The Theory Of Developmental Psychology

Developmental theory, with Piaget as the most prominent theorist, presents the idea that children actively construct knowledge as they manipulate and explore the world around them. Development is seen to take place in broad stages from birth through to adulthood, with each stage characterized by qualitatively distinct ways of thinking. However, some developmental theorists, in contrast to Piaget, place more emphasis on personal, social and emotional development rather than cognitive development and prefer to delay ‘academic’ experiences until later, for instance after the age of seven years in Steiner’s theory.

In Developmental psychology there are four theories that psychologist apply to the development of the human mind. Developmental psychologist always question how much of you is due to your genes or to the environment in which your in. After reading about each of these theories, I can't say that I believe one theory to hold all the answer to the human psyche. But I do believe more strongly in some then others whether through personal experience or through observational learning. I don't think any psychologist is right by saying one theory is right, when it can be a combination of all of them because our minds have different sections too. Now I'll go into more details about each of the four

There are three main theories of development that I shall discuss in this assignment, 'Cognitive', the main theorist being, 'Piaget', (1896 - 1980), The, 'Psychosocial Theory', 'Erikson', (1902 - 1994), and, The 'Psychosexual', of, 'Freud', (1856 - 1939).

Developmental Psychology is the ways that people change throughout their lifespan. Studies include the psychological affects, physical and social growth, intellectual, emotional and perceptual changes that occur. Developmental Psychology focus on a wide range of behavior changes beginning with prenatal development. Developmental Psychology also focuses on developmental disabilities and the effects it might have on people’s behavior. As with many fields related to psychology, a developmental psychologist must obtain a doctorate for most positions; some positions at the university level requires a PhD.

According to Cliff Notes, Developmental psychology is the scientific study of age-related changes throughout the human life span. A discipline of scientific inquiry, developmental psychology recognizes humans of all societies and cultures as beings who are “in process,” or constantly growing and changing. This discipline identifies the biological, psychological, and social aspects that interact to influence the growing human life-span process. Within the last 25 years, developmentalist’s researchers who study human development expanded their focus to include the study of the physical, motor, cognitive, intellectual, emotional, personality, social, and moral changes that occur throughout all stages of the life span (cliff notes).

The cognitive developmental theory comes from the work and research done by Jean Piaget which we believe is an empiricist approach which goes hand and hand with Piaget’s constructive approach. Empiricism is a theory that states that knowledge comes only or primarily from sensory experience. The constructive approach is viewed as children discovering all knowledge about the world through their own learning and knowledge. According to Piaget, children pass through these stages at different times in their lives and cannot skip a stage which causes them to be seen as invariant.

Developmental psychology is viewed as different approaches which aims to look at how children and adults develop. Theories such as Bowlby 's attachment theory can explain how a child 's development can be altered by their attachment, thus leading to the ideology of the nature vs nurture debate, nature referring to the process of biological maturation while nurture is referring to the impact of the environment or surroundings, which involves the idea that a person learns through experiences. (McLeod, S. A, 2012)

As we grow older we change; these changes are most visible during infancy and childhood. From birth, babies grow larger and show noticeable development in both their social and intellectual competence. The study of age-related changes in human behaviour is referred to as developmental psychology. Child development refers to the psychological and biological changes that occur in individuals from birth to adolescence. By understanding child development, psychologists know what to expect in infants and children at each developmental stage, and can therefore establish the limitations in infant’s and children’s

Developmental psychology recognizes three main models of psychosocial and cognitive development. The first theory, presented by developmental psychologist and philosopher Jean Piaget, addresses cognitive development. The second theory, presented by psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg, focuses on the development of morality. The third theory, proposed by developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst Erik Erikson, outlines psychosocial development. All three theories are applicable from birth to death.

Developmental psychology is the scientific study of changes that occur in human beings over the course of their life. Initially focused on infants and children, the life stages of developmental psychology is ranged to include infancy, adolescence, adult development, and the entire lifespan. This field looks at change across a wide range of topics that includes motor skills and other psychological processes such as cognitive development involving areas like problem solving, moral understanding, conceptual understanding, language acquisition, social personality, emotional development, and self-concept and identity formation.

This assignment will discuss the main theories of child development and discuss the main principles across all area of development. The assignment will also evaluate an observation conducted on a child and link their behaviour to relevant child development theories. The assignment will firstly highlight some child development theories from behaviourists such as Bandura, humanists such as Maslow and constructivists such as Piaget. Secondly the child’s observation will be discussed and evaluated here relevant link to development theories will be made. Lastly the assignment will finish off with a reflection. Jennie Lindon defines development as” the sequence of physical and psychological changes experienced by human beings, which start with conception and continue throughout life.”(Jennie Lindon 2012:5) the early year’s foundation stage (EYTS) framework states that there are seven areas of learning and development however they view some are more important these are called the prime areas of development. There are three prime areas of development these are: communication and language, physical development, personal social and emotional development. The EYFS also states that “children develop in different ways at different times” (Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage 2014) which is why the development matters promote the message that every child is unique and has their own way of learning. (Development matters in the Early years Foundation Stage (EYFS) 2012)

Development psychology refers to the scientific study of the systematic psychological changes that normally occur to human beings throughout their growth period from birth to old age. It was originally concerned with children and infants, but it has since expanded to include the entire life span of mankind including adolescence and adulthood. Development psychology covers the extent to which human development occurs through gradual accumulation of knowledge, and the extent to which children born with inmate mental structures learn through experience. Several psychological theories and approaches like the behavioral, humanistic, psychoanalytic, biological, and cognitive approaches have been developed to explain the

Developmental Psychology has widened my perspective and knowledge of the nature of development from humans’ infancy to adolescence and emerging adulthood. Although I have learned about biological, cognitive, and socioemotional processes and periods of development, I am especially interested in socioemotional development in infancy because it is the foundation for a child’s future development. That is to say, if children have a healthy socioemotional development from infancy, they will have a healthy life later on. By understanding the developmental process in infancy, I will be fully prepared when I have children or when my family’s members do.

Week one started off with developmental psychology, which is defined as identifying and explaining the continuities and changes individuals display over time. There are two ways that cause humans to develop, these are by maturity and learning experiences. A person that observes developmental psychology are known as developmentalist.

Psychology refers to the scientific study of all the aspects of human mind and behavior. Psychology is broadly categorized in various branches that deeply analyze different concepts of human behavior. In Human Growth and Development, full perceptions of the process of human development are covered in detail evaluating various stages of human growth. As such, this aspect provides an overview of the stages of human life from birth through the middle stages to the adult stage. Some various theories are set to provide some guiding principles and concepts that analyze the human development in a coherence and detailed form. The major theories identified in this branch of psychology include the psychoanalytic theories, the learning methods, and