Developmental Psychology - Free Report Sample

Introduction

The developmental Psychology Approach refers to the psychological approach that explains growth, change, and consistency throughout a human's life (Allen et al., 2020, p.11). This psychological approach also looks at how individuals think, feel, and how their behavior changes. This approach allows scientists to study biological, emotional, and social processes (Allen et al., 2020, p.11). The main goal of this type of theory is to explain development by focussing on both patterns of change, which include the normative type of development and the idiographic type of development.

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In normative development, in this approach, it states that change is usually gradual (Allen et al., 2020, p.12). For example, in children, they tend to develop more skills in making conversations, talking, and growing taller (Allen et al., 2020, p.13). Psychologists believe that in this type of approach, individuals go through all the same stages, but their development is not usually through the same rate.

Erik Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development

The theorist believed that competence is the thing that motivates the behaviors and actions of individuals (Carels et al., 2019, p.99). Erikson believed that when the stages are handled well, one develops ego quality, but when the stages are poorly developed, one feels inadequacy. Erikson's psychosocial stages include the following: Stage 1: Trust Vs. Mistrust, Stage 2: Autonomy Vs. Shame and Doubt, Stage 3: Initiative Vs. Guilt, Stage 4: Industry Vs. Inferiority, Stage 5: Identity Vs. Confusion. Stage 6: Intimacy Vs. Isolation, Stage 7: Generativity Vs. Stagnation, Stage 8: Integrity Vs. Despair (Carels et al., 2019).

Cognitive Approach

The cognitive approach involves studying the mental processes; this entails everything that runs in one's mind; perception, memories, attention, learning, and other processes (Anicich & Hirsh, 2017, p.659). In cognitive approaches, Cognitive approach enables humans to understand the connections which revolve around concepts.

In the cognitive type of approach, it believes that the internal mental behaviors of individuals can get studied through the use of experiments. In the cognitive type of psychology, it assumes that the mediational process occurs between most of the stimulus.

Rational Emotive Therapy

Albert Ellis first introduced this theory. It is used to identify irrational beliefs and negative thoughts that may lead to the individual developing emotional or behavioral issues (Anicich & Hirsh, 2017, p.670). The Rational Emotive Theory is based on three core theories referred to as the ABCs; A- refers to the situation that activates or triggers the situation, B- it stands for irrational beliefs that an individual may have about a situation. C- Stands for the consequences that result from irrational thoughts and beliefs that an individual may develop.

Behavioral Approach

It refers to the scientific study of how the mind connects to one's behavior (Carels et al., 2019, p.100). This theory is based on how the human mind works and the impact it has on one's behavior, which includes one's thoughts together with emotions (Carels et al., 2019, p.102). In this approach, it states the idea that behavior is acquired through the process of conditioning; the process of condition occurs through the interactions in an environment (Carels et al., 2019, p.103). It also states that environmental stimuli shape one's actions. In behavioral psychology, it is made up of two types of conditioning: classical and operant conditioning (Carels et al., 2019, p.99). Classical conditioning refers to the type of technique used in behavioral training, which states that neutral stimulus is usually paired with naturally occurring stimuli.

In operant conditioning, which is also referred to as instrumental conditioning, it refers to the type of learning which takes place through reinforcements and punishments. In operant conditioning, an association is usually made between one's behavior and the consequence of this type of behavior.

Compare and Contrast Each Approach

The behavioral approach refers to the psychological approach, which suggests that for one to understand development, it is through observable behavior and external stimuli that are found in the environment (Filippi et al., 2018, p.1201). This theory majorly focusses on how humans respond to external stimuli other than emphasizing on how the internal factors motivate our actions (Sperry et al., 2019, p.98). For example, through the theory of classical conditioning, which states that one's responses to various situations are usually attached to the new environment or situations, a song that may play on the radio system may remind an individual of the memorable experiences they had (Filippi et al., 2018, p.1196). One agrees that the environment influences an individual's behavior. It is because through interactions of humans with the external environment, it influences their behaviors (Sperry et al., 2019, p.95). It is because humans are molded, conditioned, and defined to respond to some ways, for instance, when given praises or any forms of rewards (Filippi et al., 2018, p. 1207). In learning, the approach explains that for learning to take place, both stimuli and responses must occur at the same time.

The cognitive approach focuses on how the human's cognition changes over a specified duration in time (Gabana, 2017, p.8). These theory majors on how nature and human intelligence develops in stages. The theorist Piaget explains how the children develop inform of the stages, including sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operation throughout their lives (Gabana, 2017, p.4). One acknowledges the cognitive approach, unlike the behavioral, psychological approach, it is because this approach embraces the existence of internal mental processes (Thomas et al., 2020). The theory also goes on further and explains how the memory structure of an individual usually determines how the information in one's mind gets perceived, processed, and stored (Gabana, 2017, p.10). For example, individuals who have a higher Intelligent Quotient (IQ), which is a measure of an individual's reasoning capability, individuals with higher IQ tend to understand classwork more efficiently and perform exclusively well than other students in the class this is because their mind structure perceives information more differently and rapidly.

Conclusion

These psychological approaches majors on how feelings, behavioral changes, and thinking change in human life. In development approaches, psychologists use stability vs. change to explain further the development of humans (Gabana, 2017, p.15). For example, instability states that the personality traits of an individual that presents itself during infancy usually endures throughout the lifespan of an individual. One disagrees with this approach because the personality of an individual is modified through one's experiences in schools, family members, and the external environment. It means that an individual's personality can change and thus not stable.