Introduction to Development Psychology
The way we grow and change our thoughts and behaviour is studied by developmental psychology. Psychology is a vast field that has to cover the whole of our lives, from when we are born to when we die.
There are various topics in psychology that gives a lot of reasons for exciting debates and fascinating case studies. It is an interesting and thought-provoking subject where learners can imbibe and implement their knowledge in real life.
Developmental psychology is a significant topic. It helps create a better approach to living our lives as our knowledge can help improve children’s ability to imbibe education and knowledge.
Developmental Psychology- An Overview
Developmental psychology is a scientific approach that aims to explain the reasons and process of human growth, the factors leading to changes in them and how they adapt to their environment and surroundings in a certain way. It also examines how people think, feel, and respond throughout their lives.
Most of its part aims at developing people during their childhood, as during this phase, people experience huge transformation and change in their behaviour and the environment that affects it.
This field of psychology also evaluates the biological, genetic, psychological, cultural, and environmental factors that affect how people act or behave.
The major goals of developmental psychology are to describe, explain, and optimise development. Developmental psychologists should also try to explain the transition they observe concerning the normative processes and individual differences.
However, it is easier for them to explain change than to explain how it takes place.
Developmental psychologists apply various theories to understand and help people tackle practical circumstances.
Historical Origin of Developmental Psychology
Developmental psychology emerged after the industrial revolution. The early location of developmental psychology began in the western world, and the notion of childhood emerged from there.
Developmental psychologists focus more on studying the child’s mind to make education and learning more effective by understanding their thinking patterns.
The major goals of developmental psychology are to describe, explain, and optimise development. Developmental psychologists should also explain the transition they observe concerning the normative processes and individual differences.
However, it is easier for them to explain change than to explain how it takes place.
Developmental psychologists apply their theories and understanding to help people deal with practical circumstances.
The credit for bringing up the first systematic developmental psychology goes to Charles Darwin. He published a short paper sharing details of the development of his infant son based on scientific observations.
While we may also give credit to Preyer, who publishes stating about his little daughters’ transformation in terms of behaviour, learning abilities and thinking capabilities.
Thus, the theory of development psychology went on to emerge as a strong area in the field of psychology. Many significant writers and prominent personalities account for its origination and existence.
In recent years, development psychology has broadened and has now become an essential tool for encompassing the complete lifespan of people.
There are four major theories of developmental psychology. Let’s explore them in brief.
4 Popular Learning and Development Theories in Development Psychology
Certain theories and models of spongy developmental help understand human growth and development at various stages based on certain aspects.
Every model and theory aims to explain the various aspects of development that ab be emotional. Social, psycho behavioural, attachment etc. Below we have listed a few common models and theories of psychological development that contribute to the field of developmental psychology.
Bowlby’s attachment styles
The works of A famous psychologist, John Bowlby, in his seminars demonstrated his interest in children and their social development. He developed the famous theory of social dive, also known as the attachment theory.
Through his observation and analysis, he shared a hypothesis that the need to form attachments is inborn and rooted in human beings. Essential for the survival and development of children. This unbreakable bond helps ensure that all children are cared for by their parents and caretakers.
One student further developed Bowlby’s original attachments. She then proposed attachment styles between children and their caregivers. This theory clearly states the significance of attachment styles to the future of a child’s development.
It states that consistent and stable caregiving promotes a secure attachment style compared to insatiable and inconsistent and forgiving to children. Unstable caregiving to a child gives rise to various negative attachment styles that hamper their growth and make them behave improperly. However, Bowlby’s theory doesn’t consider the influence of peer group or how it shapes children’s personalities and promotes their growth.
Piaget’s stage theory
A french psychologist, Jean Piaget, was very interested in the child’s development. The thinking pattern of children and their ability to acquire knowledge, construct and use it thoughtfully fascinated him.
His four-stage theory of cognitive development states the intellectual development of a child. His theory tells that there are four stages of development in children’s lives that involves certain patterns and trends.
These stages were: The sensorimotor stage, which began from birth till two yeast if the child’s age. This stage explains that children’s behaviour is influenced by sensory stimuli and is limited to simple motor responses. According to this theory of Piaget, a child thinks no longer about an object when it is removed from their vision.
The pre-operational stage is the second stage. During this stage, children learn the language, but they can’t manipulate the information or build logic out of it.
The concrete operational stage is the third stage. According to this theory of Piaget, children start thinking more logically about facts and events. However, they still can’t understand the hypothetical or abstract concept at this stage.
The formal operational stage is the fourth stage that begins from twelve years to adulthood. At this stage, people can understand abstract and hypothetical concepts and start forming logic from their knowledge.
Apart from explaining these stages, Piaget didn’t consider other factors that affect these stages or the processes of child development. However, biological maturation and environmental factors also contribute to the cognitive development rate of children. Even individual differences could affect the child’s development.
The psychosexual development theory of Freud
Sigmund Freud was an Austrian psychiatrist who developed one of the most influential developmental theories that explained the psychosexual developmental stages in children.
He concluded that what we experience during childhood and our unconscious desires affect our behaviour after examining his female patients’ experience of physical symptoms and distress without any physical cause.
According to his theory, child development happens at various stages. Each stage focuses on the diverse pleasure areas of the human body. His theory includes the oral, anal, phallic, latent, and genital stages.
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The Social learning theory of Bandura
Albert Bandura, an American psychologist, proposed the social learning theory. Bandura did not believe that some behaviours of children are never reinforced. He believed that children observe, copy and build their behaviours and reactions based on others’ behaviour and reactions.
He suggested that observation is a critical part of learning. His social theory claims that both environmental and cognitive factors influence the overall development of human beings.
However, his theory was criticised for not including the biological factors or the autonomic nervous system response in children.
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