Week 3 - Learning and Development

Question 1

What is human development?

Answer 1

The study of how people grow, adapt, and change throughout life across physical, cognitive, and psychosocial domains.

Question 2

What are the three domains of development?

Answer 2

Physical (biological changes), Cognitive (thinking and learning), and Psychosocial (emotions and relationships).

Question 3

What is the physical domain of development?

Answer 3

Biological changes like motor coordination, puberty, and ageing, often tracked using developmental charts.

Question 4

What is the cognitive domain of development?

Answer 4

Mental processes including reasoning, problem-solving, and understanding; continues across the lifespan.

Question 5

What is the psychosocial domain of development?

Answer 5

Emotional, personality, and social development involving self-esteem and relationships.

Question 6

Who proposed the Cognitive Development Theory?

Answer 6

Jean Piaget.

Question 7

What is Piaget’s key idea?

Answer 7

Children actively construct knowledge through interaction with their environment; development occurs in distinct stages.

Question 8

What are Piaget’s four stages of cognitive development?

Answer 8

1. Sensorimotor (0–2), 2. Preoperational (2–7), 3. Concrete Operational (7–11), 4. Formal Operational (12+).

Question 9

What is assimilation in Piaget’s theory?

Answer 9

Incorporating new experiences into existing schemas.

Question 10

What is accommodation in Piaget’s theory?

Answer 10

Adjusting schemas when new information doesn’t fit.

Question 11

What is equilibration in Piaget’s theory?

Answer 11

Balancing assimilation and accommodation to create stable understanding.

Question 12

How is Piaget’s theory relevant to Allied Health?

Answer 12

Helps tailor age-appropriate interventions and understand cognitive readiness for therapy tasks.

Question 13

Who proposed the Psychosocial Development Theory?

Answer 13

Erik Erikson.

Question 14

What is Erikson’s key idea?

Answer 14

Human development continues through the lifespan across eight psychosocial stages, each with a central conflict.

Question 15

List Erikson’s eight stages briefly.

Answer 15

Trust vs Mistrust, Autonomy vs Shame, Initiative vs Guilt, Industry vs Inferiority, Identity vs Role Confusion, Intimacy vs Isolation, Generativity vs Stagnation, Integrity vs Despair.

Question 16

How is Erikson’s theory relevant to Allied Health?

Answer 16

Encourages clinicians to consider clients’ social identity and emotional development in therapy.

Question 17

Who proposed the Sociocultural Theory of development?

Answer 17

Lev Vygotsky.

Question 18

What is Vygotsky’s key idea?

Answer 18

Cognitive development is shaped by social interaction and cultural context; learning precedes development.

Question 19

What is the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)?

Answer 19

The difference between what a learner can do alone and what they can do with support.

Question 20

What is scaffolding in Vygotsky’s theory?

Answer 20

Gradual guidance from a more knowledgeable person to help learners master new skills.

Question 21

How is Vygotsky’s theory relevant to Allied Health?

Answer 21

Supports guided practice, peer learning, and cultural sensitivity in therapy.

Question 22

What is learning?

Answer 22

A lasting change in behaviour resulting from experience or practice.

Question 23

What is nonassociative learning?

Answer 23

Learning through repeated exposure to a single stimulus (e.g., habituation or sensitisation).

Question 24

What is associative learning?

Answer 24

Learning that involves forming connections between stimuli or between behaviour and consequences.

Question 25

Who pioneered Classical Conditioning?

Answer 25

Ivan Pavlov and John Watson.

Question 26

Who pioneered Operant Conditioning?

Answer 26

B.F. Skinner and Edward Thorndike.

Question 27

What is Classical Conditioning?

Answer 27

Learning by associating a neutral stimulus with a naturally occurring response.

Question 28

What is Operant Conditioning?

Answer 28

Learning where behaviour is influenced by its consequences (reinforcement or punishment).

Question 29

What is positive reinforcement?

Answer 29

Adding a pleasant stimulus to increase behaviour (e.g., praise for effort).

Question 30

What is negative reinforcement?

Answer 30

Removing an unpleasant stimulus to increase behaviour (e.g., stopping nagging when task completed).

Question 31

Who developed Social Learning Theory?

Answer 31

Albert Bandura.

Question 32

What is Social Learning Theory?

Answer 32

Learning through observation and imitation of others’ behaviours (modelling).

Question 33

What experiment did Bandura conduct?

Answer 33

The Bobo Doll experiment (1961), showing that children imitate observed aggression.

Question 34

What are the four key components of Social Learning?

Answer 34

Attention, Retention, Reproduction, and Motivation.

Question 35

How is Social Learning relevant to Allied Health?

Answer 35

Therapists model positive communication, coping, or motor behaviours for clients to imitate.

Question 36

What factors influence learning?

Answer 36

Biological, cognitive, emotional, social/cultural, and environmental factors.

Question 37

How does Piaget view the relationship between learning and development?

Answer 37

Development must occur before learning can advance.

Question 38

How does Vygotsky view the relationship between learning and development?

Answer 38

Learning comes before development; social learning drives growth.

Question 39

How does Bandura view the relationship between learning and development?

Answer 39

Learning occurs continuously through social interaction and observation.

Question 40

Why are learning theories important to Allied Health?

Answer 40

They inform how to design effective, evidence-based interventions tailored to clients’ developmental levels.

Question 41

What is the overall takeaway from developmental and learning theories?

Answer 41

Understanding how people grow and learn enables clinicians to deliver holistic, person-centred, and effective care.