Theories of development Flashcards
What is continuous development?
From childhood to adulthood, children aren’t qualitatively different from adults, they just have less knowledge
What is development in stages?
Through stages, children and adults are qualitatively different in psychological terms
Define nature, in terms of development
Development is a product of genetic inheritance
Define nurture, in terms of development
Development is a product of environment and experience
Define behaviourism
A psychology movement that argues psychological phenomena can be explained by focusing on behaviour and the environment in which it occurs
Define radical empiricism
The view that sense experience is the source, limit and justification for all knowledge
Define nativism
Mental capacities and structures are innate not learned
Doe behaviourism accept nativism?
No
Define reinforcement
When a behaviour can be consistently repeated by manipulating a stimulus presentation after the desired behaviour
Define successive approximations
Refers to a successful response that comes closer to the desirable end response
What did Skinner suggest in terms of successive approximation?
Development as a product of shaping through successive approximation
What did Chomsky suggest?
Genetically determined behaviour, we have an innate knowledge of behaviour
Define Deep Structure
An innate grammatical structuring of language that’s universal among humans and unique as species
What did Lorenz research?
Imprinting, biological preparedness and maturational unfolding and stages
Define imprinting
Process of attachment a baby animal forms with the first thing they encounter at birth
Define Biological preparedness
Genetically determined readiness to learn specific skills
Define Maturational unfolding and stages
Genetically determined developmental progression
What did Bowlby and Ainsworth suggest?
Attachment is a natural process under maturational control- disruption of this process can have detrimental consequences
What is an example of attachment in babies 8-9 months of age?
Separation distress
What can long-term separation lead to?
Developmental delays physically, intellectually and emotionally
Define Constructivism
Theory proposing that knowledge is actively generated by the individual rather than transmitted by another person through one’s genes
What did Piaget suggest?
Development occurs through stages and through both nature and nurture
Define egocentrism
Difficulty taking on board another person’s perspective
What does egocentrism prevent?
The adjustment to both Human and Physical environments
