Theories of Human Development
Theory-a set of concepts designed in such a way as
to organize, describe, & explain certain observations.
A good theory is:
 Parsimonious- as simple as possible, concise
 Falsifiable- generates predictions that can be
tested and disconfirmed.
 Heuristic- continues to stimulate more complex
theories and further testing.
Issues in Development:
 Nature vs. nurture-heredity or environment
 Active/ passive issue-do children actively
contribute to their development or are they
passive recipients of the environment.
 Continuity/ discontinuity issuedevelopment occurs gradually or in stages
 Quantitative vs. qualitative changesquantitative changes are measurable,
qualititative changes are in kind, type
 Developmental stages-a period of
development that is distinct, with its own
abilities, behaviors, emotions occurring in a
coherent pattern.
Psychoanalytic Theories
Freud’s Psychosexual theory-the maturation of the
libido (sex drive) drives personality development
through various stages. His theory was developed
through observations of patients who seem to have
repressed unconscious motives. These motives
arose from sexual and aggressive instincts which are
innate to us, but to survive successfully in society
must be controlled.
Components of Personality:
Id – pleasure principle
Ego- reality principle
Superego- the conscience
Stages of Personality Development: fixation is
an arrested development at a stage which wasn’t
successfully negotiated, so the person returns to it
under pressure later in life.
Oral- Birth to 18 mo.
Anal- 1 – 3 years
Phallic- 3-6 years-most important stage- gender
identity and morality develop here in response to the
Oedipal complex
Latency- 6-11 years
Genital- age 12 up
Erikson’s Psychosocial theory-he adds social
influence to the development of personality. He also
believes children are more active in their
environments, not at the mercy of others as Freud
believed. He also believed development occurred all
through life, so his stages went through old age. He
believed every stage had a life crisis inherent to it,
which must be negotiated successfully in order to
develop normally.
Learning Theories- Behaviorism developed as a
reaction to the vagueness of psychoanalytic thought.
Behaviorists believed only behavior should be
studied, because it can be measured and manipulated.
You can’t analyze thought in a scientific manner.
Watson’s Behaviorism- he believed observable
responses were habits (well-learned associations)
that could be changed, depending on experience. The
child was a blank slate to be molded by experience.
This idea of the child as passive recipients of
environmental influence is called environmental
determinism. His notable experiment was instilling
fear in Little Albert by associating a loud noise with a
white rat. He believed all our emotional expressions
were learned. This work derived from Pavlov’s
Classical Conditioning experiments in Russia.
Skinner’s Operant- Learning Theory- he believed
that learning was a function of repeated results of
behaviors. We increase things that get us positive
rewards and decrease doing things that get us
punishment or nothing. The only way to know
whether a result is a reinforcer or punisher is to
examine the effect on the target behavior.
Bandura’s Cognitive Social-Learning theory- he
believed that learning did not require personal RF or
Pun. to occur. People learn from observing others
(models) and the results they get- observational
learning. He used the Bobo doll experiment to show
changes in behavior as a result of observing
aggression. Reciprocal determinism is the idea that
influence is bidirectional- children influence parents
and other siblings, and vice versa. Person –
Behavior- Environment triangle
Cognitive-Developmental Viewpoint-that the
quality of intellectual functioning changes over time
in specific ways; intellect is not simply a collection of
facts.
Piaget’s theory- saw intelligence as a process of
adapting to life circumstances, like an amoeba.
What motivates learning is disequilibrium- something
in the environment forcing us to adapt and change.
Scheme- a concept, an organized pattern of thought
or action developed to make sense of experience.
These concepts are changed through the processes of
assimilation and accommodation in order to deal
with disequilibrium. We try to return to status quo
when we have been disturbed. This process requires
adaptation and learning.
Stages of Cognitive Development
 Sensorimotor-Birth to 2 yrs.
 Preoperational- 2 – 7 yrs.
 Concrete Operations- 7 – 11 yrs.
 Formal Operations- 11 yrs. up
Vygotsky’s Sociocultural theory- focused on how
culture, traditions, ethnic heritage, beliefs and values
contributed to how we learn and think and develop.
What we learn is mediated by what is valued by the
culture. He didn’t believe stages were involved.
Information-Processing Theory- builds a model of
the human cognitive process (the mind) that looks
like computer modules. They examine how
information comes in (encoded), is stored, and is
retrieved for later use. They test forgetting, strategies
for retaining experience and knowledge.
Ethological (Evolutionary) Viewpoint-the study of
the bioevolutionary bases of behavior. The original
theory was developed by Darwin using the theory of
natural selection. So if we see a characteristic or
learning style today in people, it is due in some way
to an adaptation to environmental change that served
us in the past- we would not have developed the way
we did if it didn’t work for us. We would have died
and the learning style died with us. With this theory
comes the idea that there are sensitive periods in our
development which are optimal for developing a
certain skill or ability. If we miss that period, we will
have a hard time developing it later. Depth
perception, language, attachment, altruism are
particularly affected by sensitive periods. Defined
originally during imprinting experiments by
Lorenz.
Ecological Systems Viewpoint- Bronfenbrenner’s
model that says the person is embedded in variety of
environmental systems that interact with others and
influence development.
 Microsystem- immediate settingparent/child
 Mesosystem- connections between
Microsystems- home and school and day
care
 Exosystem- contexts that support the
child- parents’ work, extended family
 Macrosystem-larger culture- ethnic
group, ideology of values, traditions
 Chronosystem- changes occurring over
time that influence the direction of
development (children in a home with
drinking will be more influenced as the
drinking increases and they grow older)
World Views- philosophical assumptions
 Mechanistic vs. organismic model
Mechanistic model sees the person as a machine to
be deconstructed and understood piecemeal. Person
is passive responded to environment. Person
changes gradually as parts wear out or are
developed.
Organismic model sees the person as a whole being
who must be understood holistically. Person is
active in his/her development and responsive to
internal drives. S/he evolves though stages.
 Contextual model-sees the child as active and
development as a result of interplay between
person and environment, nature & nurture.
Theories of Human Development
Theory-a set of concepts designed in such a way
as to organize, describe, & explain certain
observations.
A good theory is parsimonious, falsifiable,
heuristic.
Issues in Development:
 Nature vs. nurture
 Active/ passive issue
 Continuity/ discontinuity issue
 Quantitative vs. qualitative changes
 Developmental stages
Psychoanalytic Theories
Freud’s Psychosexual theory-the maturation of
the libido (sex drive) drives personality
development through various stages. His theory
was developed through observations of patients
who seem to have repressed unconscious
motives. These motives arose from sexual and
aggressive instincts which are innate to us.
Components of Personality:
 Id – pleasure principle
 Ego- reality principle
 Superego- the conscience
Stages of Personality Development: fixation
 Oral- Birth to 18 mo.
 Anal- 1 – 3 years
 Phallic- 3-6 years
 Latency- 6-11 years
 Genital- age 12 up
Erikson’s Psychosocial theory-he adds social
influence to the development of personality.
Learning Theories- Behaviorism developed as
a reaction to the vagueness of psychoanalytic
thought. Behaviorists believed only behavior
should be studied, because it can be measured
and manipulated.
Watson’s Behaviorism- he believed observable
responses were habits (well-learned
associations) that could be changed, depending
on experience. The idea of the child as passive
recipients of environmental influence is called
environmental determinism. His notable
experiment was instilling fear in Little Albert
by associating a loud noise with a white rat. He
believed all our emotional expressions were
learned.
Skinner’s Operant- Learning Theory- he
believed that learning was a function of repeated
results of behaviors. We increase things that get
us positive rewards and decrease doing things
that get us punishment or nothing. The only way
to know whether a result is a reinforcer or
punisher is to examine the effect on the target
behavior.
Bandura’s Cognitive Social-Learning theoryhe believed that learning did not require personal
RF or Pun. to occur. People learn from
observing others (models) and the results they
get- observational learning. He used the Bobo
doll experiment to show changes in behavior as
a result of observing aggression. Reciprocal
determinism is the idea that influence is
bidirectional- children influence parents and
other siblings, and vice versa.
Cognitive-Developmental Viewpoint-that the
quality of intellectual functioning changes over
time in specific ways; intellect is not simply a
collection of facts.
Piaget’s theory- saw intelligence as a process of
adapting to life circumstances, like an amoeba.
 Scheme- a concept, an organized pattern of
thought or action developed to make sense
of experience. These concepts are changed
through the processes of assimilation and
accommodation in order to deal with
disequilibrium. We try to return to status
quo when we have been disturbed. This
process requires adaptation and learning.
 Stages of Cognitive Development
 Sensorimotor-Birth to 2 yrs.
 Preoperational- 2 – 7 yrs.
 Concrete Operations- 7 – 11 yrs.
 Formal Operations- 11 yrs. up
 Vygotsky’s Sociocultural theoryfocused on how culture, traditions,
ethnic heritage, beliefs and values
contributed to how we learn and think
and develop. What we learn is mediated
by what is valued by the culture. He
didn’t believe stages were involved.
Information-Processing Theory- builds a
model of the human cognitive process (the
mind) that looks like computer modules. They
examine how information comes in (encoded), is
stored, and is retrieved for later use. They test
forgetting, strategies for retaining experience
and knowledge.
Ethological (Evolutionary) Viewpoint-the
study of the bioevolutionary bases of behavior.
The original theory was developed by Darwin
using the theory of natural selection. With this
theory comes the idea that there are sensitive
periods in our development which are optimal
for developing a certain skill or ability. Depth
perception, language, attachment, altruism
are particularly affected by sensitive periods.
Defined originally during imprinting
experiments by Lorenz.
Ecological Systems ViewpointBronfenbrenner’s model that says the person is
embedded in variety of environmental systems
that interact with others and influence
development.
 Microsystem
 Mesosystem
 Exosystem
 Macrosystem
 Chronosystem
World Views- philosophical assumptions
 Mechanistic vs. organismic model
 Contextual model