1. © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved A Contemporary Viewpoint by Hetherington & Parke Child Psychology

2. © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved Chapter One Child Development: Themes, Theories, and Methods

3. © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved Themes of Development Themes focus on theories and study of psychological development Main theoretical views guide research Specific processes and experiences may account for different aspects of child development

4. © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved Field of Child Development Sub-area of child psychology –Identify and describe changes in child from beginning of life to adolescence Cognitive Emotional Motor Social capacities and behaviors –Uncover processes underlying the changes Use of research Suggest practical applications based on research

5. © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved Themes of Development Themes focus on theories and study of psychological development –Origins of human behavior –Pattern of developmental change over time –Individual and contextual forces that define and direct child development

6. © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved Themes of Development Biological versus Environmental Influences: nature vs. nurture –Disagreement on which influences development the most –Genetic or biological processes unfold naturally in maturation –Environmental events can shape, modify –Children are active agents

7. © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved Themes of Development Continuity versus Discontinuity –Continuous process: each new event builds on earlier experiences in orderly way or gradual improvement –Discontinuous process: development occurs in discrete steps or stages; each stage is a qualitatively new set of behaviors

8. © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved Themes of Development Individual Characteristics versus Contextual and Cultural Influences –Individual and personality characteristics direct behaviors –Environmental influences (family income, education, death, divorce, remarriage) –Interactionist view: adopt both –Resilience or “sleeper” effects?

9. © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved Theoretical Perspectives on Development Two functions of theories –Organize and integrate existing information into coherent, interesting, plausible accounts of how children develop –Generate testable hypotheses or predictions about child behavior

10. © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved Theoretical Perspectives on Development Five general theoretical perspectives –Structural-Organismic Approach focuses on structured set of stages an organism goes through over the course of psychological growth (structuralism) –Used in Freud, Erikson, and Piaget’s theories

11. © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved Freud’s Psychodynamic Theory Age 0 - 1 Oral Stage Age 1 - 3 Anal Stage Age 3 - 6 Phallic Stage Age 6 - 12 Latency Stage Age 12+ Genital Stage Ego Id Super Ego Freud: Personality is formed within the first 6 years

12. © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory Ages 1 - 3 Ages 3 - 6 Ages 6 - 12 Ages 12 - 20 Ages 20 - 30 Ages 30 - 65 Ages 65+ Ages 0 - 1 Identity vs. Role confusion Industry vs. Inferiority Intimacy vs. Isolation Trust vs. Mistrust Autonomy vs. Shame/Doubt Initiative vs. Guilt Integrity vs. Despair Generativity vs. Stagnation

13. © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved Piaget’s Periods of Cognitive Development Sensorimotor Pre- operational Concrete Operational Formal Operational Age 0 - 27 - 1212+2 - 7

14. © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved Piaget’s Principle of Adaptation Adapt to new information Accommodation Assimilation Reinterpret new experiences so they fit into old ideas – existing ideas don’t change, stay same Revamp old ideas so they can adapt to new – change current ways of thinking/ideas so as to add new knowledge

15. © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved Theoretical Perspectives on Development Five general theoretical perspectives –Learning Approach Behaviorism focuses on learning of behavior; not unobservable factors or motivations (Watson, Pavlov, Skinner) Classical Conditioning Operant Conditioning

16. © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning Pairing of metronome with appearance of food makes each a Conditioned Stimulus CR (salivation) CS Play metronome (CS) and dog salivates (CR) without food being presented Appearance of food becomes CS; dog salivation is the CR Before conditioning: when food was placed in dish (UCS), the dog salivated (UCR) UCR (salivation) Neutral stimulus (metronome) UCS CS CR (salivation)

17. © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved Watson’s Classical Conditioning UCS (loud noise) CR (fear) CS (furry rat)

18. © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved Skinner’s Operant Conditioning Task: study for a quiz If grades or parents’ urging are not a ‘reward’ (reinforcement), student will do other activities If grades or parents’ urging are a ‘reward’ (reinforcement), student will study well Consequences can reinforce or decrease chances of behavior occurring again Quiz grade of A earned Quiz grade of F earned

19. © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved Theoretical Perspectives on Development Five general theoretical perspectives –Learning Approach Cognitive Social Learning Theory: children learn through behaviorism and from observation and imitation of role models (Bandura’s process of imitation) Information-Processing Approaches focus on flow of information through the cognitive system (brain is like computer)

20. © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved Matched Behavior ATTENTION Experience, Personality characteristics, Relationship with model, Situational variables RETENTION Rehearsal, Organization, Recall, Other cognitive skills REPRODUCTION Cognitive representation, Concept matching, Use of feedback Modeled Behavior MOTIVATION External & Vicarious incentives, Self-evaluation, Internalized standards, Social comparison

21. © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved Information is taken into brain Information gets processed, analyzed, and stored in the brain until use OUTPUTINPUT Information is used as basis of behaviors and interactions Information-Processing Theory math history religion science geography literature

22. © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved Theoretical Perspectives on Development Five general theoretical perspectives –Dynamic Systems Perspective focuses on changes over time that result from interacting elements in a complex, integrated system –Individuals and their achievements can only be understood within this framework

23. © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved Theoretical Perspectives on Development Five general theoretical perspectives –Contextual Perspectives Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory – development is product of social and cultural experiences –Emphasizes importance of cultural variation in development – cultural tools include language, technology

24. © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved Theoretical Perspectives on Development Five general theoretical perspectives –Contextual Perspectives Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Theory – experiences and relationships in layers of environmental systems impact child development The life-span perspective

25. © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Model of Development Child MICROSYSTEM CHRONOSYSTEM EXOSYSTEM MESOSYSTEM MACROSYSTEM Social welfare services Legal services Mass media Neighbors Extended family Friends of family Attitudes & ideologies of culture Family School Peers Religious institutions Healthcare services Playground

26. © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved Theoretical Perspectives on Development Five general theoretical perspectives –Ethological and Evolutionary Approaches Ethological theory focuses on adaptive or survival behavior within specific contexts – observation yields detailed classifications Evolutionary developmental psychology focuses on critical components of human evolutionary change in the brain and cognitive functioning

27. © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved The End