History of Developmental Psychology I.Introduction A.Why study developmental psychology? B.What is development? II.Human development in historical perspective A.Childhood in Medieval Times B.Childhood in the Reformation III.Philosophies of the Enlightenment A.John Locke ( ) and the British Empiricists B.John-Jacques Rousseau ( ) IV.Scientific roots of development A.Charles Darwin’s ( ) evolutionary theory B.G. Stanley Hall’s ( ) recapitulationist theory C.Lewis Terman and Arnold Gesell D.Mid-20 th century theories

Development and the Developmental Sciences What is development? Development involves the systematic changes that occur in individuals between the moment of conception and the moment of death. What is the science of development? Developmental science versus developmental sciences Interdisciplinary nature of the study of development

Child Development in Historical Perspective Childhood in Medieval Times (6 th - 15 th centuries) The view of children The contradictory nature of childhood Childhood in the Reformation (16 th – century) The influence of the Puritans The idea of “original sin”

Philosophical roots of human development John Locke and the British Empiricists Rejected concept of innate ideas Mind of infant as a Tabula Rasa Knowledge gained through experiences Two important conceptual points Idea of continuous development Importance of “nurture”

Philosophical roots of human development John-Jacques Rousseau Child born with innate ideas and knowledge that unfolds naturally with age Development proceeds through series of stages guided by inborn timetable Innate knowledge includes principles of justice, fairness, conscience Child as a “noble savage” Important conceptual ideas Concept of stages Idea of “maturation”

Scientific roots of human development Charles Darwin Natural selection Environment where animal exists places demands on animal Thus, natural environment “selects” organism for survival Survival of the fittest Organisms possessing characteristics that fit the requirements of the environment will survive

Scientific roots of human development G. Stanley Hall Adopted at “nature” viewpoint, translating Darwinian principles into human development Proposed the Recapitulationist theory, in which life cycle changes are a repetition of evolutionary changes Students of Hall Lewis Terman Arnold Gesell