Developmental theories

 Piaget's Cognitive Development Theory:

Focuses on how children actively construct their understanding of
the world through stages like sensorimotor, preoperational,
concrete operational, and formal operational.
 Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory:
Emphasizes the role of social interaction and cultural context in
cognitive development, highlighting the concept of the "zone of
proximal development".
 Freud's Psychosexual Theory:
Describes development through stages centered around different
erogenous zones, like the oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital
stages.
 Erikson's Psychosocial Development Theory:
Focuses on psychosocial conflicts that individuals must resolve
throughout their lifespan, like trust vs. mistrust, autonomy vs.
shame, and intimacy vs. isolation.
 Social Learning Theory:
Proposes that people learn by observing and imitating others, with
reinforcement playing a significant role.
 Attachment Theory:
Examines the bond between infants and caregivers, emphasizing
the importance of early attachment experiences.
Piaget’s developmental theory:
Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development suggests that children move through four
different stages of learning. His theory focuses not only on understanding how children
acquire knowledge, but also on understanding the nature of intelligence.1 Piaget's stages
are:

Stage Age Goal

Sensorimotor Birth to 18-24 months Object permanence

Preoperational 2 to 7 years Symbolic thought

Concrete operational 7 to 11 years Logical thought

Formal operational Adolescence to adulthood Scientific reasoning

  Sensorimotor stage: Birth to 2 years
 Preoperational stage: Ages 2 to 7
 Concrete operational stage: Ages 7 to 11
 Formal operational stage: Ages 12 and up
Birth to 2 Years
 Know the world through movements and sensations
 Learn about the world through basic actions such as sucking, grasping, looking, and
listening
2 to 7 Years
 Begin to think symbolically and learn to use words and pictures to represent objects
 Tend to be egocentric and struggle to see things from the perspective of others
 Getting better with language and thinking, but still tend to think in very concrete terms
7 to 11 Years
 Begin to think logically about concrete events
 Begin to understand the concept of conservation; that the amount of liquid in a short,
wide cup is equal to that in a tall, skinny glass, for example
 Thinking becomes more logical and organized, but still very concrete
Begin using inductive logic, or reasoning from specific information to a general principle
Age 12 and Up
 Begins to think abstractly and reason about hypothetical problems
 Begins to think more about moral, philosophical, ethical, social, and political issues
that require theoretical and abstract reasoning
 Begins to use deductive logic, or reasoning from a general principle to specific
information
Key process in learning and development:
 Schemas: Mental frameworks for organizing information, growing in number and
complexity as children develop, enabling deeper world understanding.
 Assimilation: Integration of new information into existing schemas.
 Accommodation: Modifying existing schemas or creating new ones to fit new
information.
 Equilibration: Process of balancing assimilation and accommodation to progress
through cognitive stages, resolving conflicts and shifting to new thought patterns.

The Psychodynamic Approach / Psychoanalytical approach / Freudian theories:

Sigmund Freud theorised that our mental activity is mostly unconscious, and it is this
unconscious activity that causes our behaviour. He explained that traumatic childhood
experiences pushed into the unconscious mind can later lead to mental disorders.
Key assumptions:
 Unconscious activity is the key determinate of how we behave.
 We possess innate ‘drives’ (or ‘instincts’) that ‘energize’ our minds to motivate
behaviour as we develop through our lives.
  Our [three-part] personality – the psyche – is comprised of the ID, ego and superego.
 Childhood experiences have significant importance in determining our personality
when we reach adulthood.
The Role of the Unconscious:
The psyche, forming the structure of personality, has three parts:

 ID – driving us to satisfy selfish urges

(i.e. acts according to the 'pleasure principle')
(exists from birth).
 Ego - acts rationally, balancing the ID and the superego
(i.e. acts according to the 'reality principle')
(develops years 2-4).
 Superego – concerned with keeping to moral norms
(i.e. acts according to the ‘morality principle’),
and attempts to control a powerful ID with feelings of guilt
(develops years 4-5).
Psychosexual Stages:
Freud also thought that humans progress through 'psychosexual stages', during the
development of the psyche. He named five stages, each with a particular characteristic
behaviour
o Oral – sucking behaviour (0-18 months)
o Anal – holding or discarding faeces (18 months – 3.5 years)
o Phallic – fixation on genitals (3.5 – 6 years)
o Latency – repressed sexual urges (6 years - puberty)
o Genital – awakened sexual urges (puberty onwards)

Ego Defence Mechanisms

The ego balances potential conflict between the ID and superego, and tries to reduce
anxiety. In areas of significant conflict, the ego can redirect psychic energy using 'defense
mechanisms'. Three key mechanisms Freud proposed are:

 Repression – burying an unpleasant thought or desire in the unconscious (e.g.

traumatic childhood experiences may be repressed and so forgotten).
 Displacement – emotions are directed away from their source or target, towards
other things (e.g. wringing a dishcloth in anger, which would have otherwise been
directed at the cat scratching the furniture).
 Denial – a threatening thought is ignored or treated as if it were not true (e.g. a wife
might find evidence that her husband is cheating on her, but explain it away using
other reasons).

Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory of Cognitive Development:

Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934) was a Russian psychologist who argued that culture has a major
impact on a child’s cognitive development.
Vygotsky's social development theory asserts that a child's cognitive development and
learning ability can be guided and mediated by their social interactions.
Vygotsky's Sociocultural theory states that learning is a crucially social process as opposed
to an independent journey of discovery.
He states that a child's learning benefitted greatly from being guided by a more
knowledgeable community member - such as a parent or teacher.
Key concepts of sociocultural theory of cognitive development theory:
 MKO : (more knowledgeable other)
Vygotsky's theory emphasises guiding children's learning through their interaction with a
more knowledgeable other (MKO).
The more knowledgeable other could be anyone with a greater understanding of the task or
concept that the child is trying to complete or learn.
Most often, this would be a parent, caregiver or teacher, but it could also be a peer or
mentor.
 (MKO) refers to someone who has a better understanding or higher skill level than
the learner in a particular task or concept.

 ZPD : (zone of proximal development)

The concept of the zone of proximal development, also known as the zone of potential
development.
is used to explain a child's potential for cognitive development and ability when they are
guided through a task.
(ZPD) refers to their ability to do it with the assistance of a more knowledgeable person. This
theory explains why some skills present themselves in a more social context when the child
is unable to display them by themselves.
 The ZPD relates to the difference between what a child (or a novice) can achieve
independently and what a child can achieve with guidance and encouragement from
a skilled partner.

 Instructional Scaffolding :
Instructional scaffolding is a method of guided learning that helps a student learn by pairing
them with an educator.
The educator should have greater experience with the task or process than the student, but
they should also have an understanding of the level that the student is at and how they can
address this level.
Elementary Mental Functions:
Vygotsky's child development theory refers to four 'elementary mental functions' as the
innate abilities that we are born with. These are:
 Attention
 Sensation
 Perception
 Memory
These abilities are then developed into 'higher mental functions' through social interaction
with our community.
Vygotsky also coined the term 'tools of intellectual adaptation'

Information processing theory:

 Information Processing Theory is a cognitive theory that focuses on how information
is encoded into our memory.
 It was Developed by American psychologists George Miller in the 1950s, Information
Processing Theory has in recent years compared the human brain to a computer

Behavioural theories of development:

Social learning / Cognition theory :
 Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), originally known as the Social Learning Theory (SLT),
 began in the 1960s through research done by Albert Bandura
 Observational learning is a component of Albert Bandura’s Social Learning Theory
(Bandura, 1977), which posits that individuals can learn novel responses via
observation of key others’ behaviors
 Observational learning does not necessarily require reinforcement, but instead
hinges on the presence of others, referred to as social models.
 Social models are normally of higher status or authority compared to the observer,
examples of which include parents, teachers, and police officers.
Bandura theorizes that the observational learning process consists of four parts.

Attention;one must pay attention to what they are observing in order to learn.
Retention; to learn one must be able to retain the behavior they are observing in memory.
Initiation; acknowledges that the learner must be able to execute (or initiate) the learned
behavior.
Motivation; to engage in observational learning.
Through the BOBO doll experiment albert bandura explained that children learn the
behaviours of violence and aggression by observations and modeling behaviour.
 Modeling: The process of observing and imitating a role model.
 Self-efficacy: A belief in one's own ability to perform a behavior, which is significantly
influenced by social learning.
 Vicarious reinforcement: Learning by observing the positive consequences of others'
actions.
Theory of planned action:
Developed by Martin Fishbein and Icek Ajzen in 1967
The primary purpose of the TRA is to understand an individual's voluntary behavior by
examining the underlying basic motivation to perform an action.

Attitudes:
According to TRA, attitudes are one of the key determinants of behavioral intention and
refer to the way people feel towards a particular behavior.
Behavioral belief:
 Behavioral belief allows us to understand people's motivations for their behavior in terms
of the behavior's consequences.
Subjective norms:
Subjective norms are also one of the key determinants of behavioral intention and refer
to the way perceptions of relevant groups or individuals such as family members, friends,
and peers may affect one's performance of the behavior.
Ajzen defines subjective norms as the "perceived social pressure to perform or not
perform the behavior"
Behavioral intention:
Behavioral intention is a function of both attitudes and subjective norms toward that
behavior (also known as the normative component).
Attitudes being how strongly one holds the attitude toward the act and subjective norms
being the social norms associated with the act. The stronger the attitude and the more
positive the subjective norm
Theory of planned action;
The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) is a social psychological theory that explains how a
person's intentions determine their behavior.
The TPB was originally called the Theory of Reasoned Action in 1980.
The TPB is based on the idea that people act rationally, and that their intentions are
influenced by three factors:
Attitudes: A person's favorable or unfavorable evaluation of a behavior
Subjective norms: The social pressure to perform or not perform a behavior
Perceived behavioral control: A person's perception of how easy or difficult it is to perform
a behavior
The TPB is often used to understand and predict behaviors, especially health behaviors. For
example, the TPB can help explain why someone might get regular checkups and
screenings for breast cancer.
Transtheoretical model of behaviour change: ( stages of change model )
The Transtheoretical Model of Behaviour Change was developed by James Prochaska and
Carlo DiClemente.
Often referred to as the "Stages of Change Model," describes the different stages individuals
go through when attempting to change a behavior
The Transtheoretical Model (TTM) of behavior change is a theoretical framework that
describes how people progress through stages to adopt new behaviors:
 Precontemplation: Not planning to change within the next six months
 Contemplation: Thinking about change, but also aware of the cons
 Preparation: Taking steps towards changing
 Action: Attempting the change
 Maintenance: Sustaining behavior change for more than six monthS
health action process approach
(HAPA) is a psychological theory of health behavior change.
It has been developed by Ralf Schwarzer
The Health Action Process Approach (HAPA) model is based on six core constructs that are
considered antecedents of behavior:
 Intention: Can be influenced by decisions, opportunities, barriers, or random events
 Risk perception: The perception of a health threat is a prerequisite for motivation to
replace a risky behavior
 Outcome expectancies: People need to understand how their actions relate to their
outcomes
 Self-efficacy: A person's belief in their ability to control challenging demands
 Planning: Detailed plans, success scenarios, and preparatory strategies can help
translate intentions into behaviors
 Action control (self-monitoring): A key component of action control
The HAPA model proposes that healthy behavior engagement is a two-process model:
 Motivation phase: Forming an intention
 Volition phase: Planning to act and action
The HAPA model was designed to overcome the intention-behavior gap. Action and coping
planning are hypothesized to help people translate their intentions into behaviors.
Merits:
 Comprehensive framework for understanding behavior change.
 Focuses on both motivation and action phases.
 Emphasizes self-efficacy as a key determinant.
 Has practical applications in health interventions.
Demerits:
 Complex model with multiple constructs.
 Limited attention to social and environmental factors.
 Requires further research for certain aspects.
 May oversimplify the complexity of behavior change.