Theories of Social Development (CH 9) Flashcards
(14 cards)
Such theories must:
Explain how children’s
development is influenced by
the people and individuals
around them
* Examine the ways that
human beings affect each
other
I. Features of Psychoanalytical
Theories
Emphasize biological underpinnings
of development interacting with the
child’s experience
Freud: Need to satisfy basic
biological drives behavior
* These are stage theories: stress overall discontinuity
in development
Emphasize Individual differences:
Early experiences shape subsequent
development.
* Erikson: Series of challenges faced
in search of individual identity
(coined the term “identity crisis”)
Discontinuity
Freud’s (1856-1939) Theory
of Psychosexual
Development
Freud was a neurologist who became interested in the
origins and treatments of mental illness.
He believed that many of his patients’ emotional
problems originated in their early childhood
relationships.
Basic Features of Freud’s Theory
Theory of psychosexual development:
humans undergo a series of universal
developmental stages in which psychic energy
becomes focused in different erogenous zones
Psychic energy: the biologically based, instinctual
drives that energize behavior, thoughts, and feelings
Erogenous zones: areas of the body that become
erotically sensitive in successive stages
of development
What develops when… (aka:
Freud’s Personality Structure)
Id The biological drives with which the infant is born
The earliest and most primitive personality structure
Unconscious and operates with the goal of seeking pleasure
Ego
Emerges in the first year
The rational, logical, problem-solving component of personality
Superego
Develops during the ages of 3 to 6
Based on the child’s internalization (or adoption as his or her own)
of the parents’ attributes, beliefs, and standards
Erik Erikson (1902-1994)
Student of Freud
Erikson’s
Life-span
development
theory
(which was a
successor to Freud’s
theory and has also
been influential)
Erikson’s Theory of
Psychosocial Development
Expanded Freud’s theory to include
other factors (e.g. culture and
contemporary issues)
Eight age-related stages (five
during childhood and
adolescence)
Each stage has specific crisis
individual must resolve
Like Freud, if the dominant issue
of a stage not successfully
resolved before the next stage
begins, person will continue to
struggle with it
Psychoanalytic Theories:
Current Perspectives
Contributions:
Freud: importance of early experience and role of
subjective experience in social development
Erikson: emphasis on the search for identity in
adolescence
Weaknesses:
Major theoretical claims are vague, questionable, and
not testable
II. Features of Learning Theories
Focus on mechanisms of change (i.e., learning
principles)
Emphasize role of external factors in shaping
personality and social behavior
Different histories Individual differences
Emphasize continuity in development (no stages)
Contemporary theorists: also emphasize cognitive
factors & active role children play in their own
development
Relevant for research and children’s welfare:
therapeutic approaches to treat children are based on learning principles
Watson & Skinner
Watson’s behaviorism: children’s development is
determined by their social environment
* Primary mechanism of development: learning
through conditioning (Little Albert & rats)
* Skinner’s research on reinforcement and punishment
(operant conditioning)
* Attention as a powerful reinforcer
* Difficulty of extinguishing behavior that has been
intermittently reinforced (i.e., responded to
inconsistently)
* Behavior modification therapy: reinforcement
contingencies are changed to encourage more adaptive
behavior.
Social Learning Theory
Albert Bandura & colleagues:
Preschool children can acquire
new behaviors through
observing others
Reinforcement is a possible
learning mechanism, but not a
necessary one
Children’s tendency to
reproduce what they learned
depends on vicarious
reinforcement (i.e., whether
the person whose actions they
observe rewarded or punished)
Observation & imitation as primary mechanisms of development
Bandura’s Social Learning Theory
Young children watched a short film in which an adult model performed highly
aggressive actions on an inflatable Bobo doll
Each child experienced 1 of 3 Conditions: (Between-Subjects Design)
‐ Model Rewarded
‐ Model Punished
‐ Control (No
Consequences)
Candy!
soda!
http://youtu.be/NjTxQy_U3ac?t=13s
Bandura’s Social Learning Theory
Bandura’s Social Learning Theory (Graph)
Observing someone
else receive a reward or
punishment for a
behavior affects its
reproduction
No consequence
patterns like reward
Boys initially more
aggressive than girls, but
the girls increased their
level of imitation when
offered rewards
More from Bandura
Reciprocal determinism: Child-
environment influences operate in
both directions
Perceived self-efficacy:
individual’s beliefs about
how effectively s/he can
control own behavior,
thoughts, & emotions to
achieve desired goal
Influences happen across domains
