Piaget developed a systematic study of cognitive development, which includes the stages of development. According to McLoed (2015). Piaget’s theory was concerned with children as …show more content…
Developmental psychology is the field of psychology that seeks to explain growth, change and consistency over the lifespan. According to McLeod (2012), developmental psychology explores how behavior, thinking, and feeling change in an individual through the course of their life. There are three (3) primary goals of developmental psychology – describe, explain, and optimize development. Albert Bandura beliefs are closely aligned with that of the behaviorists such as B.F. Skinner and Ivan Pavlov; however, Bandura stresses the importance of how social experiences affect children’s cognitive operations that ultimately change their behavior. In addition, Bandura has four (4) theories that have revolutionized developmental psychology- observational learning, self-regulation, self-efficacy and the reciprocal …show more content…
This is when an individual learns through mimicking the behavior that they see in their environment. This is also a form of social learning. Albert Bandura believe that this is something that came naturally. According to Cherry (2017), young children as old as twenty-one (21) days know how to imitate facial expressions and mouth movements. Observational learning is also known as modeling and shaping. Modeling can be seen in Bandura's Bobo doll experience where young children learn aggressive behavior from observing adults hitting a doll. On the other hand, if the children observed adults receiving punishment for hitting the doll, they would not be quick to repeat the same action. Bandura was also credited with the self-regulation theory. This is a form of self-government that helps individuals to control their thoughts, speech, and actions. This is useful for self-development and reaching long-term and short-term goals. The real self and the ideal self or not the same, so when individuals make decisions that are incongruent with what they want to do, it affects their general