Developmental Psychology

Lecture – 2nd Year – DEVP211

Week 2

Psychodynamic Theories stages is biologically fixed.

• Psychodynamic theories hold
that development is largely • You can see that the name of
determined by how well people each stage reflects the
resolve conflicts they face at challenge people face at a
different ages. particular age.
• This perspective traces its roots
to Sigmund Freud’s theory that • When challenges are met
personality emerges from successfully, people are well
conflicts that children experience prepared to meet the
between what they want to do challenge of the next stage.
and what society wants them to THE EIGHT STAGES OF
do. PSYCHOSOCIAL
• Building on Freud’s idea, Erik DEVELOPMENT
Erikson (1902–1994) proposed • Erikson proposed that
the first comprehensive life-span personality development is
view, his psychosocial theory, determined by the interaction of
which remains an important an internal maturational plan
theoretical framework today. and external societal demands.
• He proposed that the life cycle is
composed of eight stages and
that the order of the stages is
biologically fixed.

• You can see that the name of

each stage reflects the challenge
people face at a particular age.

• When challenges are met

successfully, people are well
prepared to meet the challenge
PSYCHOSOCIAL THEORY of the next stage.
• Erikson proposed that
personality development is
determined by the interaction
of an internal maturational
plan and external societal
demands.

• He proposed that the life cycle

is composed of eight stages
and that the order of the

Mikaella Nagano 1
Developmental Psychology
Lecture – 2nd Year – DEVP211
Week 2

Learning Theories • Reinforcement is a

• This perspective emphasizes the consequence that increases the
role of experience, examining future likelihood of the behavior
whether a person’s behavior is that it follows.
rewarded or punished.
• Punishment is a consequence
• This perspective also emphasizes that decreases the future
that people learn from watching likelihood of the behavior that it
others around them. follows.

• Two influential theories in this OPERANT CONDITIONING:

perspective are behaviorism and REINFORCEMENT
social learning theory. Reinforcement is a consequence that
BEHAVIORISM increases the future likelihood of the
• Early in the 20th century, John behavior that it follows.
Watson (1878–1958) believed
that infants’ minds were • Positive reinforcement
essentially “blank slates” and consists of giving a reward to
argued that learning increase the likelihood of
determines what people will previous behavior. A father
become. who wants to encourage his
daughter to help with chores
• He assumed that, with the may reinforce her with praise
correct techniques, anything or money whenever she cleans
could be learned by almost her room.
anyone.
• Negative reinforcement
• In Watson’s view, then, the consists of rewarding people by
experience was just about all taking away unpleasant
that mattered in determining things. The same father could
the course of development. use negative reinforcement by
OPERANT CONDITIONING saying that whenever his
• Skinner studied operant daughter cleans her room she
conditioning, in which the doesn’t have to wash the
consequences of a behavior dishes or fold laundry.
determine whether a behavior
is repeated in the future. OPERANT CONDITIONING:
• Skinner showed that two kinds PUNISHMENT
of consequences were especially
influential: Reinforcement and Punishment is a consequence that
Punishment. decreases the future likelihood of the
behavior that it follows.

Mikaella Nagano 2
Developmental Psychology
Lecture – 2nd Year – DEVP211
Week 2

• Positive punishment - carry groceries because she’s seen

Suppresses a behavior either her parents do the same.
by adding something
• People do not always imitate
aversive. Should the daughter
what they see around them.
fail to clean her room, the
father may punish her by • People are more likely to imitate if
nagging. the person they see is popular,
smart, or talented.
• Negative Punishment -
Suppresses a behavior by • They’re also more likely to imitate
withholding a pleasant event. when the behavior they see is
Should the daughter fail to rewarded than when it is
clean her room, the father punished.
would not allow her to watch
television • People are not mechanically
copying what they see and hear;
Skinner’s research was done primarily instead, they look to others for
with animals, but human development information about appropriate
researchers showed that the principles behavior.
of operant conditioning could be
extended readily to people, too (Baer & • When peers are reinforced for
Wolf, 1968). behaving in a particular way, this
encourages imitation.
Applied properly, reinforcement and
punishment are indeed powerful • Albert Bandura based his social
influences on children, adolescents, cognitive theory on this more
and adults. complex view of reward,
punishment, and imitation.
SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY
• Researchers discovered that • Bandura’s theory is “cognitive”
people sometimes learn without because of he believes people
reinforcement or punishment. actively try to understand what
goes on in their world; the theory
• People learn much by simply is “social” because, along with
watching those around them, reinforcement and punishment,
which is known as imitation or what other people do is an
observational learning. important source of information
about the world.
• Imitation is occurring when one
toddler throws a toy after seeing a • Bandura also argues that
peer do so or when a school-age experience gives people a sense
child offers to help an older adult of self-efficacy, which refers to

Mikaella Nagano 3
Developmental Psychology
Lecture – 2nd Year – DEVP211
Week 2

people’s beliefs about their own

abilities and talents.

• Self-efficacy beliefs help to

determine when people will
imitate others.

• A child who sees himself as not

athletically talented, for example,
will not try to imitate LeBron
James dunking a basketball
despite the fact that LeBron is
obviously talented and popular.
Thus, whether an individual
imitates others depends on who
the other person is, on whether
that person’s behavior is
rewarded, and on the individual’s
beliefs about his or her own
abilities.

• The operant conditioned person

who responds mechanically to
reinforcement and punishment
has been replaced by the social
cognitive person who actively
interprets these and other events.
Nevertheless, Skinner, Bandura,
and all learning theorists share the
view that experience propels
people along their developmental
journeys.

Mikaella Nagano 4