Developmental approach
Assumptions
1. Both maturation and experience influence behaviour (Nature / Nurture)
Example Piaget’s stages Nature (go through cognitive stages naturally), and
Bandura uses Nurture to explain aggression (children display aggression after
seeing adult).
2. In early life there is a critical period for language, attachment to others
especially parents. So early life is important for determining later
development. Freud – early life affects later personality
3. Abilities and behaviours change over a life-time. Children in S&B got better at
conservation as they got older.
Strengths
1. Offers an explanation on why individuals of differing ages demonstrate
different intellectual abilities, social skills and emotional responses.
2. It adds to the continuing nature versus nurture debate.
3. Gives results that are useful to younger people as interventions at an early
period have the greatest effect on people’s future behaviour (including
language, IQ, social skills, etc).
Weaknesses
1. It is often claimed to be reductionist (page 186).
2. Many proposals in relation to age-related development have been shown to be
too rigid. Determinism. Free-will has little to do with it.
3. Children are easily influenced by experimenters, plenty of opportunity for
experimenter bias.
Similarities and differences between studies
Studies
Similarity
Bandura and Samuel
Both laboratory
&Bryant
experiments (see page 153
for info about
experiments). Bandura is
a laboratory experiment
because it is well
controlled as the rooms
are set up the same way
and procedures are
followed in the same way.
In S&B as an independent
variable is manipulated
such as age or materials
and the Ps know that they
are taking part in an
experiment.
Bandura and Freud
Both suggest experiences
with adults have a big
effect upon a child’s
behaviour. (Bandura page
Difference
Greater ethical concerns
in Bandura (page 54 and
46 for S&B). The ethical
concerns in Bandura are
that children are being
taught aggression and
distress is caused to the
child as the toy in the
arousal stage is snatched
from them and they are
left alone in a room with
a ‘crazy’ violent adult.
Difficult to withdraw and
parental permission
needed.
Bandura studied many
children in a laboratory
(page 50) whereas Freud
reported the study of one
Samuel and Bryant and
Freud
52, Freud page 60).
In Bandura children learn
aggression and nonaggression from adults.
In Freud he suggests that
children’s early sexual
feelings need careful
handling to avoid the
child being ‘stuck’ at a
particular stage and to
overcome phobias, such
as fear of horses.
Both deal with stages of
development. S&B – preoperational/concrete
stages, (see page 40)
Freud – mainly phallic
stage (see page 57).
In S&B they study
conservation skills which
generally cannot be
successfully accomplished
in the pre-operational
stage as how things look
are more important to
them than logic. Can be
solved in the Concrete
stage as children can
solve logical problems
provided they can
physically see or
manipulate the problem.
child at home.
Bandura studied 72
children, 6 in each group
in the experimental
conditions. Freud studied
Little Hans through
correspondence from
father.
As above.
Samuel and Bryant very
scientific and well
controlled (page 46)
whereas Freud was very
subjective (open to
personal opinion,
example page 60).
Example fear of horses is
seen as fear of father
when it is more likely to
be associated with a
horse-drawn bus crashing
in front of him.
Example 17d
One strength of the developmental approach is that it offers an explanation on
why individuals of differing ages demonstrate different intellectual abilities, social
skills and emotional responses. For example, in Samuel and Bryant’s study
children are tested at different ages between 5 and 8 years old. It is found that few
errors are made on conservation tasks at age 8 compared with at age 5. This
demonstrates that children’s intellectual ability qualitatively changes as they
mature. At an early age children are more likely to be persuaded by the
appearance of objects (e.g. a play-doh pancake shape has more play-doh than a
ball shape), but as they grow older logic becomes used more extensively (e.g. as
the shape changed and nothing was added or taken away the materials must still
be equal). (3 minutes).
Note Yellow is the point
Green is the example
Blue is the comment.
Another strength of the developmental approach is that it adds to the continuing
nature versus nurture debate. For example, the study by Bandura supports the
nurture side as children learn aggression by copying the adult. The process is
known as social learning theory. S&B provided evidence for nature by
demonstrating Piaget’s stages of cognitive development. He used the ages of
between 4 and 8 as the change from the pre-operational stage (when conservation
is difficult) to the concrete stage (when children can conserve) occurs.
One weakness of the developmental approach is that it can be reductionist.
One weakness of the developmental approach is that it is often claimed to be
reductionist. For example (best to use Bandura)
Another weakness of the developmental approach is that the findings are
deterministic and seem to reject the idea of participants having free-will
Another weakness of the developmental approach is that children will try to please
the experimenters and give them the results they want. For example, (best to use
S&B or Freud).
Please complete the weaknesses for homework (6 minutes!!!).