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Introduction & Theories of
Development
Week 1
What is Psychology
• Psychology is both an applied and academic field
• Object of study: the human mind and behavior.
• Research in psychology seeks to understand and explain
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thought
emotion
behavior
Applications of psychology
• mental health treatment
• performance enhancement
• self-help
Early Psychology
• Evolved out of both philosophy and biology.
• Discussions of the two subjects date as far
back as the early Greek thinkers such as
Aristotle and Socrates
• The word psychology is derived from the
Greek word psyche, meaning 'soul' or 'mind.'
A Separate Science
• The field and study of psychology was truly
born when Wilhelm Wundt established the
first psychology lab in Leipzig
• This perspective relied heavily on the analysis
of sensations and feelings through the use of
introspection, a highly subjective process
Schools of Thought
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Structuralism
Functionalism
Psychoanalysis
Behaviorism
Humanism
Cognitivism
Areas of Psychology
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Abnormal Psychology
Clinical Psychology
Cognitive Psychology
Developmental Psychology
Personality Psychology
What is Education
• Education is a concept, referring to the process in
which students can learn something
– Instruction
• refers to the facilitating of learning toward identified objectives,
delivered either by an instructor or other forms.
– Teaching
• refers to the actions of a real live instructor designed to impart
learning to the student.
– Learning
• refers to learning with a view toward preparing learners with
specific knowledge, skills, or abilities that can be applied
immediately upon completion.
Educational Psychology
• Educational psychology is the study of how
humans learn in educational settings
– Educational Psychologists strive to understand:
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nature and characteristics of the learner
human growth and development
the nature of the learning process
the manner these processes can be facilitated
and guided personality and adjustments
Developmental Psychology
• Developmental psychology, also known as
human development, is the scientific study of
systematic psychological changes that occur in
human beings over the course of the life span.
Issues in Developmental
Psychology
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Nature vs Nuture
Early Experience vs. Later Experience
Continuity vs. Discontinuity
Abnormal Behavior vs. Individual Differences
Theories of development
• A Theory of Development includes more than just a
description of an individual
• It is an attempt to explain the development of an individual
from the perspective of a particular view of humankind
• We will focus for our study on four broad approaches in
developmental psychology:
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The psychoanalytic approach
The learning-theory approach
The person-oriented approach
The cognitive approach
The Psychoanalytical Approach
• This approach developed from the
psychoanalytic theory of Sigmund Freud
[1859-1939]
• According to Sigmund Freud, personality is
mostly established by the age of five.
• Freud's theory of psychosexual development
is one of the best known, but also one of the
most controversial.
The Psychoanalytical Approach
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Id - already present at birth. It contains all
the psychic energy a person needs for
psychological and psychic functioning
Ego - An organism cannot survive only
through ID. A second subsystems of
personality develops namely the ego. It
functions according to the reality
principle. It is contact with reality and
functions at conscious level. It postpones
immediate gratification. The ego starts to
develop during the first year.
Superego - Ego is constantly put under
pressure by ID to satisfy drives. It is also
under pressure of the superego. The
superego demands the ego to obey
society's rules and regulations. Constant
conflict. Ego has to develop defense
mechanisms.
The Psychoanalytical Approach
• Psychosexual stages of development
• Freud believed that personality develops through a
series of childhood stages
– Pleasure-seeking energies of the id become focused on
certain erogenous areas.
– This psychosexual energy, or libido, was described as the
driving force behind behavior.
– If stages are completed successfully = a healthy personality
– If certain issues are not resolved at the appropriate stage,
fixation can occur. A
The Psychoanalytical Approach
• Oral Stage
– Infant’s primary source of interaction occurs through the mouth
• Anal stage
– The primary focus of the libido was on controlling bladder and bowel
movements
• Phallic stage
– During this, the primary focus of the libido is on the genitals. Children also
discover the differences between males and females.
• Latent stage
– During the latent period, the libido interests are suppressed
• Genital Stage
– Here, the individual develops a strong sexual interest in the opposite sex
The Psychoanalytical Approach
• Evaluation
– The theory is focused almost entirely on male development with little
mention of female psychosexual development.
– His theories are difficult to test scientifically.
– Future predictions are too vague. How can we know that a current
behavior was caused specifically by a childhood experience?
– Freud's theory is based upon case studies and not empirical research.
Also, Freud based his theory on the recollections of his adult patients,
not on actual observation and study of children.
The Psychoanalytical Approach
Learning Theory
• Most behaviour is learnt
• Philosophical basis of this approach:
Empricists. Locke. Tabula Rasa
• Has led to the emergence of behaviourism
• We should study only objectively observable
matters
Learning Theory
• Behaviourism
– John B Watson
• Watson claimed that psychology was not concerned
with the mind or with human consciousness
• Watson’s work was based on the experiments of Ivan
Pavlov
– B. F. Skinner
• B.F. Skinner tested Watson’s theories in the laboratory
• Skinner’s studies led him to reject Watson’s almost
exclusive emphasis on reflexes and conditioning
Learning Theory
• Ways of learning
– Classical Conditioning [Pavlov]
Learning Theory
• Ways of learning
– Operant conditioning [Skinner]
Learning Theory
• Ways of learning
– Observational Learning
• Albert Bandura called the process of social learning
modeling and gave four conditions required for a
person to successfully model the behavior of someone
else:
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Attention to the model
Retention of details
Motor reproduction
Motivation and opportunity
Learning Theory
• Ways of learning
– Observational Learning
• Effects on behaviour
– Teaches new behaviors
– Increases or decreases the frequency with which previously
learned behaviors are carried out
– Can encourage previously forbidden behaviors
– Can increase or decrease similar behaviors. For example,
observing a model excelling in piano playing may encourage
an observer to excel in playing the saxophone.
Learning Theory
• Ways of learning
– Bandura’s Model