Chapter Introduction
CHAPTER 2
Theories
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What Will You Know?
How does a theory differ from a fact? Theories explain facts. Facts are known and observable, whereas theories are concepts and ideas that attempt to organize facts to help them make sense. Theories raise questions or suggest hypotheses, and they lead researchers to gather facts, which may suggest conclusions. Conclusions may verify or refute a theory.
In what ways did Erikson disagree with his mentor, Freud? In two crucial aspects, Erikson's stages differ significantly from Freud's:
(1) Erikson's stages emphasized family and culture, not sexual urges.
(2) Erikson recognized adult development, with three stages after adolescence.
Why do children often copy their parents’ habits and prejudices? According to social learning theory, people often copy what they see others do. Generally, modeling is most likely to occur when the observer is uncertain or inexperienced. This explains why modeling is especially powerful in childhood. When children observe their parents interact in specific ways, they often imitate those actions.
Do people sometimes act on thoughts that are not true? Yes. For example, a child may comply with an adult's request, not because he believes that the adult is correct, but because he knows compliance will result in a reward or perhaps avoidance of punishment. In another example, people sometimes imitate a model's actions, despite knowing that the behavior is wrong.
Does what a child learns depend on what culture he or she experiences? Yes. According to sociocultural theory, all learning is social, whether people are learning a manual skill, a social custom, or a language. In addition, sociocultural theory views culture not as something external that impinges on developing persons but as integral to their development every day via the social context.
Do all humans strive for the same goals? Although no two people are the same, some theorists, such as Maslow, have proposed that all people—no matter what their culture, gender, or history—have the same basic needs. These needs include:
(1) Physiological: needing food, water, warmth, and air
(2) Safety: feeling protected from injury and death
(3) Love and belonging: having friends, family, and a community (often religious)
(4) Esteem: being respected by the wider community as well as by oneself
(5) Self–actualization: becoming truly oneself, fulfilling one's unique potential while appreciating all of humanity
Why is it better to use several theories to understand human development rather than just one? It is beneficial to be eclectic because each theory has shortcomings and another theory might be able to fill in the gaps. Taking an eclectic approach produces a more well–rounded view of development.
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Psychoanalytic Theory: Freud and Erikson Behaviorism: Conditioning and Social Learning Cognitive Theory: Piaget and Information Processing Piaget’s Stages of Development opposing perspectives: Toilet Training—How and When? Sociocultural Theory: Vygotsky and Beyond The Zone of Proximal Development Taking Culture into Account The Universal Perspective: Humanism and Evolution a view from science: If Your Mate Were Unfaithful -
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According to many news reports (Goodman, 2012; Pearce, 2012), Larry De-Primo, a 25-year-old police officer on duty in Times Square, saw a barefoot man on a frigid November night, asked his shoe size (12), and bought him all-weather boots and thermal socks. As DePrimo bent down to help the man don his gift, a tourist from Arizona snapped his photo. Days later, the tourist wrote to the New York Police Department, who put the image on their website. It went viral.
Commentators asked: Was this real or a hoax? Was DiPrimo’s act typical (“most cops are honorable, decent people”), atypical (“truly exceptional”), or in between (“not all NYC cops are short-tempered, profiling, or xenophobic”)? Is the officer young and naïve, are his parents proud and wonderful, was his assignment (anti-terrorism patrol) neglected or boring?
Badge and Boots This is Larry DePrimo, a police officer in Manhattan, who astonished everyone when he bought boots for a barefoot man on a cold afternoon.
These questions reflect not science but “folk theories,” which arise from preconceptions and everyday experience (Bazinger & Kühberger, 2012). Nonetheless, this anecdote illustrates three aspects shared by all theories, scientific as well as folk: (1) behavior can be surprising, (2) humans develop theories to explain everything, and (3) experience and culture matter.
Regarding theories of this incident, past experience is particularly apparent: An advocate for the homeless suspected that the photo was staged; the tourist was reminded of her father, also a police officer; many commentators used this event to criticize someone, among them New York City’s mayor (for not helping the poor), the police (for harassing the homeless), journalists (for focusing “on murder and mayhem”), or the barefoot man himself (for choosing his plight). A year later, DePrimo was promoted; his father, responding to more speculation, said his service record was the reason, not the boots (Antenucci, 2013).
In this chapter, we explain several of the most insightful theories of human development. Because they are comprehensive and complex, they propel science forward, inspiring thousands of scientists to experiment and explain. These theories share with all theories the three characteristics just listed, but unlike folk theories, they lead to new insights and alternate interpretations.
Simple pronouncements regarding one incident are relatively easy to prove or disprove. DePrimo is from my local precinct; I know his commanding officer, who praised him. This was not a hoax.