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Theoretical Perspectives
Cherish Pierce
Human Growth and Development
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Developmental theory is a systematic statement of principles and generalizations that
provides a framework for understanding how and why people change as they grow older. (Berger,
2010) There are four developmental theoretical concepts. Psychoanalytic, Cognitive, Systems,
and Behavioral.
Behaviorism came about in the early twentieth century when it was argued that for
psychology to be considered a science, professionals in the field should examine what they could
see and measure. (Berger, 2010) Behaviorism has also become known as the learning theory,
because it has been proved over and over again that all actions good and bad, simple and
complex, have an environmental response which in turn shapes behavior and habits.
Specific rules of learning apply to conditioning, the process in which an action becomes
linked to a specific stimulus. (Berger, 2010) There are two types of conditioning- classical and
operant. With classical conditioning, a person learns to associate a neutral stimulus with a
meaningful stimulus, gradually reacting to the neutral stimulus with the same response as with
the meaningful stimulus. An example would be when a child hears a specific melody, then hears
it again on a commercial for an item wanted, they start to associate the melody with the object of
want.
Operant conditioning is in it’s most basic concept referred to as: good behavior=reward,
poor behavior=punishment. The main idea suggests that every action has a consequence that
can be good or bad.
Behaviorism operates with the concept that current conditioning is crucial; early habits
and patterns can be learned and unlearned, or even reversed if appropriate reinforcements and
punishments are used.
Behaviorism shows and proves itself in theory based on already studied behaviors and
conditions that are known to have impact. A child that is potty training may get to pick a prize from
a jar for going to the bathroom in the toilet instead of a diaper or underpants, while a child who
has an accident gets no prize. Likewise, the 16 year old adolescent that wants to borrow the car
can be home on time and fill the tank with gas and have the opportunity to use the car again, or
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arrive home late or maybe get a speeding ticket which would result in the driving privilege being
taken away.
Behaviorism is an effective and measurable way to determine what is culturally and
ethically appropriate for each stage of life to learn.
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Works Cited
Berger, K. S. (2010). Invitation to the Lifespan. New York, NY: Worth Publishers.