Developmental Psychology: Psychoanalytic, Cognitive, Behavioral, Social Cognitive, and Ecological Theories

Vocabulary flashcards covering Erikson, Piaget, Skinner, Bandura, and Bronfenbrenner theories and key concepts (schemas, assimilation, accommodation, object permanence, conservation, stages, and ecological systems).

Erik Erikson

Developmental psychologist who proposed a lifespan psychosocial theory with eight stages, emphasizing social/interpersonal conflicts and that development continues after puberty.

Trust vs. Mistrust

Erikson's first stage (birth to ~1 year) where the infant learns to trust or mistrust their caregiver to meet needs.

Psychosocial development

Erikson's theory that development occurs through socially embedded tasks/crises across the lifespan.

Piaget

Cognitive development theorist who proposed a stage theory of children's thinking; focused on brain development but did not extend to a full lifespan theory.

Schemata (schema)

Mental frameworks or knowledge structures used to organize and interpret information; like filing cabinets in the brain.

Assimilation

Process of integrating new information into existing schemata.

Accommodation

Process of adjusting or creating new schemata to fit new information that doesn't fit existing ones.

Sensorimotor stage

Piaget's first stage (0–2 years) in which knowledge is gained through senses and motor actions; key concepts include object permanence and early exploration.

Object permanence

Understanding that objects continue to exist even when not visible.

A-not-B error

Infants search for an object in the first location (A) despite seeing it hidden at a new location (B), illustrating incomplete object permanence.

Preoperational stage

Piaget's stage (approximately 2–6 years) characterized by language use and pretend play but lack of logical thinking and conservation; egocentrism is common.

Egocentrism

Difficulty taking another's perspective; a hallmark of the preoperational stage.

Conservation

Understanding that quantity remains the same despite changes in shape or appearance; typically not mastered in the preoperational stage.

Conservation task

Experiments (e.g., juice in different glasses) used to test whether children understand conservation.

Concrete operational stage

Piaget's stage (approximately 7–11 years) where children gain logical thinking with concrete objects but struggle with abstract reasoning.

Formal operational stage

Piaget's stage (approximately 12+ years) in which abstract and hypothetical reasoning emerges and moral reasoning develops.

Skinner

Behaviorist who emphasized operant conditioning, arguing that behavior is shaped by consequences and environment.

Operant conditioning

Learning through consequences: reinforcement increases behavior, punishment decreases it.

Bandura

Social cognitive theorist who stressed observational learning and the role of cognition; introduced reciprocal determinism.

Reciprocal determinism

Idea that behavior, cognition, and environment influence one another in a dynamic system.

Bronfenbrenner

Developer of ecological systems theory, proposing nested environmental layers that shape development.

Microsystem

Immediate, direct environment of the individual (family, peers, school) that directly affects development.

Mesosystem

Connections between microsystems (e.g., family–school interactions) influencing development.

Exosystem

External settings that indirectly affect development (neighbors, media, workplace policies, etc.).

Macrosystem

Overarching cultural Context (laws, norms, values) shaping development.

Chronosystem

Time dimension in ecological theory, including life transitions and historical events that affect development.

Ecological systems theory

Bronfenbrenner's framework integrating multiple environmental layers from micro to macro and chrono to explain development.