Child Development Midterm Review

Child Development Midterm Review

• Lifespan Development: Examines patterns of growth, change (improvement/loss of skills), and stability (characteristics/abilities) in individuals.

Influences on Development

• Age-graded influences: Biological and environmental factors shared by individuals in a particular age group (e.g., puberty, menopause, starting school).
• History-graded influences: Biological and environmental factors associated with a specific historical period (e.g., war, economic depression, epidemics).
• Sociocultural-graded influences: Social and cultural factors (e.g., ethnicity, social class, subcultural membership) affecting the individual during a particular time.
• Non-normative life events: Atypical events that affect a person in a way that doesn't typically happen to most people at that age (e.g., witnessing a tragic event).
• Continuous change: Gradual development, quantitative (numerical) change in degree (height).
• Discontinuous change: Distinct stages, qualitative (kind) change.
• Critical periods: A period of time during development where absent or present environmental influences produce permanent/irreversible consequences.
• Sensitive periods: A period of time susceptible to certain kinds of stimuli; optimal timing, possible to overcome earlier deficits.

Theories of Child Development

• Nature vs. nurture: Nature refers to hereditary information, traits, and abilities; nurture refers to environmental influences.
• Historical perspectives:
• John Locke: Tabula rasa (blank slate) theory.
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Innate sense of justice.
• James Mark Baldwin: Theory guides experimentation.
• Biological perspective (Natural Selection): Organisms best adapted to their environments survive.
• Maturation Theory (Gesell): Specific, pre-arranged schemes/plans within the body for development, according to a timetable.
• Ethological Theory: Adaptive behaviours; survival value; imprinting.
• Psychodynamic Perspective (Freud): Components of personality (Id, Ego, Superego); Psychosexual theory.
• Psychosocial Theory (Erikson): Emphasis on social and cultural influences; sequence of stages defined by unique crises (e.g., trust vs. mistrust).
• Learning Perspective (Watson & Skinner): Environmental influences; tabula rasa ("blank slate"); classical conditioning (Pavlov); operant conditioning (Skinner)
• Reinforcement increases likelihood of a behaviour.
• Punishment decreases likelihood of a behaviour.
• Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura): Imitation or observational learning.
• Cognitive-Developmental Perspective (Piaget): Children are naturally curious "little scientists" who create theories about the world, and develop schemas (mental categories); Stages (Sensorimotor, Preoperational, Concrete Operational and Formal Operational).
• Contextual Perspective (Vygotsky): Sociocultural approach.
• Ecological Systems Theory (Bronfenbrenner): Environment as a series of embedded systems (Microsystem, Mesosystem, Exosystem, Macrosystem, Chronosystem).
• Information Processing Theory: Comparing the human mind to a computer.
• Evolutionary Theory: Evolutionary influences on behaviour.

Research in Child Development Methods

• Systematic Observation: Watching and carefully documenting children's actions.
• Sampling Behaviour with Tasks: Creating tasks to sample the behavior of interest.
• Self-Reports: Gathering information from individuals regarding thoughts, opinions, etc.
• Reliability: Measures are consistent.
• Validity: Measurements accurately reflect the phenomenon of interest.
• Representativeness: Samples are representative of the population of interest.
• General Designs for Research: Descriptive statistics vs. Inferential statistics, correlational studies, experimental studies.
• Microgenetic studies: Repeated measurements over a short period to study developmental change.
• Sequential design: Measuring the same variables repeatedly over time but for different groups.
• Cohort effects: Influence of a particular event, culture, or time period on a group.
• Ethical responsibilities: Minimizing harm to participants, ensuring informed consent, and maintaining confidentiality.

Prenatal Development and Birth

• Conception: Fertilization of the egg by sperm.
• Stages: Zygote, Embryo, Fetus.
• Prenatal influences: Teratogens (diseases, drugs, environmental hazards).
• Labour and delivery: Stages (cervix dilation, baby's expulsion, placenta expulsion).
• Complications: Issues like detachment of placenta or low birth weight.
• Newborn: Assessing the newborn's condition and vital signs (Apgar score).
• Newborn States: Alert inactivity, waking activity, crying, quiet sleep.
• Sudden Infant Death syndrome (SIDS): Potentially preventable issue.

Physical Development in Infants and Toddlers

• Human Growth: Rapid growth during infancy; average standards but variation exists.
• Nutrition: Importance of breast milk or formula; nutritional needs throughout different ages.
• Issues: Malnutrition, homelessness, poverty.
• Prevention: Providing access to nutritious food and interventions.
• Accidents: Significant cause of death in this age group; preventative measures important.

Sensory and Perceptual Development

• Smell, taste, and touch: Development and importance of these senses.
• Hearing: Development of auditory perception; importance of listening skills.
• Vision: Development of visual acuity and depth perception; critical periods.

Language Development

• Speech Perception: Identifying phonemes (speech sounds) critical for learning language.
• Steps to Speaking: Cooing and babbling, followed by first words.
• Naming Explosion: A critical period where children learn new words rapidly.
• Learning Language: Styles (referential and expressive).
• Naming Errors: Overextension and underextension.

Cognitive Development

• Understanding the world: Experiences with numbers, objects, and space.
• Understanding the environment: Relationship between objects and self; shifting from the egocentric to objective frame of reference.
• Exploring the environment: Infants' skills to explore and make sense of what they see and hear.
• Language Development: Milestones like first words, comprehension.
• Piaget's Stages: Sensorimotor, Preoperational, Concrete operational, and Formal Operational.

Motor Development

• Motor Skills: Coordinated movements of muscles and limbs.
• Fine motor skills: Small muscle movements (ex. grasping).
• Gross motor skills: Large muscle movements (ex. running).
• Infant Reflexes: Preparation for interaction with the world; important for survival.