Feldman / Child Development, 5th Edition Copyright © 2010 Chapter 1 An Introduction to Child Development Child Development FIFTH EDITION Robert S. Feldman University of Massachusetts at Amherst

Feldman / Child Development, 5th Edition Copyright © 2010 Chapter 1 Key Questions What is child development? What is the scope of the field? What are the key issues and questions in the field of child development? What is the future of child development likely to hold?

Feldman / Child Development, 5th Edition Copyright © 2010 Child Development Child development is the scientific study of the patterns of growth, change and stability that occur from conception through adolescence.

Feldman / Child Development, 5th Edition Copyright © 2010 The Scope of the Field Child development includes: Physical development Cognitive development Social and personality development

Feldman / Child Development, 5th Edition Copyright © 2010 Approaches to Child Development Page 6

Feldman / Child Development, 5th Edition Copyright © 2010 Physical Development Physical development examines: the brain nervous system muscles developmental milestones needs for food, drink, and sleep

Feldman / Child Development, 5th Edition Copyright © 2010 Cognitive Development Cognitive development examines: learning memory problem solving intelligence

Feldman / Child Development, 5th Edition Copyright © 2010 Personality and Social Development Personality development includes the stability and change of enduring characteristics that differentiate one person from another. Social development examines how social relationships grow, change, and remain stable over the course of life.

Feldman / Child Development, 5th Edition Copyright © 2010 Age Ranges and Individual Differences Researchers divide childhood and adolescence into broad ranges: –Prenatal (conception to birth) –Infancy and toddlerhood (birth to age 3) –Preschool period (ages 3 – 5) –Middle childhood (ages 6 – 12) –Adolescence (ages 13 – 19) However, there are substantial individual differences in the timing of milestones -- age ranges are averages.

Feldman / Child Development, 5th Edition Copyright © 2010 Developmental Diversity In understanding today’s world we must consider children: –With Broad Cultural Situations –From Different Ethnic, Racial and Socioeconomic Backgrounds –Gender Differences RACE= Bio and physical ETHNIC = Cultural, Nationality, Religion and Language

Feldman / Child Development, 5th Edition Copyright © 2010 Cohort Influences on Development Cohort - A group of people born at around the same time in the same place Cohort effects provide an example of Normative history-graded influences, which are biological and environmental influences associated with a particular historical moment. In contrast, Normative age-graded influences are biological and environmental influences that are similar for individuals in a particular age group, regardless of when or where they are raised.

Feldman / Child Development, 5th Edition Copyright © 2010 Sociocultural-graded Influences Development is also affected by Normative sociocultural-graded influences, which include: –ethnicity –social class –subcultural membership –other factors

Feldman / Child Development, 5th Edition Copyright © 2010 Non-normative Life Events Finally, non-normative life events also influence development. Non-normative life events are specific, atypical events that occur in a particular person’s life at a time when such events do not happen to most people.

Feldman / Child Development, 5th Edition Copyright © 2010 What’s Your Cohort? Identify your year of birth_____________ Normative Normative NormativeNon-Normative HistoryAgeSocio-Cultural How impacted your Development?

Feldman / Child Development, 5th Edition Copyright © 2010 Children: Past, Present, and Future Early Views of Children: Locke (English Philosopher) considered a child to be a tabula rasa—which is Latin for “blank slate.” In this view, children entered the world with no specific characteristics or personalities. Instead, they were entirely shaped by their experiences as they grew up. Rousseau (French Philosopher) argued that children were noble savages, meaning that they were born with an innate sense of right and wrong and morality.

Feldman / Child Development, 5th Edition Copyright © 2010 Baby Biographies Among the first instances in which children were methodically studied came in the form of baby biographies, which were popular in the late 1700s in Germany. Observers—typically parents—tried to trace the growth of a single child, recording the physical and linguistic milestones achieved by their child.

Feldman / Child Development, 5th Edition Copyright © 2010 Baby Biographies, cont’d It was not until Charles Darwin, who developed the theory of evolution Observation of children took a more systematic turn. Darwin was convinced that understanding the development of individuals within a species could help identify how the species itself had developed. Alfred Binet – Intelligence Stanley Hall- Targeted Adolescence

Feldman / Child Development, 5th Edition Copyright © 2010 Contributions of Women Women made significant contributions to child development. Leta Stetter Hollingworth – one of the first psychologists to focus on child development

Feldman / Child Development, 5th Edition Copyright © 2010 Major Issues in Child Development

Feldman / Child Development, 5th Edition Copyright © 2010 Continuous Change vs. Discontinuous Change In continuous change, development is gradual. Discontinuous change occurs in distinct steps or stages.

Feldman / Child Development, 5th Edition Copyright © 2010 Distinguishing Sensitive vs. Critical Periods Critical periods are specific times during development in which a particular event has its greatest consequence. Plasticity or degree to which a developing behavior or physical structure is modifiable. Early deficits can be overcome. Sensitive periods are particular times when an organism is susceptible to certain kinds of stimuli in their environment.

Feldman / Child Development, 5th Edition Copyright © 2010 Life Span Approaches Versus a Focus on Particular Periods Early developmentalists tended to focus on the periods of infancy and adolescence, largely to the exclusion of other parts of childhood. Today, however, the entire period encompassing conception through adolescence is now regarded as important.

Feldman / Child Development, 5th Edition Copyright © 2010 Influence of Nature and Nurture on Development Nature – traits, abilities, and capabilities inherited from one’s parents –Nature = Genetic –Allows Maturation, or the process of the predetermined unfolding of genetic information Nurture – environmental influences that shape behavior –Nurture = Environment

Feldman / Child Development, 5th Edition Copyright © 2010 The Future of Child Development Specialization – new areas of study and perspectives will emerge Genetics – the explosion in information about genes and the genetic foundations of behavior will influence all spheres of child development Diversity – the increasing diversity of U.S. population will focus greater attention to related issues

Feldman / Child Development, 5th Edition Copyright © 2010 The Future of Child Development Research in child development will find uses in numerous other fields Public interest issues will increasingly be influenced by child development research