Theories Developmental Psychology. Theories of Development Psychoanalytic Theory Freud Erickson Learning Theory (Behaviorism) Skinner Watson Bandura Humanistic.

TheoriesDevelopmental Psychology

Theories of DevelopmentPsychoanalytic Theory

FreudErickson

Learning Theory (Behaviorism)SkinnerWatsonBandura

Humanistic TheoryMaslowRogers

Cognitive TheoryPiaget

Do we need to know names?And theories? And Faces? And that’s it!

Freud Watson Bandura Maslow

Erickson Skinner Piaget Rogers

The Psychoanalytic Perspective

Freud’s theory proposed that childhood sexuality and unconscious motivations influence personality and adult lives


Psychoanalysis Two Modern Definitions for the term Freud’s theory of personality that attributes our thoughts

and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts techniques used in treating psychological disorders by

seeking to expose and interpret unconscious tensions


Unconscious according to Freud, a reservoir of mostly unacceptable

thoughts, wishes, feelings and memories Outside of our conscious awareness

contemporary viewpoint- information processing of which we are unaware

Personality Structure

Id contains a reservoir of unconscious psychic energy strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive

drives operates on the pleasure principle, demanding

immediate gratification


Superego the part of personality that presents

internalized ideals provides standards for judgment (the

conscience) and for future aspirations


Freud’s idea of the mind’s structure

Id

Superego

Ego Conscious mind

Unconscious mind

Personality Development

Psychosexual Stages the childhood stages of development

during which the id’s pleasure-seeking energies focus on distinct erogenous zones

Oedipus Complex a boy’s sexual desires toward his mother

and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival father

Personality Development

Freud’s Psychosexual Stages

Stage FocusOral Pleasure centers on the mouth–(0-18 months) sucking, biting, chewing

Anal Pleasure focuses on bowel and bladder (18-36 months) elimination; coping with demands for controlPhallic Pleasure zone is the genitals; coping with (3-6 years) incestuous sexual feelingsLatency Dormant sexual feelings(6 to puberty)

Genital Maturation of sexual interests(puberty on)

Defense Mechanisms

Defense Mechanisms the ego’s protective methods of reducing

anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality

Repression the basic defense mechanism that

banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness

Defense Mechanisms

Regression defense mechanism in which an

individual faced with anxiety retreats to a more infantile psychosexual stage, where some psychic energy remains fixated

Defense Mechanisms

Reaction Formation defense mechanism by which the ego

unconsciously switches unacceptable impulses into their opposites

people may express feelings that are the opposite of their anxiety-arousing unconscious feelings

Defense Mechanisms

Projection defense mechanism by which people

disguise their own threatening impulses by attributing them to others

Rationalization defense mechanism that offers self-justifying

explanations in place of the real, more threatening, unconscious reasons for one’s actions

Check handout on website for more examples

Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development

Approximateage Stage Description of Task

Infancy Trust vs. mistrust If needs are dependably met, infants(1st year) develop a sense of basic trust.

Toddler Autonomy vs. shame Toddlers learn to exercise will and (2nd year) and doubt do things for themselves, or they

doubt their abilities.

Preschooler Initiative vs. guilt Preschoolers learn to initiate tasks(3-5 years) and carry out plans, or they feel

guilty about efforts to be independent.

Elementary Competence vs. Children learn the pleasure of applying(6 years- inferiority themselves to tasks, or they feel puberty) inferior.

Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development

Approximateage Stage Description of Task

Adolescence Identity vs. role Teenagers work at refining a sense of self by(teens into confusion testing roles and then integrating them to 20’s) form a single identity, or they become

confused about who they are.

Young Adult Intimacy vs. Young adults struggle to form close relation- (20’s to early isolation ships and to gain the capacity for intimate 40’s) love, or they feel socially isolated.

Middle Adult Generativity vs. The middle-aged discover a sense of contri-(40’s to 60’s) stagnation buting to the world, usually through family

and work, or they may feel a lack of purpose.

Late Adult Integrity vs. When reflecting on his or her life, the older(late 60’s and despair adult may feel a sense of satisfaction orup) failure.

Learning Theories: Behaviorism

John B. Watson viewed psychology as

objective science recommended study of

behavior without reference to unobservable mental processes

“Give me a dozen healthy infants….

Behaviorism and Watson

Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own specified world to bring them up in and I'll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select – doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief and, yes, even beggar-man and thief, regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of his ancestors.

Do you know who Baby Albert was?Video Link to Baby Albert

Operant Conditioning

B.F. Skinner (1904-1990) elaborated Thorndike’s Law of Effect

developed behavioral technology

Skinner Video

Observational Learning

Alfred Bandura’s Experiments Bobo doll we look and we learn

Bobo Doll Video

Observational Learning

This 14-month-old boy is imitating behavior he has seen on TV

Humanistic Perspective

Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) studied self-

actualization processes of productive and healthy people (e.g., Lincoln)


Self-Actualization The ultimate psychological need that

arises after basic physical and psychological needs are met and self-esteem is achieved

the motivation to fulfill one’s potential


Client-Centered Therapy humanistic therapy developed by Carl Rogers therapist uses techniques

such as active listening within a genuine, accepting,empathic environment to facilitate clients’ growth

his techniques are incorporated into almost all formsof therapy today


Unconditional Positive Regard an attitude of total acceptance toward

another person Self-Concept

all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in an answer to the question, “Who am I?”

Acceptance Empathy

Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development

Jean Piaget 1896-1980

“only education is capable of saving our societies from possible collapse, whether violent, or gradual”

Typical Age Range

Description of Stage

Developmental Phenomena

Birth to nearly 2 years SensorimotorExperiencing the world through senses and actions (looking, touching, mouthing)

•Object permanence•Stranger anxiety

About 2 to 6 years

About 7 to 11 years

About 12 through adulthood

PreoperationalRepresenting things with words and images but lacking logical reasoning

•Pretend play•Egocentrism•Language development

Concrete operationalThinking logically about concrete events; grasping concrete analogies and performing arithmetical operations

•Conservation •Mathematical transformations

Formal operationalAbstract reasoning

•Abstract logic•Potential for moral reasoning

Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development

Infancy and Childhood: Cognitive Development

Conservation the principle that properties such as mass,

volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects

Piaget’s Video

Infancy and Childhood: Cognitive Development