© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Children The Nature of Children’s Development 1

© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Images of Children Stories of Ted Kaczynski and Alice Walker –A child genius becomes a social misfit and a murderer. –An impoverished and painful childhood leads to creativity and award-winning publications. Why Is Caring For Children Important?

© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Child Development Development – pattern of change from conception, throughout the life span Importance of studying development –Improving children’s lives –Improving health and well-being –Learning better parenting –Improving child education –Better social policies affecting children Why Is Caring For Children Important?

© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Historical Views of Development Early views of childhood –Medieval Europe No distinction from adults –Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Romans Rich conceptions of childhood Why Is Caring For Children Important?

© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Historical Views of Development Three influential philosophical views –Middle Ages Original sin view –End of 1800s Tabula rasa (John Locke) –Eighteenth century Innate goodness (Rousseau) Today: childhood is unique Why Is Caring For Children Important?

© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Modern Studies of Childhood Began in late 1800s –Use of sophisticated science –New ways of thinking about children –Shift from philosophical view to systematic observation and experimentation Why Is Caring For Children Important?

© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Major Theories Evolutionary view – G.S. Hall –Stages of distinct motives and capabilities Psychoanalytic theory – S. Freud –Stage theory stressing parenting –First 5 years influence later life Behaviorism – John Watson –Environment influences behavior Why Is Caring For Children Important?

© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Biological, Cognitive, and Socioemotional Development Genetic epistemology (J. Baldwin) –Child knowledge changes over development Biological processes –Physical changes in a person Cognitive processes –Changes in thought, IQ, and language Socioemotional processes –Personality, emotions, relationships What Characterizes Development?

© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Periods of Development Prenatal – conception to birth Infancy – birth to months of age Early childhood – infancy to 5-6 years Middle/late childhood – 6 to 11 years (elementary years) Adolescence – 10 or 12 until 18 years (may vary beyond these years) What Characterizes Development?

© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Issues in Development Nature-Nurture issue –Nature Influences of biological inheritance Development seen as orderly –Nurture Influences of environment Influenced by social experiences Deprivation or enrichment have impact What Characterizes Development?

© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Issues in Development Continuity-discontinuity issue –Continuity Gradual, continuous changes –Discontinuity Distinct stages, abrupt changes Early-later experiences –Hotly debated –Malleable or resilient to experiences? What Characterizes Development?

© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Nature and nurture Continuity and discontinuity Discontinuity Continuity

© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Importance of Research Scientific Method –Conceptualize or identify a problem –Refer to a theory (set of ideas that predict) –Develop a hypothesis (testable assumption) –Collect the data (to test the hypothesis) –Analyze the data (by statistical methods) –Draw conclusions –Compare to other research outcomes What Characterizes Development?

© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Theories of Development Psychoanalytic theories –Behavior affected by underlying emotions and unconscious mind –Personality (S. Freud) Id (unconscious instincts) Ego (executive branch of mind, deals with reality) Superego (moral branch of mind, one’s ‘conscience’) What Characterizes Development?

© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Freud’s Stages Oral: Birth to 18 months Anal: 18 months to 3 years Phallic: 3 to 6 years (Oedipus complex) Latency: 6 years to puberty Genital: Puberty onward What Characterizes Development?

© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Theories of Development Psychosocial theory (E. Erikson) –Change occurs over life span in 8 stages –Each stage has unique crisis to resolve, not a catastrophe to future development if not resolved –Each stage has developmental task What Characterizes Development?

© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Psychosocial theory Initiative vs. guilt Generativity vs. stagnation Early childhood Integrity vs. despair Intimacy vs. isolation Industry vs. inferiority Autonomy vs. shame and doubt Infancy: 1 to 3 years Middle adulthood Late adulthood Middle and late childhood Early adulthood Trust vs. mistrust Infancy: 1 st year of life Identity vs. identity confusion Adolescence

© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Strategies Based on Erikson’s Theory Nurture infants, develop trust, encourage and monitor autonomy Encourage initiative Promote industry in elementary years Stimulate adolescent identity exploration Caring for Children

© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Cognitive Theories Cognitive development theory (J. Piaget) –Children actively construct their understanding of the world Accommodation and Assimilation –Four stages of cognitive development –Two underlying processes: Organization Adaptation Caring for Children

© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Cognitive Development Theory Birth to 2 yrs Sensorimotor Uses senses and motor skills, items known by use; object permanence yrsPre-operational Symbolic thinking, language used; egocentric thinking, imagination/ experience grow, child de-centers yrsConcrete operational Logic applied, objective/rational interpretations; conservation, numbers, ideas, classifications 11 yrs onFormal operational Thinks abstractly, hypothetical ideas; ethics, politics, social/moral issues explored Caring for Children

© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Cognitive Theories Sociocultural theory (L. Vygotsky) –Social and cultural interaction guide cognitive development –Child needs interaction with more skilled adults and peers –Interactions teach adaptive skills for success –Knowledge is situated and collaborative –Memory, attention, reasoning involves learning to use society’s inventions Caring for Children

© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Cognitive Theories Information processing theory –Capacity is gradually developed (no stages) –Comparing computer to human brain Hardware analogous to brain Software analogous to cognition –Emphasizes how individuals manipulate information, monitor it, and strategize about it Caring for Children

© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Information Processing Theory Sensory information economics history religion culture science literature Information is taken into brain Information gets processed, analyzed, and stored until use RETRIEVAL Information is used as basis of behaviors and interactions INPUT math STORAGE

© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Behavioral and Social Cognitive Theories Behaviorism –Development is observable behavior –Behavior is learned from environmental experiences –Scientific measurements possible –Change environment to affect behavior Four major theorists: Skinner, Pavlov, Bandura, and Watson Caring for Children

© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Behavioral and Social Cognitive Theories Classical Conditioning (I. Pavlov) –Neutral stimulus acquires ability to produce response originally produced by another stimulus Dogs salivated to food Pairing food with bell produces salivation Sound of bell will produce salivation without food Caring for Children

© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Behavioral and Social Cognitive Theories Classical conditioning (J. Watson) –Experiment: Little Albert and the white rat –Generalizing fear as an involuntary response Operant Conditioning (B.F. Skinner) –Consequences of behavior change probability of behavior’s occurrence –Use of punishments and rewards shapes behavior and development Caring for Children

© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Behavioral and Social Cognitive Theories Social Cognitive Theory (A. Bandura) –Observational learning: use imitation or modeling to adopt behaviors –Behavior, environment, and cognition are key factors in development –Most recent model of learning Three elements: behavior, environmental, and person/cognitive operate together Caring for Children

© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Social Cognitive Model Caring for Children Environment Person/ Cognitive Behavior

© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Behavioral and Social Cognitive Theories Ethological theory –Ethology stresses behavior influenced by biology –Critical (sensitive) periods for learning –Lorenz experiment: imprinting –Bowlby: attachment to caretaker is important in first year of life Can be positive or negative Caring for Children

© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Behavioral and Social Cognitive Theories Ecological theory (U. Bronfenbrenner) –Development influenced by several environmental systems –Current modification Added biological influences Renamed Bioecological theory –Has merits and criticisms Caring for Children

© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Ecological Theory Caring for Children

© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Research Methods Observation –Laboratory or naturalistic observation Survey and interview Standardized test – uniform procedures Case study – in-depth on individual Physiological measures –fMRI (electromagnetic waves used) Caring for Children

© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Research Methods Research designs (for data collection) –Descriptive research: observe and record –Correlational research: measure strength of association Correlation coefficient – shows strength and direction, not causality Statistical number Caring for Children

© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Research Methods Experimental research –Behavior manipulated, change measured –Demonstrates cause and effect –Independent variable (gets manipulated) –Dependent variable (gets measured) –Control group (forms baseline measure) –Experimental group (gets manipulated) –Random assignment (assignment by chance) Caring for Children

© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Research Methods Time span of research –Cross-sectional approach Several groups (usually different ages) compared at one time –Longitudinal approach Follows same group over long period of time (usually years) Caring for Children

© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Research Challenges Conducting ethical research –Protect rights of research subjects –Do no harm (?) and adhere to code of ethics Use of informed consent Respect confidentiality Conduct debriefing Avoid deception (controversial here) Caring for Children

© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Minimizing Bias Gender bias – preconceived ideas about female and male abilities, magnifying differences found Cultural and ethnic bias – excluding minorities, preconceived ideas of not being ‘average’ Ethnic gloss – use of ethnic label portraying ethnic groups as more homogeneous than they really are Caring for Children

© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. The End 1