,PYC2602_CHILD AND ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT
Unit 1: Basic concepts of child and adolescent development
1.6 Theories of development
Theories are essential for understanding children’s development because they provide the whyof
development.
In child development, a theory is an organized set of ideas that is designed to explain and make
predictions about development.
Function and advantages of theories:
o A theory summarizes and explains the presently known facts
o A theory aims to predict future behavior
o A theory stimulates new research
5 major theoretical perspectives of child development:
o biological
o psychodynamic
o learning
o cognitive development
o contextual perspectives
1.6.1 The biological perspective
The biological perspective emphasizes the role of heredity (especially genes), the nervous system
(especially the brain) and the endocrine system (especially the hormones)
Maturational theory
o Arnold Gesell
o Child development reflects a specific and prearranged scheme or plan within the body
o Theory was regarded to have little say because it did not take the environment into account
Ethological theory
o Behaviors are adaptive and have survival value
o A critical period is the stage in development when a specific type of learning can take place
before or after the critical period, the same learning is difficult or even impossible
o Konrad Lorenz (Nobel prize) – goslings followed whatever movement they saw first. Behavior
manifestation by goslings is called imprinting.
Evolutionary theory
o Natural selection
o According to evolutionary psychologists, much of human behavior results from successful
adaptation to the environment.
o Evolution refers to the change in the inherent characteristics over successive generations
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,1.6.2 The psychodynamic perspective
Freud’s psychosexual theory
o He became convinced that early experiences establish patterns that endure throughout a
person’s life
o Psychoanalysis: holds that development is largely determined by how well people resolve
the unconscious conflicts that they face at different ages
o Id, ego, super ego
Id: primitive instincts and drive
Birth: immediate gratification of bodily needs and wants
Ego: practical, rational component of personality
First year of life: infant learn they cannot always get what they want
Ego tries to guide the id’s impulsive demands into socially more acceptable
behavior
Super ego: moral agent in child’s personality
Internalize adult standards of right and wrong
o Psychosexual stages
Child moves in a fixed sequence determined by maturation.
In each stage, the focus is on a different part of the body called erogenous zones
o Freud noticed that early experiences could have enduring effects on a child’s development,
but he put too much emphasis on the sexual aspects.
Erikson’s psychosocial theory
o Erik Erikson, Freud’s student, embraced Freud’s idea of unconscious conflict, but he
emphasized the psychological and social aspect of conflict, rather than the biological and
sexual aspects.
o 8 stages
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, 1.6.3.2 Social cognitive theory
Researchers found that children not only learn from punishment, but also by simply watching those
around them, which is known as imitation, modeling and observational learning
Albert Bandura called this social-cognitive theory
He placed more emphasis on children’s ability to decide which behavior to model
Bandura also argues that children’s self-efficacy (beliefs about their own abilities and potential)
plays a role in their decisions to imitate others.
1.6.4.1 Piaget’s theory of cognitive development
Jean Piaget believed that children naturally try to make sense of their world
He believed children acts like scientists in creating their own theories. Children’s theories are tested
daily by experience because their theories lead them to expect certain things to happen.
Piaget claimed that radical revisions occur 3 times in development: age 2, age 7 and before
adolescents
4 distinct stages in cognitive development – sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational and
formal operational
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