Evolutionary psychologists therefore explain current human behaviors, especially instinctive ones, in terms of adaptive successes. A baby would feel safer in the secure space of a crib rather than an expansive lawn. A small fluffy mouse initially presents no threat, as our human ancestors likely preyed on smaller animals. Loud noises, however, can mean danger, so a child instinctively cries in alarm.
Cognitive psychology
Cognitive psychologists look at the internal mental processes that enable humans to learn skills such as languages, memory and problem solving. Notive cognitive psychologist Jean Piaget believed that humans go through different stages of cognitive development, and each stage should be marked by the acquisition of certain skills. In the Sensorimotor stage, which last from birth through two years old, babies learn to move and master their different senses. At the preoperational stage, from ages two to seven, a child should master motor skills...
From ages seven to 11, a child will begin to think logically at this concrete operational stage. Finally, from the age of 11 onwards, children should learn to develop abstract reasoning in the formal operational stage (Tavris and Wade 2000).
Cognitive psychologists believe that it is important for children to achieve the different milestones and master the different skills, in order to move to the next stage. Thus, a child who was initially afraid of a white mouse should learn, by the concrete operational stage, that the sudden loud noise and the fluffy mouse are separate entities. If the child continues to fear a mouse despite this realization, cognitive psychologists would suggest that further analysis and therapy may be needed.
Works Cited
Baum, W. 2005. Understanding behaviorism: Behavior, Culture and Evolution. New York: Blackwell.
Tavris, C. And Wade, C. 2000. Psychology in Perspective. New York: Prentice Hall.
