PSYB32H3 Lecture Notes - Oedipus Complex, Ecological Systems Theory, Classical Conditioning
Document Summary
Themes and theories of human development: what is a developmental theory, scientific theory, characteristics of a good theory. Questions and controversies in human development: assumptions about human nature, original sin. 2: nature versus nurture, activity versus passivity, continuity versus discontinuity. Stages of development: qualitative/quantitative, connectedness of development. Theories of human development: psychoanalytic theory, components of personality. Social learning theory: cognitive developmental theory, ethological theory, ecological theory. What is a theory in general: a set of concepts or propositions that describe and explain some aspect of experience. What is a scientific theory: a public pronouncement indicating what a scientist believes about his or her area specific area of investigation. What are the characteristics of a good theory: parsimony, concise, yet able to explain a wide range of phenomena, falsifiability, capable of making explicit predictions, heuristic value and cases, can be applied to unknown situations.
