Theories of human development

1. Philosophical view:
• Tabula rasa
• Innate goodness view
1. Psychodynamic/ Psychoanalytic Theories
• Sigmund Freud’s Theory.
• Freud’s psychosexual theory
2. Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory
• Humanistic Theories
• Carl Roger’s Theory
3. Behaviouristic Theories
• Ivan Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning Theory
• Frederick Skinner’s Operant Conditioning Theory
• Clark Hull's Theory of Human Behavior
4. Cognitive Theory
• Jean Piaget’s Theory
• Bruner’s theory
5. Moral development Theory
• Kohlberg’s theory
6. Learning theory/ Trial and error theory
• Thorndike's theory of Learning.
7. Social learning theory
• Albert bandura theory of social learning.
8. Social cultural theory.
• Vygotsky’s theory
9. Ecological system theory
• Urie Bronfenbrenner’s theory.
Theories of human development
1. Historical view of childhood:
• Earlier childhood wasn’t considered different from adulthood.
• Children were considered as the “miniature adults.”
• Today childhood has become a unique period.
Philosophical view:
Philosophical views portrayed children as:
1. Tabula rasa:
• It is given by John Locke.
• Tabula is a Roman word meaning ‘wax tablet’.
• He said that at birth, children were blank slates (tabula rasa) and that what they became
was dependent on learning and experience. Therefore, their environment determines their
development.
• Children grows and learn from environment.
2. Innate goodness view:
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–78) during the eighteenth century, stressed the inherent
goodness of children.
• He believed that children should be allowed to grow naturally without too much parental
monitoring or constraint.
• Children are noble savages. When children are born with the goodness, they don’t have
to be nurtured or told everything about the environment.
• They have knowledge about right or wrong.
Psychoanalytic Theory
• Psychoanalysis was founded by Sigmund Freud. He has worked with Erikson to develop
psychoanalytic theory of human development.
• Psychoanalytic Theory described by Id, Ego and Super Ego.
Id:
• It is the original personality. It is the largest portion of mind, is the source, basic biological
needs and desires.
• It consists of psychological that is inherited and that is present at birth.
• Freud called the Id as 'true psychic reality'.
• It represents inner world (unconscious mind) devoid of knowledge of objective reality.
• It does not have grasp over reality or consequences.
Ego:
• It helps in maintaining reality sense of an individual.
• It helps the individual to create a balance between pleasure and pain.
• It is conscious and rational part of personality.
• It helps to separate what is real, and reality of our drives. At the same time, it is also
realistic about the standards set by the superego.
• The ego is responsible for higher cognitive functions such as intelligence, thoughtfulness
and learning.
• The basic difference between Id and Ego is that Id knows only the need of mind. But Ego
distinguishes between need of mind and the reality.
• The Ego is said to obey the reality principle.

Super Ego:
• It develops around the age of 4 or 5. It is about mortality.
• It is also known as grown up ego.
• It develops from interaction with parents. It is developed by family values and ideas of
society.
• It works on something that is socially acceptable.
• It is reinforced upon the child through rewards and punishment by parents.
• Super Ego replaces the pleasure needed by Id with perfection.
• As the child grows up, it is controlled by Id, Ego and Super Ego, but Ego leads the way.
• The personality is total of what the three of them decides it to be.
Freud’s psychosexual theory of development
• According the Freud, childhood development takes place in stages.
• If the baby lacks proper nurturing and parenting during any of this stage, he/she gets
fixated on that stage.
• There are five stages of development according to Freud. These are linked to different
specific areas of body called Erogenous zone.
These are given below:
1. Oral (Birth-1 year of age)
• Mouth is the pleasure center for this stage. Freud believed this is why infants are born
with sucking reflex.
• An infant’s primary interaction with the world is through the mouth. The mouth is vital for
eating, and the infant derives pleasure from oral stimulation through gratifying activities such as
tasting and sucking.
If the child's oral needs are not met, he/she may develop negative habits like nail biting or thumb
sucking.
2. Anal (1-3 years of age)
• Children start to experiment during this stage with urine and faeces.
• They learn to control their bodily function. They are toilet trained at this state.
• With the development of new cells and the control provided by those cells(sphincters),
the focus shifts from oral stimulation to controlling bladder and bowel movements.

3. Phallic (3-6 years of age)

• According to Freud, the preschooler starts to struggle with sexual desire towards
opposite sex parent (boy's to mother and girl's to father).
• For boys, this is called the Oedipus complex. This is a boy's desire for his mother and
urge to replace father.
• For girls, this is called Electra complex. It is Similar to the Oedipus complex in that a
young girl longs for her father and resents her mother.
4. Latency (6-12 years of age)
• During this stage, children develop social skills, values and relationships with peers and
adults outside of the family.
• The child begins to develop super ego. Children begin to behave in morally acceptable
ways.
• They adopt the values by their parents and other important individual.
5. Genital (12+ years of age)
• During this stage, sexual impulses reemerges.
• If other stages have been successfully met, adolescent engage in appropriate sexual
behavior.
• If development has been successful to this point, the individual will continue to develop
into a well-balanced person.

Erikson’s stage of psychosocial development

• Erikson (1902-1994) was a stage theorist who modified Freud's controversial
psychosexual theory into an eight-stages psychosocial theory of development.
• According to the theory, successful completion of each stage results in a healthy
personality.
• Erickson’s theory is epigenetic theory which means it focuses on both the biological and
genetic origins of behavior as interacting with the direct influence of environmental forces over
time.
• Failure to successfully complete a stage can result in a reduced ability to complete
further stages and therefore a more unhealthy personality and sense of self. These stages.
however, can be resolved successfully at a later time.

Stages
1. Trust vs. Mistrust: Infant (0-1.5 years)
• From birth to 12 months of age, infants learn that adults can be trusted. This occurs
when adults fulfil a child's basic needs for survival. Infants are dependent upon their caregivers.
• So, caregivers who are responsive and sensitive to their infant's need to help their baby
to develop a sense of trust. The baby will see the world as a safe, predictable place.
• This stage focuses on the infant’s basic needs, being met by the parents. If the parents
expose the child to warmth, regularity, and dependable affection, the infant’s view of the world
will be one of trust.
• If the parents fail to provide a secure environment and fail to meet the child’s basic need,
a sense of mistrust will result.
2. Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt (Toddlers, 2-3 years)
• According to Erikson, children at this stage are focused on developing a sense of
personal control over physical skills and a sense of independence.
• As children gain control over eliminative functions and motor abilities, they begin to
explore their surroundings. If parents and caregivers encourage self-sufficient behavior, toddlers
develop a sense of autonomy that is a sense of being able to handle many problems on their
own.
• But if caregivers demand too much too soon, refuse to let children perform tasks of
which they are capable, children may instead develop shame and doubt about their ability to
handle problems.
• For example, we might observe a budding sense of autonomy in a 2-years-old girl who
wants to choose her clothes and dress herself.
3. Initiative vs. guilt (Preschool, 4 to 6 years)
• Once children reach the pre-school stage (ages 3-6 years), they are capable of initiating
activities and asserting control over their world through social interactions and play.
• Initiative occurs when parents allow a child to explore within limits and then support the
child's choice. These children will develop self-confidence and feel a sense of purpose.
• This is the play age and school going age. The child has to learn to take initiative without
too much guilt.
• Parents must encourage initiative in children and help them to try out their ideas.
• The child is now capable, as never before, of imagining a future situation, one that is not
a reality right now.
4. Industry vs. inferiority (Childhood, 7-12 years)
• Children begin to compare themselves with their peers to see how they measure up.
• Industry here refers to purposeful or meaningful activity. It’s the development of
competence and skills, and is a crucial aspect of school years experience. Erikson described it
as a sort of ‘entrance to life’.
• They either develop a sense of pride and accomplishment in their school works, sports,
social activities, and family life, or they feel inferior and inadequate because they feel that they
don't measure up.
• A child who experiences the satisfaction of achievement will move towards successful
negotiation of this crisis stage, whereas experience of failure may lead to feelings of inferiority
and uselessness.
5. Identity vs. role confusion (Adolescence, 12-18 years)
• During this stage, adolescents search for a sense of self and personal identity, through
an intense exploration of personal values, beliefs, and goals.
• Identity means essentially how the persons see themselves in relation to their world.
• Role Confusion is the negative perspective that is the person cannot see clearly or
identify who they are and how they can relate positively with their environment.
• If the person successfully negotiates this stage the individual will develop the virtue
called fidelity.
6. Intimacy vs. isolation (Young adults, 20-34 years)
• After we have developed a sense of self in adolescence, we are ready to share our life
with others.
• Intimacy means the process of giving and receiving physical and emotional connection,
support, love, comfort, trust, and all the other elements that we would typically associate with
healthy adult relationships.
• Isolation conversely means being and feeling excluded from the usual life experiences of
mutually loving relationships and is characterized by feelings of loneliness, alienation, and social
withdrawal.
• If other stages have not been successfully resolved, young adults may have trouble in
developing and maintaining successful relationships with others.
7. Generativity vs. stagnation (Middle adulthood, 35-65 years)
• Generativity refers to 'making your mark on the world through creating or nurturing
things that will outlast an individual.
• People experience a need to create or nurture things that will outlast them, often
creating positive changes that will benefit other people.
• Generativity is an extension of love into the future. It is a concern for the next generation
and all future generations.
• Stagnation, on the other hand, is self absorption, self-interest and caring for no one.
• It is the disposition that represents feelings of selfishness, self-indulgence, greed, etc.
They show lack of interest in young people and future generations, and the wider world.
8. Ego integrity vs. despair (Seniors, 65 years onward)
• From the mid-60s to the end of life, we are in the period of development known as late
adulthood.
• People in late adulthood reflect on their lives and feel either a sense of satisfaction or a
sense of failure.
• Integrity means feeling at peace with oneself and the world. Such person are more likely
to look back on their lives positively.
• If the person is nor at peace with self the person would develop despair and/or ‘disgust’
(that is rejection, denial, or ‘sour grapes’ feeling towards what life might have been) etc.
• They represent the opposite disposition: feelings of wasted opportunities, regrets.
• Someone who approaches death without fear has the strength Erikson calls the wisdom.
Kohlberg’s stages of Moral Development
• Kohlberg believed that moral development, like cognitive development, follows a series
of stages.
• Moral development is the process by which people develop the distinction between right
and wrong (morality) and engage in reasoning between the two (moral reasoning).
• After presenting people with various moral dilemmas, Kohlberg reviewed people's
responses and placed them in different stages of moral reasoning.
• According to Kohlberg. "An individual progresses from the pre-conventional morality
(before age of 9 years) to the conventional morality (early adolescence) towards attaining
post-conventional morality.
The levels of moral development are as follows:
Level 1: Pre-Conventional
• Children accept the authority (and moral code) of others.
• If an action leads to punishment, it must be bad. If it leads to a reward, it must be good.
• There is also a sense in which decisions concerning what is good are defined in terms of
what is good for us.
• Children accept and believe the rules of authority figures, such as parents and teachers.
• Example: Being at Work on Time, Sharing Crayons etc.
The sub-stages of the pre-conventional level are:
Stage 1 : Obedience and Punishment Orientation
• According to Kohlberg, people at this stage see rules as fixed and absolute.
• Obeying the rules is important because it is a way to avoid punishment.
Stage 2 : Instrumental Orientation
• Behavior is determined again by consequences. The individual focuses on receiving
rewards or satisfying personal needs.
Level 2: Conventional
• Throughout the conventional level, a child's sense of morality is tied to personal and
societal relationships.
• Children continue to accept the rules of authority figures, but this is now due to their
belief that this is necessary to ensure positive relationships and societal order.
• Adherence to rules and conventions is somewhat rigid during these stages, and a rule's
appropriateness or fairness is seldom questioned.
• One example of conventional morality would be refusing to cheat on a test because
cheating on tests weakens the academic system and results in social disruption.
The sub-stages of the conventional level are:
Stage 3: Good Boy, Nice Girl Orientation
• Behavior is determined by social approval.
• The individual wants to maintain or win the affection and approval of others by being a
“good person.”
Stage 4: Law and Order Orientation
• Social rules and laws determine behavior.
• The individual now takes into consideration a larger perspective, that of societal laws.
• Moral decision making becomes more than consideration of close ties to others. The
individual believes that rules and laws maintain social order that is worth preserving.
Level 3: Post- conventional
• Throughout the post-conventional level, a person's sense of morality is defined in terms
of more abstract principles and values.
• People now believe that some laws are unjust and should be changed or eliminated.
• An example might be believing in something that goes against social norms or laws.
• This is the final stage of moral development. During this stage, a person develops their
own moral values separate from societal norms.
• During this stage, a person develops an independent set of ethics and values.
The sub-stages of post-conventional level are:
Stage 5: Social Contract Orientation
• Individual rights determine behavior.
• The individual views laws and rules as flexible tools for improving human purposes. That
is, given the right situation, there are exceptions to rules.
• Social contract orientation involves following laws without question.
Stage 6: Universal-Ethical-Principle Orientation
• This is the highest stage of functioning. However, he claimed that some individuals will
never reach this level.
• At this stage, the appropriate action is determined by one’s self-chosen ethical principles
of conscience.
• These principles are abstract and universal in application.
Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development
• Cognitive development is a field of study in neuroscience and psychology.
• It focuses on a child's development in terms of information processing, conceptual
resources, perceptual skill, language learning, and other aspects of brain development.
• Jean Piaget is one of the most influential figures in the study of child development. He
developed his cognitive developmental theory based on the idea that children actively construct
knowledge as they explore and manipulate the world around them.
• Piaget believed that as children grow and their brain develop, they move through four
distinct stages that characterized by differences in thought processing.
• In his view, cognitive development is a progressive reorganization of mental processes
as a result of biological maturation and environmental experience.
There are three basic key components to Piaget’s Cognitive Theory.
1. Schemas –
• The building blocks of knowledge/ intelligent behavior.
• Schemas are categories of knowledge that help us to interpret and understand the
world.
• It changes with the new knowledge.
2. Adaptation processes –
1. Equilibrium:
• Equilibrium or a state of cognitive balance is, when a child's existing schemas are
capable of explaining what it can perceive around it.
• For example, a child may have a schema about a type of animal, such as a dog. If the
child’s sole experience has been with small dogs, a child might believe that all dogs are small,
furry, and have four legs.
2. Assimilation: (new information is incorporated)
• Assimilation is using an existing schema to deal with a new object or situation.
• The process of taking in new information into our previously existing schemas is known
as Assimilation.
• In case, the child encounters a very large dog. The child takes in this new information,
modifies the previously existing schema to include this new information.
3. Accommodation:
• Accommodation involves altering existing schemas, or ideas, as a result of new
information or new experiences.
• Due to new information or experiences, schemas modified and changed.
• Accommodation happens when the existing schema (knowledge) does not work, and
needs to be changed to deal with a new object or situation.
• 3. Stages of Development:
• Sensorimotor
• Preoperational
• Concrete operational
• Formal operational
Sensorimotor stage(0-2 years)
• The sensorimotor stage occurs from birth to 2 years.
• It is characterized by the ‘movements and sensations.’
• Children figure out ways to elicit responses by doing, like throwing an object to see what
happens.
• Between 5 and 8 months old, the child develops object permanence, which is the
understanding that even if something is out of sight, it still exists.
• For example, a child learns that even though his mother leaves the room, she has not
ceased to exist.

This stage can be divided into six separate sub-stages as given below:
i) Reflexes (0-1 month):
The child understands the environment purely through inborn reflexes such as sucking and
looking.
ii) Primary Circular Reactions (1-4 months):
• Between one and four months, the child works on an action of his own which serves as a
stimulus to which it responds with the same action, and around and around we go.
• A child start to express their feeling regarding hungerness, feeding etc.
iii) Secondary Circular Reactions (4-8 months):
• The child becomes more focused on the world and begins to intentionally repeat an
action in order to trigger a response in the environment.
• Repeating actions (touch and throw objects)
iv) Coordination of Secondary Reactions (8-12 months):
• They start imitating(to copy) , learn schema and generalize it.
 v) Tertiary Circular Reactions (12-24 months):
• Children begin a period of trial-and-error experimentation during this sub-stage.
vi) Early Representational Thought:
• Children begin to develop symbols to represent events or objects in the world in the final
sensory motor sub-stage.
Preoperational stage/toddlers stage(2-7 years)

Pre conceptional ( 2-4 year) Intuitive stage(4-7 year)

1. Ego centric 1. Irreversibility
2. Start utter the words 2. Centration (cant focus two
things)
3. Imitation 3. Conservation (can’t
understand)
4. Aminism (non- living things are living) 4. Language development
symbolic representation
5. Artificialism (Rain is for pleasure , sun is made by man) 5. Learn more by cramming.

Concrete operational stage(7-11 years)

• It is characterized by the idea that children’s reasoning become focused and logical.
• Children in this stage are able to take another's point of view and take into account more
than one perspective simultaneously.
• Now he can understand the concept of reversibility, can understand the conservation
principle.
• He can now focus on two things at a same time.
• Understands relations and can classify different category.
Formal Operational Stage (over 11)
• It is characterized by the idea that children develop the ability think in abstract(logical)
ways.
• During this time, children gain a better understanding of mental operations. They begin
thinking logically about concrete events, but have difficulty understanding abstract or
hypothetical concepts.
• This enables children to engage in the problem-solving method of developing a
hypothesis and reasoning their way to plausible solutions.
• Children can think of abstract concepts and have the ability to combine various ideas to
create new ones.
• They become creative and can solve complex calculations.
• By the end of this stage, children have developed logical and systematic thinking.
• Ego centric thoughts can return in this stage.
Bruner’s theory of cognitive development
• Jerome Bruner is a process theorist who held that children have a highly action-oriented
form of intelligence and they know things by perceiving, them and are consequently strongly
influenced by the vivid perceptual characteristics of objects and events.
Stages of Cognitive Development
Enactive Stage
• This stage is characterized by the child’s representation of things and events in terms of
appropriate motor responses and activities.
• At this stage the child knows the world only through the medium of actions, not through
the words or images. For example, the infant understands his environment by touching, biting
and grasping.

Iconic Stage
• This stage is characterized by the child’s representation of things and events in terms of
sensory images or mental pictures (representation through perceptual means)
• At this stage, information is gained by imagery and the cognitive process controlled by
perception.
• Single feature of the environment holds attention, visual memory is developed but
impressionistic leaps take place.
Symbolic Stage
• During this stage, symbolic representation in the form of words, symbols and other
imagery abstract phenomena takes the place of motor activities and sensory images.
Thorndike's theory of Learning/ trail and error theory
• Edward Lee Ted Thorndike developed learning theory that lead to the development of
operant conditioning within behaviorism.
• Thorndike formulated the major laws of learning on the basis of his belief in
connectionism.
• Connectionism is a learning theory which is based on the concept of bonds formed
between Stimulus and Response i.e. natural connections between Situations (S) and
Responses (R) are formed and strengthened.
• The stimulus affects the organism which responds to it.
• Thorndike presented the theory on laws of learning on the basis of his belief in
connectionism.
• The learning is result of association between stimulus and response.
• He describes an organism attempts to learn/solve a problem by trying alternative
possibilities until a correct solution or desirable outcome is achieved.
It includes:
• A number of attempts and a number of errors- Before correct behavior is learnt.
• Motivation (to achieve a goal)
• Exploration- Either random or purposeful.
• Reward- The correct response is rewarded which will lead to repeat performance of the
correct response, strengthening the association between the behavior and its outcome.
Experiment
• Thorndike put a hungry cat in a “puzzle box” and placed fish, just out of reach.
• At first, the cat to escape from the box through trial and error (random voluntary
movements)
• Eventually, the cat accidentally pulled the string, escaped from the box so that it could
reach its reinforcement (the fish)
• When the cat was put back in the box, once again it went through a series of incorrect
responses before pushing the level.
• The cat became progressively quicker at escaping (and had fewer incorrect behavior.
Features of trial and error learning
• Learning by trial and error is a gradual process.
• For learning to occur, the learner must be definitely motivated.
• The learner makes random and variable responses.
• Some responses lead to the goal (satisfying responses)
• Some responses don't lead to the goal (annoying responses)
• With increasing the trial the satisfying responses will strengthen.
• The time take to perform the task (to repeat the satisfying response) decrease with
successive trials.
The three major/primary laws are:
• Law of Readiness
• Law of Effect
• Law of Exercise
Law of Readiness
• If a person is ready to learn, he/she learn quickly. The law of readiness describes those
situations in which the person, who learns either invites the object of his/her learning or rejects
it.
• Readiness means a preparation of action. If a person is not prepared to learn, then
learning cannot be instilled in him/her.
• The readiness creates a mental set for learning.
• If students are not willing to learn, forcing them to learn will cause dissatisfaction and
annoyance. Many children soon get disinterested in learning, because they are forced learn,
when they are not physically and mentally ready for it.
Law of effect
• The meaning of the law of effect is the effect of learning.
• Satisfying states lead to strengthening of connection, whereas dissatisfaction annoyance
or pain leads to the weakening of the connection.
• Success brings with it satisfaction and along with it a strengthening of the relation of the
experiences.
• Failure increases dissatisfaction and the absence of the relation among the experiences
weakens them.
• The success can be compared to reward and failure to punishment.
• Example: If you work hard and then receive a promotion and pay raise, you will be more
likely to continue to put in more effort at work.
Law of exercise
• It is based on law of use and disuse.
• The law of use states. "When a modifiable connection is made between a situation and a
response, that connection's strength is being increased.“
• Similarly, the law of disuse states, "When a modifiable connection is not made between
a situation and response over a length of time, the connection's strength is decreased.”
• Example: The more a person practices something, the better he or she is able to retain
that knowledge.
Secondary laws are:
1. Law of multiple response
2. Law of set or attitude
3. Law of analogy
4. Law of associative shifting
5. Pre potency of element
6. Law of primacy
7. Law of recency
8. Law of partial activity
Clark hull’s theory of human behavior
• Hull used the term “drive” to refer to the state of tension or arousal caused by biological
or physiological needs.
Drive:
• Thirst, hunger, need for warmth. Example: we get a drink when we are thirsty and we eat
when we are hungry.
• Hull believed that human behavior can be explained by conditioning and reinforcement.
Conditioning and Reinforcement:
• The reduction of the drive acts as reinforcement for that behaviour.
• This reinforcement increases the likelihood that the same behaviour will occur again in
the future when the same need arises.
• In order to survive in its environment, an organism must behave in ways that meet these
survival needs.
• Hull has explained that, "When survival is in jeopardy(danger of loss, harm or failure),
the organism is in a state of need ,so the organism behaves in a fashion to reduce that need.”
• In a Stimulus-Response (S-R)" relationship, when the stimulus and response are
followed by a reduction in the need, it increases the likelihood that the same stimulus will elicit
the same response again in the future.
Theories of human behavior
• Ivan Pavlov' theory of Classical Conditioning
• BF Skinner's theory of Operant conditioning
Ivan Pavlov’s theory of classical conditioning
• Pavlov was conducting research on the digestion of dogs when he noticed that the dogs’
physical reactions to food subtly changed over time.
• At first, the dogs would only salivate when the food was placed in front of them.
• However, later they salivated slightly before their food arrived.
• Pavlov realized that they were salivating at the noises that were consistently present
before the food arrived; for example, the sound of a food cart is approaching.
• To test his theory, Pavlov set up an experiment in which he rang a bell shortly before
presenting food to the dogs.
• At first, the dogs elicited no response to the bells. However, eventually, the dogs began
to salivate at the sound of the bell alone.

Terms:
Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS):
• This is a stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers a response without any
learning needed.
• In Pavlov’s experiment, the food was the unconditioned stimulus as it automatically
induced salivation in the dogs.
Unconditioned Response (UR):
• This is an automatic, innate reaction to an unconditioned stimulus.
• It does not require any learning.
• In Pavlov’s experiment, the dogs’ automatic salivation in response to the food is an
example of an unconditioned response.
Neutral Stimulus (NS):
• A stimulus that initially does not elicit a particular response or reflex action.
• Before any conditioning takes place, the neutral stimulus has no effect on the behavior
or physiological response of interest.
• For example, in Pavlov’s experiment, the sound of a bell was a neutral stimulus initially,
as it did not cause the dogs to salivate.
Conditioned Stimulus (CS):
• This is a previously neutral stimulus that, after being repeatedly associated with an
unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a conditioned response.
• The bell became a conditioned stimulus when the dogs learned to associate it with food.
Conditioned Response (CR):
• This is a learned response to the conditioned stimulus.
• It typically resembles the unconditioned response but is triggered by the conditioned
stimulus instead of the unconditioned stimulus.
• In Pavlov’s experiment, salivating in response to the bell was the conditioned response.
1. Unconditioned Stimulus (Food) > Unconditioned Response (Salivate)
2. Neutral Stimulus (Bell) > No Response.
3. Conditioned Stimulus (Bell) > Conditioned Response (Salivate)
Phases of classical conditioning
Phase 1: Before Conditioning
• The first part of the classical conditioning process requires a naturally occurring stimulus
that will automatically elicit a response.
• Salivating in response to the smell of food is a good example of a naturally occurring
stimulus.
• During this phase of the process, the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) results in an
unconditioned response (UCR).
• Presenting food (the UCS) naturally and automatically triggers a salivation response (the
UCR).

Phase 2: During conditioning

During the second phase of the classical conditioning process, the previously neutral stimulus is
repeatedly paired with the unconditioned stimulus.
As a result of this pairing, an association between the previously neutral stimulus and the UCS
is formed.
Phase 3: After Conditioning
• Once the association has been made between the UCS and the CS, presenting the
conditioned stimulus alone will come to evoke a response—even without the unconditioned
stimulus.
• The resulting response is known as the conditioned response.
Principles of classical conditioning
1. Acquisition
• Acquisition is the initial stage of learning, when a response is first established and
gradually strengthened.
• During the acquisition phase of classical conditioning, a neutral stimulus is repeatedly
paired with an unconditioned stimulus.
2. Extinction
• Extinction is when the occurrences of a conditioned response decrease or disappear.
• In classical conditioning, this happens when a conditioned stimulus is no longer paired
with an unconditioned stimulus
3. Spontaneous Recovery
• Sometimes a learned response can suddenly reemerge, even after a period of
extinction. This is called spontaneous recovery.
• For example, imagine that after training a dog to salivate to the sound of a bell, you stop
reinforcing the behavior and the response becomes extinct.
• After a rest period during which the conditioned stimulus is not presented, you ring the
bell and the animal spontaneously recovers the previously learned response.
4. Generalization
• Stimulus generalization is the tendency for a conditioned stimulus to evoke similar
responses after the response has been conditioned.
• For example, if a dog has been conditioned to salivate at the sound of a bell, the animal
may also exhibit the same response to a sound that's similar to the bell.
5. Discrimination
• Discrimination is the ability to differentiate between a conditioned stimulus and other
stimuli that have not been paired with an unconditioned stimulus.
• For example, if a bell tone were the conditioned stimulus, discrimination would involve
being able to tell the difference between the bell tone and other similar sounds.
• Because the subject is able to distinguish between these stimuli, they will only respond
when the conditioned stimulus is presented.
BF Skinner's theory of Operant conditioning
• The theory of B.F. Skinner is based upon the idea that learning is a function of change in
behaviour.
• Changes in behavior are the result of an individual’s response to stimuli that occur in the
environment
BF Skinner distinguished between two types of behavior:
1. Respondent Behavior:
• This includes things which happen automatically and reflexively.
• For example, pulling hand away from a hot stove.
• These are not learned behaviors, they simply occur automatically and involuntarily.
2. Operant Behavior:
• This includes things which require our conscious control.
• Though some may occur spontaneously or purposely, it is the consequences of such
actions which then determine whether or not these actions recur in the future.
• Our actions upon our environment, and their consequences, play an important role in the
learning process.
Operant conditioning
• This is also referred to as instrumental conditioning.
• It is a method of learning that occurs through rewards and punishments for behavior.
• Through operant conditioning, an association is made between a behavior and a
consequence for that behavior.
• It is the use of consequences that occur which are used for modifying a behavior.
Skinner box: what is an operant conditioning chamber?
• The Skinner box is a chamber that isolates the subject from the external environment
and has a behavior indicator such as a lever or a button.
• When the animal pushes the button or lever, the box is able to deliver a positive
reinforcement of the behavior (such as food) or a punishment (such as noise) or a token
conditioner (such as a light) that is correlated with either the positive reinforcement or
punishment.
• Skinner developed his theory of operant conditioning by identifying four different types of
punishment or reward.
• To test the effect of these outcomes, he constructed a device called the “Skinner Box”; a
cage in which a rat could be placed, with a small lever (which the rat would be trained to press),
a chute which would release pellets of food, and a floor which could be electrified.
• For example, a hungry rat was placed in a cage. Every time he activated the lever a food
pellet fell in the food dispenser (positive reinforcement).
• The rats quickly learnt to go straight to the lever after a few times of being put in the box.
• This suggests that positive reinforcement increases the likelihood of the behavior being
repeated.
• In another experiment, a rat was placed in a cage in which they were subjected to an
uncomfortable electrical current as he moved around the cage the rat hit the lever, this
immediately switched off the electrical current (negative reinforcement).
• The rats quickly learnt to go straight to the lever after a few times of being put in the box.
• This suggests that negative reinforcement increases the likelihood of the behavior being
repeated.
• A reinforcer is any event that strengthens or increases the behaviour it follows.
Outcomes of Operant conditioning
1. Positive reinforcement:
• A direct reward for performing a certain behaviour.
• For example , the rat could be rewarded with a pellet of food for pushing the lever.
1. Negative reinforcement:
• The removal of an unpleasant situation when a particular behaviour is performed (thus
producing a sense of relief).
• For example, a mild electric current was passed through the floor of the cage, and was
removed when a desired behaviour was formed.
Or
The frequency of stimulus is decreased because followed by removal of unpleasant stimulus.
In both of these cases of reinforcement, the behaviour increases.
Punishment :
• It decreases the likelihood of behavior.
1. Positive punishment
• A direct negative outcome following a particular behaviour.
• Behavior is decreased when it is followed by unpleasant stimulus.
• Once the rat had been taught to press the lever, for instance, Skinner trained it to cease
this behaviour by electrifying the floor each time the lever was pressed.
2. Negative punishment :
• Involves taking away a reward or removing a pleasant situation.
• In the Skinner box, for instance, the rat could be trained to stop pressing the lever by
releasing food pellets at regular intervals and then withholding them when the lever was
pressed.
In both of above cases of punishment, the behaviour decreases.
Schedule of reinforcement
1. Continuous
2. Partial
Difference between Classical and Operant Conditioning
Classical conditioning is where one thing is “programmed” into the brain, and
is associated with another.
• It just involves the pairing of stimuli and the association that results between the two.
• A behaviour that would normally be the result of one stimulus becomes the result of the
other also due to the association created.
Operant conditioning is where something is learned by the consequences, and if more of a
trial-and-error type of learning.
• It requires the subject to perform some action and that action is either rewarded or
punished to either encourage or discourage the behaviour.
• It’s usually used for behavior modification.
• The main difference between classical and operant conditioning is that classical
conditioning associates involuntary behavior with a stimulus while operant conditioning
associates voluntary action with a consequence.
John Bowlby child development theory.
• John Bowlby (1907 - 1990) believed that mental health and behavioral problems could
be attributed to early childhood.
• His 'Attachment Theory' suggests that children come into the world biologically
pre-programmed to form attachments with others, as it will help for their survival.
• He also said that the fear of strangers represents an important survival mechanism, built
in by nature. Babies display certain innate behaviors, called social releasers like crying, smiling,
crawling, etc.
• Such actions ensure proximity and contact with the mother or 'attachment' figure and
stimulate 'care-giving' from the adults.
• The fact that determines 'attachment' in not food, but care and responsiveness. the
'attachment' figure is the safe base for exploring the world.
• This acts as the case in point to all future relationships.
Stages of attachment
1. Pre-attachment (Birth to 6 Weeks):
• The infant does not discriminate between caregivers.
• In this stage, infants show innate behaviors (like crying and smiling) that help attract
caregiver attention and response but do not prefer a specific caregiver.
• They accept care and comfort from any adult and do not yet understand that they are
separate individuals from their caregivers.
2. Attachment-in-the-Making (6 Weeks to 7 Months):
• Prefers familiar people but accepts care from anyone.
• During this stage, infants develop a sense of trust in the people who respond to their
needs.
• They start to distinguish between familiar and unfamiliar people, preferring familiar
people, but they still accept care from strangers. They don’t yet protest when separated from a
parent.
3. Clear-Cut Attachment (7 Months to 24 Months):
• Specific attachment to the primary caregivers develops.
• Infants seek regular contact with their caregivers and may show distress upon
separation, demonstrating behaviors like “clinging” and “following.”
• This stage also includes the development of “stranger anxiety” and “separation anxiety.”
4. Formation of a Reciprocal Relationship (24 Months and Onwards):
• Specific attachment to the primary caregivers develops.
• As language develops, toddlers understand their parents’ actions and motivations and
can negotiate with them.
• They can now tolerate separations with less distress and use mental representations of
their caregivers for comfort.
Schaffer & Emerson’s Stages Of Attachment
They discovered that baby’s attachments develop in the following sequence:
1. Asocial (0 – 6 weeks):
• Very young infants are asocial in that many kinds of stimuli, both social and non-social,
produce a favorable reaction, such as a smile.
• During the asocial stage, the infant’s behavior does not appear specifically directed
towards primary caregivers over others.
• The infant may respond to humans and objects similarly, showing generalized responses
like crying, smiling, and looking at faces or objects.
2. Indiscriminate Attachments (6 weeks to 7 months):
• During this stage, infants start to display more social behavior and begin to show a
preference for social stimuli, preferring human interaction over inanimate objects.
• They smile, babble, and reach out more to people rather than objects.
• Infants indiscriminately enjoy human company; most babies respond equally to any
caregiver.
• They get upset when an individual ceases to interact with them.
3. Specific Attachment (7 – 9 months):
• The baby looks to particular people for security, comfort, and protection.
• It shows fear of strangers (stranger fear) and unhappiness when separated from a
special person (separation anxiety).
• Some babies show stranger fear and separation anxiety much more frequently and
intensely than others, but they are evidence that the baby has formed an attachment.
• This has usually developed by one year of age.
4. Multiple Attachment (10 months and onwards):
• The baby becomes increasingly independent and forms several attachments. By 18
months, the majority of infants have formed multiple attachments.
• The study’s results indicated that attachments were most likely to form with those who
responded accurately to the baby’s signals, not the person they spent more time with.
• Schaffer and Emerson called this sensitive responsiveness.
Carl roger’s Theory
• Carl Rogers was one of the founders of the Humanistic Approach and also the most
influential therapist in the 20th century.
• Rogers believed that humans were capable of becoming whole persons through
self-discovery.
• He said that our thoughts, feelings, and actions influence each other. We're not separate
entities; rather, we're connected parts of a greater whole.
• Rogers believed that all people have a tendency toward growth means ‘Actualization’ to
maintain and enhance life. The goal of existence is to satisfy this need on any one of these
levels:
1) Physical – Staying alive by eating, keeping warm, avoiding physical danger etc.
2) Psychological – Self-actualization is about testing and fulfilling our capabilities.
• Carl Rogers was one of the most seasoned humanists whose conceptualization of self
and personality was centered around the individual and their ability to strive to achieve their full
innate potential.
Basic Assumptions of Personality
• Every person has the ability and responsibility to improve and develop their personality.
• Personality can be understood by an individual's perception of self, which is subjective.
• It encompasses an individual’s self-image (how they see themselves), self-esteem (how
much value they place on themselves), and ideal self (the person they aspire to be).
The self-concept includes three components:
1. Self-worth
• Self-worth (or self-esteem) is the value or worth an individual places on themselves.
• It’s the evaluative aspect of self-concept, influenced by the individual’s perceived
successes, failures, and how they believe others view them.
• High self-esteem indicates a positive self-view, while low self-esteem signifies self-doubt
and criticism.
2. Self-image
• Self-image refers to individuals’ mental representation of themselves, shaped by
personal experiences and interactions with others.
• It’s how people perceive their physical and personality traits, abilities, values, roles, and
goals. It’s their understanding of “who I am.”
3. Ideal self
• The ideal self is the version of oneself that an individual aspires to become.
• It includes all the goals, values, and traits a person deems ideal or desirable. It’s their
vision of “who I want to be.”
• It consists of our goals and ambitions in life, and is dynamic – i.e., forever changing. The
ideal self in childhood is not the ideal self in our teens or late twenties.
Other concepts
1. Self Actualization
• Carl Rogers (1959) believed that humans have one basic motive, which is the tendency
to self-actualize i.e., to fulfill one’s potential and achieve the highest level of “human-beingness”
we can.
• According to Rogers, people could only self-actualize if they had a positive view of
themselves (positive self-regard).
• This can only happen if they have unconditional positive regard from others – if they feel
that they are valued and respected without reservation by those around them (especially their
parents when they were children)
• Like a flower that will grow to its full potential if the conditions are right, but which is
constrained by its environment, so people will flourish and reach their potential if their
environment is good enough.
2. Positive Regard
• The emergence of self requires fulfilling the need to be accepted, approved, and loved
by others. This need is called "positive regard, and it is termed unconditional positive regard
when this need is fulfilled unconditionally irrespective of a child's behavior.
• This concept is important for both personal development and therapy.
3. Condition of Worth −
• It is the conditions under which one develops self-regard for oneself.
• This develops from parents' behavior and leads to avoiding certain behaviors considered
wrong.
4. Incongruence and congruence
• Congruence is the matching of experience and awareness. This means is a fairly
accurate match between self-concept and reality.
• Congruence is an equal attunement of what you think, feel and do
• Example: Someone who is genuinely happy with their birthday present is congruent. He
will feel very excited and happy and he will also say that he is very happy with the gift.
• He then experiences a pure state of joy. He is in that moment connected to himself and
his environment, and he is also completely in the moment.

• In an incongruent person there is a difference between what he / she says, does and
feels.
• For example: incongruity occurs when someone is disappointed with his gift (feeling)
while still telling (behavior) that he is happy with it.
Albert bandura theory of social learning
• He emphasize the role of modelling(copy) or observational learning in the development
of behavior.
• Albert Bandura's social learning theory suggests that observation and modeling play a
primary role in how and why people learn.
• He emphasizes the importance of observing, modeling, and imitating the behaviors,
attitudes, and emotional reactions of others.
• He showed this through “Bobo doll experiment”. He conducted a controlled experiment
study to investigate if social behaviors (i.e., aggression) can be acquired by observation and
imitation.
• He believed that children gradually become more selective in what they imitate.
• One can exercise control over one’s behavior through self regulation.

The Bobo doll experiment

• Bandura set out to understand the role of modeling in learning and aggression. To test
the hypothesis that imitation played a large part in behavior, he created situations where
children between three and five years old watched adults acting aggressively toward a large
plastic doll, known as a ‘Bobo’ doll.
• When allowed to play with the doll themselves, the children exhibited aggression to a
degree that matched the scene they had witnessed.
• Bobo doll experiment demonstrated that children are able to learn social behavior such
as aggression through the process of observation learning, through watching the behavior of
another person.
What is observational learning?
• Observational learning is a key aspect of social learning theory, where individuals learn
and adopt behaviors by observing others.
• Children observe the people around them behaving in various ways.
What is model?
• Individuals that are observed are called models. In society, children are surrounded by
many influential models, such as parents within the family, characters on children’s TV, friends
within their peer group, and teachers at school.
• Children pay attention to some of these people (models) and encode their behavior. At a
later time, they may imitate (i.e., copy) the behavior they have observed.
Steps involved in modelling process:
1. Attention
• The degree to which we notice the behavior
• The individual needs to pay attention to the behavior and its consequences and form a
mental representation of the behavior.
• For a behavior to be imitated, it has to grab the attention.
• Attention is, therefore, extremely important in whether a behavior influences others to
imitate it.
Example: A lesson must engage a student sufficiently to hold their attention.
2. Retention
• How well the behavior is remembered.
• The behavior may be noticed, but it is not always remembered, which obviously prevents
imitation.
Example: Students must be able to remember what they have seen or heard.
3. Motor reproduction
• This is the ability to perform the behavior that the model has just demonstrated.
• We see much behavior daily that we would like to be able to imitate, but this is not
always possible.
• Our physical ability limits us, so even if we wish to reproduce the behavior, we
sometimes cannot.
Example:
• Imagine the scenario of a 90-year-old lady who struggles to walk while watching Dancing
on Ice.
• She may appreciate that the skill is desirable, but she will not attempt to imitate it
because she physically cannot do it.
• Students should be given time to practice the observed behavior.
4. Motivation
• The will to perform the behavior. The rewards and punishments that follow a behavior
will be considered by the observer.
• If the perceived rewards outweigh the perceived costs (if there are any), then the
observer will more likely imitate the behavior.
• If the vicarious reinforcement is not important enough to the observer, they will not
imitate the behavior.
Example:
• A student must be able to see the benefit of a new behavior for long term assimilation.
Vygotsky’s socio cultural theory
• His theory presents the radical idea that our thought, ideas and intelligence is not really
our own, it’s the product of culture and society.
• He has proposed a theory of the development of higher cognitive functions in children.
He believes that reasoning power in children emerges through practical activity in a social
environment.
• Vygotsky’s ideas have grown increasingly influential in areas including child
development, cognitive psychology and education.
• Vygotsky's sociocultural theory also suggested that children internalize and learn from
the beliefs and attitudes that they witness around them.
• He believed that culture played an important role in shaping cognitive development and
therefore that this development varied across cultures.
• Vygotsky introduced the notion of zone of proximal development, an innovative
metaphor capable of describing the potential of human cognitive development.
• Vygotsky has introduced an important concept in socio-cultural theory, the Zone of
Proximal Development -- ZPD.
Zone of proximal development (ZPD)
• The zone of proximal development (ZPD) refers to the difference between what a learner
can do without help and what he or she can achieve with guidance and encouragement from a
skilled partner.
• Thus, the term “proximal” refers to those skills that the learner is “close” to mastering.
• The concept of the zone of proximal development, also known as the zone of potential
development, is used to explain a child's potential for cognitive development and ability when
they are guided through a task, rather than asked to do it in isolation.
Example: A parent teaching a child how to ride a bike
Zone of proximal development stages
1. Tasks a learner can accomplish without assistance
• This refers to tasks that the learner can perform independently.
• If the learner has reached this stage, the teacher or mentor will need to increase the
level of difficulty of the task in order to facilitate further learning.
2. Tasks a learner can accomplish with assistance
• This is referred to as their zone of proximal development.
• In this stage, the learner needs the guidance of a more knowledgeable other to help
them complete the task.
3. Tasks a learner cannot accomplish with assistance
• This refers to tasks that the learner cannot do, even with the guidance of a more
knowledgeable person.
• If the learner's ability falls within this range, the level of difficulty may need to be
decreased to accommodate their skillset.
Scaffolding
• The support given during the learning process which is adjusted to the needs of children
with intention of helping with students to achieve his goal.
• The person who provides support is more knowledgeable than other. It can be teacher,
parent etc.
Instructional Scaffolding
• Instructional scaffolding is a method of guided learning that helps a student learn by
pairing them with an educator.
• The educator should have greater experience with the task or process than the student,
but they should also have an understanding of the level that the student is at and how they can
address this level.
• Techniques for instructional scaffolding might include using visual aids (such as
diagrams), providing examples, working one-on-one with the student and providing feedback.
• The aim of scaffolding is to create an environment in which the student feels comfortable
asking questions until they can perform the skill without any help.
Benefits of Scaffolding
• Motivating the learner by helping them through aspects of a task that they have trouble
with
• Minimising frustration for the learner
• Providing a faster learning experience
Vygotsky's Theory and Language
• Vygotsky viewed language as an essential tool for communication and that culture and
behaviour was understood through language.
• Vygotsky also highlighted the critical role that language plays in cognitive development.
• Vygotsky's theory says that social interactions help children develop their ability to use
language.
According to Vygotsky, there are three stages/forms of language in the development process:
1. Social speech – Talking to others (usually from the age of 2)
2. Private speech - This is speech directed to oneself by talking aloud (usually from the age
of 3)
3. Silent inner speech - The child can act without talking aloud as self-regulation and
thought begins to develop. (usually from the age of 7)

Urie Bronfenbrenner's Ecological system theory

• He explained how inherent quality of children and their environment interact to influence
growth and development.
• Focuses on social contexts in which people live and people who influence their
development.
• Child’s development cannot be evaluated only in the immediate environment but also the
interaction between the larger environment.
Ecological systems theory, specifies five types of nested environmental systems:
• Microsystem, Mesosystem, Exosystem, and Macrosystem & chronosystem. Each
system contains roles, norms and rules that initiate strong development.
• Microsystem –
• The direct environment in our lives such as our home and school.
• It includes the people and activities the children experience on a day-to-day basis.
Microsystems have the greatest influence on a child's development.
• Examples include the family, neighborhood, religious community, school, and peers.
• Mesosystem –
• The relationships that connect to the microsystem.
• Examples include relationships between parents and teachers or connections between
community groups and the child's family.
• Exosystem –
• The larger social system; the child plays no role.
• Example would be how children's day-to-day activities are influenced by their parents'
work schedule.
• Macrosystem –
• Refers to the cultural values, customs and laws of society.
• For example, society expects children to be educated and laws were passed requiring
children to be enrolled in some type of school.
• Chronosystem(time related):
• The stage of life that the individual is in regarding the situations they’re going through. It
changes over time.
• Example: growth and maturity or significant life events.