Freud’s Psychosexual Theory, Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory,

THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES TO UNDERSTAND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT & GUIDE RESEARCH

PERSPECTIVE NOTABLE THEORIES/EXAMPLES THAT ALIGN MAIN IDEA

BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL EMPHASES (Biopsychosocial = the interacting of biological,

sociocultural, and psychological forces on development)

NATURE or NURTURE (Nature = genetic factors that influence development)

(Nurture = environmental factors that influence development) Psychodynamic  Sigmund Freud, Psychosexual Theory

 Erik Erikson, Psychosocial Theory

 In both theories, development occurs across a sequence of stages

 Both theories emphasize psychological, social, and life-cycle forces as crucial in development

 Nature & Nurture

 Universal sequence for all, but individual differences in rate

Learning  Behaviorism (John B. Watson, B.F. Skinner)

 Environment controls behavior  In all theories, some emphasis on biological and psychological factors, but most is placed on social

 Nurture

 Social Learning Theory (Albert Bandura)

 People learn through observation & interaction

 Nurture

Cognitive  Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development (Jean Piaget)

 For Piaget & Kohlberg development occurs across a sequence of stages

 For Piaget & Kohlberg the main emphasis is placed on biological and social forces

 For Piaget & Kohlberg, strong bent toward nature

 Universal sequence of stages

 Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development (Lawrence Kohlberg)

 Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory (Lev Vygotsky)

 Development is influenced by culture

 Emphasis is placed on psychological and social forces

 Nature & Nurture

Ecological  Ecological Systems Theory (Urie Bronfenbrenner)

 Developing person is embedded in a series of interacting systems

 Heavy emphasis is placed on social forces  Nature & Nurture

Humanistic  Carl Rogers; Abraham Maslow  Emphasizes free will and the ability of humans to make choices about their life.

 Has had little impact on the field of lifespan development as the humanistic perspective does not identify any developmental change that is the result of increasing age or experience.

 Rejects the idea that behavior is determined by unconscious processes, learning from the environment, or cognitive processing, but that people make their own choices about life.

 Bent toward nurture

Source: Adapted from Kail & Cavanaugh, 2007; Feldman, 2014