SR6e Chapter 2

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CHAPTER 2 THEORIES OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
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Theories of Human Development

• Theory Ideas proposed to describe/explain
  certain phenomena
• Organizes facts/observations
• Guides collection of new data
• Should be internally consistent
• Falsifiable Hypothesis can be tested and proven
  wrong
• Supported by data

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Other Assumptions About Human Nature

• Nature/Nurture Heredity or environment most
  influential?
• Goodness/Badness Underlying good or evil
• Active/Passive Development Self determination or
  by others
• Continuity/Discontinuity Stages or gradual
  change
• Quantitative/Qualitative Changes Degree or
  transformation
• Universal or Context Specific Development

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The Psychoanalytic Perspective

• From Freuds theory Proposes that childhood
  sexuality and unconscious motivations influence
  personality
• Techniques used in treating psychological
  disorders by seeking to expose and interpret
  unconscious tensions

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Personality Structure

• Freuds idea of the minds structure

• Preconscious mind

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Freud Psychoanalytic Theory

• Instincts and unconscious motivation
• Id, Ego, and Superego formed from psychic energy
  (Libido)
• Id Instinctual nature of humans (anger and sex).
  Operates on the pleasure principle
• Ego rational and objective (reality principle)
• Superego internalized moral standards
• A dynamic personality system
• Regular conflicts between the three parts

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Freuds Psychosexual Development

• Child moves through five stages
• Stages result from conflict between Id Superego
• Conflict creates anxiety
• Ego defends against anxiety with defense
  mechanisms
• Early experiences have long-term effects on
  personality

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Personality Development

• Psychosexual Stages
• the childhood stages of development during which
  the ids pleasure-seeking energies focus on
  distinct erogenous zones
• Oedipus Complex
• a boys sexual desires toward his mother and
  feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival
  father
• Electra Complex
• a girls sexual desires for a penis, aimed at her
  father and feelings of jealousy and hatred for
  the rival mother

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Strengths and Weaknesses of Freuds Theory

• Strengths
• Awareness of unconscious motivation
• Emphasized important early experience
• Weaknesses
• Ambiguous, inconsistent, not testable
• Not supported by research

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Erik Erikson

• Most influential neo-Freudian
• Some differences with Freud
• Less emphasis on sexual urges
• More emphasis on rational ego
• More positive, adaptive view of human nature
• Development continues through adulthood

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Eriksons Stages Approximate Ages

• Trust vs. Mistrust Importance of responsive
  caregiver (1st year)
• Autonomy vs. Shame Doubt (1 to 3)
• Initiative vs. Guilt Preschool (4 to 5)
• Industry vs. Inferiority School-age children
• Identity vs. Role Confusion Adolescence
• Intimacy vs. Isolation Young adult
• Generativity vs. Stagnation Middle age
• Integrity vs. Despair Old Age

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Strengths and Weaknesses of Erikson

• Strengths
• Focus on identity crisis of adolescence still
  most relevant
• Emphasis on rational and adaptive nature
• Interaction of biological social influences
• Weaknesses
• Sometimes vague and difficult to test
• Does not explain how development comes about

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Behaviorism

• Pavlov, Watson, Skinner
• Behaviorism Conclusions should be based on
  observable behavior. Psychological aspects of
  development are determined by the environment.
  According to the behaviorists Everything is
  learned!!!!
• Tabula Rasa - Environmental view

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Classical Conditioning

• Ivan Pavlov
• Discovered classical condition by serendipity.

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Learning Theories Classical ConditioningA type
of learning in which an organism learns to
connect or associate stimuli. A neutral stimulus
becomes associated with a meaningful stimulus and
acquires the capacity to elicit a similar
response.

• Association Learning
• NS Does not elicit a response
• UCS Built-in, unlearned stimulus
• UCR Automatic, unlearned response
• CS Stimulus causes learned response
• CR Learned response

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Classical ConditioningPavlovs Original
Experiemnt

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• Little Albert The three phases of classical
  conditioning

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Learning Theories Operant ConditioningSkinner

• Probability of behavior based on environmental
  consequences
• Operant Behavior - operates (acts) on environment
• produces consequences
• Consequences (rewards and punishments) are
  contingent on the organisms behavior.
• Reinforcement (reward) increases the probability
  that a behavior will occur.
• Punishment decreases the probability that a
  behavior will occur.

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Types of Reinforcement

• Positive reinforcement giving something that
  the person wants that increases the behavior
• Examples
• Praise
• Teacher attention
• Rewards
• Negative reinforcement taking away something
  that the person does not want that increases the
  behavior
• Cough medicine
• Child stops whining when parent picks the child
  up
• Nagging

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Types of Punishment

• Positive Punishment (type I or Presentation
  punishment) giving something that the person
  does not want that decreases the behavior
• Detention
• Extra work
• Chores
• Yelling
• Negative Punishment (type II or Removal
  punishment) taking away something
• that the person wants that decreases the
• behavior
• Loss of recess
• Loss of favorite toy/activity

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• Possible consequences of whining behavior.
• Moosie comes into the TV room and sees his father
  talking and joking with his sister. Lulu, as the
  two watch a football game. Soon Moosie begins to
  whine, louder and louder, that he wants them to
  turn off the television so he can play Nintendo
  games. If you were Moosies father, how would
  you react? Here are four possible consequences
  of Moosies behavior. Consider both the type of
  consequences whether it is a pleasant or
  aversive stimulus and whether it is
  administered (added to) or withdrawn. Notice
  that reinforcers strengthen whining behavior, or
  make it more likely in the future, whereas
  punishers weaken it.

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Bandura Social Cognitive Theory

• Formerly called social learning theory
• Humans think, anticipate, believe, etc.
• Cognitive Emphasis Observational learning
• BoBo doll studies
• Model praised or punished
• Child learned to imitate rewarded model
• Children learn vicariously.

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Learning Theory Strengths Weaknesses

• Strengths
• Precise and testable theory
• Carefully controlled experiments
• Practical applications across lifespan
• Weaknesses
• Inadequate account of lifespan changes
• Ignored genetic and maturational processes

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The Ecology of Human Development

• Bronfenbrenner Bioecological Model
• How nature and nurture interact to produce
  development
• Five environmental systems
• Microsystem family
• Mesosystem school
• Exosystem society
• Macrosystem culture
• Chronosystem time

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Fig. 1.2, p. 7
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Contextual/Systems Theories

• Gottlieb Evolutionary/Epigenetic Systems
• Genes, neural activity, behavior, and environment
  mutually influential
• Normal genes and normal early experiences most
  helpful

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Gottlieb Developmental Psychobiology

• Interaction Biological environmental
  influences
• Individual programmed through evolution
• Current behavior results from past adaptation
• Ethology Behavior adaptive to specific
  environments
• Species-specific behavior of animals humans

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Gottlieb Epigenesis

• Instinctual behavior may or may not occur
• Depends on early physical and social environments
• Genes alone dont influence behavior
• A system of interactions
• People develop in changing contexts
• Historical
• Cultural

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Fig. 2.5, p. 53
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Strengths and Weaknesses

• Strengths
• Stresses the interaction of nature and nurture
• Weaknesses
• Only partially formulated and tested
• No coherent developmental theory

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