Child Development: An Examination of Three Theories Essay Sample
There are a batch of theories sing kid development. Three of these theories are Bioecological Theory. Social-Cognitive Theory and Information-Processing Theory. This paper will discourse these theories by comparing and contrasting them. The first theory is the Bioecological Theory developed by Urie Bronfenbrenner. This theory is based on the nature vs. raising thought. Bronfenbrenner believed development of a kid was determined by the relationships among the environment or environmental systems around them. Within this environment there are five distinguishable systems which are related to a child’s relationship with the school environment. household environment and their recreational environment which includes church and athleticss conferences. These systems include the microsystem. the mesosytem. the exosystem. the macrosystem and the chronosystem. It is within these systems that a kid develops as all five of these systems work at the same time with the other. All of these systems change over clip and a alteration in one system can and will frequently impact the other systems. How a kid develops is based on the environment within these systems and what they are subjected to within them.
“For Bronfenbrenner. development is a complex interaction of the altering kid within a altering ecological context. ” ( Mossler. 2011 ) . The Social Cognitive Theory was introduced by Albert Bandura. Bandura showed us that the societal environment and knowledge have synergistic functions in behaviour and acquisition among kids. He farther proposed with this theory that kids learn merely by detecting both the environment and the people around them. “…suggestions by gesture and action foremost function to steer us in learning…” ( Boodin. 1914 ) . Like Bronfenbrenner he developed phases or stairss within his theory to show the interaction of his rules and knowledge ( believing ) . The four stairss are attending. keeping. reproduction and motive. The kid must first larn to pay attending and so retrieve or retain what they have learned. When they can get the hang these first two stairss they will travel on to reproduction where they will copy the behaviour. Then the concluding measure in which they will be motivated to prosecute in the behaviour. This is can be achieved Bandura believed. through support or penalty.
Finally the Information Processing Theory besides known as Cognitive Information Processing was introduced by Claude Shannon. In this theory he viewed cognitive development much like that of a computing machine. This construct was compared to a computing machine because of the manner both worlds and computing machines will take in. shop and procedure information. This theory focuses on the three phases of memory ( centripetal. short-run memory and long-run memory ) . It takes a expression at how these phases of memory retrieve and so reassign the information as it attempts to hive away and so subsequently remember it. As kids learn or develop they become better at this procedure because they can break interpret and store the information into their memories.
“As kids learn more stairss. their thought ability becomes more complex. ” ( Mossler. 2011 ) . Because these three theories focus on cognitive development they are instrumental in and are frequently used in the mental wellness intervention of kids and/or striplings. The Bioecological theory is used as a premiss when working with kids who have developed a mental unwellness due to a damaging or emotionally hurtful environment. Bronfenbrenner believed the household should move as a filter for these kids and buffer them against the harmful things of the universe. Bronfenbrenner believed if you can repair the environment for the kid trusting on his five systems so they can populate a normal life without the mental issues. It is believed by many that this theory is much more consistent with the facts and helps to explicate better the many factors covering with mental upsets among kids and striplings than the medical theoretical accounts.
Social-Cognitive Theory is used as a direct theoretical account when covering with kids and adolescent mental issues. This position helps research workers and mental wellness suppliers to gauge prevalence rates for mental upsets in kids and striplings as they develop both socially and cognitively. The survey focuses on kids in the context of their societal environments. These environments include their household. equals and cultural milieus. When studied a mental wellness professional can find which country or environment is doing the most harm to the mental wellness of the child/adolescent and work on bettering the mental province of the child/adolescent within that environment. Last with Information Processing Theory the mental wellness professional will utilize this theory in covering with the age of the child/adolescent and their mental capacity at the clip the upset emerges. Supporters of this theory believe this is an of import facet when covering with upsets because their memory development is what is taken into consideration and how they are covering with things within their age capacity and at that peculiar phase of development.
For case. a immature kid throwing a pique fit can be dealt with in such a manner as to believe about what their memory of this peculiar action has gained them in the yesteryear. If their stored memories of this action are stating them this action is honoring. they will reiterate this because they have no other memory. An older kid is expected to be able to acknowledge and hold stored alternate ways in covering with a nerve-racking state of affairs. If there is no memory stored a mental wellness professional will use the stairss or procedures of the Information Processing Theory to assist the child/adolescent develop this construct and shop it to memory. With the inclusion of these three theories among others. into the mental wellness attention field one can see the similarities of these theories. All three of these theories deal with the environment of a kid. the larning procedure by which the kid was exposed. the development of the cognitive ability of the kid and by the societal development of the kid. All three theories believe the environment plays an of import portion in the cognitive development of kids. They each believe it has an impact on how the kid learns and develops. They all agree when there is a break of the procedure such as the kid being subjected to mental or physical disregard or mistreat the kid can turn to be developmentally challenged or develop a mental unwellness as a consequence. What may be harder to find is the differences in these three theories.
The result of each would look to be the same. Each theory is based on cognitive development and the relationship the environment has on that development. What we may necessitate to look at is how these three theories seem to believe this development is attained. With Brofenbrenner’s theory of Bioecological development. he believed a kid goes through five distinguishable systems and learns their cognitive ability within each system while being exposed to the environment which makes up that system. Since he believed each one of these systems happens at the same time with the others we can infer he believed a kid shops their memories and experiences as they develop to utilize at a ulterior clip when covering with their growing. On the other manus Bandura believed a child’s societal environment was the most of import in their cognitive growing.
He believed this was a portion of their environment. but most influence came from the people around them to include household and equals. He believed a child’s ability to develop cognitively depended on what they observed within their environment and non merely by the environment entirely. Last when we take a expression at the Information Processing theory we can see there are differences among this theory and the other two. One distinguishable difference is this theory proposes that instead than detecting others and developing in that mode. kids can take in all that is around them and hive away it in their memories for usage at a ulterior clip. This theory although it is concerned with the environment a kid is in. it is largely focused on what the kid shops to memory than what the impacts of the environment are on the kid. In decision. these three theories are still thought of as prima theories today when discoursing the development of kids.
Mentions
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Mossler. R. A. ( 2011 ) . Child and adolescent development. Bridgepoint Education. Inc.
Nowell. April. ( 2010 ) . Working Memory and the Speed of Life. Current Anthropology. Vol. 51. No. S1. Working Memory: Beyond Language and Symbolism ( June 2010 ) . pp. S121-S133. Retrieved February 18. 2012 from JSTOR.
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