Theories in Child Development

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Theories in Child Development

• Dr. Kris Rodenberg
• SDSU

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Is development continuous, or does it occur in
stages?
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Shift from early studies to today

• A Shifting Balance
• Early theorists favored organismic or stage
  approaches
• Today attention is focused on the biological and
  evolutionary bases of behavior in tandem
• Bidirectional people change their world as it
  changes them (consider Bronfrenbrenners
  bioecological framework)

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Research Methods

• Quantitative
• Based on scientific method
• 1. Identify a problem
• 2. Formulate hypotheses
• 3. Collect data
• 4. Analyze the data
• 5. Disseminate findings
• Qualitative
• Open-ended

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Arnold Gesell - 1880-1961
Main points Physical and basic skill development
is genetically determined by universal
maturation patterns that occur in a predictable
sequence.
Nature
Nurture
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Sigmund Freud - 1857-1939
Main points Experiences in early childhood
influence later development. Assumes sexual
factors are major components in psychosocial
development Often called The Father of
Psychoanalysis, he believed that our deepest
thoughts were often revealed in symbols.
Nature
Nurture
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Freuds Psychoanalytic Theory

• Id / Ego / Superego
• Oral?Anal?Phallic
• Oedipal complex
• Electra complex
• Latency
• Repression
• Sublimation
• Fixation
• Regression

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Erik Erikson - 1902-1994
Main points Student of Freud. He experienced
identity confusion and proposed 8 stages of
psychosocial development from birth to death.
Each stage is represented by resolution of a
conflict -- __ versus ___.Believed that
environment acted on ones innate disposition.
Nature
Nurture
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Edward Thorndike 1874-1949

• Law of effect? Stimulus Response
• Law of exercise (practice Reinforcement)
• Transfer of learning
• Operant conditioning (cats)

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B.F.Skinner - 1904-1990
Main points Student of Thorndike (S/R theory
w/cats) and lab partner of Pavlov (dogs) if you
can train an animal, you can train a
child. Reinforcement and punishment shapes
behavior. Children are conditioned by their
experiences, no matter what they are born with.
Nature
Nurture
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Skinnerian Discipline
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Albert Bandura - 1925-present
Learning takes place via imitation. The Bobo
Doll experiments. Differs from Skinners
conditioning emphases on inner motivational
factors. Proponent of observational theory which
is key in social constructivism.
Nature
Nurture
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Lev Vygotsky - 1896-1934

• Development is primarily driven by language
  acquisition (ability to communicate), social
  contexts, and adult/experienced person guidance.
  Children learn through social interaction.
• Private speech ? internal speech
• Zone of Proximal Development
• Independent/instructional/
• Frustration levels
• Scaffolding
• Foundation of Gradual Release Theory

Nature
Nurture
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Jean Piaget - 1896-1980
Distinct cognitive stages affect ones ability to
make sense of the world. Adults influence, but
children build, or construct, their own
thinking systems (schema). Also, identified
shifts in moral development from egocentric to
altruistic as a component of psychosocial
development.
Nature
Nurture
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Carl Rogers 1902-1987

• Client-centered therapy morphs to
  student-centered classroom
• Self-actualization tendency (part of human
  nature) drives capacity building linked to
  motivation
• Active Listening by instructor and development
  of metacognition (self-monitoring) shape who we
  are and how we learn I messages

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Jerome Brunner 1915 --

• An anti-stage theorist, he support social
  constructivist theory.
• Humans learn via categorization of knowledge.
  Likes Vygotskys ideas about the role of speech
  and language in constructing meaning BUT in a
  sequence from enactive (action) - to iconic
  (image) - to symbolic (language) representations.
  
• Believes that we can learn anything as long as it
  is sequenced appropriately.

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Benjamin Bloom 1913-1999

• Developed a taxonomic hierarchy of
  cognitive-driven behavior deemed important to
  learning and to measurable capability.
• Believed in learning for mastery and that ones
  perceptions of mastery affect ones attitude
  toward learning (leads to motivation and
  engagement).

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Abraham Maslow 1900-1970

• Founder of Humanistic Psychology
• Hierarchy of human needs
• Humans are intrinsically curious

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Have we forgotten anyone?

• Of course! There are many other researchers and
  theorists who have shaped our understanding of
  why we do what we do in classrooms and have
  linked this knowledge with understanding our
  students psychosocial development.
• But these are key theories/theorists