2.needs of Chilld 1 Theories of Development

Text reference:
Children: A
Chronological Approach
Fifth Canadian Edition
• Chapter 1
Child Development: Theories and Themes
• Copyright © 2018 Pearson Canada Inc.
The Copyright © 2018 Pearson Canada Inc. 1-1

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Modules
Theories of Child Development

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Module 1.1: Theories of Child Development
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Describe Describe Canada’s unique contribution to developmental research.
State State the major tenets of the biological perspective.
Explain Explain how psychodynamic theories account for development.
Identify Identify the focus of learning theories.
Describe Describe how cognitive-developmental theories explain changes in children’s thinking.
Name Name the main points of the contextual approach.
Explain Explain recent approaches to the study of child development.
Identify Identify where you can read more about the history of psychology.

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What is a theory?
• Theory : A system of beliefs about something
• An organized set of ideas designed to explain and make

predictions about development.
• Child development theory : collection of integrated beliefs

about why children behave, think and feel as they do
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Theories of Child Development:
Historical Perspectives
1632–1704 1861–1934
John Locke: (English, 1632-1704) James Mark Baldwin: (Canada, 1861-
tabula rasa 1934 ) theory guides experimentation
Jean-Jacques Rosseau: (French, 1712-

1778) innate sense of justice
1712–1778

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Canada’s Contribution
Strong history in developmental research

supported by Stats Canada
Access to historical information through Dr.

Christopher Green’s website
http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/

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The Biological Perspective
biological-theory-of-personality
1809–1882 1903–1989
Natural Selection (Darwin) Ethological theory (Lorenz)
• Critical periods
• Imprinting
• Attachment
Maturational theory (Gessell)
1880–1961

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Maturationist Theory
Development is determined by: heredity
and biology»
• Importance of genes
• Environment has very little impact on development
• Children develop according to predictable developmental
milestones
Research support for this theory:
• Development of some skills in fixed order (milestones)

• Some behavioral characteristics are stable across the
lifespan (plant analogy)----» Personality
• Twins reared apart have many similarities
• Temperament (easy, difficult, slow-to-warm-up)

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Limitations and analysis
of Maturationist Theory
Environment clearly plays a big Can lead to underestimating or Can lead to cultural bias
role undervaluing individuals
(Educational and political
implications)

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The Psychodynamic Perspective
• Development stems from an ability to resolve key conflicts between
desires/impulses and pressures from the outside world»
• Focus is exclusively on personality/emotional development
• Underlined the importance of early experiences and the importance of attachment

(primarily with the parents)
The Copyright © 2018 Pearson Canada Inc. 1 - 10

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The Psychodynamic Perspective
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
Theory of Personality
Components of personality
• Id
• Ego
• Superego
Psychosexual Theory
• Individual’s instinct vs. societal norms

• Libido

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3 Components of Personality
• Id: Part of the mind that includes
instinctual urges and strives for
immediate gratification but is
kept in check by ego and
superego
• Ego: Rational part of the mind

that regulates and redirects
instinctual impulses of the ID
• Superego: Part of the mind that

comprises the conscience;
values and mores of one’s Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory on Instincts: Motivation,
culture. Personality and Development

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Psychosocial Theory
Erik Erickson (1902-1994)

• Psychosocial Theory
• Emphasis on social and cultural
influences.
• Sequence of stages defined by a unique
crisis.
• Journey to adulthood is fraught with
obstacles.

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Erickson: emotional conflict
Resolution of emotional conflicts
drives development
Øtrust vs. mistrust (birth – 18
months)
Øautonomy vs. shame/doubt
(18 months – 3.5 years)
Øinitiative vs. guilt (3.5 – 6
years)
Øindustry vs. inferiority (6 –12
years)

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A Comparison of Freudian and Eriksonian Stage Theories (1 of 2)
Table 1–1 A Comparison of Freudian and Eriksonian Stage Theories
Freud vs Erickson
Blank Freud: Psychosexual Stages Erikson: Psychosocial Stages
Age Stage Task Stage Task
Birth to 1 year Oral Erogenous zone: mouth; gratify oral Basic trust vs. To develop a sense that
sucking urges mistrust the world is safe, a “good
place”
1 to 3 years Anal Erogenous zone: anus; release and Autonomy vs. To realize that one is an
withhold feces shame and doubt independent person who
can make decisions
3 to 6 years Phallic Erogenous zone: genitalia; learn to Initiative vs. guilt To develop a willingness to
suppress attraction to the parent of try new things and to
the opposite sex and identify with the handle failure
parent of the same sex
6 years to Latency Erogenous zone: none; libido is Industry vs. To learn basic skills and to
adolescence repressed as children go about daily Inferiority work with others
business

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A Comparison of Freudian and Eriksonian Stage Theories (2 of 2)
Table 1–1 A Comparison of Freudian and Eriksonian Stage Theories
Blank Freud: Psychosexual Stages Erikson: Psychosocial Stages
Age Stage Task Stage Task
Adolescence Genital Erogenous zone: Identity vs. identity To develop a lasting and
genitalia; attraction to the confusion integrated sense of self
opposite sex (not the
parent)
Young adulthood Blank Blank Intimacy vs. isolation To commit to another in a

loving relationship
Middle adulthood Blank Blank Generativity vs. To contribute to younger

stagnation people through
childrearing, child care, or
other productive work
Later life Blank Integrity vs. despair To view one’s life as Blank
satisfactory and worth
living

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Psychosocial Theory
Freud vs Erickson: Similarities and differences
Freud vs Erickson
**Fixation: Arrested development at a

particular psychosexual/psychosocial stage
that can prevent movement to higher stages.

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of Psychoanalytic Theory
• Addresses only a narrow range of emotional states
• Based on personal observations of a small sample
• Includes behaviors that are not valued in all cultures and
genders
– autonomy

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Behaviourist Theory
the process of learning
• «Human traits are acquired through experiences within the

environment.» (‘’blank slate’’ perspective)
• Adults can purposefully shape desired learning and

behavior through positive reinforcement and punishment
• Prominent theorists: Watson, Skinner, Bandura

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The Learning Perspective: Classical conditioning
• Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936)
– Classical conditioning
– Pavlov’s dog
– Pairing a NEUTRAL stimulus with a PLEASANT or AVERISIVE stimulus
§ Neutral = No reaction
§ Pleasant = Positive reaction
§ Neutral + pleasant = Positive Reaction
§ Neutral = Positive Reaction
Classical conditioning: Neutral,

conditioned, and unconditioned
stimuli and responses | Khan
Academy

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The Learning Perspective:
Classical conditioning in human
• John B. Watson (1878-1958)
– Strong emphasis on environmental influences.
– Endorses Locke’s tabula rasa theory
– Pairing neutral event with something pleasurable or
unpleasurable
§ The Little Albert Experiment

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Learning Perspective: Operant Conditioning
• B. F. Skinner (1904-1990)
– Focuses on outcome of behavior.
– shaping behavior through reward
(breaking into small steps)
– Reinforcement
§ Positive
§ Negative
– Punishment
§ Positive
§ Negative
Operant conditioning: Positive-and-negative

reinforcement and punishment

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Operant Conditioning: Reinforcement
Positive Reinforcement Negative Reinforcement
Reinforcement & Punishment (IMPORTANT**)
Positive Reinforcement - The Big Bang Theory

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Operant Conditioning: Punishment
Positive Punishment Negative Punishment
Reinforcement & Punishment (IMPORTANT**)
Operant Conditioning - Some Examples with Dr Z (IMPORTANT**)

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Classical VS Operant (instrumental)
Conditioning
The difference between classical and operant conditioning -
Peggy Andover
Classical Conditioning vs. Operant Conditioning -Psychology-

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The Learning Perspective: Social Learning
Albert Bandura
(1925- 2021)
•Imitation or
observational
learning.
•Modeling desired
behaviors that
Also children will imitate
called the •especially Principles of social
Social behaviors that are learning (web/video
Cognitive content)
rewarded
Theory •Emphasizes:
•role of environment
•behaviour
•cognitions (i.e. self-
efficacy)

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The Learning Perspective: Social Learning
Bobo the doll experiment !

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Do what I do, not what I say?

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Learning Perspective
Classical conditioning (Watson)
• pairing neutral event with something pleasurable or

unpleasurable
• Albert’s conditioned fear of rats
Operant conditioning (Skinner)
• shaping behavior through reward (breaking into small

steps)
Social learning (Bandura)
• modeling desired behaviors that children will imitate

• especially behaviors that are rewarded

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Limitation and analysis
of Behaviourist Theory
• Many behaviors are not rewarded
– Language learning (and invented language)
• Many behaviors are not imitated (absence of reward)
• Educational programs designed around behaviorist
principles do not always have a good track record
– Some cultures never use praise as a reward
– Children may be overwhelmed in school where excess
praise is common

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The Cognitive-Developmental Perspective
Knowledge is constructed
actively by learners, who Learners assimilate new ideas into what
they already know and adjust previous
struggle to make sense out of thinking to accommodate new information.
experience»
Infants, children, and adolescents are

naturally motivated to make sense of the
Prominent theorist: Jean physical and social world
Piaget (1896-1980) 4 distinct stages in cognitive development

•Sensorimotor
Biography of Jean Piaget •Preoperational
•Concrete operations
•Formal operations

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Table 1–2 Piaget’s Four Stages of Cognitive Development
Interview w/Jean-Piaget
Stage Approximate Age Characteristics and experiments:
Jean Piaget-Part 1
Sensorimotor Birth to 2 years Infant’s knowledge of the world is based on
senses and motor skills. By the end of the Jean Piaget-Part 2
period, infant uses mental representations.
Jean Paiget-Part 3
Preoperational 2 to 6 years Child learns how to use symbols such as Jean Piaget-Part 4
thought words and numbers to represent aspects of
the world but relates to the world only through
his or her perspective. Present day experiments:
A typical child on Piaget's

conservation tasks
Concrete 7 to 11 years Child understands and applies logical
operational thought operations to experiences, provided the Piaget - Egocentrism and
experiences are focused on the here and now. Perspective Taking
(Preoperational and
Concrete Operational
Formal operational Adolescence and Adolescent or adult thinks abstractly, Stages)
thought beyond speculates on hypothetical situations, and
Piaget's Preoperational
reasons deductively about what may be
Stage
possible.

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Paiget’s stages of cognitive development

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• Learning through actions:
– External: banging an object against a
surface to hear the noise it makes
– Internal: mental operations
• Processing information (learning process):

When learners are trying to make sense of new
information there is a disequilibrium. Can be
resolved through 2 processes:
• Assimilation: Integrating new ideas

formation into what we already know about
• Accommodation: Modifying what we

already know to make room for new ideas
formation

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Assimilation
• - --------------» Dog
Assimilation of
knowledge occurs
when a learner
encounters a new
idea, and must 'fit'
that idea into
what they already
know
• ---------------» Dogs

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Accommodation
• --------------» NOT a Dog
The cognitive process of revising existing
cognitive schemas, perceptions, and
understanding so that new information can
be incorporated. This happens when the
existing schema (knowledge) does not
work, and needs to be changed to deal with
a new object or situation.
• ---» Creating new category. CATS

Cats!

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Application to social situations
– Social cognition: Ability to understand social
situations; recognizing the outcomes of one’s
behaviors and actions and motives of others

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of Cognitive-Developmental Theory
Children may be more intellectually Emphasis on particular thinking skills

competent than Piaget suggested (small may be too Western and male oriented
number)
May serve to maintain status quo (logic and
reason are “highest” form of thinking)
BUT, does emphasize role of
culture/environment
• All children of the world learn, through
assimilation and accommodation, the skills,
knowledge, beliefs, and values important to
their own family and culture.

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Sociocultural Theory
«Development highly influenced by: social interactions, language and culture»
The Contextual Perspective
• Children construct knowledge of the world through social interaction and

verbalization.
• Adults and peers “scaffold” children’s learning by asking questions or challenging

thinking.
• Prominent theorist: Vygotsky

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Sociocultural Theory: The Contextual Perspective
• Lev Vygotsky (1896–1934)

– Focused on impact of social
interaction on cognition
§ Culture,knowledge,
attitudes, beliefs, symbolic
representations and
behaviours
– associated with distinct groups Vygotsky sociocultural development
of people (socio-cultural
factors)
– provides the context in which a
child develops
– important influence from
infancy to adolescence

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Sociocultural Theory: The Contextual Perspective
Key concepts
– Children construct knowledge through Example of Socio-Cultural
learning in
action and through language. real life
– Children progress from nonverbal The Backyard Toddler

thought to verbal thought to self- Snowboard Sessions (18
months old)
directed speech.
The Mountain Toddler
– Parents and teachers use language and Snowboard Sessions [18
other social interactions to guide children’s month old]
thinking
Self directed speech-“Im not
§ indirect guidance is most helpful when scared!” 5 -6y/o snowboard
girl
children are in the zone of proximal
development for a skill
– skill is just above child’s current
level
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Limitations and Analysis
of Sociocultural Theory
Vygotsky’s work was incomplete
Development is (rightly) emphasis on culture

seen as social and collective not exclusively Western
rather than purely individual.

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Ecological Systems Theory
Urie Bronfenbrenner (1917-2005)

Various environmental influences.
Environment is a series of
embedded systems
• Microsystem
• Mesosystem
• Exosystem
• Macrosystem
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Ecological
Systems
Theory
Ecological system theory

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• Development is influenced by interactions among the personal,
social, and political systems within which children live.
• Prominent theorist: Bronfenbrenner
– Multiple layers of influence
§ Microsystem (immediate environment)
§ Mesosystem (interconnections among institutions in
microsystem)
§ Exosystem (institutions with indirect effect: neighbors,
mass media)
§ Macrosystem (overarching values, ideologies, laws,
worldviews, and customs)

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Risk factors and protective factors
Risk factors: Conditions in a child’s life that can lead to
poor development including; poverty, community violence,
and child abuse.
Protective factors: Conditions that might insulate children

from the negative effects of risk factors. Ex: Attachment to
parents and positive preschool experiences
It takes a village to raise a child -

It takes a village: street gangs and motherhood |
Alice Morell | TEDxStKilda

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Limitations and Analysis of
Limited empirical studies focus on risk factors

and protective factors (so
support many contributing factors)
most useful in identifying

social issues concerning
Very culturally sensitive children in poverty or those of
historically underrepresented
groups

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Newer Approaches to
Child Development Theories
Information Processing Theory
Evolutionary Theory
Developmental Psychopathology

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Information-Processing Theory
• Human mind is similar to a
computer
– Information Processing
Theory Explained
• Development reflects
changes in
• Mental Hardware
• Mental Software

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Information Processing Theory
«Knowledge is acquired by applying specific thinking

processes to pay attention to, store, remember, retrieve,
and modify information» (organization and rehearsal)
Prominent theorists: Siegler, Dodge
importance of attention and memory

(remembering)
new attention to how information processing
Key concepts relates to social behaviors and social
problems
•determining others’ intentions, deciding
how to respond

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Social information processing theory
Social cues: Actions, facial

Social information processing expressions, tone of voice, spoken
theory: Information processing
words, and other social signals
guides learning AND social performed by peers that help
interaction; social cues, observing interpret social situations (and
interactions with other
know how to respond)

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Limitation and analysis of Information
Processing Theory
May focus too narrowly on specific learning situations

and the ways individuals think about and learn from
them (does not integrate assimilation, accommodation,
logical reasoning)
Does not always address cultural variations or role of

culture (ways to pay attention)

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Evolutionary Theory
Evolution shapes behaviour and characteristics (->Darwin)
• survival of infants and children
• grandparent-grandchild relationships
Evolutionary developmental psychology
• àBjorklund and Pellegrini
• metatheory of human development
• Evolution and human culture | Society and Culture | MCAT | Khan Academy
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Developmental Psychopathology
Broad unified understanding of how abnormal
development can occur.
• development is a dynamic process
• continual transformation across the lifespan

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The Big Picture (1 of 3)
Table 1–3 Summary Table
Characteristics of Developmental Perspectives
Biological Development is determined primarily Maturational theory: emphasizes development

by biological forces. as a natural unfolding of a biological plan.
Blank Blank Ethological: emphasizes the adaptive nature of

behaviour and the importance of experience
during critical periods of development.
Psychodynamic Development is determined primarily Freud: emphasizes the conflict between

by how a child resolves conflicts at primitive biological forces and societal standards
different ages. for right and wrong.
Blank Blank Erikson: emphasizes the challenges posed by

the formation of trust, autonomy, initiative,
industry, and identity.
Learning Development is determined primarily Skinner: emphasizes the role of reinforcement

(behaviourist theory) by a child’s environment. and punishment in response to behaviour.
Blank Blank Bandura: emphasizes children’s efforts to

understand their world, using reinforcement,
punishment, and others’ behaviour.

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Cognitive-Developmental Development reflects Piaget: emphasizes the different stages of

children’s efforts to thinking that result from children’s changing
understand the world. theories of the world.
Contextual (socio-cultural) Development is influenced by Vygotsky: emphasizes the role of parents

immediate and more distant (and other adults) in conveying culture to the
environments, which typically next generation.
influence each other.
Blank Blank Bronfenbrenner: emphasizes the influences

of the microsystem, mesosystem,
exosystem, macrosystem, and
chronosystem.
Information-Processing Development is understood Information-processing theory: emphasizes

by analogy to the workings of changes in thinking that reflect changes in
a computer, with mental mental hardware and mental software. No
hardware and software as unified theory exists, but a variety of
well as input and output individual models have been proposed by a
processes. number of researchers.

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Evolutionary Theory Development is influenced by Bjorklund and Pellegrini: emphasize

the process of evolution, which evolutionary theory as a possible unifying
favours characteristics of metatheory uniting various subfields within
children that have value to the developmental psychology as well as
survival of the species. psychology in general.
Blank Blank Martin Smith: emphasizes the survival value

of relationships between grandparents and
grandchildren.
Developmental Developmental outcome is Mash and Wolfe: emphasize dynamic

Psychopathology shaped by many different transformation throughout the lifespan and
variables, including both focus on how abnormal development can
biological-genetic and occur.
environmental factors.

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Summary

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Contributions From Neuroscience
Brain studies give hints on how we might

better apply each theory of development
Neuroscience: A field of study that

investigates the structure and mechanisms of
the brain and how they affect development.
magnetic resonance
Methods of studying the imaging (MRI)
brain event-related potential
(ERP)

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Neuroscience and Theories of Development
Maturationist: Changes
may “grow out of” or “grow
in the brain (due to into” some behaviors
growth) affect behaviors
Behaviorist: Reward children differ according to

the types of rewards that
center in the brain activate their brains
Psychoanalytic: Brain regions correspond to

some ideas about the id, ego, and superego

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Neuroscience and Theories of Development
Cognitive-Developmental, Neo-Piagetian, Ecological Systems Theory

Sociocultural, and Information Processing
Theories
We can see the brain actively process new ideas and can Microsystem and macrosystem influences can threaten brain
witness the ways brain regions change and grow as a result development (poverty, government cuts)

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Modules
1.1 Theories of Child Development
1.2 Themes in Child Development

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Module 1.2 Themes in Child-Development Research
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
9. Demonstrate how well developmental outcomes can be

predicted from early life.
10. Understand how heredity and environment influence
development.
11. Specify what role children have in their own
development.
12. State how development in different domains is
connected.

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Early Development is Related to Later
Development
• Predictability of development
• Continuous versus Non-Continuous

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Development is Jointly Influenced by
Heredity and Environment
Nature-Nurture Issue
Active-Passive Child

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Conclusions
Growth in different Developmental

Domains are Connected
Continuity
General themes are Nature and nurture
connected through Active child
Connections

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The Copyright © 2018 Pearson Canada Inc. 1-1

Theories of Child Development

The Copyright © 2018 Pearson Canada Inc. 1-2

Describe Describe Canada’s unique contribution to developmental research.

State State the major tenets of the biological perspective.

Explain Explain how psychodynamic theories account for development.

Identify Identify the focus of learning theories.

Describe Describe how cognitive-developmental theories explain changes in children’s thinking.

Name Name the main points of the contextual approach.

Explain Explain recent approaches to the study of child development.

The Copyright © 2018 Pearson Canada Inc. 1-3

• An organized set of ideas designed to explain and make

• Child development theory : collection of integrated beliefs

Jean-Jacques Rosseau: (French, 1712-

The Copyright © 2018 Pearson Canada Inc. 1-5

Strong history in developmental research

Access to historical information through Dr.

The Copyright © 2018 Pearson Canada Inc. 1-6

Maturational theory (Gessell)

The Copyright © 2018 Pearson Canada Inc. 1-7

Research support for this theory:

• Development of some skills in fixed order (milestones)

The Copyright © 2018 Pearson Canada Inc. 1-8

The Copyright © 2018 Pearson Canada Inc. 1-9

• Focus is exclusively on personality/emotional development

• Underlined the importance of early experiences and the importance of attachment

The Copyright © 2018 Pearson Canada Inc. 1 - 10

• Individual’s instinct vs. societal norms

The Copyright © 2018 Pearson Canada Inc. 1 - 11

• Ego: Rational part of the mind

• Superego: Part of the mind that

The Copyright © 2018 Pearson Canada Inc. 1 - 12

Erik Erickson (1902-1994)

The Copyright © 2018 Pearson Canada Inc. 1 - 13

The Copyright © 2018 Pearson Canada Inc. 1 - 14

Age Stage Task Stage Task

The Copyright © 2018 Pearson Canada Inc. 1 - 15

Blank Freud: Psychosexual Stages Erikson: Psychosocial Stages

Age Stage Task Stage Task

Young adulthood Blank Blank Intimacy vs. isolation To commit to another in a

Middle adulthood Blank Blank Generativity vs. To contribute to younger

The Copyright © 2018 Pearson Canada Inc. 1 - 16

**Fixation: Arrested development at a

The Copyright © 2018 Pearson Canada Inc. 1 - 18

The Copyright © 2018 Pearson Canada Inc. 1 - 19

• «Human traits are acquired through experiences within the

• Adults can purposefully shape desired learning and

• Prominent theorists: Watson, Skinner, Bandura

Classical conditioning: Neutral,

The Copyright © 2018 Pearson Canada Inc. 1 - 21

The Copyright © 2018 Pearson Canada Inc. 1 - 22

Operant conditioning: Positive-and-negative

The Copyright © 2018 Pearson Canada Inc. 1 - 23

Reinforcement & Punishment (IMPORTANT**)

Positive Reinforcement - The Big Bang Theory

The Copyright © 2018 Pearson Canada Inc. 1 - 24

Reinforcement & Punishment (IMPORTANT**)

Operant Conditioning - Some Examples with Dr Z (IMPORTANT**)

The Copyright © 2018 Pearson Canada Inc. 1 - 25

Classical Conditioning vs. Operant Conditioning -Psychology-

The Copyright © 2018 Pearson Canada Inc. 1 - 26

The Copyright © 2018 Pearson Canada Inc. 1 - 27