72 Part One | Introduction to Developmental Psychology

individuals who rely on many theories, recognizing that none of the grand theories can explain all aspects of development and that each makes some contribution to our un-derstanding. For the remainder of this book, we will borrow from many theories to in-tegrate their contributions into a unifi ed, holistic portrait of the developing person. Yet, we will also continue to explore theoretical controversies, which often produce some of the most exciting breakthroughs in the fi eld. So as you prepare to move on to the next chapter, join us in examining not just the specifi c facts about human development but also the broader theoretical insights that have helped to generate these facts and give them a larger meaning.

TABLE 2.4 A Summary of the Philosophies Underlying Seven Major Developmental Perspectives

Psychoanalyticperspective Active Discontinuous Both Modular

Learning perspective Passive Continuous Nurture Modular

Piaget’s cognitive developmental theory Active Discontinuous Both Holistic

Ethological perspective Active Both Nature Holistic

Information-processingperspective Active Continuous Both Modular

Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory Active Continuous Both Holistic

Ecological systems perspective Both Both Nurture Holistic

Activevs.

PassiveChild

Childinfl uences

her owndevelopment

OrDevelopmentis primarily a function of

environmental infl uence

Continuousvs.

DiscontinuousDevelopment

Developmentis primarily a

matter of growth and refi nement

OrDevelopment

proceeds through a series of

qualitativelydistinct stages

Naturevs.

Nurture

Genetics & biology are the

primarydeterminants

of developmentOr

Experience is the primary

determinant of development

Holisticvs.

ModularDevelopment

Biological,cognitive, and

socialdevelopment all

interact Or

Each aspect of development is

considered separatelyTheory

The Psychoanalytic Viewpoint■ The psychoanalytic perspective:

■ originated with Sigmund Freud’s psychosexual the-ory, with basic tenets:

■ People are driven by inborn sexual and aggressive instincts that must be controlled.■ People’s behavior was said to refl ect unconsciousmotives that people repress.

■ Freud proposed fi ve stages of psychosexual development:

SUMMARY

The Nature of Scientifi c Theories■ A theory is a set of concepts and propositions that de-scribe and explain observations. Good theories are:

■ parsimonious (concise and yet applicable to a wide range of phenomena);■ falsifi able (able to be disconfi rmed by scientifi c re-search); and■ heuristic (they build on existing knowledge by con-tinuing to generate testable hypotheses, leading to new discoveries and important practical applications).

Chapter 2 | Theories of Human Development 73

■ The child’s stage of development determines how she will interpret various events and what she learns from her experiences.

■ Lev Vygotsky proposed the sociocultural theory:■ views cognitive growth as a socially mediated activity; and■ views cognitive growth as heavily infl uenced by culture.

■ Information-processing perspectives were adapted to explain cognitive development:

■ view the mind as a complex symbol-manipulating system:

■ Information fl ows into the system, is operated on, and is converted to output (answers, inferences, and solutions).

■ view cognitive development as continuous:■ Children and adolescents gradually become better at:

■ attending to information;■ remembering and retrieving information; and■ formulating strategies to solve problems.

The Ethological and Evolutionary Viewpoints■ The ethological and evolutionary viewpoints:

■ view humans as born with adaptive attributes that have evolved through natural selection;■ say that adaptive attributes channel development to promote survival;■ view humans as infl uenced by their experiences;■ argue that certain adaptive characteristics are most likely to develop during sensitive periods, provided that the environment fosters this development; and■ emphasize that humans’ biologically infl uenced at-tributes affect the kind of learning experiences they are likely to have.

The Ecological Systems Viewpoint■ Urie Bronfenbrenner proposed the ecological systems theory:

■ views development as the product of transactions be-tween an ever-changing person and an ever-changing environment.■ Bronfenbrenner proposes that the natural envi-ronment actually consists of interacting contexts or systems:

■ microsystem■ mesosystem■ exosystem■ macrosystem■ chronosystem

■ This detailed analysis of person–environment inter-actions has stimulated many new interpretations of development.

■ oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital■ During development, three components of person-ality, the id, ego, and superego, become integrated.

■ Eric Erikson’s psychosocial theory extended Freud’s theory by:

■ concentrating less on the sex instinct;■ concentrating more on sociocultural determinants of development; and■ arguing that people progress through a series of eight psychosocial confl icts.

■ The confl icts begin with “trust versus mistrust” in infancy and conclude with “integrity versus despair” in old age.■ Each confl ict must be resolved in favor of the posi-tive trait (trust, for example) for healthy development.

The Learning Viewpoint■ The learning viewpoint, or behaviorism, originated with John B. Watson:

■ viewed infants as tabulae rasae who develop habitsfrom learning experiences;■ viewed development as a continuous process; and■ viewed the environment as responsible for the direc-tion of individuals’ development.

■ B. F. Skinner proposed operant learning theory:■ claimed that development refl ects the operant con-ditioning of children who are passively shaped by the reinforcers and punishments that accompany their behaviors.

■ Albert Bandura proposed social cognitive theory:■ viewed children as active information processors;■ viewed observational learning as the source of chil-dren’s learning;■ rejected Watson’s environmental determinism; and■ proposed reciprocal determinism, in which children have a hand in creating the environments that infl uence their development.

The Cognitive-Developmental Viewpoint■ Jean Piaget pioneered the cognitive-developmental view-point:

■ This theory views children as active explorers who construct cognitive schemes.■ The processes of assimilation and accommodationenable children to resolve disequilibriums and adapt to their environments.■ Piaget described cognitive development as an invari-ant sequence of four stages:

■ sensorimotor;■ preoperational;■ concrete-operational; and■ formal-operational.

74 Part One | Introduction to Developmental Psychology

Themes in the Study of Human Development■ Theories of human development differ with respect to their stands on four basic themes:

■ Is development primarily determined by nature or nurture?■ Are humans actively or passively involved in their development?■ Is development a quantitative and continuous pro-cess, or a qualitative and discontinuous process?

■ Are various areas of development interrelated (and holistic), or basically separate and distinct?

■ Most contemporary developmentalists are theoretically eclectic:

■ They recognize that no single theory offers a totally adequate account of human development.■ They believe that each theory contributes importantly to our understanding of development.

CHAPTER 2 PRACTICE QUIZ

Multiple Choice: Check your understanding of develop-mental psychology and its research methods by selecting the best choice for each question. Answers appear in the Appendix.

1. A __________ theory is capable of making explicit pre-dictions about future events so that the theory can be supported or disconfi rmed.

a. heuristic b. parsimonious c. falsifi able d. harmonious2. A __________ theory builds on existing knowledge by

continuing to generate testable hypotheses that may lead to a deeper understanding of the phenomena of interest.

a. heuristic b. parsimonious c. falsifi able d. harmonious3. A __________ theory uses a small number of principles

to explain a large range of phenomena. a. heuristic b. parsimonious c. falsifi able d. harmonious4. In Freud’s theory, transitions between the stages of de-

velopment occur when the individual a. faces a major life crisis, and the crisis must be re-

solved positively for the individual to move on to the next stage

b. begins to represent and manipulate knowledge in a qualitatively different manner than she or he did in the preceding stage

c. enters a distinct time dictated by biological matura-tion, and the social demands that developing people experience at certain points in their lives

d. faces a maturing sex instinct and its focus shifts from one part of the body to another

5. The view that human behavior is determined by expe-rience rather than hereditary endowment and that psy-chologists should study observable behavior rather than unconscious motives or cognitive processes, was put forth by

a. Piaget b. the information-processing perspective c. Watson d. the evolutionary theory6. Which of the following statements best represents the

relationship between ethological approaches and evolu-tionary approaches?

a. Both emphasize evolutionary adaptations and sur-vival of the gene.

b. Both emphasize evolutionary adaptations and sur-vival of the individual.

c. The ethological approach emphasizes the survival of the gene; the evolutionary approach emphasizes the survival of the individual.

d. The ethological approach emphasizes the survival of the individual; the evolutionary approach empha-sizes the survival of the gene.

7. Which statement best summarizes Freud’s and Erik-son’s stage theories?

a. Freud’s stops at adulthood; Erikson’s continues throughout life.

b. Freud’s continues throughout life; Erikson’s stops at adulthood.

c. Both theories continue throughout life. d. Both theories stop at adulthood.8. Hildegarde’s parents want to encourage her to do her

homework every night so that she will do better on her fi fth-grade reading level. They make an agreement with her that if she does her reading homework, she won’t have to wash the dinner dishes. Hildegarde’s parents are using __________ to help her manage her behavior.

a. positive reward b. negative reward c. positive punishment d. negative punishment