Psychoanalytic approach (page 42)
Development is primarily unconscious (beyond awareness) – heavily
coloured by emotion.
Theorists believe that behaviour is a surface characteristic and to truly
understand development, we have to analyze the symbolic meaning of
behaviour and the deep inner workings of the mind.
Theorists also stress that early experience with parents extensively shapes
our development.
Sigmund Freud was the revolutionary founder.
Cognitive approach (46)
Emphasize conscious thoughts
Piaget’s cognitive development theory
Vygotsky’s social-cultural cognitive theory
Information-processing approach
Cognition literally means “knowing”. In other words, psychologists from this
approach study cognition which is ‘the mental act or process by which
knowledge is acquired.’
Behavioural and social cognitive approach
(51)
Ivan Pavlov classical conditioning
Skinner’s operant conditioning
Bandura’s social cognitive theory
Basis for behaviourism, holds that only what can be directly observed and
measured can be studied in a scientific way
The belief that development is observable behaviour that can be learned
through experience with the environment
Emphasizes continuity in development and argue that development does
not occur in stagelike fashion
Ethological approach (54)
Approach that stresses that behaviour is strongly influenced by biology, is tied to
evolution, and is characterized by critical or sensitive periods
Ethological theorists linked human behaviour to behaviour observed in animals and
believed that a critical or sensitive period was essential for healthy development
Use 3 methods of study to understand the origins of nonverbal behaviours, social
grooming, and other innate behaviours
Compare behaviour of close related species (humans with apes)
Study responses of healthy children with those with physical/mental challenges (deafness
or blindness)
Consider whether behaviours occur in more than 1 culture (universal behaviour becomes
innate - natural)
Charles Darwin, Konrad Lorenz, John Bowlby
Humanist approach (56)
Psychologists who believe people work hard to become the best they could
possibly become
-
Self-actualization or actualizing tendency
-
Carl Rogers
-
Abraham Maslow
Bio-ecological approach (59)
Emphasizes environmental factors
Urie Bronfenbrenner – theory focuses on 5 environmental systems:
microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem
Eclectic theoretical orientation (61)
Orientation that does not follow any one theoretical approach but, rather,
selects from each theory whatever is considered its best features
Selects the most persuasive and workable concepts from each
Table on page 63
Good study tool to remember each of the theorists
Sigmund Freud
PSYCHOANALYTIC APPROACH – PAGE 42
Background (1856-1939)
Austrian neurologist, known as the father of psychoanalysis
Id, ego and super-ego
Freud proposed that human psyche could be divided into 3 parts
Id
Ego
Super-ego
Seen as the conscious, unconscious and preconscious
Id
Consists of instincts, which are an individual’s reservoir of psychic energy
Completely unconscious, impulsive, childlike
Operates on the pleasure principle and is the source of basic impulses and
drives
Seeks immediate pleasure and gratification
Doesn’t consider what is realistic, moral
Id has no real awareness
Example of Id
Sally was thirsty. Rather than waiting for the server to refill her glass of
water, she reached across the table and drank from Mr. Smith’s water
glass, much to his surprise
A toddler who wanted another helping of dessert whined until she was
given another serving
Bart was stuck in traffic. He just wanted his vehicle to move! Enraged at the
situation, Bart pulled his car onto the shoulder and sped forward, not
caring that he was clipping people’s side mirrors as he tried to get ahead
of the cars in front of him.
Ego
Rational – known as the “executive branch”
Attempts to exact a balance between the impractical of the Id and the
equally impractical moralism of the super-ego
Often reflected the most in a person’s actions
When overburdened or threatened by its tasks, it may employ defense
mechanisms including denial, displacement
Unlike the Id, the ego can think about things (observe reality and see what
is realistic) - Uses reasoning
Recognizes other people have needs and wants too, and that being
selfish is not always good for us in the long run
Example of Ego
Sally was thirsty. However she knew that her server would be back soon to refill
her water glass, so she waited until then to get a drink, even though she really
just wanted to drink from Mr. Smith’s glass.
Katie’s mom had given her $25 to purchase groceries for dinner that night. At
the mall, Katie saw shoes that she really wanted, and was tempted to use the
money from her mom to make the purchase. However, if she spent the money
on shoes, she wouldn’t have enough to buy the groceries, so she decided she
better not buy the shoes.
Mary really wanted to borrow her mom’s necklace, but knew her mom would
be angry if she took it without asking, so she asked her mom if she could wear
it.
Super-ego
Moral component of the psyche
Takes into account no special circumstances in which the morally right
think may not be the right for a given situation
We often refer to it as our “conscience” – contributes to what we know as
right or wrong
Rewards with pride
Superego doesn’t think about what is realistic
Id and super-ego always battling – ego mediates between the two
If Id expresses too much person can act inappropriate if the super-ego has
too much freedom a person can become a perfectionist
Superego and the ego may reach the same decision about something,
the superego’s reason for that decision is more based on moral values,
while the ego’s decision is based more on what others will think or what
the consequences of an action could be
Examples of superego
Sarah knew that she could steal the supplies from work and no one would
know about it. However, she knew that stealing was wrong, so she decided not
to take anything even though she would probably never get caught.
When Michael saw the $5 bill lying on the floor with no one around it, he turned
it into the school office in case anyone came looking for it. He wouldn’t want
to lose $5, and hoped that whoever had lost it would ask about it in the office.
On the playground, two kids were making fun of Joseph because he wore
glasses. John was tempted to join in so that he could make himself look good,
but when he thought about how bad Joseph must already feel, he knew that
he couldn’t.
Iceberg model
In Freud’s view, the ego must resolve conflicts between the demands of
reality, the wishes of the id, and the constraints of the superego
This causes anxiety which alerts the ego to use protective measures in
order to resolve the conflict
Freud thought that the most powerful defense mechanism was repression
(people would repress their problems and then would have dreams about
it)
Short explanation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Vs8uE8_02E - Sigmund Freud: Id, Ego,
Superego- Psychodynamic theory- Unconscious, Preconscious, Conscious
Rely on angel / devil on our shoulder
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDLWbBrvA40 – Donald duck
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViWoqIB2udA – example of Freud
Theory
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