1 | 1 Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved. What is child development? Changes in physical, social, emotional and intellectual functioning over time, from conception through adolescence Why do we study it?

1 | 2 Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Areas of Development Physical development Cognitive development Social-emotional development “We develop in body, mind and spirit simultaneously.” Photo credit of Gabriela Martorell.

1 | 3 Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Critical Issues 1) Influences on Child Development: Maturation Environmental factors Learning Socialization

1 | 4 Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved. 2) Nature and Nurture Nature –Biological and genetic factors Nurture –Environmental factors and experiences

1 | 5 Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Studying Nature and Nurture Adoption studies Twin studies –Monozygotic (MZ) twins –Dizygotic (DZ) twins –Heritability Combination approaches (twins reared apart) Photo credit of Gabriela Martorell.

1 | 6 Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved. 3)Continuity and Discontinuity Continuous –Development is smooth and gradual –Quantitative change Discontinuous –Development is abrupt and unstable –Qualitative change –Implicit in stage theories

1 | 7 Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Stage Theories Organize information in a meaningful way but gloss over individual differences There are 4 criteria central to stage theories according to John Flavell (1971). © Royalty-Free, Daniel Pangbourne/Getty Images

1 | 8 Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved. The Size of the Lens Changes may appear –Abrupt if viewed from farther away –Gradual if viewed closely Development is best conceived of as a dynamic and complex pattern of both gradual and abrupt changes. “It depends on how you look at and how often you look.”

1 | 9 Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved. 4) Critical and Sensitive Periods Critical period: a specific period during which the environment has its greatest impact on development Sensitive periods: times that are optimal, but not necessary, for the development of certain behaviors or functions Photo Researcher, Inc./SPL

1 | 10 Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved. 5) Individual Differences in Development Universal characteristics develop in similar ways in all humans, but there are also vast individual differences between children. These differences tend to be stable yet still can show great flexibility. “In some respects you are like all other people, like some other people, and like no other person.”

1 | 11 Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Historical Roots of the Field: 1) Children of Antiquity: Ancient Rome and Greece Children viewed as –Helpless –Lacking in self-control and prone to disobedience. –Naïve and easily led astray Discipline emphasized Environment and socialization seen as critical

1 | 12 Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved. 2) Medieval Children Children viewed as miniature adults Life was harsh Child labor was a necessity High infant mortality

1 | 13 Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Early Philosophical Roots: John Locke (1600s) Infants enter the world as a “Tabula rasa “ or “Blank slate” Environment is driving force in development Early experiences have a long term impact More emphasis on Nurture “The sooner you treat him a man, the sooner he will begin to be one.”

1 | 14 Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1700s) Doctrine of innate morality Children are intrinsically good and moral – born pure. Natural qualities of child dictate development More emphasis on Nature “God makes all things good; man meddles with them and they become evil.”

1 | 15 Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved. 4) Evolution and Child Development Charles Darwin –Natural selection –Theory of evolution Challenged idea that human behavior and development are fixed. Also, argued that human behavior reflects adaptive pressures. Bettmann/Corbis

1 | 16 Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved. 5) 19 th Century -- Industrialization Many children employed in factories or mines. Early studies of the effects of labor on children. Beginning child labor laws.

1 | 17 Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved. 6) Application of the Scientific Method G. Stanley Hall – early 1900s Pioneered the use of scientific procedures for the study of child development First to focus on adolescence and write a developmental textbook Human development is now a recognized field of scientific inquiry.

1 | 18 Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Changes in Contemporary Life 1) Changes in Family Structure Nuclear family –Biological father and mother and their children –Prevalence is declining Single-parent family –Primary cause is divorce –Usually headed by women –Prevalence is rising

1 | 19 Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Changes in Family Structure blended family –formed when a widowed or divorced person remarries stepfamily –formed when at least one partner in a blended family has children extended family –consists of one or more parents, one or more of the parents’ children, and one or more relatives living together in one household

1 | 20 Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Changes in Family Structure Other trends –Parents, especially mothers, are working more –More hours that both parents spend at work is increasing –More non-parental caregivers

1 | 21 Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved. 2) Children of Same-Sex Parents Number of families including gay or lesbian parents is substantial and likely to rise Research suggests these children are no different than children raised in heterosexual families Image Works

1 | 22 Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved. 3) Ethnic and Racial Diversity The U.S. is becoming more diverse Both birthrates and immigration factor into this Researching diversity is complicated by within- group variation

1 | 23 Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Ethnic and Racial Diversity Race –refers to a group of people who share a genetic heritage –Usually based on appearance Ethnicity –refers to a group of people who share a common cultural heritage –Not necessarily genetics Multiracial –refers to people who are of two or more races.

1 | 24 Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved. 4) Poverty and Child Development In 2007, 13 million children in the U.S. lived under the poverty line. Poverty adversely affects development. Not all children are at equal risk. Problems with poverty are intergenerational, complex and enduring.

1 | 25 Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Transactional Model of Development Implies development is influenced in multiple ways by the diverse qualities that individuals bring to their environments and the diverse environments that individuals experience. Development results from the continuous and dynamic interactions between the child and their social context. No single influence determines the outcome of development.