HUMAN GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT:

Theoretical Perspective
Learning Objectives:

1. To define the term theory; development

2. To know the different theories of development
3. To know the five general perspectives on human
development.
4. To know the different theories/examples under
each specific perspective.
5. To know the specific details of each theory
representing a particular perspective.
 Theory
 A coherent set of related concepts that seeks to
organize & explain date gathered thru research.

 ‘Dynamic’
- change to incorporate new findings
- serve as a continuing source of hypothesis
to be tested by research
 Attempts to explain, interpret, predict behavior
and to guide future research.
 Theoritical Perspectives
 Developmentalist have come up with many theories about
why people behave as they do.

 Theory concepts: heredity; environment; experience;

combination or interaction of areas; quantitative or qualitative

 Stage theorists see development as a series of separate

steps rising from one level to the next, with
rest on the “landings.”

 Continuous theorists see development as a gradual,

continuous process, like walking up a ramp.
 Development
 The sequence of events through which the
individual grows, changes, evolves and
matures.

 Theories of development:
A. Maturationist theories
B. Empiricist theories
C. Behavioral theories
D. Interactionist theory
E. Piagetian theory
 Development
Theories of Definition
Development
Maturationist Theories 1) Individual genetically and biologically determined
2) There are performed innate aspects of human
behavior

Empiricist Theories • Source of human behavior is the environment

Behavioral Theory 1) Environmental reinforcement is the motivator and
shaper of cognitive and motor behavior
2) Used in behavior modification treatment where
desired behaviror are positively reinforced and
unwanted behaviors are ignored

Interactionist Theory • Child is an active social being who contributes to

his development
Piagetian Theory • Interaction of environment and neural maturation
results in spiraling of development with equilibrium
and disequilibrium resulting
5 Perspectives on Human Development:

1. Psychoanalytic (focuses on emotions)

2. Learning (emphasize observable behavior)
3. Cognitive (stresses thought processes)
4. Ethological (evolutionary basis of behavior)
5. Contextual (impact of the social & cultural
context)
 Psychoanalytic:
 Freud's psychosexual theory

 Erikson's psychosocial theory

 Miller's relational theory

 Perspective Theories Basic Beliefs

Psychoanalytic Freud’s - Behavior is

Psychosexual controlled by
theory powerful unconscious
urges.

Erickson’s - Personality is
Psychosocial theory influenced by society
& develops thru a
series of crises.

Miller’s Relational - Personality

theory develops in the
context of emotional
relationships.
 Freud’s Psychosexual
Theory
Parts of Personality Characteristics
Id (present at birth) Seeks immediate satisfaction;
pleasure principle

Ego (1st year of life) Represents reason or common

sense; reality principle
Superego Conscience; socially approved
(about 5 or 6 yrs) “shoulds” & “should not”
Early : rigid rules by guilt
Mature : realistic flexible
Freud’s Psychosexual Theory
 Series of psychosexual stages, based on
maturation, in which gratification shifts
from one body zone to another.

 5 stages:
1) Oral 4) Latency
2) Anal 5) Genital
3) Phallic
 Freud’s Psychosexual Stages
Stages Characteristics
Oral Baby’s chief source of pleasure involves mouth-oriented
activities. (sucking & eating)
(birth to 12-18 months)
Anal Child derives sensual gratification from withholding &
(12-18 months to 3 years) expelling feces.
Zone of gratification is anal region.
Phallic Child becomes attached to parent of the other sex &
(3 to 6 years) later identifies with same-sex parent.
Zone of gratification shifts to genital region.
Latency Time of relative calm between more turbulent stages.
(6 years to puberty) Become more socialized, develop skills, learn about
themselves & society.
Genital Time of mature adult sexuality.
(puberty thru adulthood) Reawakens libido, (energy that funnels the sex drive);
sexual urges resurface to flow in socially approved
channels (heterosexual relations).
Psychoanalytic Perspective
 Erickson’s Psychosocial Theory
- 8 stages of psychosocial development, each
involving the resolution of a crises.

 8 Stages:
1) Basic trust vs. mistrust
2) Autonomy vs. shame & doubt
3) Initiative vs. guilt
4) Industry vs. inferiority
5) Identity vs. identity confusion
6) Intimacy vs. isolation
7) Generativity vs. stagnation
8) Integrity vs. despair
 Erickson’s Psychosocial Stages
Stages Characteristics
Basic trust vs. mistrust • Baby develops sense of whether
(birth to 12-18 mos) world is a good & safe place.
Virtue: hope
Autonomy vs. shame & doubt • Child develops a balance of
(12-18 mos to 3 yrs) independence over doubt & shame.
Virtue: will
Initiative vs. guilt • Child develops initiative when trying
(3 to 6 yrs) out new things & is not overwhelmed
by failure.
Virtue: purpose
Industry vs. inferiority • Child must learn skills of the culture
(6 yrs to puberty) or face feelings of incompetence.
Virtue: skill
 Erickson’s Psychosocial Stages
Stages Characteristics
Identity vs. identity confusion Adolescent must determine own sense
(puberty to young adulthood) of self or experience confusion about
roles. Virtue: fidelity

Intimacy vs. isolation Person seeks to make commitments to

(young adulthood) others; if unsuccessful, may suffer from
isolation & self-absorption.
Virtue: love

Generativity vs. stagnation Mature adult is concerned with

(middle adulthood)
Integrity vs. despair
(late adulthood)
establishing & guiding the next
generation or else feels personal
impoverishment. Virtue: care
Elderly person achieves acceptance of
own life, allowing acceptance of death
or else despair over inability to relive
life. Virtue: wisdom
 Psychoanalytic Perspective
 Miller’s Relational Theory
- personality growth occurs within emotional connections or
within relationships; concept of self begins w dynamic
interaction.
 Example:
Infant: identifies with 1st caregiver not bec who that person is but bec of
what person does; baby responds to other people’s emotions, becomes
more comfortable when others are comfortable & acts to build closer
relationship.

Toddlerhood & early childhood: instead of autonomy & individuation,

both boys/girls put highest importance on intimate connections.

Schoolyears: girls interests- relationships, family, emotional issues

boys interests- competition, personal achievement
 Learning:
 Behaviorism, or traditional learning theory
(Pavlov, Skinner, Watson)

 Social-learning (social cognitive) theory

(Bandura)
Perspective Theories Basic Beliefs

Learning Behaviorism or - Behavior is

traditional learning controlled by
theory (Pavlov,
( powerful
Skinner, Watson) unconscious urges.

Social-learning - Children learn in

(social-cognitive) social context, by
theory (Bandura) observing &
imitating models;
person is active
contributor to
learning.
 Learning Perspective
 Behaviorism /traditional learning
- Describes observed behavior as a predictable response
to experience.
- Human beings at all ages learn about the world the same
way other animals do:
 reacting to conditions or aspects of their environment
that they find pleasing, painful or threatening.
- Behaviorist look for events that determine whether or not
a particular behavior will be repeated.

 2 kinds of Learning Theory:

1) Classical Conditioning
2) Operant Conditioning
 Learning Perspective
 Behaviorism/traditional learning: Operant Conditioning

- A kind of learning in which a person learns from the consequences of

“operating” on the environment.

Reinforcement= a consequence of behavior that increases the

likelihood that the behavior will be repeated.
positive: consist of giving a reward
negative: consist of taking away something the individual does
not like (aversive event)

Punishment= a consequence of behavior that decreases the likelihood

of repetition.

 John B. Watson applied stimulus-response theories of

learning to children.
 Learning Perspective
 Social-learning (social-cognitive theory)
- observational learning & imitation of models.
- theories:
1) the learner is an active contributor to his/her learning
2) theories based on animal research cannot explain human behavior
3) importance of cognition- cognitive responses to their perceptions
rather than a reflexive response to reinforcement or punishment.
 Observational learning
- children acquire new abilities by watching others; by imitating a model,
learn “chunks” of behavior & mentally put chunks of behavior
together into new, complex behavior patterns.
 Cognitive:
 Piaget's cognitive-stage theory

 Information-processing theory
Perspective Theories Basic Beliefs

Cognitive Piaget’s cognitive- - Qualitative

stage theory changes in thought
between infancy &
adolescence.
- Person is active
initiator of
development.

Information- - Human beings are

processing theory processors of
symbols.
 Cognitive Perspective
 Concerned with qualitative changes in thought processes
and the behavior that reflects these changes.

 Views people as active, growing beings with their own

internal impulses & patterns of development.

 Sees every normal person, from infancy on, as a doer who

actively constructs his or her world.

 Theorists:
1) Jean Paiget : Cognitive-Stage Theory
2) Robbie Case: Information-Processing Approach
Cognitive Perspective
 Piaget’s Cognitive-stage theory
- emphasizes qualitative change, seeing people as active
contributors to their own development.

- core of intelligent behavior is an inborn ability to adapt to

the environment. Building on their sensory, motor & reflex
capacities, young children learn about and act upon their
surroundings.

 4 Stages:
1) Sensorimotor
2) Preoperational
3) Concrete operations
4) Formal operations
 Piaget’s Cognitive Stages
Stages Characteristics

Sensorimotor • Infant gradually becomes able to organize

(birth to 2 years) activities in relation to the environment thru
sensory & motor activity.

Preoperational • Child develops a representational system

(2 to 7 years) & uses symbols such as words to represent
people, places & events.
Concrete operations • Child can solve problems logically if they
(7 to 12 years) are focused on the here & now.
Formal operations • Person can think abstractly, deal with
(2 years thru adulthood hypothetical situations & think about
possibilities.
Cognitive Perspective
 Information-processing theory
- analyzes processes underlying intelligent behavior,
focusing on perception, attention, memory & problem
solving.
- people acquire, transform & use sensory
information thru active manipulation of symbols or
mental images.
- people are “active thinkers” about their world.

 Robbie Case:
- children develop cognitively by becoming more
efficient at processing information; thru practice
 Ethological Perspective
 Focuses on biological & evolutionary bases of behavior.
 1930’s zoologist Konrad Lorenz & Nikko Tinbergen
-Ethology : the study of the behavior of species on animals
in their natural surroundings or in the laboratory)
- for each species, a variety of innate, species-specific
behaviors have evolved to increase its odds of survival.

 Imprinting and Attachment

Imprinting is the result of a predisposition toward learning :
the readiness of an organism’s nervous system to acquire
certain information during a brief critical period in early life.
Ethological Perspective
Does something similar to imprinting happen between
human newborns and their mothers?

 Bowlby was convinced of importance of the

mother-baby bond.

 Research on attachment: infant and parent are

biologically predisposed to becoming attached to
each other and that such attachment is important
for the baby’ s survival
Perspective Theories Basic Beliefs

Ethological Bowlby’s & Ainworth’s - Human beings have

attachment theory the adaptive
mechanisms to survive;
critical or sensitive
periods are stressed;
biological & evolutionary
basis for behavior &
predisposition toward
learning are important.
Contextual Vygotsky’s - Child’s sociocultural
sociocultural theory context has an important
impact on development.
 Contextual Perspective
 Human development can be understood only in its social
context.

 The individual is not a separate entity interacting with the

environment but an inseparable part of it.

 The developing person acts upon & changes the environment,

as the constantly shifting environment acts upon and changes
the person.

 Constextualist emphasize individual differences

Contextual Perspective
 views the individual within a shifting social context;
emphasizes how social interaction with adults can help
children learn.

 Vygotsky’s Sociocultural theory

-concerned with higher mental activities & implications
for educational & cognitive testing.

- focus is the active, goal-setting child in a social-

historical-cultural context; social interaction with adults
can fulfill a child’s potential for learning.
Contextual Perspective
 Vygotsky’s Sociocultural theory

- Zone of Proximal Development: children in the zone

of proximal development for a particular task
(eg.multiplication) can almost, but not quite, perform
the task on their own.

- Scaffolding is the temporary support that parents or

teachers give a child to do a task.
 No one theory of human development is
universally accepted,
and no one theory explains all facets of
development.
 Summary of Learning Objectives
Objectives: to Answers
define theory; - A coherent set of related concepts that seeks to
development organize & explain data gathered thru research.
- The sequence of events thru which the individual
grows, changes, evolves & matures.
know 5 theoretical 1. Psychoanalytic 4. Ethological
perspective; theories 2. Learning 5. Contextual
of development 3. Cognitive
(a) Maturationist (c) Behavioral (e) Piagetian
(b) Empiricist (d) Interactionist
know examples: 1) Psychoanalytic: psychosexual, psychosocial,
theories per relational theories
perspective 2) Learning: behaviorism & social-learning theories
3) Cognitive:cognitive-stage & information-processing
4) Ethological: imprinting & attachment theory
5) Contextual: sociocultural theory
know specific details
of each theories
Thank you!