Developmental Psychology – Chapter 2 “Way to Think About Human
Development”
2.1 Developmental Theories and the Issues They Raise
Set of ideas to describe and explain human development
Provides organization of studies, and a framework for interpreting data
A theory guides:
o How development should be studied
o What is most important to study
o What can be hypothesized and predicted
o How to analyze data
o Interpret the results of studies
o Realize where the authors come from
o Compare the findings to those of other studies
Theoretical viewpoints of human development
o Psychoanalytic viewpoint (Freud, Erikson)
o Learning perspective (Pavlov, Watson, Skinner, Bandura)
o Cognitive developmental viewpoint (Piaget)
o System theory approach (Bronfenbrenner, Gottlieb, Thelen)
Theory classification
o Goodness-badness human nature
Are people/babies inherently good or bad?
Tabula rasa, blank slate
o Nature-nurture
o Activity-passivity
Are humans active in influencing their environment?
Are humans active in producing their own development?
Or are they passively shaped by forces beyond their
control (biological)?
o Continuity-discontinuity
Do humans change gradually or abruptly?
Quantitative changes: changes in degree, continuity
Qualitative changes: changes in kind, discontinuity
o Universality-context specificity
Whether developmental changes are common or differ
across cultures, individuals etc.
o Broad-narrow
Some theories comprise a broad area of human
development, others specific developmental constructs
Piaget’s theory of cognitive development (narrow)
, o Pathological-typical
Some theories are directed at typical development, others
at atypical development
Erikson’s theory on identity development
Atypical development (Pathology)
o Can you think of a theory focused on pathology instead of typical
development?
o The developmental trajectory of antisocial personality disorder: from
oppositional defiant disorder in childhood, and conduct disorder in
adolescence
o ODD: anger-guided disobedience, hostility toward authority figures
o CD: persistent pattern of behavior in which the rights of others or
age-appropriate norms are violated
o Antisocial personality disorder: pervasive pattern of violation of the
rights of others
Research dimensions
o When setting up a study, we can distinguish 3 dimensions in
research:
The static-dynamic dimension
Static studies: predict psychological scores from factors
measured in a large sample
o If scores of anti-social behavior can be predicted
by gender, SES…
Dynamic studies look at the process of change within
an individual or small group
o How feelings change after each intervention in
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
o How the adaptation between student and
teacher changes during a lesson
The micro-macro dimension
, Micro studies: take measures on a short time scale
o How feelings change during one therapy session
o The number of antisocial interactions on the
playground during a 15-minute break
Macro studies: take aggregated measures based on
multiple short time frames
o The average change in feelings over the course
of multiple therapy sessions
o The average number of antisocial interactions on
the playground during a week
The direct-indirect dimension
Direct: obtain the information directly from the
respondent(s)
o Ask children to rate on a 7-point scale how often
they watch violent TV-series
Indirect: obtain the information from an outside source
o Ask the teacher to rate how often antisocial
behavior occurs in his classroom
o Ask parents to fill out the CBCL to see if a child
shows depression symptoms
2.2 Freud: Psychoanalytic Theory
Instincts and unconscious motives
o Humans have basic biological drives that must be satisfied
o Newborns as selfish creatures driven by instincts
o Biological instincts as the source of the psychic (mental) energy that
fuels human behavior; channeled in new directions over the course
of human development
o Unconscious motivation: the power is instincts and other inner
forces influencing behavior
o Negative view of human nature
Id, ego and superego
o The psychic energy is divided into those 3 components
o At birth, all energy resides the id
o The ego begins to emerge during infancy
o The superego develops from the ego as 3 to 6 year-olds internalize
the moral standards and values of their parents
o Psychological problems develop when psychic energy is unevenly
distributed
Psychosexual development
o Libido: sex instinct
o Psychosexual stages: oral, anal, phallic, latent and genital (p.50)
o Fixation: arrested development in which part of the libido remains
tied to an earlier stage
o In phallic stage: odipus/electra complex, then identification; taking
same-sex parent’s values into superego
Defense mechanisms
Development”
2.1 Developmental Theories and the Issues They Raise
Set of ideas to describe and explain human development
Provides organization of studies, and a framework for interpreting data
A theory guides:
o How development should be studied
o What is most important to study
o What can be hypothesized and predicted
o How to analyze data
o Interpret the results of studies
o Realize where the authors come from
o Compare the findings to those of other studies
Theoretical viewpoints of human development
o Psychoanalytic viewpoint (Freud, Erikson)
o Learning perspective (Pavlov, Watson, Skinner, Bandura)
o Cognitive developmental viewpoint (Piaget)
o System theory approach (Bronfenbrenner, Gottlieb, Thelen)
Theory classification
o Goodness-badness human nature
Are people/babies inherently good or bad?
Tabula rasa, blank slate
o Nature-nurture
o Activity-passivity
Are humans active in influencing their environment?
Are humans active in producing their own development?
Or are they passively shaped by forces beyond their
control (biological)?
o Continuity-discontinuity
Do humans change gradually or abruptly?
Quantitative changes: changes in degree, continuity
Qualitative changes: changes in kind, discontinuity
o Universality-context specificity
Whether developmental changes are common or differ
across cultures, individuals etc.
o Broad-narrow
Some theories comprise a broad area of human
development, others specific developmental constructs
Piaget’s theory of cognitive development (narrow)
, o Pathological-typical
Some theories are directed at typical development, others
at atypical development
Erikson’s theory on identity development
Atypical development (Pathology)
o Can you think of a theory focused on pathology instead of typical
development?
o The developmental trajectory of antisocial personality disorder: from
oppositional defiant disorder in childhood, and conduct disorder in
adolescence
o ODD: anger-guided disobedience, hostility toward authority figures
o CD: persistent pattern of behavior in which the rights of others or
age-appropriate norms are violated
o Antisocial personality disorder: pervasive pattern of violation of the
rights of others
Research dimensions
o When setting up a study, we can distinguish 3 dimensions in
research:
The static-dynamic dimension
Static studies: predict psychological scores from factors
measured in a large sample
o If scores of anti-social behavior can be predicted
by gender, SES…
Dynamic studies look at the process of change within
an individual or small group
o How feelings change after each intervention in
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
o How the adaptation between student and
teacher changes during a lesson
The micro-macro dimension
, Micro studies: take measures on a short time scale
o How feelings change during one therapy session
o The number of antisocial interactions on the
playground during a 15-minute break
Macro studies: take aggregated measures based on
multiple short time frames
o The average change in feelings over the course
of multiple therapy sessions
o The average number of antisocial interactions on
the playground during a week
The direct-indirect dimension
Direct: obtain the information directly from the
respondent(s)
o Ask children to rate on a 7-point scale how often
they watch violent TV-series
Indirect: obtain the information from an outside source
o Ask the teacher to rate how often antisocial
behavior occurs in his classroom
o Ask parents to fill out the CBCL to see if a child
shows depression symptoms
2.2 Freud: Psychoanalytic Theory
Instincts and unconscious motives
o Humans have basic biological drives that must be satisfied
o Newborns as selfish creatures driven by instincts
o Biological instincts as the source of the psychic (mental) energy that
fuels human behavior; channeled in new directions over the course
of human development
o Unconscious motivation: the power is instincts and other inner
forces influencing behavior
o Negative view of human nature
Id, ego and superego
o The psychic energy is divided into those 3 components
o At birth, all energy resides the id
o The ego begins to emerge during infancy
o The superego develops from the ego as 3 to 6 year-olds internalize
the moral standards and values of their parents
o Psychological problems develop when psychic energy is unevenly
distributed
Psychosexual development
o Libido: sex instinct
o Psychosexual stages: oral, anal, phallic, latent and genital (p.50)
o Fixation: arrested development in which part of the libido remains
tied to an earlier stage
o In phallic stage: odipus/electra complex, then identification; taking
same-sex parent’s values into superego
Defense mechanisms
