Compare and Contrast the Current Directions in Lifespan Psychology - Research Paper Example

? A research and analysis on 3 theoretical perspectives in lifespan or development psychology; psychoanalytic, cognitive and ethological development theories What makes you who you are? How did someone turn out the way that they did? What affects a child's mental or psychological development? These are some of the questions that many have been asking for a long time. Long have people wondered what affects a child’s personal development. These questions have gone unanswered for quite sometime, but because of our natural curiosity as people, many have speculated and theorized on this topic. Many of these theories were adapted into modern psychology and have developed into some of the most widely studied and debated developmental theories in modern psychology. This paper aims to discuss 3 of these lifespan or development theories with the help and input from articles and peer-reviewed journals and will discuss these theories, both individually, and as a whole. It aims to look at the details regarding these theories and provide its own feedback based on the information provided. This paper will tackle the cognitive, psychoanalytic and ethological development theories, summarize or discuss them then compare and contrast them in the last part of the paper. The researched has opted to discuss these theories due to their distinct differences or uniqueness. It aims to tackle these subjects as such: Discussion on the cognitive development theory Discussion on the psychoanalytic development theory Discussion on the ethological development theory Feedback on the 3 development theories Conclusion By breaking down the topics and discussing them individually, the research is geared to better grasp the concepts stated or provided in the theories and it is better equipped to culminate the information gathered and discuss it collectively as a whole before providing a conclusion at the end of the paper. Discussion on the cognitive development theory According to an article by learningandteaching.info, the cognitive theory was developed by Jean Piaget, a biologist who initially worked and studied on mollusks. The article tells us that he “moved into the study of the development of children's understanding, through observing them and talking and listening to them while they worked on exercises he set.” His theory asserts that in a child’s development, there are certain milestones or points which, according to the article, “move into completely new areas and capabilities”. These milestones come at certain times or ages of a child, which can be taken to mean that until a certain age comes, there are certain things that a child is incapable of understanding, no matter how intelligent. According to the article, this theory has been used by schools in the past when planning a curriculum. This theory sets aside outside stimulus and asserts that a child is simply not capable of learning certain things until a certain milestone or age is reached. This theory should quite rigid and has, at times, been refuted as many children have understood things earlier than he expected. Another article, this time by mesacc.edu provides us with information regarding Piaget’s stages of cognitive development. These stages are the sensorimotor from birth to 2 years of age, preoperational, from ages 2 to 7 years, concrete operational, from ages 7 to 11 years, and formal operational from ages 11 onwards. Another article by learning-theories.com helps us dive deeper into the theory and its stages. It helps us understand that the theories are actually different stages of how children make sense of the world around them. There have been many who have supported or built on this theory such as Neo-Piagetian Theorists who further the stages that Piaget presented, as well as other researchers such as Lev Vygotsky's who built on the theory but added importance to the environment and how it affects development. Discussion on the psychoanalytic development theory According to allpsych.com, this theory was developed by Sigmund Freud, whose life may be the best example of this theory. According to this theory, childhood experiences influenced behavior. According to psychology.about.com he theorized that development occurs through “psychosexual stages” and that conflicts that occur at each of the stages can have “a lifelong influence on personality and behavior.” Another article, this time, by psychoanalysistheory.blogspot.com, provides this research with information on Freud’s theory, and that it is divided into 3 parts; “the stages of development, the structure of the personality, and his description of mental life”. It also gives us a short, concise and clear idea about the stages of development in the psychoanalytic theory, known as the psychosexual development stages. These stages are divided into the oral stage, the anal stage, the phallic stage, followed by a latent period, then the genital stage. The names of each stage generally suggest the area of their bodies that they either explore, use to explore, or whatever is most developed. For example, in the oral stage, infants explore the world using their mouths. This includes placing toys in their mouths. The anal stage is the stage where children learn to control their bowels. According to the article by psychoanalysistheory.blogspot.com, the most controversial stage is the phallic stage. This is the time when children learn a sense of sexual identity. This is also the time where the so called “Oedipus complex” and “Electra complex” are developed. In all, this theory has similarities to the cognitive theory in the sense that it also shows stages of development. The difference in the 2 theories is that the first one used the stages as benchmarks or development that a child reaches. This theory uses the stages as description points of what is developing at a certain time. Over time, others have used and developed this theory to include more stages, or a more refined approach such as Erikson. Discussion on the ethological development theory According to an article by sasked.gov.sk.ca, the ethological development theory revolves around the influence of biology to someone’s development. It is also linked to evolution and according to the article, is “characterized by critical or sensitive periods” It mentions that evolutionary or ethological approaches sprung from the work of Charles Darwin. According to the article, a supporting study of this theory was conducted by Konrad Lorenz when he discovered “that newborn geese are genetically preprogrammed to become attached to the first moving object they see after birth”. This showed that a behavior can be linked to genetics and can be passed down from parent to offspring. This theory is an important part of behavioral genetics. According to the article, behavioral genetics “studies the effects of heredity and genetics on behavior”. An article by personalityresearch.org helps us to better understand ethological development on more levels and it helps by digging deeper and assessing the theory on multiple aspects. The article defines Ethology as “the adaptive, or survival, value of behavior and its evolutionary history”. It then analyzes information about ethology and the ethological theory of development. It explains certain behaviors in both animals and children that connect to ethology. In the end, this theory differs from the first 2 theories that were discussed because it has an internal source for a person’s development and it presets a person to having certain developments or behaviors due to his or her genetics or biology. This is a very different approach from the first 2 theories that rely on steps of development and external stimuli or experience in order for a person to develop a certain set of behaviors. Feedback on the 3 development theories Based on the information provided by the articles and sources, we can definitely say that these theories have very different, sometimes contradicting approaches to understanding a person’s development. The cognitive theory asserts that children learn things in stages and are unable to do so before a certain age or level is reached, while the Freudian or psychoanalytic theory gauges a child’s development in stages or levels base on which part of his or her body is developing most and their behavior is affected by events that happen during these stages. In contrast to this, the ethological theory pegs biology or genetic as the determining factor for a persons behavior. Despite these ideas and theories sounding very different, a harmony can be met between them. These theories formulate ideas about what affects a child’s development, but that does not mean that those are the only factors that affect development. We must understand that there are many factors or stimuli that affect how someone develops. This is a possibility that all 3 of these theories have points of truth being that some of their factors really may have an effect on a person’s development. Despite their differences, they do provide us with important insight on what may affect a person’s future behavior. Conclusion This paper feels that all 3 of these theories have great and useful basis to them and that they are all very important in determining behavioral effects on a person as they grow older. A person’s behavior may be the product of a collection of stimuli and trauma or emotional events that happened to them in the past, as well as some genetic instincts carried from generation to generation. In the end, all of these theories can definitely help in studying personal development and behavior. Resources AllPsych online (September 2004) Sigmund Freud's View of Personality at allpsych.com Retrieved November 30th, 2011 from http://allpsych.com/personalitysynopsis/freud.html Atherton J S (2011) Learning and Teaching; Piaget's developmental theory [On-line: UK] retrieved 30 November 2011 from http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/piaget.htm Cherry K (2011) Psychoanalytic Theories of Development at psychology.about.com Retrieved November 30th, 2011 from http://psychology.about.com/od/developmentecourse/a/dev_psychoanaly.htm Developmental Psychology Student Netletter (ND) The Cognitive Perspective at mesacc.edu . Retrieved November 30th, 2011 from http://www.mesacc.edu/dept/d46/psy/dev/Fall98/Theories/Cog.html Learning Theories Knowledgebase (November 2011). Stage Theory of Cognitive Development (Piaget) at Learning-Theories.com. Retrieved November 30th, 2011 from http://www.learning-theories.com/piagets-stage-theory-of-cognitive-development.html Pendry P. (1998) Ethological Attachment Theory: A Great Idea in Personality? At personalityresearch.org Retrieved November 30th, 2011 from http://www.personalityresearch.org/papers/pendry.html Psychology Campus (2008) Theories of Cognitive Development at psychologycampus.com Retrieved November 30th, 2011 from http://www.psychologycampus.com/cognitive-psychology/development-theories.html Theoretical Perspectives on Human Development (ND) The Evolutionary Perspective: Focusing on biology as the determinant of development. at sasked.gov.sk.ca Retrieved November 30th, 2011 from http://www.sasked.gov.sk.ca/docs/social/psych30/support_materials/theoretical_perspectives_hd.htm Theory of Psychoanalysis (October 2007) Freud' Stages of Development at psychoanalysistheory.blogspot.com Retrieved November 30th, 2011 from http://psychoanalysistheory.blogspot.com/2007/10/freud-stages-of-development.html Read More