Themes and Theories of Human Development What is a developmental theory?      Scientific theory Characteristics of a good theory Parsimony Falsifiability Heuristic Value Questions and controversies in human development Assumptions about human nature Original sin Innate purity Nature versus nurture Activity versus passivity Continuity versus discontinuity Stages of development Qualitative/quantitative Connectedness of development Theories of human development Psychoanalytic theory Components of personality Psychosexual development Learning theory Processes of learning Social learning theory Cognitive developmental theory Ethological theory Ecological theory The importance of the natural environment Environmental layers

What is a theory What is a theory in general? A set of concepts or propositions that describe and explain some aspect of experience. What is a developmental theory? A public pronouncement indicating what a scientist believes about his or her area specific area of investigation What are the characteristics of a good theory? Parsimony Concise, yet able to explain a wide range of phenomena Falsifiability Capable of making explicit predictions Heuristic value Can be applied to unknown situations and cases

Question and controversies about human development Assumptions about human nature Innate purity versus original sin Tabula rasa Nature versus nurture Activity versus passivity Continuity of development Stages of development Quantitative versus qualitative change Quantitative – changes in degree Qualitative – changes in kind Connectedness of development Similarity versus differences

Continuous versus Discontinuous Development

Continuous versus Discontinuous Development

Question and controversies about human development Assumptions about human nature Innate purity versus original sin Tabula rasa Nature versus nurture Activity versus passivity Continuity of development Stages of development Quantitative versus qualitative change Quantitative – changes in degree Qualitative – changes in kind Connectedness of development Similarity versus differences

Theories of child development Psychoanalytic viewpoint Basic instincts Eros – the life instinct Thanatos – the death instinct Components of the personality The Id – legislator of the personality The Ego – executive of the personality The Superego – judicial branch of the personality The theory of psychosexual development The oral stage (birth – 1 year) The anal stage (1 – 3 years) The phallic stage (3 – 6 years) The Oedipus complex Latency period (6 – 12 years) The genital stage (12 years on) Evaluation of theory

Theories of child development Learning theory (Behaviorism) What is learning? Classical conditioning Operant conditioning Reinforcers Punishment Observational learning Theories of social learning Evaluation of theory

Theories of child development Cognitive developmental theory & Ecological theory Children as constructivists Organismic theorist Ethological theory Study of the biological bases of behavior Includes evolution, causation and behavior Children are born with innate responses to evolution Prefer naturalistic observations Notion of a critical period

Theories of child development Ecological theory The importance of the natural environment Developmental psychology had become “… the science of the strange behavior children in strange situations with strange adults for the briefest possible periods of time.” The importance of studying children in their natural environments Environmental influences and behavior settings

Ecological theory Environmental Layers