Child Development Theories Psychoanalytic Theory Learning Theory Cognitive Development Theory Sociocultural Theory Bioecologocial Theory

Psychoanalytic Theory Sigmund Freud -- early 1900s Development based on meeting needs (instinct) Id, Ego, Superego interact to meet needs Psychosexual stages of development (oral, anal, etc. stages) People who don’t resolve the issue of each stage get “stuck” in that stage for their life

Erik Erikson -- 1940s to 1960s 8 Psychosocial stages of development Each stage is a conflict the child must resolve How society or parents respond to the child in each stage determines if the child succeeds or fails to resolve the conflict of that stage Typical Psychoanalytic comment: “(S)he must never have learned to trust people when (s)he was a little kid.”

Learning Theory Classical Conditioning Operant Conditioning Pavlov Watson Operant Conditioning BF Skinner Social Learning Bandura

Classical Conditioning Pavlov believed behavior is the result of learning Dog+ food=saliva Dog+food+bell = saliva Dog+bell = saliva Watson believed behavior is observable. He is called the “Father of Behaviorism”

Operant Conditioning BF Skinner believed Positive Reinforcement (rewards) increase a desired behavior Negative Reinforcement (punishment) decrease an undesired behavior Rewards and punishments shape behavior when given right after the behavior is demonstrated

Social Learning Bandura believed that people learn behavior by observing and imitating others “Monkey see, Monkey do” Typical Social Learning Theory comment: “You can teach a dog new tricks if you show him how to do it, and reward him each time he does a good job.”

Cognitive Development Theory Jean Piaget, Switzerland, died in 1980’s His theory describes how children’s thinking and learning develops He believed knowledge is built by the child over time children are active learners in their environment knowledge is the result of interaction between the child and the environment

Cognitive Development (cont.) Knowledge is the result of interactions: Child + Environment + Understanding + Interest = Learning

Cognitive Dev. Vocabulary Assimilation: adding new info to current understanding Schema: knowledge about something; a child’s idea of a task, concept, item, etc. Accomodation: incorporating new info into current info = Learning Stages of Cognitive Development

Stages of Cognitive Development Stage 1: Sensorimotor Birth to age 2 Learns through the senses, body and action Stage 2: Pre-Operational Ages 2 - 6 Child expresses and explores learning by using symbols (words, pictures, toys) Very basic logical thought (when... then...)

Sensori-Motor Stages (cont.) Stage 3: Concrete Operational, Ages 7 - 12 Learns by using logic, concrete examples, and can think about what is being said Stage 4: Formal Operational Ages 13 - adult Learns by using logic, symbols, if-then concepts, hypothetical thinking, conceptual thinking

Sociocultural Theory Theorist: Lev Vygotsky Social elements plus Cultural elements Beliefs for the social element: Knowledge is built in steps over time Social interaction is a critical element All knowledge is socially constructed

Beliefs for the Cultural element Cultural information is passed through language and the use of language Children progress from a less skilled ability to a higher skilled ability with the help of an adult The language, thinking and thoughts of a child are the product of many interactions between a child and their elders within their culture

Sociocultural Theory Vocabulary Knowledge is socially constructed by the child and others within a culture Internalization The ways a culture is transferred from one generation to the next

Sociocultural Vocabulary (cont.) Zone of Proximal Development The gap between dependent performance (doing a new task with help) and independent performance (doing the task without help) ride bike with mom and training wheels ride a bike alone, without falling off ZONE of Proximal Development

Common Statements Based on Sociocultural Theory “She will learn to read if you give her some help to learn more words and sounds, then pretty soon she will read on her own.” “If you help him define the problem, then he can probably start to solve it.” “A child can’t automatically know how to behave ... you have to tell her and show her what the family expects.”

Bioecological Theory Uri Bronfenbrenner Believed that 5 interacting systems influence a child’s development The child participates in each system The quality of each system either enhances or interferes with the child’s development

Bioecological Theory Vocabulary Microsystem: Closest to the child - family, school, neighborhood, church Mesosystem: relationships within the immediate environment - who lives with child, who is the teacher, what is the neighborhood like? Exosystem: social settings that indirectly affect the child - parent’s work, neighborhood safety, services, media

Bioecological Vocabulary (cont.) Macrosystem: the culture, values, beliefs, attitudes - a value for family? a work ethic? a respect for elders? pride in possessions? ethnic & socioeconomic factors? Chronosystem: time, the changes over time in all systems - job change, family change, death/moving, school change, new sibling, getting older and having more responsibility

Bioecological System Beliefs: The quality of the systems and people affect the child’s development, AND The characteristics of the child affect other’s perceptions of the child, which then affects the child’s development for example: the study of two teachers and two levels of classes getting mixed up....