Week 1 : Theories, Theorists and Themes Flashcards
Define the concept of child development?
-An area of study devoted to understanding constancy and change from conception through adolescence.
What does research on child development aim to do?
-Research on child development seeks to describe and identify those factors that influence the consistencies and changes in young people during the first two decades of life.
-Apply information about human development to how child development takes place today
What are the three domains of child development?
-Physical
-Cognitive
-Emotional/ social
What does the physical domain of child development include ?
-Changes in body size/ appearance
-Body system function
-Changes in perceptual/ motor capacities
What does the cognitive domain of child development include ?
-Intellectual abilities
-Attention changes
-Memory changes
-Academic knowledge compared to everyday
-Problem solving
-Imagination
-Creativity
-Language
What does the emotional / social development phase of child development include?
-Self-understanding
-Emotional communication
-How we relate
-Friendships/ intimidate relationships
-Moral reasoning
Are the domains of child development linked? Give an example…
Yes, the physical, emotional/ social and cognitive domains of child development are all heavily interlinked despite attempts to label them into distinct categories.
An example is how mobility i.e. learning to crawl/ walk facilitates social interactions
What are the 6 general periods of development and what ages do they span across
-Antenatal or prenatal period: from conception to birth
-Infancy and toddlerhood: from birth to 2 years
-Early childhood: from 2 to 6 years
-Middle childhood: from 6 to 11 years
-Adolescence: from 11 to 18 years
-Emerging adulthood: from 18 to 25
What are the three basic themes/ issues in development?
-Continuous or discontinuous?
-One course of development or many?
-Nature or nurture
What is continuous development?
-Development is a smooth, continuous process (gradual and cumulative). NOT stepwise or involving sudden changes
-A process of gradually adding more of the same types of skills that were there to begin with.
-Infants & pre-schoolers respond to the world in much the same way as adults.
-The difference between the immature and the mature is one of amount or complexity.
What is discontinuous development?
-A process in which new ways of understanding and responding to the world emerge at specific times.
-Development takes place in discontinuous
stages.
-Stage theorists assume that people everywhere
follow the same developmental sequence.
-Children change rapidly as they step up to a new
level of development and then change very little
for a while (stepwise function)
-With each step, the child interprets and responds
to the world in a qualitatively different way.
-The thoughts, emotions, and behaviours of
infants and pre-schoolers differ considerably from
those of adults
How might context affect development? How about culture?
-Children grow up in distinct contexts and these different combinations of personal and environmental circumstances result in different developmental pathways.
-Culture is a subset of context and could effect what is expected of children at different ages and therefore what milestones they reach/ timetables they run by e.g. indigenous cultures might value children going out and exploring by themselves and therefore children who grew up in these communities might have independence at an earlier age. On the other hand if your community is not safe a young person might have less independce.
What is the nature standpoint of child development? What key concept sits hand and hand with the nature view?
-Believe genetic/ hereditary factors are more influential in child development
-Advocates of the nature position see development as a process of maturation. They believe that physical and psychological changes unfold
according to a genetically predetermined ‘plan’ inherited from our parents.
What is the nurture standpoint of child development?
-Nurture refers to all the environmental factors that shape who we are, including our early childhood experiences, how we were raised, our social
relationships, and our surrounding culture.
-The nurture viewpoint sees development occurring as a result of learning.
What is the Dunedin study?
-Just over 1000 children
-Studied a huge range of information across the lifespan
-Highest retention rate of any longitudinal study in the world (90%)
-Bring people back from whether they are in the world for testing
What two child development theorists are associated with ‘enlightenment philosophers’?
-John Locke (1632–1704)
-Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778)
What child development theorist is associated with ‘scientific beginnings’?
Arnold Gesell (1880–1961)
What child development theorist is associated with the psychoanalytic perspective?
Sigmund Freud (1856–1939)
Theorist summary activity : Freud
-Briefly introduce your theorist
-Where possible name their theory or approach
-Provide basic details about their theory or approach
Explain whether your theorist would have thought:
-Development was continuous or discontinuous (or both)
-There was one course of development or many
-Development was shaped by nature or nurture (or both)
Sigmund Freud
-Founder of the psychoanalytic movement which emphasized the impact of unconscious mental processes on the formation of personality/ life outcomes
-His theory/ approach was the ‘psychosexual theory’:
“children move through a series of stages where they confront conflicts between biological drives and social expectations. “ It is the role of the parent to help the child navigate these conflicts and the extent to which they can do this has a huge impact on personality development.
The 5 stages he refers to are:
Oral: Birth–1 year
Anal: 1–3 years
Phallic: 3–6 years
Latency: 6–11 years
Genital: Adolescence
Fixation at any stage my result in issues later on/ shape personality
-The other part of Freud’s theory is the acknowledgment of three distinct parts of the human psyche which become integrated across the 5 stages described above.
The 3 parts of the psyche are the id, ego and superego (more details on seperate cards)
-Freud would say that development is DISCONTINUOUS and ‘ONE COURSE’ as he believes everyone follows the same distinct stages with qualitatively different things happening at each stage
-Nature is important in Freuds theory because he acknowledges this idea of instinctual desires (i.e. the Id). Additionally, he would argue that development is shaped by nurture due to the role of the parent in resolving the conflicts at each of these stages. Freud was the first to iterate the importance of the parent-child relationship in child development. This is perhaps the only part of his theory that remains relevant today. SO BOTH NATURE AND NURTURE IS IMPORTANT TO FREUDS THEORY.
What are the 5 stages of Freud’s Psychosexual theory?
Oral: Birth–1 year
Anal: 1–3 years
Phallic: 3–6 years
Latency: 6–11 years
Genital: Adolescence
In Freuds Psychosexual theory what is the role of the ID?
-The largest portion of the mind
-The source of our basic biological needs and desires
-Unconscious, we’re all born with the id in full force
In Freuds Psychosexual theory what is the role of the ego?
-The conscious, rational part of personality
-Emerges in early infancy to redirect the id’s
impulses -> the ‘gate keeper’ or mediator of the Id’s desires (reigns the id in)
-Based on the reality principle
In Freuds Psychosexual theory what is the role of the superego?
-Another name for your conscience
-Develops between the ages of 3-6
-Develops in response to interactions with parents
-The superego observes and judges the mediating work of the ego to see if the resulting behaviour is conforming with societal norms/ wider expectations
Why has Freud’s theory come under criticism now?
-His theory is based on well to do Victorian adults (so unlikely to apply to other groups)
-Never studied kids
-Overly sexual focus
Theorist summary activity : John Locke
-Briefly introduce your theorist
-Where possible name their theory or approach
-Provide basic details about their theory or approach
Explain whether your theorist would have thought:
-Development was continuous or discontinuous (or both)
-There was one course of development or many
-Development was shaped by nature or nurture (or both)
John Locke
-A 17th century British philosopher
-His ideas and writing served as a forerunner to behaviourism
-Locke viewed the child as a tabula rasa – a blank slate
-He believed that children began as nothing at all (a blank slate) and that their characters were shaped entirely by experience
-He considered that parents (as teachers) had an important role to play in shaping their child’s development and particularly advocated for positive reinforcement/ praise rather than punishment
-Locke’s approaches suggest that he:
Believed in the power of NUTURING
Considered there were MANY COURSES TO DEVELOPMENT
We can deduce that he thought development was CONTINUOUS-> as he didn’t believe in distinct stages but rather the cumulative effect of experiences and teachings
Theorist summary activity : Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)
-Briefly introduce your theorist
-Where possible name their theory or approach
-Provide basic details about their theory or approach
Explain whether your theorist would have thought:
-Development was continuous or discontinuous (or both)
-There was one course of development or many
-Development was shaped by nature or nurture (or both)
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
-A French philosopher
-Viewed children as noble savages, naturally endowed with a sense of right and wrong
-Thought that children’s built-in moral sense and unique ways of thinking would only be harmed by adult training
-Developed a child-centred philosophy that suggested adults should be receptive to the child’s needs at each of 4 stages:
* Infancy, Childhood, Late childhood, and Adolescence
* Introduced the concept of maturation: a genetically determined, naturally unfolding course of growth
* Viewed development as a DISCONTONIOUS, stage-wise process that followed a SINGLE UNIFIED COURSE mapped out by NATURE
What are the four stages of Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s child centered theory?
- Infancy
- Childhood
- Late childhood
- Adolescence
Who introduced the concept of maturation?
Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s
maturation is the idea that there is a genetically determined naturally unfolding course of growth
Theorist summary activity : Arnold Gesell (1880-1961)
-Briefly introduce your theorist
-Where possible name their theory or approach
-Provide basic details about their theory or approach
Explain whether your theorist would have thought:
-Development was continuous or discontinuous (or both)
-There was one course of development or many
-Development was shaped by nature or nurture (or both)
Arnold Gesell
-Was influenced by Charles Darwin and believed that millions of years of evolution has ‘honed’ the process of child development
-In conjunction with Stanley Hall (his teacher) they launched the normative approach (more on another card)
-Regarded development as a maturational process (genetically determined set of events unfolding)
-Authored the “Gesell Development Schedules”, which outlined the ages and stages of development in young children.
-Believed in a child-centred approach to raising children and thought,that children were naturally knowledgeable about their needs (this makes sense from an evolution perspective)
-Like Rousseau, Gesell thought that parents should respond to their children’s cues
Gesell’s beliefs suggest that he:
-Regarded development as DISCONTINUOUS as had stages
-Acknowledged the role of NURTURE but believed NATURE played a particularly important role in development
-Considered there was ONE POSSIBLE COURSE of development
What is the normative approach to child development? Who launched it?
-Stanley Hall and Arnold Gesell (his student)
-Was a very scientific approach to child development where they gathered data by questionnaires, observations, parental interviews from a large number of participants
-And from this data was averaged to create a general picture of development in easy to understand stages. Books were then made as a sort of guide to parents as to what to expect
What is Behaviourism ?
A perspective that argues that conclusions about human development should be based on controlled observations of overt behaviour rather than on speculation about
unconscious motives or other unobservable phenomena (in opposition to the psychoanalytic movement/ Freud)
The development of behaviours is understood to take place through classical and operant conditioning
What is classic conditioning?
- A form of conditioning that involves associating a neutral
stimulus with a stimulus that leads to a reflexive response.
Give examples of famous classical conditioning experiments?
-Ivan Pavlov’s dogs : bell and food paired together repeatedly until bell by itself becomes conditioned to produce drool in absence of the food
-John Watson’s white rat : conditioned albert (an infant) to fear a rat that he previously had a positive response to by repeatedly pairing the rat with a loud banging noise
What is operant conditioning? Who is famous for it?
-A form of learning in which a spontaneous behaviour is followed by a stimulus that changes the probability that the behaviour will happen again.
-A behaviour that is followed by a rewarding or reinforcing stimulus is more likely to recur.
-A behaviour that is followed by a punishing stimulus is less likely to recur
-Skinner is famous for the idea of operant conditioning
Give examples of operant conditioning in real life
Rewards like badges, grades, food rewards, swear jar (negative)
How do behaviourists relate to our three themes?
Nature OR Nurture?
* An emphasis on the importance of the nurture (because learning/ conditioning is important)
One Course of Development OR Many Courses?
* Many possible courses of development (dependent on experiences/ learning)
Continuous or discontinuous development
- Continuous (cumulative gradual process of learning)
What theory did Albert Bandura contribute to the field of behaviourism?
Bandura agreed with the learning
theories of the behaviourists BUT
added to these by emphasising the
role of modelling in the
development of behaviour forming what is known as SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY
e.g. a child might learn to tie it’s shoe by watching a parent
What three types of modelling stimuli did bandura identify in his social learning theory?
-Live Models (having the yoga teacher show you the moves infront of you)
-Verbal instructional models (describing wanted behaviour in detail)
-Symbolic models (movies, tv, shows etc.)
What famous experiment did Albert Bandura do to show social learning theory?
-Bobo doll experiment
-Children watched an adult beat up/ insult a doll or not
-If the child watched the aggressive model they were likely to treat the doll in the same way during their play time
-This worked for both a live model and a symbolic model (i.e. movie) which has implications for kids watching violent movies or video games.
In what way did albert Bandura expand his social learning theory?
Later in his studies, Bandura coined the term “Social Cognitive Theory.” This theory expanded on Social Learning Theory by recognizing the importance of cognitive processes, such as memory, motivation, and attention, in addition to the environment, in shaping the learning process. It moves beyond simply focusing on observation and imitation.
For example, Self-Efficacy refers to the belief in one’s ability to succeed in specific situations. If a child observes a model who gives up easily in the face of challenges, they are likely to develop a low sense of self-efficacy. Conversely, observing a model who persists through challenges may foster higher self-efficacy. Greater self-efficacy leads to more effort and persistence when facing obstacles.
Additionally, SCT recognizes the importance of self-regulation in the learning process. This means people can actively control their behaviors through setting goals, self-monitoring, and self-reflection, rather than merely imitating what they observe in others.
What is reciprocal determinism?
Reciprocal determinism is the idea that behavior, cognitive factors, and environment all influence each other
-It is centeral to the idea of social cognitive theory (bandura)
Ethology : Lorenz and Tinbergen
- Ethology is the scientific study of behaviour and development from an evolutionary perspective.
- Its purpose is to identify behaviour patterns that have shaped, and may continue to shape, the survival of a species.
- Imprinting is probably the best known
example of a behaviour that promotes
survival.
What are some concepts that link ethology and child development
-Critical period = certain timeframe which an individual can adopt certain behaviours/ learn specific things. In the context of child development it’s more likely to be a sensitive period which optimum learning would occur but you won’t completely miss out if whatever reason you don’t (depends what the skill is obviously) for example, it’s easier for young children to learn languages but adults can still do it.
-John Bowlby’s attachment theory : Bowlby proposed that children are born with an innate ability to form attachments to their primary caregiver(s) because these bonds help ensure their survival. The attachment behaviors (such as crying, clinging, and seeking proximity) are instinctive, ensuring that the child stays close to the caregiver for protection and emotional support. The value and security of this attachment shapes a child’s emotional and psychological development and impacts them throughout life
Summarise Ecological Systems theory: Bronfenbrenner
-Views the child as developing within a complex system of relationships that are affected by multiple levels of the surrounding environment
-Bronfenbrenner’s theory is one of several theories that underpin Te Whāriki (Early childhood curriculum approach)
-Identifies 5 environmental
systems with the individual at the center
* Microsystem
* Mesosystem
* Exosystem
* Macrosystem
* Chronosystem
What is the microsystem in Ecological Systems theory ?
The immediate physical and social environment within which the child lives
- The environment within which the child interacts face-to face with other people and influences AND is affected by
them
Examples: family, school, peers, religious groups, health services, neighbourhood play are
-NOTE: microsystems have changed across time for example, now it is rare for one parents not to work whereas previously stay at home mum was the norm impacting the amount of time that children get with their parents.
What is the mesosystem in Ecological Systems theory ?
The inter-relationships or connections between the microsystems that the child participates in
* E.g. Home-school relationships, the impact that events in one microsystem have on another microsystem
What is the exosystem in Ecological Systems theory ?
Consists of social settings that do not contain children but that affect children’s experiences
-examples include neighbours, legal services, social welfare services, mass media, friends of family
What is the macrosystem in Ecological Systems theory ?
“The larger cultural context (attitudes, ideas) in which the [child’s] microsystem, mesosytem, and exosystem are embedded
What is the chronosystem in Ecological Systems theory ?
The temporal dimension. Changes in the individual or the environment that occur over time and influence the direction that development takes
e.g. having new siblings come into the house
What is ecocultural theory in relation to child development?
Ecocultural Theory is a modern approach that provides a comprehensive view of child development that integrates cultural ecological, environment, and society/ social practices as key components. It emphasizes that children’s development is shaped by the specific cultural and ecological contexts in which they are raised. By understanding how children interact with and participate in their environments, we can better appreciate the diversity of developmental pathways and promote practices that are culturally relevant and contextually appropriate for supporting healthy growth and learning.
Examples: culture can shape family resources, routines, goals, practices and this can affect how a child develops. For example, if it’s normal to live with extended family in a certain culture individuals of that culture may be used to spending more time observing and learning from older adults (other than their parents). How might this effect their development?
What is a specific example of an ecocultural theory of development ?
Wesiner’s ecocultural theory
looks at things like the division of labour, the work that children are expected to do, the role of father/ older siblings, health status/ demographic, subsistence work cycle, community safety and composition of children’s play groups in relation to culture and how they might effect development.
What was Erik Eriksons (1902 -1994) psychosocial stages of development ?
Birth - 1 year = basic trust to mistrust
1-3 years = autonomy vs shame
3-6 years = initiative vs guilt
6-11 years = industry versus inferiority
Adolescence = Identity versus role confusion
Young adulthood = intimacy versus isolation
Middle Adulthood = Generativity versus stagnation
Old age = integrity versus despair
At each stage there is a psychosocial focus that is resolved along a continuum from positive to negative. The balance should lean towards positive i.e. trust rather than mistrust in the first stage but should no go the whole way (need a bit of mistrust for safety).
Resolving each psychosocial phase is key for development and it’s the role of parents, but also community, teachers and wider society to help in the resolution
Erik Eriksons psychosocial stages of development are labelled as neo-freudian? In what ways is his theory similar to Freuds and in what ways is it different?
-Similar in that he focuses a lot on internal conflicts and having to find a resolution at each stage in order for normal development to occur (i.e. both psychoanalytic theories)
-The first 5 stages are the same as Freud but then Erik Eriksons adds 3 more stages (young adulthood, middle adulthood and old age) to acknowledge that development happens across the lifespan and doesn’t just stop
-Eriksons acknowledges the role of wider society/ community in reaching a resolution at each stage rather then putting it all on the individual/ parents like Freud
-Erikson also acknowledged that the conflicts might be resolved in different ways for different cultures (whereas Freud was very fixed in his ways basing his theory off a narrow pool of society -> Posh Victorians)
-Eriksons expanding the concept of the ego viewing it not only as a servant of the id but as integral to building key life skills needed by the child/ into adulthood
