PSY 2410 Chapter 2

A group of ideas, assumptions, and generalizations that interpret and illuminate the thousands of observations that have been made about human growth. It provides a framework for explaining the patterns and problems of development

psychodynamic, behaviorist, and cognitive

sociocultural and evolutionary

produce hypotheses, generate discoveries, offer practical guidance, and reveal previously unknown facts

Places the origins of adult personality and values in earlier experiences, often unconscious, often in childhood (Freud and Erikson)

Psychoanalytic theory

Four psychoSEXUAL stages (oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital), early conflict resolution determines personality patterns

Psychosocial theory

Erikson's theory, emphasizes interaction between the psychic needs of the individual and the surrounding social network of FAMILY and COMMUNITY, with eight stages characterized by a developmental crisis continuing after adolescence

Classical conditioning in Behaviorism

Grand theory of human development that studies observable behavior, also called learning theory, because it describes the laws and processes by which behavior is learned (classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and social learning)

The learning process in which repeated experiences teach behavior.

Meaningful stimulus connected with neutral stimulus

North Americans disputed Freud's emphasis on distant, unconscious past and were inclined to believe that current events/circumstances affect behavior and proposed that anything could be learned with focus on behavior

One of the earliest proponents of behaviorism/learning theory and argued that scientists should only examine what was observable and measurable

Operant conditioning in behaviorism, agreed that psychology should focus on the observable and was best known for Skinner's box

A particular action is followed by something desired or something unwanted

Positive - adds a pleasant stimulus to encourage continuing behavior
Negative - removes a negative stimulus to encourage continuing behavior

Positive - adds a negative stimulus to discourage behavior
Negative - takes away a positive stimulus to discourage behavior

An extension of behaviorism that emphasizes the influence that other people have over a person's behavior, learning can also occur through observation and imitation of other people, aka observational learning

Grand theory that focuses on changes in how people think over time, our thoughts shape our attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors

Cognitive development occurs in four major age-related periods/stages (sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, formal operational), and each period is characterized by sense and logic-related processes

Perspective that compares human thinking processes, by analogy, to computer analysis of data, including sensory input, connections, stored memories, and output (contribution of neuroscience), and looks at the biochemical origins, neurotransmitters, hormones, etc.

How to accelerate cognitive development

A newer theory, which holds that development results from the dynamic interaction of each person with the surrounding social and cultural forces

Sociocultural theory, interaction between culture and education, apprenticeship in thinking, guided participation, language is an essential mediator between mentor and mentee, words = tools of thought

skills, knowledge, and concepts that a learner is close to acquiring but cannot master without help, the mentor must avoid boredom and failure

New knowledge attained through mentoring

A newer development theory, the idea that many current human emotions and impulses are a genetic legacy from thousands of years ago, selective adaptation

The approach taken by most developmentalists, in which they apply aspects of multiple theories of development rather than sticking to one