Developmental Psychology

Achieve Test Prep: Developmental Psychology

Identical twins score higher than fraternal twins or siblings on correlational studies in regards to temperament. • Three major temperaments: Three defining temperaments include extroverted, placid, and shy. These temperaments indicate a level of sociability and both extroversion and shyness have been thoroughly studied. Jerome Kagan was a psychologist who researched the notion that shyness is exhibited in the first few months of life. During the first few months of life, inhibition towards new objects or people adds to individual shyness. Temperament has been shown to be consistent throughout life. There are three influential theories that attempt to answer how personality originates: o Learning Theory:  Personality is shaped by reinforcements and punishments by parents • Example: If a child is positively reinforced for smiling, the child will be more likely to develop a happy disposition  This theory blames parents for a poorly adjusted child.  Personality is LEARNED from parents o Psychoanalytic Theory:

 Personality is formed during the first four years of life.  Freud postulated the Four Stages of Psychoanalytic Development , with two of those stages being relevant to the Psychoanalytic Theory: • 1. Oral Stage: when the most discovery happens with the mouth and weaning is the most important task • 2. Anal Stage: potty training is the most important task to accomplish

o Freud believed children who failed to accomplish these tasks would become fixated on the stage in which they failed and would incur personality problems. His arguments were widely scrutinized.

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