Chapter 1 - Science of Child Development

Recurring Themes in Development

1. Nature vs Nurture

2. Continuity and Discontinuity

3. Early and Later Experiences

Nature vs Nurture

Nature - Organism’s biological inheritance

Nurture - Environment/experience of an organism

-Ex; Warrior gene increases risk of someone being psychopathic, but a positive environment can mitigate expression of the gene

Continuity and Discontinuity

Continuity - Developmentalists who emphasize nurture describe development as gradual, continuous process

Discontinuity - Developmentalists who emphasize nature describe development as a series of discontinuous stages, each being different from the next

Continuity Examples

-Behaviourism, operant/classical conditioning are continous theories for development because the same principles underlie development

-Information-processing theory; same principles of encoding and retrieval explains human development, even if methods change as we get older

Discontinuity Example

Sigmun Freud’s Psychosexual theory where individuals undergo different stages

Early vs Later Experience

Issue is related to the degree wit which early experiences/later experiences determine a child’s development

-Later experience emphasizes how we remain malleable and thus can be changed by later experiences just as much as we’re influenced by early experiences

Infant Determinism

Belief that what happens in infancy is forever binding, emphasizing early life experiences over later experiences

Theory and Hypothesis

Theory - Interrelated, coherent set of ideas that help to explain and to make prediction

-Hypothesis - Specific, testable assumptions or predictions, written as “If-then” statements

Biological Perspective on Child Development

Maturational Theory - Child development reflects a specific, prearranged scheme or plan within the body, development is simply a natural unfolding of a biological plan; experience is not important

-Proposed by Arnold Gesell

Ethological Theory - Behaviours are adaptive since they have survival value, development is viewed from an evolutionary perspective

-Development has a Critical Period - Specific type of learning must take place; before/after the critical period the same learning is difficult or impossible

Example of Critical Period

Newly hatched geese typically imprint onto mother goose, creating emotional bond

-But if the mother was removed immediately after it hatched and replaced with another moving object, the geese treat it as their mother

-Had to do this within the first day of hatching or it wouldn’t imprint; therefore critical period for imprinting lasts around one day

Psychodynamic Perspective

Includes Freud’s psychosexual theory, Erikson’s psychosocial theory, and Adlerian Theory

Psychosexual Theory of Development

Proposed by Freud, follows a discontinuous description of development focusing on nature

-Adult personality is determined by the way we resolve conflicts between sources of pleasure at each stage and demands of reality

Extreme focus on the unconscious, but its weakest in terms of reliability/testing since the unconscious requires indirect measures for testability

Psychosexual Stages of Development

1. Oral - Pleasure gained via sucking/exploring the mouth (birth to 2yo)

2. Anal - Bowel control important, toilet training (2yo - 3yo)

3. Phallic - Notices differences between sexes (3yo to 7yo)

4. Latency - Energies are sublimated (channeled) into childhood activities like school/athletics

5. Genital - Age 11yo results in sexual maturity

-Conflicts at any stage of development can lead to fixations; energies are occupied in activities reminiscent of that stage

Components of Personality

Freud had three components of personality:

-Id - Consists of our instincts (frustration, sex, fear) which are the reservoir of psychic energy, totally unconscious (infants act purely on instincts, thus composed entirely of the Id)

-Ego - Deals with the demands of reality (the “Executive Branch” of personality, uses rationality/reason to make decisions (age 3)

-Superego - Moral branch of personality, considers if something is right/wrong

• Our “conscience”, last branch to develop, emerges at end of preschool years (age 4-5)

Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory

Primary motivation for human behaviour is social, reflecting a desire to affiliate with others

-We develop in psychosocial rather than psychosexual stages

-Discontinuous theory, instead a greater focus on nurture (social experiences)
Believed Freud misjudged some important dimensions of human development

Unlike Freud, stages consider both early and later development

Stages of the Psychosocial Theory

Autonomy vs Shame/doubt, Initiative vs Guilt, Industry vs Inferiority, Identity vs Identity confusion, Intimacy vs Isolation, Generativity vs Stagnation, Integrity vs Despair

Adlerian Theory

Neo-Freudian psychodynamic approach

-Argues we’re driven by feelings of inferiority, instead of sexuality or interpresonal relationships, we must overcome this sense of inferiority

Contribution of Psychoanalytic Theories

1. Acknowledgement of the unconscious

2. Emphasis on the child as a developmental framework

3. Emphasis on family relationships as a component of development

Criticism of Psychoanalytic Theory

1. Lack of scientific support (due to lack of reliability/validity of evidence gathered)

2. Too much emphasis on sexual underpinnings and the unconscious mind

3. Image of children is too negative (Freud)

Learning Perspective

Endorses John Locke’s view that infants mind is a blank slate that experience influences

-Thus, Watson and others viewed development as being a product of experience

Includes; Classical Conditioning, Operant Conditioning, Observational Learning, and Social Cognitive Theory

Classical Conditioning

Pairing of a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus that elicits an unconditioned response results in the previously neutral stimulus eliciting the conditioned response

-Example: Pavlov’s Dog, Little Albert

Operant Conditioning

Consequences of a behaviour determine what that behaviour is repeated, demonstrated by BF Skinner

-Reinforcement - Consequence that increases future likelihood of the behaviour that follows

-Punishment - Consequence that decreases future likelihood of the behaviour that follows

Positive/Negative Punishment/Reinforcement

Positive Reinforcer - Add a positive stimulus

Positive Punishment - Adds a negative stimulus

Negative Reinforcer - Removes a negative stimulus

Negative Punisher - Removes a positive stimulus

Observational Learning/Imitation

Imitation - Copying observed behaviours

Observational Learning - learning via observing, children commonly learn activities through observational learning

Social Cognitive Theory

Developed by Bandura, stresses the use of cognition in learning; children use reward, punishment, and imitation to try and understand the world

-Bobo Doll Study shows direct observational learning and how observation does not always lead to imitation

-Children watched an adult physically abuse a doll with specific actions, children often replicated that same abuse but were influenced by the consequence/person

Ex; more likely to imitate the person if they’re popular, smart, talented, or if the behaviour is rewarded

Self-Efficacy

Bandura argued that experience gives a children a sense of self-efficacy

Self-Efficacy - belief about their own abilities and talents, helps determine when children will imitate others

Ex; Children who are good at hockey are more likely to imitate a famous hockey player

Cognitive-Developmental Perspective

Focuses on how children think and how their thinking changes as they grow

-Jean Piaget proposed the best known of these theories

Piaget’s Cognitive Developmental THeory

Discontinuous theory, more of a focus on nurture aspects, viewed children as active instead of passive (like Freud)

-Children actively construct their understanding of the world; “Child as Scientist” metaphor

-Child learns by testing a prediction then looking at the outcome

Organization and adaptation underlie the four stages of development in the Piaget Theory

-adaptation is the altering of knowledge based on the outcome of a “test”

Ex; Child throwing food on the floor to test their depth perception/gravity

Stages of Cognitive Development

Sensorimotor Stage - Analyzes world via senses/motor movements only

Preoperational Stage - Learning symbolic representations (letters, numbers)

Concrete Operational Stage - Learning to manipulate these symbols and to reason, but must be able to interact with it concretely (cannot do abstract activities)

Formal Operation - Adolescents reasons in more abstract, idealistic and logical ways

-Each stage is age related, consists of a qualitative way of thinking

-Child’s cognition is distinctly different in one stage compare dwith another

Problem with Piaget

Considered the father of intelligence testing in children, but his tests didn’t consider social circumstances in intelligence (economics, culture, family, etc)

Contextual Perspective on Development

Emphasizes how complex system of parents, siblings, teachers, institutions, media, faith impact the development of a child

-Environment is more than reinforcement/punishment/observation

Vygotsky’s Theory of Contextual Development

Continuing Piaget’s framework, still viweed Children as actively constructing their knowledge

-Instead emphasizes how culture and mentors guide cognitive developemnt

“Child as an Apprentice” → Mentor transfers culturally-relevant knowledge to the child

-Ex; Inuit parents want their children to learn to hunt/fish/gather food whereas Canadian parents want their children to go to school

Bronfenbrenner’s Theory of Ecological System

Developing child is embedded in a series of complex and interactive systems

-Approach is similar to indigenous Canadians’ holistic view of life structures

-Environment is divided into five components; microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem and chronosystem

Components of the Ecological System

Microsystem - People/objects in an individual’s immediate environment (parents, siblings, close family)

Mesosystem - Connection of microsystems, such as home and work being connected

Exosystem - Social settings that a person may not experience first-hand, but still influence development

-Example; Parent’s work environment is part of a child’s exosystem, as it can affect the parent’s time/attention on their child

Macrosystem - Subcultures/cultures within the micro/meso/exosystem are embedded

-Ex; Workplace, child, school may be part of a larger cultural settings (ethnicity, religion)

Chronosystem - All systems change overtime and are never static