notion of unconscious processes of which we are unaware, the importance of early family experience, and the role of emotions in development (Bargh, 2013). Another reason why Freud’s theory tends to be unpopular with developmental scientists is that it cannot be directly tested and is therefore not supported by research (Miller, 2016). How are we to study unconscious drives, for instance, when we are not aware of them?
Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory
Erik Erikson (1902–1994) was influenced by Freud, but he placed less emphasis on unconscious motivators of development and instead focused on the role of the social world, society, and culture. Erikson posed a lifespan theory of development, as shown in Table 1.3. According to this theory, individuals progress through eight psychosocial stages that include changes in how they understand and interact with others, as well as changes in how they understand themselves and their roles as members of society (Erikson, 1950) (see Table 1.3). Each stage presents a unique developmental task, which Erikson referred to as a crisis or conflict that must be resolved. How well individuals address the crisis determines their ability to deal with the demands made by the next stage of development.
Table 1.2
Regardless of their success in resolving a crisis of a given stage, individuals are driven by biological maturation and social expectations to the next psychosocial stage. No crisis is ever fully resolved, and unresolved crises are revisited throughout life. Although Erikson believed that it is never too late to resolve a crisis, resolving a crisis from a previous stage may become more challenging over time as people focus on current demands and the crises of their current psychosocial stages.
Erik Erikson (1902–1994) posited that, throughout their lives, people progress through eight stages of psychosocial development.
Jon Erikson/Science Source
Erikson’s psychosocial theory is well regarded as one of the first lifespan views of development. He took a positive view of development and included the role of society and culture by basing his theory on a broad range of cases, including larger and more diverse samples of people than did Freud. Erikson’s theory is criticized as difficult to test, but it has nonetheless sparked research on specific stages, most notably on the development of identity during adolescence and the drive to guide youth and contribute to the next generation during middle adulthood (Crain, 2016). Erikson’s lifespan theory of development holds implications for every period of life. We will revisit his theory throughout this book.
Table 1.3
Behaviorist and Social Learning Theories
In response to psychoanalytic theorists’ emphasis on the unconscious as an invisible influence on development and behavior, some scientists pointed to the importance of studying observable behavior rather than thoughts and emotion, which cannot be seen or objectively verified. Theorists who study behaviorism examine only behavior that can be observed and believe that all behavior is influenced by the physical and social environment. For example, consider this famous quote from John Watson (1925), a founder of 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. (p. 82)
By controlling an infant’s physical and social environment, Watson believed he could control the child’s destiny. Behaviorist theory is also known as learning theory because it emphasizes how people and animals learn new behaviors as a function of their environment. As discussed in the following sections, classical and operant conditioning are two forms of behaviorist learning; social learning integrates elements of behaviorist theory and information processing theories.
Classical Conditioning
Classical conditioning is a form of learning in which a person or animal comes to associate environmental stimuli with physiological responses. Ivan Pavlov (1849–1936), a Russian physiologist, discovered the principles of classical conditioning when he noticed that dogs naturally salivate when they taste food, but they also salivate in response to various sights and sounds that occur before they taste food, such as their bowl clattering or their owner opening the food cupboard. Pavlov tested his observation by pairing the sound of a tone with the dog’s food; the dogs heard the tone, then received their food. Soon the tone itself began to elicit the dogs’ salivation. Through classical conditioning, a neutral stimulus (in this example, the sound of the tone) comes to elicit a response originally produced by another stimulus (food). Classical conditioning has been observed in newborns, as shown in Figure 1.4. Many fears, as well as other emotional associations, are the result of classical conditioning. For example, some children may fear a trip to the doctor’s office because they associate the doctor’s office with the discomfort they felt upon receiving a vaccination shot. Classical conditioning applies to physiological and emotional responses only, yet it is a cornerstone of psychological theory. A second behaviorist theory accounts for voluntary, nonphysiological responses, as described in the following section.
Ivan Pavlov (1849–1936) discovered classical conditioning when he noticed that dogs naturally salivate when they taste food, but they also salivate in response to various sights and sounds that they associate with food.
Sovfoto/Newscom
Operant Conditioning
Perhaps it is human nature to notice that the consequences of our behavior influence our future behavior. A teenager who arrives home after curfew and is greeted with a severe scolding may be less likely to return home late in the future. An employer who brings coffee and muffins to her staff on Monday morning and then notices that her employees are in good spirits and productive may be more likely to bring them snacks in the future. These two examples illustrate the basic tenet of B. F. Skinner’s (1905–1990) theory of operant conditioning, which holds that behavior becomes more or less probable depending on its consequences. According to Skinner, a behavior followed by a rewarding or pleasant outcome, called reinforcement, will be more likely to recur, but one followed by an aversive or unpleasant outcome, called punishment, will be less likely to recur.
Figure 1.4 Classical Conditioning in a Newborn
Classical conditioning has been observed in newborns, who naturally make sucking movements (unconditioned response) in response to sugar water (unconditioned stimulus). When stroking the forehead (neutral stimulus) is paired with sugar water, infants come to make sucking movements (conditioned response) in response to forehead strokes (conditioned stimulus).
Operant conditioning
