C. Developmental Theories

Behavioral Theories

Designed to explain the development of specific behaviors and suggest their relationship to other developing social skills.

Psychodynamic Theories

Focus on personality-trait development and psychological challenges at different ages.

Cognitive Theories

Focus on advancement of the development of thinking.

Humanist Theories

Describe the influence of human experiences such as love and attachment on behavior and personality development.

Sociocultural Theories

Describe how culture influences behavior.

Importance of Understanding Developmental Theories

Changes in physiology, psychology, and behavior that occur normally at different stages in the lifespan.

Factors Influencing Behavior

Behaviors influenced by culture, environment, past experiences, family, health status, and the reaction of the individual.

Freud's Theory of Psychosexual Development

Identified three interacting parts of a person's psychological functioning.

Id

Present at birth, unconscious, represents biological drives and demands instant gratification.

Ego

Conscious sense of self that seeks gratification by avoiding social disapproval.

Superego

Internalizes the wishes and morals of a child's caregivers and behavior of ego.

Oedipus Complex

Arises during the phallic stage of development (age 3-6 years) where little boys compete with their fathers for their mother's attention.

Electra Anxiety

Occurs when little girls compete with their mothers for the love and attention from their fathers.

Carl Jung's Personality Traits

Believed that development extended into adulthood at the age of 40 known as the 'noon of life'.

Introvert

A quiet person who focuses inwardly on self.

Extrovert

An outgoing person who focuses on others in the environment.

Self-Actualization

Recognizing one's own talent.

Psychosocial Theory (Erik Erikson)

Describes a part of personality development that are dependent on social environment and social interactions.

Identity Crisis

Period of inner conflict during which one examines one's values and makes decisions about one's life roles.

Evaluation of Erikson's Theory

Places emphasis on the importance of human consciousness and choice.

Daniel Levinson's Theory

Believed that an interaction among environment, culture, and the individual was the 'fabric of life'.

Pre-Adult Stage

Ages 17-22, the pre-adult first leaves the protection of the family.

Early Adult Stage

Ages 22-44, at the height of vigor and vitality making important choices.

Middle Adult Stage

Ages 45-65, a transition phase with a gradual decrease of mental and physical functioning.

Late Adulthood

Grandparent generation whose task is to define new goals and levels of involvement with family, friends, and community.

Late-Late Adult

Involves tasks of facing death, although the individual often continues to be socially interactive.

Cognitive Theory (Jean Piaget)

A Swiss psychologist who emphasizes cognitive milestones in development.

Four stages of development

Related to learning to understand and relate logically to the world.

Information-Processing Theory

Information is input, is processed mentally, and is often then followed by an output of judgement and decision-making.

Cognitive-Developmental Theory

Child's abilities to mentally represent the world and solve problems are a result of interaction of experience and maturation of neurological structures.

Scheme

Action pattern or mental structure involved in acquiring or organizing knowledge.

Information-Processing Theory (detailed)

Cognitive process of encoding information, storing information in long-term memory, retrieving information or placing it in short-term memory, manipulating information to solve problems.

Cognitive Theory (Jane Loevinger)

Extended Piaget's model of development into the stages of adulthood, believing that the ego adapts to demands and is an important basis for critical thinking.

Constructive Theory (Robert Kegan)

Expressed a constructive developmental theory similar to Piaget's, believing in a lifelong interaction with the environment.

Defense Mechanisms for Coping (Piaget)

Includes rationalization, repression, projection, displacement, reaction formation, regression, identification, and sublimation.

Rationalization

Developing a plausible excuse for unacceptable behavior.

Repression

Forgetting an unpleasant experience.

Projection

Attributing one's thoughts or feelings to another person.

Displacement

Expressing feelings (often anger) one has about a person towards another innocent person.

Reaction formation

Acting just the opposite of what one feels.

Regression

Reverting to immature behavior.

Identification

Joining a group so that its positive identity will be replaced on oneself.

Sublimation

Rechanneling unacceptable impulses into socially acceptable ones.

Theory of Language and Culture (Lev Vygotsky)

Social and cultural experiences are necessary for optimal growth and development.

Social Theory of Growth and Development (Urie Bronfenbrenner)

States that a combination of social and economic factors influence growth and development.

Hierarchy of Needs (Abraham Maslow)

If basic needs are met, the individual can move to higher levels of thought and self-fulfillment.

Environmental Theory (Carl Rogers)

People naturally form their own positive destiny, based on the concept of the self, if obstacles are removed.

Behaviorist Theory (John Watson)

The father of behaviorism; the environment and experiences mold the personality.

Behaviorism

Theory that human or animal psychology can be objectively studied through observable actions.

Reinforcement

Process of providing stimuli following responses that increase its frequency.

Positive reinforcers

Increase the frequency of behaviors when they are applied.

Negative reinforcers

Increase the frequency of behaviors when they are removed.

Extinction

Results from repeated performance of operant behavior without reinforcement.

Social-Learning Theories of Personality (Albert Bandura, Walter Mischel)

Social learning formed the basis for personality development.

Social-Learning Theories of Personality

Theories that emphasize the role of observation and reinforcement in the development of personality.

Walter Mischel

Stanford professor who conducted psychological studies on children's ability to delay gratification.

Marshmallow Experiment

Study where children chose to wait for a second marshmallow or eat the first one immediately.

Theory of Moral Development

Lawrence Kohlberg's theory focusing on the development of moral reasoning.

Moral reasoning

Development of a set of social rules that enables a person to differentiate right from wrong.

Looking-glass self

Charles Horton Cooley's concept of self-image formed through three steps: imagining how we portray ourselves, how others evaluate us, and combining these impressions.

Development of Self-Image

The process of forming self-image as proposed by Charles Horton Cooley and George Herbert Mead.

Developmental Tasks of the Older Adult

Coping with retirement, adapting to physiological decline, facing death, and maintaining self-worth.

Robert Havighurst

Theorized developmental tasks of late adulthood including adjusting to health status and income.

Developmental Stages of Retirement

Stages that individuals go through as they transition from work to retirement.

Cultural beliefs and practices

Influences on growth and development based on how children are treated in society.

Developmental tasks

Challenges to be met in each phase of development throughout the lifespan.

Social-Learning Theory

Theory that posits behavior is learned through observing others and the consequences of their actions.

Erik Erikson

Psychologist who proposed a psychosocial theory defining stages of life from infancy to older adulthood.

Jean Piaget

Psychologist known for his cognitive theory of development focusing on how children understand the world.

Abraham Maslow

Psychologist who created the hierarchy-of-needs theory leading to self-actualization.

Carl Rogers

Psychologist who believed individuals shape their own destinies through mastery of their environment.

Ivan Pavlov

Psychologist known for his work in classical conditioning.

B.F. Skinner

Psychologist known for his research in operant conditioning.

Lawrence Kohlberg

Psychologist who described personality development based on moral reasoning.

Freud

Psychoanalyst who identified the id, ego, and superego and described stages of psychosexual development.

Carl Jung

Psychologist who believed that development continues into adulthood, with age 40 as the 'noon of life'.