Prepared by Debbie Laffranchini, Instructor

Child Growth and Development

Authors: Papalia, Olds and Feldman

Child development Scientific study

Looks at change and stability

Developmental scientists Quantitative change

Qualitative change

Changes in number or amount Height

Weight

Size of vocabulary

Frequency of communication

Change in kind

Change in structure

Change in organization Example: going from not talking to talking

John Locke: English philosopher, forerunner of behaviorism, 1600’s Saw infant as “blank slate”

Jean-Jacques Rousseau: French philosopher, 1700’s Saw infant as “innately good”

Charles Darwin, English naturalist, 1800’s Originated idea of evolution Species develop through natural selection, survival of

the fittest, adaptation to the environment

G. Stanley Hall, late 1800’s Father of child study, first to write about adolescence

Alfred Binet, French psychologist, late 1800’s First intelligence test

John Dewey, American philosopher, 1900’s First to study children in their social

environment

James Mark Baldwin, American psychologist, 1900’s Established journals and university

psychology departments, interaction of nature and nurture

Maria Montessori, Italian physician, 1900’s Early childhood education Based on self-chosen activities In carefully prepared environment Tasks go simple to complex

Maria Montessori

John B. Watson, American psychologist, 1900’s Father of behaviorism

Humans are trainable

Arnold Gesell, American psychologist, 1900’s Normative changes

Interdependence of domains of development

John B. Watson

Shifts in knowledge reflect progress in understanding

Reflect changing cultural context

Reflect changing technology

New, sensitive instruments to measure behaviors such as eye movements

New tests, brain imaging, MRI

Basic research: undertaken in the spirit of intellectual inquiry

Applied research: to address a practical problem Less meaningful (?)

1. Domains of Development Physical development

Sensory capacities, motor development, health

Cognitive development Mental abilities, learning, memory, language, thinking,

moral reasoning, creativity

Psychosocial development Personality, emotions, social relationships

All interrelated, all affect each other

2. Periods of development Social construction: shared idea accepted by society

Adolescence

Prenatal

Infancy and toddlerhood to age 3

Early childhood: 3 – 6 years

Middle childhood: 6 – 12 years

Adolescence: 11/12 – 20 Ages are approximate and arbitrary

Heredity, Environment, Maturation

Contexts of Development Family

Nuclear

Step parenting

Single

Childless

Unmarried

Gay and lesbian

Extended

Culture and Race/Ethnicity Culture: way of life, customs, traditions, laws, knowledge, beliefs,

values, language, products, behaviors, attitudes Ethnicity: united by a distinctive culture, ancestry, religion, language,

and/or national origin, shared identity, shared attitudes, beliefs, values Historical Context

Normative and Nonnormative Influences Normative age-graded: puberty, education Normative history-graded: Depression, Viet Nam Cohort: born at the same time Nonnormative: major impact on individuals

Timing of Influences: Critical or Sensitive Periods Imprinting: automatic and irreversible Critical period: has specific impact on development, must occur Plasticity Sensitive periods, especially responsive to certain experiences

Studying the Life Course: Growing Up in Hard Times What major cultural event in

your lifetime shaped the lives of families and children?

Is there a critical period for language acquisition?

Victor, the Wild Boy of Aveyron, 1800 Found around 12 years of age, possibly abandoned

Itard studied him for 5 years, sensory awareness, socialization, emotional training, moral and social behavior, language, thought

Never learned to speak

Remained focused on wants and needs

Genie, 1970 Abusive father, malnourished , no bowel control, two words: her

name and sorry

National Institute of Mental Health researchers

Never learned normal language

Abusive foster homes, regressed into total silence

“Children are human beings to whom respect is due,

superior to us by reason of their innocence and of

the greater possibilities of their future.”

Maria Montessori