Human Growth and Development

Nature versus nurture controversy

experiences (nurture) or genetics (nature) influences development

Nurture blank slate

tabula rasa

Nature versus nurture differences

nature preprogrammed and nurture experiences

View of most theorists on nature versus nurture

combination, interact from conception forward

Stage theories (discontinuity theories)

Development through a series of stages

Continuity theories

Steady growth process

Discontinuity (stage) vs Continuity

Stage is qualitative

Child development vs. Life Span Perspective

Freud and Piaget = child development

Erikson = life span

Child Development theory

complete once reach adolescence

Life Span theory

continues throughout life span

Universality vs. context-specific development

Universality (Piaget) = same order and same age

Context-specific (Bronfenbrenner) = takes place in various contexts

Context-specific development

Collectivist cultures vs. individualistic cultures changes development

Cognitive development theory

Based on the notion that cognitive abilities are developed as individuals mature physiologically and have opportunity to interact with environment (Piaget)

Equilibration of accommodation and assimilation

Piaget argues that normally we are in this state, when a new stimulus presents we enter state of disequilibrium

Accommodation

Adjusting prior knowledge gained through former experiences and interactions

Assimilation

Fitting together the new information with what has been previously known or understood

Constructivism

Piaget position on learning. Children construct schema, organized patterns of thought or action, Based on the experiences that they have actively exploring the environment

Piaget Constructivism

considered a stage theory

Piaget Constructivism Four Stages

1. Sensorimotor (birth - 2)

2. Preoperational (2-7)

3. Concrete Operations (7-11)

4. Formal Operaitons (11-15)

Preoperational stage

egocentrism, rigidity of thought, semi logical reasoning, limited social cognition

Concrete Operations

Beginning of operational thinking, can perform transformations, understand reversibility, inversion, reciprocity, and conservation, group into categories, make inferences, inductive reasoning

Formal Operations

higher ordered critical thinking, adult thinking, ultimate stage of cognitive development, scientific method, logical, abstract and hypothetical thought, deductive and inductive reasoning

Kohlberg

extended Piaget model to study of moral reasoning

Information processing approach

newer approach to studying cognitive development, uses computer as metaphor for human mind

Learning theory (or behaviorist theory)

Developmental change as the product of learning

Learning

To find as changes in observable behavior

Watson

Found in school psychology called behaviorism or behavioral psychology

Behavioral psychology important figures

Pavlov, Watson, Skinner, Bandura

Learning theory

behavior is controlled by stimuli in the environment

Pavlov Classical Conditioning

Learning takes place when reflexive behavior comes under the control of a novel stimulus in the environment

Reflex

unlearned behavior present at birth, unconscious

Components of Reflex

Unconditioned stimulus (UCS) - automatically elicits response without training or conditioning

Unconditioned Response (UCR) - untrained motor response

Inborn reflex

result of UCS-UCR connection

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

Consistently paired with the UCS

Conditioned Response (CR)

after several pairings of UCS with CS, CR happens

Generalization

Observed when a conditioned response solicited by stimuli similar to the original CS

Discrimination

Opposite of generalization. Process of conditioning a response to occur only after specific stimulus is presented

Extinction

Unlearning of a CR

John Watson

Extended work of Pavlov by studying classical conditioning of emotional responses and children

Emotional responses at birth

Love, anger, and fear

Watson argued

Through experience we learned to associate new environmental stimuli with the reflexive emotional responses of love, anger, and fear

Little Albert

Watson and Raynor (assistant), fear response in little boy using rat and fear-producing UCS, a loud noise

Mary Cover Jones

Watson student, extinguished phobia in child using classical conditioning

Skinner

Operant conditioning

Operant conditioning (or instrumental conditioning)

Behavior is shaped by rewarding or punishing consequences that follow

Reinforcement

Process of rewarding a behavior

Shaping of behavior

Skinner argued that two processes of reinforcement and punishment control the shaping of behavior

Positive reinforcement

Reward or rewarding condition that is experienced after a behavioral response increasing the probability that the response will be repeated under the same stimulus conditions in the future

Negative reinforcement

Unpleasant condition is removed when the behavioral responses is emitted

Bandura

Social-cognitive theory of learning (social learning theory)

Social-cognitive theory

Changes in behavior are acquired not only through the process of conditioning, but also through observational learning

Modeling

Observing the behavior of a model and then later imitating that behavior

Self-efficacy

Subjective judgment a person makes that he or she will be successful in the attempt to imitate a model

Vicarious reinforcement

affect that seeing a model being reinforced has in observational learning

Psychodynamic theory (psychoanalytic theory)

Freud

Psychodynamic theory

Personality is mainly unconscious

Freud's theory

1. Childhood experiences determine adult personality.

2. Unconscious mental processes influence everyday behavior.

3. Conflict causes most human behavior.

Personality consists of:

Id, ego, superego

Id

At birth. Pleasure principle; unconscious instincts; irrational; seeks instant gratification; contains libido

Ego

Around six months. Reality principle; mediates id and reality; executive branch

Superego

Around six years. Morality principle; personal conscience; personal ideals

Libido

Sexual energy

Ego and reality

evolves from id and deals with demands of reality

Executive branch of personality

Because ego attempts to make rational decisions. Brings id demands within norms of society

Right vs wrong

ego cannot determine if something is right or wrong. Superego does

Superego is:

conscience. It can determine right vs wrong. Does not consider reality, only rules about moral behavior

Behavior is outcome of...

Ongoing series of conflicts among the id, ego, an superego

Freud and Iceberg

Personality is like an iceberg. Most of personality exists below the level of awareness just as most of an iceberg is hidden beneath the surface of water

Unconscious

Hidden part of our personality. Still influence personality

Repression

Unwanted thoughts are pushed down into the unconscious. Still influence personality.

Conscious part of our personality

Whatever we are aware of at any particular point in time

Preconscious

Contains material that is just below the surface of awareness but can be easily retrieved

Defense mechanisms

Unconscious methods used by ego to distort reality and thereby protect us from anxiety

Anxiety

Can result from the irrational pleasure demands of the id or the superego causing guilty feelings about real or imagined transgression

Common defense mechanisms

Rationalization, repression, reaction formation, regression, projection, displacement, sublimation, intellectualization, denial

Rationalization

Creating false but plausible excuses to justify unacceptable behavior

Repression

Pushing unacceptable id impulses out of awareness and back into the unconscious

Reaction formation

Behaving exactly the opposite of one's true feelings

Regression

Reversion to immature patterns of behavior

Projection

Attributing one's own thoughts, feelings, motives, or shortcomings to others

Displacement

Shifting unacceptable feelings from their original source to a safer, substitute target.

Sublimation

A useful, socially acceptable course of behavior replaces a socially unacceptable or distasteful impulse.

Intellectualization

By dealing with a stressful situation in an intellectual and unemotional manner, a person detaches him- or herself from the stress

Denial

Denying that a very unpleasant thing has happened

Five Stages of psychosexual development

Oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital

Freud - first three most important

Oral

0-1, mouth. Stimulation of mouth produces pleasure; infant it enjoys sucking, biting, chewing. Weaning is a major task or conflict

Anal

1-3, anus. Toilet training is a major test. Expelling and retaining theses feces produces pleasure.

Phallic

3-6, genitals. Self stimulation of genitals produces pleasure. Oedipal (boys) and Electra (girls) complexes occur - children have erotic desires for opposite-sex parent as well as feelings of fear and hostility for same-sex parent. Successful resolution of this conflict results in identification with the same-sex parent.

Latency

6-12, None. Sexual feelings are repressed. Social contacts beyond immediate family are expanded. Focus shifts to school and same-sex friendships.

Genital

Puberty onward. Genitals. Establishing intimate, sexual relations with others is main focus.

Fixation

Freud states that children experience conflicts between urges in their erogenous zones and societal rules. Fixation occurs when these urges are either frustrated or overindulged in any one erogenous zone. Results in personality becoming permanently locked in the conflict surrounding that erogenous zone.

Oral traits

Obsessive eating, smoking, drinking, sarcasm, overly demanding, aggressiveness

Anal traits

Extreme messiness, overly orderly, overly concerned about punctuality, fear of dirt, love of bathroom humor, anxiety about sexual activities, overly giving, rebelliousness

Phallic traits

Excessive masturbation, flirts frequently, excessively modest, excessively timid, overly proud, promiscuity

Erikson's psychosocial stages of development

Stage theory that personality continues to develop over the entire lifespan. Did not stress unconscious motives or desires. However, like Freud, did feel that events that occur early in development can leave a permanent mark on later development.

Freud vs Erikson

Psychosexual vs Psychosocial

Erikson psychosocial theory

Developing individual is faced with social emotional tasks that progressively enabled the individual to function in the social world. The ego either develops a strength or weakness in adapting socially. Eight stages with two polarities.

Eight stages of psychosocial theory

1. Trust vs Mistrust (Childhood)

2. Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt (Childhood)

3. Initiative vs. Guilt (Childhood)

4. Industry vs. Inferiority (Childhood)

5. Identity vs. Role Confusion (Adolescence)

6. Intimacy vs. Isolation (Young Adulthood)

7. Generativity vs. Stagnation (Adulthood)

8. Ego Integrity vs. Despair (Late Adulthood)

Trust vs. Mistrust

Birth - 1 year. Infants needs to be met by responsive, sensitive caretakers. If this occurs, a basic sense of trust and optimism develops. If not, mistrust and fear of the future results.

Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt

1-3 years. Children begin to express self-control by climbing, exploring, touching, and toilet training. Parents can foster a sense of autonomy by encouraging children to try new things. If restrained or punished harshly, shame and doubt can develop.