Chapter Preview A developmental theory provides a framework of ideas that permits a cohesive view of development, produces new hypotheses to test, generates discoveries, and offers practical guidance. This chapter describes and evaluates five broad theoriespsychoanalytic theory, behaviorism, cognitive theory, sociocultural theory, and universal theory (humanism and evolutionary theory)that will be used throughout the book to present information and to provide a framework for interpreting events and issues in human development. Because each theory emphasizes a different aspect of development and is, in itself, too restricted to explain the diverse ways in which development occurs, the theories may be said to complement one another. Three of the theories presentedpsychoanalytic theories, behaviorism, and cognitive theoriesare grand theories that are comprehensive in scope but inadequate in the face of more recent research findings. Three newer theories of developmentsociocultural, humanistic, and evolutionaryare also discussed. Each theory has contributed to our understanding of development. Psychoanalytic theory has helped to focus attention on the importance of early experiences and potential conflicts in daily life. Behaviorism has increased awareness of the ways in which the environment influences development. Cognitive theory has broadened our understanding of how thinking influences behavior. Sociocultural theory has reminded us that development is embedded in a rich and multifaceted cultural context and universal theory has called attention to the fact that all humans are basically alike. Most developmentalists today have adopted an eclectic perspective. In other words, they apply insights gleaned from various theoretical views rather than limiting themselves to only one school of thought. Chapter Guide I. What Theories Do 1. A developmental theory is a statement of principles and generalizations that provides a coherent framework for understanding how and why people change as they grow older. 2. Developmental theories produce hypotheses, generate discoveries, and offer practical guidance. 3. Five developmental theories are discussed in this chapter psychoanalytic, behaviorist, cognitive, sociocultural, and universal. Each theory interprets human development from a distinct perspective, and each provides guidance for understanding how human experiences and behaviors change over time. II. Grand Theories 1. Psychoanalytic theory interprets human development in terms of inner drives and motives, many of which are irrational and unconscious. 2. According to Sigmund Freud, development in the first six years progresses through three stages at each stage, sexual interest and pleasure are focused on a particular part of the bodythe mouth during infancy (the oral stage), the anus during early childhood (the anal stage), and the genitalia later in the preschool years (the phallic stage). Following a period of sexual latency, the adolescent enters the fourth stage, the genital stage, which lasts throughout adulthood. 3. Freud believed that each stage has its own potential conflicts and that how the child experiences and resolves the conflicts, especially during the first three stages, determines personality patterns throughout life. 4. According to Freud, the personality has three parts the id (unconscious drives), the superego (the conscience), and the ego (the conscious self). 5. In his theory of human development, Erik Erikson proposed eight developmental stages, each of which is characterized by a particular challenging developmental crisis. Erikson emphasized each persons relationship to the social environment and the importance of family and cultural influences in determining how well prepared individuals are to meet these crises. Eriksons stages are lifelong. 6. Instead of advancing a stage theory of development, proponents of behaviorism (also called learning theory) have formulated laws of behavior that
