DEVELOPMENTAL THEORIES

H U M A N G R OW T H & D E V E L O P M E N T

THE ROLE OF DEVELOPMENTAL THEORIES

• Developmental theories are comprehensive explanations about

why people act and behave the way they do and how they change

over time

– Help us understand the people around us better

– Gives us a broader picture of how people develop and change

over time

– Helps us develop empathy (the ability to be sensitive and

understanding to the feelings, thoughts, and experiences of

others)

TYPES OF THEORIES

1. Psychoanalytic Theories

– Based on the belief that development is unconscious

– Theories analyze the symbolic meaning behind behaviors

2. Cognitive Theories

– Ideas about how people process information, think, and learn

– Used to explain the differences between how people think over

time

3. Behaviorism Theories

– Based on the belief that people’s behavior is determined by

forces in the environment that are beyond their control

P S Y C H O A N A LY T I C T H E O R I E SFREUD, ERIKSON

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S I G M U N D F R E U D

SIGMUND FREUD

• Sigmund Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory - The Big Idea

in under 3 Minutes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCtm0FSGZus

SIGMUND FREUD (1856 – 1939)

• Freud was a pioneer in applying

psychoanalytic theory

• His theory focused on early

life experiences

–He believed that what happens

early in life affects a person for years to

come

• Although his theory is not considered

scientifically sound today, he opened the door

to a new way of understanding development

ID, EGO, SUPEREGO

• ID: source of psychological and physical tension that does

not think or reason

• EGO: part of the personality that deal with logic and

controlled behavior

• SUPEREGO: a person’s moral code

• He regarded the development of personality as being the

balance between the Ego and the SuperEgo. The Id strives

for unrealistic gratification, the SuperEgo strives for

unrealistic moral responsibilities and the Ego acts to

compromise these two opposing forces.

PSYCHOSEXUAL DEVELOPMENT

•Experiences in early childhood influence later

development. Assumes sexual factors play a part

in our development. He suggested that basic

sexual instincts were the driving force behind all

behaviors.

Stage Ages

Primary

Focus Area

Major Development Adult Fixation Example

Oral 0 – 18

months

Mouth,

tongue, lips

Weaning off breast/bottle

feeding

Smoking, overeating, gum

chewing, nail biting

Anal 18 – 36

months

Anus Toilet training – pleasure

focuses on bowel and

bladder elimination

Orderliness, messiness

Phallic 3 – 6 years Genitals Resolving Oedipus/Electra

Complex (incestuous

sexual feelings

Deviancy, sexual dysfunction

Latency 6 years –

puberty

None Dormant sexual feelings None

Genital Puberty + Genitals Reaching sexual maturity If all stages were successfully

completed, the person should

be sexually matured and

mentally healthy

E R I K E R I KS O N

ERIK ERIKSON (1902 – 1944)

• 8 life stages

• At each stage, an individual

must resolve a psychological or

social conflict

• If conflict is not resolved, it will

impact their future stages of

development

MATCHING ACTIVIT Y –

TABLE GROUPS

STAGE 1: TRUST VS. MISTRUST

Age: Infancy (Birth to 18 months)

• Babies learn about trust from their caregivers who meet

their needs including food, attention, physical contact,

interaction, and safety.

• When needs are not met, babies do not learn to trust

others and the world is perceived as unpredictable.

STAGE 2: AUTONOMY VS. SHAME AND DOUBT

Toddler (18 months to 3 years)

• Toddlers learn to control their bodies

– Through feeding, toileting, dressing, and developing physically

• As toddlers learn new skills, they become self-confident

• A lack of control or independence can make them feel like failures

and cause shame and doubt.

– Often this is caused by caregivers punishing them for not doing

things right

STAGE 3: INITIATIVE VS. GUILT

Early Childhood (3 to 5 years)

• Young children learn about the world through exploring

• They learn what is real and what is imaginary

• They learn to take initiative for their place in the world

• Criticism and punishment can result in guilt for their

actions

STAGE 4: INDUSTRY VS. INFERIORITY

Middle Childhood (6 through 12 years)

• Children develop tasks to complete both at school and

home

• They develop a sense of self and confidence by becoming

competent in the outside world

• If they, or others, compare them negatively against others,

feelings of inferiority can surface

STAGE 5: IDENTITY VS. ROLE CONFUSION

Adolescence (13 through 18 years)

• Preteens and teen begin to understand and experiment

with a number of different roles.

• A task at this stage is to integrate multiple roles as sister,

daughter, student, friend, and employee into one consistent

role

• If central or core identity is not established, role confusion

exists

STAGE 6: INTIMACY VS. ISOLATION

Early Adulthood (19 through 39 years)

• During later adolescence and early adulthood, intimate

relationships form

• These relationships require sharing one’s self emotionally

• Failure to establish emotional intimacy results in emotional

or psychological isolation

STAGE 7: GENERATIVITY VS. STAGNATION

Middle Adulthood (40 through 65 years)

• Adults in midlife begin to place an emphasis on helping

others and through sharing culture with the next

generation

• This can be done in many ways including raising children,

teaching others in the workplace or community, or passing

on cultural values

• A lack of generativity leads to stagnation

STAGE 8: INTEGRITY VS. DESPAIR

Older Adulthood (66 years and older)

• Adults review their life and reflect on its meaning

• If people are satisfied with the meaning of their life and

involvement, there is a sense of integrity

• Without finding a meaning to one’s own life, an individual

will develop despair

ERIK ERIKSON

• 8 Stages of Development by Erik Eriksonhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYCBdZLCDBQ

•Disney Pixar and Erik Erikson's Eight Stages of Developmenthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhBbE8hSz1I

C O G N I T I V E T H E O R I E SPIAGET, VYGOTSKY, KOHLBERG

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J E A N P I A G ET

DEFINE

• Schema – Building blocks of knowledge

• Assimilation – Which is using an existing schema to deal

with a new object or situation.

–Child sees a snake for the first time and calls it a worm

• Accommodation – This happens when the existing schema

(knowledge) does not work, and needs to be changed to

deal with a new object or situation.

–Child learns that a snake and a worm are different

JEAN PIAGET (1896 – 1980)

• Responsible for the Theory of Cognitive Development

• Was the first to study cognitive development on children

that focused on developmental stages, rather than how much

they can learn

• 4 Stages:

–Sensorimotor

–Preoperational

–Concrete Operational

–Formal Operational

SENSORIMOTOR STAGE (BIRTH TO 2 YEARS)• Infants use their senses and motor

skills to learn and communicate

• The main goal to achieve during

this stage is object permanence

– Knowing that an object still exists if it is hidden

– Example: “Peek-a-Boo”

• If a child is still engaged in peek-a-boo, they are likely still in

this stage

• VIDEO: Object Permanence

Piaget’s Preoperational Stage(2 – 7 years)

• Begin to think symbolically

– Uses words and picture to represent objects

• Tend to be egocentric, meaning they view the world in relation to themselves

– Child thinks that everyone thinks the same way he or she does

– Egocentrism –example: they may offer others candy from their mouth because they are enjoying it and they think you would too.

• Does not yet have the ability to think logicallyVIDEO: Piaget's Conservation Tasks

Piaget’s Concrete Operational Stage (7 – 11 years)

• Children begin thinking

logically and learn how to

solve complex problems

• Can understand the

concept of conservation

(These conservation tasks are

demonstrated in the last video)

Piaget’s Formal Operational Stage(12 years +)

• Can think abstractly and hypothetically

– When playing checkers, the child can plan ahead and use

strategies

An example of a child who has not yet his the formal operation stage

L E V V Y G O T S K Y

Lev Vygotsky (1896 – 1934)

• Believed that the culture in which a child

is reared and his own social environment

determines how a child will think

• Teaching should be done through model,

instruction, and working together on

tasks or projects

– Helping children is called scaffolding

Lev Vygotsky Cont.Important Terms:

• Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD): Level that a children can learn with help

• Scaffolding: Providing help to the child until they grow confident

• Modeling: Showing children how to perform tasks by demonstrating

– “Look at my wed sooes!”

– “Yes, these are your pretty red shoes”

L AW R E N C E KO H L B E R G

LAWRENCE KOHLBERG (1927 – 1987)

• Studied the way morals change as

individuals age by interviewing

children and then following up

every 3 years for 20 years ages

and studied their responses.

•Kohlberg developed a model,

which attempted to explain how

children develop a sense of right

or wrong.

KOHLBERG’S MORAL DEVELOPMENT THEORY• Identified three different levels of thinking that

people go through in making moral decisions

(personal decisions that evaluate what is right and

what is wrong)

–Level 1 – Preconventional Morality

–Level 2 – Conventional Morality

–Level 3 – Postconventional Morality

KOHLBERG’S MORAL DEVELOPMENT THEORY• Level 1 – Preconventional Morality (typical of young children)

– Decisions are made based on punishments or rewards

• Stage one (obedience and punishment driven)

– Focus on the direct consequences of their actions on themselves

– For example, an action is perceived as morally wrong because the person is

punished. "The last time I did that I got spanked, so I will not do it again."

• Stage two (self-interest driven)

– Right behavior is defined by whatever the individual believes to be in their best

interest

– For example, parents offer a child an incentive by giving a child an allowance to

pay them for their chores. The child is motivated by self-interest to do chores.

KOHLBERG’S MORAL DEVELOPMENT THEORY• Level 2 – Conventional Morality (typical of adolescents/adults)

– Decisions are motivated by laws and the societal norms of the people we

surround ourselves with

• Stage three (good intentions determined by society)

– Individuals are receptive to approval or disapproval from others as it reflects

society's views.

– May judge the morality of an action by evaluating its consequences in terms of

a person's relationships, which now begin to include things like respect and

gratitude

– "I want to be liked and thought well of; apparently, not being naughty makes

people like me."

KOHLBERG’S MORAL DEVELOPMENT THEORY• Stage four (authority and social order obedience

driven)

– It is important to obey laws, dictums, and social conventions

because of their importance in maintaining a functioning society.

• If one person violates a law, perhaps everyone would—thus there is an

obligation and a duty to uphold laws and rules.

• Most active members of society remain at stage four, where

morality is still predominantly dictated by an outside force.

KOHLBERG’S MORAL DEVELOPMENT THEORY• Level 3 – Postconventional Morality (typical adults)

– Decisions are made based on individual rights and justice

– Individuals may disobey rules inconsistent with their own

principles

– Post-conventional moralists live by their own ethical

principles—principles that typically include such basic human

rights as life, liberty, and justice

– Some theorists have speculated that many people may never

reach this level of abstract moral reasoning

KOHLBERG’S MORAL DEVELOPMENT THEORY• Stage five (social contract driven)

– Laws are regarded as social contracts rather than rigid rules.

Those that do not promote the general welfare should be

changed when necessary to meet "the greatest good for the

greatest number of people".

• Stage six (universal ethical principles driven)

– Individuals act because it is right – not to avoid punishment, to

fulfill their personal interest, and not because it’s expected, legal,

or previously agreed upon.

LAWRENCE KOHLBERG (1927 – 1987)

• Studied this theory by asking

individuals what they would do in

ethical dilemmas

–Kohlberg’s Heinz Dilemma

• Heinz Dilemma - Kohlberg's stages of

Moral Development (Interactive

Animation)https://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation

_522383&feature=iv&src_vid=5czp9S4u26M&v=5czp9S4u2

6M#t=1m37.5s

WHAT DO YOU THINK?• Should have Heinz stolen the

drug?

• Would it change anything if Heinz

did not love his wife?

• What if the person dying was a

stranger, would it make any

difference?

• Should the police arrest the

chemist for murder if Heinz’s wife

died from not receiving the drug?

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IVAN PAVLOV (1849 - 1906)• Developed the theory of classical conditioning

(behaviors that are associated with an emotional response)

• Dog Experiment:

– A bell would ring every time a dog was served food

– After a while, the dog learned to salivate at the sound

of the bell rather that from the presence of food

• What that means for humans…

– Repeating actions will teach an individual to have an

emotional response

– Example: A mom gasps loudly any time her child goes

near a pool, this leads the child to develop a fear of

swimming

JOHN WATSON (1878-1958)

•Classical Conditioning

of a Fear Response

•The Little Albert

Experiment

https://www.youtube.

com/watch?v=5duLMj

aTL0U

B.F. Skinner (1904 – 1990)

Responsible for the Operant Conditioning Theory

• The Experiment

1. Rat placed in box and delivered food through automatic feeder

2. Rat recognizes sound of feeder

3. Lever placed on box. Rat receives food when lever is touched.

4. Rat learns to touch lever to receive food

B.F. Skinner (1904 – 1990)

Responsible for the Operant Conditioning Theory

• Operant Conditioninghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_ctJqjlrHA

B.F. Skinner (1904 – 1990)

• Positive reinforcement - Positive reinforcement strengthens a

behavior by providing a result an individual finds rewarding

– Example: A child gets dessert when they finish their meal

• Negative reinforcement - The removal of an unpleasant

reinforcer to strengthen behavior (removal of an adverse

stimulus which is ‘rewarding’ to the animal or person)

– Negative reinforcement strengthens behavior because it stops or removes

an unpleasant experience.

– Example: A child cleans their room to avoid being scolded by a parent later

that night

B.F. Skinner (1904 – 1990)

• Positive punishment - Presenting a negative consequence after

an undesired behavior is exhibited, making the behavior less likely

to happen in the future.

– Example: A child is spanked when they talk back to their parent

• Negative punishment – Removing a potentially rewarding

stimulus to punish undesired behavior

– Example: A child fights with their sibling so his parents take away his

favorite toy

• Note: It is not always easy to distinguish between punishment and

negative reinforcement.

B.F. Skinner (1904 – 1990)

• There are many problems with using punishment, such as:

– Punished behavior is not forgotten, it's suppressed - behavior returns when

punishment is no longer present.

– Causes increased aggression - shows that aggression is a way to cope with

problems.

– Creates fear that can generalize to undesirable behaviors, e.g., fear of

school.

– Does not necessarily guide toward desired behavior - reinforcement tells

you what to do, punishment only tells you what not to do.

• Extinction - disappearance of a previously learned behavior when

the behavior is not reinforced

B.F. Skinner Cont.

Findings:

• When children receive positive

reinforcement they will continue to do the action

• When children receive negative reinforcement, something

they do not like is removed so they will do the desired action

ALBERT BANDURA (1925-CURRENT)• Argued that people imitate other

people’s behaviors, despite whether

there are rewards or punishments

involved

• Bandura’s theory is called the social

learning (cognitive) theory

• Social cognitive theorists believe a

child who observes a kind act may

later imitate the same act toward a

classmate

ALBERT BANDURA (1925-CURRENT)• Bandura's Bobo Doll Experiment

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmBq

wWlJg8U

• Prudential: Everybody's Doing It

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgRoi

TWkBHU&feature=youtu.be

O T H E R T H E O R I E S /R E S E A R C H E R S M O N T E S S O R I , M A S L OW, G E S E L L

ABRAHAM MASLOW (1908-1970)

• Developed the Hierarchy of Needs

• Based research on human needs and how there are levels that must

be met before one can have other needs.

• Levels include:

1. Physical Needs- air, food, water, warmth, sleep

2. Safety and Security- order, limits, law

3. Love and Acceptance- family, affection, relationships

4. Esteem- self-esteem, achievement, status, prestige

5. Self-Actualization- personal potential, self-fulfillment

MARIA MONTESSORI (1870-1952)

• Italian educator whose theory states children learn best through

their senses pursuing their own interests at their own rate.

• Developed the Montessori method

– Children are natural eager for knowledge/learning

– Children should initiate learning in a supportive, thoughtfully

prepared learning environment

– Attempts to develop children physically, socially, emotionally and

cognitively.

• She was responsible for developing the Montessori School

MARIA MONTESSORI (1870-1952)

• Montessori School

– Mixed age classrooms

– Student choice of activity from within a prescribed range of options

– Uninterrupted blocks of work time, ideally three hours

– A constructivist or "discovery" model, where students learn concepts from working with materials, rather than by direct instruction

– Specialized educational materials developed by Montessori and her collaborators often made out of natural, aesthetic materials such as wood, rather than plastic.

– A thoughtfully prepared environment where materials are organized by subject area, within reach of the child, and are appropriate in size

– Freedom of movement within the classroom

– A trained Montessori teacher who follows the child and is highly experienced in observing the individual child's characteristics, tendencies, innate talents and abilities

ARNOLD GESELL (1880-1961)

• His theory was concerned with the physical development of

children

• Came up with “milestones of development”

– Developed the normal sequence of development and at what age

children should be able to do certain things

– These age-norms are still used today by the medical profession

– The age-norms give us a standard by which to monitor a child’s

development.

ARNOLD GESELL (1880-1961)

• Maturational Theory of Child Development

– Documented a set of behavioral norms that illustrate sequential and

predictable patterns of growth and development.

– Children go through the same stages of development in the same sequence,

although each child may move through these stages at their own rate

I N C O N C L U S I O N …T H E R E A R E H U N D R E D O F

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T RU T H .

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S I M P LI S T I C T H E O R I E S .