History, Theory,
and Research
Strategies
Chapter 1
(pgs. 3-35)
(Infants and Children)
1
(word search answers)
2
Domains of Development
 PHYSICAL-
A domain of development that
displays changes in body size, proportions,
appearance, functioning of body systems, and
motor capacities
 COGNITIVE- A domain of development that
displays changes in intellectual abilities
 EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL- A domain of
development that displays changes in selfunderstanding, knowledge about others,
interpersonal skills & relationships, moral reasoning
& behavior
3
Periods of Development
 INFANCY-The
period of development from birth to
1 year old
 TODDLERHOOD-The period of development from 1
to 2 years old
 EARLY CHILDHOOD-The period of development
from 2 to 6 years old
 MIDDLE CHILDHOOD-The period of development
from 6 to 11 years old
4
Early Scientific Study of Development
 TABULA
RASA-This term means "blank slate" and
was John Locke's view of childhood back in the
17th century; he thought children’s characters
were shaped entirely by experience
 EVOLUTIONARY THEORY-This was Darwin’s ideas of
natural selection and survival of the fittest
 NORMATIVE APPROACH-This early scientific study
of development believed that age-related
averages were based on measurements of large
numbers of children
 MENTAL TESTING MOVEMENT-Binet & Simon were
two early developers of intelligence tests that
represented this movement
5
Freud’s Three Parts of the Personality
 ID-According
to Freud, this is the largest portion of
the brain, represents the unconscious and is the
source of biological needs & desires
 EGO-According to Freud, this is the conscious,
rational part of the mind and emerges in early
infancy
 SUPEREGO-According to Freud, this is the
conscience and develops from ages 3 to 6, from
interactions with caregivers
6
Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages
 BIRTH
TO ONE YEAR-Erik Erikson's psychosocial
stage of basic trust versus mistrust takes place
during this age range
 ONE TO THREE YEARS-Erik Erikson's psychosocial
stage of autonomy versus shame & doubt takes
place during this age range
 THREE TO SIX YEARS-Erik Erikson's psychosocial
stage of initiative versus guilt takes place during
this age range
7
Behaviorism & Social Learning
 CLASSICAL
CONDITIONING-This results in a
Stimulus-Response type of learning (i.e. Pavlov's
dog experiment)
 OPERANT CONDITIONING-This type of conditioning
uses reinforcers and punishments
 SOCIAL COGNITIVE APPROACH-This approach
uses modeling and self-efficacy
 IMITATION-An example of this would be…"a baby
claps her hands after her mother does so" or "a
teenager dresses like her friends"
8
Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development
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SENSORIMOTOR-This is one of Piaget's stages of cognitive
development that occurs between birth and 2 years; the
child "thinks" by acting on the world with their eyes, ears,
hands, and mouth
PREOPERATIONAL-This is one of Piaget's stages of cognitive
development that occurs between 2-7 years ; the child uses
symbols to represent their earlier sensorimotor discoveries;
there is a development of language & make-believe play;
thinking lacks logic of remaining stages
CONCRETE OPERATIONAL-This is one of Piaget's stages of
cognitive development that occurs between 7-11 years ; the
child's reasoning becomes logical and can organize objects
into hierarchies of classes/subclasses; thinking is not yet
abstract
FORMAL OPERATIONAL-This is one of Piaget's stages of
cognitive development that occurs between 11 years on;
the child's thinking is abstract and systematic
9
Recent Theoretical Perspectives
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INFORMATION PROCESSING-This recent theoretical
perspective views the human mind as a symbolmanipulating system where information is actively
coded, transformed, and organized
VYGOTSKY-This recent theoretical perspective focuses
on how culture-the values, beliefs, customs, and skills
of a social group-is transmitted to the next generation
DYNAMIC SYSTEMS PERSPECTIVE-This recent theoretical
perspective regards the child’s mind, body, and
physical & social worlds as a dynamic, integrated
system; when change takes place, the child
reorganizes his behavior so that the system works
together again
SENSITIVE PERIOD-This time period is optimal for certain
capacities to emerge & in which the individual is
especially responsive to environmental influences