Developmental Psychology

Main Theories of Developmental

Psychology Week 2
 Theories of Development
Developmental Theories
• Psychoanalytic
– Stages
– Id, Ego, Superego
• Erikson’s Theory
 Theories
• Behaviourism
– Watson
• Classical
Conditioning
• Operant
Conditioning
• Social Learning
– Bandura
 Theories
Cognitive Theory
• Jean Piaget
– Sensorimotor
– Preoperational
– Concrete Operational
– Formal Operational
– Equilibrium
• Assimilation
• Accomodation
 Theories
• Sociocultural Theories
– Lev Vygotsky
• Humanism
– Harlow
– Maslow
• Evolutionary Theory
• Epigenetic Theory
 Five Questions Central to
Theories
• Do early experiences of breast-
feeding or bonding or abuse linger
into adulthood, even if they seem to
be forgotten?
• How important are specific school
experiences in human intelligence?
• Can a person develop moral values
without being taught them?
 Five Questions Central to
Theories, cont.
• Does culture elicit behavior, e.g., is
violent crime more common in one place
than another; for example, in China or
Canada?
• If your parents or grandparents
schizophrenia, or alcoholism, will you
develop them suffer from depression,?
• Of all questions—Why or Why not?
When and How?, So What?
 What Theories Do
• Developmental theory—
systematic statement of
principles and generalizations
that provides a coherent
framework for studying
development
 What Theories Do, cont.

• Theories
– form basis for hypotheses that can be
tested by research studies
• formulating right question is more difficult
that finding right answers
– generate discoveries
– offer insight and guidance by providing
coherent view
 What Theories Do, cont.
• Different Types
– grand theories—comprehensive,
traditional theories
• originated in psychology
– minitheories—theories that focus on
specific area of development
• originated more in sociology through study of
social groups and family structures
– emergent theories—new, comprehensive
groupings of minitheories
• multidisciplinary approach includes historic
events and genetic discoveries
 Grand Theories

• Grand Theories—powerful
framework for interpreting and
understanding change and
development that applies to all
individuals in all contexts, across all
contents
 Psychoanalytic Theory

• Psychoanalytic theory interprets

human development in terms of
motives and drives
 Freud’s Ideas
• Sigmund Freud
• Three stages of development in first
six years
– oral, anal, phallic
– in early childhood, latency and then
adolescence, genital
– each stage includes potential conflicts
• how a person experiences and resolves
conflicts determines personality and
patterns of behavior
 Erikson’s Ideas
• Erik Erikson, a follower of Freud, proposed 8
developmental stages, each characterized by a
developmental crisis
– trust vs. mistrust
– autonomy vs. shame
– initiative vs. guilt
– industry vs. inferiority
– identity vs. role diffusion
– intimacy vs. isolation
– generativity vs. stagnation
– integrity vs. despair
 Behaviorism

• Behaviorism is built on laws of

behavior and processes by which
behavior is learned
– focus: ways we learn specific
behaviors that can be described,
analyzed, and predicted with
scientific accuracy
 Laws of Behaviour
• Conditioning—any process in which behaviour is
learned
• Classical conditioning —Ivan Pavlov
– process by which a neutral stimulus become
associated with a meaningful stimulus
• stimulus and response (respondent
conditioning)
• Operant conditioning—B. F. Skinner
– process by which a response is gradually
learned via reinforcement or punishment
• also called instrumental conditioning
 Social Learning
• Extension of learning theory that includes modeling
which involves people observing behavior and
patterning their own after it
• Modeling
– process in which people observe, then copy
behavior
– Alfred Bandura—most likely to occur if model is
admired or observer is inexperienced
– self-efficacy motivates people to change
themselves and their contexts
 Cognitive Theory
• Focuses on the structure and
development of thought processes,
which shape perceptions, attitudes,
and actions.
• Jean Piaget’s 4 Stages
– sensorimotor
– pre-operational
– concrete operational
– formal operational
 Cognitive Theory, cont.

• Cognitive equilibrium—state of mental

balance
• Cognitive adaptation—assimilation,
accommodation of ideas
 Emergent Theories

• Emergent theories arise from several

accumulated minitheories and may be
the new systematic and
comprehensive theories of the future
 Sociocultural Theory
• Seeks to explain growth of individual
knowledge, development, and
competencies in terms of guidance,
support, and structure supplied by
the society
– human development is the result of
dynamic interaction of the developing
persons and their surrounding culture
 Guided Participation
• Guided participation—tutor engages
learner in joint activities, providing
instruction and direct involvement in
learning
• Apprenticeship in thinking—mentor
provides instruction and support
needed by novice
 The Zone of Proximal
Development
• Zone of proximal development—range
of skills learner can perform with
assistance but not independently
– learner is drawn into learning by teacher
• Cultural variations: Basic principles
are universal, but skills, challenges,
and opportunities vary from culture
to culture, depending on the values
and structures of the culture’s
 Epigenetic Theory
• Emphasizes the interaction between
genes and the environment—the
newest developmental theory
– stresses that we have powerful instincts
and abilities that arise from our
biological heritage. Timing and pace of
certain developmental changes are
genetically guided
– performism—everything is set in advance
by genes and then is gradually
manifested in the course of maturation
With, On, and Around
the Genes
• Genetic refers to the entire genome
that makes up the particular genes
that cause each person to be unique
– each human has a genetic foundation
that is unique
– epigenetic theory acknowledges the
powerful instincts and abilities that
arise from our biological heritage
With, On, and Around the Genes, cont.

• Epi = with, around, before, after, on,

or near = surrounding factors
– epigenetic—surrounding factors that
affect expression of genetic
instructions
– some surrounding factors may be stress
factors; others may be facilitating
factors
• Genetic-environmental Interactions
 Genetic Adaptation

• Adaptation of the Genes

– selective adaptation means that genes
for the traits that are most useful will
become more frequent, thus making
survival of species more likely
 What Theories Can
Contribute
• Psychoanalytic theory has made us
aware of importance of early
childhood experiences
• Behaviorism has shown effect of
immediate environment on learning
• Cognitive theory helps us understand
how intellectual process and thinking
affect actions
 What Theories Can Contribute, cont.

• Sociocultural theory has reminded us

that development is embedded in a
rich and multifaceted context
• Epigenetic theory emphasizes
interactions between inherited forces
and immediate contexts
 What Theories Can Contribute, cont.

• Eclectic perspective
– approach taken by most
developmentalists in which they apply
aspects of each of the various theories
rather than staying with just one
 The Nature-Nurture
Controversy
• Is it heredity or environment that
shapes us?
• How much is a result of any given
characteristics, behavior or pattern
of development is a result of genes
and how much is a result of
experiences
• Policy and practice: nature/nurture
theories are implicit in many public
 Theoretical Perspectives on
Hyperactivity and Homosexuality

• AD/HD and homosexuality—How and

to what extent are nature and
nurture involved in each case?
• Evidence from AD/HD research that
it can come from either
 Theoretical Perspectives on
Hyperactivity and Homosexuality, cont.

• Earlier assumptions about

homosexuality: more nurture than
nature. As hypotheses tested, nurture
was revealed as less crucial
– sexual orientation may be a matter of
nature
– sexual expression may be a matter of
cultural attitude (nurture) but not sexual
orientation
– evidence supporting nature as main factor
 Theoretical Perspectives on
Hyperactivity and Homosexuality, cont.

• Ideology often adds to complexity

and polarization of opinions on many
subjects when nature and nurture are
considered
• Important to separate assumptions
from facts
– done via research and testing of
hypotheses
 Further Reading
• Chapters 1 & 2 Berger