There are numerous debates in regards to developmental psychology. One of the main debates to begin with is nature vs nurture; some individuals believe that we are products of our environment while others regards us while others believe that we are products of our genetics. John Locke believes that when we are born we are a “tabula rasa” a blank slate which means that he supports the idea that we are products of our environment and also supports behaviourism. Another debate is continuity v discontinuity, some individuals have created continuity theories and others have created discontinuity theories. Continuity theorists believe that the development of an individual is constantly continuous while discontinuous theorists believe that there are specific periods where individuals develop. For example Freud’s psychosexual stages are a discontinuous theory. There is also an issue of nomothetic vs idiographic; some theorists adopt a nomothetic approach while others adopt an idiographic approach. Individuals that adopt a nomothetic approach create theories based on what we share with others, and find general laws that can be applied to large groups of people, for example behaviourism is a nomothetic approach. On the other hand the idiographic approach goes into large detail for the individual to investigate why we are unique, for example Freud’s theory is an idiographic approach.…
While observing the children I noticed that one of the three were more aggressive and had a tendency to be the leader of the group. The “leader” of the group was mocking what he saw the adults doing at the barbeque by dancing and carrying on. This child was closely imitating his father; who was the “life of the party”. The remaining two children seemed to closely watch what the leader of the group was doing but would often stop and gaze over at his and her parents to seek approval.…
The Great Depression was one of the most traumatic times of American history. When the stock market crashed in 1929, countless banks were forced to shut down resulting in the loss of investments, business production, and millions of jobs. During the early years of the Great Depression the government did not intervene because they believed that the responsibility lied within the industries. The country was in a dire need of change that they elected a president that promised government intervention. When Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed the New Deal, it introduced diverse programs that focused on relieving the current economic status.…
Theories of development: Cognitive- Piaget Psychoanalytic- Freud Humanist- Maslow Social learning- Bandura Operant conditioning- Skinner Behaviourist- Watson…
Some of psychology’s best known theorists have developed theories to help explore and explain different aspects of child development. Today we can draw on a variety of theories and perspectives in order to understand how children grow, behave and think.…
The notion that human development can be affected on a number of levels has been adopted in numerous theories, and moves on from the work of Maslow, Freud, and Erikson to consider external factors that can influence a person's…
2. Which theories emphasize individual conscious organization of experience? unconscious urges? observable behavior? the interaction of nature and nurture?…
Developmental theories of child development are categorized as either stage theory or non-stage (continuous) theory. Both attempt to explain how each child is molded into the adult each will inevitably become. Stage theories propose that children make sudden shifts to different levels of behavior and perception. This way of thinking provides researchers with a set of guidelines as to how far children should be along in their development at different ages. It invokes a sense of “normality” and reassures people that their children are “on track.” It also serves as a way to identify if a child is behind where they should be in their development. Non-stage theorists propose that children’s’ development occurs more gradually. This idea of development…
Developmental psychology is the chapter of mental processes and learning of how people nurture and change over the course of a lifetime. “The changes started with newborns and children, it prolonged to include teenage years, adult development, ageing, and the entire life expectation.” (Bennett, 2010) The theories of human development research examines change through a wide-ranging variety of issues including motor skills and other psychophysiological processes; cognitive development involving areas such as; problem solving, moral and theoretical understanding language, personality emotional development and self-perception. The disorder of developmental disabilities is developing in the sense that delays, disorders or impairment exist within…
In this essay I will outline two approaches in psychology, compare and contrast them as well discussing the nature and nurture debate regarding both approaches. I will be examining a theorist from each approach outlining and evaluating his theory including the positive alltributes along with the negative. Finally I will include a therapy from each theorist and approach.…
The environment you grow up in is going to impact whether your inherited genes are expressed or unexpressed. For example, if someone were to inherit the genes required to be a genius, they are not going to unlock that gene if they live in an environment without any intellectual stimuli.…
As Watson stated in "The Value of Theories", a scientific theory is a systematic explanation that unifies various observed phenomena and facts. Based on observations we make, science operates under theories which are constantly revised and checked by experiment. A scientific theory also possesses many vital qualities for true understanding.…
Albert Bandura, a 20th century American pszchologist, proposed a very important and probably the most influential theory of development and learning. He believed that: “Most human behaviour is learned observationally through modelling: from observing others, one forms an idea of how new behaviours are performed, and on later occasions this coded information serves as a guide for action.” A.Bandura…
The Swiss psychologist and philosopher Jean Piaget (1896-1980) is well-known for his work towards the cognitive sciences. Arguably one of his most important contributions involves his theory of cognitive development. In this theory, thinking progresses through four distinct stages between infancy and adulthood. Similar in scope to Piaget’s theory is Information Processing, in which human thinking is based on both mental hardware and mental software (Kail, Cavanaugh). A final theory on cognitive development was established by the Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934). Vygotsky proposed that development is a collaborative effort between child and partner. While these three theories attempt to explain a similar topic in different manners, each can be considered an important aspect to cognitive development in infancy and early childhood. Through analyzing and comparing these theories, scientists are able to better understand how child development occurs and the process it takes in creating a functional human being.…
The correct answer is (2) and can be found i table 1-1 on page 11 of the prescribed book. The question relates to periods when children's physical development is the most vulnerable to environmental influences. Aspects in the environment will always influence development in all the domains in the five periods of child development, but at certain periods the influences…