Child & Adolescent Development

Introduction

Chapter 1

1

Introduction

• Turn to the person next to you and describe a favorite childhood memory.

• How old were you?

• Why is it your favorite memory?

Why?

• Stories of Ted Kaczynski & Alice Walker

– Child genius becomes social misfit & murderer.

– Impoverished & painful childhood leads to creativity & award-winning publications.

– Why ?

Why Is Caring For Children Important?

Child Development

• Subfield of developmental psychology

– The pattern of movement or change that begins at conception & continues through the human life span. (death)

Why Is Caring For Children Important?

• What are the benefits of studying Child Development?

• What issues might occur if people are unaware of how a child develops?

– Home

– School

– Society

Child Development

Child Development

• Importance of studying development

– Improving

• children’s lives

• health & well-being

• child education

– Learning better parenting

– Better social policies affecting children

Child Development

• Health & well-being

– Does a poor diet affect a child’s ability to learn?

– Premature infants

• Massage therapy can facilitate weight gain.

– Why?

Child Development

• Parenting

– Changing family patterns

• Gay parents

• More working parents

• Increased use of day-care

– How do they influence child development?

– Which is preferred home or day-care?

• Education

– Parents taking a greater role in education of their children

• Asking questions about curriculum

– Why has this changed?

Child Development

Child Development

• Sociocultural Contexts & Diversity

– Where development occurs

• Influenced by

1. Culture

2. Ethnicity

3. Socioeconomic Status

4. Gender

(See chart)

Development Influenced by:

HOW IS CHILD DEVELOPMENT A SCIENCE?

• Importance of Research—

– Objective & systematic

– Reduces likelihood information is based on

• Personal beliefs

• Opinions

• Feelings

Importance of Research

• Scientific Method

– Conceptualize or identify a problem

– Refer to a theory (set of ideas that predict)

– Develop a hypothesis (testable assumption)

– Collect the data (to test the hypothesis)

– Analyze the data (by statistical methods)

– Draw conclusions

– Compare to other research outcomes

What Characterizes Development?

Biological, Cognitive, & Socioemotional Development

• Human development combination of:

– Physical Development

• Physical changes in a person

– Cognitive Development

• Changes in thought, intelligence, & language

– Psychosocial Development

• Changes in personality, emotions, relationships

What Characterizes Development?

Periods of Development

• Developmental period – Time frame in a person’s life that is characterized by

certain features

– Prenatal period

• Conception to birth

– Infancy

• Birth - 18 or 24 mo’s

– Early childhood

• End of infancy to age 5 or 6

– Middle and late childhood

• 6 - 11 yrs of age

What Characterizes Development?

Periods of Development

– Adolescence

• Transition from childhood - early adulthood

• Approximately 10 - 12 to 18 - 22 years

– Early adulthood

• Late teens or early twenties through the thirties

– Middle adulthood

• Approximately 40 - 60 years

– Late adulthood

• 60’s or 70’s until death

Issues in Development

• Nature-Nurture issue

– Nature

• Influences of biological inheritance

• Development seen as orderly

– Nurture

• Influences of environment

• Influenced by social experiences

• Deprivation or enrichment have impact

What Characterizes Development?

• Nature-Nurture issue

– Which has the greatest influence, & how do the two interact?

Issues in Development

Images of Child Development

• Jim & Jim Twins

– Identical twins separated after birth

– Identical lifestyles after 39 yr’s apart

• Both:

– Part-time deputy sheriffs

– Married/divorced women named Betty

– Chewed fingernails

– Dogs named Toy

– Sons named: James Alan, James Allan

What is the Evolutionary Perspective?

Images of Child Development

• Minnesota Study of Twins Reared Apart

– From all over world

– Asked 15,000 questions

– Other twin’s similar outcomes

• Why?

What is the Evolutionary Perspective?

Other Explanations

• Similarities just due to genetics?

• Other factors?

Other Explanations

• Adopted by parents with similar backgrounds

• Grew up in same generation

• Grew up in same culture

Twins Reared ApartAudio File

• http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=15629096&m=15636545

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gwnzW4jOMI

Nature-Nurture Interaction

• Theory with 3 ways heredity predisposition affect environment

• Heredity

• 1. Passive genotype-environment

– Early childhood

• Parents are musical

– Genes for being musical

– Environment musical

» More likely to excel due to nature & nurture

Environment

Nature-Nurture Interaction

• 2. Evocative genotype-environment

– Whole Life

• Jack social (father)

• Friends of mine gave positive feedback

• Reinforced to develop heredity, social skills

Nature-Nurture Interaction

• 3. Active genotype-environment

– Until 8-9 yrs.

• Related to their skill chose environment

– Musical older children pursue band

» Experience is directed by genotype (genes)

Nature-Nurture Interaction

• Heredity Environment

• Epigenetic view

– Obesity may activate genes for diabetes

– Behaviors may turn genes on or off.

Issues in Development

• Do we have:

• Continuity-discontinuity issue

– Continuity

• Gradual, continuous changes

– Discontinuity

• Distinct stages, abrupt changes

• Early-later experiences

– Hotly debated

– Malleable or resilient to experiences?

What Characterizes Development?

• Continuity vs discontinuity

Discontinuity

Continuity

Critical & Sensitive Periods of Development

• Critical periods

– Mark the time when environmental influences have the greatest impact on development.

• Permanent consequences

• Ex: Terterogens

– Damage done from drinking, etc.

» Critical period of development of fetus

» Between 2 - 8 weeks

Critical & Sensitive Periods of Development

• Sensitive Periods

– Compensatory mechanisms if development does not take place during a particular time.

• Young children most sensitive to learning language

– Learn language easily

• Abusive childhood

– Can resolve issues in adulthood

• Wide range of theories on child development

– Psychoanalytic perspective

– Learning perspective

– Cognitive perspective

– Biological & ecological perspectives

Theories of Development

PSYCHOANALYTIC PERSPECTIVE

Psychoanalytic Perspective

Sigmund Freud Erik Erikson

Psychoanalytic PerspectiveFreud

• Psychoanalytic theories

• Freud born 1856 – 1939, Austrian

• Theory developed in early 1900’s– Behavior affected by

• Underlying emotions

• Unconscious mind

What Characterizes Development?

Personality DevelopmentSigmund Freud

• Personality developed around 3 components

• Id – Unconscious instincts

– Infants

• Ego – Executive branch of mind, deals with reality

– Ages 2 – 3

• Conscious awareness begins

• Superego– Moral branch of mind, one’s ‘conscience’

– Ages 3 – 6

Psychoanalytic PerspectiveFreud

Freud’s Stages

Oral: Birth to 18 monthsAnal: 18 months to 3 years

Phallic: 3 to 6 years(Oedipus complex)

Latency: 6 years to pubertyGenital: Puberty onward

What Characterizes Development?

Psychoanalytic Perspective

Psychoanalytic PerspectiveErikson

• Freud

– Childhood most important

• Erikson

– Change occurs throughout life

• Psychosocial theory (Eric Erikson)

– German, 1902 - 1994

• 8 stages

• Each stage

– Unique crisis to resolve

– Developmental task

What Characterizes Development?

Psychoanalytic Perspective Erikson

Initiative vs. guilt

Generativity vs. stagnation

Early childhood

Integrity vs. despair

Intimacy vs. isolation

Industry vs. inferiority

Autonomy vs. shame and doubtInfancy: 1 to 3 years

Middle adulthood

Late adulthood

Middle and late childhood

Early adulthood

Trust vs. mistrustInfancy: 1st year of life

Identity vs. identity confusionAdolescence

Psychoanalytic Perspective Erikson

• Learn from Erikson’s stages:

– Nurture infants to:

• Develop trust

• Encourage & monitor autonomy

– Encourage initiative

• Freedom to explore their world

– Promote industry in elementary years

• Nurture motivation for mastery & curiosity

– Stimulate adolescent identity exploration

• Self-exploration

Caring for Children

LEARNING PERSPECTIVEBehaviorism

Learning Perspective

Pavlov Watson Skinner

Bandura

Behavioral and Social Cognitive Theories

• Behaviorism

– Development is observable

– Behavior learned from experiences

– Scientific measurements possible

– Change environment to affect behavior

• Example?

Caring for Children

Learning Perspective

• Classical Conditioning, 1901

– I. Pavlov, Russian physiologist, 1849 - 1936

– Neutral stimulus acquires ability to produce response originally produced by another stimulus

• Dogs salivated to food

• Pairing food with bell produces salivation

• Sound of bell will produce salivation without food

Caring for Children

Behavioral and Social Cognitive Theories

• Classical conditioning

– J. Watson, American, 1878 - 1958

– Experiment:

• Little Albert & white rat

– Generalizing fear as an involuntary response

Caring for Children

Behavioral and Social Cognitive Theories

• Operant Conditioning

– B.F. Skinner, American, 1904 - 1990

– Consequences of behavior

• Change probability of behavior’s occurrence

• Use of punishments & rewards

– Shapes behavior & development

Behavioral and Social Cognitive Theories

• Social Cognitive Theory

• A. Bandura, American, 1925 - – Observational learning

• Modeling – Imitation

– Behavior, environment, & cognition

• Key factors in development– Father aggressive

» Effect development?

Caring for Children

COGNITIVE PERSPECTIVE

Cognitive Perspective

VygotskyPiaget

Cognitive Theories

• Piaget

• Born in Switzerland 1896 - 1980

• Cognitive development theory

– Children actively construct their understanding of the world

– 4 stages of cognitive development

Caring for Children

Cognitive Development TheoryPiaget

Birth to 2 yrs

Sensorimotor Uses senses and motor skills, items known by use; object permanence

2 - 7 yrs Pre-operational Symbolic thinking, language used; egocentric thinking, imagination/ experience grow, child de-centers

7 - 11 yrs Concrete operational

Logic applied, objective/rational interpretations; conservation, numbers, ideas, classifications

11 yrs on

Formal operational

Thinks abstractly, hypothetical ideas; ethics, politics, social/moral issues explored

Caring for Children

Cognitive Theories

• Born in Russia, 1896- 1934 (same year as Piaget)

• Sociocultural theory (L. Vygotsky)

– Social & cultural interaction

• Guide cognitive development

– Child needs interaction

• With more skilled adults & peers

– Interactions teach skills

• How to learn

– Memory, attention, reasoning involves learning to use society’s inventions

Caring for Children

Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Cognitive Theory  

• Emphasizes how culture & social interaction guide cognitive development

Zone of Proximal Development

I Information Processing Theory

Sensory information

economics

history

religionculture science

literatureInformation is taken into brain

Information gets processed, analyzed, and stored until use

RETRIEVALInformation is used as basis of behaviors and interactions

INPUT

math

STORAGE

BIOLOGICAL & ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES

Biological & Ecological Perspectives

Lorenz

BronfenbrennerBowlby

Biological & Ecological Perspectives

• Ethological theory

– Behavior influenced by biology

– Critical (sensitive) periods for learning

– Lorenz experiment:

• Imprinting

– Attached to 1st object moving object seen

– Bowlby:

• Attachment to caretaker important 1st yr of life

• Affects entire life

• Can be + or -

Caring for Children

Bioecological Theory

• U. Bronfenbrenner (1917- 2005)

• Focus on nurture

• Child is affected by context in which they live.

– Government

– Schools

– Health Schools

– Social

Bioecological Theory

• Microsystem:

– Individual helps form

• Includes family, peers, school, & neighborhood.

• Mesosystem:

– Interrelationship between microsystems

• Family to school experiences

Bioecological Theory

• Exosystem:

• Links between a social setting (no control)

– &

• Individual's immediate context.

• Child's influenced, mother's work

– Requiring travel, might cause conflict with husband & change interaction with child.

Bioecological Theory

• Macrosystem:

• Culture in which individuals live.

– Developing & industrialized countries, socioeconomic status, poverty, & ethnicity.

• Chronosystem:

– Patterning of environmental events & transitions over life, as well as sociohistorical circumstances.

• Divorces is one transition.

CHILD DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH

Ethics

• Conducting ethical research

– Protect rights of research subjects

• Do no harm

• informed consent

– Parent & child

• Deception

– Conduct debriefing

• Anonymity

– Respect confidentiality

Caring for Children

Research Methods

• Research designs (3)

– 1. Descriptive research: observe and record

• Naturalistic Observation

• Survey

• Case Study

– 2. Correlational research: measure strength of association

• How 2 or more variables relate to each other

Caring for Children

Research Methods

• 3. Experimental research

– Behavior manipulated, change measured

– Demonstrates cause and effect

– Independent variable (gets manipulated)

– Dependent variable (gets measured)

– Control group (forms baseline measure)

– Experimental group (gets manipulated)

– Random assignment (assignment by chance)

Caring for Children

Research Methods

• Observation

– Laboratory or naturalistic observation

• Survey & interview

• Standardized test – uniform procedures

• Case study – in-depth on individual

• Physiological measures

– fMRI (electromagnetic waves used)

Caring for Children

Research Methods

• Time span of research

– Cross-sectional approach

• Several groups (usually different ages) compared at one time

– Longitudinal approach

• Follows same group over long period of time (usually years)

Caring for Children

Minimizing Bias

• Gender bias

– Preconceived ideas about female & male abilities, magnifying differences found

Caring for Children

• Cultural & ethnic bias

– Excluding minorities, preconceived ideas

• Ex: This population not ‘average’

• Ethnic gloss

– Use of ethnic label portraying ethnic groups as more homogeneous than they really are

• Are all Germans the same?

Minimizing Bias

Classroom activity #1

• Handout #1

• Focus on the potential quantitative & qualitative transitions in your lives.

• Goal: To generate a better comprehension of the two terms and their impact on child development.

– Continuity

• Gradual, continuous changes

– Discontinuity

• Distinct stages, abrupt changes

Classroom activity #2

• Chapter 1, HANDOUT #2, Text page 38

•  Identify specific events and circumstances in your life that are representative of each of Bronfenbrenner’s systems:

•  Microsystem:

•  Mesosystem:

•  Exosystem:

•  Macrosystem:

•  Chronosystem: