©2005 mcgraw-hill ryerson ltd. chapter 2 prominent approaches in life- span development

©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

Chapter 2

Prominent Approaches in Life-Span Development


As researchers formulate a problem to study, they often draw on theories and develop hypotheses.


Definition of a Theory

• A theory is a interrelated, coherent set of ideas that helps to explain and to make predictions.


Definition of Hypothesis

• A hypothesis is a specific assumption or prediction that can be tested to determine its accuracy.


Prominent Approaches in

Life-Span Development

The Psychoanalytic Approach

The Cognitive Approach

The Behavioural and Social Cognitive Approach

The Ethological Approach

The Humanist Approach

The Ecological Approach


Psychoanalytic Theories

• Behaviour is primarily unconscious – beyond awareness.

• Behaviour is heavily coloured by emotions.

• Behaviour is merely a surface characteristic with symbolic meaning.

• Early experiences with parents shape behaviour extensively.


The Psychoanalytic

Approach

Sigmund

Freud

Erik

Erikson

Other

Psychoanalytic

Theories


Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939)

• Medical doctor specializing in neurology

• Developed ideas about psychoanalytic theory from work with mental patients

• Considered problems to be result of experiences early in life


Freud’s Three Structures of Personality

• Id• Ego • Superego


The Id

• Totally unconscious: has no contact with reality

• Consists of instincts: our reservoir of psychic energy

• Has no morality


The Ego

• Deals with the demands of reality

• Called the “executive branch” of personality: uses reasoning to make decisions

• Has no morality


The Superego

• The moral branch of personality

• Takes into account whether something is right or wrong

• Our “conscience”


Psychosocial Development

• Five stages.

• Each stage focuses on a part of the body for experiencing pleasure.

• How conflicts between sources of pleasure are resolved determines adult personality.


Definition of Erogenous Zone

• Erogenous zones are parts of the body that have especially strong pleasure-giving qualities at particular stages of development.


The Five Stages of Psychosocial Development

• The Oral Stage (birth to 18 months)

• The Anal Stage (18 months to 3 years)

• The Phallic Stage (3 to 6 years)

• The Latent Stage (6 years to puberty)

• The Genital Stage (puberty on)


The Oral Stage (birth to 18 months)

• Pleasure centres around the mouth.

• Chewing, sucking, biting are sources of pleasure.


The Anal Stage (18 months to 3 years)

• Pleasure centres around the anus.

• Elimination functions are sources of pleasure.


The Phallic Stage(3 to 6 years)

• Pleasure focuses on the genitals.

• Self-manipulation is a source of pleasure.

• Oedipus Complex appears.


Definition of Oedipus Complex

• The Oedipus Complex is Freud’s term for the young child’s development of an intense desire to replace the same-sex parent and enjoy the affections of the opposite-sex parent.


Resolution of the Oedipus Complex

• Children recognize that their same-sex parent might punish them for their incestuous wishes.

• To reduce this conflict, the child identifies with the same-sex parent, striving to be like him or her.


The Latent Stage(6 years to puberty)

• The child represses all interest in sexuality.

• The child develops social and intellectual skills.

• Energy is channelled into emotionally safe areas.

• The child forgets the highly stressful conflicts of the phallic stage.


The Genital Stage(puberty on)

• This is a time of sexual reawakening.

• The source of sexual pleasure comes from outside the family.


When conflict is not resolved, individuals may develop a fixation.


Definition of Fixation

• A fixation occurs when the individual remains locked in an earlier developmental stage because needs are under- or overgratified.


Examples of Fixations

• Oral – due to parents weaning too early, as an adult the individual seeks out oral gratification through smoking, drinking, gum chewing.

• Anal – due to parents being too strict with potty training, as an adult the individual is excessively neat and orderly (known as “anal retentive”).

• Phallic – due to parents punishing the child for masturbating, as an adult the individual seeks out pornography.

• Genital – due to parents smothering the child with too much affection, as an adult the individual has difficulty in romantic relationships, the result of being extremely “needy.”


Contemporary View of Freud’s Theory

• Unconscious thought remains a central theme

• Conscious thought plays larger role

• Less emphasis on sexual instincts

• Greater emphasis on cultural experiences


Erik Erikson (1902 – 1994)

• Recognized Freud’s contributions

• Believed Freud misjudged some important dimensions of human development

• Developed the Psychosocial Theory of Development


The Psychosocial Theory of Development

• The primary motivation for human behaviour is social and reflects a desire to affiliate with other people.

• Eight stages of development unfold throughout the entire life span.

• Each stage consists of a unique development task that confronts individuals with a crisis that must be faced.


The Psychosocial Theory of Development (cont’d)

• Crises are not catastrophes but rather turning points of increased vulnerability and enhanced potential.

• The more an individual resolves crises successfully, the healthier development will be.


Stages of Psychosocial Development

• Trust vs. Mistrust• Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt• Initiative vs. Guilt• Industry vs. Inferiority• Identity vs. Identity Confusion• Intimacy vs. Isolation• Generativity vs. Stagnation• Integrity vs. Despair


Trust vs. Mistrust(First Year)

• A sense of trust requires a feeling of physical comfort and a minimal amount of fear and apprehension about the future.

• Trust in infancy sets the stage for a lifelong expectation that the world will be a good and pleasant place.


Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt(Second Year)

• After gaining trust in their caregivers, infants begin to discover that their behaviour is their own.

• They start to assert their sense of independence or autonomy.

• They realize their will.• If infants are restrained too much or

punished too harshly, they are likely to develop a sense of shame and doubt.


Initiative vs. Guilt(Preschool Years)

• As preschool children encounter a widening social world, they are challenged more than when they were infants and active purposeful behaviour is needed to cope with these challenges.

• Children are asked to assume responsibility for their bodies, behaviour, toys, and pets.

• Guilt may arise if the child is irresponsible and made to feel anxious.


Industry vs. Inferiority(Elementary School Years)

• As children move into middle and late childhood, they direct their energy towards mastering knowledge and intellectual skills.

• The danger during this time is the development of a sense of inferiority – feeling incompetent and unproductive.

• Erikson believed that teachers have special responsibility for children’s development of industry.


Identity vs. Identity Confusion(Adolescence)

• Individuals are faced with finding out who they are, what they are all about, and where they are going in life.

• Adolescents are confronted with many new roles and adult status.

• If the adolescent explores roles in a healthy manner and arrives at a positive path in life, then positive identity will be achieved.

• If an identity is pushed on the adolescent by parents, if the adolescent does not adequately explore many roles then identity confusion reigns.


Intimacy vs. Isolation(Early Adulthood)

• Individuals face the developmental task of forming intimate relationships with others.

• Intimacy is defined as finding oneself yet losing oneself in another.

• Intimacy is achieved through the formation of healthy friendships and an intimate relationship with another individual.

• Isolation results from failure to achieve the above.


Generativity vs. Stagnation(Middle Adulthood)

• A chief concern is to assist the younger generation in developing and leading useful lives (generativity).

• The feeling of having done nothing to help the next generation is stagnation.


Integrity vs. Despair(Late Adulthood)

• This involves reflecting on the past and either piecing together a positive review or concluding that one’s life has been well spent.

• Integrity is achieved through reflecting on a past deemed worthwhile.

• If the older adult resolved many of the earlier stages of negativity, looking back will lead to doubt or gloom (despair).


Evaluating the Psychoanalytic Approach


Contributions of Psychoanalytic Theories

• Early experiences play an important part in development.

• Family relationships are a central aspect of development.

• Personality can be better understood if it is examined developmentally.

• The mind is not all conscious; unconscious aspects of the mind need to be considered.

• Changes take place in the adulthood as well as the childhood years (Erikson).


Criticisms of Psychoanalytic Theories

• The main concepts have been difficult to test scientifically.

• Much of the data used to support these theories come from individuals’ reconstruction of the past, often the distant past, and are of unknown accuracy.

• The sexual underpinnings of development are given too much importance (especially by Freud).


Criticisms of Psychoanalytic Theories ( cont’d)

• The unconscious mind is given too much credit for influencing development.

• Psychoanalytic theories present an image of humans that is too negative (especially Freud).

• Psychoanalytic theories are culture- and gender-biased.


The

Cognitive

Approach

Piaget;’s

Cognitive

Developmental

Theory

Lev Vygotsky’s

Socio-cultural

Cognitive

Theory

Information-

Processing

Approach


Jean Piaget (1896 – 1980)

• Swiss psychologist• Observed his own

children to develop theory of cognitive development

• Changed how we think about the development of children’s minds


Piaget’s Cognitive Development Theory

• Children actively construct their understanding of the world.

• Children progress through four stages of cognitive development.

• Two processes underlie development: – Assimilation– Accommodation


Definition of Assimilation

• Incorporating new information into their existing knowledge.


Definition of Accommodation

• Adapting one’s existing knowledge to new information.


Piaget’s Four Stages of Cognitive Development

• Sensorimotor Stage (0 – 2 years)

• Preoperational Stage (2 – 7 years)

• Concrete Operational Stage (7 – 11 years)

• Formal Operational Stage (11 and up)


Sensorimotor Stage(0 – 2 years)

• Infants construct an understanding of the world by coordinating sensory experiences with physical motor actions.

• At the beginning, newborns are limited to reflexive patterns.

• By the end, 2-year-olds are beginning to operate with primitive symbols.


Preoperational Stage(2 – 7 years)

• Children begin to represent the world with words, images, and drawings.


Definition of Operations• Internalized mental actions that allow

children to do mentally what they previously did physically.


Concrete Operational Stage(7 – 11 years)

• Children can perform mental operations.

• Logical reasoning replaces intuitive thought, as long as reasoning can be applied to concrete examples.

• Algebra is too abstract for this stage.


Formal Operational Stage(11 and up)

• Individuals move beyond concrete experiences and think in the abstract, more logical terms.

• Problem solving is more systematic and involves hypotheses.

• Adolescents develop images of ideal circumstances.


Vygotsky’s Socio-cultural Cognitive Theory

• Shares Piaget’s view that children actively construct their knowledge.

• Emphasizes developmental analysis, the role of language, and social relations.

• Like Piaget, Vygotsky’s ideas were not introduced in America until the 1960s.


Vygotsky’s Three Basic Claims about Children’s Development

• The child’s cognitive skills can be understood only when they are developmentally analyzed and interpreted.

• Cognitive skills are mediated by words, language, and forms of discourse.

• Cognitive skills have their origins in social relations and are embedded in a socio-cultural backdrop.


The Information-Processing Approach

• Emphasizes that individuals manipulate, monitor, and strategize about information.

• Central are the processes of memory and thinking.

• Individuals develop a gradually increasing capacity for processing information.

• This enables the acquisition of increasingly complex knowledge and skills.


Evaluating the Cognitive Approach


Contributions of the Cognitive Theories

• They present a positive view of development, emphasizing individuals’ conscious thinking.

• They emphasize the individual’s active construction of understanding.

• Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s theories underscore the importance of examining developmental changes in children’s thinking.

• The information-processing approach offers a detailed description of cognitive processes.


Criticisms of the Cognitive Theories

• There is skepticism about the pureness of Piaget’s stages.

• They do not give adequate attention to individual variations in cognitive development.

• Information processing doesn’t provide adequate description of developmental changes in cognition.

• Psychoanalytic theorists argue that the cognitive theories do not give enough credit to unconscious thought.


Behavioural and Social Cognitive Theories

• These theories believe that scientifically we can only study what can be directly observed and measured.

• They also believe that development is observable behaviour that can be learned through experience with the environment.


The Behavioural and

Social Cognitive Approach

Pavlov’s

Classical

Conditioning

Skinner’s

Operant

Conditioning

Social

Cognitive

Theory


Classical Conditioning

• In the early 1900s, Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov discovered the phenomenon in which a neutral stimulus acquires the ability to produce a behavioural response originally produced by another stimulus.


Operant Conditioning

• B. F. Skinner demonstrated that the consequences of a behaviour produce changes in the probability of the behaviour occurring again.

• Consequences can be either reward (increasing the likelihood of behaviour recurrence) or punishment (decreasing this chance).


Social Cognitive Theory

• Albert Bandura and Walter Mischel believed that cognitive processes are important mediators of environment-behaviour connections.

• Learning occurs through observing what others do, as individuals cognitively represent what they see and adopt the behaviour themselves.


Evaluating the Behavioural and Social Cognitive Approach


Contributions of Behavioural and Social Cognitive Theories

• They emphasize the importance of scientific research.

• They focus on the environmental determinants of behaviour.

• They underscore the importance of observational learning (Bandura).


Criticisms of Behavioural and Social Cognitive Theories

• Pavlov and Skinner put too little emphasis on cognition.

• They put too much emphasis on environmental determinants.

• They give inadequate attention to developmental changes.

• They are too mechanical and give inadequate consideration to the spontaneity and creativity of humans.


Ethological Theory

• Behaviour is strongly influenced by biology.

• Behaviour is tied to evolution.

• Behaviour is characterized by critical periods.

• European zoologist Konrad Lorenz (1903 – 1989) identified imprinting.

• John Bowlby theorizes about attachment.


The Ethological

Approach

Charles

Darwin

Konrad

Lorenz

John

Bowlby


Definition of Critical Period

• A fixed time period very early in development during which certain behaviours optimally emerge.


Definition of Imprinting

• The rapid, innate learning within a limited critical period of time that involves attachment to the first moving object seen.


Attachment

• A concept based on principles of ethological theory.

• Attachment to a caregiver over the first year of life has important consequences:– Positive and secure attachment results in

positive development. – Negative and insecure attachment results in

problematic development.


Evaluating the Ethological Approach


Contributions of Ethological Theory

• It has an increased focus on the biological an evolutionary basis of development.

• It uses careful observations in naturalistic settings.

• It emphasizes critical periods of development.


Criticisms of Ethological Theory

• The critical period concept may be too rigid.

• It places too strong an emphasis on biological foundations.

• It gives inadequate attention to cognition.


The Humanist

Approach

Carl Rogers Abraham Maslow


The Humanist Approach

• Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow believed that people work hard to become the best they can possibly become.

• Acknowledged the role of values, intentions, and meaning in understanding human behaviour.


Carl Rogers (1902 – 1987)

• Best known for his contribution to therapy by introducing client-centred therapy.

• Actualizing tendency is Rogers’s term for people’s ability to become the best they can become.


Abraham Maslow (1908 – 1970)• Self actualization is Maslow’s term for

ability for people to become the best they can become.

• Developed a Hierarchy of Needs that helps to explain human motivation.


Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Physiological Needs

Safety Needs

Belonging Needs

Esteem Needs

Self-actualization


Physiological Needs

• Maslow believed that our physiological needs must be met first.

• Examples include oxygen, water, food, sleep, etc.


Safety and Security Needs

• Once our physiological needs are met, we are motivated to the second level of need: safety and security.

• Safety and security may be realized by job security, economic stability, savings for retirement, insurance, etc.


Love and Belonging Needs

• Once we feel safe we look for love and a sense of belonging.

• We are motivated towards behaviours that encourage our acceptance by family and friends.


Esteem Needs

• Once our belonging and love needs are met, we strive for recognition.

• If our esteem needs are not met, most of us will suffer from varying degrees of low self-esteem and inferiority.


Self-Actualization

• Realizing our potential or being the best we can possibly be.


Evaluating the Humanist Approach


Contributions of Humanist Approach

• Reflects a positive regard for human nature.

• Influenced and reshaped the nature of the therapist-client interaction.

• Considers the role of the environment on development.


Criticisms of Humanist Approach

• Interpretation is too subjective.

• Approach lacks scientific rigor of other approaches.


The Ecological Approach

• Emphasizes environmental factors.

• Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory of development consists of five environmental systems, ranging from direct interactions with people to broad-based inputs of culture.


Evaluating the Ecological Approach


Contributions of Ecological Approach

• A systematic examination of macro- and microdimensions of environmental systems.

• Attention to connections between environmental settings.

• Consideration of socio-historical influences on development.


Criticisms of Ecological Approach• Even with the added discussion of

biological influences in recent years, there is still too little attention to biological foundations of development.

• Inadequate attention to cognitive processes.

©2005 mcgraw-hill ryerson ltd. chapter 2 prominent approaches in life- span development

Documents