Theories of Development Flashcards
What is the Nurture stance?
Development is influenced more by the experiences we have.
What is the Nature stance?
Development is influenced more by the genetics we inherit by our parents.
At Birth, the human mind is a blank state, or ______.
A Tabula Rasa
Discontinuity, or _______ argue that development progresses though a series of stages.
Stage Theories
________ suggests development is described as a steady growth process.
Continuity Theories
Which two theorists believe development ends once the child becomes an adult?
Sigmund Freud and Jean Piaget
Which theorist believes in the ‘Life-Span perspective’, or development that happens throughout ones’ entire life?
Erik Erikson
What are universals of development?
Similarities in development across different cultures and time periods. (Jean Piaget believed this)
Which theorist believed development was based on the child’s environment/sociocultural context?
Urie Bronfenbrenner
What is a collectivist culture?
A culture that places greater value on the common good than individual achievement.
What is individualistic culture?
A culture that values individual achievement and the pursuit of individual goals.
What is Piaget’s Cognitive-development theory?
Cognitive abilities (or one’s ability to think) are developed as individuals mature physiologically, and have opportunities to interact with their environment.
What is the assimilation cycle?
The cognitive process of making new information fit in with your existing understanding of the world.
What is the accommodation cycle?
The cognitive process of altering one’s existing schemas, or ideas, as a result of new information or new experiences based off past experiences.
What happens when a child is brought from assimilation to accommodation based on Piaget’s teachings?
Disequilibrium, which allows the child to learn, and go back to equilibrium until the next encounter.
What is constructivism?
When children construct organized patterns of thought or action based off experiences they have actively exploring the environment.
What is Piaget’s first stage of cognitive development from birth to the age of 2?
Sensorimotor stage.
What is Piaget’s second stage of cognitive development from age 2 to age 7?
Preoperational, characterized by egocentrism, rigidity of thought, semi-logical reasoning, and limited social cognition. (The start of problem solving)
What is Piaget’s third stage of cognitive development from age 7 to age 11.
Concrete Operations. The beginning of operational thinking, start of decentering/taking in viewpoints other than their own. (inductive reasoning, increase quantitative skills and manipulate symbols)
What is Piaget’s fourth stage of cognitive development from age 11 to age 15.
Formal Operations. Engages in logical, abstract, and hypothetical thought. (Highest levels)
What is the Information Processing Approach?
A theoretical approach that uses the computer as a metaphor for the human mind, and describes changes in information processing capacity and speed associated with age.
What is Learning Theory or ‘Behaviorist Perspective’
Describes developmental change as a product of learning. (Changes in observable behavior) Ivan Pavlov was big into this.
What is Classical Conditioning?
A reflexive behavior comes under the control of a novel stimulus in the environment.
What is a unconditioned Stimulus/Response?
An automatic, untrained components of a reflex.
