Ch. 2 Theories Flashcards
What is Developmental Theory
A group of general principles that provide a framework for understanding how and why people change over time, explains the pattern and problems of development.
What three things do theories do?
Theories produce hypotheses.
Theories generate discoveries.
Theories offer practical guidance.
Why are theories useful?
Explains observations via concepts and ideas that organize the confusing mass of sensations that we encounter every moment.
Which two opposing theories dominated the discipline of psychology in the first half of the 20th century? And what third theory rose around 1960?
Psychoanalytic and Behaviorism
Cognitive
What is psychoanalytic theory?
Irrational, unconscious drives and motives, often originating in childhood, underlie human behavior.
Describe the idea of Freud’s theory of psychosexual stages.
Development in the first six years of life occurs in three stages, oral, anal, and phallic.
Sensual satisfaction of the mouth, anus, or penis, is linked to major developmental stages needs, and challenges.
Describe the oral, anal, and phallic stages of Freud’s psychosexual stages.
Oral Stage: (Birth to 1) The mouth is the source of pleasurable sensations. Sucking and feeding.
Anal Stage: (1-3) The anus is the source of pleasurable sensations. Toilet training.
Phallic Stage: (3-6) The penis is the most important body part. Boys are proud of the, girls wonder why they don’t have them.
In what two ways does Erikson’s theory differ from Freud’s?
- Erikson’s stages emphasized family and culture, not sexual urges.
- Erikson recognized adult development, with three stages after adolescence.
What are Erikson’s psychosocial stages?
Trust vs Mistrust: (Birth to 1) Babies either trust or distrust that others will care for their needs.
Autonomy vs Shame and Doubt: (1-3) Children either become self-efficient in activities such as potty, feeding, walking, talking, or they doubt their abilities.
Initiative vs Guilt: (3-6) Children either adventurously attempt adult like activities, or learn the limits set by parents.
Industry vs Inferiority: (6-11) Children either busily practice and then master new skills, or feel inferior, unable to do anything well.
Identity vs Role Confusion: (Adolescents) Adolescents ask themselves “Who am I?”, establishing sexual, political, religious, and vocational identities, or are confused about their roles.
Intimacy vs Isolation: (Adulthood) Emerging adults seek companionship and love or become isolated from others, fearing rejection.
Generatility vs Stagnation: (Adulthood) Adults contribute to future generations through work, creative activities, and parenthood, or they stagnate.
Integrity vs. Despair: (Adulthood) Older adults try to make sense of their life as a meaningful whole or despairing at goals never reached.
Why is behaviorism called learning theory?
Because it describes the laws and processes by which behavior is learned.
It emphasis the learning process.
How do classical and operant conditioning differ? How do both differ from social learning?
Classical conditioning: Learning through the association between one stimulus and another. Neutral stimulus becomes conditioned response.
Operant conditioning: Learning through past reinforcement and punishment. A particular action is followed by something desirable or unwanted.
Social Learning: Learning without personal reinforcement, often occurring through copied behavior.
What is modeling?
Social learning where a person observes the actions of others and then copies them.
What is cognitive theory?
A theory of human development that focuses on changes in how people think over time.
Our thoughts shape our attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors.
Contrast Behaviorism and Freud’s theories.
Behaviorism deals with what can be observed and measured, whereas Freud’s theories deal with the unseen, and the unconscious.
Describe the basic ideas of Piaget’s Cognitive Theory.
Cognitive development occurs in four stages, each fostering certain cognitive processes.
- Sensorimotor (Birth-2): Infants think via their senses. Infants learn that objects still exist when out of sight (object permanence).
- Preoperational (2-6): Preschoolers have language but not logic. (Children are egocentric, perceiving from their own perspective).
- Concrete operational (6-11): School-age children have simple logic. (Children apply logic, grasp more concepts).
- Formal operational (12-through adulthood): Adolescents and adults can use formal, abstract logic. (Becomes fascinated by ethics, politics, social and moral issues).
