CHAPTER 2 The Journey Begins Childhood DuffyAtwater 2005

CHAPTER 2 The Journey Begins – Childhood Duffy/Atwater © 2005 Prentice Hall

CHAPTER SUMMARY Perspectives on Child Development The Biological Perspective on Child Development Nature Versus Nurture: An Old Debate A Newer Approach Evaluation Applying It To Yourself Duffy/Atwater © 2005 Prentice Hall

Chapter Summary Cont’d The Psychodynamic Perspective On Child Development Of Personality The Structure Of Personality Dynamics Modifications Evaluation Applying It To Yourself Duffy/Atwater © 2005 Prentice Hall

Chapter Summary Cont’d The Social-Cognitive Perspective on Child Development Social Learning Theories Recent Additions: Cognitions & Behavior Evaluation Applying It To Yourself Duffy/Atwater © 2005 Prentice Hall

Chapter Summary Cont’d The Humanistic Perspective On Child Development The Phenomenal Self Human Freedom Self-Actualization Evaluation Applying It To Yourself Duffy/Atwater © 2005 Prentice Hall

Perspectives on Child Development is defined as the relatively enduring changes in people’s capacities and behavior as they grow older because of biological growth processes and people’s interaction with their environment, including their social environment. Many psychologists believe that a healthy childhood creates resiliency and therefore a more fulfilling adulthood. Different viewpoints (perspectives) on child development offer explanations of how and why development occurs. Duffy/Atwater © 2005 Prentice Hall

The Biological Perspective on Child Development Nature Versus Nurture: An Old Debate Genes (the biochemical units by which characteristics are inherited) are the foundation for heredity (transmission of traits from parents to offspring) and also of the biological perspective. Some psychologists argue that almost all of our personal characteristics are inherited or genetic. Other psychologists argue that the environment and learning provide the greatest influences on us. This controversy is called the nature-nurture debate. Duffy/Atwater © 2005 Prentice Hall

Nature Versus Nurture: An Old Debate Cont’d Psychologists supporting the biological perspective also subscribe to the notion that evolution and adaptation play a major role in determining our characteristics. Scientists often utilize identical twins (who possess identical genetic profiles) as participants in research designed to tease out whether nature or nurture is more important Important questions and ethical issues regarding the biological perspective persist. Duffy/Atwater © 2005 Prentice Hall

A Newer Approach The nature-nurture debate is the debate over what is more important or influential – biology or environment. A newer approach is to view development as the combination of or complex interaction of both factors. Thus, identical twins might be similar on some traits (the influence of genes) and dissimilar on other traits (the consequence of being in different environments on different occasions). ? =? Duffy/Atwater © 2005 Prentice Hall

Evaluation The biological perspective is controversial: People do not want to believe that they are driven by some force (nature) they cannot control. Ethicists fear stigmatization of people with certain, so-called genetic “defects”. Some scientists fear the general public will ascribe to heredity more personal qualities than those really under genetic control. Duffy/Atwater © 2005 Prentice Hall

Applying It To Yourself Do not solely blame your family genes for the causes of your behaviors or personality. Most people in the same family also share the same environment. You might want to examine your family tree with an eye toward discovering common family traits. While you might not be able to sort out the cause for the traits, the exercise can be an interesting journey of self-discovery and self-revelation. Duffy/Atwater © 2005 Prentice Hall

The Psychodynamic Perspective On Child Development Introduction Psychodynamic theory consists of a group of related theories that view personality and behavior in terms of the dynamics (or interactions) of driving forces of development (and of personality) such as desires, anxieties, conflicts, and defenses. The founder of this perspective was Sigmund Freud who posited that many of the causes of our behavior were inaccessible to us (i. e. hidden in the unconscious). The goal of psychoanalytic therapy is to help people gain insight and mastery into unconscious processes. Duffy/Atwater © 2005 Prentice Hall

Development of Personality Freud postulated that children pass through several stages of personality development. When a person becomes emotionally fixed at one stage and symbolically continues to act out wishes that were overly inhibited or indulged, Freud called this a fixation. The first stage is the oral stage during which the mouth becomes the primary means of gratification for the child. The second stage is the anal stage, when the child’s major source of physical pleasure becomes the releasing or retaining of feces. Duffy/Atwater © 2005 Prentice Hall

Development of Personality Cont’d The phallic stage is the third stage and is the period in which the child experiences sensual pleasure through handling his or her genitals. The child also experiences a conflict or struggle with the parent of the opposite sex, because that parent attracts the attention and affection of the other parent. In girls this struggle is called the Electra complex. In boys this struggle is called the Oedipal complex. Duffy/Atwater © 2005 Prentice Hall

Development of Personality Cont’d The successful resolution of these conflicts leads to the fourth stage – the latency stage. The latency stage is the stage during which the child’s interests turn away from sensuality and the child’s urges lie dormant. The final phase is the genital stage, where the person begins the onset of puberty, true sexual maturation, and adult sexual activity. Duffy/Atwater © 2005 Prentice Hall

The Structure of Personality Freud suggested that the personality is composed of three different structures which interact with one another. ID – that part of the personality that is the unconscious reservoir of psychic energy and the source of later development. EGO – the direct outgrowth of the ID and which functions as a manager of personality, thereby enabling the individual to cope with the conflicting demands of the ID, SUPEREGO, and society. SUPEREGO – the part of personality which has been shaped by the moral standards of society as transmitted by the parents. Duffy/Atwater © 2005 Prentice Hall

The Structure of Personality Cont’d Each structure operates according to a different principle: ID – pleasure principle EGO – reality principle SUPEREGO – principle of perfection Duffy/Atwater © 2005 Prentice Hall

Personality Dynamics The term personality dynamics means the different forces within the psyche. The ID, EGO, and SUPEREGO are often in conflict with one another. When the EGO thinks the impulses of the ID will get out of control and duly experiences anxiety, Freud called the outcome neurotic anxiety. When the individual’s SUPEREGO senses guilt and the person experiences anxiety, Freud termed this moral anxiety. Duffy/Atwater © 2005 Prentice Hall

Personality Dynamics Con’t We deal with these forms of anxiety, which are quite different from ordinary anxiety, by means of defense mechanisms. Defense mechanisms are unconscious reactions that automatically reduce the level of anxiety, allowing the individual to better cope with the situation at hand. The most important defense mechanism is repression, the blocking of unacceptable desires or memories from awareness. Repression is often indicated by slips of the tongue. Repressed thoughts also show up symbolically in dreams. Duffy/Atwater © 2005 Prentice Hall

Evaluation Freud’s many students and followers offered modifications to his theory, for example, decreasing the importance of sexuality. Psychoanalysis or the psychodynamic perspective is criticized for being vague and untestable. Many of the concepts from psychoanalysis were derived from Freud’s private practice and thus may not hold for “normal” people. Freud, however, clearly turned our interest toward personal thoughts, feelings, motives, and wishes. Freud helped remove some of the stigma attached to abnormal behavior by hypothesizing that they stem from the same developmental processes as normal behaviors. Duffy/Atwater © 2005 Prentice Hall

Applying It To Yourself You may feel conflicted sometimes about what you want. This phenomenon is perfectly “normal”, according to Freud. Such conflict may be unconscious and can cause you to act in two totally opposite ways, e. g. loving and hating the same person. Many of the ways that you cope with such situations derive from your childhood and how your parents raised you. You should now understand that it is sometimes “normal” to experience multiple problems and anxieties at the same time. Optimal adjustment, at least according to this perspective, comes from living in the world as it is rather than wishing the world were some other way. Duffy/Atwater © 2005 Prentice Hall

The Social-Cognitive Perspective on Child Development The social-cognitive perspective includes behavioral and social learning theories. Both theories hold certain concepts as important; definitions are given below: Cognition has to do with the interpretation of information and involves processes such as selective attention, information gathering, memory, and motivation. Learning is a relatively permanent change in behavior. Duffy/Atwater © 2005 Prentice Hall

Behavioral Theory Behavioral theory is a learning theory. Learning theory provides a systematic statement of learning principles. The leading theorist was B. F. Skinner. Behaviorism is an objective science that studies external (or measurable) behaviors. One of the major concepts of this theory is reinforcement, which is the addition of something that increases the likelihood of a behavior. Thus, positive child behaviors, such as making one’s bed, should be closely followed by something that will increase the likelihood of the bed-making again, perhaps reading the child’s favorite book to him or her. Duffy/Atwater © 2005 Prentice Hall

Social Learning Theory is another well-known learning theory. The leading theorist is Albert Bandura. The crux of social learning theory is that much learning occurs by observation. Researchers have studied the conditions under which observational learning occurs and under which circumstances it will be performed. Theorists have paid special attention to the learning of aggression by children from media sources. Duffy/Atwater © 2005 Prentice Hall

Recent Additions to Cognition and Behavior Most behavioral and social learning theorists today recognize the important role cognitions (our interpretations) play in our behavior and personality. They also recognize reciprocal determinism or the notion that there is a mutual interaction among factors that affect our learning, cognition, and behaviors. An example is that of a child who watches violence and whose parents explain that violence is not acceptable. The child, then, is less likely to actually commit violence. Duffy/Atwater © 2005 Prentice Hall

Recent Additions to Cognition and Behavior Cont’d Another recent addition to these theories is the notion of self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is the belief in one’s capacity to organize and execute the courses of action required to produce given attainments. Duffy/Atwater © 2005 Prentice Hall

Recent Additions to Cognition and Behavior Cont’d A student who studies hard for an exam so as to improve her changes of receiving a high grade is demonstrating self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is an extremely important concept in the field of personal growth and development. Duffy/Atwater © 2005 Prentice Hall

Evaluation One criticism of these theories is that they appear to oversimplify human behavior. Another criticism is that behaviorism in particular eschews the idea of human freedom while on the other hand projects an image of humans as robotic. One of the main contributions of these theories is to advance the science of psychology and to promote the use of scientific methods to establish principles of behavior. Behaviorists, in particular, have developed many useful treatments for a variety of disorders that plague human beings. Duffy/Atwater © 2005 Prentice Hall

Applying It To Yourself These theories suggest that many of your behaviors and personality traits have been acquired by means of interacting with significant others, like parents. However, past experiences and learning can be undone so that we can acquire new behaviors and better traits and thus achieve personal change and growth. Additionally, “abnormal” patterns can be replaced by more adaptive and optimal patterns. Because of constant interaction with our environments personal change and growth is an ongoing process. Duffy/Atwater © 2005 Prentice Hall

The Humanistic Perspective On Child Development Humanistic theories are known as the third force in psychology, with psychoanalysis and behaviorism considered the other two predominant schools of thought. The two leading humanistic theorists are Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow. Humanistic psychology consists of a group of related theories and therapies that emphasize the values of human freedom and the uniqueness of individuals. Duffy/Atwater © 2005 Prentice Hall

The Phenomenal Self The phenomenal self is the self-concept and is part and parcel of our organismic actualizing tendency or the biological tendency to develop and fulfill ourselves. When we were children, few of our significant others provided us with true unconditional positive regard or unconditional positive acceptance. The result is a self which we do not trust, which is not self-directed, and which is not fully functioning (actualizing). Duffy/Atwater © 2005 Prentice Hall

The Phenomenal Self Cont’d Rogers said that children thrive in supportive and accepting environments. Unfortunately, this is not the environment in which children frequently find themselves. Rogers developed person-centered therapy rather than therapist-centered therapy to provide the supportive, warm, and accepting environment that many of us were deprived of in childhood. Person-centered therapy is discussed in the chapter on getting help. Duffy/Atwater © 2005 Prentice Hall

Self-Actualization Self actualization is the process of fulfilling our inborn potential. Humanistic theorists assume that this tendency is inborn or naturally occurring. As long as our basic needs (food, water, etc. ) are met, we become more aware of our need for fulfillment. Maslow’s pyramid theory of human needs will be discussed in the chapter on motivation and emotion. Duffy/Atwater © 2005 Prentice Hall

Evaluation The primary criticism of humanistic theories is that they are unscientific. Another criticism is that the concept of self-actualization is very “Western”, individualized, and not useable in other cultures. As such, theorists spend little time discussing the inter-relatedness of people. On the other hand, the humanists have heightened psychologists’ awareness of the importance of acceptance, love, personal growth, and human autonomy. Duffy/Atwater © 2005 Prentice Hall

Applying It To Yourself This theory should inspire you to perceive yourself in terms of your positive strengths and potential rather than in terms of your shortcomings. Problems and conflicts are not necessary nor inevitable. Optimal adjustment can be achieved through personal growth and by taking reasonable risks. Self-actualization is an ongoing process and as such is only imperfectly realized for most of us. Perfection is not necessary for happiness. Duffy/Atwater © 2005 Prentice Hall

Conclusion Child development is the prelude to later development. There are differing perspectives on child development, each with its own contributions and criticisms. No one perspective is better than another. In fact, given human uniquenesses, perhaps a combination of ideas from the various perspectives will one day offer a better conceptualization of human growth and development. Duffy/Atwater © 2005 Prentice Hall