Developmental Psychology - Essay Example

Running Head: DEVELOPMENTAL THEORIES Developmental theories Date Developmental theories Introduction One of the major debates within psychologists is how the development of a human being has been and the pattern it has taken. There are therefore many perceptions which try to describe the process of human development. Others have adopted the stage theories which are based on the assumption that the development of a human being has been in form of phases. Another school of thought explains that the developmental process of human beings is characterized by the increasing age. There are several theories which have contributed to development of human beings from their early childhood adulthood (Papalia, et. al., 2007). A developmental theory is a model used to explain the processes which took place when a child is growing to the time when the child is regarded as an adult. There are several psychologists and philosophers who have come up with theories each seeking to give his contribution and major inclinations on how a child developed. Developmental psychology is a subject that has elicited many questions as to whether the development of an individual has been continuous or not. However, both schools of thought can be taken basing on the fact that they give tangible reasons. In trying to understand the contribution of some psychologists we consider three theories of development namely the cognitive theory, Eric Erickson’s stages of development theory and the social learning theory (Papalia, et. al., 2007). Concepts of each of the theories The cognitive theory is based on the concept that the mind is the main actor in the body of an individual. This theory is associated with the famous psychologist named Jean Piaget. He developed the major aspects of cognitive theory. This theory recognizes that development of the person involves associations that are established through repetition and contiguity. The theory acknowledges the importance of reinforcement and stresses in the role of providing feedback on the correctness of responses received from a child and states that reinforcement acts as a motivator (Papalia, et. al., 2007). Cognitive psychologists view development as consisting of acquisition or reorganization of cognitive structures through which human being process and store information. The theory is categorized into concept the first concept is the schema which is an internal structure of the knowledge. Here, when new situations are experienced, they are compared to the existing cognitive structure which is ‘schema’. Secondly, there is the three stage information process model which explains that an input will first enter the sensory register and then it will be processed in the short term memory. After this step, they are transferred to the long term memory for storage and future retrieval (Ellery, 1925). The third concept is the concept of meaningful effect where meaningful information is easy to learn and remember and when a learner relates some meaningless information with the schema, it will be easy to remember and retain. The fourth concept is the serial position effect which explains that it is easy to remember items that are in the beginning or those that are at the end of the list rather that those positioned in the middle of the list. Practice effect gives us the fifth concept which explains that practices or rehearsal done will improve the retention more so when it is a distributed practice (Ellery, 1925). Eric Erickson also came up with his theory called the psychosocial theory which explains the development of the child into an adult. He divided the stags into eight stages that he said are the main processes that an individual goes through. At each stage, Erickson explained that every an individual will confront and conquer several challenges which will elevate him or hr into another stage. The stages are; Trust vs. Mistrust (0 to 18months). During this stage, the child is struggling to obtain basic needs from their parents. The child entirely depends on the parents for food, comfort and sustenance. The understanding of the world is therefore drawn from the parent (Ellery, 1925). The Autonomy vs. Shame and doubt (18mnths to 3yrs) is the second stage which a child should go through. At this stage, the child is beginning to draw some experiences from the environment and therefore the child’s behaviours are associated with the environment. In the third stage known as the Initiative vs. guilt stage (3 to 6yrs) the child is now fully acquainted with the world and draws experiences from the environment rather than the parents. At this stage, the physics on how things are and how some processes occur begin to be understood by the child (Ellery, 1925). Eric Erickson named the fourth stage as the Industry vs. Inferiority stage which occurs between the years of 6 to 12. During this stage, the child is slowly beginning to have a full understanding of himself and the world in which he is living in. The child therefore has realized that it’s important to employ hard work so as to achieve the best in life. At this stage, the child begins to form some aspect of cooperation and associations especially when at school. The following stage is the Identity vs. role confusion stage (Ellery, 1925). During this stage the child is at the adolescent stage which is the most crucial stage of the child since there are several changes that are taking place physically in the body of the individual. At this stage, the individual begins to develop a sense of sexual identity (Ellery, 1925). When a child goes from this stage, he or she develops into a young adult which falls under the category of Intimacy vs. isolation stage of Eric Erickson. During this stage, the individual tries to associate with mature people and try to view their lives as grown ups. Later they develop into the stage of middle adulthood which is associated with high discipline and social responsibility. The individual works so as to provide for the family and to achieve the best of himself (Ellery, 1925). The final stage of Eric Erickson is the stage of integrity vs. despair. During this stage, the individual can be said to have a lot of wisdom since he has lived for several years and has gained experience about life. The social learning theory on the other hand explains that development is due to the influence of the environment where an individual is based. The general environment of an individual is what will dictate the individual’s character and personality of the individual at the long run (Ellery, 1925). The child for example has to look at the happenings in the environment and copy it. Psychologists belief that if the child meets a harsh environment then he will be harsh but if the environment is friendly, the individual will learn to be friendly. As children develop physically, they learn to play with others. These others are drawn from the surrounding environment. This helps them to improve their mental skills and consequently develop some behaviours. Through imaginary or fantasy play, a child develops abstract thinking (Papalia, et. al., 2007). They get rid of aggression and learn to control aggressive urges. Physical development requires the body to identify and employ external experiences and emotional stability to feel secure about exploring new ideas. Emotional development relies on judgment to understand situations and identify people’s responses and transform their behaviors (Papalia, et. al., 2007). Major points of similarity These three theories have some points of similarity. One aspect is on the point of view that these theories are seen. These three theories are all viewed from a meaningful point of view rather than an abstract point of view. The child often accommodates that which he has seen in the real environment and learns form it as is in the case of behavioral theory while a child who learns form the assimilation of social factors like influence by the teacher and the parent often look at the things that these social factors do and therefore develop some learning through them. Both of these factors depict a real life situation rather than an abstract scenario (Papalia, et. al., 2007). Another element of similarity is that in all these theories, the environment is a very vital factor which contributes to a thoughtful reflection of experiences. Often a child will look at some particular issue and use the mental ability to distinguish whether it is good or bad. This is when the facts are based on cognitive development (Papalia, et. al., 2007). If the child is exposed to a parent or the teacher, the child will belief that since the teacher is experienced and old enough in the field, then the right thing to do is what these social factors have demonstrated (Papalia, et. al., 2007). The three theories are also similar in that they are based on some stages of the child. Eric Erickson described his stages vividly by breaking the entire development process of an individual into stages from early childhood to being an adult. The behaviours of a person therefore cannot be the same when they are young and when they are at adolescent stages. Various factors are common within the theories like the influence of the parents, peers and the teacher at school. For behaviour to develop therefore, there is an external or external factor that influences an individual (Papalia, et. al., 2007). Major points of difference Despite these similarities these three theories also differ in several aspects. One point of view is the factors that are associated with development in each theory. Eric Erickson points out that the developmental stages of an individual are influenced by a factor of things like the parents, teachers, teachers and the environment that the individual is exposed in. The social learning theory on the other hand explains that the parents and other parameters that influence the child contribute to the social behaviours of the child. The behaviours and personalities are therefore based on the social setup of the child (Ellery, 1925). The stage of the child in this case does not matter but what matters is the influential factors of the child. The cognitive theory however does not base its argument on neither of these but it explains that the brain is the source of every thing that happens in the life of the individual. Another difference created is in the nature of development that each theory proposes. Eric Erickson’s theory has shown that the development of the individual is progressive and continuous. He has explained that each stage gives rise to the next stage and that an individual cannot go through to the other stage without going through another stage. According to him therefore the development of a person is basically is continuous (Papalia, et. al., 2007). On the other the social learning theory and the cognitive theories are discontinuous in that they are not based on the stages of individuals but they happen to an individual at any stage. In this case, a child or a older human being can develop a character so long as the cognitive and the social environment has dictated that particular direction (Papalia, et. al., 2007). The third difference is that these theories have been developed by different personalities who have had different experiences. Eric Erickson is known for the development of the psychosocial stages that explain the development of the human being. Piaget on the other hand is behind the development of the cognitive development of an individual. Bandura develop the social learning theory which describes the process of development of the individual deriving their social experiences from the environment (Papalia, et. al., 2007). Development of the child Child development may be defined as smooth progressive changes or growth that takes place in a child during the life span from birth to adolescence. The change occurs in series involving cognitive, physical and emotional development. Cognitive development is a mental activity through which children acquire knowledge, reason, solve problems, perceive and develop language. Physical development refers to bodily changes and may changes in weight, body size, hearing, bone thickness and in the motors. Emotional development refers to changes in the way a child his or her feelings and reactions about self and others (Papalia, et. al., 2007). Emotional and cognitive development act with and upon each other to process to process information. The delays in the emotional development of a child will also result not do well cognitively, the same applies the other way round. For children to develop well emotionally, a safe and protected environment should be offered to them to help them discover their actions and feelings (Ellery, 1925). Fresh and exclusive concepts should be favored by the immediate surrounding that entails both physically and cognitively motivation and at the same time maintaining familiarity. Physical development such as play contributes to cognitive and emotional development. Skills such as problem solving, language competence and interaction are developed as a child plays with peers. Children also understand, express, share and control their emotional experiences with others (Ellery, 1925). Importance of understanding of adolescent and normal development in a child Child and adolescent development covers a period of eighteen years. Over this period a child develops in numerous ways. Out of these numerous ways, different stages of development are of prime importance. Since children entirely depend on play so as to achieve their development, teachers and parents therefore have the challenge of creating a favorable condition of play so that these children can develop (Ellery, 1925). Teachers and parents need to be considerate in choosing the place of living because it’s important for the child to have an environment where play can take place without a lot of restrictions and sanctions (Ellery, 1925). The stage of adolescence is the most active stage of the child and therefore special attention needs to be given to children at this stage because if they are left on their own, then they things can get offhand. In understanding the changes of the child at this stage, the parent or teachers can develop programs that are aimed at improving the child’s perception to sexuality. The child needs to be given an environment that creates an understanding of the total environment and the activities that are desirable for the child to involve in. at this stage, the child can be introduced to religious activities which can give the child a different perception on the sexuality of his body (Ellery, 1925). Adolescents generally experience similar emotions as children though there is a difference in their minds. Great attention should therefore be paid both children and adolescents. Parents should provide a favorable home environment where there is unconditional love. Understanding of normal child and adolescent development is important to ensure that an environment that allows the child and adolescent to develop and attain their desires and to discover more about their society is provided (Ellery, 1925). This is to ensure that their dealings will not deter them from becoming part of their own society. Conclusion Developmental theories are very essential since they describe the processes through which individuals went through since their childhood to adulthood. Several theories not only explain the stages of developments in children but they also give advice on how to handle children at different stages. Children are very critical individuals who need special attention during their development (Papalia, et. al., 2007). It is in this regard early childhood programs need to be developed for children so that their learning issues can be addressed well following the theories of above. This paper has explored the main theories of development and how they explain the development of an individual from childhood to adulthood. Basing on the similarities and the differences that these theories have, its very essential for the parents and teachers to have a knowledge on them so as to make the child develop in the desired manner and develop behaviours that are acceptable in the society (Papalia, et. al., 2007). References: Ellery, W. (1925). Forming Na New life: heredity, conception and environment, Princeton: Princeton University Press Papalia, D., Feldman, R. and Wendkos, S. (2007). A Child's World: Infancy Through Adolescence. McGraw-Hill Publishers Read More