Major Theories Flashcards
What is G. Stanley Hall know for?
Founder of psychology in the U.S. and the first president of the American Psychological Association. He popularized the study of the child and child guidance. He wrote seminal works on adolescence.
Behaviorism? Who and what
Behaviorism was outlined by by John B. Watson, Ivan Pavlov, Joseph Wolpe, and B.F. Skinner.
Initially the mind is a blank slate and the child learns to behave in a certain manner. This is basically a passive theory. The mind is like a computer that is fed information. This model relies on empiricism - John Locke’s view that knowledge is acquired by experience. All behavior is a result of learning.
Erik Erikson’s 8 Psychosocial Stages
Erikson’s stages are delineated in his classic 1963 work Childhood and Society.
The stages are based on ego psychology and the epigenetic principle that states that growth is orderly, universal, and systematic.
The stages are: 1. Trust vs Mistrust - birth to 1.5 years old
2. Autonomy vs shame and doubt - 1.5 - 3 years
3. Initiative vs guilt - 3 - 6 years old
4. Industry vs inferiority - 6 - 11 years old
5. Identity vs role confusion - 12 - 18 years old
6. Intimacy vs isolation - 18 - 35 years old
7. Generativity vs stagnation - 35 - 60 years old
8. Integrity vs despair - age 65 and beyond
Jean Piaget’s Qualitative Four Stages of Cognitive Development (Genetic Epistemology)
Theory: sensorimotor (birth to 2 years old); preoperational (2-7 years old); concrete operations (7-12 years old); and formal operations (11/12-16 years old).
- Patterns of thought and behavior are called schema or schemata.
- Adaptation occurs qualitatively when the individual fits information into existing ideas - which is called assimilation; and modifies cognitive schemata to incorporate new information - which is called accommodation.
- Both assimilation and accommodation are a complementary process - the ages in the Piagetian stages can vary, the order is static.
- Object permanence occurs in the sensorimotor stage (an object the child can’t see still exists).
- Centration is the act of focusing on one aspect of something; it’s a key factor in the preoperational stage.
- Conservation takes place in the concrete operations stage, and the child knows that volume and quantity do not change just because the appearance of an object changes. ex. pouring a short glass of water into a tall skinny glass does not alter the amount of liquid. The child will comprehend that a change in the shape will not mean a change in the volume.
- Abstract scientific thinking takes place in the formal operations stage.
Keagan’s Constructive Developmental Model
Keagan’s model emphasizes the impact of interpersonal interaction and our perception of reality.
Lawrence Kohlbergs Three Levels of Moral Development
Preconventional level - behavior governed by consequences
Conventional level - a desire to conform to socially acceptable rules
Postconventional level - self-accepted moral principles guide behavior
EACH LEVEL HAS TWO STAGES
Carol Gilligan’s Theory of Moral Development for Women
Gilligan’s 1982 book, called In a Different Voice, illuminated the fact that Kohlberg’s research was conducted on males. Women have a sense of caring and compassion.
Daniel Levinson’s Four Major Eras/Transitions Theory
In 1978 the book titled The Seasons of a Man’s life, Levinson depicted the changes in men’s lives throughout a life span. The four key eras include: childhood to adolescence, early adulthood, middle adulthood, and later adulthood.
Lev Vygotsky (1896 - 1934)
Vygotsky proposed that cognitive development is not the result of innate factors, but is produced by activities that take place in one’s culture. His ZONE OF PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT (ZDP), refers to the difference in the child’s ability to solve problems on his own and his capacity to solve them with some help from others.
Sigmund Freuds Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic Five Psychosexual Stages
Oral Stage (birth-1), Anal (1-3), Phallic (Oedipal/Electra complex 3-7), Latency (3-5 until 12), Genital (adolescence to adulthood).
-Libido is the drive to live and the sexual instinct that is present even at birth. It is said to be sublimated in the latency stage as the individual has little interest in sex. This will end when puberty begins.
TERMS:
-Regression - is the return to an earlier stage caused by stress
-Fixation - implies that the person is unable to move to the next stage
-A criticism of Freud is for focussing on sex and not including the entire life span into his theory.
Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Maslow interviewed self-actualized people. Lower-order physiological and safety needs must be fulfilled before self actualization can occur.
William Perry’s Three Stage Theory of Intellectual and Ethical Development in Adults/College Students
Dualism - in which students view the truth as either right or wrong. Relativism is the notion that a perfect answer may not exist.
Commitment to relativism is final stage where the individual is willing to change his/her opinion based on novel facts and new points of view.
James W. Fowler’s Pre-stage Plus Six-Stage Theory of Faith and Spiritual Development
Fowler did 350 structured interviews and drew on the work of Piaget, Kohlberg, and Erikson.
Stage 0- Undifferentiated (primal) faith (infancy, birth to 4 years old)
Stage 1- Intuitive-projective faith (2-7 years, early childhood)
Stage 2- mythic-literal faith (childhood and beyond)
Stage 3- synthetic-conventional faith (adolescence and beyond) a stage of conformity
Stage 4- individuative-reflective faith (young adulthood and beyond)
Stage 5- conjunctive faith (mid thirties and beyond) openness to other points of views, paradox, and appreciation of symbols and metaphors
Stage 6- universalizing faith (midlife and beyond) few reach this stage of enlightenment.
According to Fowler faith is not identical with one’s belief in religion. Faith grows and changes throughout the life span.
Diana Baumrind’s Typology of Parenting Styles
Authoritative Style: High expectations for the child, but is warm and nurturing. The child is given an explanation of the rules. Generally produces a child who is happy, does well in school, has good emotional regulation, and fine social skills.
Authoritarian Style: Characterized by bossy parenting which champions “follow my orders” with no explanation. Punishment and verbal insults are used liberally. Can produce anxious, withdrawn children who are likely to engage in antisocial behavior including alcohol and drug abuse, stealing and gang activity.
Permissive Passive Indulgent Style: Parent has low level of control and is easily manipulated. Rarely says “no” to a child and is nonpunitive. Very affectionate and wishes to please the child like a friend. Child can display a lack of social skills, boundaries, and can be extremely demanding. Children often use drugs and alcohol.
Teen Pregnancy
U.S. still sports the highest rate of teen pregnancy of any industrialized nation. Both moms and kids have problems with preeclampsia, prenatal addiction, children with low birth rates, and children who are delinquent and have mental health and addiction issues. Children born to teen moms are statistically more likely to become teen moms themselves.
Family therapy appears to be the best treatment of choice for those with eating disorders.
