Child Development Psychology Overview

Child Development Psychology

• Developmental science aims to identify and explain factors influencing development, predicting age-related changes in behavior, thinking, emotion, and social relationships.

Historical Perspectives on Parenting

• John Watson, an early behaviorist, promoted rigid schedules and order in child-rearing, differing from American traditions.
• Dr. Benjamin Spock, influenced by Freud, advocated a more flexible approach, encouraging affection, and avoiding conflict over issues like weaning and toilet training. Spock's ideas gained popularity in the 1950s, contrasting with Watson's more rigid framework.
• Current views often consider Watson's approach emotionally cold and Spock's recommendations overly indulgent. Parents increasingly rely on diverse internet resources for guidance, rejecting a singular "expert" voice.

Development Defined

• Development involves orderly and enduring changes in physical, neurological, thought processes, and behavior across the lifespan.
• Development includes growth spurts, leading to healthier, better-organized, more complex, stable, competent, or efficient behaviors.
• Marked by milestones like creeping to walking, babbling to talking, and concrete to abstract thought. These later stages are considered more advanced.
• Hindbrain is fully formed at birth and crucial for survival.

Communication Development in Infants

• Early communication includes eye contact, mimicry, and turn-taking.
• Stages of communication development progress from cooing, babbling, holophrases (single words), telegraphic speech (two-word phrases), to neologisms (invented words).

Goals of Child Development Study

• Identify universal changes in development, irrespective of culture or experience.
• Explain individual differences in developmental patterns.
• Examine environmental influences on children's behavior, acknowledging immediate surroundings, social context, and cultural factors.

Environmental Influences (Nurture)

• Prenatal: Alcohol use (fetal alcohol syndrome), smoking (asthma), drug use (complications), malnutrition (gestational diabetes). Chernobyl disaster linked to disabilities.
• Postnatal: Lead poisoning (health problems), pollutants (diseases and disorders).
• Psychological Nurture: Stress and trauma (ADHD risk), abuse, depression, failure to thrive (inadequate development in children).

Developmental Challenges

• Perspective-Taking: Children require perspective-taking skills to understand others' viewpoints, which is crucial for honesty and potentially avoiding lies.
• Personal Fable: A cognitive distortion where adolescents believe they are invulnerable to harm and danger.
• Bereavement: In cases of loss (bereavement), a structured environment (like school) is beneficial for providing stability, support, and a sense of normalcy for children (and adults).

Cerebral Palsy

• A set of neurological conditions causing impaired movement and posture due to brain damage.
• Three types: prenatal, perinatal (during birth), and asphyxia (lack of oxygen during birth).

Explore the factors influencing child development through historical perspectives on parenting. This quiz examines contrasting approaches from John Watson and Dr. Benjamin Spock, as well as current trends in parenting guidance. Enhance your understanding of the evolving landscape of developmental psychology.