The ULTIMATE Human Growth & Development (HGD) CLEP Study Guide

Discontinuity or Stage Theories (types of theories)

-Development progresses through a series of stages

-Each stage involves a specific task

-Once task is achieved, individual moves to next stage

-Changes are qualitative

Continuity Theory (type of theory)

-Development/change is a matter of small steps

-Change is NOT qualitative

Universality theorists believe…

there are universals to development that occur across all cultures/time-periods

Context-specific theorists believe…

context (cultural/social) influences development

Cognitive-Developmental Theory

-Coined by Jean Piaget

-Argues that cognitive abilities develop as one matures physiologically

-It is a stage theory (4-stages)

~Sensorimotor stage (0-2yo)

~Preoperational stage (2-7yo)

~Concrete operations (7-12yo)

~Formal operations (12-15yo)

Stage 1 of Cognitive-Developmental Theory?

-Sensorimotor (0-2yo)

-Characterized by child learning the difference between themselves and their environment

Stage 2 of Cognitive-Developmental Theory?

-Preoperational (2-7yo)

-Characterized by: egocentrism, rigid thought, semi-logical reasoning, limited social cognition

Stage 3 of Cognitive-Developmental Theory?

-Concrete Operations (7-12yo)

-Characterized by: individual can consider other viewpoints, can perform transformations (reversibility, inversion, reciprocity, conservation), can group items into categories, make inferences about reality, inductive reasoning (generalizing), increased quantitative skills

Stage 4 of Cognitive-Developmental Theory?

-Formal Operations (12-15yo)

-Characterized by: higher ordered and critical thinking, logical, abstract, hypothetical capabilities, inductive reasoning, deductive reasoning, able to anticipate verbal cues, can perform an experiment (hypothesis, isolate variables, cause-and-effect)

Jean Piaget and "Adaptation" (learning)

Individual encounters a new stimulus -> disequilibrium of individual -> accommodation (adjusting prior knowledge) -> assimilation (putting new and old information together) -> understanding that which is new… (learning…)

Learning Theorists believe…

-that environment influences learning (nurture), and developmental change is the product of learning

-ie. Pavlov, Watson, Skinner, Bandura

Classical Conditioning

-Ivan Pavlov

-"Learning takes place when reflexive behavior (salivating) comes under control of a novel stimulus (bell) in the environment"

Unconditioned Stimulus?

Unconditioned Response?

Conditioned Stimulus?

Conditioned Response?

-stimulus that automatically elicits a response (steak)

-automatic response to UCS (salivating)

-paired with UCS to generate response (steak & bell)

-response that results from CS (salivating at bell)

IRT Classical Conditioning…

"Generalization"?

"Discrimination"?

"Extinction"?

-CR is elicited by stimuli similar to CS (alike to bell)

-CR is only elicited by CS (bell)

-Unlearning of the CR

Classical Conditioning of Emotional Responses

-John Watson

-Through experience we learn to associate new environmental stimuli with reflexive emotional responses

-Conditioned fear into Little Albert using a loud noise (UCS) and a rate (CS); later, little albert would be fearful of just rat…

Operant Conditioning

-B.F. Skinner

-Learning is controlled by stimuli and our interaction with it, but our behavior is influenced by consequences (reward, punishment)

-Positive reinforcement = rewarding behavior (candy)

-Negative reinforcement = removing an undesirable consequence to promote good behavior (letting a kid out of timeout if they agree to not be disruptive)

Social Cognitive Theory

-Albert Bandura

-Changes in behavior don't result from just conditioning, but also from observing and modeling

Psychodynamic Theorists believe what about personality?

-it is unconscious and shaped by early experiences

Freud's Theory of Personality

-Sigmund Freud

-Three main points:

~1) early experiences determine adult personality

~2) unconscious mental processes guide behavior

~3) conflict causes most behavior

-Each adult personality consists of:

~id - pleasure-oriented, animalistic

~ego - deals with reality, executive branch

~superego - concerned with morality

-Behavior is outcome of conflict between id, ego, and superego

-Most of our personality is bottom of iceberg (unconscious)

Freud's Stages of Psychosexual Development Theory

-Development is centered around an erogenous zone that changes with age

-Frustrations or under-/over-indulgence in any one zone can result in fixation, which affects personality/behavior

-Stage 1 (0-1yo) - oral

-Stage 2 (1-3yo) - anus

-Stage 3 (3-6yo) - genitals

-Stage 4 (6-12yo) - latency (none)

-Stage 5 (puberty+) - genitals

Erik Erikson's Psychosocial Stages of Development

-Personality develops over the entire lifespan as a result of social-emotional tasks

-In Childhood

~Trust vs mistrust (birth-1yo)

~Autonomy vs shame & doubt (1-3yo)

~Initiative vs guilt (3-6yo)

~Industry vs inferiority (6-11yo)

-In Adolescence

~Identity vs role confusion

-In Young Adulthood

~Intimacy vs isolation

-In Adulthood

~Generativity vs stagnation

-In Late Adulthood

~Ego integrity vs despair

Socio-Cultural Theorists believe…

Environment (society & culture) influence child, and child influences environment

Socio-Cultural Theory of Cognitive Development

-Lev Vygotsky

-There are social influences on development

-Much of cognitive development due to interactions

-Older children & adults = "scaffolding"

-Lowest level of performance occurs when child works alone, highest when with knowledgeable elder

-"Zone of Proximal Development" - range of a child's competence from what they can do alone to what they can do with an advanced thinker

Ecological Systems Theory

-Urie Bronfenbrenner

-Environment influences child, child influences environment

-Development takes place is context of several systems

~Microsystem - immediate environment

~Mesosystem - interrelationships of microsystems

~Exosystem - what significant others of child experience, but child does not

~Macrosystem - culture/society

Evolutionary Theory

-Charles Darwin

-There are never enough resources --> there are variations in traits/abilities --> some traits are better suited for a particular environment --> those individuals survive and reproduce

-^^this is "natural selection"