BRANDSTADTER SELF-DEVELOPMENT MODEL

Brandstadter Self-Development Model



Table of Contents

Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………………………3

Basic Assumption of the Policy………………………………………………………………4

Empirical Status……………………………………………………………………………………………………5

Psychological Requirements for Adult Development…………………6

Implications for Policy or Practice……………………………………………………7

References…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………8

Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………10

Introduction

Brandstadter (1999) in his model presented evidence that self-regulation in humans is linked to their phylogenetic and evolutionary design. Very little of human behavior is preprogrammed. Rather there is substantial openness to adaptation so that a fit can be achieved in a variety of ecologies that present different opportunities and demands (Ryan & Deci, 2000). Accordingly, self-regulation depends heavily on individual effort and the demands and guidance provided by the social community. More specifically, self-regulatory competence emerges as a consequence of acting on the environment, with activity becoming ever more intentional through the life span. Human beings are endowed with the capacity to extract order from experience and to form mental models of self and environment that permit representation and mental simulation of action-outcome contingencies (Brandstadter, 1999). It is through their activities that humans construct and change their relationships with relevant aspects of the environments they inhabit. The capacity to recognize action-outcome contingencies and to coordinate representations of one's own actions and their consequences gradually emerges as do capacities for self-regulation (e.g., the ability to evaluate, control, and correct one's actions). For phylogenetically advanced organisms living in complex, dynamic environments, the development of self-regulatory competencies is benefited by a rich opportunity structure in that rich structures afford both more incentive for action and more opportunity for self-correction (Ford & Lerner, 1992). Brandstadter specifically argued that a child's motivation for self-regulation emerges as the child is able to manipulate objects and engage in tasks because that experience engenders a sense of control/agency. In effect, such experience enhances the likelihood of adaptive fit.

Basic Assumption of the Policy

According to Brandstadter's self-development model, human development is a part of natural process and self-regulation also emerges as a by-product of engaging in intrinsically motivated activities (Ryan & Deci, 2000). Intrinsic motives, such as curiosity, affiliation, and mastery, energize and direct the pursuit of goals beginning in infancy. These motives can be more frequently enacted when a child is exposed to a rich array of objects, people, and events. Frequent exposure to a variety of objects, people, and situations, particularly under the guidance of adults or more accomplished peers, not only helps satisfy the motives for curiosity and mastery but also gradually promotes attention focusing, volitional control, and strategic planning. A sense of autonomy emerges that increases the child's comfort and well-being. A by-product of the experience is a gradual integration of both discovered and prompted regulation to the self (Ryan & Deci, 2000).

Empirical Status

In a current environment, Brandstadter's self-development model has received greater attention with reference to a child's activities. As Brandstadter's self-development model described that there is also a much greater likelihood that a child will develop self-regulatory capacities in that self-regulation emerges when “feedback from prior performance is used to make adjustments during current efforts” (Zimmerman, 2000, p. 14). The social-cognitive perspective on self-regulation stipulates that self-regulatory skills emerge as part of the ...