unit 11 task 1 coursework
The two case studies I have decided to use in my assignment is Ahmed and Sarah. The four
different perspectives I have chosen to talk about is for Ahmed, cognitive approach, and
behaviourism and for Sarah I have decided to talk about psychodynamic and social learning
theory
P1: Explain how psychological perspectives are applied to the understanding of human
development
Cognitive approach refers to the development of information processing of how their
emotions and beliefs influence their behaviour from birth through to adolescence and
maturity including memory, problem solving and decision making. According to (Bouchrika,
2022) is the information processing that helps us remember memories according to our
schemas.
Piaget is an example of the cognitive development through childhood with four different
stages of cognitive development used throughout a child life. The first development is
sensorimotor which range from age 0-2 which is when the sense of movement is
coordinated and when the child is beginning to be curious of the world. The second
development is preoperational which is between 2-7 years where their imagination widens,
and they are beginning to use appropriate words and makes them think in complicated
ways. The next stage is concrete operational from 7-11 when children start to do things on
their own. the final step is formal operational from 11+ is when their minds expand and can
things become more possible.
Behaviourism is behaviour that is influenced by the environment. This approach is used to
explain the role of reinforcement which there is positive reinforcement which occurs when
we increase the behaviour by adding something positive, so they know to keep doing it or
negative reinforcement which occurs when we take away something unpleasant to help the
behaviour stick.
Both classical and operant conditioning help us acquire new behaviours. Operant
conditioning is learning through imitation and observation and learning through
consequences for our actions. Classical conditioning is learning through association which
the study by Pavlov who observed the fact that dogs would start drooling at the sight of the
bucket before the food even reached their jaws when he initially introduced the ideas.
Psychodynamic is all about the conscious and unconscious mind and how our personalities
are made up of 3 ID ego and superego. The importance of the unconscious mind is crucial as
Freud believes that basic impulses and needs are presented from birth and that the
unconscious mind is mostly responsible for that behaviour. The importance of early
experiences is important for understanding this theory as the ego during early childhood is
the stage where the child begins to recognise their uniqueness when they are toddlers.
According to simple psychology (McLeod, 2020) the psychodynamic theory was created by
Freud so he could describe how human conduct began. His theory is a therapy as well as a
theory.
Social learning theory is all about the role theory as it is the examination of learnt
behaviours by the observations, imitation and modelling of novel behaviours that are
, unit 11 task 1 coursework
reinforced by role models. It can be shown as the effects of individuals meaning that we are
influenced by role models, and they can influence how we are. There are different groups
that we put ourselves in which we conform to due to normative social influence. Social
learning theory can also be explained through cultures and society on behaviour of
individuals meaning through our religion and the culture we are brought up in we conform
to these as they are considered normal and the way we are brought up. Social learning
theory can also be used to influence self- fulfilling prophecies as according to ‘Simple
Psychology’ (Schaedig, 2020) this can be explained in two ways: when your actions are
influenced by your own expectations which is called self- imposed prophesies. The second
type is when your behaviour is influenced by others’ expectations which is called other
imposed prophecies.
Bandura social learning theory according to ‘Simple Psychology’ (McLeod, 2016) ‘focuses on
how important it is to observe, model and mimic the activities, attitudes, and emotional
responses of others.’ The interactions between environmental and cognitive elements that
affect human learning and behaviour is considered by the social learning theory.
Theories of human development are put in place to give the study of human development a
framework that advances specific thinking and encourages the use of knowledge in public
policy and social activities. One way of explaining this is by the concept nature vs nurture
where nature is when biological elements like DNA and hormones have an impact on a
child’s growth, this focuses on the biological approach and nurture is carried out by non-
genetic methods like operant conditioning and positive reinforcement, this focuses on the
social learning theory. Another concept is continuity vs discontinuity which continuity
argues for progressive change in how children grow taller and so does their ability in
thinking, speaking, and behaving and believes development is more sudden as characterised
by a series of adjustments that lead to changing behaviours as people mature and that are
divided into stages. The last concept is nomothetic vs idiographic where nomothetic
compares the way we develop and looks for commonalities whereas idiographic examines
how each person grows and the possibility that they may have distinct demands.
When talking about the theorist which can help us explore the theories of human
development the theorist that could help us understand continuity would be Piaget as
believes that you must complete a step to move to the next stage. With discontinuity
Vygotsky suggests that people take steps into their development in different ways. With
nature vs nurture nature would come under the biological approach as it is nature according
to your genes. This theory can be backed up by John Locke who thought that all knowledge
and behaviour come from humans as a blank slate (tabula rasa) and that experience is only
source of all knowledge, so it comes naturally. Nurture can use Skinner as a theorist to
understand as he believed that operant conditioning which takes place in the environment,
shapes behaviour meaning its nurtured from experiences. The last theory of human
development is nomothetic vs ideographic which Karl Roger believed in the ideographic
view that each person is unique, and their experiences ideas and emotions cannot be
reduced into broader ideas or characteristics. He highlights how important it is to study each
other person in the context of their own unique life. Nomothetic can use Maslow’s theory as
it is based on the concept that these requirements are universal and apply to everyone
The two case studies I have decided to use in my assignment is Ahmed and Sarah. The four
different perspectives I have chosen to talk about is for Ahmed, cognitive approach, and
behaviourism and for Sarah I have decided to talk about psychodynamic and social learning
theory
P1: Explain how psychological perspectives are applied to the understanding of human
development
Cognitive approach refers to the development of information processing of how their
emotions and beliefs influence their behaviour from birth through to adolescence and
maturity including memory, problem solving and decision making. According to (Bouchrika,
2022) is the information processing that helps us remember memories according to our
schemas.
Piaget is an example of the cognitive development through childhood with four different
stages of cognitive development used throughout a child life. The first development is
sensorimotor which range from age 0-2 which is when the sense of movement is
coordinated and when the child is beginning to be curious of the world. The second
development is preoperational which is between 2-7 years where their imagination widens,
and they are beginning to use appropriate words and makes them think in complicated
ways. The next stage is concrete operational from 7-11 when children start to do things on
their own. the final step is formal operational from 11+ is when their minds expand and can
things become more possible.
Behaviourism is behaviour that is influenced by the environment. This approach is used to
explain the role of reinforcement which there is positive reinforcement which occurs when
we increase the behaviour by adding something positive, so they know to keep doing it or
negative reinforcement which occurs when we take away something unpleasant to help the
behaviour stick.
Both classical and operant conditioning help us acquire new behaviours. Operant
conditioning is learning through imitation and observation and learning through
consequences for our actions. Classical conditioning is learning through association which
the study by Pavlov who observed the fact that dogs would start drooling at the sight of the
bucket before the food even reached their jaws when he initially introduced the ideas.
Psychodynamic is all about the conscious and unconscious mind and how our personalities
are made up of 3 ID ego and superego. The importance of the unconscious mind is crucial as
Freud believes that basic impulses and needs are presented from birth and that the
unconscious mind is mostly responsible for that behaviour. The importance of early
experiences is important for understanding this theory as the ego during early childhood is
the stage where the child begins to recognise their uniqueness when they are toddlers.
According to simple psychology (McLeod, 2020) the psychodynamic theory was created by
Freud so he could describe how human conduct began. His theory is a therapy as well as a
theory.
Social learning theory is all about the role theory as it is the examination of learnt
behaviours by the observations, imitation and modelling of novel behaviours that are
, unit 11 task 1 coursework
reinforced by role models. It can be shown as the effects of individuals meaning that we are
influenced by role models, and they can influence how we are. There are different groups
that we put ourselves in which we conform to due to normative social influence. Social
learning theory can also be explained through cultures and society on behaviour of
individuals meaning through our religion and the culture we are brought up in we conform
to these as they are considered normal and the way we are brought up. Social learning
theory can also be used to influence self- fulfilling prophecies as according to ‘Simple
Psychology’ (Schaedig, 2020) this can be explained in two ways: when your actions are
influenced by your own expectations which is called self- imposed prophesies. The second
type is when your behaviour is influenced by others’ expectations which is called other
imposed prophecies.
Bandura social learning theory according to ‘Simple Psychology’ (McLeod, 2016) ‘focuses on
how important it is to observe, model and mimic the activities, attitudes, and emotional
responses of others.’ The interactions between environmental and cognitive elements that
affect human learning and behaviour is considered by the social learning theory.
Theories of human development are put in place to give the study of human development a
framework that advances specific thinking and encourages the use of knowledge in public
policy and social activities. One way of explaining this is by the concept nature vs nurture
where nature is when biological elements like DNA and hormones have an impact on a
child’s growth, this focuses on the biological approach and nurture is carried out by non-
genetic methods like operant conditioning and positive reinforcement, this focuses on the
social learning theory. Another concept is continuity vs discontinuity which continuity
argues for progressive change in how children grow taller and so does their ability in
thinking, speaking, and behaving and believes development is more sudden as characterised
by a series of adjustments that lead to changing behaviours as people mature and that are
divided into stages. The last concept is nomothetic vs idiographic where nomothetic
compares the way we develop and looks for commonalities whereas idiographic examines
how each person grows and the possibility that they may have distinct demands.
When talking about the theorist which can help us explore the theories of human
development the theorist that could help us understand continuity would be Piaget as
believes that you must complete a step to move to the next stage. With discontinuity
Vygotsky suggests that people take steps into their development in different ways. With
nature vs nurture nature would come under the biological approach as it is nature according
to your genes. This theory can be backed up by John Locke who thought that all knowledge
and behaviour come from humans as a blank slate (tabula rasa) and that experience is only
source of all knowledge, so it comes naturally. Nurture can use Skinner as a theorist to
understand as he believed that operant conditioning which takes place in the environment,
shapes behaviour meaning its nurtured from experiences. The last theory of human
development is nomothetic vs ideographic which Karl Roger believed in the ideographic
view that each person is unique, and their experiences ideas and emotions cannot be
reduced into broader ideas or characteristics. He highlights how important it is to study each
other person in the context of their own unique life. Nomothetic can use Maslow’s theory as
it is based on the concept that these requirements are universal and apply to everyone
