The field of child development seeks to identify and explain changes in the physical, cognitive, and social-emotional development of children and adolescents (McDevitt & Ormrod, “Chapter 1/ Making a Difference in the Lives of Children and Adolescents”, p. 4). There are several theories that exist when it comes to child development; these theories include the Biological theory, Behaviorism and Social Learning theory, Psychodynamic theory, Cognitive-developmental theory, Cognitive processes theory, Sociocultural theory and the Developmental systems theory (McDevitt & Ormrod, “Chapter 1/ Making a Difference in the Lives of Children and Adolescents”, pp. 11-16). Children have a distinctive way of developing and not all children develop the same way. The theories I believe are compatible with the way children develop are the Social Learning theory presented by Albert Bandura, the Behavioral theory presented by B.F. Skinner, and the Psychosocial theory presented by psychodynamic theorist Erik Erikson.
The Social Learning theory states that children learn behaviors by observing behaviors from others and then impersonating what the child has observed. Theorist, Albert Bandura, presented the social learning theory. This theory is intertwined with the Cognitive-process theory because it follows four cognitive and behavioral processes: attention, retention, motor production process and the reinforcement process. I believe this theory to be true because from my observations, children tend to be influenced by their surroundings. If a child is constantly around negative influences they are more likely to behave in a negative matter because they repeat the behavior they see and at times there is no reinforcement to let the child know that what they are doing is not the right way to behave. If a child is around positive influences, their behavior is more likely to be positive. From my experience, parents and teachers have a great influence on children. When children go to school they look up to their teachers. The teacher may teach the class about a new word. Lets say the word is “invincible”. The teacher grabs the children’s attention by saying this new word. This would be the attention process of the Social Learning Theory. The children will process the new word they have heard and they will try to remember this new word. This is known as the retention process. The teacher tells the children to repeat the new word and when the children try and imitate the teacher by saying the word “invincible”, this would be the motor production process. If the children pronounce the word correctly, the teacher will reward the children. This is considered the reinforcement process. Children are more likely to repeat the behavior to receive positive incentives. I can relate to this theory by using my two stepchildren as examples. The older child gets upset and throws a stuffed animal this then grabs the younger child attention and he then retains what his older brother did and repeats the same behavior by throwing another stuffed animal. The thrown stuffed animals are then taken from the children and they are told since they threw the stuffed animal it is assumed they do not want it and they are taken away. The children learn not to throw the stuffed animals because they will not be able to get them back. Therefore the child is less likely to repeat this behavior.
Advocates of behaviorism and social learning theories propose that developmental change is largely due to environmental influences. B.F Skinner suggested that children behave for rewards and tend to avoid behaviors that lead to punishment (McDevitt & Ormrod, “Chapter 1/ Making a Difference in the Lives of Children and Adolescents”, p. 12). In my opinion, the Behaviorism theory presented by theorist B.F Skinner is another theory that relates to the way children develop. Children learn from their experiences and repeat behaviors or refrain from behaving in certain ways due to their experiences. It is kind of like cause and effect; Children learn emotional responses to certain stimuli. I believe this theory to relate to the way children develop because children learn from experiences. If a child does something that a parent finds to be wrong and the child is punished for doing such action then the child is less likely to repeat that behavior due to its consequences. An example of this theory is a child coming home with straight A’s on their report card versus a child coming home with an F on their report card. The child that comes home with straight A’s will be rewarded and the child will be motivated to continue to do well in school. If a child comes home with an F on their report card chances are they will be punished and their most prized possession will be taken away from them, maybe their favorite toy. The child is more likely to try harder in that particular class where they received an F so they wont have their prized possession taken away from them again.
Lastly, Erik Erikson was a psychodynamic theorist who suggested psychosocial characteristics that concerned oneself and the relationships with other people. Erickson believed that people grow from life challenges (McDevitt & Ormrod, “Chapter 11/ Emotional Development”, p. 408). In my opinion this theory is associated with the way children develop because I strongly believe that the way a child develops strongly relates to the relationships children build with others and among themselves. Erickson presented eight psychosocial stages that children go through up to adulthood, these stages are: trust versus mistrust from birth to 1 year, autonomy versus shame and doubt from 1 to3 years, initiative versus guilt from 3 to 5 years, industry versus inferiority from 6 to 10 years, identity versus role confusion from 10 to 20 years, intimacy versus isolation which occurs in young adulthood, generativity versus stagnation which occurs in middle age and integrity versus despair which occurs during the etirement years (McDevitt & Ormrod, “Chapter 11/ Emotional Development”, p. 411). I believe children go through these suggested phases until old age. I myself was a child at one point in life and I can personally say I learned from my experiences and challenges endured. I learned from my mistakes as well as my accomplishments. Because the theories I believe in relate to how children develop, I will provide examples for the first four psychosocial stages that relate to child age. During infancy a child builds a secure attachment with their mother if their mother cares for them, feeds them and gives them attention. If all of a sudden the mother no longer feeds the child or changes the child’s dirty diaper the child will feel neglected, unsecure and unsafe. This would be trust versus mistrust. During toddler years children learn how to walk, talk and perhaps feed themselves. If a child learns to walk and the parent encourages their behavior and tells them “yes baby you did it” the child builds autonomy if a child is speech delayed and gets treated poorly because they can not talk and is told “You should know how to talk by now, look at your twin brother he can talk” the child develops shame and doubt in themselves. When a child reaches their preschool years they learn about colors and shapes and so much more. If the teacher encourages the child’s learning they influence the child to develop initiative but if the teacher dispirits the child’s learning maybe they confused a color or a shape, they instill guilt in the child for not getting it right the first time. Finally, when a child enters the elementary school years they learn new concepts and master many skills. Some children even participate in sports. Lets say a child is a part of the track team and they have their first track competition, the child has been practicing for the race for months and the parent’s of the child attend the competition and cheer for their child when their child is the first to reach the winning line, this is industry. If the child would of lost the race and the parents tell the child, “You have been practicing for months, how could you have lost. How disappointing”, this is Inferiority.
In conclusion, children’s environments and social relationships are key to their development. Children should be nurtured. Their physical, intellectual and social role in society is a major factor for their development. A child who is adopted does not share the same genetic features as their adoptive parents yet with the right upbringing, which will take place in a positive environment, will influence a positive development in the child. After reviewing the different theories of child development, I believe the social learning, behaviorist and psychosocial theory is the most compatible with the way children develop.