Worldview

Before we dive into our discussion, I’d like you to get comfortable and think about this question: What is a developmental theory?

I am glad you asked! It is a collection of ideas, based on observation and experimentation, that attempts to explain how and why people change over time.

As we work our way through this discussion you’ll find there are many diverse theories ... and each one claims to provide the best explanation.

So, how do we judge the worth of a theory? One way is to look at it in terms of your worldview.

So, for each theory we’ll provide a brief overview, and then examine it in light of two worldview questions:

First, “what is the nature of man?”

And “what is the most influential force in human development?”

There are six theories or theoretical perspectives we will examine. We will begin with the psychodynamic theories.

Psychodynamic theorists analyze the subconscious to determine how and why people develop as they do.

The most well-known psychodynamic theorist was Sigmund Freud.

Freud’s psychoanalytic theory focused on these ideas:

Personality is developed as children pass through psychosexual stages.

In each stage, pleasure-seeking behavior is focused on a different part of the body.

According to Freud, children who are frustrated in their quest for personal pleasure or who are overly gratified will develop lasting psychological problems.

Based on Freud’s writings I think he might say that Man is an evolutionary creature, motivated by sub-conscious drives,

And that human development is driven by the fulfillment or frustration of the drive for self-satisfaction.

Erik Erikson was one of Freud’s students. Both Erikson and Freud believed that experiences in childhood influenced behavior throughout one’s life. Erikson thought Freud’s theory placed too much emphasis on sexual gratification so he developed a theory that focused on social relationships instead.

So how might Erikson have answered these worldview questions?

I believe he would have said Man is a social being, molded by a series of life crises, and that the most influential force in human development is the Fulfillment of emotional needs within the social context.

We’ll move to the learning theories next, but before we do I want to talk about Ivan Pavlov, a physiologist whose discoveries laid the foundation for learning theories.

Ivan Pavlov was studying the salivation reactions of dogs when he stumbled on a novel concept. He noticed that while the dogs first began to salivate when their keepers gave them meat, they soon “learned” to salivate when the keepers were just walking down the hall.

The basic idea of classical conditioning involves teaching a subject to react to a meaningless stimulus in the same way they would react to a meaningful one. Thus, subjects can be conditioned to change their behavior.

Later, John Watson applied the principles of classical conditioning to develop the theory of behaviorism.

Behaviorism signaled a hard turn away from the psychodynamic theories with their emphasis on the subconscious and focused instead on observable behavior. This was seen as a more scientific approach to psychology.

Behaviorists believe that our behavior is determined by that which we are conditioned to do. And that with proper training one can be taught to do or be anything.

So, how would Watson answer our worldview questions? I think he would say Man is a “blank slate” that can be trained to be or do anything, and that the most influential force in development is Learning through association.

Another behavioral theorist, B. F. Skinner further refined classical conditioning to develop the principles of operant conditioning. These principles are:

1. Reinforced behavior will be strengthened.

2. Behavior that is not reinforced will die off.

3. And punishment can reduce the likelihood of a behavior.

I think Skinner would say Man is one who is motivated by reward or punishment.

And that the most influential force in development is Learning through reinforcement.

Albert Bandura’s social learning theory is the final learning theory we will examine.

One of the key concepts Bandura proposed was that children learn by observation.

In a famous experiment, Bandura had adults violently attack an inflatable clown called Bobo while children watched. Would the children follow suit and also “abuse” the clown? Sadly, in most cases, they did.

Bandura might say Man is one who observes and imitates others based on social interactions

And that the most influential force in development is Learning through observation and selective imitation of role models.

Cognitive theory tells us that what you think and how you think can change your life.

Jean Piaget was a cognitive theorist who presented the idea that children were not less capable thinkers than adults, but that their thinking processes were just different.

I think Piaget would say that Man is a thinking individual who assimilates input to create a life based on ideas.

And that thought processes are the most influential force in development.

Lev Vygotsky, a Russian psychologist, developed the sociocultural theory. He believed that development is influenced by the culture and community in which a child is raised.

He said that children were apprentices in thinking – that they learned within their zone of proximal development from older, more skilled people in their families, schools, and communities in a process he called guided participation.

I think he would say that Man is a teachable individual guided by mentors.

And that modeling and mentorship are the most influential forces in development.

The humanist perspective states that man is more than his impulses or that which he can be trained to do. Humanists believe that all people are inherently good.

Abraham Maslow, a prominent theorist in the humanist camp went on to say that we all share common needs beginning with food, water, and shelter then moving up to safety, love, esteem and self-actualization.

So Maslow might have said that Man is one who is essentially good and shares similar needs with all of mankind.

According to Maslow, the most influential force in development is the sequential fulfillment of universal needs leading to self-actualization. He illustrated this concept in his “hierarchy of needs”

– here is an example.

Another humanist was Carl Rogers.

Rogers also believed that all individuals were basically good, and if provided with unconditional positive regard anyone could reach a state of optimal functioning.

Rogers might have said that Man is one who is essentially good, deserving of unconditional positive regard.

And that the most influential force in human development would be unconditional positive regard.

Although Charles Darwin was not a psychologist, his work has had a major impact on our field of study. Two concepts from the evolutionary perspective that appear frequently are the survival instinct and the reproductive instinct.

Darwin might have said that Man is simply a creature who adapts to the environment to facilitate the survival of the species.

And the most influential force in human development is the drive to maintain the survival of the species.

This concludes our brief overview of developmental theories.

Remember this is only the beginning -- there is much more to learn about these theories as we launch our study of human development.

Thank you for joining me for this presentation. If you have any questions about this material, please contact your instructor.