Human Growth And Development Essay

There are four questions, each of which is worth 25 points for a total of 100 points. MYEDUCATION LAB Activity: The Major Developmental Theories Review the following theoretical perspectives on development: psychodynamic theories (e.g., Freud), psychosocial theories (e.g., Erikson), behaviorist (learning) theories (e.g., Watson, Skinner), social learning theories (e.g., Bandura), cognitive developmental theories (e.g., Piaget), information processing theories (e.g., Siegler), and bioecological theories (Bronfenbrenner). Question 1: Which theory or theories focus more on the importance of nature than nurture? Which theory or theories take a strong position that nurture is more important than nature? The humanistic perspective contends that people have a natural capacity to make decisions about their lives and control their behavior. The humanistic perspective emphasizes free will and the natural desire of humans to reach their full potential. Question 2: Which theory or theories focus on the universality of development more than diversity of individuals? The contextual perspective considers the relationship between individuals and their physical, cognitive, personality, and social worlds. The bioecological approach stresses the interrelatedness of developmental areas and the importance of broad cultural factors in human development. Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory emphasizes the central influence on cognitive development exerted by social interactions between members of a culture. Question 3: Which theory or theories focus more on qualitative change than on quantitative change? The Cognitive Theory focuses on qualitative, the goal of the theory is to explain the mechanisms and processes by which the infant, and then the child, develops into an individual who can reason and think using hypotheses. To Piaget, cognitive development was a progressive reorganization of mental processes as a result of biological maturation and  environmental experience. Children construct an understanding of the world around them, and then experience discrepancies between what they already know and what they discover in their environment. The humanistic perspective contends that people have a natural capacity to make decisions about their lives and control their behavior. The humanistic perspective emphasizes free will and the natural desire of humans to reach their full potential. Question 4: Which theory or theories focus more on discontinuity than on continuity over development? The psychodynamic perspective is exemplified by the psychoanalytic theory of Freud and the psychosocial theory of Erikson. Freud focused attention on the unconscious and on stages through which children must pass successfully to avoid harmful fixations. Erikson identified eight distinct stages of development, each characterized by a conflict, or crisis, to work out.