Chapter 1: History, Theories, and Methods

behaviorism

John B. Watson’s view that a science or theory of development must study observable behavior only and investigate relationships between stimuli and responses

classical conditioning

• a simple form of learning in which one stimulus comes to bring forth the response usually elicited by a second stimulus by being paired repeatedly with the second stimulus

• ex. In the bell-and-pad treatment for bedwetting, psychologists repeatedly pair tension in the children’s bladders with a stimulus that wakes them up (the bell). The children learn to respond to the bladder tension as if it was a bell—that is, they wake up.

operant conditioning

a simple form of learning in which an organism learns to engage in behavior that is reinforced

positive reinforcement

• something is added to increase the likelihood of a behavior

• If your child cleans their room, you will give them a toy.

negative reinforcement

• something is removed to increase the likelihood of a behavior

• Your car beeps until you buckle your seatbelt.

positive punishment

• something is added to decrease the likelihood of a behavior

• You scold a student to get them to stop texting in class (reprimand is added to decrease texting).

negative punishment

• something is removed to decrease the likelihood of a behavior

• A child misbehaves so you take away your child’s favorite toy.

shaping

• the gradual building of complex behavior patterns through reinforcement of successive approximations of the target behavior

• In teaching 2-year-old children to put on their coats, it helps to first praise them for trying to stick their arm into a sleeve on a couple occasions, then to praise them for actually getting their arm into the sleeve, and so on.

theory of psychosocial development

• Erik Erikson

• emphasizes the importance of social relationships and conscious choice throughout the eight stages of development

trust vs. mistrust

• psychosocial stage 1

• birth to age 1

• the infant either comes to view other people and themself as trustworthy or comes to develop a fundamental distrust of their environment

• growth of trust attributed to a primary caregiver

autonomy vs. shame and doubt

• psychosocial stage 2

• age 1-3

• children acquire a degree of self-reliance and self-confidence if allowed to develop at their own pace but may begin to doubt their ability to control themselves and their world if parents are overcritical, overprotective, or inconsistent

initiative vs guilt

• psychosocial stage 3

• age 3-6

• In planning, launching, and initiating fantasy, play, and other activity, the child learns to believe in their ability to successfully pursue goals. However, if these pursuits often fail or are criticized, the child may develop instead a feeling of self-doubt and guilt.

industry vs. inferiority

• psychosocial stage 4

• age 6-12

• The child learns to be productive and to accept evaluation of their efforts or becomes discouraged and feels inferior or incompetent.

identity vs. role diffusion

• psychosocial stage 5

• adolescence

• The individual may “try on” different roles and identify with different groups before forming a cohesive, positive identity that allows them to contribute to society; alternatively, the individual may identify with outgroups to form a negative identity or may remain confused about their sense of identity.

intimacy vs. isolation

• psychosocial stage 6

• young adult

• During this period, individuals must learn to share and care without losing themselves; if they fail, they will feel alone and isolated.

generativity vs. stagnation

• psychosocial stage 7

• middle adulthood

• Generativity is the positive goal of middle adulthood, interpreted in terms not only of procreation but also of creativity and fulfilling one’s full parental and social responsibilities toward the next generation, in contrast to a narrow interest in the self, or self-absorption.

ego integrity vs. despair

• psychosocial stage 8

• late adulthood

• The individual reflects on the life they have lived and may develop either integrity—a sense of satisfaction in having lived a good life and the ability to approach death with equanimity—or despair—a feeling of bitterness about opportunities missed and time wasted, and a dread of approaching death.

social cognitive theory

• Albert Bandura

• conditioning occurs but children also learn by observing others, and they choose whether to display learned responses

cognitive developmental theory

• Jean Piaget

• the stage theory that holds that the child’s abilities to mentally represent the world and solve problems unfold as a result of the interaction of experience and the maturation of neurological

schemas

• Piaget/cognitive developmental theory

• an action pattern or mental structure that is involved in the acquisition and organization of knowledge

• A toddler may initially develop a “dog” schema based on observable features such as four legs and fur. As experience increases, the schema becomes more precise and distinguishes between dogs, cats and other animals.

adaptation

• Piaget/cognitive developmental theory

• an interaction between the organism and the environment that consists of two processes: assimilation and accommodation

assimilation

• Piaget/cognitive developmental theory

• the incorporation of new events or knowledge into existing schemes

• a child calls every four-legged animal “doggie”

accommodation

• Piaget/cognitive developmental theory

• the modification of existing schemes in order to incorporate new events or knowledge

• the child creates a separate “cat” schema

sensorimotor stage

• Piaget’s cognitive developmental theory

• age birth-2

• Babies start to build an understanding of the world through their senses by touching, grasping, watching, and listening.

• They also begin to develop a sense of object permanence, which means they understand that objects exist even when they cannot see them.

preoperational

• Piaget’s cognitive developmental theory

• age 2-7

• Children develop language and abstract thought. This means they can think about concepts and ideas that are not physical.

• They also begin symbolic play (“playing pretend”), drawing pictures, and talking about things that happened in the past.

concrete operational

• Piaget’s cognitive developmental theory

• age 7-12

• Children learn logical, concrete (physical) rules about objects, such as height, weight, and volume. They also learn that an object’s properties stay the same, even if the appearance changes (e.g., modeling clay).

formal operational

• Piaget’s cognitive developmental theory

• age 12+

• Adolescents learn logical rules to understand abstract concepts and solve problems. For example, they may understand the concept of justice.

sociocultural theory

• Vygotsky

• focuses on how the child’s social interaction with adults, largely in the home, organizes a child’s learning experiences in such a way that the child can obtain cognitive skills—such as computation or reading skills—and use them to acquire information

zone of proximal development

• Vygotsky/sociocultural theory

• the range of tasks that a child can carry out with the help of someone who is more skilled, frequently an adult who represents the culture in which the child develops

scaffolding

• Vygotsky/sociocultural theory

• temporary cognitive structures or methods of solving problems that help the child as he or she learns to function independently

• a child’s instructors may offer advice on sounding out letters and words that provide a temporary support until reading “clicks” and the child no longer needs the device

correlational design

• look to see if there is relationship between two variables (correlation coefficient between -1.00 and +1.00)

• not looking for causation, just the relationship

• positive correlation: variables go in same direction (even if both decrease)

• negative correlation: variables go in different directions

experiment

• looking for a cause and effect relationship between two variables

• requires random assignment (randomly putting into the experimental vs. control group)

• requires a control group (allows comparison to treatment/manipulation)

independent variable

the factor you deliberately change or control

dependent variable

the measured result of an experiment