Theories of Human Development: Freudian, Cognitive, Environmental and More

Looking at environmental theory vs. Erikson's psychosexual theory, we see the contrast in nature (biological considerations) vs. nurture (environmental factors) in the human development debate. Erikson believed that there are 8 stages that represent different periods in a child's development as a person. He agreed with Freud that if one stage is not fully completed it can have repercussions or result in complications later in life (Ferrara, 1991). He believed in the "oral-sensory stage" characterized by "basic trust vs. mistrust" for 0-2 year olds, the "muscular-anal stage" characterized by "autonomy vs. shame and doubt" for 1-3 year olds, the "locomotor-general" stage characterized by "initiative vs. guilt" for 2-5 year olds, and the "latency" stage for 5-12 year olds, characterized by "industry vs. inferiority" (Ferrara, 1991, following conclusion section).

Psychoanalytic (Freud)

Freud, although his theories have limitations (and feminist objections may ensue), did contribute quite a bit to the field. He maintained that humans act based upon "sexual urges and aggressive instincts" (Ormrod, 2003, p. 20). He coined the terms id, ego, and superego, to refer to different parts of the psyche. Humans basically want to maximize please and minimize pain, according to Freudian principles, and they act solely based on these selfish goals. He also pioneered the concept of "defense mechanisms" (Ormrod, 2003, p. 20), which humans use to blur or become blind to the truth and avoid feeling the pain that may come along with truths people don't want to face (Ormrod, 2003).

Behaviorist (Watson)

Watson was the first person to use the term behaviorism, now a school of thought with many subscribers. Rather than trying to study mental activity, he studied people's actions: their behavior. He believed, unlike Freud, that the only determinant for people's future actions, were their past experiences. He believed in complete nurture over nature, completely ignoring the possibility that genes could have something to do with an individual's development (Ormrod, 2003).

Classical Conditioning (Thorndike, Skinner)

The idea of classical conditioning is that two things happen around the same time, for example, a clicking sound and following that a dog being fed meat power (Ormrod, 2003, 24). Pretty soon the dog realizes that when a bell rings he is going to be fed, and he responds by salivating even before seeing the food. This research (however unethically) was even extended to humans and thought by theorists to be an important mechanism in our development. Skinner talked about "operant conditioning," (Ormrod, 2003, 25) which, put quite simply, is the idea that if the results of an action are positive, people are more likely to perform the same action in the future. This is similar to Thorndike's "law of effect" (Ormrod, 2003, p. 47).

Social Learning (Bandura)

Bandura talks about social learning and the idea of "vicarious reinforcement" (Ormrod, 2003, p. 26). People act based upon what they think might happen, not in the more mindless way that other theorists had proposed, Bandura posits. When children see other people being rewarded or punished for an action, they will choose to either do or not do that action based upon what they have seen. He also points out that children influence their own environment by how they behave: children who are consistently negative and difficult are more likely to have frustrated parents than children who are upbeat and easy to get along with. He emphasizes the personal nature of learning (Ormrod, 2003).

Cognitive Theory (Piaget)

Piaget believed in a combined approach (biological and environmental factors) to talking about children's cognitive development. He believed that we develop schema, which is something like a box one puts on a certain situation. If something happens which falls outside of the realm of that box (cannot be explained by previous ways of thinking), then we must create additional schemas that mesh with our current way of seeing the world, given that new experience. As we continue on this path, and continue to mature biologically, we develop our cognitive capacities (Ormrod, 2003).

Humanism (Maslow)

Maslow and the humanists believed in a "hierarchy of needs" (Ormrod, 2003, p. 28). If the most basic human needs were not being met, he postulated, then other higher levels could not be attained. At the lower levels are concerns like having food, water, and shelter, while achieving the highest level involves being the best self one can be. While we all have needs for the things at each level in the hierarchy, we must have satisfied the lower levels before we can move up (Ormrod, 2003).

Stages of Moral Development (Kohlburg)

Unlike the behaviorists, Lawrence Kohlberg studied thought-processes. After presenting young boys with moral questions, he came up with different "levels of development of moral thought" (Ormrod, 2003, p. 40). Level one, which he called premoral, involved thinking about acting in a way that would maximize ones own rewards and minimize the possibility of punishment. Level two signaled a shift to thinking about acting based on what would be best for society or the group, and level three involved hoping to gain approval from others or to avoid disapproval of one's self. Kohlberg suggested that children move through these levels successively, but that individual children would be in different stages at different ages; that progression from one stage to another at a certain age was not uniform (Ormrod, 2003).

References

Ferrara, N. (1991). Art as a reflection of child development. American Journal of Art
Therapy, 30(2), 44-50.

Ormrod, J. E. (2003). Lifespan development and learning (University of Phoenix. Ed.).
Pearson Custom Publishing: Boston.