To What Extent Do the ‘Grand Theories’ Discussed in Book 1, Chapter 2 Take Account of the Role of Social Experiences in Child Development?

The lives of children are greatly influenced by the environment they grow up in, and the people they come in contact with. For years, psychologists, researchers, and social workers have studied children, and why they do what they do. All have developed many different perspectives on how to view social problems and the development of individuals.

The fundamentals of the social learning theory significantly describe offenders and their criminal behavior which is learned based on observation and imitation. A researcher by the name of Albert Bandura along with coworkers tested the social learning theory with several experiments on children and their imitation of aggression based on what they saw and were exposed to. Bandura’s focus was to prove that human behavior such as aggression is learned through social imitations and copying the actions of others. Walters (1966) gives details about the Bobo doll experiment and explains its purpose related to learning a violent behavior based on observation. In the experiment, the tested subjects were children of both sexes, ranging from the ages of three to six years. Some of the children were exposed to a non-aggressive adult, while the other children were placed in a room with an aggressive adult who would both physically and verbally attack the Bobo doll. The control group in the experiment was not exposed to any adult. During the second phase of the experiment, the children were left in a room by themselves with the toys, and watched to see if they would demonstrate the aggressive behavior like that of which they observed adults doing earlier. Walter (1966) describes the results as “children who had been exposed to an aggressive model showed more imitative physical and verbal

Bandura suggested children learn from watching adults – referred to as ‘Bobo doll experiment’. Three groups of children watched a film of a variation in behaviour in adults towards a doll.

Vygotsky proposed that children’s development is affected by their culture and social interaction. He also suggested that children are not born with knowledge but they gain it through their social interactions with peers and adults; he does not rule out the importance of biological processes but proposes an interdependent relationship between biological development alongside social activity and cultural interaction.

Consequently, children imitate the aggressive behaviour of the actor, and mimic it in the presence of other children. Comparatively, Hayne et. al (2003) states that 4 to15 month old imitate limited actions demonstrated by videotaped models. Hence, the focus of this task is on the difference and similarities between the studies of Bandura et al. (1963) & Hayne et al. (2003).

The room was also equipped with a one-way window so the child could be observed without their acknowledgement. The experiment showed that the consequences in the films that the children observed in the ending, created a different outcome. The children who witnessed the film were the adult was rewarded was most likely to repeat or imitate the aggressive behavior toward the Bobo doll. In the situation of the other children who watched the adult being punished for their aggressive behavior, the children were less likely to recreate the aggressive behavior towards the Bobo doll. After the findings Bandura added to the experiment. The children who watched any of the three films were asked to recreate what the adult did in the film. Each imitation the child recreated correctly, they were rewarded with candy and stickers. Virtually all the children were capable of recreating all actions, aggressive or non-aggressive. The different variations of the films the children watched had no impact on them. In conclusion to Bandura’s experiment, you are capable of imitating any behavior, aggressive or non-aggressive, but you are more likely to imitate if there is expectation of any type of reward.

Behaviourist approaches – children learn as a result of what they see and what happens to them.

The theories/approaches established by historical and contemporary pioneers provide valuable insight, underpinning the understanding of how children develop, allowing teachers to enhance the holistic development of every child. This essay will analyse the: behaviourist theory; cognitive-developmental theory; and socio-cultural theory.

Children develop in many ways including through physical activity, mental activity and interaction with others (Roode, 1). According to a January 2007 clinical

There are some similarities between Bandura’s another theory which is social learning theory with Urie Bronfenbrenner‘s ecological model of individual development. As they both give clear explanation and emphasize on how children’s all area of development and behaviour can be influence by others and the whole environment surrounding them. They also both agree that children’s social interactions with others and culture are important and can affect their learning, education and development. Learning Theories in Childhood (2015). There are others theories who have some view that are similarity to them, who are Les Vygotsky, who suggested the essential and influences of families, communities and other children in a child’s life. How Children Learn (2006). Vygotsky also suggested that the historical, culture and institutional context can make influences on their development and view of the world. (Stating from the child p142).

A. Basic Concepts 1. Observational LearningThe Social Learning Theory says that people canlearn by watching other people perform the behavior. Observational learningexplains the nature of children to learn behaviors by watching the behaviorof the people around them, and eventually, imitating them. With the ―Bobo Doll‖ experiment(s) , Bandura included an adult who is tasked to actaggressively toward a Bobo Doll while the children observe him. Later,Bandura let the children play inside a room with the Bobo Doll.

According to Bandura (Wortley, 2011), people acquire behaviour through a process of observation and imitation called modelling. There are three main models for observational learning: familiar models in which a person imitates the behaviour of a family member, subculture models in which a person imitates the behaviour of a member of one’s subculture, and symbolic models where an individual imitates the behaviour represented symbolically through words and pictures such as television. Furthermore, Bandura claimed that there were four factors required for the success of modelling: attention, retention, reproduction, and reinforcement. First, an individual must show attention to a model. The more attention shown depends on the frequency the

Bandura et al. (1963) studies are perhaps the most significant studies not only of their time, but also of the present. Bandura studies lead to the theory of social learning. The theory of social learning helps to explain how certain human behaviors, especially aggression, are acquired. Children and teenagers usually learn to resolve conflicts in the way they see models do so. These models can be from the TV, cartoons, sports figures, and especially their parents or guardians. Past studies indicate that children learn aggression seen and consequently exhibit aggression on real life events, (Bandura et al., 1963; Lovaas, 1962; Mowrer, 1961). Nevertheless, more recent studies indicate that children and adolescents still display the same tendencies, (Aroson et al., 2007; Piotrowski, 2005).

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.

This paper will discuss how a child’s development is influenced by environmental and cultural influences as well as parenting styles and education. This will be argued through four topics including