Lecture 1/27

Child Development Interdisciplinary Field Focus on change over time and trends in development Discoveries important for parents, teachers, and other professional to seek understanding Child Development is physical, cognitive, social Nature and Nurture together, both necessary. ? Relative importance debated for centuries ? Plato (350 B.C.) emphasized relative superiority of some individuals ? John Locke (1690) gave priority to role of nurture ? notion of tabula rasa ? In 1920s, John B. Watson wedded Locke?s perspective to the scientific Method ? Interaction of forces most important ? Through twin and adoption studies, behavioral geneticists have shown that heritability of important psychological traits ranges from .40 to .60 ? Many disorders genetically linked but nurture important in how expressed Not on her slides, 3 criteria for good guidance, knowledge, attitude, skills Goal guidance is to get child self disciplined, not to just solve current problem at hand Cause no harm 5 year old characteristics: Practical Enjoy Realism and Comedy Are capable of being without their parents Enjoy adults like activity 1/27/09 Theory- Explanation of how known facts in a particular area fit together, provides framework that shows how facts organized and related, Allows for prediction and testing, No single theory captures the complexity of child development Why are theories useful? Summarize facts as currently known Enable prediction of future behavior and events Provide guidance through predictions to those who deal with children Stimulate new research and discoveries Act as a filter for identifying relevant information, observations, relationships Psychoanalytic Theories Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) focused on structure of personality; how conscious and unconscious shaped development Id, ego, superego- each has own developmental timetable, all conflict Stage theory of psychosexual development Highly impactful theory, little support Freudian Theory Oral, Anal, Phallic, Latency, Genital Erik Erickson (1902-1994) focused on ego and healthy child development Stage theory of psychosocial development Stages correspond to predictable developmental crises occurring across lifespan 6-12, industry vs. inferiority Autonomy vs. shame Imitative vs. guilt Industry vs. inferiority Identity vs. role confusion Behavioral and Social Learning Behaviorism took issue with psychoanalytic theory; focused on observable behavior John Watson applied classical conditioning work of Pavlov to children B.F. Skinner stressed importance of consequences of behavior for learning and development Albert Bandura studied how children learn by observing and imitating others Cognitive Theories Lev Vygotsky 1896-1934 emphasized importance of language and culture in shaping cognition Internalization of speech aids and self control Current information processing approach to studying cognition built on Piaget?s foundation Biological Theories Ethology studies adaptive significance or survival value of behaviors Strongly influenced by Darwinian concepts Neuropsychology studies structure and function of brain to determine neural substrates of cognitive processing. Systems Theories Attempt to deal with complexity and dynamic nature of development Brofenbrenner?s ecological systems theory attempts to relate development to social/cultural systems that impact child Dynamic systems theories use mathematical models to describe how systems become stable, when they change, and what cause change Cause no harm Protect yourself from harm Invite personal contact- ?Do you want are need a hug?? Children need personal space