Developmental Theories

The Relationship between

and Research
 What is a theory?
An explanation
Suggests what, how, or why
In development, it explains change
in us over time
A guideline for research
Helps us understand research
 It is not a fact.
Theories of Motivation

Psychodynamic Theories
Freud’s Psychosexual
Theory: Background
 Freud: (b.1856-
d.1939)
 Hysteria
 “talking cure”
 early childhood
 Mental illness and
reality
Defense Mechanisms
 Repression
 Regression
 Rationalization
 Denial
 Sublimation
 Displacement
 Projection
 Reaction Formation
Freud’s Parts of the Self
 Id
 Ego
 Superego
Psychosexual
Development
 Oral Stage
 Anal Stage
 Phallic Stage
 Latency Stage
 Genital Stage
Erikson’s Psychosocial
Theory
 Student of
Freud’s
 Emphasized the
Ego
 Father of
Developmental
Psychology
 Erikson’s First Four Stages
 Trust vs. Mistrust
(infancy)
 Autonomy vs.
Shame and Doubt
(toddlers)
 Initiative vs. Guilt
(early childhood)
 Industry vs.
Inferiority (middle
childhood)
 Erikson’s Last Four Stages
 Identity vs. Role
Confusion (teens)
 Intimacy vs.
Isolation (early
adulthood)
 Generativity vs.
Stagnation (midlife
adults)
 Integrity vs. Despair
(late adults)
Test Yourself
 Who is the father of developmental
psychology?
 According to Freud, which part of the
self are we born with?
 At what age do we establish a basic
sense of trust, per Erikson?
 Name and describe one defense
mechanism.
 When does the ego develop?
 How would you test Freudian concepts?
Learning Theories

Focus on how we learn and

emphasizes behaviors that can be
seen rather than internal
motivation
Classical Conditioning
 Ivan Pavlov
 Learning through
association
 Feelings or emotions
 Gut level reactions of
the sympathetic and
parasympathetic
systems
Pavlov’s Dogs
One of Pavlov’s Dogs
(Robert K. Lawton)
Classical Conditioning Terms
 Before conditioning
 Unconditioned stimulus
 Unconditioned response
 After conditioning
 Conditioned stimulus
 Conditioned response
WHO CARES ABOUT
PAVLOV’S DOGS?
Watson and Behaviorism
 Watson built on
Pavlov’s work
 Parenting expert
in the 1920s
 Kids can be
taught to love or
hate anything!
 Little Albert
Who Else Cares?

ADVERTIZERS
Operant Conditioning
 Why repeat
actions?
 Law of Effect
 Reinforcement
not criticism
Reinforcers
 Reinforcer defined
 Intrinsic or primary reinforcers
 Extrinsic or secondary reinforcers
Primary or Secondary?
Food College Degree Money

Big House Hug Car

Job Compliment Award

Positive Reinforcers
 Adding
 An example?
 How do you positively reinforce
others?
Negative Reinforcers
 Subtraction
 An example?
 How do you negatively reinforce
others?
Punishment
 Stopping behavior
 Less effective than reinforcers.
 Suppresses rather than stops
 Doesn’t indicate desired behavior.
 Leads to a focus on mistakes.
SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY
Social Learning Theory
 Learn from others without
conditioning
 Modeling
 Albert Bandura and the Bobo Doll
Experiment on Aggression
How did you learn?
 To kiss?
 To drive?
 To be afraid of the dark?
 To do your job?
Cognitive Theories

How thinking changes over

time
Piaget’s Theory of
Cognitive Development
 “father of
cognitive
psychology”
 how children
think and reason
 Maturation
Piaget’s Principles:
Equilibrium
Cognitive Equilibrium:

A balance between what we

see and what we know
Piaget’s Principles:
Schema

Schema:
Mental box containing a concept
Piaget’s Principles:
Assimilation
Assimilation:

Similarity between what we see

and what we already know
Piaget’s Principles:
Accommodation
Accommodation:

Changing our mind to adjust to

new people, objects, experiences,
etc.
Piaget’s Stages of
Cognitive Development
 Sensorimotor (birth to 2)
 Preoperational (early childhood)
 Concrete operational (middle childhood)
 Formal Operational (adolescence or
adulthood)
Sociocultural Theory:
Vygotsky
 Cognitive abilities
change with
guidance
 Scaffolding
 Zone of Proximal
Development:
potential
Bronfenbrenner’s
Ecological Systems Model

A focus on context
The Ecological Systems Model
 Microsystems
 Mesosystems
 Exosystems
 Macrosystems
 Chronosystems