Understanding Human Behaviour Workbook

Created by Miss D. Wali and C. Regis [1]

F920: UNDERSTANDING HUMAN BEHAVIOUR & DEVELOPMENT

September 2012 •Factors influencing human development

•Theories of human development

•Application of theories to aid the understanding of human behaviour and development

This unit provides an understanding of the influences that can affect growth and development and of the concepts and theories that can be used to explain human behaviour across different life stages.

Topics covered: Factors influencing human development

Theories of human development

The application of theories to aid the understanding of human behaviour and development


Human development is affected by many factors which may be advantageous or detrimental. These factors may be biological or a result of person who uses services’ experiences and/or the influences of the environment in which individuals are raised. This is the so-called nature versus nurture debate. You need to have a broad understanding of how both nature and nurture contribute to the development of individuals.

1 Genetic influences (choose two):Cystic fibrosisDown’s Syndrome Tourette’s Syndrome HaemophiliaHuntington’s diseaseSusceptibility to cancers and heart disease

2 Socio-economic influences: Family EducationHousing,CultureAccess to health servicesNutritionIncome differences

3 Influences of the physical environment: Water pollutionAir pollutionNoise pollutionHousing conditions/locationfloodingHygiene

4 Psychological influences: Self-concept Concept of othersFearPhobiasAnxiety

FACTORS:

Useful link:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/5337580.stm

Nature versus

Nurture

You will need to know how each factor affects the PIES development of

children, adolescents, adults and the

elderly






Task 1:

Give two example of physical, intellectual, emotional and social development of the following client groups:

ChildrenAdolescents Adults The elderly

Task 2: Give two example of physical, intellectual, emotional and social needs of the following client groups:

ChildrenAdolescents Adults The elderly

Task 3:

For each of the factors on page 2, explain the positive and negative effects on the PIES development of children, adolescence, adults and the elderly.

Useful link:

Needs of the elderly: http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/standard/

modern/changing_society/needs_of_the_elderly/

revision/1/

NEEDS:DEVELOPMENT:


THEORIES OF HUMAN

DEVELOPMENT

Psychodynamic perspective

Biological perspective

Humanist perspective

Constructivist perspective

Behavioural perspective

Social learning perspective

Some theorists believe that human development proceeds in stages. Others place emphasis on genetic, environmental and social influences on development. You will need to outline and evaluate theories that can be used to interpret and explain human development, at each life stage.

1 Psychodynamic perspective: Freud Erikson2 Biological perspective:

Eysenck Cattell 3 Humanist perspective:

Maslow Rogers 4 Constructivist perspective:

Piaget, Vygotsky5 Behavioural perspective:

Pavlov, Skinner 6 Social learning perspective:

Tajfel Latane Bandura

You will need to know one theorist in

detail from each perspective


The Psychodynamic Perspective: Erikson

Erikson (1963) argued that there is a fixed and predetermined sequence of stages in human development. The genes dictate a timetable for development. It is human nature to pass through the genetically determined sequence of the 8 psychosocial stages.

Based on observations of patients in his psychoanalytical practice, Erikson proposed 8 stages of the psychosocial stages of development.

Each stage centres around a crisis involving a struggle between two conflicting personality outcomes.

One of these outcomes is posi/ve (adap/ve), whilst the other is nega/ve (maladap/ve). According to Erikson every personality has a mixture of both, but a healthy development involves adap/ve outweighing the maladap/ve.

Previous childhood experiences have an impact on our later life and how we deal with certain situations/ people. Unsatisfactory experiences can be compensated for in later life. Positive early experiences can be reversed by later bad experiences.

According to Erikson, adolescence to be the key time to form self identity. At this age, the inability to integrate the self into coherent whole means individual suffer a role confusion and low self-esteem. As we grow older, our self-concept develops. From the ages 0-11, there is a significant person who acts as the main role model.

The stages are universal regardless of whether you are a male or female or where you are from. However, Erikson argued that sociocultural environment as having a significant influence on our behaviour and thinking.

Erikson’s first 5 stages of development are similar to Freud’s theory. Freud argued that only early experiences influence adult life. However, Erikson believed that personality development does NOT stop in childhood. He argued that people continue to develop and change throughout life.


Criticism Erikson’s theory was criticised for being too rigid. Erikson’s research was based on a small sample, mainly white, middle class males. Therefore, cannot be generalised to the rest of the population, especially women (Gilligan 1982). Also, it is hard to disprove/ falsify.


Psychosocial Stage 1 - Trust vs. Mistrust

1. The first stage of Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development occurs between birth and one year of age and is the most fundamental stage in life.

2. Because an infant is utterly dependent, the development of trust is based on the dependability and quality of the child’s caregivers.

3. If a child successfully develops trust, he or she will feel safe and secure in the world. Caregivers who are inconsistent, emotionally unavailable, or rejecting contribute to feelings of mistrust in the children they care for. Failure to develop trust will result in fear and a belief that the world is inconsistent and unpredictable.

Psychosocial Stage 2 - Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt

1. The second stage of Erikson's theory of psychosocial development takes place during early childhood and is focused on children developing a greater sense of personal control.2

2. Like Freud, Erikson believed that toilet training was a vital part of this process. However, Erikson's reasoning was quite different then that of Freud's. Erikson believe that learning to control one’s body functions leads to a feeling of control and a sense of independence.

3. Other important events include gaining more control over food choices, toy preferences, and clothing selection.

4. Children who successfully complete this stage feel secure and confident, while those who do not are left with a sense of inadequacy and self-doubt.

Psychosexual Stage 3- Initiative vs. Guilt

1. Initiative versus guilt is the third stage of Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development. This stage occurs during the preschool years, between the ages of three and five. During the initiative versus guilt stage, children begin to assert their power and control over the world through directing play and other social interaction.

2. Children need to begin asserting control and power over the environment by taking initiative by planning activities, accomplishing tasks and facing challenges.

3. During this stage, it is important for caregivers to encourage exploration and to help children make appropriate choices. Caregivers who are discouraging or dismissive may cause children to feel ashamed of themselves and to become overly dependent upon the help of others.

4. Play and imagination takes on an important role at this stage. Children have their sense of initiative reinforced by being given the freedom and encouragement to play. When efforts to engage in physical and imaginative play are prevented by caregivers, children begin to feel that their self-initiated efforts are a source of embarrassment. Success in this stage leads to a sense of purpose, while failure results in a sense of guilt.

Psychosocial Stage 4 - Industry vs. Inferiority

1. This stage covers the early school years from approximately age 5 to 11.2. Through social interactions, children begin to develop a sense of pride in their

accomplishments and abilities. 3. Children who are encouraged and commended by parents and teachers develop a

feeling of competence and belief in their skills. Those who receive little or no encouragement from parents, teachers, or peers will doubt their ability to be successful.

http://psychology.about.com/od/psychosocialtheories/a/trust-versus-mistrust.htm

http://psychology.about.com/od/psychosocialtheories/a/trust-versus-mistrust.htm

http://psychology.about.com/od/psychosocialtheories/a/autonomy-versus-shame-and-doubt.htm

http://psychology.about.com/od/psychosocialtheories/a/autonomy-versus-shame-and-doubt.htm

http://psychology.about.com/od/profilesofmajorthinkers/p/bio_erikson.htm

http://psychology.about.com/od/profilesofmajorthinkers/p/bio_erikson.htm

http://psychology.about.com/od/theoriesofpersonality/a/psychosocial.htm

http://psychology.about.com/od/theoriesofpersonality/a/psychosocial.htm

http://psychology.about.com/od/psychosocialtheories/a/industry-versus-inferiority.htm

http://psychology.about.com/od/psychosocialtheories/a/industry-versus-inferiority.htm


Psychosocial Stage 5 - Identity vs. Confusion

1. During adolescence, children are exploring their independence and developing a sense of self.

2. Those who receive proper encouragement and reinforcement through personal exploration will emerge from this stage with a strong sense of self and a feeling of independence and control. Those who remain unsure of their beliefs and desires will insecure and confused about themselves and the future.

3. Remember that each step builds on skills learned in previous steps. Erikson believed that a strong sense of personal identity was important to developing intimate relationships. Studies have demonstrated that those with a poor sense of self tend to have less committed relationships and are more likely to suffer emotional isolation, loneliness, and depression.

Psychosocial Stage 7 - Generativity vs. Stagnation

1. During adulthood, we continue to build our lives, focusing on our career and family.2. Those who are successful during this phase will feel that they are contributing to the

world by being active in their home and community. Those who fail to attain this skill will feel unproductive and uninvolved in the world.

Psychosocial Stage 8 - Integrity vs. Despair

1. This phase occurs during old age and is focused on reflecting back on life.2. Those who are unsuccessful during this phase will feel that their life has been wasted

and will experience many regrets. The individual will be left with feelings of bitterness and despair.

3. Those who feel proud of their accomplishments will feel a sense of integrity. Successfully completing this phase means looking back with few regrets and a general feeling of satisfaction. These individuals will attain wisdom, even when confronting death.

Psychosocial Stage 6 - Intimacy vs. isolation

1. This stage takes place during young adulthood between the ages of approximately 19 and 40. During this period of time, the major conflict centers on forming intimate, loving relationships with other people.

2. While psychosocial theory is often presented as a series of neatly defined, sequential steps, it is important to remember that each stage contributes to the next. For example, Erikson believed that having a fully formed sense of self (established during the identity versus confusion stage) is essential to being able to form intimate relationships. Studies have demonstrated that those with a poor sense of self tend to have less committed relationships and are more likely to suffer emotional isolation, loneliness, and depression.

3. Erikson believed it was vital that people develop close, committed relationships with other people. Success leads to strong relationships, while failure results in loneliness and isolation.

http://psychology.about.com/od/psychosocialtheories/a/identity-versus-confusion.htm

http://psychology.about.com/od/psychosocialtheories/a/identity-versus-confusion.htm

http://psychology.about.com/od/psychosocialtheories/a/generativity-versus-stagnation.htm

http://psychology.about.com/od/psychosocialtheories/a/generativity-versus-stagnation.htm

http://psychology.about.com/od/psychosocialtheories/a/integrity-versus-despair.htm

http://psychology.about.com/od/psychosocialtheories/a/integrity-versus-despair.htm


The Biological perspective: Eysneck

brain calm chemistry extroversion blood sugar levels stimulation inherited traits change introversion instability stability aggressive outgoing excitement Questionnaire risky extroversion low

Personality development is influenced by the _____________ and body ______________. Biological differences may explain why some people become aggressive or depressed, whereas other people in similar circumstances do not. This can be shown some/mes when fluctua/ons in body affects behaviour e.g., ____________________________________. He argued that intelligence is _____________.

According to Eysenck, “we are born with different tendencies to react to the world in different ways” this means that we are born with certain______________ (characteris/cs) which will result in personality development and these will not/cannot________________.

Eysenck believed that human personality could be described in terms of an individual’s level of _________________ versus _______________ (refers to a person’s tendency to seek _____________________); ________________versus instability (this refers to the person’s tendency to become emotionally upset); and tough minded versus tender minded. Level of introversion, extroversion, stability and instability can be measured by Eysenck’s Personality __________________ (EPQ).

A person who is highly extroverted is more likely to take risks, to have lots of friends and to be ______________, than someone who is introverted, whilst an introverted person is keen to avoid ________________. A stable person is usually ___________, whilst an instable individual is likely to overreact to certain situations and can become _________________.

Stable extraverts are outgoing, talkative, responsive, easygoing, lively, carefree, leaders; unstable extraverts are touchy, restless, excitable, changeable, impulsive, irresponsible; stable introverts are calm, even-tempered, reliable, controlled, peaceful, thoughtful, careful, passive; and unstable introverts quiet, reserved, pessimistic, sober, rigid, anxious and moody.

According to Eysenck criminal behaviour is particularly associated with high levels of _________________and ______________. He argued that extroverts are born with low level of arousal (they do not get excited very easily) and are constantly seeking to raise it through excitement and taking part in ___________ behaviour.


However, introverts are born with ___________level of arousal and are likely to be over stimulated by kinds of activity that extroverts find most comfortable. Introverts prefer quiet activities e.g., reading, painting, going to a quiet restaurant etc.

Evaluation:

simplistic effect introvert elaborate limit reductionist cause criminal label extrovert

It is _____________, because it fails to address how issues such as motives, the unconscious, environment, or beliefs about self affect personality development.

In regards to ___________ personality, it is hard to determin _________ and __________for example, is it the unstable extroverted personality that leads to criminal bevaiour or the criminal behavior that leads to unstable extroverted personality.

This theory can be used to _____________ individuals and __________ their experiences e.g., an individual who is considered to be an ___________might just be provided with quiet activities and __________ with active activities all the time. Thus not developing the other side of their personality.

Eysenck’s theory was criticised for being too ____________. Heim (1970) criticised EPQ because of being limited to “yes” and “no” answers, it does not give the individual a chance to ______________on their answers.


hierarchy of needs pyramid self-actualization subjective

Life experiences disrupted fulfilment growth needs esteem, love and other social needs

Safety needs human motivation deficiency Physical and Physiological needs lower level not generalizable Belongingness and Love needs Esteem needs

unrepresentative unscientific cognitive needs spiritual needs

Aesthetic needs

The Humanistic Perspective: Maslow

Maslow (1954) presents a -------------------------- which can be divided into basic needs or

-------------------------------- (e.g. physiological, safety, love, and esteem) and -------------------------

(cognitive, aesthetics and self-actualization).

One must satisfy-------------------------- basic needs before progressing on to meet higher level growth

needs. Once these needs have been reasonably satisfied, one may be able to reach the highest

level called --------------------------------------.

Self-transcendence needs or -----------------------: This is the desire to help others reach self-actualization. This need when fulfilled, leads to feelings of integrity and take things to another level of being.

-------------------------------------based on Maslow’s beliefs, it is stated in the hierarchy that humans need beautiful imagery or something new and aesthetically pleasing to continue up towards Self-Actualization. Humans need to refresh themselves in the presence and beauty of nature while carefully absorbing and observing their surroundings to extract the beauty that the world has to offer. This need is a higher level need to relate in a beautiful way with the environment and leads to the beautiful feeling of intimacy with nature and everything beautiful.

---------------------------------------- Maslow believed that humans have the need to increase their intelligence and thereby chase knowledge. Cognitive needs is the expression of the natural human need to learn, explore, discover and create to get a better understanding of the world around them. This growth need for self-actualization and learning, when not fulfilled leads to confusion and identity crisis. Also, this is directly related to need to explore or the openness to experience.

Every person is capable and has the desire to move up the hierarchy toward a level of self-

actualization. Unfortunately, progress is often ------------------------------by failure to meet lower level

needs. ------------------------------- including divorce and loss of job may cause an individual to fluctuate

between levels of the hierarchy. Maslow noted only one in a hundred people become fully self-

a c t u a l i z e d b e c a u s e o u r s o c i e t y r e w a r d s m o t i v a t i o n p r i m a r i l y b a s e d

on----------------------------------------------------------------------


Every person is capable and has the desire to move up the hierarchy toward a level of self-

actualization. Unfortunately, progress is often ------------------------------by failure to meet lower level

needs. ------------------------------- including divorce and loss of job may cause an individual to fluctuate

between levels of the hierarchy. Maslow noted only one in a hundred people become fully self-

a c t u a l i z e d b e c a u s e o u r s o c i e t y r e w a r d s m o t i v a t i o n p r i m a r i l y b a s e d

on----------------------------------------------------------------------

Psychologist Abraham Maslow (1943, 1954) stated that --------------------------------------is based on

people seeking ------------------------------------ and change through personal growth. Maslow described

self-actualized people as those who were fulfilled and doing all they were capable of.

1. ------------------------------- air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep, etc.2. ------------------------------- protection from elements, security, order, law, limits, stability, etc.3. --------------------------------- work group, family, affection, relationships, etc.4. - self-esteem, achievement, mastery, independence, status, dominance, prestige, managerial responsibility, etc.5. Cognitive needs human desire for growth motivates them to want to learn6. Aesthetic needs need for beauty etc5. Self-Actualization needs - realizing personal potential, self-fulfilment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences.

CriticismsHis methodology is very ----------------------------------------- because his research method was

-----------------------------------. He looked at the biographies and writings of 21 people he identified as

being self-actualized. From these sources he developed a list of qualities that seemed characteristic

of this specific group of people, as opposed to humanity in general. This means that his sample was

t o o s m a l l , t h u s h i s f i n d i n g s a r e - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - a n d

---------------------------------------------------------------------.

Not all needs are met in these ways, e.g. large numbers of people living in poverty in India have their

belonging needs met because of the closeness of the community. Also many creative people lived in

poverty be throughout their lives yet they self-actualized. E.g. include artists such as Rembrandt and

Van Gough.


! community Culture language social interaction socio-cultural mental processes/strategies culture biological strategy countries remembering better learner peers Zone of Proximal Development independently guidance skilled withdrawal scaffolding increase collaborative co-operative!

! Vygotsky saw children as curious, problem-solving beings who play an active part in their own development. Vygotsky places emphasis on ____________, _________________ and ____________ _______________ affecting/contributing to cognitive development. !!Vygotsky's theories stress the fundamental (important) role of social interaction in the development of cognition (Vygotsky, 1978), as he believed strongly that _______________ plays a central role in the process of "making meaning".

!

!According to Vygotsky (1978), much important learning by the child occurs through social interaction with a more knowledgeable other (MKO). The MKO may model behaviours and/or provide verbal instructions for the child. A more knowledgeable other refers to someone who has a _______________understanding or a higher ability level than the ___________ it can be their teacher, parent, siblings, older children or ____________.

Vygotsky refers to this as co-operative or collaborative dialogue. The child tries to understand the actions or instructions provided by the MKO (often the parent or teacher), then internalizes the information and uses it to guide their own learning.

!

!Vygotsky claimed that infants are born with the basic materials/abilities for intellectual development. Eventually, through interaction within the __________________ environment, these are developed into more sophisticated and effective _______________________________ which he refers to as Higher Mental Functions.

For example, memory in young children this is limited by ______________ factors. However, how we develop our memory will be determined by our ______________e.g., the type of memory ___________ that is promoted/ used in different cultures/ _________________. For example, in our culture we learn note-taking to aid memory, but in other cultures/countries they might have a different method of _______________________ e.g., repetition.

!

!Vygotsky developed the concept of "the ________________________________," or ZPD. This is an important concept that relates to the difference between what a child can achieve ________________ and what a child can achieve with ________________and encouragement from a ___________ partner (it can be their teacher, parent, siblings, older children or peers). This sort of assistance has been called _______________________. An important aspect of scaffolding is that there is a gradual _____________ of support as the child’s knowledge and confidence _______________.

!

! He argued that MKO plays an important role in the ZPD. Shaffer (1996) gives the example of a young girl who is given her first jigsaw. Alone, she performs poorly in attempting to solve the puzzle. The father then sits with her and describes or demonstrates some basic strategies, such as finding all the comer/edge pieces and provides a couple of pieces for the child to put together herself and offers encouragement when she does so. As the child becomes more competent, the father allows the child to work more independently. According to Vygotsky, this type of social interaction involving _________________ or _______________________ dialogue promotes cognitive development.

For example, the child could not solve the jigsaw puzzle (in the example above) by themselves and would have taken a long time to do so (if at all) if left on their own, but was able to solve it following interaction with the father, and has developed this skill that will be applied to future jigsaws.

!

The Constructivist Perspective: Vygotsky


MKO less instruction increases Assessment pair work

mental functions more interaction prompts withdraw

different capable scaffolding

In fact, the _________ need not be a person at all. Some companies, to support employees in their learning process, are now using electronic performance support systems. Electronic tutors have also been used in educational settings to facilitate and guide students through the learning process. The key to MKOs is that they must have (or be programmed with) more knowledge about the topic being learned than the learner does.

Evidence for Vygotsky and the ZPD Freund (1990) conducted a study in which children had to decide which items of furniture should be placed in particular houses of a dolls house. Some children were allowed to play with their mother in a similar situation before they attempted it alone (zone of proximal development) whilst others were allowed to work on this by themselves (Piaget's discovery learning). Freund found that those who had previously worked with their mother (ZPD) showed greatest improvement compared with their first attempt at the task. The conclusion being that guided learning within the ZPD led to greater understanding/performance than working alone (discovery learning).

Application of Vygotsky’s theory Vygotsky (1978) sees the Zone of Proximal Development as the area where the most sensitive _______________ or guidance should be given - allowing the child to develop skills they will then use on their own - developing higher ____________ ________________.

Vygotsky also views ________________with peers as an effective way of developing skills and strategies. He suggests that teachers use co-operative learning exercises e.g., ________ _________, where __________ able children work with ___________able children to develop different skills and knowledge - within the zone of proximal development.

Cooperative learning activities can be planned with groups of children at _______________ levels who can help each other learn. According to Vygotsky, for the curriculum to be developmentally appropriate, the teacher must plan activities that include not only what children are _____________ of doing on their own but what they can learn with the help of others (Karpov & Haywood, 1998). Instruction can be planned to provide practice in the zone of proximal development for individual children or for groups of children.

_________________should be carried out to find out what the child knows already and identify what they need help with and what kind of instructions, hints and ___________ can be developed to help the children within the ZPD. The teacher should gradually _______________ (limit) their support as the child’s knowledge and confidence___________________ (the process of ___________________).

http://www.simplypsychology.org/Zone-of-Proximal-Development.html

http://www.simplypsychology.org/Zone-of-Proximal-Development.html


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The Behavioural Perspective: Skinner

Outline and evaluate Skinner’s theory.


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Social Learning approach

consequences Vicarious high environment reinforced models aggressive watching observational model imitate low masculine feminine observing self-efficacy give up antisocial media positive environment biology laboratory ecological generalise

In social learning theory, Albert Bandura (1977) states behaviour is learned from the ______________through the process of _______________learning. He argued that people can learn new information and behaviours by ___________ other people. Children observe the people around them behaving in various ways. Whether behaviour is imitated depends on the ____________and the ____________________ of the observed behaviour.

This is illustrated during the famous bobo doll experiment.

Bandura demonstrated that children learn and ___________ behaviours they have observed in other people. The children in Bandura’s studies observed an adult acting violently toward a Bobo doll. When the children were later allowed to play in a room with the Bobo doll, they began to imitate the _____________actions they had previously observed.

Individuals that are observed are called __________. In society we are surrounded many influential models, such as parents within the family, characters on children’s TV, friends within their peer group and teachers at school. These models provide examples of_______________ and ________________behaviour to observe and imitate.

Steps in observational learning:

1. Behaviour is modelled by a role model, e.g. parent, friend or celebrity 2. Observer identifies with the role model3. Behaviour is observed and noted 4. Behaviour is imitated and learned 5. Whether the behaviour is repeated depends on reinforcement and rewards

According to Bandura’s social learning theory we are more likely to imitate a person who is ______________for their behaviour. _____________reinforcement is, therefore, a reinforcement which is received indirectly by ________________ another person who is being reinforced.

Self efficacy refers to the beliefs of what we are capable of achieving. Bandura argued that people with ___________ self-efficacy beliefs (they are confident and have high self esteem) for a specific task make more effort to achieve results whereas people with_________ self-efficacy beliefs (not confident and have low-self esteem) for a particular task will show a tendency to give up quickly. Bandura (1989) argued that self-efficacy beliefs are important, because they determine what we will try to do things.


Also, individuals with high __________________ are more likely to aspire to be like their role model, set challenging goals for themselves and believe that they will be able to achieve them e.g., I will make sure I get good grades at school to go to university and become a teacher, just like my dad; I will train really hard and will become a successful athlete, just like Hussein Bolt.

Individuals with low self-efficacy beliefs are less likely to set goals because they think that they will not be able to achieve them and are likely to ________ ____ really easily. They are more likely to follow others and give in to peer pressure and take part in ______________________behaviour e.g., committing crime etc.

Evaluation:

Research into the social learning theory has led to concerns about ___________ violence and the possibility of children imitating aggressive role models on television. This theory has highlighted the need for ___________ role models in the media.

The social learning theory concentrates on how behaviour that is learnt from the ________________ and ignores the role of ____________ e.g., children with ADHD.

Most of the experiments have been conducted in a ______________, therefore, lack _____________ validity. It is difficult to _______________ the findings to the real world.


Application of Bandura’s Social Learning theory to care settings

Bandura’s modification of behaviour

• Select an appropriate role model. This role model will be a more effective if the child sees them as:

o someone with similar values o more powerful o warm and loving o liked and

respected

• Reward any positive behaviour that this role model carries out. The child is then more likely to copy behaviours which are rewarded.

• Try to ensure that the role model’s behaviour is noticeable, that your rewards are noticeable and that the behaviours can be easily copied.

Psychodynamic perspective

Biological perspective

Humanist perspective

Constructivist perspective

Behavioural perspective

Social learning perspective!

APPLICATION OF THEORIES TO HEALTH, SOCIAL CARE AND EARLY YEARS SETTINGS

!

Application of Maslow’s Humanistic approach to Care Settings

The hierarchy of needs allows service providers to understand what client/children’s needs are. It also encourages service providers to see clients/children as individuals who are striving to meet these needs. Assessment and planning can help clients/children meet these needs.

The care values can be related to the triangle:

• Promote equality and diversity – all clients still have to have their needs met despite their age! So if a care worker is carefully applying this value then this can help the resident to feel appreciated and respected.

• Promoting rights and beliefs - Although staff may have to follow strict routines

they should also encourage residents to make decisions for themselves where possible.

• Confidentiality – This is very important for trust building and so can help meet the sense of belonging and self esteem needs.

Services will not be appropriate if they do not meet the needs of the individual who uses them, therefore they must be planned and designed so that they do meet users needs. We all have the same basic needs. Maslow represented these needs in the form of a pyramid showing which needs must be met first before others could be satisfied.


Complete the table belowH&SC SETTING CLIENT GROUP THEY

CATER FORHOW THEY MEET THE PIES NEEDS OF THE CLIENT GROUPS

Pre-schools

Schools

Nurseries

Childminding services

Children’s centres

Day-care centres

Support day-care centres

Residential homes

Hospices

Respite care

Foster care

Nursing homes

Children’s homes


Provision for needs to be met in early years settings

Provision for needs to be met inDay care settings

Personal support, supervision, advice, chiropody, aids and adaptations, meals.

Provision for needs to be met inResidential and nursing homes

Early years workers are often role models for children so should lead by example e.g. the language they use between each other will be imitated. Research shows that children imitate vocab and accent as well as actual words.

Day care centres encourage independence in personal hygiene and the SLT can be applied here e.g. a service user says that they are able to shower themselves today to the care worker and gets praised for this by the care worker. Another service user is watching this and when it is his turn for a shower he says ‘actually I think I can do it myself today’

Certain powerful residents can encourage anti-social behaviour through SLT e.g. a popular male resident flirts with the nurses so other residents start to do it e.g. a resident is bulling another resident and some residents begin to imitate the bully and join in.

The way the early years workers eat their lunch is likely to be imitated by the children therefore they should display good table manners i.e. eating with mouth closed, knife and fork in correct hands.

At day care centres intellectual stimulation is encouraged. SLT can be applied here e.g. the carers sit down to play chess. Service users see this and start their own chess group.

SLT can be applied to pro-social behaviour e.g. residents in lounge A always share the remote, so residents in lounge B start to do this too.

EYW’s need to be trained to provide reinforcement via praise for good behaviour. When children see their friends being reinforced for good behaviour, they are likely to copy that good behaviour too.

Physiotherapy takes place in day care centres and e.g. of SLT can be applied here – Fred and Bert both have arthritis. One is having physiotherapy for the condition and one isn’t. Fred’s arthritis is getting better and Bert can see this, so Bert now decided to have physiotherapy.

A service user may act aggressive towards the care worker due to previous experience of visiting their parent/s in a home where they were also aggressive towards the care worker which helped them get what they wanted

When a child behaves poorly in the setting an EYW must deal with it appropriately i.e. negative punishment – time out on a chair. They cannot ignore this otherwise other children will imitate the bad behaviour because they feel they will not get told off for it by the EYW.

One of the services that is provided by a day care centre is advice giving. An example of this within the SLT is: a service user is stubborn and has problems with money, which makes him very worried and not nice to be around. He agrees to get help with this and over a period of time everyone can see a substantial difference in his behaviour – showing happiness and being friendlier. One of his friends sees how much happier he is and decides to seek advice for his own financial matters.

If a service user is in a home where a lot of the other service users acted in a particular manner e.g. depressed/angry/happy then they may model this behaviour.

A child is most likely to copy someone with similar values, someone who is more powerful than them, someone who is warm and loving and someone who is liked and respected. In short, a child will copy someone who they admire and want to be like.

At day centres advice is given. An example of the SLT here would be Mary tells her friend Ann about seeking advice today about her financial problems. Ann also has financial problems and therefore suggests to Mary that she also wants to seek financial advice and therefore asks to go with her.

Barbara may come into the day care centre and say that she is going to see the chiropodist about some problems with her feet. Elizabeth overhears this and decided to go along with Barbara because she also has problems with her feet.

One of the elderly ladies has a routine of changing the sheets that she still carries over from being at home. Therefore she always takes off her dirty sheets before the maid comes round in order to help her out. As a result of this, the maid chats to her and smiles. The lady across the hall sees this and decides to do the same as she has never been talked to by the maid before.

Bandura would say that if a child observes behaviour of another child who, for example, generally shares well and takes turns they will notice that this behaviour is rewarded by being popular. The child will then copy this behaviour and in turn will internalise it and it will then take on that behaviour as normal.

Application of Bandura’s Social Learning theory to care settings


Provision for needs to be met in early years settings Provision for needs to be met inDay care settings



The biological approach argues that aggression must be discharged due to it being innate for some children. In nurseries the EYW’s must make sure they allow children to channel their aggression appropriately e.g. kicking a ball against a wall. Squezzing playdough. Give them the message that it is ok and natural to be angry but they need to control it acceptably. EYW’s must ensure that there are appropriate activities for aggressive energy.

The biological approach argues that aggression must be discharged. Aggression is likely to occur at a day care centre as they are away from their main carer (who they would not want to be aggressive to). It is important that service providers respond to this aggression appropriately in order to stop a confrontation from escalating e.g. when facing a potentially aggressive person, do not stand face to face, do speak calmly and softly and use slow, relaxed movements.

The biological approach argues that aggression must be discharged. Care workers at a residential home will need to be trained to deal with this. This is due to residents being in care for 24/7. They do not get the opportunity to vent this frustration in their own home (like you or I may do). Care workers must realise this and recognise that they may need to be left alone or use their own unique ways for discharging their aggression i.e. being pushed around the garden in a wheelchair to ‘rant and rave’ about a resident who has been annoying them.

One of the possible outlets for aggression is sport. This is called channelled aggression, if it is not accompanied by anger. Early years settings with aggressive children should use a lot of sport to channel aggression or suggest this to the parents to implement outside of the setting e.g. tackling in rugby, boxing clubs. Sport can provide a safe outlet for aggression according to biological theory.

Service providers in these type of settings will be trained to look for signs of extroversion, instability and neurotiscism and are now able to make a professional referral for the client to receive medication to control the unsocial characteristics of the extremes of these dimensions.

When a resident is getting aggressive (which some are biologically pre-determined to be), make sure there are no aggressive environmental cues about i.e. another resident that ‘winds them up’, a certain uniform – like the security guard patrolling the building…

We know through the biological perspective that children with downs syndrome (chromosome 21) are friendly, easy to get along with, caring, loving and approval seeking. The care for these children must take account of these characteristics and promote them. These are tender minded characteristics according to Eysenck.

Service providers should try to manage an elderly person with a predisposition to anger by reinforcing positive social behaviour and not reinforcing aggression e.g giving praise for positive social conversation and ignoring angry outbursts

Service providers in these type of settings will be trained to look for signs of extroversion, instability and neurotiscism and are now able to make a professional referral for the client to receive medication to control the unsocial characteristics of the extremes of these dimensions.

EYW’s should try to manage a child with a predisposition to anger by reinforcing positive social behaviour and not reinforcing aggression e.g providing praise for hugging other children and not providing attention for snatching toys.

When a resident is getting aggressive (which some are biologically pre-determined to be according to eysenck), make sure there are no aggressive environmental cues about i.e. another resident that ‘winds them up’, a certain uniform – like the security guard patrolling the building…

Service providers should try to manage an elderly person with a predisposition to anger by reinforcing positive social behaviour and not reinforcing aggression e.g giving praise for positive social conversation and ignoring angry outbursts

EYP’s need to be able to manage children on the extremes of the extroversion-introversion scale e.g. for a child who is quiet and shy we would need to purposely involve them in group work. For an extrovert make sure they are always challenged and that they do not take over.

Under Eysenck’s theory a service provider may label a person depending on their innate traits e.g. there would be a tendancy to label someone as aggressive who shows these behaviours. This is a disadvantage of applying Eysenck’s theory as it does not give the client much room for improvement – techniques would not be taught to manage angry outbursts because it is biological and therefore nothing can be done about it!

If a resident was an extrovert, displaying behaviour that was very dominant, e.g. not letting people help them in any way and not letting other people talk or contribute, the care worker will need to control the situation and calm them down, explaining they would benefit from help and also giving other people the chance to talk. Care workers need to be aware of the extroversion/introversion scale in order to manage behaviour and enable daily living for other residents to be comfortable – it is their home and they should feel at ease.

A service user may act neurotic and have a moody, changeable, and restless response to life events and will therefore show less optimism when it comes to taking part in activities. Taking part in activities is characterstic of a day care centre so service providers will need experience/training in dealing with this type of personality.

The care worker should consider that the client’s behaviour may be due to low blood sugar level, illness or stress. Care workers should try to fulfil their duties in an effective manner in order to support their clients; this could involve tasks such as helping the client maintain their personal hygiene, making sure that they have a healthy balanced diet, encouraging them to take part in light exercise, providing access to health care services etc.

A client’s behaviour is influenced by their personality so some actions may simply be due to their inherited traits. Some behaviour could even be the result of a physiological issue.

A client’s behaviour is influenced by their personality so some actions may simply be due to their inherited traits. Some behaviour could even be the result of a physiological issue.

The care worker should consider that the client’s behaviour may be due to low blood sugar level, illness or stress. Care workers should try to fulfil their duties in an effective manner in order to support their clients; this could involve tasks such as helping the client maintain their personal hygiene, making sure that they have a healthy balanced diet, encouraging them to take part in light exercise, providing access to health care services etc.

Application of Eysenck’s personality theory to care settings


Stages of hierarchy (bottom of table = bottom of the pyramid)


Self-actualisation(where an individual meets the ultimate goal in life; this is where they are free from pressures which are attached to previous levels/stages of dev and they are now free to explore who they have ‘become’ – they are likely to be more independent, feel emotionally fulfilled, have positive social development as they will have a greater acceptance of others and realistic perception of self)

According to Maslow children cannot self-actualise. This happens around middle age. Prior to this all their needs are still being met. In childhood they will not have developed a full identity/personality.

Self-esteem Needs(need to be recognised and acknowledged. Need to feel respected. This need is met by success being recognised too. Self-esteem is part of an individuals emotional development )

(Cognitive needs – we require stimulation/activities to promote knowledge and understanding; success here will affect an individual’s self-concept)

(Aesthetic needs – the need to experience beauty, truth etc – this will have a direct effect on our emotional development)

EYWs should respect children so they feel they are being listened to and valued e.g. set aside time to listen to their worries and views. Answer questions that they pose. Staff must be trained and aware of cultural differences so that they respect these in the children. Praise is so important for self-esteem. Encouragement to complete tasks so as they can see that they succeed. Group recognition of interests/achievements can be seen through activities such as show and tell and circle time.A good way to relax the children and start a circle time session, is by teaching and gradually building up to a simple game. The objective is to arrive at a situation where everyone gets the chance to speak, and to provoke an open discussion, to give time to celebrate achievements and then to provide time to calm down and bring closure to the setting.

Love and Belongingness(attachment to primary carer, feeling socially included. There is a need for love and affection to be shown towards the service user. Individual can then build on both their social and emotional development)

EYWs should build up a relationship with children to prevent children from feeling isolated and that they belong. Lots of group activities should be planned to build group cohesion. Activities to promote friendships between children should also be encouraged e.g. board games, role-play. Good working relationships with parents are also important between EYW and parent. Child needs to see this in order to feel they are loved and belong at the setting.

Safety/security Needs(freedom from threat, danger, intimidation. To feel safe physically and emotionally – this allows for development of skills such as independence and emotional security)

EYWs should keep dangerous objects e.g. scissors. away from children. The doors should be locked at all times (staff have an access code/key). Risk assessments should be carried out on a daily basis to maintain standards of the build and equipment. Emotional safety should also be maintained e.g. the key worker system is used so as a child can form a special bond with a carer to enable them to feel secure. Carers should maintain a healthy emotional atmosphere e.g. bullying must be stopped and disputes resolved.Many children are anxious about making the move from nursery to primary school. Circle time, buddies and mentors are some of the ways of calming anxieties and answering questions.

Physical Needs(food, warmth, shelter – generally understood to be basic needs which need to be met before individual can progress onto higher levels/stages)

EYWs should provide children with activities so that their basic needs can be met e.g. nap time, food, frequent drinks, play equipment to enhance physical development. Hygiene standards to prevent illness for the children. Advice would be provided for parents on immunisations and vaccinations and the appropriate age for each one. It is the responsibility of the EYW to suggest a child sees a doctor if illness is suspected.

Application of Maslow’s Humanistic approach to Care Settings



Provision for needs to be met inDay care settings

Personal support, supervision, advice, chiropody, aids and adaptations, meals.Self-actualisation(where an individual meets the ultimate goal in life; this is where they are free from pressures which are attached to previous levels/stages of dev and they are now free to explore who they have ‘become’ – they are likely to be more independent, feel emotionally fulfilled, have positive social development as they will have a greater acceptance of others and real ist ic perception of self)

Care workers need to prevent barriers from occurring so that residents are able to achieve self-actualisation – Care workers need to provide opportunities for service users so that they can self-actualise. Self actualisation is something that occurs when all our other needs are met. This involved accomplishing something we’d never thought we could achieve due to not having the physical or emotional space because of meeting our other needs. This will be things like providing services outside of the centre that will meet their ‘searching needs’ i.e. playing a musical instrument, learning to cook Indian food, learning to jive.

Self-esteem Needs(need to be recognised and acknowledged. Need to feel respected. This need is met by success being recognised too. Self-esteem is part of an individuals emotional development )



Service users need to feel respected. They need to be provided with independence and treated as an individual. We need to value people for who they are e.g. use their name when addressing them, respect their cultural beliefs and needs.A day care centre provides advice as a service therefore listening to service user’s worries and views is paramount in meeting this need.Encouragement to complete tasks so as they can see that they succeed. Group recognition of interests/achievements can be seen through activities such as appropriate awards at a presentation evening i.e. best chess player of the year. They could also celebrate achievements through exhibition – art and gardening. It is very important to help them feel as if they have a purpose in life i.e. making necklaces or knitting baby clothes to sell at the village fete. Apply the care values efficiently so that the individual develops or maintains a healthy self-esteem. Giving them options so that they can choose things for themselves (promoting individual rights and beliefs)

Love and Belongingness(attachment to primary carer, feeling socially included. There is a need for love and affection to be shown towards the service user. Individual can then build on b o t h t h e i r s o c i a l a n d e mo t i o n a l development)

Care workers need to provide safe, supportive relationships for service users. This is encouraged through group activities. Service users are usually encouraged to be involved in planning the care and development of themselves as well as the day care centre as a whole. Day care centres need to be involved in the wider community and market themselves as a nice place to be as well as this it is important for the service users so as they too can become part of the wider community and feel as if they belong in the community. Service providers need to be in contact with the family of service users so as the user feels as if s/he is loved and valued as they communicate about him/her. Older people need to be able to talk to professional care workers about their interests and problems too in order to feel they ‘belong’ at the day care centre.Keeping information on the service user confidential so that the individual can build a trusting relationship with the care worker and allow them to feel that what they tell the care workers are going to be kept confidentialCare workers should try to understand the service user’s challenging behaviour by encouraging them to talk about their needs and worries. Care workers should recognise that personal development comes from the love and respect from others. So to put that into practise the care worker should make sure that the client is treated in a way that they would treat someone they loved or respected regardless of their behaviour.

Safety/security Needs(freedom from threat, danger, intimidation. To feel safe physically and emotionally – thi allows for development of skills such as independence and emotional security)

Care workers need to provide a secure and safe environment for service users.Physical security = the building is safe and risk assessments are carried out on this by the staff. A key system so if necessary strangers cannot get in or service users wander off. Able residents will have their own access/departure arrangements i.e. a swipe card to enter and exit the building.The resources in the building need to be up to a required standard e.g. the hoists are charged before use, the wheelchairs have sufficient breaks. The activities provided to meet physical needs have to be safe and risk assessed before using. Supervision is a role of a day care centre – residents will feel safer if you are supervising them walking down the corridor to go to toilet by themselves for example.Emotional safety = All staff are trained and CRB checked – service users know this and this contributes to their sense of safety. There will be equal ops and bullying policies to monitor and evaluate any issues which should arise for the service users and providers. As part of their job role service providers encourage relationships between the service users – this aids in making service users feel safe once they have developed bonds with others.Counselling can be offered in a day care setting to reduce anxiety and help the client to feel emotionally safe.

Physical Needs(food, warmth, shelter – general ly understood to be basic needs which need to be met before individual can progress onto higher levels/stages)

Care workers need to provide basic needs for service users, such as meals. Day care centres provide this as part of their service. They also provide other health care e.g. chiropody, maybe a hairdresser, some may provide baths i.e. some service users may not bath themselves at home due to being unable to get in and out of the bath, so they will come to a day care centre for this. Activities to maintain physical health are also paramount e.g. armchair yoga, walking round the gardens; carers may help with exercises specific to their condition i.e. a stroke patient. Careful assessment and care planning can help service users to meet their physical needs.




Self-actualisation(where an individual meets the ultimate goal in life; this is where they are free from pressures which are attached to previous levels/stages of dev and they are now free to explore who they have ‘become’ – they are likely to be more independent, feel emotionally fulfilled, have positive social development as they will have a greater acceptance of others and realistic perception of self)

Care workers need to prevent barriers from occurring so that residents are able to achieve self-actualisation – Care workers need to provide opportunities for service users so that they can self-actualise. Self actualisation is something that occurs when all our other needs are met. This involves accomplishing something we’d never thought we could achieve due to not having the physical or emotional space because of meeting our other needs. This will be things like providing services outside of the home that will meet their ‘searching needs’ i.e. playing a musical instrument, learning to cook Indian food, learning to jive.

Self-esteem Needs(need to be recognised and acknowledged. Need to feel respected. This need is met by success being recognised too. Sel f-esteem is part of an i n d i v i d u a l s e m o t i o n a l development )



Service users need to feel respected. They need to be provided with independence and treated as an individual. We need to value people for who they are e.g. use their name when addressing them, respect their cultural beliefs and needs. When people live in a setting one must actually provide for cultural needs rather than just respect it e.g. a room to pray would be essential as they live there and cannot go home to do it.A residential setting should provide emotional support for service users; therefore listening to service user’s worries and views is paramount in meeting this need.Encouragement to complete tasks so as they can see that they succeed. Group recognition of interests/achievements can be seen through activities such as appropriate awards at a presentation evening i.e. best chess player of the year. They could also celebrate achievements through exhibition – art and gardening. It is very important to help them feel as if they have a purpose in life i.e. making necklaces or knitting baby clothes to sell at the village fete. Good working relationships need to be developed with service provider and user a balance of being friendly and professional is required to meet the self-esteem needs of somebody residing in a setting.Apply the care values efficiently so that the individual develops or maintains a healthy self-esteem. Giving them options so that they can choose things for themselves (promoting individual rights and beliefs)

Love and Belongingness(attachment to primary carer, feeling socially included. There is a need for love and a f fec t ion to be shown towards the service user. Individual can then build on b o t h t h e i r s o c i a l a n d emotional development)

Residential care workers need to provide safe, supportive relationships for service users. This is encouraged through group activities. Service users are usually encouraged to be involved in planning the care and development of themselves as well as the running of the home. Residential settings to be involved in the wider community and market themselves as a nice place to live, as well as this it is important for the service users so as they too can become part of the wider community and feel as if they belong in the community. Service providers need to be in contact with the family of service users so as the user feels as if s/he is loved and valued as they communicate about him/her. Often in a residential setting residents will have their own responsibilities that contribute to the running of the home e.g. Marj does the tea and coffees of an evening, Fred waters the plants and so on. This helps them to feel as if they live in the home and belong to it. Keeping information on the service user confidential so that the individual can build a trusting relationship with the care worker and allow them to feel that what they tell the care workers are going to be kept confidentialCare workers should try to understand the service user’s challenging behaviour by encouraging them to talk about their needs and worries. Care workers should recognise that personal development comes from the love and respect from others. So to put that into practise the care worker should make sure that the client is treated in a way that they would treat someone they loved or respected regardless of their behaviour.

Safety/security Needs( f r eedom f rom th rea t , danger, intimidation. To feel s a f e p h y s i c a l l y a n d emotionally – thi allows for development of skills such as independence and emotional security)

Residential care workers need to provide a secure and safe environment for service users.Physical security = the building is safe and risk assessments are carried out by the staff. A key system is used to prevent strangers getting in or service users wander off. Able residents may have their own access arrangements i.e. a swipe card to enter and exit the building.The resources in the building need to be up to a required standard e.g. the hoists are charged before use, the wheelchairs have sufficient breaks. The activities provided to meet physical needs have to be safe and risk assessed before using. Supervision is a role of residential care staff – residents will feel safer if you are supervising them walking down the corridor to go to toilet by themselves for example.Emotional safety = Most staff are trained and CRB checked – service users know this and this contributes to their sense of safety. There will be equal ops and bullying policies to monitor and evaluate any issues which should arise for the service users and providers. As part of their job role service providers encourage relationships between residents – this aids in making service users feel safer once they have developed bonds with others. Each resident has their own bedroom where they can feel safe to have solitary time and quality sleep (residents who do not get enough sleep are often tearful and moody).Counselling can be offered in a day care setting to reduce anxiety and help the client to feel emotionally safe.In a residential home you need trusting relationships with the care workers as you have to trust them to meet your needs day and night. This will contribute to your feelings of emotional safety.

Physical Needs(food, warmth, shelter – generally understood to be basic needs which need to be met before individual can progress onto higher levels/stages)

Residential homes will meet service users’ basic needs. Basic needs will include; meals, clothing and washing facilities. Residential homes provide this as part of their service, but it should be tailored to meet the individuals’ needs. They also provide other health care e.g. chiropody, hairdresser. Activities to maintain physical health are also paramount e.g. armchair yoga, walking round the gardens, carers may help with exercises specific to their condition i.e. a stroke patient. Resources e.g comfortable beds and routines that promote quality sleep are important to services users’ physical wellbeing e.g. Bill goes to bed at 7 and Ethel at 8 as Bill needs a bit more sleep than Ethel. Medication routines need to be followed day and night by the nursing staff. A check on personal hygiene daily is paramount. Opportnities for intimate relationships will be provided in their own personal living space. Aids and adaptations in the home will be provided to meet a variety of physical needs.


Pr inc ip les of operant conditioning

Description of principle


In the past, most settings chose to control the behaviour of their children by using positive and negative punishment (misbehaving or disregarding school rules resulted in punishments). Today, many school systems and other childhood authorities are inclined to provide positive and negative reinforcement to encourage good behaviour, reserving punishment techniques only as a last resort. While the results are not usually as immediate, they are typically seen as healthier, providing children with appropriate behavioural guidelines while allowing them their dignity – a nice intro to an application answer

Pos i t i ve reinforcement

This is where you ‘add’ something pleasant to strengthen a behaviour

If behaviour is rewarded then it will probably be repeated. Therefore, in childcare settings, only good behaviour should be rewarded e.g. Praising children using house points or stickers (adding something pleasant) when they have been good (behaviour strengthened)

Children need an appropriate reward for good behaviour e.g. for tidying the toys away. Every time a child behaves in an appropriate way then they should be rewarded. This will establish an appropriate behaviour pattern. It should then be rewarded occasionally to ensure it is repeated.

Occasionally bad behaviour will be rewarded and this should be avoided in a childcare setting i.e.giving them constant attention (adding something pleasant) when they are behaving badly i.e. screaming. E.g. if a child has a temper tantrum to get what they want and the adult gives in, then this will reinforce the child’s behaviour.

Positive reinforcement should be used to encourage the child to change their behaviour e.g. praise, smiles, house points or merit stickers. This is to encourage them to behave. Bad behaviour should be ignored as Skinner says that behaviour that is not rewarded is unlikely to be repeated.

Ideas for positive reinforcement in a setting:

Prompt feedback on work acts as a positive reinforcer e.g. ‘good girl’ for colouring a picture will make the child want to sit down and colour another picture straight away.

Plenaries (a discussion at the end of a set activity) are a good way to share ideas, provide praise and listen to each other – all of these are positive reinforcers

Question and answer sessions would be encouraged by skinner. They are an opportunity to quickly give reinforcement to childrenEvaluative point:Note: for positive reinforcement to work, it must be consistent – this is hard to remember when EYW’s are pre-occupied with other duties/children/activities to prepare

From these examples you can see that positive reinforcement can be used to strengthen good and bad behaviour and should be discussed like this when you are asked to evaluate

Negative reinforcement

This is where you ‘take away’ something unpleasant to strengthen a behaviour

There is one child who is always fidgeting on the carpet. The EYW may use negative reinforcement as a technique for combating this e.g.’ if you sit still (behaviour you want to strengthen) you do not have to do your tidying up duties today’ (taking away something unpleasant for the child). The result will be that the child will sit still – negative reinforcement has worked.

Negative reinforcement is used in settings to prevent behaviour being repeated e.g. a child is naughty – you do not respond with your usual punishment – naughty step (taking away usual punishment which is something unpleasant) and instead you ignore the behaviour, which in theory will make it go away (this is the result you want).

P o s i t i v e punishment

This is where you ‘add’ something unpleasant to weaken a behaviour

Punishment should only be used when necessary and should be outweighed by reinforcement i.e. a child should be reinforced far more than it is punished (Skinner).

An example of when positive punishment is necessary would be in the case of physical aggression e.g. if a child is hitting and kicking another child you cannot ignore this. You would have to show your disappoint in this child and also tell their parents (both of these actions are adding something to the situation). This may reinforce the child not to be aggressive again i.e. they will fear that you will tell their mum.

After this punishment you would need to watch the child for prosocial behaviours like hugging the boy he beat up 2 days previous – you would then reward him for this with praise and maybe even a sticker! The rewards for prosocial behaviour would need to be consistent to ‘stamp out’ the aggressive behaviour.

N e g a t i v e punishment

This is where you ‘take away’ something pleasant to weaken a behaviour

Punishment should only be used when necessary and should be outweighed by reinforcement i.e. a child should be reinforced far more than it is punished.

An example of when negative punishment is necessary would be in the case of a child swearing e.g. if a child is using obscene language in the setting it can not be ignored. You could provide negative punishment for this e.g. putting him on the ‘time out’ spot (this is taking away his time). This may reinforce the child not to swear again i.e. they will fear that you will put them in the ‘time out’ spot

After this punishment you would need to watch the child for prosocial vocab like using other words to show frustration e.g. ‘naughty teddy’ – you would then reward him for this with praise and maybe even a sticker! The rewards for prosocial vocab would need to be consistent to ‘stamp out’ the swearing.

Application of Skinner’s behaviourist approach to Care Settings


Behaviour shaping

Basically, you start with a very low criteria and gradually increase your criteria until you reach your target behavior. For example, you could first teach a horse to approach a trailer, and then teach it to put 2 feet in the trailer, then 4 feet, and then walk to the front of the trailer. By breaking the behavior down into small steps, you can create a new behavior without anything ever becoming too difficult or scary for the horse.

Skinner said that parents reward infant babbling by giving the infant attention and shaping. This increases vocalization. Parents shape the child’s language behaviour e.g. a smile from EYW when baby makes a sound, a cuddle and a smile when they say their first word, praise when they string a sentence together and so on….

Behaviour shaping of language is a natural process and is not intentional by the parents.Criticism

• Some parents pay little attention to their children but language still develops

• In the second year of life – language development is rapid and shaping is such a lengthy process. The two don’t go together!

• Parents rarely reinforce correct grammar in a child’s speech – this makes it less likely that shaping enables children to learn grammar (Brown and Hanlon, 1970)

Behaviour shaping has helped improve the communication skills of autistic children in a childcare setting. This is the process:

• The therapist first identifies an activity that the child enjoys e.g. playing with a special toy.

• Every time the child looks at the therapist, she gives him the toy• Eventually the child will look at the therapist in anticipation of the toy, but

she withholds it until the child reaches for the toy.• Now, when he reaches for the toy he is given it and at the same time the

therapist says ‘please’• When reaching has become established, the toy is withheld until the child

himself makes a sound when he reaches. Then he is given the toy.• This process continues, reinforcing the behaviour until it is established and

then withholding reinforcement until a more specific behaviour becomes established.

IF THE TECHNIQUE IS SUCCESSFUL, THE CHILD MAY EVENTUALLY SPEAK SPONTANEOUSLY.

This has been found to be an effective technique, but reinforcement usually needs to be maintained in order for the child to continue the behaviour.

Generalisation

In generalization, a behavior may be performed in more than one situation. For example, the rat who receives food by pressing one lever, may press a second lever in the cage in hopes that it will receive food.

The child saying please when they want something due to them being rewarded for saying it before e.g. being rewarded in a nursery for saying please when they ask for a drink, means that they will generalise this to other situations where please will be necessary.

Discrimination

Learning that a behavior will be rewarded in one situation, but not another e.g. children will be rewarded when greeting friends and family but not strangers

EYPs will provide praise only for activities they want children to show. E.g. in the playground children may be praised for saying hello to friends parents but they will not be praised for saying hi to every adult at the playground.

Extinction The elimination of the behavior by stopping reinforcement of the behavior. For example, a rat who received food when pressing a bar, receives food no longer, will gradually decrease the amount of lever presses until the rat eventually stops lever pressing.

Children who are not reinforced consistently will end up extinguishing their behaviours e.g. Tim is interested in a musical instrument. He gets lots of praise and passes exams in the first year of playing it (both act as reinforcers). In the second year he only passes one exam and people are not praising his playing of the instrument anymore. Tim gives up playing the instrument.

From this we learn that behaviours we want to encourage in early years settings must always be reinforced.

Provision for needs to be met in early years settings cont...


Principles of o p e r a n t conditioning



P o s i t i v e reinforcement


Prosocial behaviours develop because they are rewarded e.g. residents who help with daily duties in a day care centre will receive praise and likeability. This will make them feel good and they will want to help with the daily duties next time they come.

Calm and cooperative behaviour is rewarded in day-care settings with positive responses from the care workers such as praise and thanks.

Older people can be reinforced with activities which they enjoy e.g. bingo or playing cards.

Some people reward antisocial behaviour e.g. an old man who makes comments of a sexual nature towards a service provider may get laughs from his friends. The laughs that he gets will reinforce this form of anti-social behaviour. For this to stop he would have to mix with people who did not find this impressive – he would then not receive the attention required to repeat this behaviour.

This perspective helps carers to understand antisocial behaviour and helps them to be able to manage it i.e. rewarding pleasant behaviours and ignoring or punishing unpleasant ones If the cooperative behaviour is rewarded, then the antisocial behaviour is unlikely to return.

Negat i ve reinforcement

This is where you ‘take away’ something unpleasant to strengthen a behaviour.

Negative reinforcement is less likely to be used at a day care setting , but here is an example of how it could be implemented:

Ethel loves gardening and the gardening needs to be done at the day-care setting by service users (as one of the activities offered at the setting). They key worker says to Ethel “you don’t have to do the washing up (taking away something unpleasant) if you help Miriam with the gardening today” (something that you want doing and Ethel likes)


This is where you ‘add’ something unpleasant to weaken a behaviour.

Positive punishment is even more unlikely to be used. The only form of positive punishment would be disappointment from a service provider to a service user if they have acted inappropriately e.g. having a food fight. Any other form of positive punishment in a day care setting would be regarded as abuse.

See column to the left – positive punishment will only be effective if it is outweighed with reinforcement i.e. next time the service user is eating properly they get praised for it. This praise will need to be consistent to stop the food fight from happening again.



E.g. Did not help clean away the dinner plates so they had to wash up.

Because they are adults the negative punishment cannot be applied often. If they were to apply it frequently they would be bordering on abuse. (The practitioner can only take away their time and if it is appropriate to the behaviour being punished)

Provision for needs to be met in day care settings


Behav iou r shaping

Basically, you start with a very low criteria and gradually increase your criteria until you reach your target behavior. For example, you could first teach a horse to approach a trailer, and then teach it to put 2 feet in the trailer, then 4 feet, and then walk to the front of the trailer. By breaking the behavior down into small steps, you can create a new behavior without anything ever becoming too difficult or scary for the horse.

The behaviour of service users can be changed by behaviour modification techniques.

The key to successful reinforcement behaviour modification techniques is consistency. It is necessary for the teacher to follow through on the established reinforcement schedule without exception.

Behaviour modification techniques could be used with teaching a service user to knit. The person who is the leader (the service provider), must define clearly what it is the service user needs to learn and how the individual is to show that the learning has taken place.

The stages that take place in this type of learning are:

• Setting the goal i.e. making a scarf• Establishing the student’s operant level (what do they

need to learn and what do they already know)• Using reinforcement to strengthen or condition

behaviour i.e. always reinforce ‘new steps’ in the knitting process

• Withhold reinforcement until new things are learnt in the knitting process or extinguish other individual behaviour i.e. do not reinforce mistakes in the scarf by providing attention to them.

Generalisation

In generalization, a behavior may be performed in more than one situation. For example, the rat who receives food by pressing one lever, may press a second lever in the cage in hopes that it will receive food.

When the service user cuddles another service user and gets a welcoming response – they may then try and cuddle all service users (the problem with this is that some people do not like to be tactile.

Discrimination

Learning that a behavior will be rewarded in one situation, but not another e.g. children will be rewarded when greeting friends and family but not strangers

Service users will seek financial help at a day acre setting and will receive the help they require, this will reinforce them to seek advice again. The problem is that day care centres do not provide advice on all life matters and service users need to learn this.

Extinction The elimination of the behavior by stopping reinforcement of the behavior. For example, a rat who received food when pressing a bar, receives food no longer, will gradually decrease the amount of lever presses until the rat eventually stops lever pressing.

Service users who are not reinforced consistently will end up extinguishing their behaviours e.g. Ethel is scared of having her feet done but has been praised for visiting the chiropodist in the last two weeks every day at the day care centre. The following week she receives no praise or encouragement and decides to stop going.

From this we learn that behaviours we want to encourage in day care settings must always be reinforced.

Provision for needs to be met in day care settings cont...


Principles of o p e r a n t conditioning


P o s i t i v e reinforcement


Positive behaviour like acting independently is rewarded greatly in residential homes.

Prosocial behaviours develop because they are rewarded e.g. residents who help with living duties i.e. washing clothes in a residential setting will receive praise and like-ability. This will make them feel good and they will want to help with the living duties on a weekly basis.

Calm and cooperative behaviour is rewarded in day-care settings with positive responses from the care workers such as praise and thanks. The residents are rewarded with days out when they are being cooperative which reinforces this behaviour.

Older people can be reinforced with activities which they enjoy e.g. bingo or playing cards.

Some people reward antisocial behaviour e.g. an old man who makes comments of a sexual nature towards a service provider may get laughs from his friends. The laughs that he gets will reinforce this form of anti-social behaviour. For this to stop he would have to mix with people who did not find this impressive – he would then not receive the attention required to repeat this behaviour.

This perspective helps carers to understand antisocial behaviour and helps them to be able to manage it i.e. rewarding pleasant behaviours and ignoring or punishing unpleasant ones If the cooperative behaviour is rewarded, then the antisocial behaviour is unlikely to return.

N e g a t i v e reinforcement

This is where you ‘take away’ something unpleasant to strengthen a behaviour.

Negative reinforcement is less likely to be used at a residential setting , but here is an example of how it could be implemented:

Ethel loves gardening and the gardening needs to be done at the by service users (as one of the activities offered at the setting). They key worker says to Ethel “you don’t have to do the washing up (taking away something unpleasant) if you help Miriam with the gardening today” (something that you want doing and Ethel likes)


This is where you ‘add’ something unpleasant to weaken a behaviour.

Positive punishment is even more unlikely to be used. The only form of positive punishment would be disappointment from a service provider to a service user if they have acted inappropriately e.g. having a food fight. Any other form of positive punishment in a residential setting would be regarded as abuse.

See column to the left – positive punishment will only be effective if it is outweighed with reinforcement i.e. next time the service user is eating properly they get praised for it. This praise will need to be consistent to stop the food fight from happening again.



e.g. Taking away their leisure activity because they attacked the practitioner.

Because they are adults the negative punishment cannot be applied often. If they were to apply it frequently they would be bordering on abuse. (The practitioner can only take away their time and if it is appropriate to the behaviour being punished)

Provision for needs to be met in residential and nursing homes


Behav i ou r shaping

Basically, you start with a ve r y l ow c r i t e r i a and gradually increase your criteria until you reach your t a r g e t b ehav i o u r. Fo r example, you could first teach a horse to approach a trailer, and then teach it to put 2 feet in the trailer, then 4 feet, and then walk to the front of the trailer. By breaking the behaviour down into small steps, you can create a new behaviour w i thout any th ing ever becoming too difficult or scary for the horse.

Token EconomyBehaviour is rewarded with tokens. These can be exchanged for something the individual wants. Used mostly in institutional settings e.g. the psychiatric section in a residential home e.g. taking a shower is rewarded with 5 tokens and washing up is rewarded with 5 tokens. The service user can now watch a video which costs 10 tokens.This is very effective for managing patients and improving their self-care and social skills.Evaluation

• Requires close monitoring of patient behaviour for it to work – sometimes this is not possible.

• The patients tend to become very dependant on the system, making it difficult for them once they leave the institution

Generalisation

I n g e n e r a l i s a t i o n , a b e h a v i o u r m a y b e performed in more than one situation. For example, the rat who receives food by pressing one lever, may press a second lever in the cage in hopes that it will receive food.

When the service user cleans and organises all the lounges as they were rewarded with some flowers for cleaning and tidying the lounge they usually sit in.

Discrimination

Learning that a behaviour will be rewarded in one situation, but not another e . g . c h i l d r e n w i l l b e rewarded when greeting friends and family but not strangers

Care workers could praise service users for sticking to routines and going to sleep at bedtime although they should not be praised for sleeping in the day.

Extinction The el iminat ion of the behav iour by s topp ing r e i n f o r c e m e n t o f t h e behaviour. For example, a rat who received food when pressing a bar, receives food no longer, will gradually decrease the amount of lever presses until the rat eventua l l y s tops lever pressing.

Residents who are not reinforced consistently will end up extinguishing their behaviours e.g. Jack is scared of having a bath (due to a recent hip operation) but has been praised for having a bath twice a week every day in the home. The following week he receives no praise or encouragement and decides to stop having a bath – his fear of damaging his hip returns.

From this we learn that behaviours we want to encourage in residential care settings must always be reinforced.

Provision for needs to be met in residential and nursing homes cont...


Application of Vygotsky’s constructivist approach to Care Settings

Task: use the information on page 13-14 to apply Vygotsky’s theory to an early years setting.

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Application of Erikson’s psychodynamic approach to Care Settings

Task: use the information on page 5-8 to apply Erikson’s theory to health, social care and an early years setting.

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You need to understand the importance of bonding (attachment) between a child and their primary carer as

initially studied by Bowlby and how this may relate to the psychological perspective of Freud and Erikson.

ATTACHMENT

Problems with Attachment

What happens to children who do not form secure attachments? Research suggests that failure to form secure attachments early in life can have a negative impact on behavior in later childhood and throughout the life. Children diagnosed with oppositional-defiant disorder (ODD), conduct disorder (CD) or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) frequently display attachment problems, possibly due to early abuse, neglect or trauma. Clinicians suggest that children adopted after the age of six months have a higher risk of attachment problems.

While attachment styles displayed in adulthood are not necessarily the same as those seen in infancy, research indicates that early attachments can have a serious impact on later relationships. For example, those who are securely attached in childhood tend to have good self-esteem, strong romantic relationships and the ability to self-disclose to others. As adults, they tend to have healthy, happy and lasting relationships

Attachment is an emotional bond to another person. Psychologist John Bowlby was the first attachment theorist, describing attachment as a "lasting psychological connectedness between human beings" (Bowlby, 1969, p. 194). Bowlby believed that the earliest bonds formed by children with their caregivers have a tremendous impact that continues throughout life.

According to Bowlby, attachment also serves to keep the infant close to the mother, thus improving the child's chances of survival.

The central theme of attachment theory is that mothers who are available and responsive to their infant's needs establish a sense of security in their children. The infant knows that the caregiver is dependable, which creates a secure base for the child to then explore the world.

http://psychology.about.com/od/profilesal/p/john-bowlby.htm

http://psychology.about.com/od/profilesal/p/john-bowlby.htm


When secure attachment is formed, this means: More confidence to explore, solve problems and maintain interests Enthusiasm persistence and cooperation Greater happiness Attentiveness Willingness to participate in class Higher grades at school Greater empathy towards others Social competence and skills Higher self-esteem Ability to form meaningful relationships with peers Trusting in the world as a ‘good place’ Greater self-respect Greater self-confidence and self-concept

Task: Explain how Bowlby’s attachment theory relates to the psychological perspective of Freud and Erikson.

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NATURE VS NURTURE

Gender: BoysMore risk takingMore aggressiveMore physicalRough & tumble playBetter mathematical

Skills & spatial ability (map reading!)

GirlsHigher verbal abilityHigher spelling conversational ability.Less Physical‘Caring’ less aggressive.

Behaviour: Pro-social behaviourCooperationWorking togetherHelping and caring behavioursIn children this includes sharing,Taking turns, responding to the needs of others

Anti-social Behaviour

Difficulty in getting on with othersAggressive & disruptive, in children this includes hitting, bullying, teasing, verbal abuse.HostileUncooperative

People behave the way they do because they are determined by the things other people teach them, the things they observe around them, and because of the different situations they are put in.

Factors that affect the development of: Behaviour Personality Language Gender Roles

People behave the way they do because they are animals who act in accordance with their animal instincts and are determined by their biology.

Gender cont: Clear Biological differencesOccupational choice differsPlaytime differs in childrenTo what extent do media stereotypes affect the

Personality: A unique set of characteristicsRelatively stable over timeWhat factors affect how our personality is shaped?


Nature Vs Nurture cont... Nature: Genetics

Family traits, physical appearance, similarities, height, hair colour, eye colour

GenotypeThe genetic pattern an individual inherits.Every human has 23 pairs of chromosomes, half inherited from the mother and half from the Father. These combine to form a UNIQUE gene pattern known asyour GENOTYPE.

Evidence to support the nature argument: Dr Thomas Bouchard of the Minnesota Centre for Twin Adoption Research concluded that genetic factors play a huge part in human behaviour. The study focussed on identical twins who had been raised apart from each other.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yTCShemS_0&feature=player_embedded (2.30 mins)http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/09/27/sunday/main3304885.shtml (paper article)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gwnzW4jOMI (10 mins)

MATURATION – a timetable of development built into a person’s genotypeWalkingLanguagePubertyThese are all UNIVERSAL and happenat roughly the same time. Variation in timings may be due to environmental influences e.g. nutrition.

Genetic patterned behaviour:Attachment in humans, Imprinting in animals – both behaviours promote survival

Genetic patterned behaviour – behaviours we are born with.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yTCShemS_0&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yTCShemS_0&feature=player_embedded

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/09/27/sunday/main3304885.shtml

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/09/27/sunday/main3304885.shtml

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gwnzW4jOMI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gwnzW4jOMI


Mental illness & Environment

Cognitive Development & Deprivation

Obesity & Envirnoment

Genes alone do not predict development….

Environmental Factors:IncomeHousingNutrition (pre and post natal)Education Access to health facilitiesParenting StylesPlay OpportunitiesWeatherInteraction with others

Please see the previous sections to recap on how these factors affect human development.

PARENTING STYLE: FEATURES

Authoritarian Cold Child has little choiceUnaffectionate Strict rulesFrequent punishment

Democratic Emotionally Warm Encourages Self-relianceFrequent guidance Explains rulesPunishes serious wrong-doingsShares decision making

Permissive Little guidance Emotionally warmDoes not apply rules or allows the child to do what he/she wants Inconsistent


Summary Because someone is born into a low income environment, does NOT mean they will grow up to be poor & disadvantaged.

It is important to understand that a person’s sense of ‘SELF’ influences their development and the CHOICES they make gives them more CONTROL over their environment.

A person’s ability is strongly influenced by their GENOTYPE and the ENVIRONMENT.

Task: CASE STUDYRachel’s parents have always been interested in music. Her mother is a music teacher at the local school and teaches the piano to pupils at home. Rachel’s father has a large collection of records and CDs of all kinds of music and conducts a local choir in his spare time. There is always music playing in the house, coming from the CD player or the piano. Rachel, at 6 is already showing a real interest in music. When listening to music, she can repeat the rhythm and comments on changes in tone and pitch. She can already play a few simple tunes on the piano and is interested in the way that tunes can be written down on sheet music

1) Do you think Rachel’s musical ability is genetically determined?

2)What factors in Rachel’s nurture do you think contributed to her enjoyment of music?

3)What factor do you think is the most important?

4) Thinking of two more possible examples write down arguments for and against both the nature & nurture argument

5)Why do you think the nature-nurture debate is relevant to those who work in health and social care?


In order to further appreciate the nature vs. nurture debate, you need to understand the role of the behavioural and social learning perspectives in the development of language and how theorists such as Chomsky and Lennerberg view language development biologically.

You need to know the study of ‘feral’/severely deprived children.

LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

THE STAGES OF LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

As children we learn to speak in stages with increasing complexity. Below are the stages (copied from a mark scheme):

Stages

The pre-linguisticSounds, noises, gurgling etc. Baby listens intently, responds to tone of voice, recognises familiar voices. By 9 months repeats sounds, uses appropriate gestures. Babbling takes on ‘tune’ of language they are hearing.

Holophrase (to approx 12 months)Single words with a range of meanings, used with purpose. Co-operation develops in conversations and in following instructions. Tuneful babble develops into expressive ‘jargon’ – voice goes up and down appropriately

Telegraphic (to approx 2 years)Abbreviated phrases used with meaning e.g. ‘doggie gone’. Understands wide range of vocabulary and uses around 50 words. Uses own name and names objects and actions. Rapid development of vocabulary and understanding. Enjoys songs, conversations, rhymes etc.

Developing grammar (between approx 2-3 years)Plurals, pronouns, adjectives, tenses etc. Complex sentence structure, examples of ‘virtuous errors’ e.g. I goed to the park. Enjoys conversations and asking questions.

Extended use of language (between 3-4 years)Can use past, present and future more easily. Enjoys jokes, nonsense words etc. Will imitate swearing. Will learn their address, age etc.

Creative and fluent language (from 4 years)The immediate culture influences the use of language – adapting to conventions, roles of language etc. Children are beginning to understand that different audiences and situations require different ways of talking.


Language Theories

Nature Nurture Debate: A look at Language Development

The nature nurture debate surrounds whether human behaviour is the product of inherited factors or the result of social influences. Many theorist put forward evidence to support their claims, for nature they examine language development and other hormonal and chemical processes in the body and inherited tendencies. Proponents of the nurture side of the argument make reference to the effects of the environment on human development, they support view by examining cases of isola/ons such as the feral children, the impact of socializa/on, language development etc. A more sound approach seem to be a combina/on of biology and the environment of human development be it language or other aspects of our development.

Nature: Biological Theory

This theory was popularized by Noam Chomsky who proposed at language learning is biological. Chomsky proposed that all humans have a language acquisition device (LAD). The LAD contains knowledge of grammatical rules common to all languages (Shaffer, et.al, 2002).The LAD also allows children to understand the rules of whatever language they are listening to. Chomsky also developed the concepts of transformational grammar, surface structure, and deep structure.

Transformational grammar is grammar that transforms a sentence. Surface structures are words that are actually written. Deep structure is the underlying message or meaning of a sentence. (Matlin, 2005). In essence his theory suggest that the ability to learn language is biological, he supports this argument by noting that the brain structure of babies helps them to be receptive to learn language easily. In other words people (babies) are wired to learn language.

This theory is supported by Lenneberg (1964), who states that first /me language acquisi/on is matura/onal or dependent on age; he calls this the cri/cal period hypothesis. This theory suggests that people could only acquire or master language at a certain age. For example, he states that because of the way in which the brain works, it is only possible for language to be mastered before puberty, aQer this period language may be learned but it will not be fully mastered. [The cri(cal period hypothesis states that the first few years of life is the crucial (me in which an individual can acquire a first language if presented with adequate s(muli. If language input doesn't occur un(l a=er this (me, the individual will never achieve a full command of language — especially gramma(cal systems.]

This theory is supported by using cases of isolaCon, feral children etc. An interes/ng example of this is the case of Genie, also known as "The Wild Child". A thirteen-‐year-‐old vic/m of lifelong child abuse, Genie was discovered in her home on November 4, 1970, strapped to a po^y chair and wearing diapers. She appeared to be en/rely without language. Her father had judged her retarded at birth and had chosen to isolate her, and so she had remained un/l her discovery. It was an ideal opportunity to test the theory that a nurturing environment could somehow make up for a total lack of language past the age of 12. She was unable to acquire language completely, although the degree to which she acquired language is disputed.

Further support for Lenneberg’s view that language learning is biological is found in second language acquisi/on, which explains that children learn second language at a faster rate than adults. In fact, children will master a second language, while and adult may never be able to do so. Children who learn second language are generally more fluent than adults.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammar

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammar

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genie_(feral_child)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genie_(feral_child)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_abuse

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_abuse


Nurture: The Behaviourist theoryThis theory have consistently attack the view that language acquisition is biological. The Learning perspective argues that children imitate what they see and hear, and that children learn from punishment and reinforcement. (Shaffer,Wood,& Willoughby,2002).

The main principle of operant conditioning, as defined by Skinner is positive and negative reinforcement. Reinforcement is the process in which a behaviour is strengthened, and thus, more likely to happen again. Positive Reinforcement is making a behaviour stronger by following the behaviour with a pleasant stimulus. For example, a rat presses a lever and receives food. Negative Reinforcement is making a behaviour stronger by taking away a negative stimulus. For example, a rat presses a lever and turns off the electric shock.

Skinner viewed babies as ‘empty vessels’ which language had to be ‘put in to’. He said children learn language from their environment and consequences of their actions (a nurture view of language). According to Skinner (1957), children initially produce sounds at random and the reinforcement of appropriate sounds results in the production of recognisable words.

Skinner accepted pre-linguistic vocalisations such as cooing and babbling were probably inborn, he argued that adults shape the baby’s sound into words by reinforcing those which resemble real words. He would suggest that the child will not progress from babbling to language unless the parent’s shape the child’s language behaviour.

Methods of reinforcement includes: touch, attention and feeding e.g., “mum can I have a glass of water please”

After rewarding vocalisations for a while, parents become used to a child’s babbling and pay less attention to it. This motivates the infant to vary the babbling. Sometimes, by accident, the child produces more recognisable speech sounds e.g. if an infant suddenly said ‘Dadadada’, parents might respond excitedly to this, thinking that the child is trying to say the word ‘Daddy’. The response reinforces the child’s production of this type of speech sound. Other sounds that are less like actual speech tend to be ignored.

However, parents soon get bored by repetitions of ‘Dadadada’, and this motivates the child to modify such sounds until the shaping process results in recognisable words. This process continues, resulting in sentences of increasing complexity and grammatical correctness.

In addition, the use of language is rewarded when a child asks for something and as a result, succeeds in getting it.

CriCcisms of the biological theory:

Robertson (2002) noted that factors other than age may prevent adults from learning a second language as fluently as children. These factors are environmental and may include: levels of personal mo/va/on, anxiety, /me etc.

Theories like Skinner also maintain that language acquisi/on is social and learned through reinforcement.


Ø Some parents pay very little attention to the vocalisation of their infants, who still develop language despite this – could use Chomsky (the biological approach here)

Ø Shaping (as described above) is a very lengthy process, whereas a child’s language development, particularly during the second year of life is rapid

Ø Observational studies of parent-child conversations (Brown and Hanlon, 1970) show that parents rarely reinforce correct grammar in a child’s speech, but instead tend to focus on the truthfulness or accuracy of statements. This makes it less likely that shaping enables children to learn grammar.

Ø The theory assumes that imitation without reinforcement will not lead to learning (explain Bandura’s theory of language to show that this is unlikely)

Another important feature of Skinner’s theory is the idea that children imitate speech sounds and words spoken by caregivers and, provided this imitation is rewarded, learning will take place. This is how children learn new words. However, this theory assumes that without reinforcement, imitation will not result in learning. This is a rather unconvincing explanation for several reasons:

Nurture: Bandura

Social learning theory suggests that learning can take place in several ways. As a result of reinforcement, by modelling or/and by extracting cognitions from observed examples of behaviour.

Children clearly observe and imitate the language behaviour they hear. An infant’s use of vocabulary, for example, is similar to that of parents and siblings. Accent too, is strongly influenced by the accent a child most commonly hears. For example, a child who grows up speaking English with a Welsh accent and then moves to Somerset at the age of 10 is likely to develop a West Country accent through contact with peers at school (imitation).

Young children begin to use grammar in the telegraphic speech stage. However, they are not taught the rules of grammar. Instead, they extract from them examples they hear. Foe example one simple grammatical rule is that nouns can be nade plural by adding an ‘s’. Children hear adults refer to one house and several houses, one car and several cars. Children’s extraction of this rule is most noticeable when they apply it to that small group of nouns to which the rule does not apply, such as ‘sheep’, ‘mouse’ ‘man’ and ‘woman’. If a child says ‘look sheep’s’, adults might laugh at this apparently silly mistake. However, the mistake only occurs because the child is applying the usual rule for making plurals (extracting cognitions).

There is no doubt that social learning makes an important contribution to language acquisition. However, it is not a complete explanation. The speed at which infants acquire language suggests that there is a genetic predisposition for this. Furthermore, the sequence of stages of language development are similar in children all over the world – again supporting the language acquisition is innate.


Theory Examples Evidence for Both

Nature 1. Chomsky -‐ LAD

2.

3.

1. Children everywhere say mama or da da as their first words

2.

3.

1. Evidence from twin studies suggests that even if children are born with the ability to develop language they s/ll have to be taught.

2.

3.

A p p l i c a C o n o f Theories

Nurture1. Skinner-‐ children learn language because it is reinforced through praise.

2.Bandura: observa/on and imita/on/copying of behaviour-‐ choose role models who can be iden/fied with-‐ low self esteem can lead to greater imita/on-‐ vicarious reinforcement increases likelihood of imita/on-‐ reward must be no/ceable-‐ experimental work based on Bobo doll

3. Vygotsky: emphasises social interac/on/importance of adults or ‘moreknowledgeable others’ language is the driving force behind cogni/ve development pre-‐intellectual language and pre-‐intellectual thought operateseparately before 2 – 3 social linguist stage -‐ language only used for social reasons (mee/ngneeds) at age 2 – 3 language and thought interact -‐ controlling ownbehaviour and thinking – crea/ng ‘self-‐talk’ (oQen spoken out loud,occurs during play) from age 7 self-‐ talk becomes silent inner speech social processes shape language/language shapes thought sensa/on and a^en/on are innate the process of learning s/mulates a mo/ve to learn more zone of proximal development – the distance between the child’scurrent and poten/al ability

1. Within the family parents praise children when they speak correctly. E.g. they may say ‘well done.’

2.

3.

1.Skinner

2. Applica/on of Bandura’s theory in residen/al care sekng. (How might new residents change their behaviour?)

• observe behaviour of others – par/cularly that which receives

approval of those in charge• iden/fy those they are most

like, those they wish to be like/be friends

with• imitate behaviour that gains

approval e.g. from carers/other residents

• iden/fy with ‘in-‐group’ e.g. popular residents who have friends/take

part in social ac/vi/es• iden/fy the ‘out-‐group’ e.g.

residents who are aggressive/rude/selfish/uncoopera/ve

• (or vice versa – resident may wish to iden/fy with the unsocial residents)

• wait to see what others will do before taking ac/on e.g. making a complaint -‐ ‘bystander apathy’

Changes in behaviour:• fit in with rou/ne• take part in social ac/vi/es• co-‐operate with others – carers

and other residents• join in group ac/vi/es/

conversa/ons e.g. following par/cular TV programmes/discussing families/health etc

• take up new hobbies/ac/vi/es to become part of group

• become more nega/ve/complaining/argumenta/ve/aggressive if others take this approach

3.PuOng Vygotsky into pracCce:Useful: emphasises role of teacher in being able to interact

Complete the table below:


Factors that promote Language Development

Babies need to be spoken to and communicated with. Use of Baby Talk Register (BTR), (‘motherese/fatherese’) – high pitched, slow and repetitive with a ‘pattern’ of conversation ie pausing for response from baby (smile, frown, quietening, waving) then responding and continuing babies need to hear speech, language, conversation going on around them

Language needs to be put into context – use of gestures, commentary on what is happening

Babies need to be encouraged to respond – positive feedback given to early attempts

Social factors influence language development through exposure to wide vocabulary, different uses of language etc – Bernstein’s restricted and elaborated language codes

Children need to be given opportunities to practice language in a supportive environment, listened to, allowed to make mistakes, encouraged to ask questions etc

Children need to be given opportunities to practice language in a supportive environment, listened to, allowed to make mistakes, encouraged to ask questions etc

Babies need to have opportunities for individual focus and attention – eye contact, facial expression etc (hearing TV etc does not stimulate language development)

Reading and story telling contributes to development of understanding of grammar, use of language etc

Factors that promote Language Development

Lack of stimulation – not being spoken to, listened to, read to

Deprivation and neglect – extreme cases of isolation, poor parenting,

Disruption, frequent changes of carer – linked to being in foster care

Lack of opportunity to practice – noisy environment, surrounded by TV, music, lack of specific conversation with child

Excessive correction, stress, pressure leading to anxiety in use of language

Disability – visual and hearing impairment. Learning difficulties. Facial deformity, poor muscle control et

Documents

Understanding Human Behaviour Workbook