Causes of Behavior - Study Flashcards

Vocabulary practice flashcards based on the chapter 'Causes of Behavior' by Tom L. Day & Jean T. Kunz, covering the theoretical foundations, four root causes of behavior, and adult guidance strategies.

"All Behavior is Caused"

The foundational premise stating that every action in a child is motivated by underlying internal or external factors, challenging adults to understand the root cause before reacting.

Ages-Stages Theories

Developmental theories, such as those formulated by Erikson and Piaget, that link human growth to specific chronological ages and sequential developmental tasks or outcomes.

Maslow's Theory of Needs Motivation

A theoretical framework proposing that human behavior is driven by basic human needs; when satisfied consistently, an individual progresses toward self-actualization, while unsatisfied needs create personal developmental deficits.

Goodness of Fit

The degree of harmony and smooth interaction in the "social dance" between a child's unique temperament and the caregiver's personality.

Four Goals of Misbehavior (Dreikurs)

The four mistaken, purposive goals children pursue when blocked from social belonging: 1) attention-getting, 2) power and superiority, 3) desire to retaliate or revenge, and 4) display of inadequacy, inferiority, or assumed disability.

Behaviorist Point of View (Skinner)

A perspective defining development as a sequence of interactions between the organism and the environment, viewing behavior as a function of current stimuli and past reinforcement or punishment.

Four Root Causes of Behavior

The central framework categorizing all child behavior into four sources: 1) growth and development, 2) lack of knowledge and/or misinformation, 3) situations, and 4) unmet needs.

Behavior Due to Growth and Development

Behavior rooted in the natural maturation process of the child; it serves as essential preparation for future development, is temporary, and changes naturally as the child matures.

Channeling the Behavior

An adult intervention for annoying growth-rooted behavior that redirects it into an acceptable location or manner without stopping the developmentally necessary activity.

Capitalizing on the Behavior

A technique where adults plan purposeful activities around a child's natural developmental interests and physical energy to teach concepts and expand knowledge.

Pacing the Behavior

Offering opportunities and progressive challenges just ahead of the child to stimulate development of more complex skills without overwhelming or discouraging them.

Schemata (Piaget)

Cognitive mental structures formed through repeated firsthand experiences that represent reality to the child and guide overt behavior.

Functional (Reproductive) Assimilation

The inherent tendency of an assimilatory schema to apply itself repeatedly to aspects of the environment, thereby consolidating and stabilizing learning.

Behavior Due to Lack of Knowledge and/or Misinformation

Behavior that occurs because the child simply does not understand what is expected or lacks the repeated experiences required to generalize appropriate actions across different settings.

Behavior Due to the Situation

Short-lived, situation-specific behavior triggered by environmental demands, boredom, lack of personal importance, time pressure, or the presence of specific people or objects.

Situational Physiological Needs

Temporary bodily states—such as immediate hunger, fatigue, or the need to use the restroom—that alter behavior temporarily and resolve quickly once the immediate physical condition is satisfied.

Behavior Due to Unmet Needs

Persistent, intense, and overtly inappropriate behavior occurring across all settings, driven by chronic, long-term deprivations of basic social, emotional, or physical needs that the child cannot control.

Feeding the Need

The long-term adult strategy of satisfying chronic emotional or social deficits by maintaining consistency, setting firm and non-judgmental limits, and nurturing a trusting relationship.

Self-Regulation

The ultimate developmental goal of guidance wherein a child becomes self-governing and willingly chooses to follow appropriate behaviors rather than simply complying through external force.