devt’l psych handouts ch 2 theories of dev’t
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Theories of Development
 nature vs. nurture
 nature: Wiggam, 1923; Darwin
 nurture: Watson
Modern view: our genetic inheritance provides the boundaries of our potential and
environment determines the extent to which these potentials are reached.
 activity vs. passivity
 should we view children as actively engaging the world or as at the mercy of the
society they are born into?
 continuity vs. discontinuity
 does development take place smoothly or does it happen in abrupt bursts?
 Are the changes qualitative or quantitative?
 those who say it is quantitative also say it is continuous; those who say it is
qualitative say we develop in discrete stages.
 universality vs. particularity
 some say the most important aspects of development are the ones that everyone
goes through; to others the most important is that which is particular to the individual.
 stage theorists say universal is most important
 others say that this ignores many interesting factors in development that differ
from person to person.
Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory
 we are born with powerful biological urges that seek satisfaction
 these urges are at odds with cultural and family demands
 maturation: finding ways to deal with these urges so as to get along in society
 the psyche: Id, Ego, Superego
 libido: mental energy
 birth: we are Id-driven.
- Id seeks immediate satisfaction for illicit aggressive and sexual urges
- operates according to the Pleasure Principle
 as we develop the Ego emerges – the rational aspect.
- Ego has to placate the Id and steer clear of trouble with society
- operates according to the Reality Principle
 Superego emerges at 3-6 years old.
- we internalize the moral standards of our parents
- we learn to punish ourselves for transgressions
devt’l psych handouts ch 2 theories of dev’t
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 the Ego has to be strong enough to keep the Id and Superego in line.
 Ideally, libidinal energy gets evenly distributed amongst Id, Ego, Superego.
Imbalances lead to problems
- if Id has more than its share, we get psychopathy, violence, aggression
- if Superego has more, we get shame, anxiety, self-doubt, (neurosis)
Freud’s 5 stages of psychosexual development
1)
-
oral stage (birth to 1 year):
pleasure through oral stimulation, the mouth
breast feeding is key (mother can be too strict or too lax)
-
anal stage (1 to 3 yrs):
pleasure shifts to anus as child learns to control anal excretions.
toilet training is key (can be too strict or too lax)
2)
3)
phallic stage (3 to 6 years):
genitals become the focus of auto-erotic sexual pleasure
strong desire for opposite-sex parent
boys have an Oedipus complex: desire the mother but fear the father as a bigger
stronger rival. Fear manifests as castration anxiety. Boys then identify with the
father to alleviate this anxiety.
- Girls have an Electra complex: desire fathers as a result of wanting a penis of
their own (penis envy). Desires a male baby by her father. Not easily resolved;
therefore females are inherently inferior.
-
4)
latency (6 to 12 or puberty): other skills are developed, sex drive is dormant
5)
genital (puberty onwards): psychosexual and physical maturity. Sexual gratification
is sought with an appropriate partner. If we have enough libido by now, we are able
to find a love partner and meaningful work.
Freud’s contributions:
 unconscious motivation
 early years are important to later personality
 children are sexual
Erikson:
-- Trust vs Mistrust (birth to 1 yr)
-- Autonomy vs Shame and Doubt (1 –3 yrs)
-- Initiative vs Guilt (3 – 6 yrs)
-- Industry vs Inferiority (6-12 yrs)
-- Identity vs Role Confusion (12 –20)
-- Intimacy vs Isolation (20-40)
-- Generativity vs Stagnation (40-65)
-- Ego Integrity vs Despair (> 65)
Erikson’s contributions: makes room for other things besides sex as a motivator; allows
for development to continue past puberty
devt’l psych handouts ch 2 theories of dev’t
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Learning Perspective:
 Watson was the father of behaviourism
 B.F. Skinner discovered the basic laws of learning
- an organism will repeat a behaviour that leads to favourable consequences and
will be less likely to repeat a behaviour that leads to negative consequences.
- Operant Learning
 Bandura:
- worked with people, not animals
- stressed importance of cognition in human beings
- observational learning
- reciprocal determinism: development is a function of the person, their behaviour,
and the environment.
Cognitive-Developmental Perspective
Piaget (1896-1980):
 paid attention to the errors children make at various ages
 kids at specific ages make the same cognitive errors
 maybe cognitions change qualitatively as children develop
Piagetian terms:
 Intelligence: a basic life process that helps an organism to adapt to its environment.
 “cognitive structure” or “scheme”: an organized pattern of thought or action used to
cope with or explain some aspect of experience.
 assimilation: the process by which children interpret new experiences by
incorporating them into their existing schemes
 accommodation: the process by which children modify their existing schemes to
incorporate or adapt to new experiences.
Piaget’s 4 Stages of Cognitive Development
1)
Sensorimotor (birth to 2 yrs):
- use sensory and motor abilities to explore the environment
- primitive sense of “self” vs. “other”
- object permanence
- begin producing internal schemes
2)
Preoperational (2 – 7 yrs):
- use of symbols to represent aspects of the world (e.g. language, images)
- egocentric thought
devt’l psych handouts ch 2 theories of dev’t
3)
-
Concrete Operations (7-11 yrs):
acquire and use concrete operations
no longer accept face value
understand basic properties and relations of objects and events
able to infer other people’s motives
-
Formal Operations (11 yrs and up):
abstract thought (can think about thinking)
logical thought not limited to the concrete
reasoning is systematic
can consider multiple possible solutions to a problem
4)
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Evolutionary Perspective:
 ethology – study of the evolutionary bases of behaviour and development
 sociobiology: study of evolutionary basis for human social behaviours
Ethology:
 human beings are born with biologically preprogrammed behaviours due to evolution
that help us survive
 e.g. babies cry and parents respond to them
 critical periods for developing various skills
Sociobiology:
 adaptive behaviours are those that contribute to the survival of our genes (survival of
the family, the race, the species)