Developmental Theories in Child Development
Developmental Theories In Child Development
Rebecca Campbell
PSY 104 Child and Adolescent Psychology
Dr. Allyse Sturdivant
January 14, 2011
Developmental Theories In Child Development There are five theoretical perspectives on child development. 1.) Psychoanalytic-Theory which is the view of human development as being shaped by unconscious forces. For example, when a child acts withdrawn or shy around a particular person,such as an abusive parent or a parent they may idolize, they could have an unconscious fear or attraction to that person. 2.) Learning-Theory which is the view of human development that holds that changes in behavior result from experience or adaptation to the environment. A good example of this theory would be a child acting out at school, bullying or taunting other kids because this is what their parents do to them, its a learned behavior. 3.) The Cognitive-Theory which is the view that thought processes are central to development. If a child grows up in an environment in which the parents teach them that the man is the head of the house and the mom cooks cleans and cares for the children as the child grows up and begins dating the will seek out the same behavior from their mate whether its a male looking for a submissive wife or a female looking for a male who is aggressive. 4.) The Contextual-Theory which is the view of child development that sees the individual as inseparable from social context. This would be the child growing up in an environment in which the parents fight a lot, but never in front of the child, the child will grow up doing the same when they are married or dating because they may not see them fighting but hear them or vise verse. 5.) which is the Evolutionary or Sociobiological -Theory which is the view of human development that focuses on evolutionary and biological bases of Social behavior. The belief or thought that a child is because of the genetic makeup they got from their parents.
Rebecca Campbell
PSY 104 Child and Adolescent Psychology
Dr. Allyse Sturdivant
January 14, 2011
Developmental Theories In Child Development There are five theoretical perspectives on child development. 1.) Psychoanalytic-Theory which is the view of human development as being shaped by unconscious forces. For example, when a child acts withdrawn or shy around a particular person,such as an abusive parent or a parent they may idolize, they could have an unconscious fear or attraction to that person. 2.) Learning-Theory which is the view of human development that holds that changes in behavior result from experience or adaptation to the environment. A good example of this theory would be a child acting out at school, bullying or taunting other kids because this is what their parents do to them, its a learned behavior. 3.) The Cognitive-Theory which is the view that thought processes are central to development. If a child grows up in an environment in which the parents teach them that the man is the head of the house and the mom cooks cleans and cares for the children as the child grows up and begins dating the will seek out the same behavior from their mate whether its a male looking for a submissive wife or a female looking for a male who is aggressive. 4.) The Contextual-Theory which is the view of child development that sees the individual as inseparable from social context. This would be the child growing up in an environment in which the parents fight a lot, but never in front of the child, the child will grow up doing the same when they are married or dating because they may not see them fighting but hear them or vise verse. 5.) which is the Evolutionary or Sociobiological -Theory which is the view of human development that focuses on evolutionary and biological bases of Social behavior. The belief or thought that a child is because of the genetic makeup they got from their parents.
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