For example, behaviorism emphasizes nurture as it stresses the importance of conditioning and modeling. In contrast, the nativist theory emphasizes nature and the importance of biological factors such as the genetic code. 3 The psychosocial theory by Erikson places significance on both nature and nurture.
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Sociocultural Theory Child development theories focus on explaining how children change and grow over the course of childhood. Such theories center on various aspects of development including social, emotional, and cognitive growth. The study of human development is a rich and varied subject.
Roughly speaking, these theories can be categorized as emotional, cognitive and moral. Erik Erikson developed the most common theories of emotional development. Jean Piaget developed the most common theories of cognitive development. And, Lawrence Kohlberg developed the dominant theories of moral development. Let’s look at Erikson first.
Behavioral child development theories center on how children learn through their interactions with the environment. Early in the twentieth century, the school of thought known as behaviorism took hold in psychology. The behaviorists believed that learning and development were the results of associations, rewards, and punishments.
Psychoanalytic Child Development Theories. The psychoanalytic theories of child development tend to focus on things such as the unconscious, and forming the ego. The two primary psychoanalytic theories of development are Sigmund Freud’s theory of psychosexual development and Erik Erikson psychosocial theory of development.