PSYC 2500H Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: John Bowlby, Karen Horney, Cultural-Historical Psychology
26 Jun 2018
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Chapter 2: Theories of Human Development
The Nature of Scientific Theories:
Scientific theory: a set of Concepts and propositions that describe, organize, and explain a set of
observations
oCan be broad like personality or cognition
oCan be specific like the impact of domain knowledge for internet search behaviors
Why are theories important?
oThey provide a lens we use to interpret any number of specific observations about developing
individuals
What makes a good theory
oParsimonious - uses relatively few explanatory principles to explain a broad set of observations
oFalsifiability - It is capable of generating predictions that could be disconfirmed
oHeuristic value - one that continues to stimulate new research and discoveries
(This is the same figure as figure 2.1 from the textbook)
Six broad theoretical traditions
1. psychoanalytic viewpoint
2. learning viewpoint
3. cognitive developmental viewpoint
4. information processing viewpoint
5. evolutionary viewpoint
6. ecological systems viewpoint
The Psychoanalytic Viewpoint:
Sigmund Freud - proposed we are driven by motives and conflicts of which we are largely unaware and
that our personalities are shaped by our early life experiences
Psychosexual Theory: states maturation of the sex Instinct underlies stages of personality development and
that the manner in which parents manage children's instinctual impulses determines the traits that children
display
Three components of personality
oId: an inborn component of the personality that is driven by instincts
oEgo: a rational component of the personality enter
oSuper-ego: a component of Personality that consists of one's internalized moral standards
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Id is present at birth
As ego matures it becomes better at controlling our irrational id's and finds realistic ways
to gratify our needs
Superego develops as moral values develop becoming aware of good and bad
oA mature and healthy personality: id communicates basic needs, ego restrains impulses to find
realistic solutions to needs, superego decides if ego did the right thing
Freuds Stages of Psychological development:
oFixation: arrested development at a particular psychosexual stage that can prevent movement to
higher stages
Psychosexual
Stage
Age Description
Oral Birth -
1 year
The sex Instinct centers on the mouth because infants derive pleasure from such oral
activities as sucking, chewing and biting - feeding activities are particularly
important
Anal 1 - 3 years Voluntary urination and defecation become the primary methods of gratifying sex
Instinct - toilet training produces major conflicts between children and parents - the
emotional climate that parents create can have lasting effects
Phallic 3 - 6 years Pleasures now derived from genital stimulation - children develop an incestuous
desire for the opposite sex parent - anxiety stemming from this conflict causes
children to internalize the sex-role characteristics and moral standards of their same-
sex parental rival
Latency 6 - 11
years
The traumas of the phallic stage cause sexual conflicts to be repressed and sexual
urges to be rechanneled into school work and vigorous play - the ego and superego
continue to develop as a child gains more problem-solving availabilities at school and
internalizes societal values
Genital Age 12
onward
Puberty triggers a reawakening of sexual urges - adolescents must now learn how to
express these urges in socially acceptable ways - if development has been healthy the
mature sex instinct is satisfied by marriage and raising children
Positives that came from Freud:
oUnconscious motivation
oAttention to the influence of early experience on later development
oThe emotional side of human development
Erikson’s theory of Psychosocial Development
oPsychosocial theory: emphasizes sociocultural (rather than sexual) determinants of development
and posits a series of eight psychosocial conflicts that people must resolve successfully to display
healthy psychological adjustments
oDiffers from Freud by: children are active who seek to adapt to their environments - not passive to
biological urges
Much less emphasis on sexual urges and more cultural influences
Eight Life Crisis
Emerges at distinct time dictated by both biological maturation and social demands
Approx Age Erikson’s Crisis Viewpoint Freudian Stage
Birth - 1 year Basic trust
versus mistrust
Infants must learn to trust others to care for their basic needs if
caregivers are rejecting or inconsistent the infant may view the
world as a dangerous place filled with untrustworthy or unreliable
people - the primary caregiver is the key social agent
Oral
1 - 3 years autonomy versus
shame and doubt
Children must learn to be “autonomous” - to feed and dress
themselves to look after their own self - failure to achieve this
independence may force the child to doubt his or her own
abilities and feel shameful - parents are the key social agents
Anal
3 - 6 years Initiative versus Children attempt to act grown up and will try to accept Phallic
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guilt responsibilities that are beyond their capability to handle - they
sometimes undertake goals or activities that conflict with those of
parents and other family members and these conflicts make them
feel guilty - successful resolution of this crisis require the balance
the child must retain a sense of initiative yet learn to not impinge
on the rights, privileges, or goals of others - family is key social
agent
6 - 12 years Industry versus
inferiority
Children must Master important social and academic skills - this
is a period when the child compares her or himself with peers - if
sufficiently industrious children acquire the social and academic
skills to feel self-assured - failure to acquire these important
attributes leads to feelings of inferiority significant - social agents
or teachers and peers
Latency
12 - 20 years Identity versus
role confusion
This is what the crossroad between childhood and maturity - the
adolescent grapples with the question “who am I?” - adolescents
must establish basic social and occupational identities or they will
remain confused about the roles they should play as adults - the
key social agents is Society of peers
Early Genital
(adolescence)
20 - 40 years
(early
adulthood)
Intimacy versus
isolation
The primary task at this stage to form strong friendships and to
achieve a sense of love and companionship with another person -
feelings of loneliness or isolation are likely to result from an
inability to form friendships or an intimate relationship - the
social agents are lovers, spouses, and close friends
Genital
40 - 65 years
(middle
adulthood)
Generativity
versus stagnation
At this stage adults face the tasks of becoming productive or risk
stagnation in their work as well as raising their families or
otherwise looking after the needs of young people - these
standards of generativity are defined by one's culture - those who
are unable to or unwilling to assume these responsibilities
become stagnant and self-centered significant social agents are
spouses, children, and cultural norms
Genital
Old age Ego integrity
versus despair
The older adult looks back on life viewing it as either a
meaningful, productive and happy experience or a major
disappointment full of unfulfilled promises and unrealized goals -
one’s life experience particularly social experiences determine
the outcome of the final life crisis
Genital
Contributions/criticisms to Erikson’s theory
oStresses our rational, adaptive nature
oEmphasizes social conflicts and personal dilemmas that people may remember
Psychoanalytic theory beyond Erikson and Freud
oKaren Horney - the psychology of women
oAlfred Adler - siblings are important for social and personality development
oHarry stack Sullivan - same-sex friendships during middle childhood set stage for love
relationships
The Learning Viewpoint
John B Watson was the founder of behaviorism and the first social learning theorist
oBehavioralism: is a school of thinking that holds conclusions about how human development
should be based on controlled observations of overt behavior rather than speculation about
unconscious motives or other unobservable phenomena - the philosophical underpinning for the
early theories of learning
oWatson viewed the infant as a blank slate to be written on by an experience like John Locke
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Document Summary
Scientific theory: a set of concepts and propositions that describe, organize, and explain a set of observations: can be broad like personality or cognition, can be specific like the impact of domain knowledge for internet search behaviors. Why are theories important: they provide a lens we use to interpret any number of specific observations about developing individuals. What makes a good theory o o. Parsimonious - uses relatively few explanatory principles to explain a broad set of observations. Falsifiability - it is capable of generating predictions that could be disconfirmed: heuristic value - one that continues to stimulate new research and discoveries (this is the same figure as figure 2. 1 from the textbook) Six broad theoretical traditions psychoanalytic viewpoint learning viewpoint cognitive developmental viewpoint information processing viewpoint evolutionary viewpoint ecological systems viewpoint. Sigmund freud - proposed we are driven by motives and conflicts of which we are largely unaware and that our personalities are shaped by our early life experiences.
