List of Major theorists
PsychoanalyticPsychoanalytic theory is the theory that explores the connection between humans and their unconscious thoughts and desires. Sigmund Freud was the creator of this theory, which has several key aspects. One aspect is the unconscious mind, which holds thoughts and emotions that we are unaware of. The id, (basic drives), ego (reality/control) and superego (conscious-right/wrong).
Freud also believed in stages of pyschosexual development. He theorized that if any of those five stages are not developed correctly, the child may not be well-adjusted in adult life. The five stages are oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital. If these stages are completed adequately, Freud believed that the child would be well-adjusted.
Erik Erikson was the founder of eight stages of psychosocial development. He was inspired by Freud's work but believed that the development of identity and sense of self was the most important. These stages were associated with age and could result in one of two major ways. For example, in the second stage, a child could either learn independence or lack confidence. These stages could be a result of over-controlling or under-controlling parents.
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BehaviorismBehaviorism is the theory that focuses on the observable behavior that is affected by outside, environmental forces. This theory was first explored by John Watson, who performed what is known as the Baby Albert experiment.
Classical conditioning was first explored by Ivan Pavlov, who used dogs and food to create a conditioned response. An unconditioned stimulus, which was food, caused the dog to have an unconditioned response, salivation. Through repetition, Pavlov was able to train the dogs to salivate at the sound of a bell.
B.F. Skinner was the founder of the idea of operant conditioning, the process where a response to a certain behavior causes the behavior to increase or decrease. Through reinforcement, he taught rats and pigeons in his Skinner Box to tap a lever that will reward the animal with pellets of food. This caused the behavior of tapping the lever to happen more frequently.
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Social CognitiveSocial cognitive theory is the idea that sprang from behaviorism. Albert Bandura, the father of this theory, believed that behaviors are caused by operant and classical conditioning as well as by observing others. His Bobo doll experiment explored the affect of observing violence on the behavior of young children.
Abraham Maslow was a theorist that created the Hierarchy of Needs. Maslow said that this pyramid held the desires and needs of all humans. He believed that the most basic needs at the bottom of the pyramid had to be fulfilled before an individual could "climb up the ladder" towards fulfilling other needs. He believed that the highest level of maturity an individual could reach was self-actualization, and very few people reached that point.
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EcologicalThe ecological theory of development revolves around the idea that an individual is shaped by the environment it is surrounded by. The founder of this theory is Urie Bronfenbrenner. He believed that their are four systems that affect the individual's development. He also believed that when studying an individual psychologically, it is important that he or she is in their natural setting so that all outside forces can be accounted for.
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