Why Study Child Development?
To understand human nature
To shape social policy
To be better parents
Track physical growth over time (used to be depicted as mini adults)
o Had economic value (worked)
Historical Foundations: Early Philosophical Views
Plato – the importance of child rearing in teaching self control & discipline
o Thought the infant comes in with innate knowledge
Aristotle – geared more towards individual child
o Thought the infant comes into the world with a blank slate and all knowledge
comes with experience
Locke – “tabula rasa” like Aristotle
o Thus, parents have a huge role because they immediately shape the
experience for the child and therefore the knowledge the child has
Rousseau – argues that they come in with some sort of innate knowledge and they
will spontaneously learn themselves so give them maximum freedom from the
beginning and don’t start imposing instruction until later on
o Thinks formal education should start until age of 12 (opposite of locke – back
off at the beginning and only formally educate later)
Major Controversy: Nature vs. Nurture
o We now know its really a mixture of both but still must examine implications
Historical Foundations: Research on Children
The Industrial Revolution (mid 1840s)
o Children of 6/7 years old were working 12 hour days in dangerous and toxic
conditions
o Earl of Shaftesbury promoted child labor laws and social reform
o Put together a report based on the research on the children of their health,
conditions, happiness, etc.
o A call to the importance of studying children
Darwin’s “baby biographies”
o Biographical sketch of his infant son’s development
o Influenced others about the importance of studying child development in
order to understand the nature of the human species
o 1877 Darwin published “The Sketch of an Infant, etc.” (on blackboard under
additional readings)
1
, o Observational Study and Biography about his infant son and his observations
about his son’s development
Motor development but also about cognitive and emotional
development
Historical Foundations: Child Development as a Discipline
Emerged in the late 19th and early 20th century
Spike in studies and published research (theories and journals) on children
Sigmund Freud and John Watson
Themes in Child Development
Nature and Nurture
Development in different domains is connected (motor skills cognitive
development)
Active vs. Passive Child
o Is a child just a passive recipient having stuff happen to them or are they an
active part of their own development?
Continuity/discontinuity in development
o Quantitative vs. qualitative
o Is it a linear development or more choppy like a staircase?
o Butterfly = discontinuous
o Pine tree = continuous
Five Theoretical Perspectives on Child Development
1) Biological Perspective - All growth and development is function of genes and
biology
o Maturational Approach - Gesell
Pre-arranged plan – genetic blueprint that unfolds
Experience/environment is irrelevant
Specific sequence of motor milestones like sitting up before
walking, etc. – occurs the same way overtime
o Ethology/Evolutionary - Lorenz
Combination of biology and experiences
Think about development as adaptation to the environment
Genetic plan/predisposition towards certain things in our
development but experiences play a part in that
Behaviors that development in children from an evolutionary
standpoint as crucial for the survival of the species
2
, Ex: early attachment behaviors as pre-programed for survival with
care giver
“critical periods” – specific times when certain developments
occur and imprint
ex: goslings and imprinting
2) Psychoanalytic Perspective
o Psychosexual development
Freud
Importance of early childhood experiences which shape a person
Stage theory – there are distinct stages that we all pass through
Conflict resolution
Id, ego, superego
o Psychosocial Development
Erikson
3) Social Learning/Behaviorist Perspective
o Classical & Operant Conditioning
Watson, Skinner, Pavlov
Reinforcement and punishment
Determined by “environment”
Extreme behaviorist perspective would think nothing is biological
Example: bell and bladder tension to condition someone to use the
bathroom when sleeping
o Social-Cognitive Theory
Bandura
Imitation and observation
Based on “understanding” of world and “models” child encounters
Self-efficacy
4) Cognitive Developmental Perspective
o Piaget’s theory
Global stage theory
Child as scientist
Child is constructivist and active in their development
Stair case, stage model (discontinuous)
o Information Processing Theory
Component based (attention, memory, etc.)
“computer” analogy
linear, more continuous
5) Contextual Perspective
3
To understand human nature
To shape social policy
To be better parents
Track physical growth over time (used to be depicted as mini adults)
o Had economic value (worked)
Historical Foundations: Early Philosophical Views
Plato – the importance of child rearing in teaching self control & discipline
o Thought the infant comes in with innate knowledge
Aristotle – geared more towards individual child
o Thought the infant comes into the world with a blank slate and all knowledge
comes with experience
Locke – “tabula rasa” like Aristotle
o Thus, parents have a huge role because they immediately shape the
experience for the child and therefore the knowledge the child has
Rousseau – argues that they come in with some sort of innate knowledge and they
will spontaneously learn themselves so give them maximum freedom from the
beginning and don’t start imposing instruction until later on
o Thinks formal education should start until age of 12 (opposite of locke – back
off at the beginning and only formally educate later)
Major Controversy: Nature vs. Nurture
o We now know its really a mixture of both but still must examine implications
Historical Foundations: Research on Children
The Industrial Revolution (mid 1840s)
o Children of 6/7 years old were working 12 hour days in dangerous and toxic
conditions
o Earl of Shaftesbury promoted child labor laws and social reform
o Put together a report based on the research on the children of their health,
conditions, happiness, etc.
o A call to the importance of studying children
Darwin’s “baby biographies”
o Biographical sketch of his infant son’s development
o Influenced others about the importance of studying child development in
order to understand the nature of the human species
o 1877 Darwin published “The Sketch of an Infant, etc.” (on blackboard under
additional readings)
1
, o Observational Study and Biography about his infant son and his observations
about his son’s development
Motor development but also about cognitive and emotional
development
Historical Foundations: Child Development as a Discipline
Emerged in the late 19th and early 20th century
Spike in studies and published research (theories and journals) on children
Sigmund Freud and John Watson
Themes in Child Development
Nature and Nurture
Development in different domains is connected (motor skills cognitive
development)
Active vs. Passive Child
o Is a child just a passive recipient having stuff happen to them or are they an
active part of their own development?
Continuity/discontinuity in development
o Quantitative vs. qualitative
o Is it a linear development or more choppy like a staircase?
o Butterfly = discontinuous
o Pine tree = continuous
Five Theoretical Perspectives on Child Development
1) Biological Perspective - All growth and development is function of genes and
biology
o Maturational Approach - Gesell
Pre-arranged plan – genetic blueprint that unfolds
Experience/environment is irrelevant
Specific sequence of motor milestones like sitting up before
walking, etc. – occurs the same way overtime
o Ethology/Evolutionary - Lorenz
Combination of biology and experiences
Think about development as adaptation to the environment
Genetic plan/predisposition towards certain things in our
development but experiences play a part in that
Behaviors that development in children from an evolutionary
standpoint as crucial for the survival of the species
2
, Ex: early attachment behaviors as pre-programed for survival with
care giver
“critical periods” – specific times when certain developments
occur and imprint
ex: goslings and imprinting
2) Psychoanalytic Perspective
o Psychosexual development
Freud
Importance of early childhood experiences which shape a person
Stage theory – there are distinct stages that we all pass through
Conflict resolution
Id, ego, superego
o Psychosocial Development
Erikson
3) Social Learning/Behaviorist Perspective
o Classical & Operant Conditioning
Watson, Skinner, Pavlov
Reinforcement and punishment
Determined by “environment”
Extreme behaviorist perspective would think nothing is biological
Example: bell and bladder tension to condition someone to use the
bathroom when sleeping
o Social-Cognitive Theory
Bandura
Imitation and observation
Based on “understanding” of world and “models” child encounters
Self-efficacy
4) Cognitive Developmental Perspective
o Piaget’s theory
Global stage theory
Child as scientist
Child is constructivist and active in their development
Stair case, stage model (discontinuous)
o Information Processing Theory
Component based (attention, memory, etc.)
“computer” analogy
linear, more continuous
5) Contextual Perspective
3
