DS - Chapter 9

theory

data describes reality and test predictions; explain data and generate predictions.

Freud

described behavior as motivated to satisfy basic drives.

Freud

proposed a series of universal developmental stages.

Freud’s Theory (of psychosexual development) Strengths

• emphasis on the importance of early experience and emotional relationships

• recognition of the role of subjective experience and unconscious mental activity

• some support for autobiographical memory research and ideas about infantile amnesia.

Freud’s Theory (of Psychosexual Development) weaknesses

• not testable; can explain all patterns of behavior

• specific elements of the theory are questionable

Erikson

argued development was driven by series of developmental crises related to age and biological maturation

Erikson’s Theory (psychosocial stage) strengths

• emphasis on the search for identity in adolescence

Erikson’s Theory (psychosocial stage) weaknesses

• not testable; can explain all patterns of behavior

• specific elements of the theory are questionable.

learning theories

____ ___ focus on the role of external factors in shaping personality and social behavior.

• emphasize continuity

• no stages : same principles operate throughout development

• focus on mechanisms of change

classical conditioning

neutral stimulus takes on a new meaning after being paired with something of significance

Watson

____’s view was that behavior is influenced by environment via associations

Watson

famously conducted the “Little Albert” study to demonstrate that fear could be learned through conditioning.

operant conditioning

a learning process that leads to an increase / decrease in behavior depending on rewards or punishments

Skinner

____’s view was that response / feedback to behavior shapes / conditionings behavior (operant-conditioning)

social learning theories

____ ____ ____ emphasize observation and imitation, rather than reinforcement, as the primary mechanisms of development

Albert Bandura

argued that most human learning is inherently social in nature and is based on observation of the behavior of other people.

imitate

young children readily ___ behavior

Bandura’s

____’s famous Bobo doll experiment is an example of research in social learning theory

behavior

observing someone else receive a reward / punishment or being incentive influences behavior

social cognitive theory

over time, Bandura placed more emphasis on the cognitive aspects of observational learning, renaming his view ___ ___ ___.

observational learning

attention, retention, production, motivation

social-cognitive theory

• emphasizes internal processes underlying observation and limitation

• learners are active processors of the environment, including the social environment

• not merely copying others

reciprocal determinism

Bandura argued that child-environment influences operate in both directions, a concept referred to as ____ ____.

triadic reciprocal causation

three factors influence each other in a continuous loop, shaping behavior and outcomes

Perspectives on learning theories strengths

• derived from empirical research in socialization, parental socialization, and sociocultural practices

• led to successful practical applications like behavior modification.

Perspectives on learning theories weaknesses

• focus on behavior, not brain / mind

• lack attention to biological influences

• minimize impact of perceptual, motor, cognitive, and language development (except Bandura)

Psychoanalytic theories

Maturation, unconscious mental processings, developmental stages

Learning theories

Learning mechanisms operating over external factors

Social learning

social learning mechanisms operating over social input

social cognitive learning

bidirectional influences of child cognitive processes and the social environment via cognitive learning mechanisms

social cognition

theories of ___ ___ explain our ability to think and reason about our own and other people’s thoughts, feelings, motives, and behaviors

self-socialization

developmental social cognition theories focus on ___-___ rather than external factors

causes

we infer the ___ of others’ behavior and that guides our own behavior

information-processing theory

Dodge’s ___-___ ___ of social cognition explains how children think about and respond to social situations

“hostile attributional bias”

Dodge found that some children may have a “___ ___ ___”

motivation

according to Carol Dweck, ___ is based on either learning goals / performance goals

learning goals

____ ___ involve seeking to improve one’s competence and master new material

performance goals

____ ____ involve seeking to receive positive assessments of one’s competence or to avoid negative assessments.

Social Cognitive Theory Strengths

• children are active seekers of info

• provide the insight that the effect of children’s social experience depends on their interpretation of experiences

Social Cognitive Theory Weaknesses

• ignore biological influences on social development

• often have a large emphasis on deliberate processes

ecological theories

take a broader perspective

ethology

the study of behavior within an evolutionary context, attempting to understand behavior in terms of survival value.

behavior

can be understood through its adaptive value.

imprinting

• some animals attach to the first moving thing they see after birth, which is usually mom

• babies have a natural tendency to form attachments with caregivers

• attachment supports successful development.

Ethological Theory strengths

emphasis on observational studies of children

Ethological Theories weaknesses

primarily descriptive

evolutionary psychology

____ ____ applies concepts of natural selection and adaptation to behavior

parental-investment theory

____-____ ____ stresses the evolutionary basis of the extensive investment parents make in their offspring.

Evolutionary Approaches strengths

grounded in evolutionary mechanisms

evolutionary approaches weaknesses

• impossible to test and tend to overlook human capacity to transform environment and self.

• functions of behavior are not always obvious

bioecological model

the ___ ___ considers the child’s environment as composed of a series of nested structures that impact development.

Bioecological Model Strengths

individual is placed in a broad context of development and interaction among various level factors.

Bioecological Model Weaknesses

• key biological determinants of behavior development are not considered

• not fully specified how all the levels influence development

Social Cognitive Theories

cognitive mechanisms that support social understanding

ethology

behaviors that support survival of individuals

evolutionary psychology

social behavior reflects behaviors that increase evolutionary success of species

bioecological model

through participation in a complex and interactive system.