Theories Flashcards
exam 1
Freud’s Contributions
1) That there is a psychic aparatus responsible for behavior;
2) That Newtonian laws of energy (drive theory) may explain how this aparatus functions and leads to pathology;
3) Clinical observations of typical conflicts leading to pathology
He did not try to undertsand the “aparatus” as locatable in an anatomical way Psychoanalysis was exploration of the patient’s psychic aparatus
Freud and Developmental problems
Symptoms from development resulted from an unresolved conflict or failure to navigate a psychosexual stage
Freud noted prevalent (small sample size) childhood sexual abuse as correlating and possibly causing pathology, but struggled with the social and philosophical ramifications of such abuse being true
Freud’s Newtonian Theory
Id = instinct, desire for power and pleasure
Ego is defenses, mediates between id and superego
Superego is societal and moral ideal
Young children are viewed as “id-ridden” Adequate upbringing instills superego/ego
Erikson
Expounding on Freud’s theories, but with more emphasis on social influences on development
Idea that each psychosocial strength has its own period of particular importance
Healthy adults master their environment, have a stable personality, and can perceive the world and themselves correctly
Learning theory (early 1900s)
More of a purely nurture idea, or at least less concerned with the origins of behavior
Watson: anything can be learned by anyone
Skinner studied conditioned reinforcement in animals
Theories based more on controlled studies in laboratory settings than clinical assessments and general observations
Learning theory
Classical conditioning: when a behavior becomes an automatic response to a stimulus
Operant conditioning: behavior is reinforced by reward or punishment
Social learning theory studied the notion that perceptions of others and others’ perceived ideas about you impact your mimicry and therefore your learning
Cognitivism vs. Constructivism
Cognitivism (1950s):
1) the memory is an active organized processor of information &
2) prior knowledge plays an important role in learning. Delineate algorithms, patterns, etc. (Learning and development happen simultaneously).
Constructivism:
From educational psychology, emphasizes active process of learning. Learners bring their internalized ideas, culture, history of learning, etc. to each new subject. (Development precedes learning).
Vygotsky (writings 1910s-30s)
Emphasized the importance of cultural specifics of developmental goals, learned through “apprenticeships” by proximal adults “Zone of proximal development:”
defines the range of tasks a child can complete, the ideal task being too hard for the child to complete alone but possible with assistance (Learning precedes development)
Piaget (writings 1920s-50s)
A cognitive developmental framework, describing how children construct knowledge:
What happens if I push this toy off the table?
At each stage, with growing intellectual capacity, children seek to make sense of their environments in new and more complex ways
Winnicott (writings 1930s-50s)
A pediatrician and psychoanalyst: “holding environment” fosters development
Object relations theory: how the parent becomes the soothing idea of the parent
Transitional object (the security blanket): bridge between self and other, helping child separate from parent
Play is critical to development, even if it’s fun
Bowlby (writings 1950s-60s)
Influenced by post-Freudian theories centered more on relationships and less on instinctual drive (id) and management thereof by ego/superego
Worked with orphans post-war, first described maternal deprivation
Defined attachment as the infants need for and efforts at maintaining a nurturing bond with their primary caregiver(s)
Controversy over the notion that lack of such a bond beyond basic needs could have consequences in all aspects of a child’s development
Attachment theory
Bowlby’s theory inspired vast empirical study of attachment patterns and phenomena
Attachment theorists incorporated cognitive science, ethology, systems theory, evolutionary biology, and developmental psychology
Ainsworth’s categories of attachment: secure, avoidant, ambivalent, disorganized Robertson’s film, A 2 Year-Old Goes to Hospital
Erikson’s Stages (The stages accumulate and don’t necessarily happen in the described order
You are best prepared for the next stage if you have mastered the tasks of the prior stage)
freud stages
piaget stages
