Child Development Reading Assignment

1. Which of the major developmental theories are stage theories? Which are not? Stage theories:

Psychoanalytic, Cognitive Not staged theories: Behaviorism, Sociocultural, Humanism and Evolutionary 

2. Which theories emphasize individual conscious organization of experience? unconscious urges? observable behavior? the interaction of nature and nurture? 

Psychoanalytic emphasizes conscious organization Behaviorism emphasizes unconscious urges Developmental emphasizes observable behavior Social Learning, and Sociocultural emphasizes the interaction of nature and nurture

3. Which theories emphasize the impact of early experience on development? 

Psychoanalytic, Bandura’s, and Cognitive

4. How does each theory view the child? Psychoanalytic: 

Develop trust or mistrust for people, know to feed themselves by laws of nature. Behaviorism theory: Holds the condition as crucial, early habits and patterns can be unlearned or reversed. Developmental: Child is raw material for foundation of human growth that pieces itself together. Dynamic: Impacts mold as a person, nature and nurture. Without both the child will struggle to survive. Cognitive: Shaping of attitude, beliefs, and behaviors.

5. How do the theories view adult development? 

Psychoanalytic theory: Adults should be able to love and work, should have contributed to the next generation of children. Behaviorism: Adults have already observed others as role models and replicated them as a conditioned practice. They become the role models at this time. Developmental: Adults are the nearly finished house being built for decades. Dynamic: They change, but rely on past experiences to progress. Cognitive: Adults can be logical and reason analytically not just emotionally. Have learned from their past.


6. Which theories have been criticized for being too subjective? too mechanistic? too deterministic? for neglecting the role of biological maturation in guiding development? 

 The psychoanalytic theory has been faulted for being too subjective; behaviorism, for being too mechanistic; cognitive theory, for undervaluing emotions; sociocultural theory, for neglecting individuals; and universal theories, for slighting cultural, gender, and economic variations.