Copyright © 2010, Pearson Education Inc., All rights reserved. Prepared by Katherine E. L. Norris, Ed.D. West Chester University of Pennsylvania This multimedia product and the content are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law: any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network, preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or in part of any images; any rental, lease, or lending of the program.
Copyright © 2010, Pearson Education Inc., All rights reserved. Chapter 1 Exploring Child Development
Copyright © 2010, Pearson Education Inc., All rights reserved. Defining the Field Theories of Child Development Research in Child Development Applications and Careers Related to Children
Copyright © 2010, Pearson Education Inc., All rights reserved. In what ways are you different as an adult than you were as a young child? In what ways are you still the same?
Copyright © 2010, Pearson Education Inc., All rights reserved. Child Development ◦ Field of study in which researchers from all areas come together to understand children Who has a stake in child development? ◦ Anyone who works with or helps children
Copyright © 2010, Pearson Education Inc., All rights reserved. Physical Development ◦ Growth in size, strength, and muscle coordination Cognitive Development ◦ Changes in how children perceive the world, think, remember information, and communicate Socioemotional Development ◦ Changes in how children interact with others and manage their emotions
Copyright © 2010, Pearson Education Inc., All rights reserved. Nature and Nurture ◦ The biological and environmental forces that govern development The Role of Neuroscience ◦ The study of the structure and function of the brain and nervous system Diversity and Multiculturalism ◦ Investigating how cultures and cultural values impact society Positive Development and Resilience ◦ Increasing research in positive psychology
Copyright © 2010, Pearson Education Inc., All rights reserved. Researchers gather observations and facts about children. Researchers develop theories to organize facts.
Copyright © 2010, Pearson Education Inc., All rights reserved. Theory ◦ An explanation of how facts fit together Why are theories useful? ◦ Summarize facts as currently known ◦ Allow prediction of future behavior ◦ Provide guidance ◦ Stimulate new research ◦ Provide filters for identifying relevant information
Copyright © 2010, Pearson Education Inc., All rights reserved. Focus on structure of personality and how conscious and unconscious thoughts influence behavior and development. Best Known Theorists: ◦ Sigmund Freud ◦ Erik Erikson
Copyright © 2010, Pearson Education Inc., All rights reserved.
The mind consists of three basic components: ◦ the id – primitive instincts, completely unconscious ◦ the ego – rational thought ◦ the superego – ethics, morals, conscience Constant state of conflict between the three components
Copyright © 2010, Pearson Education Inc., All rights reserved. Psychoanalytical Theories Behavioral Theories Social Learning Theory
Copyright © 2010, Pearson Education Inc., All rights reserved. Psychosocial Theory ◦ A revision of Freud’s theory – Erikson focused more on healthy child development. ◦ Erik Erikson proposed eight stages of psychosocial development.
Copyright © 2010, Pearson Education Inc., All rights reserved. Responses to unobservable and immeasurable concepts proposed by psychoanalytic theories Focus on observable conditions and behaviors Best Known Theorists: ◦ John Watson ◦ B.F. Skinner ◦ Albert Bandura
Copyright © 2010, Pearson Education Inc., All rights reserved. Classical Conditioning Pavlov’s Dogs ◦ UCS – unconditioned stimulus (smell of food) ◦ UCR – unconditioned response (salivation) ◦ NS – neutral stimulus (bell ringing) ◦ NC becomes conditioned stimulus and UCR becomes conditioned response
Copyright © 2010, Pearson Education Inc., All rights reserved. Operant Conditioning ◦ Learning comes through reinforcement and punishment Reinforcement – any element in the environment that increases the likelihood that a behavior will be repeated Punishment – any element in the environment that decreases the likelihood that a behavior will be repeated
Copyright © 2010, Pearson Education Inc., All rights reserved. Adding to the theories of classical and operant conditioning, Bandura demonstrated that children also learn by social learning: ◦ Observing ◦ Imitating
Copyright © 2010, Pearson Education Inc., All rights reserved. Social Learning ◦ Learning by observing and imitating others Social Cognition ◦ How children think about the actions that they observe
Copyright © 2010, Pearson Education Inc., All rights reserved. Cognitive Theories Biological Theories Contextual and Systems Theories
Copyright © 2010, Pearson Education Inc., All rights reserved. Theories that focuses on how children adjust their own understanding as they explore the world. Focus on how children think and how their thinking impacts their actions. Best Known Theorists: ◦ Jean Piaget ◦ Lev Vygotsky
Copyright © 2010, Pearson Education Inc., All rights reserved. Cognitive Developmentalism ◦ How children adjust to their world Mental schemes Assimilation Accommodation ◦ Stages of development Sensorimotor Preoperational Concrete operational Formal operational
Copyright © 2010, Pearson Education Inc., All rights reserved. Sociocultural Theory ◦ Children’s thinking is influenced by language and culture. ◦ Language is a powerful tool that we all use when thinking. ◦ Children take the social speech spoken by people around them and turn it into their own private speech.
Copyright © 2010, Pearson Education Inc., All rights reserved. A theoretical approach focusing on how children perceive, store, and retrieve information and on how they solve problems and communicate with others.
Copyright © 2010, Pearson Education Inc., All rights reserved. Ethology ◦ A biological theory that examines the adaptive significance or survival value of behaviors. Best Known Theorists: ◦ Charles Darwin (1809 – 1882): survival of the fittest ◦ Konrad Lorenz (1903 – 1989): imprinting
Copyright © 2010, Pearson Education Inc., All rights reserved. Ecological Systems Theory ◦ Focuses on complex set of systems and interacting social layers that can affect children’s development Urie Bronfenbrenner (1917 – 2005) Dynamic Systems Theory ◦ Uses models from mathematics and physics to understand complex systems of development
Copyright © 2010, Pearson Education Inc., All rights reserved.
The Scientific Method ◦ Data gathered through observations ◦ Hypotheses formed and tested ◦ Conclusions drawn ◦ Revision if necessary
Copyright © 2010, Pearson Education Inc., All rights reserved. Descriptive Research Methods Correlational Research Methods Experimental Research Methods Methods for Assessing Development Ethics in Research with Children
Copyright © 2010, Pearson Education Inc., All rights reserved. Research methods that attempt to describe behavior – under what conditions it occurs. ◦ Ex: Do children prefer blocks or books? Naturalistic observation Structured observation Interviews Questionnaires Case studies
Copyright © 2010, Pearson Education Inc., All rights reserved. Research methods that attempt to determine the strength of a relationship between two or more conditions or behaviors. ◦ Ex: Do children whose parents read to them prefer blocks or books?
Copyright © 2010, Pearson Education Inc., All rights reserved. Researchers begin by randomly assigning subjects to either: ◦ Experimental group: group that receives treatment ◦ Control group: group that does not receive treatment Groups are as much alike in every way as possible except for the treatment. Not always ethical or practical to conduct experimental research.
Copyright © 2010, Pearson Education Inc., All rights reserved. Cross Sectional Research ◦ Studies developed by comparing groups of children of different ages against one another at the same point in time. Ex: Groups of children of different ages evaluated at the same point in time. Longitudinal Research ◦ Comparison of one group at different points in time. Ex: A group of children evaluated at age 5 and then again at age 10 and then again at age 15.
Copyright © 2010, Pearson Education Inc., All rights reserved.
Risks versus benefits No harmful procedures Informed consent Unforeseen consequences Confidentiality Implications of research
Copyright © 2010, Pearson Education Inc., All rights reserved. Goals of Science ◦ Applications and careers related to children ◦ Advance knowledge for its own sake ◦ Provide information that can help people with practical challenges in life Practical Applications Careers Related to Children
Copyright © 2010, Pearson Education Inc., All rights reserved. Social Policy ◦ Officials at the local, state, and federal levels use knowledge provided by child development to improve lives of children. Education, Psychology, Counseling, and Other Uses ◦ Educators use knowledge about child development to maximize children’s learning potential.
Copyright © 2010, Pearson Education Inc., All rights reserved. Many careers allow you to work with children or on behalf of children. ◦ School Settings Teachers and special education instructors Guidance counselors Principals Classroom aides ◦ Therapeutic Settings Psychiatrists Clinical psychologists School psychologists Counselors and social workers