood

Staged development theories - kids develop in stages, constantly building on earlier skills

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4
Q

Who invented the biological perspective?

A

G. Stanley Hall

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5
Q

G. Stanley Hall

A

Biological Perspective

Studied and interviewed 100,000
children

In order to understand what typical development looks like

He based his work on evolutionary biology rather than physical sciences

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6
Q

Where did G. Stanley Hall derive his information?

A

Charles Darwin

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7
Q

Charles Darwin

A

Natural selection: organisms whose individual traits are best suited, or adapted, for survival in a particular environment are the organisms most likely to survive

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8
Q

Who invented the maturational theory?

A

Arnold Gesell (1880 – 1961)

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9
Q

Maturational Theory

A

Arnold Gesell (1880 – 1961)

Development is a natural, biological, unfolding plan

The environment does not matter

Speech, play, and reasoning would emerge spontaneously

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10
Q

Ethological Theory

A

Views development from an evolutionary perspective, such that human behaviours can be adaptive and have survival value

Humans are biologically programmed

Can only (or best) develop certain skills at specific times (i.e., critical periods)
* E.g., imprinting by chicks
* Lasts about a day
* Attachment theories developed from this basic understanding

Children’s genes influence almost every aspect of development

Assume people inherit many of these adaptive behaviours, but also believe that experience is important for the development

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11
Q

Critical Period

A

The time in development when a specific type of learning can take place

Before or after the period, the same learning becomes difficult or impossible

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12
Q

Who invented the psychodynamic perspective?

A

Sigmund Frued

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13
Q

Psychodynamic Perspective - Psychoanalysis

A

A psychological theory proposes that development is largely determined by how well people resolve unconscious conflicts that arise during development

Freud’s theories are controversial, criticized for limited initial research and claims about women

His ideas about personality and psychosexual development have been influential in developmental research

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14
Q

Psychodynamic Perspective - Psychosexual Development

A

A second aspect of psychoanalysis was Freud’s account of psychosexual development

Freud believed that humans, through a force called libido are instinctively motivated from birth to experience physical pleasure

As children grow, libido shifts to different parts of the body called erogenous zones

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15
Q

Psychosexual Development Stages

A

Birth to 1 year,
Oral,
Erogenous zone: mouth; gratify oral sucking urges

1-3 years,
Anal,
Erogenous zone: anus; release and withhold feces

3 to 6 years,
Phallic,
Erogenous zone: genitalia; learn to suppress attraction to the parent of the opposite sex and identify with the parent of the same sex

6 years to adolescence,
Latency,
Erogenous zone: none; libido is repressed as children go about daily business

Adolescence,
Genital,
Erogenous zone: genitalia; attraction to the opposite sex (not the parent)

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16
Q

Psychodynamic Perspective - Theory of Personality

A

Id - seeking to satisfy bodily needs/wants

Ego - tries to satisfy the Id’s needs in a socially acceptable way

Super-ego - sense of what is right or wrong

These personality traits are influenced by psychosexual development

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17
Q

The id

A

A reservoir of primitive instincts and drives

Present at birth

Presses for immediate gratification of bodily needs and wants

Eg. a hungry baby crying

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18
Q

The ego

A

The practical, rational component of personality

It begins to emerge during the first year of life as infants learn they cannot always have what they want

Tries to resolve conflicts that occur when the instinctive demands of the id encounter the obstacles of the real world

Tries to meet the id’s desires with realistic and socially acceptable objects and actions

Eg. Billy sees a child play with a toy he wants. His ego would encourage him to play with the friend and the toy together

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19
Q

The superego

A

The moral agent or the conscious

Emerges during the preschool years as children begin to internalize adult standards of right and wrong

Eg. If the toy was left alone, Billy’s id might urge him to grab the toy and run, but his superego might remind him that it is wrong

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20
Q

Who invented the psychosocial theory?

A

Erik Erikson and Freud’s daughter

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21
Q

Psychosocial Theory

A

The development consists of a sequence of eight stages, each defined by a unique crisis or social challenge

Earlier stages provide the foundation for later stages

When children overcome early obstacles easily, they are better able to handle later ones

22
Q

Psychosocial Theory Stages

A

Birth to 1-year,
basic trust vs mistrust,
To develop a sense that the world is safe, a “good place”

1-3 year,
autonomy vs shame and doubt,
To realize that one is an independent person who can make decisions

3 to 6 years,
initiative vs guilt,
To develop a willingness to try new things and to handle failure

6 years to adolescence,
industry vs inferiority,
To learn basic skills and to work with others

Adolescence,
identity vs identity confusion,
To develop a lasting and integrated sense of self

Young adulthood,
intimacy vs isolation,
To commit to another loving relationship

Middle adulthood,
generativity vs stagnation,
To contribute to younger people through child-rearing, child care or other work

Later life,
integrity vs despair,
To view one’s life as satisfactory and worth living

23
Q

Learning Perspective - John Watson

A

Extended Pavlov’s theory of classical conditioning

Associative learning
* Learn a response that would not typically be paired with a stimulus

Little Albert

24
Q

Learning Perspective - B.F Skinner

A

Operant conditioning

How the consequences of a behaviour influence future occurrences of behaviour

Reinforcements – increase the likelihood of a behaviour

Punishments – decrease the likelihood of a behaviour

25
Q

Operant Conditioning

A

Positive Reinforcement - add something pleasant to increase desired behaviour

Positive Punishment - add something negative to decrease behaviour

Negative Reinforcement - take away something unpleasant to increase behaviour

Negative Punishment - take away something to decrease behaviour

26
Q

Who invented the social cognitive theory?

A

Albert Bandura (Albertan)

27
Q

Social Cognitive Theory

A

Imitation or vicarious learning:
acquiring knowledge by watching others’ behaviours and the outcomes of those

Self-efficacy

We are more likely to imitate people we like and respect

Acting on behaviours that were positively enforced for others

If we are previously unsuccessful, we won’t try in the future

Bobo doll experiment - adult demonstrated how to aggressively treat the doll, the child is more likely to imitate that behaviour than if seeing an adult play with it nicely

28
Q

Self-efficacy

A

Beliefs about one’s own level of ability, skills, and talent

Influences when & how children might imitate others

29
Q

Who invented the cognitive developmental perspective?

A

Jean Piaget

30
Q

Cognitive Developmental Perspective

A

Jean Piaget

How children think and how this changes over time

Naturally motivated to make sense of the world

When the world works as expected, the child’s belief in the theory grows stronger

When events don’t go as expected, the child must revise the theory, just as a scientist would

At a few points in development, children realize that a theory cannot be revised

Then radical change takes place and the theory is discarded, and a new theory develops

Claimed that radical revisions occur three times in development: once at age 2, then at age 7, and a third before adolescence

Theorized that children go through four distinct stages in cognitive development

Each stage represents a fundamental change in how children understand and organize their experiences, and each stage is characterized by more sophisticated types of reasoning

31
Q

3 things influence the type of learning across stages in the cognitive developmental perspective…

A

Assimilation - Translate information into a form that fits concepts already known

Accommodation - Adapt current knowledge structures in response to new information

Equilibration - Balancing assimilation and accommodation to create a stable understanding

32
Q

Example of the 3 things that influence the type of learning across stages…

A

If the child has a dog, over time the child comes to understand it is a dog because the parent labels it

When it sees a “furry animal with four legs” it will assume it is a dog even a cat

With a parent giving feedback “cat” the category accommodates the new category of dog vs cat

Separating and learning differences with adapting over time

Fitting info into already existing categories

33
Q

Piaget’s Stages

A

Sensorimotor,
Birth to 2 years,
Infant’s knowledge of the world is based on senses/motor skills by the end of the period, the infant uses mental representations

Preoperational thought,
2 to 6 years,
Child learns how to use symbols such as words and numbers to represent aspects of the world but relates to the world only through their perspective

Concrete operational thought,
7 to 11 years,
Child understands/applies logical operations to experiences, provided the operational
experiences are focused on the here and now

Formal operational thought,
Adolescence +
Adolescent or adult thinks abstractly, speculates on hypothetical situations, and reasons deductively about what may be possible

34
Q

Who invented the contextual perspective?

A

Lev Vygotsky

Urie Brofenbrenner

35
Q

Contextual Perspective

A

Views learning and development as being more complex than the child and their immediate environment

Takes into account broader experiences

36
Q

Who invented the ecological theory?

A

Brofenbrenner

37
Q

Ecological Theory

A

Children are embedded within interactive systems that influence them

Environmental factors come from various levels of closeness to the child

E.g., parents, ,siblings, and family
Teachers, coaches, neighbours, etc.

Five levels - the microsystem, the mesosystem, the exosystem, the macrosystem, the chronosystem

38
Q

The Microsystem

A

The people and objects in an individuals immediate environment

Strongly influence development

Connect to create the mesosystem

39
Q

The Mesosystem

A

Represents that what happens in one microsystem can influence other microsystems

eg. stressed at work, grouchy at home. home and work microsystems are connected

40
Q

The Exosystem

A

Social settings that a person might not experience first-hand but still influence development

Can be strong on development

eg. moms work life on child

41
Q

The Macrosystem

A

Subcultures and cultures within the microsystem, mesosystem and exosystem

Changes over generations

42
Q

The Chronosystem

A

Development takes place over time and during certain eras

43
Q

New Perspective - Information Processing

A

Draw on computer models for understanding development

Mental hardware: cognitive structures, including memory, and where they are

Mental software: organized sets of cognitive processes that allow children to accomplish specific tasks

Software Influence how cognitive structures (hardware) run

Early experiences influence later experiences

44
Q

Mental Hardware

A

Cognitive structures, including memory, and where they are

45
Q

Mental Software

A

Organized sets of cognitive processes that allow children to accomplish specific tasks

46
Q

New Perspective - Evolutionary Theory

A

Evolution shapes what behaviours and characteristics contribute the most to child development

47
Q

Borklund and Pellegrini

A

Organizational theory in biological sciences

Need overlap/consistency between the sciences

48
Q

New Perspective - Developmental Psychopathology

A

Broad unified understanding of how atypical development occurs that requires dynamic transformation throughout

Eric Mash & David Wolfe

49
Q

What is development influenced by?

A

Heredity and Environment

50
Q

What role do children have in their own development?

A

It is a child’s interpretation of experience that has an important impact on shaping development

51
Q

The 4 Major Themes in Child-Development Research

A

Continuity - early development is related to later development but not perfectly

Nature and nurture - development is always jointly influences by heredity and environment

Active child - children help determine their own development

Connections - development in different domains is connected