A Psychoanalystic Theorist and a Cognitive Theorist - Essay Example

A psychoanalystic theorist, a behaviorist, and a cognitive theorist would approach an individual’s behavior or misconduct differently. This difference in behavior analysis can be seen in the case of Dina’s inappropriate behavior. As a child in her first year of nursery school, Dina refuses to share her toys with other children. Despite the advice of her teacher, she keeps on grabbing what she wants and screams and hits when something is taken away. When consulting a psychoanalystic theorist, a behaviorist, and a cognitive theorist about Dina’s problem, they would approach her case differently.

A cognitive theorist would try to apply any of the established theories of cognitive development, such as that of Piaget, to explain Dina’s behavior. As such, a cognitive theorist may refer to the fact that Dina is in her sensorimotor Stage, as identified by Piaget. During this stage, an infant starts to build up knowledge of the world, by relating the physical activities to perceived results of those activities. The main personal trait of infants during this stage is egocentrism because young kids have no understanding of the external world other than their own.

As such, a cognitive theorist may argue that Dina’s egocentrism during this early stage of development pushes her to reject the concept of sharing and prefer to have and possess everything she wants. To remedy this problem, a cognitive theorist may suggest that Dina should be related more to her social surroundings, and not to be left to her ego, as the social surroundings are extremely important in shaping the personality and behavior of children. In other words, the surrounding atmosphere, in which one performs this habit, would affect the frequency of practising it.

In this context, almost all behaviorists agree that the behavior of children is affected by the family within which he or she is raised. For example, many of the ill-behavior of children to divorced parents can be closely attributed to the fact that their parents are separated. That’s why a behaviorist may approach Dina’s negative behavior in the light of her relationship with her family and parents. For a behaviorist, Dina’s behavior may be modified after understanding her relationship with her family members.

This is because a behaviorist believes that the children of unstable families are more likely to engage in negative behaviors due to the lack of security and family warmth.For example, children who have minimal or inadequate social interactions with others may suffer from psychological consequences that impact their behavior. For example, neglect and indifference of the parents are two of the common reasons why some children are isolated from human contact, and so they do not absorb the concept of sharing objects with others.

Accordingly, a psychologist would suggest that Dina’s behavior may be adjusted by deeply analyzing the psychological impact of the social surroundings and backgrounds on Dina’s psyche, in order to modify any distortions or abnormalities, such as rejection of sharing objects with others.