02-Theories of
Development
Grand theories
• Comprehensive
• Enduring
• Widely applied
Grand theories
• Psychoanalytic
• Behaviorism (Learning theory)
• Cognitive
Psychoanalytic
• Freud 1856 – 1936
• Development determined by unconscious motives & drives
• Freud’s stages
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Infancy – the mouth – oral stage
Early childhood – the anus – anal stage
Preschool years – the penis – phallic stage
Adolescence through death – latency – genital
Psychoanalytic
• Erickson 1902 – 1994
• Eight developmental stages
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1. Trust vs. Mistrust
2. Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt
3. Initiative vs. Guilt
4. Industry vs. Inferiority
5. Identity vs. Role Confusion
6. Intimacy vs. Isolation
7. Generativity vs. Stagnation
8. Integrity vs. Despair
Behaviorism
• All behavior is learned
• Observable behavior is all that matters
• Classical conditioning
• Pavlov
• One item is associated with another
• Operant conditioning
• Skinner
• Reinforcement
• Punishment
• Social learning
• Bandura
• Modeling
Cognitive Theory
• Jean Piaget
• 4 Stages
• Sensorimotor stage
• Object permanence
• Preoperational stage
• Language & egocentrism
• Concrete Operational stage
• Conservation of matter
• Formal operational stage
• Abstract concepts & hypothetical situations
Cognitive Equilibrium (Piaget)
• We want mental balance
(equilibrium)
• New ideas create
disequilibrium
• How do we incorporate new
ideas to reduce
disequilibrium?
• Assimilation
• Incorporate into existing
ideas (schemas)
• Accommodation
• Change our existing ideas
(schemas)
Sociocultural Theory
• We are shaped by our culture
• Behavior can not be understood
without studying the context
(culture)
• Guided participation
• Instruction + shared
involvement
• Zone of Proximal Development
Humanism
• Maslow’s Hierarchy
• Universal human
needs
What theories contribute
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Psychoanalytic theory – Early childhood
Behaviorism – Environment
Cognitive – Thinking
Sociocultural theory – Culture
Humanism – Universal characteristics
All have strengths & weaknesses
No theory is applicable to all behaviors