Theories and their Theorists By: Alex and Ally

Psychodynamic  Sigmund Freud was born in Freiberg, which is now known as the Czech Republic, on May 6,  Freud developed psychoanalysis, a method that an analyst unpacks unconscious conflicts based on the free associations, dreams and fantasies of the patient.

Behaviorist  A movement harking back to the methodological proposals of John B. Watson, who coined the name.  Behaviorism was a movement in psychology and philosophy that emphasized the outward behavioral aspects of thought and dismissed the inward experiential, and sometimes the inner procedural, aspects as well.

Cognitive  Piaget was born in Switzerland, In 1979 he was awarded the Balzan Prize for Social and Political Sciences. Stage of Development Key FeatureResearch Study Sensorimotor yrs. Object PermanenceBlanket & Ball Study Preoperational yrs. EgocentrismThree Mountains Concrete Operational 7 – 11 yrs. Conservation Conservation of Number Formal Operational 11yrs + Manipulate ideas in head, e.g. Abstract Reasoning Pendulum Task

Sociocultural  Catherine A. Sanderson is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Amherst College.  A perspective describing people’s behavior and mental processes as shaped in part by their social and/or cultural contact, including race, gender, and nationality.

Ecological  Urie Bronfenbrenner applied a general systems theory to human development.  Identifies five environmental systems with which an individual interacts.

Multiple intelligences  Dr. Howard Gardner the professor of education at Harvard University developed the theory of multiple intelligences in It suggests that the traditional notion of intelligence, based on I.Q. testing, is far too limited.

Maturation  The Maturational Theory focuses on physical and mental development, and Arnold Gesell saw these developmental patterns being determined by a child's heredity. Gesell observed and recorded the changes he observed in the growth and development of children from infancy through adulthood.

Humanistic  In 1954, Abraham Maslow published a book that articulated another set of ideas.  He believed people who succeeded were mentally and physically heathy.

Nature vs. Nurture  Nature versus nurture is a psychology term related to heredity or the environment most impacts human psychological development (behavior, habits, intelligence, personality, sexuality, aggressive tendencies, and so on).