Child Development Samuel R. Mathews, Ph.D. Associate Professor Department of Psychology

Defining Childhood and Child Development Put your name, year in school and major on a sheet of paper and answer the following questions? How are –newborns different from infants? –Infants different from toddlers? –Toddlers different from young children? –Young children different from older children? –Children different from adolescents?

Defining Childhood and Child Development Areas of development across the lifespan: –Physical development –Cognitive development –Socio-emotional development

Issues in Child Development Does one’s genetic code or does the environment impact development more? Is development a continuous process across childhood or does it proceed across a series of rather distinct stages?

Major Theories of Child Development What is a theory? What do theories allow us to do? –Describe –Predict –Explain –Organize knowledge –Direct new research –Guide application of scientific findings

Major Theories of Child Development Psychosexual—Freud Psychosocial—Erikson Cognitive Piaget Information Processing Vygotsky

Major Theories of Child Development Behavioral—Skinner, Watson Social Cognitive—Bandura Biological –Ethological/Evolutionary –Developmental Neuroscience Ecological Systems—Bronfenbrenner Dynamic Systems—Thalen

The Study of Child Development Science as a way of knowing the world Causality: –Covariation –Time precedence –Plausibility Descriptive Research Correlational Research Experimental Research Quasi-experimental Research

The Study of Child Development Developmental Designs –Cross sectional –Longitudinal –Cohort sequential Research ethics and the study of children –Informed consent (child and guardian) –Confidentiality, anonymity, voluntary participation, right to withdraw

Applications of Understandings about Child Development Child care worker Teacher Juvenile justice worker Counselor Researcher Therapist Law enforcement Recreation center employee Parent