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Slide 1
2—The Science of Child
Development
• Science and the Study of Child
Development
• Theories of Development
• Research in Child Development
• Facing Research Challenges
• Summary
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Slide 2
Science and the Study of Child
Development
• The Importance of Research in Child
Development
– Clarify via careful examination of research
• The Scientific Research Approach (The Scientific
Method)
–
–
–
–
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Conceptualize the problem
Collect data
Draw conclusions
Revise conclusions and theory
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Slide 3
Science and the Study of Child
Development
• The Scientific Research Approach (continued)
– Theory
• An interrelated, coherent set of ideas that helps to
explain and to make predictions
– Hypotheses
• Specific assumptions and predictions that can be
tested to determine their accuracy
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Slide 4
Review and Reflect:
Learning Goal 1
• Discuss the importance of research and the
scientific method in the study of child
development
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Slide 5
Review and Reflect:
Learning Goal 1
– Review
• Why is research on child development important?
• What is the scientific method? What are its four
main steps?
– Reflect
• Imagine that a friend says she saw an ad on TV
claiming a particular toy is something parents need
to buy to ensure their child is getting adequate
learning opportunities. Why might you be skeptical
of this claim?
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Slide 6
Theories of Development
• Psychoanalytic Theories
– Development is primarily unconscious and colored by
emotion. Behavior is merely a surface characteristic,
and the symbolic workings of the mind have to be
analyzed to understand behavior. Early experiences
with parents are emphasized.
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Slide 7
Theories of Development
• Psychoanalytic Theories (continued)
– Freud’s Psychosexual Theory
• Personality has three structures:
– Id: Consists of instincts, which are the reservoir
of psychic energy
– Ego: Deals with the demands of reality
– Superego: The moral branch of personality
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Slide 8
Theories of Development
• Psychoanalytic Theories (continued)
– Freud’s Psychosexual Theory (continued)
• As Freud listened to, probed, and analyzed his
patients, he became convinced that their problems
were the result of early experiences in life.
• We proceed through five stages of development in
which pleasure is experienced in one part of the
body more than in others (mouth, anus, genitals).
• Adult personality is determined by the way we
resolve conflicts between these early sources of
pleasure.
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Slide 9
Theories of Development
Freudian Stages
• Refer to Figure 2.1
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Slide 10
Theories of Development
• Psychoanalytic Theories (continued)
– Many contemporary psychoanalytic theorists place less
emphasis on sexual instincts and more emphasis on
cultural experiences as determinants of an individual’s
development.
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Slide 11
Theories of Development
• Psychoanalytic Theories (continued)
– Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory
• Erik Erikson recognized Freud’s contributions but
believed that Freud misjudged some important
dimensions of human development.
• Psychosocial (not psychosexual) stages reflect the
social rather than sexual nature of development.
• Erikson emphasized change through the life span
with eight stages of human development, each
posing a unique developmental crisis to be resolved.
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Slide 12
Theories of Development
Erikson’s Eight Life-Span Stages
• Refer to Figure 2.2
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Slide 13
Theories of Development
– Contributions of psychoanalytic theories:
• Early experiences play an important part in
development.
• Family relationships are a central aspect of
development.
• The developmental approach provides a
framework for understanding personality.
• The mind is not all conscious; unconscious
aspects of the mind need to be considered.
• Changes take place in adulthood as well as in
childhood (Erikson).
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Slide 14
Theories of Development
– Criticisms of psychoanalytic theories:
• Main concepts are difficult to test scientifically.
• Much of the data used to support psychoanalytic
theories are of unknown accuracy.
• Too much importance is given to the sexual focus of
development (especially in Freud’s theory).
• The unconscious mind is given too much credit for
influencing development.
• Their image of humans is too negative.
• Psychoanalytic theories are culture- and genderbiased.
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Slide 15
Theories of Development
• Cognitive Theories
– Cognitive theories emphasize conscious thoughts.
– Three important cognitive theories:
• Piaget’s cognitive development theory
• Vygotsky’s sociocultural cognitive theory
• Information-processing theory
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Slide 16
Theories of Development
• Cognitive Theories
– Piaget’s Cognitive Developmental Theory
• Children actively construct their understanding of
the world as they go through four stages of cognitive
development.
• Two important underlying processes are
organization and adaptation.
• Assimilation occurs when children incorporate new
information into their existing knowledge.
• Accommodation occurs when children adjust their
knowledge to fit new information and experiences.
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Slide 17
Theories of Development
– Piaget’s stages for understanding the world:
• Sensorimotor stage (birth to about 2 years of age):
coordinate sensory experiences with physical
actions
• Preoperational stage (approximately age 2 to 7):
represent the world symbolically
• Concrete operational stage (approximately age 7 to
11): can perform concrete operations; limited
logical reasoning replaces intuitive thought
• Formal operational stage (appears between the ages
of 11 and 15): abstract and more logical thinking
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Slide 18
Theories of Development
Piaget’s Four Stages of Cognitive
Development
• Refer to Figure 2.3
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Slide 19
Theories of Development
– Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Cognitive Theory
• Cultural and social interaction guide cognitive
development.
• A child’s development is inseparable from social
and cultural activities
• Children’s social interaction with more skilled adults
and peers is indispensable in advancing cognitive
development.
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Slide 20
Theories of Development
– Information-Processing Theory
• Individuals manipulate information, monitor it, and
strategize about it.
• Individuals develop a gradually increasing capacity
for processing information, which allows them to
acquire increasingly complex knowledge and skills.
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Slide 21
Theories of Development
– Contributions of cognitive theories:
• They present a positive view of development,
emphasizing conscious thinking.
• They emphasize the individual’s active construction
of understanding.
• They underscore the importance of examining
developmental changes in children’s thinking.
• Information-processing theory offers detailed
descriptions of cognitive processes.
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Slide 22
Theories of Development
– Criticisms of cognitive theories:
• Skepticism about the pureness of Piaget’s stages.
• Do not give adequate attention to individual
variations in cognitive development.
• Information-processing theory does not provide an
adequate description of developmental changes in
cognition.
• Psychoanalytic theorists argue that the cognitive
theories do not give enough credit to unconscious
thought.
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Slide 23
Theories of Development
• Behavioral and Social Cognitive Theories
– Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning: Learn through
association
– Skinner’s Operant Conditioning: Learn through
consequences of behavior
– Social Cognitive Theory:
• Behavior, environment, and person/cognition are
key factors in development.
• Bandura and Mischel: People cognitively represent
the behavior of others, then sometimes adopt this
behavior themselves.
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Slide 24
Theories of Development
Bandura’s Social Cognitive Model
• Refer to Figure 2.4
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Slide 25
Theories of Development
– Contributions of the behavioral and social cognitive
theories:
• Emphasize the importance of scientific research.
• Focus on environmental determinants of behavior.
• Explain observational learning (Bandura).
• Emphasize person/cognitive factors (social cognitive
theory).
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Slide 26
Theories of Development
– Criticisms of the behavioral and social cognitive
theories:
• Too little emphasis on cognition (Pavlov, Skinner).
• Too much emphasis on environmental determinants.
• Inadequate attention to developmental changes.
• Inadequate consideration of human spontaneity and
creativity.
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Slide 27
Theories of Development
• Ethological Theory
– Ethology holds that behavior is strongly influenced by
biology and evolution, and is characterized by critical
or sensitive periods.
– The ethological view of Konrad Lorenz and the
European zoologists forced American developmental
psychologists to recognize the importance of the
biological basis of behavior.
– John Bowlby’s attachment theory applies ethological
theory to human development.
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Slide 28
Theories of Development
– Contributions of ethological theory:
• Increased focus on the biological and evolutionary
basis of development.
• Uses careful observations in naturalistic settings.
• Emphasizes sensitive periods of development.
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Slide 29
Theories of Development
– Criticisms of ethological theory:
• The concepts of critical and sensitive periods might
be too rigid.
• It places too much emphasis on biological
foundations.
• It gives inadequate attention to cognition.
• The theory is better at generating research with
animals than with humans.
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Slide 30
Theories of Development
• Ecological Theory
– Bronfenbrenner’s environmental system theory (now
called bioecological theory due to his recent addition of
biological influences) focuses on five environmental
systems:
• Microsystem: the setting in which the individual
lives
• Mesosystem: involves relations between
microsystems or connections between contexts
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Slide 31
Theories of Development
• Ecological Theory (continued)
• Exosystem: experiences in a social setting that
influence what the individual experiences in another
immediate context
• Macrosystem: the culture in which individuals live
• Chronosystem: the patterning of environmental
events and transitions over the live course, as well as
sociohistorical circumstances
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Slide 32
Theories of Development
– Contributions of ecological theory:
• Systematically examines macro and micro
dimensions of environmental systems.
• Gives attention to connections between
environmental settings (mesosystem).
• Considers sociohistorical influences on development
(chronosystem).
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Slide 33
Theories of Development
– Criticisms of ecological theory:
• Gives too little attention to biological foundations of
development, even with the recent discussion of
biological influences.
• Does not pay enough attention to cognitive
processes.
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Slide 34
Theories of Development
Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Theory of
Development
• Refer to Figure 2.5
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Slide 35
Theories of Development
• An Eclectic Theoretical Orientation
– An orientation that does not follow any one theoretical
approach, but rather selects and uses what is considered
the best in each theory.
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Slide 36
Theories of Development
A Comparison of Theories and Issues in Child
Development
• Refer to Figure 2.7
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Slide 37
Review and Reflect:
Learning Goal 2
• Describe the main theories of child
development
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Slide 38
Review and Reflect:
Learning Goal 2
– Review
• How can the psychoanalytic theories be defined?
What are the two main psychoanalytic theories?
What are some strengths and weaknesses of
psychoanalytic theories?
• What are the three main cognitive theories? What
are some strengths and weaknesses of the cognitive
theories?
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Slide 39
Review and Reflect:
Learning Goal 2
– Review (continued)
• What are three main behavioral and social cognitive
theories? What are some of the strengths and
weaknesses of these theories?
• What is ethological theory? What are some of the
strengths and weaknesses of this theory?
• What is ecological theory? What are some of the
strengths and weaknesses of this theory?
• What is an eclectic theoretical orientation?
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Slide 40
Review and Reflect:
Learning Goal 2
– Reflect
• Which of the theories do you think best explains
your own development? Why?
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Slide 41
Research Methods in Child
Development
• Methods for Collecting Data
– Observation: Trained observers systematically gather,
record, and communicate observations.
• Laboratory: A controlled setting in which many of
the complex factors of the “real world” are removed.
• Naturalistic observation: Observing behavior in
real-world settings.
– Survey and interview: Often the best and quickest
way to get information about people.
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Slide 42
Research Methods in Child
Development
• Methods for Collecting Data (continued)
– Standardized tests: Use uniform procedures for
administration and scoring. Many standardized tests
allow a person’s performance to be compared with the
performance of other individuals.
– Psychophysiological measures (e.g., MRI, EEG):
Assess the functioning of the central nervous system,
autonomic nervous system, and endocrine system.
– Case study: An in-depth look at a single individual.
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Slide 43
Research Methods in Child
Development
• Research Designs
– Descriptive research: Aims at observing and recording
behavior and can reveal important information, but
cannot show cause-and-effect.
– Correlational research: Describes the strength of the
relationship between two or more events or
characteristics.
• Correlation coefficient: A number based on
statistical analysis used to describe the degree of
association between two variables.
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Slide 44
Research Methods in Child
Development
• Research Designs (continued)
– Experimental research:
• Experiment: A carefully regulated procedure in
which one or more of the factors believed to
influence the behavior being studied are
manipulated while all other factors are held
constant.
• Independent and dependent variables
• Experimental and control groups
• Random assignment
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Slide 45
Research Methods in Child
Development
Possible Explanations for Correlational Data
• Refer to Figure 2.10
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Slide 46
Research Methods in Child
Development
Principles of Experimental Research
• Refer to Figure 2.11
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Slide 47
Research Methods in Child
Development
• Time Span of Research
– Cross-Sectional Approach
• A research strategy in which individuals of different
ages are compared at one time.
– Longitudinal Approach
• A research strategy in which the same individuals
are studied over a period of time, usually several
years or more.
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Slide 48
Research Methods in Child
Development
A Comparison of Cross-Sectional and
Longitudinal Approaches
• Refer to Figure 2.11
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Slide 49
Research Methods in Child
Development
• Methods and Theories
– Theories are often linked with particular research
methods.
– Openness to testing and additional evidence is basic to
science.
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Slide 50
Research Methods in Child
Development
• Research Journals
– A journal publishes scholarly and academic
information, usually in a specific domain, such as
physics, math, sociology, or child development.
– Scholars in these fields publish most of their research in
journals.
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Slide 51
Research Methods in Child
Development
Connections of Research Methods to Theories
• Refer to Figure 2.12
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Slide 52
Review and Reflect: Learning
Goal 3
• Explain how research on child development
is conducted
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Slide 53
Review and Reflect: Learning
Goal 3
– Review
• How are data on children’s development collected?
• What are the main research designs used in studying
development?
• What are some ways that researchers study the time
span of people’s lives?
• To what extent are theories and methods connected?
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Slide 54
Review and Reflect: Learning
Goal 3
– Reflect
• You have learned that correlation does not equal
causation. Develop an example of two variables
(two sets of observations) that are correlated but that
you believe almost certainly have no causal
relationship.
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Slide 55
What Are Some Challenges in
Child Development Research?
• Conducting Ethical Research
– APA Ethical Guidelines address four issues:
• Informed Consent
• Confidentiality
• Debriefing
• Deception
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Slide 56
What Are Some Challenges in
Child Development Research?
• Minimizing Bias
– Gender Bias
– Cultural and Ethnic Bias
• Ethnic gloss: Using an ethnic label such as African
American or Latino in a superficial way that
portrays an ethnic group as being more homogenous
than it really is.
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Slide 57
What Are Some Challenges in
Child Development Research?
• Thinking Critically about Research on
Children’s Development
– Be cautious about what is reported in the popular
media.
– Don’t assume group research applies to an individual.
– Don’t overgeneralize about a small or clinical sample.
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Slide 58
Explorations in Child
Development
• Thinking Critically about Research on
Children’s Development (continued)
– Don’t generally take a single study as the defining
word.
– Don’t accept causal conclusions from correlational
studies.
– Always consider the source of the information and
evaluate its credibility.
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Slide 59
Review and Reflect: Learning
Goal 4
• Discuss research challenges in child
development
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Slide 60
Review and Reflect: Learning
Goal 4
– Review
• What are researchers’ ethical responsibilities to the
people they study?
• How can gender, culture, and ethnic bias affect the
outcome of a research study?
• What are some good strategies for thinking critically
about research on children’s development?
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Slide 61
Review and Reflect: Learning
Goal 4
– Reflect
• Choose one of the topics in this book and course—
such as child care, parenting, or adolescent
problems. Find an article in a research journal (for
example, Child Development or Developmental
Psychology) and an article in a newspaper or
magazine on the same topic. How did the research
article on the topic differ from the newspaper or
magazine article? What did you learn from this
comparison?
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Slide 62
Summary
• Research provides a vehicle for evaluating the
accuracy of information.
• Scientific research is objective, systematic, and
testable. The scientific method involves
conceptualizing a problem, collecting data,
drawing conclusions, and revising conclusions and
theory.
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Slide 63
Summary
• Psychoanalytic theory describes development as
primarily unconscious and heavily colored by
emotion.
• Cognitive theories emphasize conscious thoughts.
• Three versions of the behavioral approach are
Pavlov’s classical conditioning, Skinner’s operant
conditioning, and Bandura’s social cognitive
theory.
McGraw-Hill
© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved..
Slide 64
Summary
• Ethology stresses that behavior is strongly
influenced by biology, is tied to evolution, and is
characterized by critical or sensitive periods.
• Ecological theory (Bronfenbrenner’s
environmental systems view of development)
consists of five environmental systems:
microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem,
macrosystem, and chronosystem.
McGraw-Hill
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Slide 65
Summary
• An eclectic theoretical orientation does not follow
any one theoretical approach, but rather selects
from each theory whatever is considered the best.
• Methods of data collection include observation,
interview and survey, standardized tests,
physiological measures, and case studies.
• Three main types of research are descriptive,
correlational, and experimental.
McGraw-Hill
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Slide 66
Summary
• Age or changes over time can be studied with
cross-sectional or longitudinal designs.
• The methods a researcher uses are often linked to
the researcher’s theoretical approach.
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Slide 67
Summary
• Researchers’ ethical responsibilities include:
protecting participants from harm, seeking their
informed consent, ensuring their confidentiality,
debriefing them about the purpose and potential
personal consequences of participating, and
avoiding unnecessary deception of participants.
McGraw-Hill
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Slide 68
Summary
• Researchers need to guard against gender, cultural,
and ethnic bias in research.
• Wise consumers of research are cautious about
what is reported in the media, do not automatically
apply results from group research to individuals,
do not overgeneralize about samples, do not take a
single study as the defining word, do not accept
causal interpretations from correlational studies,
and always consider the source of information in
evaluating its credibility.
McGraw-Hill
© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved..