CHAPTER 2: Theories of Development Flashcards
What are the similarities and differences between folk theories and scientific theories?
Scientific theories are similar to folk theories in that they both try to explain facts, concepts, observations, and sensations that human beings encounter at every moment. However, unlike folk theories, they lead to new insight and elicit alternate interpretations.
What three things do theories do?
Theories produce hypotheses, generate discoveries, and offer practical guidance.
How is a norm different from a theory?
A norm is a fact or event the can be calculated, whereas a theory is broader and deeper—it is a group of ideas, assumptions, and generalizations that provide a framework for understanding the patterns and problems of development.
What is the relationship between theories and facts?
A theory raises questions and suggests hypotheses, which leads to research and data that may eventually reveal a norm.
Who develops theories—everyone or just scientists?
Everyone. Humans spontaneously Develop theories about everything they observe.
What is the basic emphasis of psychoanalytic theory?
Our unconscious drives and motives influence every aspect of our thinking and behavior.
What similarities and differences are found between Freud’s and Erikson’s theories of adulthood?
While both Erikson and Freud acknowledged the importance of the unconscious and of early-child experience, Erikson emphasized family and culture, not sexual urges.
How does the central focus of behaviorism differ from psychoanalytic theory?
Behaviorism arose in direct opposition to the psychoanalytic emphasis on unconscious, hidden urges. Behaviorists emphasize nurture, the specific, observable responses from other people and the environment to whatever a developing person does.
When is social learning most powerful?
Early adolescence, when children want to be similar to their peers.
What did Piaget discover that earlier psychologists did not realize?
He discovered that infants were capable of thought and curiosity, and that how children think change over time.
How does information processing contribute to the cognitive revolution?
Unlike Piaget’s stage theory, information processing provides a detailed description of the steps of cognition, with attention to perceptual and neurological processes.
What does neuroscience make possible that was impossible for Freud, Skinner, or Piaget?
It enables discoveries within the brain that can support or contradict various theories, e.g., that infants’ brains are more active when they hear the language their mother spoke in the womb.
Why is the sociocultural perspective particularly relevant within the U.S.?
Cultural differences within the U.S. can be related to SES and gender, not just ethnicity or race.
How do mentors and mentees interact within the zone of proximal development?
Mentors find the area in which learners have skills, knowledge, and concepts within their grasp but have not yet mastered them. Mentors engage with the mentees in that zone so that learning is mutually exciting, which facilitates success.
Why would behaviors and emotions that benefited ancient humans be apparent today ?
Some of the best qualities, such s cooperation, spirituality, and self-sacrifice, may have originated thousands of years ago, when groups of people survived because they took care of one another.
What is the evolutionary explanation for mating patterns and promiscuity?
Mating often (and for men, with multiple partners) ensured that more babies were born at a time when survival was much more difficult.
What are the criticisms of each of the five theories?
- Psychoanalytic Theory: too subjective
- Behaviorism: too mechanistic
- Cognitive Theory: undervalues emotions
- Sociocultural Theory: neglects individual choice
- Evolutionary Theory: ignores the power of religion, laws, and social norms
Why are most developmentalists eclectic in regard to theories?
Not being tied to any one particular theory helps reduce bias.
Why is it useful to know more than one theory to explain human behavior?
Since no single theory provides all the answers about development, developmentalists need to understand the content, methods, and concepts of all of them.
Psychoanalytic theory, behaviorism, and cognitive theory are considered “grand theories” because they are comprehensive, enduring, and widely applied. TRUE or FALSE
TRUE
Proponents of behaviorism believe that all behavior arises directly from operant or classical conditioning. TRUE or FALSE
FALSE
Piaget believed that how people think and how they understand the world depends on their age. TRUE or FALSE
TRUE
Developmental psychologists are increasingly aware that culture shapes our responses. TRUE or FALSE
TRUE
According to sociocultural theory, learning is active. TRUE or FALSE
TRUE