Key Developmental Theories Flashcards
What is developmental psychology?
the field of study that explores patterns of stability, continuity, growth and change that occurs throughout a person’s life
What are the domains of development?
- physical
- cognitive
- psychosocial
What is cognitive development?
changes and continuities in perception, language, learning, memory, problem-solving and other mental processes
What is psychosocial development?
changes and continuities in personal and interpersonal aspects such as motives, emotion, personality traits, interpersonal skills, relationships and roles played in the family and in society
What are the fundamental issues in developmental study?
- nature vs nurture
- continuity vs discontinuity
- universality vs context specific
- activity vs passivity
What is continuity vs discontinuity?
changes across lifespan gradual or abrupt/occur in distinct stages
What is universality vs context specifity?
to what extent are developmental changes common in all humans or differ across cultures and individuals
What is activity vs pasivity?
humans are active in creating and influencing their own environment and produce their own development or humans passively are shaped by forces largely beyond our control
Who developed the psychodynamic approach?
freud, erikson
Who developed the learning theories?
Pavlov, watson, skinner, bandura
Who developed the cognitive-developmental approach?
piaget, vygotsky
Who developed the contextual theories?
bronfenbrenner
What does psychodynamic Freudian theory believe about people?
are driven by motives and emotional conflicts of which they are largely unaware of (unconscious)
What are the psychodynamic Freudian structures of personality?
Id - pleasure principle
Ego - reality principle
Superego - morality principle (conscience)
What does erikson’s psychosocial theory emphasise?
social influences and rational and active conflict resolution
What is the first stage of Erikson?
Trust vs Mistrust (Birth - 1)
What happens in Erikson’s trust vs mistrust stage?
- Focus on oral-sensory activity
- Development of trusting relationships with caregivers and of self-trust (hope)
What is the second stage of Erikson?
Autonomy vs Shame and Doubt (1-3 years)
What happens in Erikson’s Autonomy vs Shame and Doubt stage?
- focus on muscular-anal activity
- development of control over bodily functions and activities (will)
What is the third stage of Erikson?
Initiative vs guilt (3-6 years)
What happens in Erikson’s initiative vs guilt stage?
- focus on locomotor-genital activity
- testing limits of self-assertion and purposefulness (purpose)
What is the fourth stage of Erikson?
Industry vs inferiority (6-12 years) (latency period)
What happens in Erikson’s industry vs inferiority stage?
- focus on mastery, competence and productivity (competence)
What is the fifth stage of Erikson?
Identity vs role confusion (12-19 years) (adolescence)
What happens in Erikson’s identity vs role confusion stage?
- focus on the formation of identity and coherent self-concept (fidelity)
What is the sixth stage of Erikson?
Intimacy vs isolation (19-25 years) (early adulthood)
What happens in Erikson’s intimacy vs isolation stage?
- focus on achievement of an intimate relationship and career direction (love)
What is the seventh stage of Erikson?
Generativity vs stagnation (25-50 years) (adulthood)
What happens in Erikson’s generativity vs stagnation stage?
- focus on fulfilment through creativity that contributes to future generations (care)
What is the eighth stage of Erikson?
Ego integrity vs despair (50+ years)
What happens in Erikson’s ego integrity vs despair stage?
- focus on belief in the integrity of life, including successes and failures (wisdom)
What is involved in the learning theory of classical conditioning?
- Conditioned/unconditioned response
- Conditioned/unconditioned stimulus
- Reflex learning
What is involved in the learning theory of operant conditioning?
- reinforcement strengthens response - can be positive or negative
- punishment weakens response - can be positive or negative
What is involved in the social learning theory?
observational learning and modelling
Who developed the social learning theory and what is the experiment used?
Bandura - Bobo doll experiment
Who developed cognitive theory?
Piaget
What are the stages of Piaget’s cognitive theory?
- sensorimotor
- preoperational
- concrete operational
- formal operational
How does piaget believe adaptation occurs?
- assimilation - new information fits into existing schemata
- accommodation - changing existing schemata to incorporate new information or ideas
What stage of Piaget occurs in infancy?
Sensorimotor (Birth - 2 years)
What key concepts occur in the sensorimotor stage?
- primary circular reactions
- development of symbolic thought
- achievement of object permanence
Match this behavioural description to one of Piaget’s cognitive stages: Baby Bart loves to spend time looking at his mobile toy and opening and closing his tiny hand over and over again
Sensorimotor
What stage of Piaget occurs in early childhood?
Preoperational (2-7 years)
What key concepts occur in the preoperational stage?
- Lack of conservation
- Centration
- Irreversibility of thought
Match this behavioural description to one of Piaget’s cognitive stages: Bobby has an understanding of functional relationships, because he knows that the more clothing he puts on, the warmer he’ll feel.
Preoperational
What stage of Piaget occurs in middle childhood?
concrete operational (7-11)
What key concepts occur in the concrete operational stage?
Reversibility of thought
Decentration
Horizontal decalage
Match this behavioural description to one of Piaget’s cognitive stages: Noah is shown two identical glasses holding equal amounts of water. Water from one glass is poured into a different, taller glass. When asked if the volume of water has changed, Noah says “no the volume of water has stayed the same even though the glass changed size”. This tells us Noah has achieved conservation.
concrete operational
What stage of Piaget occurs in adolescence?
Formal operational (11-adulthood)
What key concepts occur in the formal operational stage?
Abstract reasoning
Hypothetico-deductive reasoning
Idealism due to egocentrism
Match this behavioural description to one of Piaget’s cognitive stages: Lydia solves a chemistry problem by systematically testing several hypotheses.
Formal operational
What is Vygotsky’s cognitive development approach?
- social interaction drives cognitive development
- zone of proximal development
What is the zone of proximal development?
for development to progress at optimal rate challenge people by pushing them just outside of what they can do independently to increase zone of proximal by increasing what we can then do individually
What is Bronfenbrenner’s contextual theory?
ecological systems theory
What systems are included in Bronfenbrenner’s ecological system theory?
- Microsystem (face to face interactions)
- Mesosystem (connections between microsystems)
- Exosystem (indirect influences)
- Macrosystem (general aspects of society)
