Child Development From Infancy to Adolescence. Laura E. Levine
related to specific topics as you read through the rest of this book. You also were introduced to a number of methods that are used as a part of the scientific process to test these theoretical ideas. As you continue to read about theories and methods throughout this text, remember that our body of knowledge is dynamic. It grows and changes as our understanding grows and changes. You will be able to apply your knowledge of theories and research methods not only to examples in this text, but also to information on child development that you encounter beyond this course.
Chapter Summary
2.1 What do child development theories tell us?
Theories of development give us models that help us understand children and allow us to predict how they will behave. Some theories propose that development occurs in stages, while others see development as a continuous process. Theories also differ in their emphasis on biological, cognitive, and environmental influences that bring about growth and development.
2.2 What are the hypotheses and modern applications of the major child development theories?
1 Freud’s psychoanalytic theory states that sexual energy shifts from one area of the body to another as the child develops, forming the basis for five psychosexual stages. Erikson believed the social world and the development of identity were driving forces for development through psychosocial stages.
2 In the theory of behaviorism, classical conditioning pairs an unconditioned stimulus with a neutral stimulus. After repeated pairings, the neutral stimulus elicits a conditioned response. In operant conditioning something that follows a behavior affects the likelihood of that behavior happening again. Reinforcement increases the behavior, while punishment and extinction decrease it.
3 Bandura’s social cognitive theory emphasizes the importance of imitation as a learning process.
4 Piaget’s theory of cognitive development states that we organize the world into schemas and either assimilate new information that fits into them or accommodate it by changing our schemas.
5 Vygotsky emphasized the role of social interaction and believed adults or more skilled peers build children’s knowledge through scaffolding. Learning occurs in the child’s zone of proximal development.
6 Information processing initially likened the functioning of the mind to the way that computers work. The more recent connectionist or neural network model describes mental processing as a neural network of concept nodes that are interconnected by links. Developmental cognitive neuroscience links brain development with cognitive changes.
7 Ethology is the study of animal and human behavior in relation to their adaptation to the natural environment. Evolutionary developmental psychology applies the principles and ideas of evolutionary theory to questions of how and why children develop as they do.
8 Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory proposed that individuals grow and develop within a nested set of influences that he divided into five systems: microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem.
9 Dynamic systems theory examines the way all aspects of development—biological, cognitive, and social-emotional—influence one another as children work out unique responses to developmental challenges.
2.3 What role do neuropsychology, genetics, and culture play in the study of child development?
Neuropsychology is the study of the brain and behavior. Behavioral genetics is the study of genes and behavior. Both brain development and the expression of genes are influenced and shaped by environment and children’s experiences as they grow and develop. All cultures have their own theories about how children develop. To understand what is most adaptive within a particular context and environment, we must always keep in mind the realities of children’s lives in different settings.
2.4 How is research on child development conducted?
The scientific method begins with observations, which generate hypotheses. After we operationalize the concepts in our hypotheses, we select a representative sample for research. Any measures we use must be reliable and valid.
Research can draw on naturalistic observation, checklists of behaviors, or self-report measures that include surveys, questionnaires, and interviews. We also gather data via standardized tests, physiological measures, archival records, case studies, and ethnography.
Experimental research design randomly assigns participants to an experimental or control group. The independent variable is the treatment given to the experimental group, after which we measure the dependent variable for both groups. If there is a difference, we can conclude the independent variable caused it. Correlational research is designed to examine the relationship between naturally occurring variables. Results are examined for the direction and the strength of the relationship, but a correlation does not mean that one of the variables caused the other.
A longitudinal design follows and assesses a single group of participants over a period of time. Cross-sectional designs assess comparable groups of participants of different ages at the same time. In a sequential design, several groups are followed for a period of time, with an overlap in the age at which one group begins the study and another group finishes it.
In interpreting study results, we must not generalize beyond the characteristics of our sample and we expect to find individual exceptions to the results. Researchers must look at both the statistical significance of the data and the effect size to determine how important the results are.
2.5 What are ethical considerations in research with children and adolescents?
All research must protect the physical and psychological safety and well-being of participants and safeguard the confidentiality of results. Participation must be voluntary, and children (or their parents) have the right to withdraw at any point.
Key Terms
Accommodation 39
Anal stage 29
Applied behavior analysis (ABA) 36
Archival records 56
Assimilation 39
Behavioral genetics 48
Behaviorism 32
Case study 56
Checklist 53
Chronosystem 45
Classical conditioning 32
Clinical interview 54
Cohort effect 63
Connectionist/neural network model 41
Constructivism 40
Control group 58
Correlational research design 60
Cross-sectional design 62
Dependent variable 58
Developmental cognitive neuroscience 41
Developmental theory 27
Dynamic assessment 41
Dynamic systems theory 47
Ecological theory 44
Ego 29
Embodied cognition 40
Equilibration 39
Ethnography 57
Ethology