Chapter 2: Theories of Development Flashcards
What are the five theories we will be discussing in this chapter? (5)
-biology and evolutionary
-psychoanalytic
-learning
-cognitive
-systems
What is the biological or evolutionary theories main ideas?
-genetic and epigenetic factors interact with the environment to shape us
What is the epigenome?
-molecular compound that instructs the genome to turn off and on genes
What are psychoanalytic theories?
-personaltiy and behaviours are shaped by interacting or dynamic underlying forces (like the unconscious)
What are the 3 parts of Freud’s theory on personality?
-Id, ego and superego
What is the id?
-contains the libido, largely unconscious and present at birth
What is the ego?
-operates according to what is realistic and develops due to learning in the first few years
What is the superego?
-moral guide or conscience and develops around age 6
What is Erikson’s psychosocial theory?
-lifespan theory with 8 psychosocial stages
What does each psychosocial stage in Eriksons theory have?
-a crisis to resolve resulting in pairing opposing possibilities
What does the humanistic perspective focus on?
-positive aspects of development, consciousness and free will
What are deficiency motives?
-in Maslow’s hierarchy these are drives to maintain physical and emotional balance
What are being motives in Maslow’s hierarchy?
-drives for growth and to fulfill your potential
What did Rogers (humanistic) believe? Example. (2)
-overcome conditions of worth put on us by the people in our lives
-example: I need to be a straight A student in order for my parents to love me
What does learning theories focus on (behaviourism)? What would be an example of this? (2)
-how experiences in the environment shape the child
-through classical or operant conditioning
What is an example of positive reinforcement?
You give a child a piece of candy every time they clean their room. (increases behaviour)
What is an example of a negative reinforcement?
The seatbelt alarm turns off when you buckle your seatbelt up. (increases behaviour)
What is an example of positive punishment?
Spraying your cat with water when they jump on the counter (decreasing behaviour)
What is an example of negative punishment?
A teenager stays out past curfew, so their parents take away their car keys for a week. (decreasing behaviour)
What are the four theories under the cognitive theories umbrella? (4)
-Piaget’s cognitive developmental theory
-information processing theory
-Vygotskys sociocultural theory
-Bandura’s social cognitive theory
What does Piaget’s theory focus on?
-how does thinking develop and has 4 stages of development, water in smaller cup
What does the information-processing theory focus on?
-they use the computer as a model and this is where memory is broken down into encoding, storage and retrieval
What does Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory focus on?
-developing cognitive skills are guided by social interactions (scaffolding)
What does Bandura’s social cognitive theory focus on?
-observational learning through modelling and reciprocal determinism
What does systems theory focus on?
-development exists within a whole bunch of factors, including personal and external (it cannot be understood within isolation) and changes in any tiny aspect of the system will influence our development
What are some terms in Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological systems theory?
-macrosystem, ecosystem, microsystem, mesosystem, individual context
