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Theories and Worldview
Kristi Carson
Liberty University
PSYC210
Date
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Theories and Worldview
Importance of considering worldview when studying developmental theories
Understanding the framework in which human ideas and behaviors evolve and appear is
crucial when investigating developmental theories. This can be done by adopting a certain
worldview. From an anthropological standpoint, a person's worldview offers a window into their
culture and its development. Also, a philosophical framework is presented within which is
developed. Because a person's fundamental assumptions (core beliefs) will affect his or her
perspective and conclusions, it is equally crucial to comprehend the worldview questions.
The Learning Theory
There are other theories, such as the learning theory, which is the basis of research on
lifelong development. Behaviorism is one of the learning theories; it assumes that all behaviors
are either reflex responses to environmental stimuli or are the result of a person's history,
particularly reinforcement and punishment, as well as their current level of motivation and
controlling stimuli. The focus of behaviorism is primarily on externally manifest behavior than
internal processes like thought and emotion. Although behaviorists frequently admit the
existence of thoughts and feelings, they prefer not to investigate them because only observable
behavior can be used to make conclusions. (I.e., external) behavior can be measured objectively
and scientifically. Nonetheless, classical conditioning is a procedure that teaches someone to
react extremely specifically to a neutral stimulus. All behaviors are thought to be either reflex
responses to environmental stimuli or the result of a person's history, including rewards and
punishments, along with their current level of motivation and regulating stimuli. For instance,
John B. Watson employed classical conditioning to make a baby named "Little Albert" scared of
tiny, white, hairy items. Watson applied the principles of conditioning studies (Fuchs & Evans,
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2013). Additionally, modern babies have been shown to exhibit the classical conditioning
principle without the use of unethical experimentation.
Compatibility of my worldview to the theory
My understanding of this theory, however, is that you may instruct someone on how to
react to a neutral stimulus or imprint certain ideas into their mind. For a brief moment, at exactly
noon, two-year-old Bailee gets her cover and pillow to signal to her mother that she is prepared
for a nap. She knows when she needs to take a nap and when to get the things she needs and
deliver them to her mother. Bailee was trained to be aware of the duration of her naps as well as
what to offer her mother to signal the start time for sleep. My worldview is compatible with
behaviorism as a learning theory because I believe that behaviorism can be useful in situations
when it is possible to teach or imprint information in a child's mind to aid in their development
as a person.
Summary and reflection
After discovering how crucial developmental theories and worldviews are, my
perspective on how I perceive the world has changed. Similar to classical conditioning, which
teaches people how to behave in a certain way. A different viewpoint from someone else's can
make it easier for me to comprehend what might genuinely be going on in that person's head.
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References
Fuchs, A. H., & Evans, R. B. (2013). Psychology as a science.
