1. Bandura's Social Learning Theory
1.1. By observing the actions of others, including parents and peers, children develop new skills and acquire new information
2. Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory
2.1. Learning is an inherently social process
2.2. Parents, caregivers, peers and the culture at large are responsible for developing higher-order processes
2.3. Zone of Proximal Development
2.3.1. Gap between what a person can do with help, and what they can do on their own
2.3.2. With the help of more knowledgeable others people can progressively learn and increase their skills and scope of understanding
3. Bowlby's Attachment Theory
3.1. Early relationships with caregivers play a major role in development, and influence lifelong social relationships
3.2. Children are born with an innate need to form attachments
3.2.1. To aid survival by ensuring care and protection
3.2.2. To have a safe haven and secure base for exploration
3.2.3. Attachment styles are characterised by clear behavioural and motivational patterns
3.2.3.1. Secure
3.2.3.1.1. Due to caregiver being a source of safety and comfort
3.2.3.1.2. Distress when separated from caregiver, joy when reunited
3.2.3.1.3. While upset at being left, they feel assured their caregiver will return
3.2.3.1.4. When frightened, comfortable seeking reassurance from caregiver
3.2.3.2. Ambivalent
3.2.3.2.1. Due to lack of dependability due to poor caregiver availability
3.2.3.2.2. Very distressed when caregiver leaves
3.2.3.2.3. Significant fear of stranger
3.2.3.2.4. Approach caregiver but avoid contact when they return
3.2.3.3. Avoidant
3.2.3.3.1. Due to abusive/neglectful caregivers - punished for relying on them and so avoid seeking help
3.2.3.3.2. No interest whether caregiver comes or goes
3.2.3.3.3. No preference between caregiver or stranger
3.2.3.4. Disorganised
3.2.3.4.1. Due to caregiver showing inconsistent behaviour - they are a source of comfort and fear
3.2.3.4.2. Avoid/resist caregiver
3.2.3.4.3. Confusing mix of behaviour, seeming disoriented, dazed or confused
3.2.4. Proximity Maintenance
3.2.4.1. Like an invisible cord that connects the child to the caregiver
3.2.4.1.1. Where the child will explore a certain distance away from the caregiver and at that certain distance look to make sure the caregiver is still there - if the caregiver is not, they will go looking for them
3.2.5. Babies experience stress
3.2.5.1. Caregiver responds and comforts - stress dissipates
3.2.5.1.1. Secure attachment
3.2.5.2. Caregiver ignores and doesn't comfort - stress builds, child is unable to regulate their own feelings, so the physiological response that was made to protect us (to elicit caregiver response of giving safety and comfort) becomes toxic
3.2.5.2.1. Results in dysfunctional hormone release and thus behavioural problems, as well as physical health issues over the lifespan
4. Freud's Psychosexual Development Theory
4.1. Child's urges are basically selfish and aggressive
4.1.1. Biological forces push the child through the stages (with influence from parents)
4.2. Development is stage-like, and stages are universal
4.3. Conflicts that occur during each stage can have a lifelong influence on personality and behaviour
4.4. The energy of the libido is focussed on different erogenous zones at specific stages
4.4.1. Failure to resolve the conflict of a stage can result in fixations that can have an influence on adult behaviour
4.4.2. Successfully completing each stage results in the development of a healthy adult personality
5. Erikson's Psychosocial Development Theory
5.1. Social interaction and experience plays decisive roles in development
5.2. During each of the 8 stages, people are faced with a developmental conflict, a major turning point, that impacts later functioning and growth
5.2.1. Successfully completing each stage leads to lifelong psychological virtue
5.2.1.1. Stage 1 - Trust v Mistrust -> Hope
5.2.1.1.1. 0 - 18 months
5.2.1.2. Stage 2 - Autonomy v Shame/Doubt -> Will
5.2.1.2.1. 18 months - 3 years
5.2.1.3. Stage 3 - Initiative v Guilt -> Purpose
5.2.1.3.1. 3 - 5 years
5.2.1.4. Stage 4 - Industry v Inferiority -> Competence
5.2.1.4.1. 6 - 11 years
5.2.1.5. Stage 5 - Identity v Role Confusion -> Fidelity
5.2.1.5.1. 12 - 18 years
5.2.1.6. Stage 6 - Intimacy v Isolation -> Love
5.2.1.6.1. 19 - 40 years
5.2.1.7. Stage 7 - Generativity v Stagnation -> Care
5.2.1.7.1. 40 - 65 years
5.2.1.8. Stage 8 - Ego Integrity v Despair -> Wisdom
5.2.1.8.1. 65 years - death
6. Behavioural Development Theories
6.1. Environmental interaction influences behaviour; experience shapes who we are
6.2. Development is a reaction to rewards, punishments, stimuli and reinforcement
6.3. Classical conditioning
6.3.1. Learning by pairing a natural stimulus with a previously neutral stimulus
6.4. Operant conditioning
6.4.1. Utilises reinforcement and punishment to modify behaviours
7. Piaget's Cognitive Development Theory
7.1. The development of thought processes and mental states influence how we understand and interact with the world
7.2. Children are born with predominantly positive tendencies such as curiousity
7.3. Both nature and nurture are important
7.4. Development is stage-like, and stages are universal
7.5. Four Stages of Development
7.5.1. Sensorimotor Stage
7.5.1.1. 0 - 2
7.5.1.1.1. Behaviour limited to simple motor responses caused by sensory stimuli
7.5.2. Pre-Operational Stage
7.5.2.1. 2 - 6
7.5.2.1.1. Learns language
7.5.2.1.2. Do not understand concrete logic
7.5.2.1.3. Cannot manipulate information
7.5.2.1.4. Cannot comprehend others' POV
7.5.3. Concrete Operational Stage
7.5.3.1. 7 - 11
7.5.3.1.1. Think logically about concrete events
7.5.3.1.2. Cannot understand abstract or hypothetical concepts
7.5.4. Formal Operation Stage
7.5.4.1. 12+
7.5.4.1.1. Can comprehend abstract concepts
7.5.4.1.2. Develops logical thought, deductive reasoning and systematic planning
8. *Majority of these theories are based on the population of the WEIRD society which makes up approximately 5% of the human population, and cannot account for cultural variability, is not in line with the evolutionary concept of adaptation and thus cannot be generalized across the human race, only to the population which exists in the WEIRD society, and thus is not universal
8.1. eg. many communities around the world do not experience stranger anxiety, many have multiple caregivers,are expected to grow up in the normal daily social lives of the group, not separate from adults in fact not considered an independent agent but instead nested within the identify of their parents, wider kin group and community at large, and begin contributing to the group as soon as they can
8.2. Assessment procedures relying on Western values and standards of behaviour are inappropriate outside their cultural territory
8.3. Universality promotes a description of parenting as well as a moral statement - what a caregiver should do and what a good caregiver is and is not - it gives a moral judgement of the quality of other parenting practises
8.3.1. Many WEIRD people see other parenting practices as
8.3.1.1. Intrusive and unresponsive (not following infant's lead)
8.3.1.2. Harsh (motor and rhythmic handling)
8.3.1.3. Emotionally distant (not expressing emotions openly)
8.3.1.4. Neglectful (not interacting primarily verbal)
8.3.1.5. Unable to mentalise (not talking about infant's inner mental state)
8.3.2. There are many, many cultures out there each with their own history, values, norms, standards and beliefs, many of which may not mesh well with our own, or that we may struggle to understand or accept. But they are nonetheless valid and must be accounted for in working with an ever diversifying population
8.3.3. Western interventions often don't take into account the required competences within a different cultural environment and how altering one dimension of behaviour/development (by a process developed in a WEIRD country) may affect the indidividual's ability to function appropriately within their own society