Perspectives on Child Development

Question 1

Psychosexual development [Sigmund Freud] core concepts

Answer 1

Social codes channel primitive impulses resulting in unconscious conflict.

Question 2

Freud || nature or nurture?

Answer 2

Interaction of Maturation sets the stage for reacting to social influences

Question 3

Freud || continuous or discontinuous?

Answer 3

Discontinuous: 5 stages of development that express or repress sexual impulses.

Question 4

Freud || is child active or passive?

Answer 4

Passive: The child is large at the mercy of older people and cultural modes of conduct.

Question 5

Psychosocial development [Erik Erikson] core concepts

Answer 5

Children undergo life crises that are largely based on social relationships and expectations

Question 6

Erikson || nature or nurture?

Answer 6

Interaction of nature and nurture: Maturation sets the stage for reacting to social influences and opportunities

Question 7

Erikson || continuous or discontinuous?

Answer 7

Discontinuous: There are 8 stages of development, each which involves a life crisis.

Question 8

Erikson || is child active or passive?

Answer 8

Active: The child makes conscious decisions about the formation of his or her own personality and behaviour

Question 9

Behaviourism [Pavlov, Skinner, Watson] core concepts

Answer 9

Behaviour is learned by association, as in classical and operant conditioning

Question 10

Behaviourism || nature or nurture?

Answer 10

Nurture: Children are seen as blank slates

Question 11

Behaviourism || continuous or discontinuous?

Answer 11

Continuous: Behaviour reflects the summation of conditioned responses

Question 12

Behaviourism || is child active or passive?

Answer 12

Passive: Responses are learned by association and maintained by reinforcement

Question 13

Social cognitive theory (Albert Bandura) core concepts

Answer 13

Conditioning occurs, but children also learn by observing others and choose whether to display learned responses

Question 14

Bandura || nature or nurture?

Answer 14

Emphasizes nurture but allows for the expression of natural tendencies

Question 15

Bandura || continuous or discontinuous

Answer 15

Continuous

Question 16

Bandura || is child active or passive?

Answer 16

Active: Children influence the environment even as the environment influences them.

Question 17

Cognitive-development theory [Jean Piaget] core concepts

Answer 17

Children adapt to the environment by assimilating new event to existing mental structures and accommodating those structures

Question 18

Piaget || nature or nurture?

Answer 18

Emphasizes nature but allows for influences of experience

Question 19

Piaget || continuous or discontinuous?

Answer 19

Discontinuous: Cognitive development follows an invariant sequence of four stages

Question 20

Piaget || is child active or passive?

Answer 20

Active: children are budding scientists who seek to understand and manipulate their worlds

Question 21

Information processing theory [numerous theorists] core concepts

Answer 21

Children’s cognitive functioning is compared to that of computers–how they input, manipulate, store, and output information

Question 22

Information Processing || nature or nurture?

Answer 22

Interaction of nature and nurture

Question 23

Information Processing || continuous or discontinuous?

Answer 23

Continuous: The child’s capacity for storing information and his or her ability to run multiple “programs” at once develop continuously.

Question 24

Information Processing || active or passive?

Answer 24

Active: children seek to obtain and manipulate information

Question 25

Ethology and evolution [Darwin, Lorenz, Tinbergen ] core concepts

Answer 25

Organisms are biologically prewired to develop certain adaptive responses during sensitive periods

Question 26

Ethology and evolution: nature or nurture?

Answer 26

Emphasizes nature, but experience is also critical.

Question 27

Ethology and evolution: continuous or discontinuous?

Answer 27

Discontinuous: Certain kinds of learning are said to occur during sensitive periods, which are biologically determined

Question 28

Ethology and evolution: is child active or passive?

Answer 28

Not indicated

Question 29

Ecological systems theory [Urie Bronfenbrenner] core concepts

Answer 29

Children’s development occurs within interlocking systems, and development is enhanced by intervening in these systems

Question 30

Bronfenbrenner || nature or nurture?

Answer 30

Interaction of nature and nurture: Children’s personalities and skills contribute to their development

Question 31

Bronfenbrenner || continuous or discontinuous?

Answer 31

Not indicated

Question 32

Bronfenbrenner || active or passive?

Answer 32

Active: influences are bidirectional: systems influence the child, and vice versa.

Question 33

Sociocultural theory [Lev Vygotsky] core concepts

Answer 33

Children internalized sociocultural dialogue developing problem-solving skills

Question 34

Vygotsky || nature or nurture?

Answer 34

Interaction of nature and nurture:Nurture is discussed social and cultural terms

Question 35

Vygotsky || continuous or discontinuous?

Answer 35

Continuous: Children learn in the zone with experienced members of a culture thereby accumulating knowledge and skills

Question 36

Vygotsky || is child active or passive?

Answer 36

Both: children seek to develop problem solving abilities by internalizing cultural dialogues, but the dialogues originate externally