After reading chapter 2 of the Lifesmart text, I gained a better understanding as to why we study so many different theories. Before reading the chapter, I felt that it wasn't too important to learn about all of the different theories because none of them can be proven. There are many different theorists in this chapter that express different ideas. I enjoyed reading about how they each believe humans develop. Overall whether their theories are true or not I believe it is important to study their work.
One major reason I found studying theories to be important is that it helps to explain how findings may be interpreted. On page 28 of the Lifesmart text, Fiore states that studying theories is important to help explain how findings may be interpreted because they offer a detailed guide that leads us to decide which facts are important and what conclusions we can draw. As stated in the text, " Theories allow people to make predictions about people's behavior." I agree, it is helpful to have statistics to base information off of. This allows us to make more accurate predictions.
A theorist I found interesting is Sigmund Freud. Fiore says, Sigmund Freud has earned the title "father of modern psychology" Freud's psychoanalytic theory is the belief that we possess powerful ideas and impulses of which we are unaware of but exert a strong influence on our behavior. I agree with Freud's theory, I believe that we all unconsciously express ourselves without even realizing it. I was interested while reading about the Freudian Stages of Development on page 30 of the Lifesmart text. I do not have any children of my own, but I babysit children of all ages. Recently I have been watching a one month old and a sixteen month old. After reading about the stages of development I can relate to seeing the stages of development change as the child grows. As he explains the pleasure center in stage one is the oral cavity, the child's main goal is to eat,bite,and suck. In stage two their main focus is to learn to be toilet trained. I have watched the children that I babysit grow I now realize the importance of these stages of development.
Another theorist that I enjoyed reading about was B.F. Skinner. He believed that reinforcement is very important. On page 39 of the Lifesmart text Fiore explains that Skinner stressed that consequences of behavior. He used positive and negative reinforcement to make responses more likely and better control behavior. I can relate to this theory because I use positive and negative reinforcement at the adult day program that I volunteer for. I work with adults with special needs. We have to use positive and negative reinforcement to help control their behaviors. For example, when a participant acts out by swearing or talking negatively to one of their peers/staff members then their consequence is to not be able to participate in fun activities (sports,crafts,cooking, etc.) This technique seems to work in a positive way, the participants know the expectations and how they are supposed to behave. Knowing that if they follow the rules they will be rewarded helps to teach them how to act appropriately.
This chapter has given me a better understanding of the different theories of lifespan development. There are certain parts from each theorist that I found to be very interesting. I am excited to learn more about human development.
I enjoyed reading your post, and was excited to see how your were able to relate a theory to your responsibilities. I found it difficult to apply just one theory to my daily interactions, because I have taken the introduction to this class to heart in believing that human development encompasses the total experiences of the individual, whether it's unconsciously as suggested by Freud, or by assimilating or accommodating as defined by Piaget, or by reinforcement as proposed by Skinner.
ReplyDeleteCaley,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post and it has given me more insight as to how Skinner's theory can be applied. I have noticed in my daily life that negative and positive reinforcement is used all the time, sometimes even subconsciously, and how it thus affects behaviors.
Also, I agree with you in that if you consistently use these reinforcements, the person will learn what is appropriate behavior and try to adhere to that.
Carly,
ReplyDeleteIt was fascinating reading your post especially about the B.F. Skinner theory about reinforcement.i use it every day as well when I'm in school and coaching. Not only dealing with high schoolers but kids of all ages you really do focus on repetition and reinforcement. I liked your example that you used about your work day. If a divide all acts out you take away something that they enjoy to serve as a punishment. I do the same thing when I coach. If we do not achieve our goals or do stuff that we know not to do I take some of the privlages that the students have. Or we work on something else that is similar to achieve the same goal but the students have a hard time catching on. It may be slight of hand but in the long run the students learn through repetions and reinforcement.
Great post.
Landon