Child Development Theories

Theories of Development

• Theories are essential for understanding children's development, as they provide the "why" behind it.
• A theory is an organized set of ideas designed to explain and predict development.
• Theories summarize known facts, connect the dots, and give meaning to information.
• A primary aim of developmental theories is to anticipate future behavior based on past and present explanations.
• Theories stimulate new research to determine validity, leading to alterations or refinements.
• Child development has various theories, but no single one explains everything.
• Most theories focus on a specific section of child development, such as cognitive or emotional aspects.
• Theories often have "sub-theories" to focus on smaller, more specialized parts of child development.
• Newer theories are best understood by examining their historical roots.

Theoretical Perspectives in Child Development

• There are five major theoretical perspectives: biological, psychodynamic, learning, cognitive-developmental, and contextual.

Biological Perspective

• It considers behavior to be primarily determined by biological factors, with less emphasis on environmental influences.
• Key biological factors include heredity, the nervous system, and the endocrine system.

Maturation Theory

• It was conceived by Arnold Gesell, where child development reflects a specific, prearranged plan within the body.
• Development is considered a natural unfolding of a biological plan, minimizing the role of experience.
• Speech, play, and reasoning are thought to be predetermined and spontaneous, occurring without environmental influence.

Ethological Theory

• It was developed from an evolutionary perspective, contending that many behaviors are adaptive for survival.
• Ethological theorists assume that behaviors are inherited, contrasting with maturationists.
• Animals are biologically programmed to learn at certain stages, known as critical periods.
• Critical periods are specific times for learning when learning is only possible during that time.
• Imprinting is a form of learning that occurs during a short early period, establishing attachment to a species.

Evolutionary Theory

• Applied by Charles Darwin, human behavior is a result of adaptation to the environment through natural selection.
• Evolution involves changes in inherited characteristics over successive generations and transformation of individuals.
• Adaptation to the environment causes efficient traits to pass onto offspring.
• Evolutionary psychologists view social nature as a product of evolution.
• Evolutionary developmental psychology highlights the adaptive value of children's behavior at various developmental points.
• The biological perspective has support due to the correlation between biological factors and behaviors.

Neuropsychology

• It focuses on the nervous system and the brain.
• The influence of damages to certain brain areas can be studied to determine the role of that area.
• Research also applies to structural differences in people with mental disorders.
• Neuroimaging (brain scanning) techniques are used to obtain visual images of brain function to understand changes in behavior.

Behavioral Genetics

• It studies the role of genetics in behaviors where most psychologists find genetics important, but underestimated.

Psycho-endocrinology

• It focuses on the relationship between behaviors and the endocrine system (hormones).
• Hormones play an important role in behaviors such as sexuality and emotion.
• It becomes an influential explanation for behaviors.

Psychodynamic Perspective

• It explores the influence of unconscious psychological motives on behavior.
• Freud used patient case histories to create the first psychodynamic theory.
• Work is also done by Sigmund Freud and Erik Erikson, from the 19th to early 20th century.
• Psychoanalysis holds that development is largely determined by how well people resolve unconscious conflicts at different ages.
• Freud argues that the personality includes the id, ego, and superego.

Id

• It is where primitive instincts and drives reside.
• It is present at birth, demanding immediate gratification of needs and wants.

Ego

• It is the practical, rational component of personality.
• It emerges during the first year of life as infants learn that they cannot have everything they want.
• The ego tries to resolve conflicts when instinctive desires of the id encounter obstacles of the real world.
• It guides the Id's impulsive demands into socially acceptable behaviors.

Super Ego

• The moral agent emerges as the child begins to internalize adult standards of right and wrong beginning in preschool.

Freud's Psychosexual Stages

• Freud proposes a series of psychosexual stages with the focus on a different body part, dominated by sexual instincts.
• Allowing too much or too little gratification can lead to fixation.
• Fixation means development is arrested at a certain age, preventing further progress.

Oral stage:

• Occurs during birth to 1 year of age, where sexual energy is centered at the mouth through sucking.
• Deprivation during this stage may result in thumb sucking, nail-biting, overeating, or smoking later in life.

Anal stage:

• Occurs from 1 to 3 years of age, where sexual energy centers at the anal area.
• Centers on elimination functions like toilet training.
• Insisting on training too early can lead to conflicts, resulting in extreme orderliness or messiness.

Phallic stage:

• Occurs from 3 to 6 years of age, where sexual impulses transfer to genitals, pleasure is found in genital stimulation.
• Freud's Oedipus conflict (boys) and Electra conflict (girls) arise.
• Children feel sexual desire for the parent of the opposite sex, causing anxiety.
• Because of this, the child identifies with the same sex parent's characteristics and values.
• Superego is formed and the relationship between the id, ego, and superego is established, forming basic personality.

Latency stage:

• Occurs from 6 to 11 years of age, where sexual instincts subside and the superego develops further.
• Child acquires new social values through interactions with adults and same-sex peers.
• Energy is channeled into school and social activities.

Genital stage:

• Occurs at adolescence, with puberty causing sexual impulses to reappear.
• Adolescents have to learn to express urges in socially acceptable ways, and successful development leads to sexual maturity, marriage, birth, and child-rearing

Criticisms of Freud's Work

• Scientists have criticized Freud's work because development views were based on adults recalling the past, not observing children directly.
• Recollection is not a reliable source, Freud's patients can hardly be viewed as normal, the basis of Freud's theory could not be empirically proven.
• He said that the first 6 years are more important than all other stages of life.
• Scientists say that each stage of life is important, and trauma can affect all stages of psychological growth.
• Most psychologists say that Freud overemphasized sexual feelings in child development with a neglect of cognitive development.
• His theories had an lasting impact on child development research and theory.
• First, he noted that early experiences could have enduring effects on children's development.
• Second, he suggested that children experience conflict between what they want to do and what they should do.
• Third, he stimulated debate and research as probably no other mental health professional has done in history

Erikson's Psychosocial Theory

• Erikson (1902-1994), Freud's student, embraced Freud's idea of unconscious conflict.
• He emphasizes psychological and social aspects of conflict rather than biological and sexual aspects.
• Erikson's theory focuses on a sequence of staged development, each defined by a unique crisis or challenge across eight stages.

Basic Trust vs. Mistrust:

• Occurs during birth to 1 year, developing a sense that the world is safe and good

Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt:

• Occurs during 1-3 years, developing a willingness to try new things and handle failure

Initiative vs. Guilt:

• Occurs during 3-6 years, developing a willingness to try new things and handle failure

Industry vs. Inferiority:

• Occurs during 6 years to adolescence, where one must learn basic skills and work with others

Identity vs. Identity Confusion:

• Occurs during adolescence, developing a lasting, integrated sense of self

Intimacy vs. Isolation:

• Occurs during young adulthood, committing to another in a loving relationship

Generativity vs. Stagnation:

• Occurs during middle adulthood, contributing to younger people through child rearing, community work etc.

Integrity vs. Despair:

• Occurs during late adulthood, viewing one's life as satisfactory and worth living

Learning Theory

• Erikson's theory is also flawed but it does capture the essence of personality development during childhood and adolescence.
• Learning theorists view infant minds as blank slates on which experience writes.
• Proponents are John Watson, B.F. Skinner, and Albert Bandura.

Early learning theories (Skinner's operant conditioning):

• The first to apply learning theory to child development was John B. Watson, who is acknowledged as the father of behaviorism,
• Behaviourism refers to the theory that behaviour is primarily learned from one's environment.
• Classical conditioning refers to the process of learning through which an initially neutral stimulus comes to elicit a particular response after repeatedly being paired with an unconditional stimulus.
• Watson performed an experiment with Albert and noticed how experience mattered.
• B.F. Skinner supported behaviourism, believing that children learn through responses from the environment called operant conditioning.

Social Cognitive Theory

• Children learn by watching those around them, sometimes without reinforcement or punishment.
• Modeling, imitation or observational learning was conceived by Albert Bandura.
• Initially a social theory, cognitive factors play a role in it too, making the theory a social cognitive theory.
• Bandura refined his theory by placing more emphasis on children's ability to decide which behavior to model.
• This decision is influenced by expectations of the model, the child’s own personality standards, value system, and the model’s power.
• The social cognitive theory also adopts the agentic perspective, where intention to influence one's life circumstances occurs.
• People are self-organising, proactive, self-regulating and self-reflecting where they contribute to and also are a product of their circumstances.

Core Features of Human Agency

• The core features Intentionality, Forethought, Self-regulation and Self-reflection.
• Intentionality means people form action plans to achieve them.
• Forethought is where people anticipate likely outcomes, set goals for themselves where the visualized futures serve as motivators of behavior.
• Self-regulation is where people adopt personal standards and monitor and regulate their actions.
• They do things that give them satisfaction and a sense of self-worth and refrain from actions that cause detrimental outcomes.
• Self-reflection involves the accuracy of their thoughts and actions and make corrective adjustments if necessary.
• Bandura suggests that self-efficacy plays a role in imitating others.
• Self-efficacy refers to people's beliefs about their own abilities and potential.
• Self-efficacy develops from 4 main sources: mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, social persuasion, and choice of environments.
• Mastery experiences refers to a person's interpretation of performance outcome where success builds belief.
• Failure undermines it.
• Vicarious experiences involves watching models whose lifestyles, ideas and values can influence role Models.
• Receiving positive feedback while undertaking complex tasks persuades persons to believe that they have the skills.
• One helps shape their lives by choosing environments that continue to promote competencies, value and lifestyles.
• Learning theories make us aware of environmental factors, have an emphasis on scientific research, have been also subject to criticism.

###Criticisms of learning theories:

• Too much emphasis on environmental determinants while ignoring genetics.
• Inadequate attention to developmental changes where role of cultural factors and child rearing are overlooked.
• Underestimation of people's contribution to their own development.

Cognitive-Development Perspective

• Cognitive-Development is focussed on how children think and on how their thinking changed overtime with theorists.
• Piaget believed that children naturally try to make sense of their world.
• Piaget argues that in their efforts to comprehend their world, children act like scientists.
• There are a few critical points in development when children revise theories, forming a brand-new theory.
• Radical revision occurs 3 times: Once at age 2, Second time at about age 7, and Third is before adolescence.
• Children then go through 4 distinct stages.

Piaget's 4 Stages of Cognitive Development

• Each stage represents fundamental change in how children understand and organize the environment, which is characterized by more sophisticated types of reasoning.

Sensorimotor

• Birth - 2 years, where infants understanding of world is acquired through senses and movement.
• Objects permanence develops.

Preoperational

• 2-6 years, where children start to use language and symbols to represent ideas and objects.
• Animism and egocentric thinking develop.

Concrete operational

• 7-11 years, where logical thinking develops but only applies to concrete objects.
• Abstract thinking is largely absent.

Formal operational

• 12 years and older, where adolescent/adult starts thinking abstractly with speculations on hypothetical situations.
• Piaget believed children are naturally curious and construct understanding of the world using schemes.
• Schemes are psychological templates which is based on prior experience and memories or to organise encounters to understand the world.
• As children grow, more mental schemes will expand in a more abstract and symbolic way for cognitive development.

Cognitive Processes:

• Cognitive development is based on interrelated principles and processes organization.
• Tendency of cognitive processes is to become not only more complex but more systematic and coherent.
• Making sense of world = organising experiences.
• Adaptation where children gain new experiences and deal with info that conflicts.
• Adaptation has 2 processed: assimilation and accommodation.
• Assimilation is to interpret new experiences: existing scheme is not changed.
• Accommodation is to develop another cognitive scheme in which balance is balance between assimilation and accommodation.

Information – processing theory

• It explains how incoming information is processed for a person to make sense out of.
• It works similar to the functioning of computers to explain thinking and its development during childhood and adolescence.
• Human cognition consists of mental hardware(cognitive structures) and software (organised processes).

Software and Hardware:

• Cognitive structures including the different memories are mental hardware.
• organised sets of cognitive processes for children to complete specific tasks are mental softwares.
• Information processing works like a computer involving encoding/acquiring, storing and retrieving information.
• Theorists are interested in how individuals do all three processes.
• There are different places for this to be stored which are the information stores.
• Different places are : sensory memory, working memory and long-term memory where each component manages information:diffirently.
• Sensory memory: info is recognised can be forgotten where as - Short term memory: working memory limited capacity and long term memory with unlimited capacity.

Cognitive and Executive functions:

• Human store transfer where Attention is focussed and integral of sensory register where it is processed.
• Different types where you are selective one at a time where you are divided, do more than one event.
• Executive attention is finishing steps to achieve the goal if no attention the it cant be a memory or stored in long term
• Executive functions such are help with planning, monitoring execute goal
• Higher end require multiple basic to plan,
• Metamemory and Metacognition are important because and used for knowledge of memory (about and control)
• Humans seek reasons and underlying principles to make sense of their experiences to make theory

Child theorists

• The study of children to know how the world around them can give influence and see what is new
• As children grow their memories grow and they know what that is about the world or in the community.
• They are more efficient with better hadraware and software memory compared to the others that has made them process better
• Has helped them explain cognitives development

Contextual perspective

• Environment is important in this side of everything to the bigger picture which includes everyone from the culture around them. The beliefs and cultures too.
• Gives source to know development threw age

Vygotsky's sociocultural theory

• Some cultures do different things in communities is in order of thinking how they do or say to one another how to develop different as model
• Is that they are hard to do alone are easier to do with help
• Only has 2 critiscms and that they can not manange with the help
• It was not related to all cultures

Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory

• Sees childs how they have complex systems
• 4 levels which to separate with family with strong devolvement of others for interactions
• Things with mesosytem are likely to do inflience things
• Exosytem is hard are like religious and can affect you too

Incorporate temporal dimension

• Child will be changed if the envioremtn is static then change the system

Incorporated temporal dimension

• Def is point of time which those changes happen

Bronfenbrenner

• That the studies are more in-depth observation and multi person
• Need an intensive system to know multi persons
• Is very important to look in center where ppl on earth and humans have to do with their actions with one another
• Africa is strong with belife of spirituality
• How that happens is very deep within spirits and can be tough on ones self
• Is not always what most say or tell what happens is life

Spiritual

• Has different phases for others to work how they grow
• A time when they were not born or living. How they were not connected to another human
• The other 2 will end out with another one and will happen if there are to be in social self development
• Or if there happens with each thing or task

Pre-Natal

• Has so many issues as the baby develops and has certain issue
• Can be on ones body or health
• Is what make the things happen

Undernutrition

• Is no giving or a imbalance for others to help keep on weight
• Can lead to too little of what to consume or have many issues but to help those with what they need to do
• Happens during the year one which can cause for there to be lack of help for others
• Happens bc one was shot by bombs from jappen
• Radiation to cause the to have issues with body

Other issues:

AIDS-

• Has HIV and hard to help one self
• Leads to fever and causes for you to cough or have aids as a side effect
• This makes it hard for the liver and other to have sickness

Others

• Those that are very young or not very old to have this happen
• Many of them and hard to have on yourself and body such has stress and depression
• When babies dont get to be fed they dont get antibodies or have easy way to digest what their body needs and can come sick
• Has been a lot of opining for the ones to get to have birth for the baby
• If they cant they can have other ways to help them get fed. It is all with love.
• Piaget great at what he does with memory
• Develop where they dont now what is around them and how it to take thing in that happen
• If has this can help learn to do the mental and all ways
• Where they try to learn and do new things where they walk around the home
• Is only with there mind to help know
• 24 month to help
• They are very good and help and see new things were that is where they see. Imitation
• To see if something cant be copied

Piagets Viewpoint

• Samples of what happens so the child can not see everything small and how they are at birth
• Very well of his work in the work he does with his hands
• Not innovate for new research but as in new people
• Cant remember
• He was right in his was of what he had done
• Didn't pay attention to social
• Personality was used to see everything in new ways

Peronslity

• Has the 5 categories
• Extraversion of one
• The act of with all they do and not see anything others, is a way to have an open mind
• Looked to the first few years
• Have and know more as they all go

All stages of Erikson:

• Trust or Mistrust - sense of being as they are safe
• Shame and blame: for shame of not having it
• Guilty: and what they dont know to do
• All are 1 year to help and has many reasons from the start
• Emotional issues

Emotion:

• There for protction and ways to say words
• They have help and can not show the same emotion
• Learn for this and have certain emotion they show in distinctive
• Can be different ways for the 2 for to show
• They show if they really dont know
• As children what they will do show a smilng is way for them.
• All ways are nice to show and the need for another person show
• Those need will help them help each around them such in play
• All come out in diffrent situations
• Have for them to have certain ways help express them

Why do emotions matter

• There has way to explain it in every ways
• To stop or feel a certain ways