Child Development Pioneers
Transcript of Child Development Pioneers
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Histories, Theories and Methods
Chapter One
Reasons for Studying Development
– Are there really differences between men and women in behavior, emotions, or abilities?
– Does your culture, family, or neighborhood affect how you turn out?
– Why do people become depressed, anxious, psychotic, dependant on drugs?
– Why do some people develop cognitive disabilities, personality disorders, learning or attention disorders?
– Can we improve the conditions of development, prevent some problems from developing, and help people live longer, more fulfilling lives?
Traditional views on children
Children were:
• Considered to be
evil and uncivilized
• treated as property
• Discipline was
harsh
• They had no rights,
but lots of
responsibility.
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Child Development Pioneers
• John Locke (late 1600’s) – believed children
came into the world “Tabula Rasa” or blank slate
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau (early to mid 1700’s)–
believed children were inherently good and
when allowed to express natural impulses
generous morality would develop
• Early 1900’s-(Industrial Revolution) laws were
passed to protect children
Child Development Pioneers Continued
• G. Stanley Hall (late 1800’s) – founded child
development as an academic discipline as well
as researched adolescents resulting with the
label of “storm and stress” for the adolescent
developmental stage
• Alfred Binet/Theodore Simon (late 1800’s) –
developed first intelligence test intended to
identify public school children at risk of failing
Developmental Theories
• Learning Theory – Focus is on experience
(nurture) shaping the individual (John B.
Watson)
• Maturation View – Physical aspects of growth
and development (nature) influence the
individual’s experience (Arnold Gessell)
• Psychoanalytic Perspective – Conflict between
external demands and internal desires of child
results in hidden battles
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The Psychoanalytic Perspective
Freud’s Psychosexual Development
• Focus on emotional and social development
• Psychological traits of importance are dependence,
obsessive neatness, and vanity
• Three parts of the personality – the id, the ego, the
superego
- Id represents biological demand and instant
gratification present at birth
- Ego is conscious and seeks gratification but avoids
social disapproval
- Superego is conscious and monitors the intentions and
behavior of ego by allowing guilt and shame for behavior
Five Stages of Psychosexual Development
• Stage 1 – Oral stage, focus on oral activities such as
sucking, first year of life
• Stage 2 – Anal stage, focus control and elimination of
bodily waste products, toilet training stage of life
• Stage 3 – Phallic stage, parent/child conflict over child’s
personal sexual exploration, parent of same sex seen as
a rival
• Stage 4 – Latency stage, sexual feelings remain
unconscious, children play with same sex playmates,
focus on schoolwork
• Stage 5 – Genital stage, begins with biological changes
in adolescence resulting in desire for intercourse
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Contributions of Freudian Theory
• Influenced how child care workers
approach infants, toddlers and
preschoolers, esp. toilet training
• Influenced teachers’ sensitivity to students’
emotional needs
• Influenced the stage models of other
theorists such as Erikson
Limitations of Freudian Theory
• Theory developed on contacts with mostly
women with emotional problems
• Based on recollections rather than controlled
observational methods
• Inadvertent guiding of patients’ reports may
have happened to support his theories
• Too much emphasis on basic instincts and
motives
Erikson’s Psychosocial Development
• Focuses on development of emotional life, psychological traits and self-identity.
• Looks at importance of social relationships
• Emphasis is on the ego, or conscious sense of self
• Physical maturation contributes to development
• Mastery of developmental tasks at each stage needed to move to next stage
• Early experiences of parent/child relationship affect future developments and/or accomplishments
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Contributions of Erikson’s Theory
• Emphasize importance of human consciousness
and choice
• Minimize role and threat of poorly perceived
urges
• Portray human development as prosocial
• Some empirical support that positive outcomes
of early life help children cope with life crises at
later stage
Learning/Behavior Theory
Classical Conditioning
• Developed by Pavlov;
• Reflex (automatic) stimulus for a behavior is
associated with a new stimulus for that behavior
• Bell (automatically wakens child) is paired with
tension in child’s bladder so the child learns to
wake up when his bladder is full.
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Operant Conditioning
• Developed by Skinner;
• Learning occurs due to its reinforcement
effect. You are more likely to repeat
behaviors that are reinforced (or bring
about a positive state of affairs for you)
• Child learns that a grade of an “A” gets
them praised by their parents and
therefore they try harder to get “A’s”
Reinforcement
• Positive reinforcers – increases the frequency of behaviors when they are applied (ex. Food and approval)
• Negative reinforcers – increases the frequency of behaviors when they are removed (ex. Fear of failure is removed when one studies for their test)
• Extinction – results from repeated performance of operant behavior without reinforcement (ex. Child’s temper tantrum stops when parent leaves the room)
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Punishment
• Punishment – aversive events that decrease the
frequency of the behavior they follow
• Not an ideal way to control behavior:
– Does not suggest alternative behavior
– Suppresses undesirable behavior only when
its delivery is guaranteed
– May cause child to withdraw from the situation
– Can increase hostility
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Social Cognitive Theory
• Developed by Bandura;
• Learning occurs by observing other people, by reading, by engaging in different media
• Observational learning occurs through modeling the same behavior of another person
• Observational learning can lie latent until the behavior observed is needed or applicable
The Cognitive Perspective
• Cognitive Developmental Theory
• Information Processing Theory
Focus on how children think about the world,
logic, and problem solving
Cognitive-Developmental Theory
• Developed by Piaget; intrigued by children’s wrong answers; children seen as active participants
• Scheme – pattern of action of mental structure that is involved in acquiring or organizing knowledge
• Adaptation – interaction between the organism and the environment
• Assimilation – process of responding to new objects or events according to existing schemes
• Accommodation – Scheme is changed to incorporate novel object or event
• Equilibration – balance achieved by assimilating new events into existing scheme
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Four Stages of Cognitive Development
• Stage 1 – Sensorimotor, (birth to 2 years); focus on sensory exploration; object permanence mastered
• Stage 2 – Preoperational (2 to 7 years); focus on language and symbolic expression through play; children are egocentric
• Stage 3 – Concrete operational (7-12 years); focus on mastering concepts such as reversibility
• Stage 4 – Formal operational (12 years and older); ability to abstract reason
See Table 1.2
Information Processing Theory
• Based on computer model of information processing
• Cognitive process consists of encoding information (input), storing the information into long-term memory, retrieving the information (or placing it in short-term memory), and manipulating the process to solve problems
• Most applicable to the teaching of methodological steps (examples: teaching the scientific method or teaching the steps to withdrawing blood)
Biological Perspective
• Directly relates to physical development such as gains in height and weight; development of the brain; and developments connected with hormones, reproduction, and heredity
• Looks at development ethologically
• Ethology looks at inborn, instinctive, behavior patterns
• Fixed action patterns – built in or instinctive behaviors (example: birds migrating to same place; sex hormone secretion during prenatal development resulting in masculine or feminine patterned brain)
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Ecological Perspective
• Developed by Bronfenbrenner; looks at bi-
directional interactions not just maturational
forces or child-rearing practices; systems
approach recognizing that there are systems
imbedded in other systems which influence
behavior and development (example: the
behavior of a child is influenced by parents,
peers, teachers, social groups, socio economic
status, etc.)
Bronfenbrenner’s Systems Approach
• Microsystem – interactions of the child with other people in the immediate setting such as the home, school or peer group
• Mesosystem – interactions of various settings with the microsystem such as the parent-teacher conference or the school field trip to the zoo
• Exosystem – institutions which indirectly affect the development of the child such as the school board or the parent’s place of employment
• Macrosystem – involves the interaction of the child with the beliefs, expectations, and lifestyle of their cultural setting
• Chronosystem – refers to the influence that the changes over time have on development
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Sociocultural Perspective
• Developed by Vygotsky
• Humans are affected by the cultural and social
environment in which they are born
• Focus is on the transmission of information and
cognitive skills from generation to generation
• Learning consists of social engagement from a
more skilled individual to a lesser skilled
individual (example: an older sibling teaching a
younger sibling to ride a bike)
Sociocultural Terms
• Zone of Proximal Development – refers to a range of tasks that a child can carry out with the help of a more skilled apprentice
• Inner Speech – occurs when the outward speech used to walk one through a difficult task becomes embedded within the child
• Scaffolding – problem solving methods such as cues provided to the child to increase independent functioning
• Diversity – consists of one’s ethnicity, race, gender, age etc.
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Controversies in
Developmental Psychology
Nature/Nurture Controversy
• Age old question of which is more influential in development – nature (heredity) or nurture (environmental influences)?
• Natural causes of development studied are genetic heritage (twin studies used frequently), the functioning of the nervous system and maturation
• Environmental causes of development studied are nutrition, cultural and familial backgrounds, educational opportunities, cognitive stimulation during early childhood and formal education
Continuity/Discontinuity Controversy
• Continuous perspective views development as a
process where the effects of learning mount
gradually, with no major qualitative changes
• Discontinuous perspective views development
as a number of rapid qualitative changes
ushering in new stages of development
• Freud and Piaget were discontinuous theorists
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Active/passive Controversy
• Active perspective maintains children are actively engaged in their development (example: child explores and learns more about dolphins due to their interest)
• Passive perspective maintains that children are passive and the environment acts on them to influence development (example: child learns violin from the teacher)
Developmental Research Methodologies
• Naturalistic observation – research conducted in
the natural setting. Observer takes great pains
not to disturb the environment. Interference can
result in “bias” in the research results; effective
when studying cultures
• Case study – carefully drawn account of an
individual’s behavior; may use diaries,
questionnaires, standardized tests, interviews,
information from public records
Correlational Studies
• Correlation – attempt to determine whether one behavior or trait being studied is correlated or indicates a relationship with another behavior or trait; never indicates cause and effect
• Correlation coefficient – this is a statistical index ranging from -1.00 to +1.00; the closer to -1.00 or +1.00 the stronger the correlation
• Positive correlation – statistical relationship where increases or decreases in measurement correspond with increases or decreases in the other (example: attendance increased and grades increased)
• Negative Correlation – statistical relationship which increases in one measure are matched with a decrease in the other (example: attendance increased, however, grades decreased)
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Experimental Method
• Preferred method for investigating cause and effect
• One group receives the treatment and the other group does not; experiments test a hypothesis/es
• Variables – experiments have independent and dependent variables
-independent variable is manipulated
-dependent variables are the measured results
Experiments Continued
• Experimental group – receives the treatment
• Control group – does not receive the treatment
• Random assignment – subjects assigned to a group
randomly
• Ethical/practical consideration – researchers look at the
ethics and practical assignment of participants;
sometimes correlational evidence must be settled for
rather than experimental
• Animal subjects – used to generalize findings to humans
when it is not ethical or practical to use humans in the
experiment
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Longitudinal Research
• Seeks to study development over time; some
subjects’ characteristics such as height, weight,
and/or changes in mental capabilities observed
repeatedly over time; a larger number of
participants is needed for this type of study
• Typically time of study spans months or a few
years
• Longitudinal researchers have to enlist future
researchers to continue the study
Cross-sectional Research
• Cross-sectional research observes and
compares subjects of different ages; a larger
number of participants is needed for this type of
study
• Cohort effect – group of people born at the same
time; experience cultural and other events
unique to their age group; children of a particular
cohort will have different life experiences than
their parents
Cross-sequential Research
• Combines longitudinal and cross-sectional
methods to overcome research drawbacks
• Full span of the ideal longitudinal study is broken
up into convenient segments
• Minimizes the number of years needed to
complete a study
• Time-lag comparisons are used
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Researcher’s Ethical Considerations
• Do no physical or psychological harm
• Informed consent is needed
• Participation must be voluntary
• Participants can withdraw from study
• Participants are offered information about the study
• Identities of participants remains confidential
• Research plans are to be presented to a committee of colleagues and gain the committee’s approval before proceeding