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READING BELOW Understanding Theories of Child Development The research and formulation of child development theories have played a major role in the way parents raise their children, understand and nurture their capabilities, and educate them. The theories that have been prominent in the past and current centuries have sought to describe, explain, and predict behaviors, and have had the ultimate goal of trying to improve the welfare of children. Child development theories seek to explain a child’s growth by addressing basic questions or beliefs. TOPICS COVERED WILL INCLUDE: Child Development Theories · HOW CHILD DEVELOPMENT THEORIES ARE FORMED AND USED · · Child development theories allow both research and application to promote optimal growth and development. A theory is an orderly, integrated set of statements that describes, explains, and endures if based on scientific verification. Theories provide an organizing framework for observations. Once a theory is verified by scientific research, it serves as a basis for practical action. There are many theories in child development and no one theory fully explains all aspects of child development. Today, experts use several different theories as a means of finding the best way to describe, explain and predict children’s behavior. Child development theories rely upon a few key theoretical questions, including whether development is continuous from birth to adulthood or progresses in distinct stages; whether development is universal or individual; and whether genetics or environment are more critical in child development. These questions have shaped all child development theories, including , psychosocial, behavioral, , and theories. Research into child development requires experimentation, using a variety of different methods. Different research methodologies, including observations, case studies and clinical studies provide distinct advantages and disadvantages. All research into child development must be conducted with careful attention to ethical considerations. Theoretical Questions Guiding the Study of Child Development Theories of child development are centered around three basic issues. Each theory has a different perspective or opinion on these issues, and these key issues guide the understanding of child development. Before you study different theories of development, you need to understand the questions that guide all theories of child development. · · · Child Development Theories in the Twentieth Century The first child development theories date to the early and mid- 20th century. Prior to the middle of the 20th century, there was relatively little interest in child development or in psychology in general. The theoretical perspectives that have most influenced research in the mid-20th century themselves resulted from progression through many centuries. The mid-20th century saw an expansion of interest in the field of child development, and the emergence of several key child development theories which are still in use today. The perspectives and research covered in this lesson all date back to the mid-20th century and include Psychoanalytic theory, Behaviorist and Social Learning, and Cognitive Development. Is child development continuous or in stages? This means that child development theorists ask whether a child develops in one, relatively continuous path from infancy to adulthood, or whether development is discontinuous. Does the child experience distinct stages of development, rather than simply a single path from point A to point B? In a continuous theory of development, young children are treated as having similar thoughts and feelings as adults, albeit in a simpler fashion. In a discontinuous theory, children are distinct and different from adults. Their behavior and actions are guided by their developmental stage, not by adult or adult-like actions or reactions. Developmental stages can be gradual or abrupt, and may be relatively short-lived or last several years, but impact all types of development: physical, cognitive, emotional and social. UNIFORM VERSUS INDIVIDUALISTIC Child development theories also question whether children’s development is individual or if all children follow the same sequence of development. This question is closely linked to the idea of stages of development. Do all children experience the same stages of development at the same ages or in the same order or do they not? How do environmental and genetic factors impact the development of the individual child? These are key questions that child development theories attempt to answer. NATURE VERSUS NURTURE The third key question is sometimes often referred to as nature versus nurture. This is a question of whether genetics or environmental factors are more important in influencing child development. Nature or genetics is hereditary, based on conditions and factors present at the time of conception. Nurture comes from environmental factors that influence the child in his or her physical and social world. The nature versus nurture question also encompasses issues of stability versus plasticity. Essentially, this is a question of how changeable we are, and how much environment can impact genetics. Stability means the biology or attributes and predispositions a child is born with—the child is born with key traits that are relatively unchangeable. Plasticity is a belief that the environment can change the child’s development, including physical, cognitive, social and emotional growth. MODERATE THEORIES Today, many theorists opt for moderate theories that acknowledge various aspects of these questions. For instance, some theories may believe that some aspects of child development are continuous, while others take place in stages or that some parts of children’s development are more typical to all children and others are more impacted by the child’s environment or genetics. Different traits may be associated with nature or nurture—impacted more by the child’s genetics or by the child’s environment; however, many traits are a result of both genes and environmental factors. Psychoanalytic and Psychosocial Theories Psychoanalytic and psychosocial theories of child development believe that children move through a variety of stages of emotional or psychological development. These stages occur in sequence, and development is discontinuous, or in distinct stages, not a smooth progression. The emotional experiences in childhood are believed to have a lasting impact on adult interactions and experiences. THE PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY ‹ › · The (Psychosexual theory) of child development relies upon the work of psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud. Freud was a doctor who believed that all emotional issues in adults were the result of events in childhood. These events were, according to Freud, the result of parental care. When children did not resolve specific conflicts or questions at the correct stage or age, these would continue to cause problems in adulthood. Most of these conflicts are specifically between the child’s biological drives and social expectations. Psychoanalytic Stages of Development Psychoanalytic theories of child development divide childhood into five distinct stages, identified as stages of psychosexual development. Well-being as an adult is determined by appropriate parental response to each of these five stages of development. (Birth to one year). In this stage of development, the mouth is the primary pleasure center. If the child’s oral needs are not met in the first year, oral habits, like smoking or nail-biting may develop. (One year to three years). In this developmental stage, children are most concerned with urine, feces, and toileting. According to Freud, children potty trained too early may become overly concerned with order (Three to six years). Freudian psychoanalysis suggests that children are most impacted by genitals in this stage and will develop a strong attachment to the opposite sex parent. For boys, this is called the Oedipus Complex. (Six to twelve years). In this stage of development, the conscience develops and sexual urges subside. (Twelve years to adulthood). During puberty, sexual urges re-emerge. If the child has developed appropriately, these will lead to marriage and children, according to Freudian theory. Psychoanalytic theory is frequently questioned or criticized for various reasons, including its emphasis on sexuality, on the parental influence on sexuality, and on the emphasis on male experience. While Freudian psychoanalytic theories may influence some modern child development theories, they are no longer actively accepted. Psychosocial Theory While Freud emphasized sexual development and the subconscious, a later theorist, Erik Erikson was primarily concerned with cultural and social development and the ego, or moral conscience. Psychosocial theories of child development built upon psychoanalytic theories. The of child development, developed by Erik Erikson, has eight distinct stages of development. Like other theories that believe in staged development, this is an example of a discontinuous development; however, it is the first lifespan theory, extending beyond childhood to suggest that development continues throughout life. Eight Stages of Psychosocial Theory The eight stages of Psychosocial Theory describe development as a series of defined conflicts. Resolving these conflicts appropriately leads to healthy social development. Trust vs. Mistrust Hope Infancy-Birth to 18 months Autonomy vs. Shame Will Early Childhood—18 months to Three   Years Initiative vs. Guilt Purpose Play Age—Three to Five Years Industry vs. Inferiority Competency School Age—Five to 12 Years Ego Identity vs. Role Confusion Fidelity Adolescence—12 to 18 Years Intimacy vs. Isolation Love Young Adult—18 to 40 Years Generativity vs. Stagnation Care Adult—40 to 65 Years Ego Integrity vs. Despair Wisdom Mature Adult—65 Years Plus ‹ › · Erikson believed that there were eight distinct developmental stages, five during childhood and three during adulthood. Movement from one stage to the next is the direct result of the child or adult encountering specific moral crises as part of their social development. Each stage is associated with a psychosocial crisis and the development of a basic social virtue. Culture can impact each of these stages, and they may be somewhat different on the basis of different cultures. The table provides the crisis associated with the stage, the virtue that develops during that stage, and an approximate age range associated with that emotional crisis. · If you’ve seen the psychoanalyst’s couch in a movie or on television, with a discussion about childhood, this is Freudian analysis. Free association and dream analysis are critical to Freudian analysis and reflect the three individual parts of the personality: the id, ego and superego. The id relates to desires, impulses and biological needs. The ego relates to reason and conscious thought. Finally, the superego or conscience is concerned with moral thought and ideology. Behaviorism and Social Learning Both and social learning theories are focused on observed behaviors. Conditioning by positive or negative reinforcement shapes behavior for both behaviorists and social learning theorists. Both of these theories of child development are continuous; they do not support the idea that child development occurs in distinct stages or phases. BEHAVIORIST THEORIES OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT Types of Behaviorism · TWO TYPES · · · · Behaviorism is divided into two different types: classical and behavioral or operant. Classical conditioning is a natural reflex or a response to a stimulus in the environment, like the experiments by Watson and Pavlov described above. Operant or behavioral conditioning is a learned response. is closely associated with the theories of B.F. Skinner. Skinner suggested that behavior is directly linked to reinforcement. Reinforcement can be either positive or negative, and can increase or decrease the behavior. Positive reinforcement is a direct reward. Negative reinforcement is the removal of an unpleasant consequence. Punishment is not the same as reinforcement, but can also be positive or negative. Positive punishment is the implementation of an unpleasant consequence. Negative punishment is the removal of something positive. A behavior that is not reinforced in any way will stop, a process called extinction. This is a simplified explanation for how operant conditioning can be applied to child development. Reward charts are an example of operant conditioning, but so is punishment. The child’s behavior can be modified by negative or positive responses; however, opinions differ as to which response is more effective. Positive reinforcement is usually preferred. In addition, according to Skinner, intermittent positive reinforcement is most likely to encourage a behavior to repeat or continue. Operant conditioning occurs in response to a voluntary action. Skinner focused on the external, observable reinforcements, rather than internal thoughts or feelings. Like other types of behaviorism, operant conditioning looks at what can be seen, watched, and explored. Unlike psychoanalytic theories, behaviorism can be studied in a scientific way. As you might have already realized, behaviorism is still a common part of child development theories. Parents still rely upon praise, rewards, and punishment to shape and modify children’s behavior. Social Learning Theory Social learning theory builds upon behaviorist theories, including classical and operant conditioning. Developed by Albert Bandura in the 1970s, social learning theory supports the idea that: ‹ › · Children observe the behavior around them, and change their behavior based on that behavior. This is called . The people performing actions or behaviors around the child are models and are modeling behavior. Models include parents, siblings, classmates, and even characters on children’s television shows. Modeling can teach a variety of different skills and behaviors, including gender-normative behaviors or behaviors we typically associate with men or women. · When a crisis comes to a positive resolution, the virtue develops in the individual. If the crisis is not successfully resolved, the individual may not develop the virtue associated with that stage of development, causing significant psychological problems later in life. Individual experience is emphasized in this theory. Erikson considered his theory a framework of sorts—something that could be applied, but could not be tested like a theory. Many people find his theories familiar and can recognize aspects of their own development in these psychosocial stages. Erikson does not provide any explanation for specific transitions between developmental stages, but like Freud emphasizes the importance of childhood experiences for overall psychological health and development. Psychoanalytic theory, in either its traditional Freudian perspective or Erikson’s psychosocial approach, has a relatively minimal impact on modern theories of child development. Psychoanalytic theories cannot be tested, and are overly clinical in their approach, with little real-life application. For instance, think about table manners. A child raised with parents modeling good table manners will probably modify these behaviors to match those of their parents. You likely do not remember learning to use a spoon. No one punished or rewarded you for using the spoon, but you saw others use spoons and began to use your spoon in the same way. When you used the spoon properly, your parents probably reinforced this as good behavior. If you used the spoon to fling your food, this was reinforced as inappropriate behavior. Reinforcement can be positive or negative—praise is an example of positive reinforcement and punishment or correction an example of negative reinforcement. Reinforcement can also be internal or external. Praise from a parent is an example of external reinforcement. External reinforcement comes from a source outside of the child, like a parent or peer. Internal reinforcement comes from within. If the child enjoys the feeling of approval when he receives positive reinforcement or enjoys pleasing those around him, this is a type of internal reinforcement of behavior. Children also see how their models’ behavior is reinforced. For instance, if a sibling’s behavior is praised when she does chores without complaint, this vicarious reinforcement or reinforcement of someone else, may encourage the child to do the same. When a child looks at a model behaving in a certain way, and wants to be more like that model, they emulate their behavior and identify with the model. Identification involves observing the model’s behavior and emulating that behavior. Identification typically includes multiple behaviors or traits, rather than just one trait. Emulating a single trait is typically called imitation, not identification. Theory Compared to Other Theories Social learning theory is often considered a bridge between behaviorism and cognitive learning theories. It expands upon behaviorism, but still relies upon different types of reinforcement to control how the child behaves. The mediational process, in which the child watches someone and emulates their behavior requires thought and desire. It is not an automatic process. Over time, the child develops a belief in their own ability to succeed. Through social learning, they have developed a range of skills, and have been able to think through different situations. Cognitive and Social Development Theories Theories of cognitive development and social development can be continuous or discontinuous, depending on the theorist. Two theories, both specifically related to cognitive development, are most significant. These are the work of Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky. While both theorists were primarily interested in how children learn, they took distinctly different views as to the importance of others in the child’s development. Jean Piaget in 1968 COGNITIVE THEORY OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT ‹ › · First associated with psychologist Jean Piaget, the of child development suggests that children will experience four stages of cognitive development. Piaget’s theories developed after he worked on the creation of intelligence tests for the children, and spoke with the children about their answers, both correct and incorrect. Piaget was primarily interested in the way children comprehended key intellectual concepts, like numbers, quantity and justice. Schema, Adaptation and Stages of Development There are three key parts to Piaget’s theory; the , adaptation processes and stages of development. PIAGET’S THEORY · · · Piaget’s Stages of Development Piaget identified four stages of development that all children progress through. Some children may move through a developmental stage faster than others, so the listed ages are approximate. · “ ” by is licensed under · · · Sociocultural Theory and Lev Vygotsky · LEV VYGOTSKY’S SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT THEORY · · · Lev Vygotsky was also a cognitive child development theorist; however, he focused specifically on the impact of society and culture on the child’s learning and development. Vygotsky’s theory is a theory of cognitive development, but is specifically called social development theory. Key Concepts of Social Development Theory ‹ › · Two concepts are key to Vygotsky’s social development theory: the or MKO and the or ZPD. The More Knowledgeable Other refers to someone who has a higher knowledge level or better understanding than the child or learner. The MKO does not have to be a person, or a parent or adult. For instance, if a parent asks their teen to set up their smartphone, the teen may be the MKO. For children, peers may sometimes fill the role of an MKO. A computer-aided training program could also be an MKO. The More Knowledgeable Other provides the child with scaffolding to support their learning. This scaffolding, or assistance, bridges the child’s development. o o An adult volunteer serves as the More Knowledgeable Other. Piaget and Vygotsky’s Theories · CHILDREN AS ACTIVE LEARNERS · · Both of these cognitive theories believe that children are active learners and emphasize the role of reasoning and learning in the child’s cognitive development. Both Piaget and Vygotsky support discovery learning and adult scaffolding or support for the learning process. Cognitive development theories may underestimate children’s potential, in the case of Piaget or disregard the importance of observation, in Vygotsky’s work. Child Development and Research Methodologies Naturalistic observations might take place in a classroom. Research into child development poses some distinct challenges, including ethical considerations and scientific difficulties. Theories, including child development theories, must be scientifically tested and verified to be appropriate and of use when studying or working with children. To do so there must be an objective process to collect, analyze, and evaluate data. Systematic Observation · SYSTEMATIC OBSERVATION · · Systematic observation is simply watching children in a well-ordered manner designed to reduce subjectivity and the potential for bias on the observer’s part. The researcher can watch a continuous stream of children’s behavior or observe children at set intervals. Self-Reporting Self-reporting, or in some cases, parental reporting, asks research subjects to provide information about thoughts, feelings, perceptions and experiences. The participant offers direct information; however, they may be inclined to give inaccurate or incorrect answers if they believe that the researcher seeks a specific answer. Self-reporting can be used for data collection, since individuals can be asked to provide the same information; however, types of self-reporting can vary. Self-reporting does not rely upon the researcher’s opinions, thoughts or expressions. It offers more objectivity than some other research methodologies. Clinical Interview The clinical interview is a more flexible alternative to self-reporting. Structured Interviews, Tests, and Questionnaires Structured interviews, tests, and questionnaires provide more information than self-reporting alone, but provide a standardized format for all responses and research subjects. Structured interviews rely upon a single set of questions for all research subjects. Tests and questionnaires are standardized over a large group of people, and depending upon the study, may be answered by parents or children. These are an efficient way to collect and compare data, but do share some of the weaknesses of self-reporting and clinical interviews. · · · Clinical/Case Study A clinical or case study combines information from a wide variety of sources, including clinical interviews, self-reporting, structured interviews, tests, or questionnaires. The clinical or case study is most effective in the study of an individual. Since the material, impressions and observations only apply to the single subject, they cannot easily be compared to others or serve a significant role in child development research. They may be presented to provide information about a single child’s development, or may be used to provide information about specific issues in childhood development. Ethnography · ETHNOGRAPHY · · Ethnography is the process of observing a group by becoming a part of the daily life of the group or community. Child Centered Research Child-centered methodologies rely upon the children’s own perceptions and experiences in the research context, placing less importance on the researcher’s perceptions. Experiments may be task-based, rather than requiring interaction with an observer. Child-centered methods may integrate a variety of different research methodologies, but are consistently focused on the child’s experiences and perceptions, rather than the observers’. Child-centered research may rely upon different tools to get information from children; however, the child’s own experiences are central to this research methodology. Ethical Considerations Ethical concerns are always present in research into human behavior. This is even more the case for children due to their vulnerability and young age. To ensure children are protected, ethical guidelines about research with children have been developed by governments, research funders, and professional organizations. Research into child development requires that the researchers work carefully to avoid any potential ethical dilemmas or harm to their research subjects. Research into child development and child psychology poses several distinct and significant issues. ‹ › · Children are both more physically and emotionally vulnerable than adults. They are susceptible to both physical and psychological harm from poorly conducted research. In addition, children are not capable of consenting to serve as research subjects. Parental consent is required, but this still poses questions about the use of children in research. Lesson Overview Understanding child development and research into child development requires a thorough understanding of child development theory. Key Terms Sources · Aldridge, J. & Goldman, R. (April 30, 2014) . Retrieved from · Boundless.com. (n.d.). . Retrieved from · Ethical Research Involving Children. (n.d.). . Retrieved from · Funderstanding. (April 16, 2011). . Retrieved from · Huitt, W., & Hummel, J. (2003). . Retrieved from · Learning-Theories.com. (n.d.). . Retrieved from · McLeod, Saul. (2016) . Retrieved from · McLeod, Saul. (2014) . Retrieved from · McLeod, Saul.(2014) . Retrieved from · Molina, Grace et. al. (n.d.). . Retrieved from · OpenLearn. (June 13, 2007) . Retrieved from · Research Connections. (2013). . Retrieved from