Feldman Chapter 1: Introduction to Child Development

Child development

The scientific study of the patterns of growth, change, and stability that occur from conception through adolescence

Prenatal period

Conception - birth

Infancy

Birth - 1 year

Toddlerhood

Age 2-3

Preschool period

Age 3-6

Middle childhood

Age 6-12

Adolescence

Age 12-20

Really begins with the onset of puberty

Non-normative life events

Specific, atypitcal events that occur in a person’s life at a time when such events do not happen to most people

John Locke

Saw children as a “blank slate” completely shaped by their environments and life experiences

Jean-Jacques Rosseau

Saw children as “noble savages” with innate morality unless corrupted by their life circumstances

Continuous change

The theory that development is gradual, with achievements building on previous levels

Ex: height

Discontinuous change

Development that occurs in distinct steps, with each stage bringing behavior that is assumed to be qualitatively different from earlier behavior

Ex: cognitive development changes in fundamental ways

Critical period

A specific time in development when a particular event has its greatest consequences

Ex: a mother falling ill at the beginning vs end of a pregnancy

Developmentalists are more inclined to say sensitive period because it recognizes plasticity

Plasticity

The degree to which a developing behavior or physical structure is modifiable

Plasticity decreases with age

Sensitive period

A specific time when organisms are particularly susceptible to certain kinds of stimuli in their environment

Ex: lack of exposure to language during sensitive periods may result in delayed language production