There are many great theorists that have studied human development over the course of the years. A few that this Weebly will focus on will be: Albert Bandura, B.F. Skinner, Erik Erikson, Jean Piaget, Abraham Maslow and Lev Vygotsky.
Albert Bandura focused his research on Behaviorism with an emphasis on experimental methods and believed that "one's own environment determined one's behavior" also known as the Social Cognitive Learning Theory. He started out focusing on classical and operant conditioning but then switched his focus over to learning through imitation. Bandura is famous for his Bobo doll experiment where he showed adults hitting the Bobo doll and being violent with it to young children. The children were then left alone to play with the dolls and they showed the same type of violent play as they had observed.
B.F. Skinner also researched Behaviorism and spent his time focusing on operant conditioning and reinforcement. Operant conditioning is defined as the process that happens when the response that follows a behavior causes that
behavior to happen more. Reinforcement is a response to a behavior that makes that behavior happen more. People use operant conditioning and reinforcement everyday without realizing it. When having a conversation with someone and they seem engaged and interested, they are reinforcing your behavior and showing that you should keep that behavior happening.
behavior to happen more. Reinforcement is a response to a behavior that makes that behavior happen more. People use operant conditioning and reinforcement everyday without realizing it. When having a conversation with someone and they seem engaged and interested, they are reinforcing your behavior and showing that you should keep that behavior happening.
Erik Erikson is known for his Developmental Theory that involves eight psychological stages of humans: Trust
vs. Mistrust (Hope),Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt (Will), Initiative vs. Guilt (Purpose), Industry vs. Inferiority (Competence), Identity vs. Role Confusion (Fidelity), Intimacy vs. Isolation (Love), Generativity vs. Stagnation (Care), and Integrity vs. Despair (Wisdom). He was influential in contemporary child care and developmental understanding and he inspired others to include culture into their psychoanalysis.
vs. Mistrust (Hope),Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt (Will), Initiative vs. Guilt (Purpose), Industry vs. Inferiority (Competence), Identity vs. Role Confusion (Fidelity), Intimacy vs. Isolation (Love), Generativity vs. Stagnation (Care), and Integrity vs. Despair (Wisdom). He was influential in contemporary child care and developmental understanding and he inspired others to include culture into their psychoanalysis.
Jean Piaget created the stages of development. The first is the sensorimotor stage that goes from birth-2 years of age. In this stage, infants take information through senses and actions and show object permanence. The next stage is the preoperational stage from ages 2-7. In this stage, children are very egocentric and think illogically. Concrete operations stage is next from ages 7-12 and involves the beginning of logical thinking and concrete, not abstract, thoughts. The last stage is from 12 years of age and up and is called formal operations where logical and abstract thinking is prevalent.
Lev Vygotsky is known for his sociocultural theory that says children learn through social interaction with skillful tutors. The zone of proximal development was another focus of Vygotsk's. The ZPD is what a child cannot do on their own but can do with a little help from someone more skilled. This mainly means that adults transmit information to children and that they learn from someone more knowledgeable.