Psy 122 – Developmental Psychology

Module 4 & 5
LEARNING THEORIES
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENTAL
THEORIES

An Instructional Material prepared by:

Reynalda Vilma Villao-Manansala, PhD

Course Facilitator

PSY 122 – Developmental Psychology 2nd Semester 2021-2022

Dr. Vilma Villao-Manansala
INTRODUCTION

Hello there everyone. Our two Modules for this week are interrelated,
and we will tackle with them altogether this week.

Module 4 is about the LEARNING THEORIES. These are:

 Watson’s Behaviourism Theory
 Skinner’s Operant Conditioning
 Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory

Learning is defined as “a lasting or permanent change in behavior, which results from

practice or other forms of experience” (Chunk, 2012). Learning can also be looked at as “a
relative permanent change of behaviour as a result of experience”.

Reflective Question:
What are the different practices or experiences that would make a change in our
behavior?

I. BEHAVIORAL LEARNING THEORIES

Behavioural learning theories contend that learning involves the formation of associations
between stimuli and responses. Behaviourists explain learning in terms of observable
phenomena, and (1) reinforcing consequences make the response more likely to occur
whereas (2) punishing consequences make it less likely. The role of environment specifically
how stimuli are arranged and presented and how responses are reinforced are of most important.
Motivation is the process whereby goal-directed activities are instigated and sustained.

PSY 122 – Developmental Psychology 2nd Semester 2021-2022

Dr. Vilma Villao-Manansala
I.1 BEHAVIORIST APPROACH
https://www.simplypsychology.org/behaviorism.html
Behaviorism, also known as behavioral psychology, is a theory of learning which states all
behaviors are learned through interaction with the environment through a process
called conditioning. Thus, behavior is simply a response to environmental stimuli.
Behaviorism is only concerned with observable stimulus-response behaviors, as they can
be studied in a systematic and observable manner.

John B. Watson, the Father of Behaviorism. At right is an example of the difference between
Operant and Classical Conditioning.

I.2 B.F. Skinner’s Operant Conditioning

https://www.simplypsychology.org/operant-conditioning.html
 Skinner is regarded as the father of Operant Conditioning. According to this principle,
behavior that is followed by pleasant consequences is likely to be repeated, and
behavior followed by unpleasant consequences is less likely to be repeated.
 The operant learning theory claims that development depends on external stimuli
(everything around us, especially the reinforcers and punishers), rather than internal forces
(such as instincts, drives, or maturation)

Skinner identified three types of responses, or operant, that can follow behavior.
• Neutral operants: responses from the environment that neither increase nor decrease
the probability of a behavior being repeated.
• Reinforcers: Responses from the environment that increase the probability of a behavior
being repeated. Reinforcers can be either positive or negative.
• Punishers: Responses from the environment that decrease the likelihood of a behavior
being repeated. Punishment weakens behavior.

PSY 122 – Developmental Psychology 2nd Semester 2021-2022

Dr. Vilma Villao-Manansala
I.3. Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory

 Social learning theory, proposed by Albert Bandura, emphasizes the importance of

observing, modelling, and imitating the behaviors, attitudes, and emotional reactions
of others.
 Social learning theory considers how both environmental and cognitive factors interact
to influence human learning and behavior.

This figure shows the differences between Classical Conditioning, Operant Conditioning
and Social Learning Theory

Our Module 5 is about the COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENTAL THEORIES.

These are:
I. Jean Piaget’s Vie w of Intelligence and Intellectual Growth
II. Lev Vygotsky’s Socio-Cultural Development
III. Information-Processing Theory

PSY 122 – Developmental Psychology 2nd Semester 2021-2022

Dr. Vilma Villao-Manansala
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENTAL THEORIES
 To cognitivists, learning is an internal mental phenomenon inferred from what people say
and do. They contend that learning best takes place by doing it (Aggarwal, 1994).
 In general cognitivists suggest that learning takes place in the mind as is a result of mental
processes on the information received.

1. PIAGET’S THEORY ON INTELLIGENCE AND INTELLECTUAL GROWTH

This theory was put forward by Jean Piaget whose study focused on the development of children
understanding.

Piaget put forward some ideas relating on his study:

 Assimilation: The process by which a person takes material into their mind from the
environment, which may mean changing the evidence of their senses to make it fit
 Accommodation: The difference made to one's mind or concepts by the process of
assimilation. Note that assimilation and accommodation go together: you can't have one
without the other
 Conservation: The realization that objects or sets of objects stay the same even when they
are changed about or made to look different.
 Egocentrism: the belief that you are the centre of the universe and everything revolves
around.
 Schema (or scheme): The representation in the mind of a set of perceptions, ideas, And
/or actions, which go together (Atherton, 2011).

Piaget’s Cognitive Development Stages

1. The Sensorimotor Stage: Ages birth - 2: the infant uses his senses and motor abilities to
understand the world
Major Characteristics and Developmental Changes:
 The infant knows the world through their movements and sensations
 Infants learn that things continue to exist even though they cannot be seen (object permanence)
 They realize that their actions can cause things to happen in the world around them
 During this earliest stage of cognitive development, infants and toddlers acquire knowledge
through sensory experiences and manipulating objects.
 Piaget believed that developing object permanence or object constancy, the understanding that
objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen, was an important element at this
point of development.

2. The Preoperational Stage: Ages 2-7: the child uses mental representations of objects and is
able to use symbolic thought and language

Major Characteristics and Developmental Changes:

 Children begin to think symbolically and learn to use words and pictures to represent objects.
 Children at this stage tend to be egocentric and struggle to see things from the perspective of
others.
 Children become much more skilled at pretend play during this stage of development, yet
continue to think very concretely about the world around them.
 At this stage, kids learn through pretend play but still struggle with logic and taking the point of view of
other people.

PSY 122 – Developmental Psychology 2nd Semester 2021-2022

Dr. Vilma Villao-Manansala
3. The Concrete Operational Stage: Ages 7-11; the child uses logical operations or
principles when solving problems

Major Characteristics and Developmental Changes

 During this stage, children begin to thinking logically about concrete events
 Their thinking becomes more logical and organized, but still very concrete
 Children begin using inductive logic, or reasoning from specific information to a general
principle
 While thinking becomes much more logical during the concrete operational state, it can also be
very rigid. Kids at this point in development tend to struggle with abstract and hypothetical
concepts.
 During this stage, children also become less egocentric and begin to think about how other
people might think and feel. Kids in the concrete operational stage also begin to understand
that their thoughts are unique to them and that not everyone else necessarily shares their
thoughts, feelings, and opinions.

Characteristics of Preoperational Period: Characteristics of Concrete Operational Period:

 Symbolic function  Decentering

 Egocentrism  Reversibility
 Centration  Conservation
 Irreversibility  Seriation
 Animism
 Transductive reasoning
 Pretend play

4. The Formal Operational Stage: Ages 12 up; the use of logical operations in a systematic
fashion and with the ability to use abstractions

Major Characteristics and Developmental Changes:

 At this stage, the adolescent or young adult begins to think abstractly and reason about
hypothetical problems
 Teens begin to think more about moral, philosophical, ethical, social, and political issues that
require theoretical and abstract reasoning
 The final stage of Piaget's theory involves an increase in logic, the ability to use deductive
reasoning, and an understanding of abstract ideas.
 It is important to note that Piaget did not view children's intellectual development as a
quantitative process; that is, kids do not just add more information and knowledge to their
existing knowledge as they get older. Instead, Piaget suggested that there is
a qualitative change in how children think as they gradually process through these four stages.

PSY 122 – Developmental Psychology 2nd Semester 2021-2022

Dr. Vilma Villao-Manansala
2. LEV VYGOTSKY’S SOCIO-CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT

 Agreed that children are active learners, but their knowledge is socially constructed.
 Cultural values and customs dictate what is important to learn.
 Children learn from more expert members of the society.
 Vygotsky described the "zone of proximal development", where learning occurs.

LEV VYGOTSKY’S SOCIO-CULTURAL THEORY

His experience, together with his interest in literature and his

work as a teacher, led him to recognize social interaction
and language as two central factors in cognitive
development.
 His theory became known as Socio-Cultural Theory of
Development.
 Sociocultural theory of development: emphasizes the
crucial influence that social interactions and language,
embedded within a cultural context, have on cognitive
development.
IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTIONS OF VYGOTSKY:
SOCIAL INTERACTION
 Vygotsky emphasized that effective learning happens
through participation in social activities.
 Parents, teachers and other adults in the learner’s
environment all contribute to the process. They explain,
model, assist, give directions and provide feedback.
 Peers, on the other hand, cooperate and collaborate
and enrich the learning experience.
LANGUAGE
 Language can be viewed as a verbal expression of
culture.
 It serves a social function but it also has an important
individual function. It helps the learner to regulate and
reflect on his own thinking.
 Private Speech is a kind of self-talk that guides the
child’s thinking and action. Zone of Proximal Development
ZONE OF PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT
 Zone of Actual Development refer in which the child
may perform at a certain level of competency and
she/he may not immediately proficient at it.
 It refers to the difference between what the child
accomplishes alone and what he/she can accomplish
with guidance of another.
SCAFFOLDING
 It refers to the support or assistance that lets the child
accomplish a task he/she cannot accomplish
independently.
 It is not about doing the task for the child while he/she
watches. It is not about doing short cuts for the child.
 It should involve the judicious assistance given by the
adult or peer so that the child can move from the zone This is an example of Scaffolding
of actual to the zone of proximal development. and ZPD

PSY 122 – Developmental Psychology 2nd Semester 2021-2022

Dr. Vilma Villao-Manansala
More pictures and illustrations about Vygotsky’s Contributions

The Zone of Proximal Development Private Speech

3. The Information-Processing theory of learning

Information processing is a cognitive process which attempts to explain how the mind functions in the learning process.
With this theory more emphasis is on how the information is processed than, how learning happens. The theory has
three basic components which are;
- Sensory register(SR)
- Short term memory (STM) or working memory
- Long term memory (LTM)
Sensory register
This is a stage, where the learner receives the information through senses and stores it in a short tem memory. At this
point the information stays for only a fraction of a second; this is because this region is continuously bombarded by
information which tends to replace the first information (Shunk,1994).
Short term memory
The information registered at (SR) is then shunted to the short term memory, where its storage at this region is facilitated
by process called chunking and rehearsal. Information here stays for not more than twenty seconds. If chunking and
rehearsing does not occur within 20 seconds then the information will lapse. This region has an ability of storing seven
plus or minus two units of information.
Long term memory
In order for the information to be available in a long term memory it must be transferred from short term memory to long
term memory by a process called encoding. At this point the new knowledge is related to the prior knowledge stored in
long term memory resulting into persistence and meaningful learning by a process called spreading activation. Mental
structures called schema are involved in storage, organization and aiding of retrieval of information. Met cognition is an
awareness of structures and the process involved (Bigus, 2011)

https://www.google.com/search?q=the+learning+theory&safe=active&sxsrf=ALeKk01joesSLnFhsD6qUaqEIHVQeXOMZg:1619
706791911&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=oISfQY4cg1MziM%252CXkp2hrvwkJQCqM%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-
kRbSq8ORAYtGiFIi4UmvGPVhzKycQ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiY9uL_1aPwAhWNGqYKHW1UCBwQ_h16BAgYEAE#imgrc=wNosS
uiXiCmNLM

PSY 122 – Developmental Psychology 2nd Semester 2021-2022

Dr. Vilma Villao-Manansala
NOTE:
Quizzes for this module will be posted separately.

SOURCES

 Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxORL0nYcOc

 Vygotsky’s Theory of Cognitive Development https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8I2hrSRbmHE
 Difference between Piaget & Vygotsky https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdSZV0Knwiw
 Very Well Mind: Jean Piaget’s Theory https://www.verywellmind.com/piagets-stages-of-cognitive-
development
 Lev Vygotsky’s Socio-Cultural Theory https://www.slideshare.net/leizeldespi/lev-vygotskys-
sociocultural-theory-of-cognitive-development
 LEARNING THEORIES. Their Influence on Teaching Methods by THADEI FILIPATALI
 https://www.grin.com/document/293498

Prepared and compiled by:

Reynalda Vilma Villao-Manansala, PhD

Course Facilitator

PSY 122 – Developmental Psychology 2nd Semester 2021-2022

Dr. Vilma Villao-Manansala