Child Psychology
A Contemporary Viewpoint
by
Hetherington & Parke
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Chapter One
Child Development:
Themes, Theories, and Methods
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Themes of Development
• Themes focus on theories and study of
psychological development
• Main theoretical views guide research
• Specific processes and experiences may
account for different aspects of child
development
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Field of Child Development
• Sub-area of child psychology
– Identify and describe changes in child from
beginning of life to adolescence
• Cognitive
• Emotional
• Motor
• Social capacities and behaviors
– Uncover processes underlying the changes
• Use of research
• Suggest practical applications based on
research
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Themes of Development
• Themes focus on theories and study of
psychological development
– Origins of human behavior
– Pattern of developmental change over time
– Individual and contextual forces that define
and direct child development
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Themes of Development
• Biological versus Environmental
Influences: nature vs. nurture
– Disagreement on which influences
development the most
– Genetic or biological processes unfold
naturally in maturation
– Environmental events can shape, modify
– Children are active agents
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Themes of Development
• Continuity versus Discontinuity
– Continuous process: each new event builds
on earlier experiences in orderly way or
gradual improvement
– Discontinuous process: development occurs
in discrete steps or stages; each stage is a
qualitatively new set of behaviors
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Themes of Development
• Individual Characteristics versus
Contextual and Cultural Influences
– Individual and personality characteristics
direct behaviors
– Environmental influences (family income,
education, death, divorce, remarriage)
– Interactionist view: adopt both
– Resilience or “sleeper” effects?
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Theoretical Perspectives on
Development
• Two functions of theories
– Organize and integrate existing information
into coherent, interesting, plausible accounts
of how children develop
– Generate testable hypotheses or predictions
about child behavior
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Theoretical Perspectives on
Development
• Five general theoretical perspectives
– Structural-Organismic Approach focuses on
structured set of stages an organism goes
through over the course of psychological
growth (structuralism)
– Used in Freud, Erikson, and Piaget’s
theories
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Freud’s Psychodynamic Theory
Age 12+
Latency Stage
Age 6 - 12
Age 3 - 6
Age 1 - 3
Age 0 - 1
Genital Stage
Phallic Stage
Super Ego
Anal Stage
Oral Stage
Ego
Id
Freud:
Personality is
formed within the
first 6 years
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Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory
Ages 65+
Ages 30 - 65
Ages 20 - 30
Ages 12 - 20
Integrity vs. Despair
Generativity vs. Stagnation
Intimacy vs. Isolation
Identity vs. Role confusion
Ages 6 - 12
Industry vs. Inferiority
Ages 3 - 6
Initiative vs. Guilt
Autonomy vs. Shame/Doubt
Trust vs. Mistrust
Ages 1 - 3
Ages 0 - 1
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Piaget’s Periods of Cognitive Development
Formal
Operational
Concrete
Operational
Preoperational
Sensorimotor
0-2
2-7
7 - 12
Age
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12+
Piaget’s Principle of Adaptation
Adapt to new
information
Assimilation
Reinterpret new experiences so
they fit into old ideas – existing
ideas don’t change, stay same
Accommodation
Revamp old ideas so they can
adapt to new – change current
ways of thinking/ideas so as to
add new knowledge
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Theoretical Perspectives on
Development
• Five general theoretical perspectives
– Learning Approach
• Behaviorism focuses on learning of behavior;
not unobservable factors or motivations
(Watson, Pavlov, Skinner)
• Classical Conditioning
• Operant Conditioning
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Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning
Neutral stimulus
(metronome)
UCS
UCR (salivation)
Before conditioning: when food
was placed in dish (UCS), the
dog salivated (UCR)
Appearance of food becomes
CS; dog salivation is the CR
CS
CS
CS
CR (salivation)
CR (salivation)
Pairing of metronome with
appearance of food makes
each a Conditioned Stimulus
Play metronome (CS) and dog
salivates (CR) without food
being presented
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Watson’s Classical Conditioning
CS (furry rat)
CR (fear)
UCS (loud noise)
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Skinner’s Operant Conditioning
Quiz grade
of A
earned
If grades or parents’
urging are a ‘reward’
(reinforcement), student
will study well
Task:
study for a quiz
Consequences can
reinforce or decrease
chances of behavior
occurring again
If grades or parents’
urging are not a ‘reward’
(reinforcement), student
will do other activities
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Quiz grade
of F
earned
Theoretical Perspectives on
Development
• Five general theoretical perspectives
– Learning Approach
• Cognitive Social Learning Theory: children
learn through behaviorism and from
observation and imitation of role models
(Bandura’s process of imitation)
• Information-Processing Approaches focus
on flow of information through the cognitive
system (brain is like computer)
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Modeled Behavior
ATTENTION
Experience, Personality characteristics,
Relationship with model, Situational variables
RETENTION
Rehearsal, Organization, Recall, Other cognitive skills
REPRODUCTION
Cognitive representation, Concept matching, Use of feedback
MOTIVATION
External & Vicarious incentives, Self-evaluation,
Internalized standards, Social comparison
Matched Behavior
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literature
geography
Information-Processing Theory
science
INPUT
OUTPUT
Information is
taken into brain
history
Information is used as
basis of behaviors and
interactions
religion
math
Information gets
processed, analyzed,
and stored in the brain
until use
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Theoretical Perspectives on
Development
• Five general theoretical perspectives
– Dynamic Systems Perspective focuses on
changes over time that result from interacting
elements in a complex, integrated system
– Individuals and their achievements can
only be understood within this
framework
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Theoretical Perspectives on
Development
• Five general theoretical perspectives
– Contextual Perspectives
• Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory –
development is product of social and
cultural experiences
– Emphasizes importance of cultural
variation in development – cultural
tools include language, technology
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Theoretical Perspectives on
Development
• Five general theoretical perspectives
– Contextual Perspectives
• Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Theory –
experiences and relationships in layers of
environmental systems impact child
development
• The life-span perspective
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Bronfenbrenner’s
Ecological Model
of Development
CHRONOSYSTEM
MACROSYSTEM
EXOSYSTEM
Extended
family
MESOSYSTEM
Friends
of family
Family
Neighbors
Child
Attitudes &
ideologies of
culture
Peers
Legal
services
MICROSYSTEM
Mass
media
Social welfare services
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Theoretical Perspectives on
Development
• Five general theoretical perspectives
– Ethological and Evolutionary Approaches
• Ethological theory focuses on adaptive or
survival behavior within specific contexts –
observation yields detailed classifications
• Evolutionary developmental psychology focuses
on critical components of human evolutionary
change in the brain and cognitive functioning
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The End
© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved