How do behaviorism and ethology differ in their approaches to explaining child development?
What will be an ideal response?
Behaviorism suggests that children are like clay, ready to be molded. It is primarily parents, through patterns of reinforcement and punishment, who are thought to provide this molding. Theorists operating from this biological perspective look at maturation (the predetermined and orderly unfolding of abilities) and ethology examines instinctive or inborn behavior patterns. Behaviorism assumes that the individual will start with few abilities, except for basic learning patterns, based on classical and operant conditioning, responding to the environment while the ethological theorists assume that the individual brings a host of skills to bear from genetic inheritance.
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Dr. Thomas is conducting a research study examining memory. It involves having a research assistant run into a fifth-grade classroom shouting that she has lost her pet monkey. She says that the monkey is brown and that he is wearing a red coat
One week later, the children are asked questions such as "What color hat was the monkey wearing?" Sammy answers "Blue." Why is Sammy remembering something that did not actually happen? A) He is relying on his reconstructive memory. B) He has very limited long-term memory capacity. C) His sensory store perceived the color incorrectly. D) He is having difficulty with his working memory.