Theories of Child and

Adolescent Development
Theories
 What is a theory?
 Orderly set of ideas which describe, explain, and
predict behavior.

 Why are theories important?

 To give meaning to what we observe.
 As a basis for action -- finding ways to improve
the lives and education of children.
 Help you interpret what you observe in children,
and suggest the best way to promote their
development
 The theories of human
development
1. Behavioural Theories
1.1. Classical Conditioning (Ivan Pavlov)
1.2. Operant Conditioning (B.F. Skinner)
2. Cognitive Theories
2.1. Cognitive Development Theory
(Jean Piaget)
2.2. Socio-Cultural Theory (Lev Vygotsky)
The theories of human development

3. Psychosocial Theory (Erik Erikson)

4. Psychodynamic Theory
(Sigmund Freud)
5. Constructivist Theory (Jerome Bruner)
6. Bioecological Theory
(Urie Bronfenbrenner)
 Behavioral Theories

Beliefs that describe the

importance of the environment and
nurturing in the growth of a child.
Behaviorism
1. Behavioural Theories
1.1. Classical Conditioning
(Ivan Pavlov)

1.2. Operant Conditioning

(B.F. Skinner)
Behaviorism
 Developed as a response to
psychoanalytical theories.

 Behaviorism became the dominant

view from the 1920's to 1960's.
Definitions
 Learning
A relatively permanent change in behavior due to experience
 Behaviorism

Emphasizes observable behavior and the environment in

behavior
 Conditioning

The association between environmental stimuli and the

organism’s responses
 Ivan Pavlov and Classical
Conditioning
 One of most famous contributors in the study of learning is Ivan
Pavlov (1849-1936).
 Originally studying salivation and digestion, Pavlov stumbled upon
what has become known as “classical conditioning” while he was
experimenting on his dog.
 Classical Conditioning: A form of learning that occurs when a
previously neutral stimulus is linked to another neutral stimulus and
therefore acquires the power to elicit a consistent and innate reflex.
Upon repetition, the individual will come to expect this response.
Classical Conditioning
A neutral stimulus brings about a response by
association with a stimulus that already brings about
a similar response
Ivan Pavlov – Russian psychologist
 Classical Conditioning
Unconditioned stimulus (US)
Elicits a response automatically
Ex. Food

Unconditioned response (UR)

The reflexive response to a
stimulus – automatically produced
Ex. Salivation
Classical Conditioning
Learning occurs when pair neutral stimulus with an
unconditioned stimulus.
Neutral: does not yet produce automatic response
Classical Conditioning
Conditioned stimulus (CS)
Was neutral, now elicits conditioned response after being
paired with an unconditioned stimulus

Conditioned response (CR)

A response elicited by the conditioned stimulus.
Occurs after the CS is associated with the US.
Is usually similar to the CS
 Classical Conditioning
Extinction (Learned behavior can be unlearned)
The conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus are
repeatedly not paired until the conditioned stimulus no
longer elicits the conditioned response.

Providing the conditioned stimulus (bell) without the

unconditioned stimulus (food) until the conditioned stimulus
(bell) no longer elicits the conditioned response (salivation);
that is, if conditioned dogs hear the bell repeatedly but do not
receive food, after a while salivation will stop.
Classical Conditioning Examples
Example: Math anxiety

If you are repeatedly humiliated (UCS) for doing poorly

on math problems, you might be conditioned to
associate math with humiliation and learn to feel
anxious at the sight of math problems (CS)
 Classical Conditioning and
Educational Implications
1. Fear, love, and hatred towards specific subjects are
created through conditioning. For example a Math
teacher with his or her defective method of teaching
and improper behavior in the classroom may be
disliked by learners. The Learners develop hatred
towards Math due to teacher's behavior.
 Classical Conditioning and
Educational Implications
2. The good method and kind treatment, a teacher can
bring desirable impacts upon the LEARNERS. The
LEARNERS may like the boring subject because of
teacher's role.
 Classical Conditioning and
Educational Implications
3. In teaching A.V. aid’s role is very vital .When a
teacher want to teach a cat. He or she shows the
picture of the cat along with the spellings. When
teacher shows picture at the same time he or she spell
out the spellings, after a while when only picture is
shown, the learners spell the word cat.
 Classical Conditioning and
Educational Implications
4. Pavlov’s classical conditioning theory can be used
for developing good habits and elimination of bad
ones and various kinds of phobias can be controlled
through it.
Classical Conditioning:
Learning to fear
Research suggests we can learn
fear through association.

Watson and Raynor conditioned “Little Albert”

to be afraid of white rats by pairing the neutral
stimulus (rats) with an unconditioned stimulus (loud
noise). Within days, Albert was afraid of rats, and
his fear generalized to other furry objects.
 John Watson
 Early 20th century,
"Father of American
Behaviorist theory.”
 Based his work on Pavlov's
experiments on the
digestive system of dogs.
 Researched classical
www.psych.utah.edu./…/Cards/Wa tson.html
conditioning
 Children are passive
beings who can be molded
by controlling the
stimulus-response
associations.
 Behaviorism
 Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and
my own specified world to bring them up in and I’ll
guarantee to take any one at random and train him
to become any type of specialist I might select –
doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief and yes, even
beggar-man and thief, regardless of his talents,
penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race
of his ancestors. (Watson, 1924, p.82)
 B. F. Skinner
Operant Conditioning
Classical vs. Operant Conditioning
 With classical conditioning you can teach a dog to
salivate, but you cannot teach it to sit up or roll over.
Why?

 Salivation is an involuntary reflex, while sitting up and rolling over are far
more complex responses that we think of as voluntary.
 Operant Conditioning
Operant Conditioning: A form of learning in which
the probability of a behavioral response is changed by its
consequences…that is, by the stimuli that follows the
response.

HINT: An operant is an observable behavior that an

organism uses to “operate” in its environment.
Effects of Operant Conditioning
 Behavioral responses are strengthened when
followed by a reinforcer:

 …and diminished when followed by a punisher

 B.F. Skinner (1904-1990)
 B.F. Skinner became
famous for his ideas in
behaviorism and his work
with rats.

 Edward Thornike’s
“Law of Effect”:
The idea that behaviors followed by
favorable consequences are more likely
to happen again while behaviors followed
by unfavorable consequences become
less likely.
B.F. Skinner and The Skinner
Box
Operant Chamber: a chamber with a bar or a key that an
animal can manipulate to obtain a food or water reinforce
while an attached device records the animal’s rate of bar-
pressing or key turning.
Reinforcement
 A reinforcer is a condition in which the presentation or
removal of a stimulus, that occurs after a response
(behavior), strengthens that response or makes it more
likely to happen again in the future.

 Positive Reinforcement: A stimulus presented after a

response that increases the probability of that response
happening again.

 Ex: Getting paid for good grades or gaining

privileges at home for good behavior
Negative Reinforcement
 Negative Reinforcement: The removal of an
unpleasant or averse stimulus that increases the
probability of that response happening again.
 Ex: Taking Advil to get rid of a headache.
 Ex: Putting on a seatbelt to make the annoying seatbelt buzzer stop.

 REMEMBER: When we are talking about reinforcers

or punishers, the word “positive” means add or
apply; “negative” is used to mean subtract or remove.
Punishment
 A punishment is an averse/disliked stimulus which
occurs after a behavior, and decreases the probability
it will occur again.

 Positive Punishment: An undesirable event that follows a

behavior: like getting detention after cheating on a test.
Punishment
 Negative Punishment: When a desirable event
ends or when an item is taken away after a
behavior.
 Example: getting your cell phone taken away after
failing multiple classes on your progress report.
 Think of how parents give their kids a “time-out” (to take
away time from a fun activity with the hope that it will stop
the unwanted behavior in the future.)
 Reinforcement/Punishment Matrix

The consequence The consequence The predicted effect

provides something takes something away
($, a spanking…) (removes headache,
timeout)

The consequence
Positive Negative makes the behavior
Reinforcement Reinforcement more likely to happen
in the future.

Positive Negative The consequence

makes the behavior
Punishment Punishment less likely to happen in
the future.
Reinforcement vs. Punishment
 Unlike reinforcement, punishment must be
administered consistently. Intermittent punishment
is far less effective than punishment delivered after
every undesired behavior. [In fact, not punishing every
misbehavior can have the effect of rewarding the behavior.]

 It is important to remember that the learner, not the

teacher, decides if something is reinforcing or
punishing.
 For instance: Redi-Whip vs. Easy Cheese
 Uses and Abuses of Punishment
 Punishment often produces an immediate change in
behavior, which ironically reinforces the punisher.
 However, punishment rarely works in the long run for four reasons:

1. The power of punishment to suppress behavior usually disappears

when the threat of punishment is gone.
2. Punishment triggers escape or aggression.
3. Punishment makes the learner apprehensive: inhibits learning.
4. Punishment is often applied unequally.
Making Punishment Work
 To make punishment work:
 Punishment should be swift.
 Punishment should be certain-every time.
 Punishment should be limited in time and intensity.
 Punishment should clearly target the behavior, not the
person.
 Punishment should not give mixed messages.
 The most effective punishment is often omission
training-negative punishment.
Reinforcement Schedules
 Continuous Reinforcement: A reinforcement schedule
under which all correct responses are reinforced.

 This is a useful tactic early in the learning

process. It also helps when “shaping” new
behavior.

 Shaping: A technique where new behavior is produced by

reinforcing responses that are similar to the desired
response.

Dog training requires

continuous reinforcement
Continuous Reinforcement
 Continuous Reinforcement:
A schedule of reinforcement
that rewards every correct
response given.

Where can you always get

continuous reinforcement?
 Example: A vending machine.
 Exercises
 Every time a child gets put into time-out that involves
NOT participating in a fun activity in order to decrease
a behavior, that child is experiencing:
A. positive punishment
B. positive reinforcement
C. negative punishment
D. negative reinforcement

Answer: C. negative punishment

 Exercises
 Max is ignoring assignments for English, so his parents have
him wash the dishes each time his homework or test grade is
below a C (and he hates washing dishes). Max is bringing home
fewer English assignments with grades below a C. According to
operant conditioning, how is Max being conditioned?
A. positive punishment
B. positive reinforcement
C. negative punishment
D. negative reinforcement
Answer: A. positive punishment
 Exercises
 Jenny hates listening to her dogs whine. Every time the dogs
whine, she gives them a treat to shut them up. As a result,
Jenny buys dog treats several times a week so she doesn’t
have to listen to her dogs whining. According to operant
conditioning, how is Jenny being conditioned?
A. positive punishment
B. positive reinforcement
C. negative punishment
D. negative reinforcement
Answer: D. negative reinforcement
 Exercises
 Coach J runs a tight team and expects all of his student athletes to show
up to practice on time. Each time every athlete is ready on time for
practice, Coach allows them a choice of where to cool down after
practice. His athletes love being able to choose how they cool down after
practice, so the on-time attendance rates for all have increased. According
to operant conditioning, how is Coach J conditioning his athletes?
A. positive punishment
B. positive reinforcement
C. negative punishment
D. negative reinforcement
 Exercises
 Coach J runs a tight team and expects all of his student athletes to show
up to practice on time. Each time every athlete is ready on time for
practice, Coach allows them a choice of where to cool down after
practice. His athletes love being able to choose how they cool down after
practice, so the on-time attendance rates for all have increased. According
to operant conditioning, how is Coach J conditioning his athletes?
A. positive punishment
B. positive reinforcement
C. negative punishment
D. negative reinforcement

Answer: B. positive reinforcement

 Exercises
 Hannah is a good student at school. She likes getting gold stickers to
put on a chart for every time she reads a book. Hannah is the best
reader in class with the most stars. According to Skinner, how is
Hannah being conditioned?
A. positive punishment
B. positive reinforcement
C. negative punishment
D. negative reinforcement
 Exercises
 Hannah is a good student at school. She likes getting gold stickers to
put on a chart for every time she reads a book. Hannah is the best
reader in class with the most stars. According to Skinner, how is
Hannah being conditioned?
A. positive punishment
B. positive reinforcement
C. negative punishment
D. negative reinforcement

Answer: B. positive reinforcement