Unit 2: Models and theories of development Flashcards
Locke
Child like blank page
precursor of behaviourism
Rousseau
development occurs as series of predestined, internally regulated stages
children are noble savages who become corrupted
Biographies of infants
background to the scientific study of child development
-> diaries recording early developmental milestones (e.g. sensory, motor, cog. and language behaviour)
by Tiedemann
Darwin
evolutionary nature of child’s behaviour
Preyer
set of standards for scientific observation of children
How did the psychoanalytic movement influence the progress of developmental psychology?
stressed importance of early experiences for development of personality
child psychoanalysis by Anna Freud and Melanie Klein
How did Montessori contribute to the progress of developmental psychology?
method for early childhood education
-> based on activities chosen by the child
-> motivating orderly process
Binet and Simon
intelligence test
-> tells us level of each child to teach successfully
Watson
father of modern behaviourism
no limits to possibilities of training humans
Mechanistic or continuistic paradigm
Antecedent: Locke
behaviour as sum of quantitative changes (learning)
man as machine reacting to environment
prototype authors: behavioural psychologists
Organicist paradigm
human as active, goal-oriented organism
person initiates events rather than just reacting
environment can speed up or slow down development
transition between stages marked by qualitative changes (restructuring)
protoype authors: Piaget, Werner
Dialectical paradigm
Midway point: development quantitative and qualitative
development as process of multidirectional and multidimensional change throughout life
development enforced by social interactions and overcoming conflicts
prototype authors: Vygotski, Bronfenbrenner
What motivates behaviour according to the psychodynamic perspective?
internal forces, memories and conflicts
-> may originate in childhood and can influence behaviour and traits throughout lifespan
Who came up with the first theory to pay attention to childhood experiences and link them to the construction of adult personality?
Freud
Which models did Freud formulate?
Topographic model
Dynamic model
Economic model
Structural model
Genetic model
How are the conscious, preconscious and unconscious portrayed in the topographic model?
conscious:
- responsible for cog. processes, motor control and relationships (directed outward)
- contents can be updated and self-perceived
Preconscious:
- contents not present in consciousness but accessible
-> effort of attention
Unconscious:
- primitive memories, sensations, fantasies and impulses
- not easily accessible to consciousness
What does the dynamic model focus on?
internal forces: drives
dynamic system in unconscious
-> conflicts arise due to need to reduce tension
Eros & Thanatos
Structural (iceberg) model
ID:
- present from birth
- operates according to pleasure principle
Ego:
- rational aspect (principle of reality)
- begins to appear within first months
- regulates instincts and expectations of external world
Superego:
- moral aspect of personality (conscience)
- develops between 6-12 years
What did Freud say about the boundaries between the ID, Ego and Superego?
semi-permeable
Why are infants in a situation of total indefferentiation according to Freud?
Which types of narcisisism do children develop?
don’t know where they end and others begin
primary: libido only linked to oneself -> only interest
secondary: omnipotence attributed to adults -> need to be loved by adult
How do we develop according to the genetic/ subsequential model?
development as invariable sequence of universal stages characterised by intrapsychic conflicts
-> biologically programmed
What are the main conflicts in the subsequential model?
satisfaction-frustration (1st year)
authority-rebellion (2nd year)
Oedipal (3-5)
What are individual differences influenced by according to the genetic model?
fixation
regression
What is personality determined by and what is the driving force behind this conflict?
how we resolve pleasure-pain conflict in each stage
sexual needs (libido)
What causes unresolved conflicts during a stage of development?
not enough or too much gratification
Which theory did Anna Freud come up with?
Multilineal theory
What does the Multilineal theory state and consist of?
theoretical criteria for psychosexual development insufficient
-> lines of development: type of activity that evolves over the years and reveals new balance of drive and structure
Which are the 6 lines of development?
Dependency to emotional self-reliance and adult relationship
suckling to rational eating
wetting and soiling to bladder and bowel contol
irresponsibility to responsibility in body management
egocentricity to friendship
occupation: capacity to play and work
What are the control strategies to balance sexual and aggressive urges according to Anna Freud?
Asceticism (austerity): attempt to give up physical pleasure
Intellectualization: developing personal theories about nature of love or life
Which theory did Melanie Klein come up with and what does that theory state?
Object relations theory
human beings primarily motivated by the need to establish relationships with others
-> early relationship between mother and child as key to psychological growth
What’s a major difference between Klein and S. Freud?
Klein: Ego present from birth
-> Trauma of birth
The paranoid-schizoid position
0-6 months
paranoid position: child directs destructive drive at mother’s breast due to the trauma of birth
-> fears revenge from mother
Schizoid position: child tries to protect itself by splitting the mother into good and bad parts
Introjection and Projection in Paranoid-schizoid position
Introjection: integrating good parts of object into itself (good mother)
Projection: rejecting bad parts of object (bad mother)
Depressive position
6-12 months
child develops and realises that mother can be good and bad
-> guilt and sadness over previous destructive thoughts
-> appearance of early Superego
What’s an alternative theory to Freud’s psychosexual stages and what are some characteristics?
Erikson’s psychosocial theory
emphasises role of society and culture
development throughout entire life cycle
theory more about conflict between needs (biological and psycholical) and experiences with others
Does Erikson’s theory involve regression?
no, uni-directional and linear
How do positive and problematic personal characteristics evolve according to Erikson?
Successful resolution: positive pers. characteristics
Unsuccessful resolution: difficulties advancing to next stage, problematic personal characteristics
primary maternal preoccupation
mother the most prepared to provide care for child
What’s the role of the father in Winnicott’s model?
must support mother so that she can support the baby
What does “holding” refer to?
mother has to support baby with her own psychic apparatus
Which are the developmental stages according to Winnicott?
- Total dependency period (0-6 months)
- Fusion phase: mother and son inseparable
- integration phase: progressive differentiation, child depends on environmental situation provided by the mother - Relative dependency period (6-24 months)
- Personalisation phase: 6-15 months, baby begins to differentiate himself through limits of his own body
- Object relationship/ realisation phase: 15-24 months, relates to mother separately
transitional objects
help child initiate relationships differentiating I vs not-I
accompany us throughout life and help us cope with loneliness
What are the contributions Psychoanalysis made to psychology?
basis of many proven therapeutic treatments
inspired studies on the unconscious nature of cognitive processes
contributed to practices in education
How can you criticise Psychoanalysis?
predictions hard to test
rigid in terms of when stages occur
freud: development stops after adolescence
What causes development according to the learning perspective?
external motivations
How does the concept of development work from the behavioural approach?
development as sum of learning
-> lasting changes in behaviour
-> based on experience or adaptation
development continuous with quantitative changes
How did the learning perspective start?
With Ivan Pavlov stduying the physiology of salivation in dogs
-> classical conditioning
How does classical conditioning relate to developmental psychology?
explains how we associate comfort/discomfort with caregivers
What did Watson believe in the context of classical conditioning?
any behaviour made up of conditioned reflexes
-> using S-R theory he could mold any child
Which are the 3 unlearnt emotions according to Watson?
fear
anger
love
-> other emotions as mixture of those or a result of learning
What does Thorndike’s “Law of effect” state?
An organism will tend to repeat a response that has been reinforced (positive contingency) and eliminate a response that has been punished (negative contingency)
What does instrumental conditioning describe the development of behaviour as?
results of the effects of reward and punishment
Rewards and punishment
Rewards (reinforcement): increase likelihood of behaviour occurring again in future
Punishments: decrease likelihood of behaviour occurring again in future
Which are the types of reward and punishment?
Positive reinforcement (presence of appetitive outcome)
Negative reinforcement (withholding aversive outcome)
Positive punishment (presence of aversive outcome)
Negative punishment (withholding appetitive outcome)
Is a stimulus always external?
no, it can also be internal
Is instrumental conditioning always effective?
no, it can have undesirable consequences if not applied appropriately
How does “extinction” relate to instrumental conditioning?
appropriate application
-> withholding all rewards after child produces undesired instrumental response
What is “vicarious reinforcement”?
observing if the behaviour of other people is punished or reinforced
-> social learning theory
What is social learning also known as?
modelling
What are the conditions Bandura mentioned to manifest behaviour (as vicarious reinforcement/punishment doesn’t automatically occur)?
- Child is focusing on that particular behaviour
- Child remembers that particular behaviour
- Child is physically capable of producing the behaviour
- Child is motivated to produce the behaviour
Self-efficacy
ability to choose how to behave according to own expectations, social norms and belief in appropriateness
What’s the main assumption about biology and the environment in Vygotski’s Sociocultural theory?
Biology as driving force behind development, but without social input we wouldn’t develop beyond primitive thinking
What’s the difference between Vygotski and Piaget?
Vygotski didn’t believe that all children develop in the same way
-> believed that development is a social process
What are the basic mental functions and how are they transformed into higher mental functions?
sensory proessing
perception
attention
memory
-> transformed via cultural influences
In how far die Vygotski agree with Piaget?
children are actively involved in own cognitive development
“More Knowledgeable Other” (MKO)
anybody who has a better understanding or higher ability level than the learner
-> necessary for development
What is the “zone of proximal development”?
Consists of tasks that are too difficult to be achieved alone but can be accomplished with guidance
-> this is where cognitive development occurs
What is “scaffolding”?
the support provided by experts to increase the child’s understanding of a problem
-> ammount of support needed depends on child and expert
Which are the two important roles that language plays in cog. development according to Vygotski?
- means by which experts communicate support and knowledge (scaffolding) to promote development
- intellectual tool that helps the child develop cog. abilities
What is “egocentric speech” and which meaning does this process have for Piaget and Vygotski?
speech that describes what the subject is doing
-> plays no role in cog. development (according to Piaget)
-> private speech: helps subject plan strategies and regulate own behaviour to accomplish a goal (according to Vygotski)
How can Vygotski’s theories be applied to education?
students should be encouraged to talk aloud while problem solving (private speech)
Cooperative learning: tasks should involve student-teacher interaction
Critique of Vygotski’s theory
acknowledged the role of social and cultural factors (unlike Piaget)
less concrete, testable hypothesis
-> difficult to test concepts
What does Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological theory describe social influence as?
series of concentric circles with the person at the centre
According to Bronfenbrenner, what does understanding development require?
considering how a child’s unique characteristics interact with environments
Microsystem
daily activities and interactions
child an active part of activities and interactions
-> bidirectional relationship: child and parents active agents
Mesosystem
connections between elements of the microsystem
-> child not only influenced by people of microsystem separately but by how they work together
Exosystem
social settings that dont immediately impact the person
-> impact welfare (e.g. health services, community welfare systems, etc.)
Macrosystems
cultural values, laws, customs and resources
What is the nature of the environment to Bronfenbrenner?
ever-changing, not static
What are ecological transitions often seen as?
turning points
Chronosystem
temporal dimension of the Bioecological theory
What does the cognitive perspective of development see development as?
a series of mental processes over time
How did Piaget define intelligence?
basic life function that helps the organism adapt to the environment
Cognitive equilibrium
state of balance between cog. processes and the environment
How is intelligence interactionist?
imbalances between subject’s existing knowledge and the environment stimulate cognitive and intellectual development
Why did Piaget describe children as constructivists?
they construct the understanding of new stimuli/events themselves
-> acting and operating on them
What’s a schema?
individuals mental representation that summarises their knowledge about a certain type of event
How do individuals refine and transform schemas?
Organisation: combining existing schemas into new and more complex schemas
Adaptation: adjusting to demands of environment
Which processes are included in adaptation?
assimilation: making new information fit into pre-existing knowledge
accomodation: subject modifies existing schemas to understand novel stimuli
What did Piaget notice while developing intelligence tests for children and what theory did he develop from that?
Children of certain ages tend to make similar mistakes
-> different mental processes (ways of thinking) at different stages of development
What are Piaget’s stages of cognitive development? (rough approximations)
Birth to 2 years: Sensorimotor intelligence
2-7: Preoperational thought
7-11: concrete operations
11-adulthood: Formal operations
Characteristics of Piaget’s stages
Stages can’t be skipped
every stage builds on abilities developed in previous stage
-> become progressively more complex
While Piaget thought that children progress through stages in the same order, what an environmental factor that he did consider?
individual differences
-> progress at different ages due to cultural or environmental factors
What happens during the sensorimotor stage and what is the main development?
infants coordinate sensory information with motor abilities
-> produces schemas to allow interaction with environment
main development: objects exist and events occur independently of one’s own actions
-> object concept/ object permanence
What are characteristics of the preoperational stage?
development of understanding and using symbols (making things represent sth; e.g. words)
ability to represent and describe objects and experiences not present
symbolic play as representation of real life
children egocentric
What are children developing/ able to do in the Concrete-Operational Stage?
use sophisticated cognitive operations (e.g. logic) to solve real problems
complex mathematical skills
What develops during the Formal-Operational Stage?
Consideration of abstract concepts
Ability to apply cognitive operations to real or imaginative concrete scenarios
-> ability to think about abstract and hypothetical ideas
-> hypothetical and deductive reasoning
-> systematic problem solving
When is deductive reasoning first developed?
Concrete-Operational Stage
What is learning according to Piaget and how can this knowledge affect formal education?
learning as active construction
-> students doing activities more effective than teachers telling
What’s an effective way of learning?
Discovery of new information
Who are key-figures of ethological models?
Darwin
Lorenz
Tinbergen
What are charcteristics of innate behaviours according to the ethological models?
instinctive, universal
in all members of the species
minimally influences by the environment
-> don’t need learning or experience
Imprinting (Lorenz)
process by which newborns of a species form a special bond with mothers (prior to attachment)
According to the ethological model, are human born with behaviours?
no, but predispositions to develop behaviours
Critical and sensitive period
Critical: specific time, where an event or its absence has a specific impact on development
Sensitive: Stage in development where child is particularly responsive to certain experiences
-> learning easier
