PSY 213 1st Edition Lecture 2Outline of Last Lecture I. The life – span perspective.II. Types of contextual influences.III. Contemporary concerns in life – span development.IV. Biological, cognitive, & socioeconomic processes.V. Periods of development.VI. Development issues.Outline of Current Lecture I. Theories of development.II. Cognitive theories.III. Behavioral and social cognitive theories.IV. Ethological theory.V. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory. Current LectureI. Theories of development.- Psychoanalytic theories- Cognitive theories- Behavioral and social cognitive theories- Ethological theory- Ecological theoryThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.- An eclectic theoretical orientationScientific method - A four-step process that we use when looking at research. - Conceptualize a process or problem to be studied (what do I want to study?)- Collect research information (surveys, interviews, recruit them, follow them long term.)- Analyze data - Draw conclusions (what does the data reveal?)Theory - interrelated coherent set of ideas that helps to explain phenomenon and to facilitate predictions.Hypotheses - the assumptions and predictions that we make, have to be tested.Psychoanalytic theories :Describe development as primarily unconscious and heavily colored by emotion- Freud’s theory: a lot of what we do is based on sex and aggression– he emphasized the importance of the early parent child relationship– recognized there was something unique and influential about it. Early relationship is critical Erikson’s psychosocial theory: Eight stages of development unfold as we go through life. We go through stages and how we go through previous stage effects how we go through the nextII. Cognitive theories.Piaget’s cognitive developmental theory - Emphasize the importance of thought. Children go through 4 stages of cognitive developmentAs they actively construct their own world. Each stage involves new things. Not just building on previous stage.Weakness: said that every kid kind of goes through the same things… we cant understand cognitive developlment unless we know what environment they are growingup in. Vygotsky’s sociocultural cognitive theory- Vygotsky’s theory: Emphasizes how culture and social interaction guide cognitive developmentInformation-processing theory: Emphasizes that individuals: - Manipulate information- Monitor it- Strategize about itIII. Behavioral and social cognitive theories.Development can be described in terms of behaviors learned through interactions with our surroundingsa. Skinner’s operant conditioningb. Bandura’s social cognitive theoryHeavily emphasize the environment… extreme side of nurture (behavioral and social cognitive theorists)(look up the other way of learning)Operational conditioning – how we learn is mainly related to being rewarded and punished. This doesn’t explain all of our behavior.IV. Ethological theory.Ethology: Study of the behavior of animals in their natural habitat and trying to explain human behavior based on these observationsa. Theory stresses that behavior is:i. Strongly influenced by biology- genetic factors.ii. Tied to evolutioniii. Characterized by critical or sensitive periods: there are certain times where our brains are primed for learning. Sensitive period- period of timewhere we are best suited for certain types of development. Critical period- certain time where you can learn a skill. But once you pass that period you can not learn it anymore. (look up the case of genie)b. John Bowlby - Attachment to a caregiver over the first year of life has important consequences throughout the life spanV. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory. In order to understand development we have to understand the environment in which they live.1. First level- microsystem (direct interactions parent child, husband wife, brother sister)2. Second level- mesosystem (home and school, child care and home, immediate neighborhood… connections between microsystem)3. Third- exosystem (doesn't’t impact directly but still affects child.. Fathers boss is mean,dad comes home and is in a bad mood, effects child! Extended family members could fallin here as well)4. Fourth- macrosystem (gov. social policies, cultural values, current economy.)Chronosystem- temporal dimension or time dimension… the timing of events also effectsthe development. Parents getting divorced effects a teenager differently than an infant.EvaluationContributions include:Systematic examination of macro and micro dimensions of environmental systemsAttention to connections between environmental systemsEmphasis on a range of social contexts beyond the familyCriticismGiving inadequate attention to biological factorsToo little emphasis on cognitive