Developmental Theories

NCM 117 A LEC / W3 / AKBA

THEORY
 Organized set of ideas that explains events
Ego Defense Mechanism
→ Methods of attempting to protect the self and cope
 Group of logically related statements with the basic drives of emotionally painful thoughts,
feelings or events.
→ Automatic involuntary mechanism of the mind w/c
Theories serve to lower anxiety, maintain ego functioning and
1 Biological theory project self-esteem.
2 Psychoanalytic Theory Types of Defense Mechanism
3 Psychosocial Theory Rationalization
4 Social Learning Theory Using excuses to explain away threatening
5 Piaget’s Cognitive Development Theory circumstances.
6 Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory
7 Ecological Theory “I did poorly on the test because the
questions were so tricky.”

Biological Theory Displacement

→ development is affected by innate biological process. Transferring thoughts and feelings towards one person
→ heredity plays a very important role in D&G or object onto another person or object.
TRAITS
→Dominant traits A person who is angry with a boss comes
→Recessive traits home & yells at the spouse
GENES
→most of the genes are mendellian pattern (Gregor
Regression
Mendel) Copes with stressors by acting childish,
Mendellian Law immature, or age- inappropriate manner.
1. Dominance Dominant genes may mask or Returning to a previous developmental stage.
prevent the expression of recessive
genes. An adult has a “temper tantrum” when stuck in
2. Segregation Pair of genes is segregated during Traffic
the formation of gametes.
3.Independent Independently formation of new Introjection
genes. Taking on the qualities or attitudes of others
without thought or examination

Psychoanalytic Theory A person may take on the political views of a

→analysis of certain behavior famous, admired actor
→Sigmund Freud
→ viewed humans as stimulus driven who respond to Reaction Formation
both internal and external stimuli. Behaving in the manner or expressing a feeling opposite
→believed that personality is formed during the 5 th year of one’s true feelings
of life
→ all behavior is caused and can be explained. A parent who is resentful of an “unplanned”
Structures of Personality pregnancy becomes overprotective of that
1. Id Present at birth child
Serves to satisfy needs and achieve
immediate gratification Repression
Pleasure principle A psychological defense mechanism in which
2. Ego Rational part of personality and works unpleasant thoughts or memories are pushed
to maintain harmony between id and from the conscious mind.
super ego
Reality principle Does not recall abuse in their early childhood, but
Logically oriented in time and still has problems with connection, aggression and
distinguishes b/w reality and unreality anxiety resulting from the unremembered trauma.
3. Superego Perfection principle
Conscience- culturally influenced
sense of right or wrong. Sublimation
Managing to displace unacceptable emotions
into behaviors which are constructive and

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Developmental Theories
NCM 117 A LEC / W3 / AKBA
socially acceptable, rather than destructive (“make un-happen”) those impulses, even if only at
activities a symbolic level.

A person may turn to boxing to deal with Thinking about being violent with someone, one would
Aggression then be overly nice or accommodating to them

Acting Out Substitution

Then one is unable to manage a conflicted Replacing the desired unattainable goal
mental content by means of thought and by with one that is attainable
putting it into words or repetitive actions
A woman who failed the nursing board
A student disrupts class because she is angry over exam 3 times, worked as a nursing aide
an unfair grade. just to be in the hospital.

Denial Suppression
Refusal to acknowledge disturbing aspects of Conscious and deliberate forgetfulness of painful or
external reality, as well as the existence of undesirable thoughts and ideas.
disturbing psychological (internal) events, such as
thoughts, memories, or feelings A rape victim attempts to forget the incident and fails
to report it to the proper authorities.
A woman refuses to acknowledge a pregnancy, despite
positive test results. Intellectualization
Use of excessive reasoning rather than changing or
Idealization reacting
Attributing unrealistic positive qualities to
self and others. A woman attending AA meeting reports that she is a
nurse and has conducted many 12-steps sessions.
A student worried about intellectual ability begins
to idolizes a tutor.
Psychosocial Theory
Isolation of Affect →Erik Erikson
Conflict is defused by separating ideas from → distinctive psychosocial crisis or task must be
affects, thus retaining an awareness of mastered or resolved by the Ego to advance through
intellectual or factual aspects but losing touch various developmental stage
with threatening emotions. → failure-maladaptation

A biology student sacrifices a laboratory animal,

without worrying about its right to existence,
quality of life , or emotional state.

Projection
Unacceptable emotion or personal qualities are
disowned by attributing them to others.

A student attributes his own anger to the

professor, and thereby comes to see himself as a
persecuted victim.

Reaction Formation
Unacceptable thoughts or impulses are → failure to resolve one or more crisis is almost certain
contained by adopting a position that to encounter problem in the succeeding stage or in the
expresses the direct opposite. future.

A student who hates some group of Cognitive Theory

personnel writes an article protesting their → Concerned with the development of the human
unfair treatment by the university. thought and process.
→ focus on the way children construct on their own
Undoing understanding of their environment
Avoid conscious awareness of disturbing impulses
by thinking or acting in a way intended to revert → Jean Piaget

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Developmental Theories
NCM 117 A LEC / W3 / AKBA
 First psychologist to make a study of Operations o Children gain a better
cognitive development understanding of mental
 He believed that children think differently operations
than adults 4 Events In Concrete
 Intrigued with the reason children gave for Operation:
their wrong answer on the question that 1. Logic
require logical thinking 2. Classification
→theory that accounts for the steps and sequences of 3. Elimination of
children’ intellectual development Egocentrism
→Proposed that each stage serves as a precursor to all 4. Reversibility
succeeding stage so that reasoning develops sequentially 4. Formal o 12- adulthood
→Children construct what they already know and what Operation o People develop the ability
they discover in their environment. to think about abstract
→To explain the mechanism and processes by which the concept skills such as
infant, and then the child, develops into an individual deductive logical thought
who can reason and think using hypothesis. and reasoning, systematic
planning.
2 Major Principles Guide to Intellectual Growth and o Events:
Development Logic: Deductive Logic
1. Organization Abstract Thought
Refers to the mind’s natural tendency to organize Problem Solving
information into related, interconnected structures.

2. Adaptation Vygotsky’s Social Learning Theory

Process of viewed intellectual growth →Lev Vygotsky ( Russian Psychologist)
For individual to survive in an environment, they must → sociocultural action in the development of cognition
adapt to pt and mental stimuli. This happens through: →social interactions play a fundamental role in the
2.1 Assimilation- this is cognitive process of fitting new process of cognitive development
information to the new one. → child follow the adult’s example gradually develop
2.2 Accommodation- altering or modifying one’s existing ability to do certain task without his/her help
cognitive schemas or ideas as a result of new
information or new experiences. Bandura’s Social Learning Theory
→Albert Bandura
Equilibrium- helps explain how children are able to move →Learning doesn’t require reinforcement
from one stage to another. →Individual can learn by observing other people
4 Cognitive Stages →Person’s behaviour is influenced by the environment
1. Sensorimotor o 0-2 years old
Stage o Limited knowledge 4 Process of learning for this Theory:
o Skill and ability utilizes Attention
o Highlight Development: Retention
Object Permanence- Motor Reproduction
objects that exist are the Reinforcement and Motivation]
objects that can be seen or
heard even though they
are not present.
Ecological Theory
2. Pre-operational o 3-7 years old
Stage → Urie Bronfenbenner- environment or place where you
o Can differentiate a word or
belong affects the development
image from what it is
- microsystem
stand
- mesosystem
o for and can name an
- exosystem
image or object not in site
- mesosystem
o Increasing adapt at using
- chronosystem
symbols
o Role playing
o Egocentrism and
Conservation—choosing
your own point of view
( 3 mountain task
experiment) 3 dimension
display
3. Concrete o 4-11 years old

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