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Theories of child development
Impact of role models on youngsters
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In this assignment, it will be discussing two theories of child development which are the social learning theory by Albert Bandura and the cognitive development by Jean Piaget. When discussing these two theories, it will be linked to child development and how it impacts adults working with children.
Child development theories focus on explaining how children change and can grow throughout their childhood. These theories centre on many aspects of child development whether it is physical, emotional, social or cognitive development. Hence why in this assignment, it will be discussing two psychological theories which will both be elaborating the development of children and what areas these developments are relevant to. The first theory which will be considered is the social learning theory, this theory was first proposed by Albert Bandura. The social learning theory is about how individuals can learn through observing others whether it is behaviour, attitude or the way they dress.
Albert Bandura had done an experiment called the Bodo Doll experiment which included an adult who is tasked to act aggressively towards the Bodo Doll and there were children around him which were told
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Furthermore, according to Bandura young children imitate adult’s aggressive actions that they see in a contrived social setting hence why when an adult behaves in an aggressive manner and the child imitates this it is thought to have been modelled or reinforced. The theory impacts adults working with children because moral thinking is also influenced by observation and modelling hence why kids observe adults which results into them learning how to choose between right and wrong by watching adults to make these
Cognitive development focuses on the person’s ability to intellect, perceive and process information. (35589) defined the cognitive ability as the process in which people learn, think and use language; it is the progression of their mental capacity from being irrational to rational (35589). Piaget and Vygotsky are two cognitive theorists whom were interested in the cognitive development of a person across their life span and its relation with social and environmental factors. Piaget is the most known cognitive theorist who affected the world of psychology greatly, and was a great influence to many psychologists out there; however his main intention was the innate maturity process and, unlike Vygotsky, he underestimated the role of language and social interaction and his theory wasn’t useful in the teaching field. However, both theorists believed that a person goes through a sequential process during their development. They were also both aware that one gains knowledge through experience and not through passive learning.
For this researchers the main question consist in weather to accept or not the existence of “cognitive universals” which the cultural context will condition and modernise (Laboratory of Comparative Human Cognition, 1983) in other words, if there are “equally valid patterns of life that mankind has created for himself”.(Das Gupta 1994). But in which ways these universal patterns are affected by historical and cultural context? What do different people expect from children and their development? Social influences have made many theories about child development arise and many other researches have been carried about this matter.
There are few fields within the child development science. One of them is represented by the psychoanalytical theory, which looks at the child emotional development within the context of social interaction and early attachments. This framework is called psychosocial as it looks on the emotional and social aspects. Running in parallel and influencing each other there are two more main areas, cognitive and physical. Although I am focusing on the aspects of the psychosocial development, it is important to remember that all these areas are being affected one by the other, where the development of the emotional skills plays central role in a regular development of cognitive and physical skills.
For this assignment I have chosen Jean Piaget’s cognitive development theory and Erik Erikson’s psychosocial development theory.
The social learning theory states, that an individual learn behavior through observing their environment as a child. “Without the process of reasoning observational learning cannot happen. Children witness the people around them behaving and acting in numerous ways. People that are being observed are best known as the “model”. In todays’ society children are surrounded by countless influential models, such as their mother and father within the family, characters on television, friends that they associate with and teachers at school. These people provide behavior examples that children watch closely and later imitate. Ki...
Bandura discusses the importance of observational learning. Bandura focuses mostly on how kids develop their habits based of their role models. Bandura shows this in the Bobo Doll Experiment. The Bobo Doll experiment consisted of 36 boys and 36 girls. They were then separated again into watching a video of a plastic doll called Bobo. Some children were separated by some adults aggressively beating up Bobo and the other half were calm adults. After they were showed the video, the kids were then shown to Bobo and the results matched the Social Learning Theory to the max. The kids that were show the aggressive videos were aggressive towards Bobo. Another Social Learning Theory can be told in my shoes because I have done something similar. I remember in fifth grade my older cousin would always ride his bike down the biggest hill without a helmet. I figured if he did and was okay, why can’t I? I learned the hard way and sliced my arm on a rock. Luckily I did not need stitches however, I did go to the doctors and got ointment for it. I still have the scar today. I feel like the Social Learning Theory has made an impact on my life because I have had the opportunity of having a role model. This role model has made a positive change to my life. Similar to Bobo, I have seen what negative role models have done for a person and how much it affects
The six recent theoretical perspectives of child development are important because they help people better understand how a child will develop. These theories gives can us an insight of the child’s thoughts, feelings, and ideas. As people began studying children they started to realize that they were not the perceived simple creatures but in contrast they were very complex. Studies of children have now started a debate with many people believing in some theories and others believing in opposite (even rival) claims. The main six theories are Freud's Psychosexual Developmental Theory, Erikson's Psychosocial Developmental Theory, Piaget's Cognitive Developmental Theory, Bowlby's Attachment Theory, Bandura's Social Learning Theory, and Vygotsky's
Bandura and his colleagues concluded from these findings that children’s behaviour can be influenced by witnessing violent acts due to the increased aggression demonstrated in the study by the experimental groups. However, the ecological validity of the Bobo doll studies is a matter for consideration, due to the artificial environment of the laboratory and how the children could potentially have perceived the expectations upon them. It could be argued that the participants felt that aggressive acts upon the doll was anticipated (a demand characteristic) and acceptable. Furthermore, whilst the experimental groups’ actions were interpreted by the researchers as aggressive, the participants’ behaviour towards an inanimate object which could be perceived as designed for the purpose of being hit (the Bobo doll) would not necessarily be reflected in a real-life situation towards living beings or in other
In regards to child development, Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky are both highly regarded and well known for their theories. Some educators view themselves as Piagetian while others view themselves as Vygotskians. They see Piaget and Vygotsky as being vastly different. Then there are others who see similarities between the two and hold both Piaget and Vygotsky as correct in their theories. The purpose of this paper is to examine the similarities and differences between Piaget and Vygotsky and determine what can be gained by better understanding these theories.
Social interaction plays an important role in people’s life starting from the early childhood as infants interact with their caregivers and build the emotional attachment that is the base for future relationships. By social interaction with others children learn how to communicate, play and behave in particular situation. Berk (2009) proposed the overview of the literature that concentrates upon the early attachment and its importance. Knowing the influence of social interaction on child development in the first few years, the essay is going to elaborate upon the implication of social interaction on the development of cognition. Cognitive development as Lee & Gupta (eds.) claimed is the term that refers to acquisition and development of knowledge and cognition, namely the processes such as memory, language, and problem – solving and drawing. When elaborating upon cognitive development, the three main aspects can be distinguished: the understanding of the objects by children, their ability to imitate caregivers and children’s ability to hold representations of the world (Oates, Wood & Grayson, 2005). All of the aspects play an important role in developing cognition of children and provide the explanation for the understanding of children’s learning influenced by social relationships and practices. In the essay there is going to be an emphasis on the social interaction between children and their caregivers and peer relations. To consider whether social interaction is a fundamental basis for cognitive development of children, there is going to be presented the overview of the literature that concentrates upon it. There are two fundamental theoretical frameworks that touch upon the subjects, namely the work of Piaget (1926) and Vygots...
Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky are two very well-known theorists who emphasized the development of cognition in their theories. In Piaget’s Cognitive Developmental theory, he claimed that children go through a series of stages, which he used to describe human development. In Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory of Learning, he believed culture and social interaction played a role in cognitive development. Although Piaget and Vygotsky both focused their theories on cognitive development they take different stances a series of developmental issues. This paper will look at the similarities and differences between these theorist’s views on critical developmental issues, such as view of human nature, mechanisms of development, and their
Therefore giving a very balanced view on the subject. It starts out with a thorough foundation on the science of child development, looking at the theories and the psychologists behind them. Figure 2.12 offers an at a glance comparison table of all five types of theories – their methodologies and problems. The opening story in this chapter about the lives of Erik Erikson and Jean Piaget highlights how an individual’s experiences impact on the path they will take in life, a pertinent point to make at the outset of this book. Research methods and their descriptions tie suitably into the theories they might be used for. Sections two and three are an engaging and sometimes surprising look at the numerous ways in which we develop and
Assignment 2: The Theories of Piaget and Kohlberg. Many researchers have written about child development, but none are quite as well known as Jean Piaget and Lawrence Kohlberg. Jean Piaget’s cognitive development theory and Lawrence Kohlberg’s moral development theory are essential for researchers to gain a better understanding of child development. While these theories are unique in explaining different types of child development, they have many similarities and differences as well.
Child development is the study of a child’s physical, emotional, cognitive, and social growth; as a study it assists people who are willing to learn about what may hinder as well as assist in a child growing up healthy and strong in today’s society from a physical and mental aspect. From startling cases of abuse of a child pertaining to physical abuse, neglect, sexual abuse or emotional maltreatment to the joys of how simply allowing a child to freely explore and play to assist in development physical as well as mental development. Theorists such as Jean Piaget, Erik Erikson, Urie Bronfrenbrenner and Lev Vygotsky have shared their theories and methods as well as research in the study of child development. In this essay, I plan to explain the
Jean Piaget(1929), widely known as one of the pioneers in investigating child development, has developed his theory on the basis of cognitive stages. He presents four aspects of the child `s concept formation: sensorimotor ,preoperational, concrete operational and formal operational. All of these stages suggest the emergence of development precedes the ability to learn. Moreover, It is emphasised on the intellectual development regardless of the cultural influences and specific individual differences. Therefore, human cognitive development is regarded as universal for all human species. On the one hand, Piaget sees the human internal conception in interaction with external world messages conveyed. On the other hand, a child`s ability to perceive cognitive information in an effective way is not clearly defined. Resulting from this, old experiences receive new names. According to Piaget th...