Ch. 1: The Science of Child Development

Ch. 1: The Science of Child Development

PSY2210 | Summer 2024

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In this lecture...

• We'll look at the philosophical foundations for child development.
• We'll examine the events that led to child development as a science and the central theories of the field.
• We'll explore themes that guide child development research and the methods that are used to study children and their development.

Start

Index

1.3: Themes in Child Developmet Research

1.1: Setting the Stage

1.4: Doing Child Development Research

1.2: Foundational Theories of Child Development

Setting the Stage

A Challenge to Locke

Age of Enlightenment

Plato & Aristotle

Jean Jacques Rousseau believed that newborns are endowed with a sense of morality and justice.

John Locke viewed the human infant as a "blank slate" and that the experience a child has will affect their development.

Plato and Aristotle believed that schools and parents were responsible for teaching self-control.

Concept Check

Origins of a New Science

Industrial Revolution

Experiences and Behavior

Charles Darwin

Combining Forces

Applied Developmental Science

Evolutionary Theories

What is a Theory?

• Before we continue with the chapter, go to Canvas and complete the assignment, "What is a Theory?"
• After you've generated some answers to the questions on th left, we'll look at some of the foundational theories in developmental psychology.

• What is a theory?
• What is a developmental theory?
• Of what value is developmental theory?
• How are facts and theories related?

Foundational Theories of Child Development

In child development, a theory is an organized set of ideas that is designed to explain and make predictions about development. A theory leads to a hypothesis that can be tested through research. Proving or disproving hypotheses can help researchers revise theories and advance their understanding of development.

The Biological Perspective

Maturational Theory - child development reflects a prearranged scheme or plan

• Arnold Gesell

Ethological Theory - development occurs for adaptation and behaviors have survival value

• Critical Period - specific time in development when a specific type of learning takes place
• Konrad Lorenz (1903-1989)
• Imprinting - creating an emotiona bond with the mother

Info

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The Psychodynamic Perspective

Freud's Psychodynamic Theory

Psychodynamic Theory - development is determined by how well individuals resolve conflict faced at different ages

• Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
• Id - primitive instincts and drive
• Ego - rational component of personality
• Superego - "moral agent;" emerges in preschool

Erikson's Psychosocial Theory - development consists of stages defined by unique challenges

• Erik Erikson (1902-1994)

The Learning Perspective

Observational Learning

Early Learning Theory

• Consistent with Locke's arguments
• John Watson: claimed learning from experience determines what children will be

• Children learn by watching those around them.
• ARRM: Attention, Retention, Reproduction, Motivation
• Commercial demonstrating imitation

Social Cognitive Theory

Operant Conditioning

Theory states consequences of a behavior determine whether the behavior is repeated.

• B.F. Skinner (1904-1990)
• Reinforcement increases likelihood of behavior
• Punishment decreases likelihood of behavior

• Albert Bandura (1925-2021)
• More complex view of reward, punishment, and imitation
• Emphasized self-efficacy

1/5 Identifying Reinforcement

2/5 Identifying Reinforcement

3/5 Identifying Reinforcement

4/5 Identifying Reinforcement

5/5 Identifying Reinforcement

The Cognitive Developmental Perspective

Jean Piaget (1896-1980)

• Focuses on how children think and how thinking changes as children develop

Four Stages of Cognitive Development

Sensorimotor

Birth-2 Years

Preoperational

2-7 Years

Understands world through senses and actions

Understands world through language and mental images

Concrete Operational

7-12 Years

Understands world through logical thinking and categories

Formal Operational

12+ Years

Understands world through hypothetical thinking and scientific reasoning

The Contextual Perspective

Vygotsky focused on ways adults share their culture with children. He argued that every aspect of development occurs within a cultural context. Development is an apprenticeship, and environment is more important than reinforcements, punishments, or observations.

Culture - the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors associated with a group of people Can refer to a particular country or people-group, a specific time period, or a group of individuals with identifiable cultural traditions

Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934)

Review of Developmental Perspectives

Key Assumptions

Perspective

Illustrative Theories

Doing Child Development Research: Measurement

Systematic Observation

• Systematic vs. Naturalistic observation
• Variables
• Structured observation

Sampling Behavior With Tasks Self Reports

• Response bias

Physiological Measures

Evaluating Research Measures

• Reliability - the extent to which the outcomes are consistent when the measure is repeated more than once
• Validity - the extent to which the assessments are measuring exactly what they are meant to measure

General Designs for Research

Experimental

Correlational

• Experiments seek to determine the effect manipulating one variable (independent variable) has on another variable (dependent variable)
• Field experiment - reserachers manipulate variables and observe outcomes in natural contexts
• Quasi-experiment - often used in situations where random assignment is impractical or unethical

• Correlational studies aim to describe a relationship between two variables without causality
• Unrelated variables means no correlation
• Positive correlations mean variables move in the same direction
• Negative correlations mean variables move in opposite directions
• The strength and direction of the correlation is described in the correlation coefficient (r)

Studying Age-Related Change

• Longitudinal Design
• Cross-Sectional Design
• Longitudinal-Sequential Studies
• Meta-Analysis - reviews and synthesizes data from multiple independent studies

Ethical Responsibilities

• Minimize risks to research participants
• Describe research to potential participants so they can determine whether they wish to participate (informed consent)
• Avoid deception
• Keep results anonymous or confidential

Themes in Developmental Research

The Active Child

Continuity of Development

Are children at the mercy of their environment or do they actively influence their development?

Are early aspects of development consistently related to later aspects?

Links Between Developmental Domains

Impact of Nature and Nurture

How are the developmental theories and domains of development interconnected?

How do biology and environment shape a child's development?

Summary

In this lecture, we talked about:

• the historical perspectives of child development,
• how those perspectives influenced early developmental theories,
• how psychologists use correlational and experimental research to expand developmental theories, and
• common themes that are frequently studied in child developmental research

What Now?

• Read and complete assigned REVEL material for week 2
• Complete week 2 assignments
• Participate in the week 2 discussion boards

Differing Perspectives on Acquiring Knowledge

• Plato believed children are born with the knowledge of concrete and abstract
• Aristotle denied the existence of innate knowledge

Supporting Evidence

Maturational Theory

According to this theory, child development reflects a specific and prearranged scheme or plan within the body. Gesell and other maturational theorists argued that development is determined by biology and experience doesn't have a big impact.

• Argued that human development was predictable
• Generated norms of development used by medical and developmental professionals