THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE

IN DEVELOPMENT

ANABELLE SANCHEZ-BUENDIA
BS Psychology Department
DMMMSU SLUC
Agoo, La Union
I. PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY

Psychodynamic Theory of
Psychoanalytic theories Development
Interprets human  Proposed by Sigmund
development in terms of Freud
intrinsic drives and  One of Freud’s idea is
motives, many of which
that, long before they
are unconscious, hidden
reach adolescence,
from our awareness.
children have sexual
pleasures and fantasies,
derived from
stimulations of various
parts of their bodies.
I. PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY

Psychodynamic Theory of Development

According to Freud, the structure of the developing personality consists of
the:
 ID: the instinctual component of the personality operation on the
pleasure principle which is oriented toward maximizing pleasure and
immediate gratification of needs.

 EGO: the rational controlling part of personality which attempts to

gratify the needs of a person through appropriate social mechanism.

 SUPEREGO: the internalization of parental or societal values that result

to the development of conscience.
 I. PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY

Structure of our
personality based on its
level of consciousness
II. LEARNING THEORIES

 Learning theory is a theory that

emphasizes the sequences and the
processes of conditioning that underlie
most of human and animal behavior.

 Behaviorism is a theory that emphasizes

the systematic study of observable
behavior, especially how it is conditioned.
II. LEARNING THEORIES

BEHAVIORAL PERSPECTIVE
1. Classical Conditioning
2. Operant Condition
3. Social Learning Theory
 BEHAVIORAL PERSPECTIVE

CLASSICAL
CONDITIONING
o Ivan Pavlov showed in his experiment that the process of
learning begins when an meaningful stimulus is linked to
a neutral one, so that the latter elicit a response similar
to that elicited by the former.
o Formation of an association between a conditioned
stimulus (CS) and a response through the repeated
presentation of the CS in a controlled relationship with
an unconditioned stimulus (US) that originally elicits
that response.
o The original response to a US is called an unconditioned
response (UR); the learned response to the CS is called
 BEHAVIORAL PERSPECTIVE
CLASSICAL
CONDITIONING
Neutral Stimulus: A stimulus that does not initially elicit a
response.
Unconditioned Stimulus: A stimulus that elicits a reflexive
(automatic) response (ex. the loud noise).
Unconditioned Response: A natural reaction to a given
stimulus (ex. fear).
Conditioned Stimulus: A stimulus that elicits a response
after repeatedly being paired with an unconditioned stimulus
(ex. the white rat).
Conditioned Response: The response caused by the
conditioned stimulus (ex. fear).
 BEHAVIORAL PERSPECTIVE
Little Albert Experiment (by
John Watson)
Little Albert (not his real
name) was 9 months old, when
he was exposed to a series of
stimuli. Initially, he showed no
fear of any of the objects he
was shown.
Conditioning: Every time
Albert was exposed to the rat,
Watson made a loud noise by
hitting a metal pipe with a
hammer. Naturally, the child
began to cry after hearing the
loud noise. After repeatedly
pairing the white rat with the
loud noise, Albert began to
expect a frightening noise
whenever he saw the white
BEHAVIORAL PERSPECTIVE

Operant Conditioning
o B.F. Skinner - deals with operant
behaviors
o a method of learning that occurs
through rewards and punishment for
behaviors.
o through operant conditioning an
association is made between behavior
and consequence for that behavior.
o relation between
behavior and its
consequences

o ”skinner box” placed the

subjects in controlled
situations and observed
behavioral changes by
changing the
consequence of the
behavior.
BEHAVIORAL PERSPECTIVE

Operant Conditioning
o Behavior which is reinforced tends to be repeated
(strengthened) behavior which is not reinforced is
tends to die out or be extinguished

Reinforcement
o Positive reinforcement
o Negative Reinforcement
BEHAVIORAL PERSPECTIVE

Social Learning Theory (SLT)

o Albert Bandura
o behavior is learned from the environment
through the process of observational
learning
o SLT believes that humans are active
information processors and think about the
relationship between their behavior and its
consequences.
 PROTECTING THE RIGHTS OF
RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS
Research Ethics. Standards of conduct that
investigators are ethically bound to honor to protect
their research participants from physical or
psychological harm.

 PRB Res. 11, S2017. Adoption and Promulgation of

the Code of Ethics and Professional Standards for
Psychology Practitioners in the Philippines.
 ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF RESEARCHER

1. Informed Consent. Researchers generally should inform

potential participants of all aspects of the research that
might affect their decision to participate so that they can
make a voluntary decision based on full knowledge of
what the research involves.
 Question: Can children or mentally impaired people capable of
giving their informed consent?

2. Debriefing. Researchers generally tell participants about

the purposes of the study in advance.
 Question: In some cases, telling participants about the purpose of
study would ruin the study. What would you do?
 ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF RESEARCHER

3. Protection from harm. Researchers are bound not to harm

research participants either physically or psychologically.
 Question: Some participants may feel embarrassed or upset when
asked about certain issues? How to avoid this?

4. Confidentiality. Researchers also have an ethical

responsibility to keep confidential and private the
information they collect.
 Question: Family members of the client asked for the result of the
therapy. Would you divulge information?
SEATWORK 1: REFLECTION

FORMAT: ½ YELLOW PAD PAPER (CROSSWISE)

 What were you like when you were a child? How

would you describe yourself then? What were
your interest? Did you play a lot? Did you have
a lot friends? How was your relationship with
your parents and siblings?

 How about now? How much did you change? Or

are you the same person as were when you
were a child? What factors influenced your
change if there is any?
III. DEVELOPMENTAL
THEORIES
 Psychosexual Development
 Psychosocial Development
 Cognitive Development
 Moral Development
 PSYCHOSEXUAL DEVELOPMENT
(SIGMUND FREUD)
Stage Age Major Characteristics Fixation
Oral Birth – 18 Interest in oral gratification from sucking,  Oral fixation: smoking,
months eating, mouthing, biting drinking, overeating

Anal 18 months Gratification from expelling and withholding  Anal fixation :

– 3 years feces; coming to terms with society’s controls  Anal retentiveness
relating to toilet training  Anal impulsiveness

Phallic 3 years – 6 Interest in the genitals; coming to terms with  Oedipus complex
years Oedipal conflict, leading to identification with  Electra complex (Carl
same- sex parent Jung)
Latenc 6 years – Sexual concern largely unimportant  Sexual interest
y adolescenc becomes dormant
e
Genital Adolescenc Reemergence of sexual interest and  Maturity of sexual
e- establishment of mature sexual relationship relationship
adulthood
PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
(ERIK ERIKSON)
THEORY OF PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
 Erik Erikson
 views developmental changes occurring
throughout life as a series of eight stages of
psychosocial development
 believes that development of individuals’
interactions and understanding of each other and
of their knowledge and understanding of
themselves as member of society
 STAGES OF PSYCHOSOCIAL
DEVELOPMENT
Stages Age Task / Outcomes
Trust vs 1 yr.& 6 - Trust develops from physical and psychological fulfillment.
Mistrust mons - Mistrust develops from inconsistent care and unpleasant
interactions.
Autonomy vs 1 yr. to - Autonomy and independence are developed if freedom and
Shame & 3 yrs exploration are encouraged.
Doubt old - Shame and Self doubt are experienced when they are
overly restricted or protected.
Initiative vs 3 to 6 - Initiative developed if there is positive encouragement to
Guilt yrs old children’s attempts of independence.
- Guilt feelings are felt from discouragement or negative
criticism.
Industry vs 6 to 12 - Social interactions with others could lead into positive or
Inferiority yrs old negative consequences .
 STAGES OF PSYCHOSOCIAL
DEVELOPMENT
Stages Age Task / Outcomes
Identity vs Role Adolescence - Awareness of unique self/ knowledge of role
Confusion to be followed.
- inability to identify appropriate roles in life.
Intimacy vs Early Adulthood - Development of loving, sexual relationship
Isolation and close friendship.
- Fear of relationship with others.
Generativity vs Middle Adulthood - Sense of contribution to continuity of life.
Stagnation - Sense of stagnation when goals are not met.
Ego integrity vs Late Adulthood - Sense of unity in life’s accomplishments
Despair - Regret over lost opportunities of life
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
(JEAN PIAGET)
 Jean Piaget, Swiss psychologist founded the
theory of cognitive development.
 He suggested that children around the
world proceed through a series of four
stages in fixed order.
 He assumed that , without having such
experiences, children cannot reach their
highest level of cognitive growth.
 STAGES OF COGNITIVE
DEVELOPMENT
Cognitive Age Range Major Characteristics
Stage
Sensorimotor Birth to 2 yrs - Development of object permanence,
old motor skills, and little or no capacity
for symbolic representation.
Preoperational 2 to 7 yrs old - Development of language and
symbolic thinking
- Egocentric thinking
Concrete 7 to 12 yrs - Development of conservation,
operational old mastery of concept of reversibility
Formal 12 to - Development of logical and abstract
operational adulthood thinking
 WHAT IS A ROSE?

“The sun sees not till heaven clears.”

LAWRENCE KOHLBERG

THEORY OF MORAL
DEVELOPMENT

 Kohlberg believed that as

children grow, they pass
through different stages of
moral development.
 LAWRENCE KOHLBERG

Level 1. Preconventional Morality (Childhood Stage)

“What’s in it for me?” This level is strongly influenced by external

punishment or reward. For example, children and adolescents obey adults
because they are afraid, they will be punished. Or they decide to be
obedient to get something out of it, such as a cookie.
Stage 1 (Obedience and Punishment)
People see rules as fixed and absolute. Obeying the rules is important
because it is a way to avoid punishment.
 Stage 2 (Individualism and Exchange)
Children account for individual points of view and judge actions based
on how they serve individual needs. Reciprocity is possible at this point
in moral development, but only if it serves one's own interests.
 LAWRENCE KOHLBERG

Level 2. Conventional Morality (Adolescent Stage

Individuals develop expectations about social roles. Individuals abide by certain

standards (internal), but they are the standards of others (external), such as
parents or the laws of society.
 Stage 3 (Good Interpersonal Relationships)
…referred to as the "good boy-good girl" orientation and it’s focused on living up
to social expectations and roles. There is an emphasis on conformity, being
"nice," and consideration of how choices influence relationships.
 Stage 4 (Maintaining Social Order)
It is focused on ensuring that social order is maintained. People begin to consider
society as a whole when making judgments. The focus is on maintaining law and
order by following the rules, doing one’s duty, and respecting authority.
 LAWRENCE KOHLBERG

Level 3. Postconventional Morality (Adulthood Stage)

It involves flexible thinking and is more internalized. The individual

recognizes alternative moral courses, explores the options, and then
decides on a moral code. In postconventional reasoning, individuals
engage in deliberate checks on their reasoning to ensure that it meets
high ethical standards.
 Stage 5 (Social Contract and Individual Rights): Rules of law are
important for maintaining a society, but members of the society
should agree upon these standards.

 Stage 6 (Universal Principles):

At this stage, people follow these internalized principles of justice,
even if they conflict with laws and rules.
 LAWRENCE KOHLBERG

Critics on Moral Development

 Moral Reasoning and Moral Behavior. Kohlberg’s theory has been
criticized for placing too much emphasis on moral reasoning and not
enough emphasis on moral behavior. Moral reasons can sometimes be
used as a shelter for immoral behavior.
 Conscious/Deliberative Versus Unconscious/Automatic.
Kohlberg’s theory, individuals spend too much time deliberating and
contemplating in their reasoning before they decide on a stance.
Haidt believes that moral thinking is more often an intuitive gut
reaction, with deliberative moral reasoning serving as an after-the-
fact justification.
 The Role of Emotion. Kohlberg avoided studying emotion,
understanding that it can undermine moral reasoning, which was his
 LAWRENCE KOHLBERG

Critics on Moral Development

 Culture and Moral Reasoning. Kohlberg emphasized that his
stages of moral reasoning are universal, but some critics claim his
theory is culturally biased.
 Gender and the Care Perspective. Kohlberg’s theory reflects a
gender bias (Gilligan, 1996)
 Justice Perspective. A moral perspective that focuses on the rights of
the individual; individuals independently make moral decisions.

 Care Perspective. The moral perspective of Carol Gilligan; views people

in terms of their connectedness with others and emphasizes interpersonal
communication, relationships with others, and concern for others.
QUIZ 2

THEORETICAL
PERSPECTIVE IN
DEVELOPMENT