Learning Theories: Main Idea, Strengths and Weaknesses

Main Idea: Biological and physiological processes that influence traits and behaviourStrengths:expansion of understanding human health and disease processesdiscovering complex role of inheritance Weakness:neglects physiological, social and family conditions

Main Idea: genetic origins of behaviourStrengths:better understand evolutionadvancements are made in medicine and biotechnologyWeakness:ethical issuesdoes not account for a lot in development

Main Idea: environment and life experience affects gene expression which extends to traits and behavioursStrengths:increase understanding of inheritance factors promote early interventions Weakness:how life experience alters epigenetic markers is unknown

Main Idea: genetic makeup changes to over generations to maximize survivalStrengths:focus of early life influence and later behaviour and health outcomeWeakness:underestimates environment influencetoo much emphasis on hereditaryhard to prove

Main Idea: basic goodness in human beingdrive for personal growth and self actualizationStrengths:focus on development on individual choicemore optimisticmore credit to peopleWeakness:hard to prove concepts

Main Idea:motivation to satify physical social and psychological needsultimate goal : self actualization Strengths:focus on human developmentWeakness:unproven theory

Main Idea:behaviour is determine by environment through conditioning Strengths:learning theories can explain consistency and change in behaviour optimistic in change in behaviouraccurate picture in how behaviours are learnedWeakness:does not explain explain change over life span

Main Idea:neutral stimuli associated with natural stimuli create same responseStrengths:shows how emotional responses are learnedweakness:limited explanation

Main Idea: behavioural development can be shaped by punishment and reinforcementStrengths:basis of strategies in managing and changing behaviourWeakness:ignores other factors of development

Main Idea:behaviour explained through mind operation Strengths:based on lab experimentsWeakness:doesnt fully explain how mind works in real world

Main Idea:reasoning develops in 4 stages from birth to adolescence; each with its own schemaStrengths:age affecting how children think and actWeakness:inexact agesunderestimates child's reasoning abilitystages in adulthood not accounted for

Main Idea: cognitive functioningencoding, storage ,and retrieval process change with brain maturation and practiceStrengths:how much info can be processed and managed at one time at different agesframework to studying individual differencesWeakness:undermines complexityno overall picture of development

Main Idea: learning through models and situationschild's level of cognitive development affects impression and reaction to circumstancespeople shape and are shaped by environmentStrengths:how models affect behaviourincrease in understanding of human development by adding cognitive factorsWeakness:no over all picture of developmentunderestimation of biological influence

Main Idea:cognitive development strengthened through social interactions that involve speaking during guided problemsStrengths:importance of socio-cultural interaction in cognitive developmentWeakness:verbal instructions may not benefit cognitive development

Main Idea: provide interdisciplinary perspective in studying human developmentStrengths:captures complexity of individual and contextual variables and interactions among variablesWeakness:too complex to make generalizations and predictions

Main Idea:human development is product of interactions between individual and contextual variablesStrengths:highlights the need to study complex interactions Weakness:underplays influence of physical environment

Main Idea:science based approach to creating early childhood policies, practices, and interventions, aided at health promotion and disease preventionStrengths:promotes advocacy across all socioeconomic and political spectrum with health care professionals as leadersWeakness:research methodological and ethical challenges when developing links between variables