Chapter 1: Introduction to Child Development

physical domain of development

changes in height and weight, gross and fine motor skills, sensory capabilities, the nervous system, and the propensity for disease and illness

cognitive domain of development

changes in intelligence, wisdom, perception, problem solving, memory, and language

social and emotional (psychosocial) domain of development

changes in emotion, self-perception, and interpersonal relationships with families, peers, and friends

nature

genetics

nurture

the environment

developmentalists

individuals who study development

continuous development

the assumption that development is a more slow and gradual process

stage theories/discontinuous development

the assumption that developmental change occurs in distinct stages that are qualitatively different from each other, and in a set, universal sequence

experiental reality

knowing things based on your own history

agreement reality

knowing things based on what others have told you or cultural ideas

observational studies

involve watching and recording the actions of participants, typically in the natural setting

Hawthorne effect

children tend to change their behavior when they know they’re being watched

experiments

designed to test hypotheses in a controlled setting in efforts to explain how certain factors or events produce outcomes

experimental group

the group that’s exposed to an independent variable or condition the researcher is introducing as a potential cause of an event

control group

the group that’s used for comparison and is going to have the same experience as the experimental group but will not be exposed to the independent variable

case studies

involve exploring a single case or situation in great detail with the use of observation, interviews, testing, or other methods to uncover as much as possible about a person or situation

surveys

involve asking a standard set of questions to a group of participants

Likert Scale

a response set such as strongly disagree, disagree, undecided, agree, strongly agree; or 0, 1-5, 6-10, etc.

developmental designs

techniques used in developmental research and other area that try to example how age, cohort, gender, and social class impact development

longitudinal research

beginning with a group of people who may be of the same age and background, and measuring them repeatedly over a long period of time

cross-sectional research

involves beginning with a sample that represents a cross-section of the population; respondents are measured only once

sequential research

involves combining aspects of longitudinal and cross-sectional research, beginning with a cross-sectional sample and measuring them through time

theory

guides and helps us interpret research findings and explain occurrences

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939); psychosexual theory

assumed that personality forms during the first few years of life, and that the ways in which parents or other caregivers interact with children have a long-lasting impact on children’s emotional states

id (Freud’s theory of self)

the part of the self that is inborn. it responds to biological urges without pause and is guided by the principle of pleasure (e.g., a newborn)

ego (Freud’s theory of self)

develops through interaction with others and is guided by logic or the reality principle. mediates between the id and superego using logic and reality to calm the other parts of the self

superego (Freud’s theory of self)

represents society’s demands for its members. consists of values, and the conscience

oral stage (Freud’s psychosexual theory)

stimulation and comfort is focused on the mouth and based on the reflex of sucking; the infant is all id (birth-age 2)

anal stage (Freud’s psychosexual theory)

consices with potty training or learning to manage biological urges; development of the ego

phallic stage (Freud’s psychosexual theory)

marks the development of the superego and a sense of masculinitiy or feminitity as culture dictates (early childhood)

latency stage (Freud’s psychosexual theory)

child’s urges quiet down and friendships become the focus; the ego and superego can be redefined (middle childhood)

genital stage (Freud’s psychosexual theory)

preoccupation is that of sex and reproduction (puberty-adulthood)

Erik Erikson (1902-1994); psychosocial theory

suggested that our relationships and society’s expectations motivate much of our behavior, and believed that we aren't driven by unconscious urges

trust vs. mistrust (Erikson’s psychosocial theory)

the infant must have basic needs met in a consistent way in order to feel that the world is a trustworthy place (ages 0-1)

autonomy vs. shame and doubt (Erikson’s psychosocial theory)

mobile toddles have newfound freedom they like th exercise and by being allowed to do so, they learn some basic independence (ages 1-2)

initiative vs. guilt (Erikson’s psychosocial theory)

preschoolers like to initiate activities and emphasize doing things “all by myself” (ages 3-5)

industry vs. inferiority (Erikson’s psychosocial theory)

school aged children focus on accomplishments and begin making comparisons between themselves and their classmates (ages 6-11)

identity vs. role confusion (Erikson’s psychosocial theory)

teenagers are trying to gain a sense of identity as they experiment with various roles, beleifs, and ideas adolescence)

intimacy vs. isolation (Erikson’s psychosocial theory)

in our 20s and 30s we are making som eof our first long-term commitments in intimate realtionships (young adulthood)

generativity vs. stagnation (Erikson’s psychosocial theory)

the 40s-early 60s we focus on being productive at work adn home and aremotivated by wanting to feel that we’ve made a contribution to society (middle adulthood)

integrity vs. despair (Erikson’s psychosocial theory)

we look back on our lives adn hope to like what we see-that we have lived well and have a sense of integrity because we lived according to our beliefs (late adulthood)

behaviorism

rejected any reference to mind and viewed overt and observable behavior as the proper subject matter of psychology

Ivan Pavlov (1880-1937); classical conditioning

discivered that an unassociated signals can result in a conditioned behavior (e.g., a bell causing dogs to salivate); conditioned stimulus

John B. Watson (1878-1958); classical conditioning and “Little Albert”

believed that most of our fears and other emotional responses are classically conditioned

B.F. Skinner (1904-1990); operant conditioning

suggested that reinforcement—anything an organism desires and is motivated to obtain—is a more effective means of encouraging a behavior than is criticism or punishment

reinforcer

something that encourages or promote a behavior (e.g., natural rewards)

positive reinforcement

involves adding something to a situation in order to encourage a behavior (e.g., giving a child a cookie for cleaning their room, making cleaning more likely in the future)

negative reinforcement

occurs when taking something unpleasant away from a situation encourages behavior (e.g., turning off a loud alarm in the morning, which reinforces getting up)

punishment

an unpleasant or painful effort to stop a behavior

Albert Bandura

a leading contributor to social learning theory, which suggests that many of our actions are learned by watching others (e.g., BoBo Doll Experiment)

vicarious reinforcement

we engage in the observed behavior because we hope it will pay off for us as well

Jean Piaget (1896-1980); theory of cognitive development

one of the most influential cognitive theorists who believed that children’s intellectual skills change over time through maturation and that children of different ages interpret the world differently

equilibrium

a cognitive need/a balance between what we sense in the outside world and what we know in our minds

schema (schemes)

categories of knowledge

assilimation

making sense of new experiences by focusing on how they’re similar to what we already know

accommodation

making sense of the work by changing our mind and adding new schema

sensorimotor stage (Piaget’s theory of cognitive development)

children rly on use of the senses and motor skills

preoperational stage (Piaget’s theory of cognitive development)

children from ages 2-7 become able to think about the world using symbols, and they’re preoperational or pre-logical because they still dont understand how the physcial world operates

concrete operational stage (Piaget’s theory of cognitive development)

children ages 7-11 develop the ability to think logically about the physical world

formal operational stage (Piaget’s theory of cognitive development)

children, at about age 12, acquire the ability to think logically about concrete and abstract events

Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934); sociocultural theory

believed that a person not only has a set of abilities, but also a set of potential abilities that can be realized if given the proper guidance from others

zone of proximal development

Vygotsky’s assumption that through guided participation, scaffolding, with a teacher or capable peer, a child can learn cognitive skills within a certain range individually as they begin to internalize their learning

Urie Bronfenbrenner (1917-2005); ecological systems theory)

suggested that what’s being taught and how society interprets situations depends on who’s involved in the life of a child and on when and where a child lives

microsystems (Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory)

impact a child directly (i.e., parents, peers, and teachers)

mesosystems (Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory)

interactions between those surrounding the individual

exosystem (Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory)

larger institutions that have an impact on families, peers, and schools

macrosystems (Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory)

cultural values and beliefs that will ultimately inpact the individual

chronosystem (Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory)

historical context; policies of educational institutions or governments in certian political climates