Child and Adolescent Psychology
Over the last several years, major advancements have taken place in child and adolescent psychology. This is occurring with mental health professionals trying to gain a better understanding about which issues are impacting individuals from these demographics. The main idea is to learn how the challenges they are facing early in life will influence their behavior. Once this happens, is when new ideas can address these issues and help the person grow into a responsible adult. To fully understand what is happening requires comparing different theories, describing child / adolescent psychology, formulating treatment plans, examining legal / ethical issues, existing research, analyzing and incorporating this information. Together, these elements will offer insights about which factors influence the mental health professionals and the way they interact with them. (Wolf, 2015)
Compare and contrast theories of normal and abnormal development
There are number of theories that are used in normal and abnormal development. The most notable include: operant conditioning, behavioral, cognitive and humanist approaches. Operant conditioning is important for many reasons. First, it recognizes how we are being taught through operant conditioning in order to make better decisions in the future. As a child, one of the first lessons we learn is never touch a hot stove. As we are told over and over again, that it will burn us. But for many, actually touching the hot surface reinforces these ideas through pain and pleasure. The outcome of touching it is a burn, which turns into a negative association. The child will remember the pain, which was experienced and will not repeat touching it. This is illustrating how every action, has an equal and opposite reaction. Operant conditioning is a critical factor in teaching someone what is acceptable through real world experiences. Whether it is negative or positive, we will learn from them in order to gain a greater understanding about our environment. These insights are important, as they teach everybody to grow and become smarter through the lesson they learn. This is when they can deal with a variety of challenges more effectively and gain better insights as a person. In many ways, one could argue that this is what helps someone the most, through appealing to their survival instincts. (Poston, 2009) (Wolf, 2015)
Under Pavlov's classical conditioning, this will instill a sense of automatically learning about which actions will result in the greatest rewards. This is when children and adolescents are motivated to do more, in order to receive even greater benefits in the future (via the behavioral approach). This is takes place after the positive and negative experiences will shape someone's actions. The key is conditioning them to automatically have favorable perceptions. Over the course of time, these views will enhance their thoughts and the way they deal with the world around them. (Poston, 2009) (Wolf, 2015)
At the same time, it is using Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs to connect with the individual. This is occurring through building up their self-esteem and gradually pushing them towards higher amounts of self-actualization. In this case, there is a focus on establishing greater forms of motivation by giving them specific rewards they will receive. This is when they are changing their attitudes and embracing more confidence about themselves and their abilities in the process. (Poston, 2009) (Wolf, 2015)
Behavioral conditioning is when mental health professionals are changing the actions of the child / adolescent by giving them positive and negative rewards. According to Merritt (1993), this kind of training reduces negative reactions through offering the individual something to reach for. This will lead to a shift in attitudes and it enables them to embrace specific beliefs. (Wolf, 2015)
Moreover, it is changing the person's thinking by looking at the situation differently and having favorable perception using specific ideas. This helps them to build social skills by learning what it takes to be successful through a series of rewards and punishments. In the future, these abilities enable them to interact with someone who is in positions of authority. This creates a shift in their thinking and the capacity to meet key objectives. These concepts are similar to operant conditioning by demonstrating the long-term impact specific experiences are having on the individual. Once this happens, is when their behavior will be adjusted to reflect what is occurring. Yet, it is different by underscoring how the thoughts and interpretations of various events will impact their ability to adapt with new events. (Wolf, 2015)
The cognitive approach is looking at the interactions and how this influences the persons thinking. A good example of this can be seen with Bandura who said, "Learning would be exceedingly laborious, not to mention hazardous, if people had to rely solely on the effects of their own actions to inform them what to do. Fortunately, most
Child Psychology Study This study is designed to test the hypothesis that environmental enrichment among the impoverished ad underprivileged children can lead to an improvement in their IQ levels. This is why the 20 children who were from the underprivileged sector of the society were picked and subjected to a non-residential school that was less crowded than their previous situations. This is a program that was initiated at the age of
In order to decrease the risk of burnout, it is important to find ways to deal with stress. Learning to generate a division between ones work life and personal life is a significant first step. Practicing good stress management methods can also be very helpful (Pros and Cons of Being a Clinical Psychologist, 2012). Even though one establishes normal work hours during the day, as a psychologist they may find
Child Psychology Mander, G. (May 2001). "Fatherhood Today: variations on a theme." Psychodynamic Counselling, Vol. 7, Issue 2. This journal article centers on the increasing role that fathers play in parenting, especially among single parents. Mander discusses how parenting among fathers has become more an exception than the norm, and they were relegated to "minimal" roles that downplay their role as a parent, such as simply being "mere sperm donors." The article
Development psychologists love to quote this stage among their discussion of adolescent growth. This is perhaps the most appropriate theory to apply when it comes to explaining about the impulsive behavior of adolescents. (Chapman, 2006) COGNITIVE THEORY by Jean Piaget Piaget's cognitive theory discusses how a child thinks or how her mind works from birth to adulthood. She believes that development of the child is not a smooth task, but rather,
Child Psychology The movie Willa Wonka and the Chocolate factory and Child Psychology The Movie Willa Wonka and the Chocolate factory And Child Psychology The movie, "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," is one that will always captivate imagination. The entire movie is central to Roald Dahl's book (Dahl and Schindelman, 1964). In addition, this movie is among the best of human imaginations. Although some people may perceive that the thoughts and situations depicted
The most fundamental theorist in this area is Jean Piaget. Additionally, Piaget demonstrated one of the first scientific movements in the filed, with the utilization of direct observation as the best tool for understanding. (Piaget, 1962, p. 107) Piaget also believes, and his theories reflect that children play a very active and dynamic role in development through interaction with their environment and active role imitation. (Piaget, 1962, p. 159) Sensory-motor
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