Introduction

In our Child Development course, we learned about various developmental theories, looked at the main principles that make up developmental stages, looked at different periods of human development from conception to middle childhood.

We explored developmental milestones in these domains:

• Physical – includes changes in height and weight, changes in gross and fine motor skills, sensory capabilities, the nervous system, as well as the propensity for disease and illness
• Cognitive – encompasses the changes in intelligence, wisdom, perception, problem-solving, memory, and language
• Social/Emotional – (also referred to as psychosocial) focuses on changes in emotion, self-perception, and interpersonal relationships with families, peers, and friends

All three domains influence each other. It is also important to note that a change in one domain may cascade and prompt changes in the other domains. It is also important to note that a change in one domain may cascade and prompt changes in the other domains.

Development is characterized by plasticity, which is our ability to change, and that many of our characteristics are malleable. Early experiences are important, but children are remarkably resilient (able to overcome adversity).

Development is multicontextual (Lally & Valentine-French, 2019). We are influenced by both nature (genetics) and nurture (the environment) – when and where we live and our actions, beliefs, and values are a response to circumstances surrounding us. The key here is to understand that behaviours, motivations, emotions, and choices are all part of a bigger picture (Lumen Learning, n.d.).

Periods of development

Consider what periods of development you think a course on Child Development would address. How many stages are on your list? Perhaps you have three: infancy, childhood, and teenagers.

Developmentalists (those that study development) break this part of the life span into these stages as follows*:

• Prenatal Development (conception through birth)
• Infancy and Toddlerhood (birth through 2 years)
• Early Childhood  (3 to 5 years)
• Middle Childhood (6 to 12 years)
• Adolescence (12 years to 18)
• Emerging Adulthood  (18 to 24+ years)

^{*The stages and ages are subjective depending on many factors. We will see differences depending on various readings, so these are an approximation.}

Adolescent Development: Our focus

The focus of this course is adolescence, a period of development which includes dramatic physical changes marked by an overall physical growth spurt and sexual maturation, known as puberty. It is also a time of cognitive change as the adolescent begins to think of new possibilities and to consider abstract concepts such as love, fear, and freedom. Ironically, adolescents have a sense of invincibility that some researchers say puts them at greater risk of dying from accidents or contracting sexually transmitted infections that can have lifelong consequences.
Other researchers believe this sense of invincibility is necessary for human evolution, and makes us better able to adapt to our environment (Galván, as cited in Murdock, 2020).

Child and Youth Care Context

The scope of practice of a Child and Youth Care Practitioner in Ontario is to work with “children and youth, within the context of families, the community and their lifespace” (OACYC, 2021, p. 2). Our courses in Child Development and Adolescent Development provide developmental context to the work we engage in with young people and families, and inform many aspects of our “practice is grounded in the basis of a trauma-informed, relational, anti-oppressive, participatory and strength-based approach. Child and Youth Care practice includes assessing individual and program needs, designing and implementing programs and planned environments. With young people, Child and Youth Care Practitioners integrate developmental, preventive and therapeutic processes into the lifespace, where possible” (OACYC, 2021, p. 2). So, while both an 8-month-old and an 8-year-old are considered children, they have very different physical, social, emotional, language, and cognitive skills and abilities.

The study, or research of development, involves the scientific method: Developing hypotheses to explore concepts, and create theories.

A theory is an organized way to make sense of information, and can help to make predictions and explain these and other occurrences. Theories can be further tested through research. Developmental theories offer explanations about how we develop, why we change over time, and the kinds of influences that impact development.

Further, a theory guides how information is collected, how it is interpreted, and how it is applied to real-life situations. It provides the researcher with a blueprint or model to be used to help piece together various studies. Think of theories as frameworks or guidelines much like directions that come with an appliance or other object that requires assembly. The instructions can help one piece together smaller parts more easily than if trial and error are used.

The understanding of theory enable us to consider the ways children are exposed to and interact with their environment, and the people around them. Practitioners such as CYCPs, educators, and other professionals apply this knowledge to support healthy development. Practitioners consider what the children already know, the concepts they are learning or developing, and the concepts children would benefit from developing. These practices are based on broader behaviours, skills, and concepts that explain why and how children grow and develop. It is not enough to merely provide experiences for children, we should have a rationale for why we engage them in certain practices.

A theory gives us a framework and a logic for our practices. Theories help us to organize the knowledge we have, and they help us to make predictions about what might occur in the future.

A hypothesis is a testable prediction about how the world will behave if our idea is correct, and it is often worded as an if-then statement (e.g., if I study all night, I will get a passing grade on the test). The hypothesis is critical because it bridges the gap between the realm of ideas and the real world.

As specific hypotheses are tested, theories are modified and refined to reflect and incorporate the result of these tests (Figure 1.1).

Figure 1.1. The scientific method of research includes proposing hypotheses, conducting research, and creating or modifying theories based on results.

History of Developmental Research

 

 

The scientific study of children began in the late nineteenth century, and blossomed in the early twentieth century as pioneering psychologists sought to uncover the secrets of human behaviour by studying its development.

Three early scholars, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Charles Darwin proposed theories of human behaviour that are the “direct ancestors of the three major theoretical traditions” of developmental psychology today (Vasta et al, 1998, p. 10 as cited in Lumen Learning, n.d.).

Locke, a British empiricist, adhered to a strict environmentalist position, that the mind of the newborn as a tabula rasa or “blank slate” on which knowledge is written through experience and learning.

Rousseau, a Swiss philosopher who spent much of his life in France, proposed a nativistic model in his famous novel Emile, in which development occurs according to innate processes progressing through three stages: Infans (infancy), puer (childhood), and adolescence. He detailed some of the necessary progression through these stages in order to develop into an ideal citizen. Although some aspects of his text were controversial, Rousseau’s ideas were strongly influential on educators at the time.

Finally, the work of Darwin, the British biologist famous for his theory of evolution (National Geographic, 2022), led others to suggest that development proceeds through evolutionary recapitulation, with many human behaviour having their origins in successful adaptations in the past.

Examples of theorists

G. Stanley Hall

Darwin’s theories greatly influenced G. Stanley Hall, who believed that children developed over their lifetime much in the same way that a species evolved throughout time. His interests focused on childhood development, adolescence, and evolutionary theory. His major contributions to the field are that he taught the first courses in child development, several of his students becoming leading researchers in the field, and he established scientific journals for the publication of child development research. He was also the first president of the American Psychological Association.

Arnold Gesell

Arnold Gesell, a student of G. Stanley Hall, carried out the first large-scale detailed study of children’s behaviour, authoring several books on the topic in the 1920s, 30s, and 40s. His research revealed consistent patterns of development, supporting his view that human development depends on biological “maturation,” with the environment providing only minor variations in the age at which a skill might emerge but never affecting the sequence or pattern. Gesell’s research produced norms, such as the order and the normal age range in which a variety of early behaviours such as sitting, crawling, and walking emerge. In conducting his studies, Gesell developed sophisticated observational techniques, including one-way viewing screens and recording methods that did not disturb the child.

 

Canada’s contribution to child development research

Canada has a long history of contributing to child development research.

In 1892, James Mark Baldwin was appointed the first social scientist at the University of Toronto where he set up Canada’s first psychological research laboratory. Baldwin proposed a social psychological perspective in studying child development and believed that development occurs in stages. He explained that development of physical movement proceeds from simple to complex and eventually leads to more sophisticated mental processes. Jean Piaget (1896 – 1980) later advanced this idea further.

Dr. Jean Clinton of McMaster University (Hamilton, Ontario) is an internationally renowned advocate for children’s issues. Her research focus is in brain development and the role social relationships play in development.

Dr. Fraser Mustard (1927-2011) created the “Canadian Institute for Advanced Research”. Of particular interest to Dr. Mustard was the role of communities in early childhood. In 1999, along with Dr. Margaret McCain (1934- ), he prepared the influential report “The Early Years Study – Reversing the Real Brain Drain” for the Ontario government. The report emphasized promoting early child development centres for young children and parents by: boosting spending on early childhood education to the same levels as in K to 12, making programs available to all income levels, and encouraging local parent groups and businesses to set up these programs instead of the government, when possible.  In 2007, Dr. Mustard, Dr. McCain and Dr. Stuart Shanker wrote a follow-up report critical of Ontario’s progress and calling for national early childhood development programs.

Dr. Stuart Shanker (1952- ) is Canada’s leading expert in the psychosocial theory of self-regulation. Richard Tremblay (1944- ) holds the Canadian Research Chair in Child Development. His research focusses on the development of aggressive behaviour in children and whether early intervention programs can reduce chances of children turning to crime as adults. Dr. Mariana Brussoni of the University of British Columbia is currently active researching the developmental importance of risky play in childhood. Her focus is child injury prevention as well as the influence of culture on parenting in relationship to risky play and safety.

In 1925, Professor Edward Alexander Bott established the St. George’s School for Child Study at the University of Toronto, which would eventually come to be known as The Institute for Child Study. It has been and continues to be, highly influential in developing Ontario’s early childcare and education system.

Statistics Canada (2010) in partnership with Human Resources Development Canada, undertook a major Canadian research initiative in 1994 titled “National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY).” Researchers tracked multiple variables affecting children’s emotional, social and behavioural development over a period of time, using both longitudinal and cross-sectional sampling. Families from all 10 provinces and territories were included with the exception of families living on First Nations reserves, in extremely remote areas of Canada and full-time members the Canadian Armed Forces. These exclusions should be kept in mind when extrapolating the data.

This is just a small selection of Canadian researchers who have contributed, and continue to contribute, to our knowledge of how best to support the development of young children.

Many of the early psychological theories and approaches changed over the years, as new evidence shed light on behaviour and development. Some of these approaches have remained a constant influence, some have changed significantly over the years, and some have faded into history. Currently, several major contemporary approaches apply to development: psychodynamic, behavioural, humanistic, cognitive, contextual, biological, and evolutionary approaches.

Issues in Development

There are some aspects of development that have been hotly debated throughout history, and some continue today. Three key issues remain among which developmental theorists often disagree:

• Nature vs. nurture – the influence of heredity or the environment
• Continuity vs. discontinuity – is development a slow and gradual process, or quick and abrupt?
• Active vs. passive – does an individual (and their caregivers) play an active role in their own development? Or is it due to genetics and the environment?

The role of early experiences on later development in opposition to current behaviour reflecting present experiences–namely the passive versus active issue. Likewise, whether or not development is best viewed as occurring in stages or rather as a gradual and cumulative process of change has traditionally been up for debate – a question of continuity versus discontinuity. Further, the role of heredity and the environment in shaping human development is a much-contested topic of discussion – also referred to as the nature/nurture debate. 

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Recap of Developmental Theories

The main theories and areas of development we focus on in our courses are bolded below:

• Psychodynamic
• Behaviourism
• Sociocultural (or contextual)
• Cognitive
• Humanistic
• Biological
• Evolutionary

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Psychodynamic Theories

Psychosexual Theory

We begin with the often controversial figure, Sigmund Freud (1856-1939). Freud has been a very influential figure in the area of development; his view of development and psychopathology dominated the field of psychiatry until the growth of behaviourism in the 1950s. His assumptions that personality forms during the first few years of life and that the ways in which parents or other caregivers interact with children have a long-lasting impact on children’s emotional states have guided parents, educators, clinicians, and policy-makers for many years. We have only recently begun to recognize that early childhood experiences do not always result in certain personality traits or emotional states. There is a growing body of literature addressing resilience in children who experience trauma and yet develop without damaging emotional scars (O’Grady and Metz, 1987, as cited in Paris, Ricardo, & Rymond, 2020). Freud has stimulated an enormous amount of research and generated many ideas. Agreeing with Freud’s theory in its entirety is hardly necessary for appreciating the contribution he has made to the field of development.

Freud’s theory of self suggests that there are three parts of the self.

• The id is the part of the self that is inborn. It responds to biological urges without pause and is guided by the principle of pleasure: if it feels good, it is the thing to do. A newborn is all id. The newborn cries when hungry and defecates when the urge strikes.
• The ego develops through interaction with others and is guided by logic or the reality principle. It has the ability to delay gratification. It knows that urges have to be managed. It mediates between the id and superego using logic and reality to calm the other parts of the self.
• The superego represents society’s demands for its members. It is guided by a sense of guilt. Values, morals, and the conscience are all part of the superego.

The personality is thought to develop in response to the child’s ability to learn to manage biological urges. Parenting is important here. If the parent is either overly punitive or lax, the child may not progress to the next stage. Here is a brief introduction to Freud’s stages in Table 1.1.

 

 

 

 

 

Table 1.1 Sigmund Freud’s Psychosexual Theory

Name of Stage	Description of Stage
Oral Stage	The oral stage lasts from birth until around age 2. The infant is all id. At this stage, all stimulation and comfort is focused on the mouth and is based on the reflex of sucking. Too much indulgence or too little stimulation may lead to fixation.
Anal Stage	The anal stage coincides with potty training or learning to manage biological urges. The ego is beginning to develop in this stage. Anal fixation may result in a person who is compulsively clean and organized or one who is sloppy and lacks self-control
Phallic Stage	The phallic stage occurs in early childhood and marks the development of the superego and a sense of masculinity or femininity as culture dictates.
Latency	Latency occurs during middle childhood when a child’s urges quiet down and friendships become the focus. The ego and superego can be refined as the child learns how to cooperate and negotiate with others.
Genital Stage	The genital stage begins with puberty and continues through adulthood. Now the preoccupation is that of sex and reproduction.

Strengths and Weaknesses of Freud’s Theory

Freud’s theory has been heavily criticized for several reasons. One is that it is very difficult to test scientifically. How can parenting in infancy be traced to personality in adulthood? Are there other variables that might better explain development? The theory is also considered to be sexist in suggesting that women who do not accept an inferior position in society are somehow psychologically flawed. Freud focuses on the darker side of human nature and suggests that much of what determines our actions is unknown to us. So why do we study Freud? As mentioned above, despite the criticisms, Freud’s assumptions about the importance of early childhood experiences in shaping our psychological selves have found their way into child development, education, and parenting practices. Freud’s theory has heuristic value in providing a framework from which to elaborate and modify subsequent theories of development. Many later theories, particularly behaviourism and humanism, were challenges to Freud’s views (Overstreet, n.d., as cited in Paris et al., 2020).

Main Points to Note About Freud’s Psychosexual Theory

Freud believed that:

• Development in the early years has a lasting impact.
• There are three parts of the self: the id, the ego, and the superego
• People go through five stages of psychosexual development: the oral stage, the anal stage, the phallic stage, latency, and the genital stage

We study Freud because his assumptions about the importance of early childhood experience provide a framework for later theories (they both elaborated and contradicted/challenged his work).

Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory

Now, let’s turn to a less controversial theorist, Erik Erikson. Erikson (1902-1994) suggested that our relationships and society’s expectations motivate much of our behaviour in his theory of psychosocial development. Erikson was a student of Freud’s but emphasized the importance of the ego, or conscious thought, in determining our actions. In other words, he believed that we are not driven by unconscious urges. We know what motivates us and we consciously think about how to achieve our goals. He is considered the father of developmental psychology because his model gives us a guideline for the entire life span and suggests certain primary psychological and social concerns throughout life.

Erikson expanding on Freud’s theories by emphasizing the importance of culture in parenting practices and motivations and adding three stages of adult development (Erikson, 1950; 1968, as cited in Paris et al., 2020).

He believed that we are aware of what motivates us throughout life and the ego has greater importance in guiding our actions than does the id. We make conscious choices in life and these choices focus on meeting certain social and cultural needs rather than purely biological ones. Humans are motivated, for instance, by the need to feel that the world is a trustworthy place, that we are capable individuals, that we can make a contribution to society, and that we have lived a meaningful life. These are all psychosocial problems.

Erikson divided the lifespan into eight stages. In each stage, we have a major psychosocial task to accomplish or a crisis to overcome. Erikson believed that our personality continues to take shape throughout our lifespan as we face these challenges in living.

Here is a brief overview of the eight stages:

 

 

Table 1.2 Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory

Name of Stage	Description of Stage
Trust vs. mistrust (0-1)	The infant must have basic needs met in a consistent way in order to feel that the world is a trustworthy place.
Autonomy vs. shame and doubt (1-2)	Mobile toddlers have newfound freedom they like to exercise and by being allowed to do so, they learn some basic independence.
Initiative vs. Guilt (3-5)	Preschoolers like to initiate activities and emphasize doing things “all by myself.”
Industry vs. inferiority (6- 11)	School-aged children focus on accomplishments and begin making comparisons between themselves and their classmates
Identity vs. role confusion (adolescence)	Teenagers are trying to gain a sense of identity as they experiment with various roles, beliefs, and ideas.
Intimacy vs. Isolation (young adulthood)	In our 20s and 30s we are making some of our first long-term commitments in intimate relationships.
Generativity vs. stagnation (middle adulthood)	The 40s through the early 60s we focus on being productive at work and home and are motivated by wanting to feel that we’ve made a contribution to society.
Integrity vs. Despair (late adulthood)	We look back on our lives and hope to like what we see-that we have lived well and have a sense of integrity because we lived according to our beliefs.

These eight stages form a foundation for discussions on emotional and social development during the life span. Keep in mind, however, that these stages or crises can occur more than once. For instance, a person may struggle with a lack of trust beyond infancy under certain circumstances. Erikson’s theory has been criticized for focusing so heavily on stages and assuming that the completion of one stage is a prerequisite for the next crisis of development. His theory also focuses on the social expectations that are found in certain cultures, but not in all. For instance, the idea that adolescence is a time of searching for identity might translate well in the middle-class culture of Canada, but not as well in cultures where the transition into adulthood coincides with puberty through rites of passage and where adult roles offer fewer choices (Lumen Learning, n.d.).

Behaviourism

While Freud and Erikson looked at what was going on in the mind, behaviourism rejected any reference to mind and viewed overt and observable behaviour as the proper subject matter of psychology. Through the scientific study of behaviour, it was hoped that laws of learning could be derived that would promote the prediction and control of behaviour (Baker & Sperry, 2021).

Conditioning

Ivan Pavlov (1880-1937) was a Russian physiologist interested in studying digestion. As he recorded the amount of salivation his laboratory dogs produced as they ate, he noticed that they actually began to salivate before the food arrived as the researcher walked down the hall and toward the cage. “This,” he thought, “is not natural!” One would expect a dog to automatically salivate when the food hit their palate, but BEFORE the food comes? Of course, what had happened was . . . you tell me. That’s right! The dogs knew that the food was coming because they had learned to associate the footsteps with the food. The keyword here is “learned”. A learned response is called a “conditioned” response.

Pavlov began to experiment with this concept of classical conditioning. He began to ring a bell, for instance, prior to introducing the food. Sure enough, after making this connection several times, the dogs could be made to salivate to the sound of a bell. Once the bell had become an event to which the dogs had learned to salivate, it was called a conditioned stimulus. The act of salivating to a bell was a response that had also been learned, now termed in Pavlov’s jargon, a conditioned response. Notice that the response, salivation, is the same whether it is conditioned or unconditioned (unlearned or natural). What changed is the stimulus to which the dog salivates. One is natural (unconditioned) and one is learned (conditioned).

Let’s think about how classical conditioning is used on us. One of the most widespread applications of classical conditioning principles was brought to us by the psychologist, John B. Watson.

John B. Watson (1878-1958) believed that most of our fears and other emotional responses are classically conditioned. He had gained a good deal of popularity in the 1920s with his expert advice on parenting offered to the public. However, this type of research is now known to be unethical and that this type of parenting is inappropriate.

He tried to demonstrate the power of classical conditioning with his famous experiment with an 18-month-old boy named “Little Albert”. Watson sat Albert down and introduced a variety of seemingly scary objects to him: a burning piece of newspaper, a white rat, etc. But Albert remained curious and reached for all of these things. Watson knew that one of our only inborn fears is the fear of loud noises so he proceeded to make a loud noise each time he introduced one of Albert’s favorites, a white rat. After hearing the loud noise several times paired with the rat, Albert soon came to fear the rat and began to cry when it was introduced. Watson filmed this experiment for posterity and used it to demonstrate that he could help parents achieve any outcomes they desired, if they would only follow his advice. Watson wrote columns in newspapers and in magazines and gained a lot of popularity among parents eager to apply science to household order.

Operant conditioning, on the other hand, looks at the way the consequences of a behaviour increase or decrease the likelihood of a behaviour occurring again. So let’s look at this a bit more.

B.F. Skinner and Operant Conditioning

B. F. Skinner (1904-1990), who brought us the principles of operant conditioning, suggested that reinforcement is a more effective means of encouraging a behaviour than is criticism or punishment. By focusing on strengthening desirable behaviour, we have a greater impact than if we emphasize what is undesirable. Reinforcement is anything that an organism desires and is motivated to obtain.

A reinforcer is something that encourages or promotes a behaviour. Some things are natural rewards. They are considered intrinsic or primary because their value is easily understood. Think of what kinds of things babies or animals such as puppies find rewarding.

Extrinsic or secondary reinforcers are things that have a value not immediately understood. Their value is indirect. They can be traded in for what is ultimately desired.

The use of positive reinforcement involves adding something to a situation in order to encourage a behaviour. For example, if I give a child a high five for cleaning a room, or compliment the job they have done they are more likely to do it again. Think of ways in which you positively reinforce others.

Negative reinforcement occurs when taking something unpleasant away from a situation encourages behaviour. For example, I have an alarm clock that makes a very unpleasant, loud sound when it goes off in the morning. As a result, I get up and turn it off. By removing the noise, I am reinforced for getting up. How do you negatively reinforce others?

Punishment is an effort to stop a behaviour. It means to follow an action with something unpleasant or painful. Punishment is often less effective than reinforcement for several reasons. It doesn’t indicate the desired behaviour, it may result in suppressing rather than stopping a behaviour, (in other words, the person may not do what is being punished when you’re around, but may do it often when you leave), and a focus on punishment can result in not noticing when the person does well. Not all behaviours are learned through association or reinforcement. Many of the things we do are learned by watching others. This is addressed in social learning theory.

Social Learning Theory

Albert Bandura (1925-) is a leading contributor to social learning theory. He calls our attention to the ways in which many of our actions are not learned through conditioning; rather, they are learned by watching others (1977). Young children frequently learn behaviours through imitation

Sometimes, particularly when we do not know what else to do, we learn by modeling or copying the behaviour of others. A kindergartner on his or her first day of school might eagerly look at how others are acting and try to act the same way to fit in more quickly. Adolescents struggling with their identity rely heavily on their peers to act as role-models. Sometimes we do things because we’ve seen it pay off for someone else. They were operantly conditioned, but we engage in the behaviour because we hope it will pay off for us as well. This is referred to as vicarious reinforcement (Bandura, Ross and Ross, 1963, as cited in Paris et al., 2020).

Bandura (1986, as cited in Paris et al., 2020) suggests that there is interplay between the environment and the individual. We are not just the product of our surroundings, rather we influence our surroundings. Parents not only influence their child’s environment, perhaps intentionally through the use of reinforcement, etc., but children influence parents as well. Parents may respond differently with their first child than with their fourth. Perhaps they try to be the perfect parents with their firstborn, but by the time their last child comes along they have very different expectations both of themselves and their child. Our environment creates us and we create our environment (Lumen Learning, n.d.).

 

Bandura and the Bobo Doll Experiment & Today’s Children and the Media

Other social influences: TV or not TV? Bandura et al. (1963, as cited in Paris et al., 2020) began a series of studies to look at the impact of television, particularly commercials, on the behaviour of children. Are children more likely to act out aggressively when they see this behaviour modeled? What if they see it being reinforced? Bandura began by conducting an experiment in which he showed children a film of a woman hitting an inflatable clown or “bobo” doll. Then the children were allowed in the room where they found the doll and immediately began to hit it. This was without any reinforcement whatsoever. Not only that, but they found new ways to behave aggressively. It’s as if they learned an aggressive role.

Children view far more television today than in the 1960s; so much, in fact, that they have been referred to as Generation M (media). The amount of screen time varies by age. As of 2017, children 0-8 spend an average of 2 hours and 19 minutes. Children 8-12 years of age spend almost 6 hours a day on screen media. And 13- to 18-year-olds spend an average of just under 9 hours a day in entertainment media use.

The prevalence of violence, sexual content, and messages promoting foods high in fat and sugar in the media are certainly cause for concern and the subjects of ongoing research and policy review. Many children spend even more time on the computer viewing content from the internet. The amount of time spent connected to the internet continues to increase with the use of smartphones that essentially serve as mini-computers. And the ways children and adolescents interact with the media continues to change. The popularity of YouTube and the various social media platforms are examples of this. What might be the implications of this? (Rasmussen, 2017).

Main Points to Note About Behaviourism

Behaviourists look at observable behaviour and how it can be predicted and controlled.

• Pavlov experimented with classical conditioning, the process of conditioning response to stimulus (the dog’s salivating to the bell).
• Watson offered advice to parents to show them how classical conditioning can be used. His most famous experiment was conditioning Little Albert to fear a white rat.
• Skinner believed that reinforcing behaviour is the most effective way of increasing desirable behaviour. This is done through operant conditioning.
• Bandura noted that many behaviours are not learned through any type of conditioning, but rather through imitation. And he believed that people are not only influenced by their surroundings but that they also have an impact on their surroundings.

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Cognitive approaches

Theories also explore cognitive development and how mental processes change over time.

Theory of Cognitive Development

Jean Piaget (1896-1980) is one of the most influential cognitive theorists. Piaget was inspired to explore children’s ability to think and reason by watching his own children’s development. He was one of the first to recognize and map out the ways in which children’s thought differs from that of adults. His interest in this area began when he was asked to test the IQ of children and began to notice that there was a pattern in their wrong answers. He believed that children’s intellectual skills change over time through maturation. Children of differing ages interpret the world differently.

 

 

 

A schema or schemes are categories of knowledge. They are like mental boxes of concepts. A child has to learn many concepts. They may have a scheme for “under” and “soft” or “running” and “sour”. All of these are schema. Our efforts to understand the world around us lead us to develop new schema and to modify old ones.

One way to make sense of new experiences is to focus on how they are similar to what we already know. This is assimilation. So the person we meet who is very different may be understood as being “sort of like my brother” or “his voice sounds a lot like yours.” Or a new food may be assimilated when we determine that it tastes like chicken!

Another way to make sense of the world is to change our mind. We can make a cognitive accommodation to this new experience by adding new schema. This food is unlike anything I’ve tasted before. I now have a new category of foods that are bitter-sweet in flavor, for instance. This is accommodation. Do you accommodate or assimilate more frequently? Children accommodate more frequently as they build new schema. Adults tend to look for similarity in their experience and assimilate. They may be less inclined to think “outside the box.” Piaget suggested different ways of understanding that are associated with maturation. He divided this into four stages.

Table 1.3 Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development

Name of Stage	Description of Stage
Sensorimotor Stage	During the sensorimotor stage children rely on use of the senses and motor skills. From birth until about age 2, the infant knows by tasting, smelling, touching, hearing, and moving objects around. This is a real hands on type of knowledge.
Preoperational Stage	In the preoperational stage, children from ages 2 to 7, become able to think about the world using symbols. A symbol is something that stands for something else. The use of language, whether it is in the form of words or gestures, facilitates knowing and communicating about the world. This is the hallmark of preoperational intelligence and occurs in early childhood. However, these children are preoperational or pre-logical. They still do not understand how the physical world operates. They may, for instance, fear that they will go down the drain if they sit at the front of the bathtub, even though they are too big.
Concrete Operational	Children in the concrete operational stage, ages 7 to 11, develop the ability to think logically about the physical world. Middle childhood is a time of understanding concepts such as size, distance, and constancy of matter, and cause and effect relationships. A child knows that a scrambled egg is still an egg and that 8 ounces of water is still 8 ounces no matter what shape of glass contains it.
Formal Operational	During the formal operational stage children, at about age 12, acquire the ability to think logically about concrete and abstract events. The teenager who has reached this stage is able to consider possibilities and to contemplate ideas about situations that have never been directly encountered. More abstract understanding of religious ideas or morals or ethics and abstract principles such as freedom and dignity can be considered.

Criticisms of Piaget’s Theory

Piaget has been criticized for overemphasizing the role that physical maturation plays in cognitive development and underestimating the role that culture and interaction (or experience) plays in cognitive development. Looking across cultures reveals considerable variation in what children are able to do at various ages. Piaget may have underestimated what children are capable of given the right circumstances (Lumen Learning, n.d.). 

 Note About Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development

Piaget, one of the most influential cognitive theorists, believed that

• Understanding is motivated by trying to balance what we sense in the world and what we know in our minds.
• Understanding is organized through creating categories of knowledge. When presented with new knowledge we may add new schema or modify existing ones.

Children’s understanding of how the world changes in their cognitive skills mature through four stages: sensorimotor stage, preoperational stage, concrete operational stage, and formal operational stage.

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Sociocultural Approaches

Sociocultural Theory

Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934) was a Russian psychologist who wrote in the early 1900s but whose work was discovered in the United States in the 1960s but became more widely known in the 1980s. Vygotsky differed with Piaget in that he believed that a person not only has a set of abilities, but also a set of potential abilities that can be realized if given the proper guidance from others. His sociocultural theory emphasizes the importance of culture and interaction in the development of cognitive abilities. He believed that through guided participation known as scaffolding, with a teacher or capable peer, a child can learn cognitive skills within a certain range known as the zone of proximal development (Lumen Learning, n.d.).  His belief was that development occurred first through children’s immediate social interactions, and then moved to the individual level as they began to internalize their learning (Leon, n.d.)

 

Comparing Piaget and Vygotsky

Vygotsky concentrated more on the child’s immediate social and cultural environment and his or her interactions with adults and peers. While Piaget saw the child as actively discovering the world through individual interactions with it, Vygotsky saw the child as more of an apprentice, learning through a social environment of others who had more experience and were sensitive to the child’s needs and abilities (Leon, n.d.). 

Like Vygotsky, Bronfenbrenner looked at the social influences on learning and development.

Indigenous Perspectives

Comparing Piaget and Vygotsky – both statements are right for indigenous culture, the child is seen as “actively discovering the world through individual interactions with it (children are encouraged to play outside) and,  as more of an apprentice, learning through a social environment of others who had more experience and were sensitive to the child’s needs and abilities.” (Leon, n.d) Boys were around their mothers until the age of 7; subsequently, they would go with the men to learn the skills of protection and hunting (i.e. flint making, arrows, making nets, snowshoes, etc.)  Today, in some families who are keeping the traditional ways of life alive, boys go hunting, trapping and, fishing with their father, a community member or another male relative; some as early as 7 or 8 for small game. When they reach the age of 11 or 12 they are encouraged to kill big game which is celebrated. They are encouraged to share the game with elders and/or other community members. Girls were traditionally taught skills such as cooking, tanning hides, putting up the teepee (or other forms of habitats), rearing children, fetching wood and water, as well as other chores. Today, it is not uncommon for girls to do the same as the boys with their father or with the whole family. Both girls and boys help with younger siblings, especially if there are many. Some of these may defer from nation to nation.

Ecological Systems Theory

Urie Bronfenbrenner (1917-2005) offers us one of the most comprehensive theories of human development. Bronfenbrenner studied Freud, Erikson, Piaget, and learning theorists and believed that all of those theories could be enhanced by adding the dimension of context. What is being taught and how society interprets situations depends on who is involved in the life of a child and on when and where a child lives.

Table 1.4 Urie Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Model

Name of the System	Description of System
Microsystems	Microsystems impact a child directly. These are the people with whom the child interacts such as parents, peers, and teachers. The relationship between individuals and those around them need to be considered. For example, to appreciate what is going on with a student in math, the relationship between the student and teacher should be known.
Mesosystems	Mesosystems are interactions between those surrounding the individual. The relationship between parents and schools, for example, will indirectly affect the child.
Exosystem	Larger institutions such as the mass media or the healthcare system are referred to as the exosystem. These have an impact on families and peers and schools that operate under policies and regulations found in these institutions.
Macrosystems	We find cultural values and beliefs at the level of macrosystems. These larger ideals and expectations inform institutions that will ultimately impact the individual.
Chronosystem	All of this happens in a historical context referred to as the chronosystem. Cultural values change over time, as do policies of educational institutions or governments in certain political climates. Development occurs at a point in time.

For example, in order to understand a student in math, we can’t simply look at that individual and what challenges they face directly with the subject. We have to look at the interactions that occur between teacher and child. Perhaps the teacher needs to make modifications as well. The teacher may be responding to regulations made by the school, such as new expectations for students in math or constraints on time that interfere with the teacher’s ability to instruct. These new demands may be a response to national efforts to promote math and science deemed important by political leaders in response to relations with other countries at a particular time in history.

Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems model challenges us to go beyond the individual if we want to understand human development and promote improvements (Leon, n.d.).

Main Points to Note About Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Model

After studying all of the prior theories, Bronfenbrenner added an important element of context to the discussion of influences on human development.

• He believed that the people involved in children’s lives and when and where they live are important considerations.
• He created a model of nested systems that influence the child (and are influenced by the child) that include: microsystems, mesosystems, the exosystem, macrosystems, and chronosystems.

 

Indigenous Perspectives

As for Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Model: it seems the same as the saying “it takes a community to raise a child.” In some indigenous communities, the aunts and uncles are the ones who “discipline” children to keep harmony in the family. Discipline in the sense that they talk to the children when they are not contributing to the household or when they are giving their parents a hard time. It is common for children to go live with either aunts and uncles, or grandparents for periods of time to learn different skills, knowledge and/or teachings as well as to go help out with child-rearing. There is a strong sense of sharing our gifts from the Creator, the children, with our extended family. They are considered to be lent to us by the Creator.

Attachment and the impact on development

Attachment is the close bond with a caregiver from which the infant derives a sense of security. The formation of attachments in infancy has been the subject of considerable research as attachments have been viewed as foundations for future relationships. Additionally, attachments form the basis for confidence and curiosity as toddlers, and as important influences on self-concept. A secure base, or secure attachment, is a sign of a healthy relationship.

Many researchers, such as John Bowlby (who explored attachment bonds in infants), Erik Erikson (who created a theory on psychosocial development), Harry and Margaret Harlow (studied rhesus monkeys), have explored attachment in different ways.

Figure 1.14: The formation of an attachment relationship (Photo by Marcin Jozwiak on Unsplash)

Different forms of attachment

Dr. Mary Ainsworth, a developmental psychologist (and student of John Bowlby) and her colleagues created a laboratory test that measured an infant’s attachment to their parent (caregiver). The test is called The Strange Situation because it is conducted in a context that is unfamiliar to the child and therefore likely to heighten the child’s need for his or her parent, taking about 20 minutes (Ainsworth, 1979, as cited in Paris, et al., 2020).

Figure 1.15: An infant crawling on the floor with toys around as done in the Strange Situation. (Image is in the public domain)

During the procedure, the parent and the infant are first left alone, while the infant explores the room full of toys.

Then a strange adult enters the room and talks for a minute to the parent, after which the parent leaves the room.

The stranger stays with the infant for a few minutes, and then the parent again enters and the stranger leaves the room. During the entire session, a video camera records the child’s behaviours. Which are later coded by the research team. The investigators were especially interested in how the child responded to the caregiver leaving and returning to the room, referred to the “reunion”. On the basis of their behaviours, the children are categorized into one of four groups where each group reflect a different kind of attachment relationship with the caregiver. One style is secure and the other three styles are referred to as insecure.

• A child with a secure attachment style usually explores freely while the caregiver is present and may engage with the stranger. The child will typically play with the toys and bring one to the caregiver to show and describe from time to time. The child may be upset when the caregiver departs, but is also happy to see the caregiver return.
• A child with an ambivalent (sometimes called resistant) attachment style is wary about the situation in general, particularly the stranger, and stays close or even clings to the caregiver rather than exploring the toys. When the caregiver leaves, the child is extremely distress and is ambivalent when the caregiver returns. The child may rush to the caregiver, but then fails to be comforted when picked up. The child may still be angry and even resist attempts to be soothed.
• A child with an avoidant attachment style will avoid or ignore the mother, showing little emotion when the mother departs or returns. The child may run away from the mother when she approaches. The child will not explore very much, regardless of who is there, and the stranger will not be treated much differently from the mother.
• A child with a disorganized/disoriented attachment style seems to have an inconsistent way coping with the stress of the strange situation. The child may cry during the separation, but avoid the mother when she returns. Or the child may approach the mother but then freeze or fall to the floor.

How common are the attachment styles among children? In Canada, attachment disorders are uncommon in the general population (under 1%). That increases to possibly 40% for children who are exposed to gross maltreatment or poor quality institutionalization (Atkinson & Beiser, 2016).

Keep in mind that methods for measuring attachment styles have been based on a model that reflects middle-class, Western values.

Attachment Relationships in Indigenous Families and across cultures

Parenting styles in Canada’s Indigenous cultures, First Nations, Metis and Inuit, are similar in some ways and differ in other ways. Values held in common include: a holistic approach to development, balance and respect.

The Western view of the caregiver-child attachment relationship tends to focus on the child’s primary caregiver.  In Indigenous cultures, a child is connected to his/her immediate family, extended family, community, and ancestors. All of these relationships are seen to be equally important.

Hardy and Bellamy (2013) describe that “attachment is not about parenting styles, values, or even about different parenting behaviours. Attachment behaviours may look different across different cultures but they achieve the same function” (p. 2) and that “all cultures change and evolve over time and parenting practices within each culture also change slightly” (p. 2) between generations.

Some cultural differences in attachment styles have been found (Rothbaum, Weisz, Pott, Miyake, & Morelli, 2010, as cited in Paris, et al., 2020). For example, German parents value independence and Japanese mothers are typically by their children’s sides.

By using this westernized attachment rating, as a result, the rate of insecure-avoidant attachments is higher in Germany and insecure-resistant attachments are higher in Japan. These differences reflect cultural variation rather than true insecurity (Van Ijzendoorn and Sagi, 1999, as cited in Paris, et al., 2020).

A research study of development among Indigenous children in Canada, conducted by Findlay, Kohen and Miller (2014), concluded that the age range for the development of certain skills, including social skills, can be different for Indigenous children compared to the general population.

👉To learn more about attachment, check out this resource from SickKids: Different types of attachment 

Attachment in adolescence and emerging adulthood:

While most adolescents get along with their parents, they do spend less time with them (Smetana, 2011). This decrease in the time spent with families may be a reflection of a teenager’s greater desire for independence or autonomy. It can be difficult for many parents to deal with this desire for autonomy. However, it is likely adaptive for teenagers to increasingly distance themselves and establish relationships outside of their families in preparation for adulthood. This means that both parents and teenagers need to strike a balance between autonomy, while still maintaining close and supportive familial relationships.

Children in middle and late childhood are increasingly granted greater freedom regarding moment-to-moment decision making. This continues in adolescence, as teens are demanding greater control in decisions that affect their daily lives. This can increase conflict between parents and their teenagers. For many adolescents this conflict centers on chores, homework, curfew, dating, and personal appearance. These are all things many teens believe they should manage that parents previously had considerable control over. Teens report more conflict with their mothers, as many mothers believe they should still have some control over many of these areas, yet often report their mothers to be more encouraging and supportive (Costigan, Cauce, & Etchison, 2007). As teens grow older, more compromise is reached between parents and teenagers (Smetana, 2011). Parents are more controlling of daughters, especially early maturing girls, than they are sons (Caspi, Lynam, Moffitt, & Silva, 1993). In addition, culture and ethnicity also play a role in how restrictive parents are with the daily lives of their children (Chen, Vansteenkiste, Beyers, Soensens, & Van Petegem, 2013).

Having supportive, less conflict ridden relationships with parents also benefits teenagers. Research on attachment in adolescence find that teens who are still securely attached to their parents have less emotional problems (Rawatlal, Kliewer & Pillay, 2015), are less likely to engage in drug abuse and other criminal behaviours (Meeus, Branje & Overbeek, 2004), and have more positive peer relationships (Shomaker & Furman, 2009).

Click on the image below to open the full size version.

Attachment in Emerging Adulthood

Overview of Developmental Theories

Developmental theories provide a set of guiding principles that describe, predict, and explain development. Some developmental theories focus on the formation of a particular quality, such as Piaget’s theory of cognitive development. Other theories focus on growth that happens throughout the lifespan, such as Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development.

It would be natural to wonder which of the perspectives provides the most accurate account of human development, but clearly, each perspective is based on its specific premises and focuses on different aspects of development. Many developmentalists use an eclectic approach, drawing on several perspectives at the same time because the same developmental phenomenon can be looked at from several perspectives. Table 1.5 provides a review of major contemporary approaches and theories that you learned about in our Child Development course; the table compares the various perspectives on some of the key issues in developmental psychology.

Click the image to view a larger table.

 

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In summary

This week’s reading has been a recap of the major themes and theories we covered in our Child Development course. How many do you remember?

Use this information as a guide for our first Development Review activity.

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References

Baker, D. B. & Sperry, H. (2021). History of psychology. In R. Biswas-Diener & E. Diener (Eds), Noba textbook series: Psychology. Champaign, IL: DEF publishers. Retrieved from http://noba.to/j8xkgcz5

Hazan, C., & Shaver, P. (1987) Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 511-524. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.52.3.511 Page 515

Leon, A. (n.d.). Children’s development: Prenatal through adolescent development. Retrieved from https://docs.google.com/document/d/1k1xtrXy6j9_NAqZdGv8nBn_I6-lDtEgEFf7skHjvE-Y/edit

Murdock, A. (2020). The evolutionary advantage of the teenage brain. Retrieved from: https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/evolutionary-advantage-teenage-brain

Mustard, J. F. (2006). Early child development and experience-based brain development: The scientific underpinnings of the importance of early child development in a globalized world. Washington, DC: Brookings Institute.

National Geographic (2022). Theory of Evolution. Retrieved from: https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/theory-evolution

OACYC (2021). Child and youth care scope of practice. Retrieved from https://oacyc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/OACYC-Scope-of-Practice-2021.11.20.pdf

Ontario Ministry of Education. (2014a). Excerpts from ELECT: Foundational knowledge from the 2007 publication of “Early learning for every child today: A framework for Ontario early childhood settings”. Retrieved from https://www.dufferincounty.ca/sites/default/files/rtb/Excerpts-from-Early-Learning-for-Every-Child-Today.pdf

Ontario Ministry of Education. (2014b). How does learning happen? Ontario’s pedagogy for the early years: A resource about learning through relationships for those who work with young children and their families. Retrieved from https://files.ontario.ca/edu-how-does-learning-happen-en-2021-03-23.pdf

Paris, J., Ricardo, A., Rymond, D., & Johnson, J. (2020). Child Growth and Development. shared under a CC BY license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Paris, Ricardo, Raymond, & Johnson (College of the Canyons).

Rasmussen, E. (2017). Screen time and kids: Insights from a new report. Retrieved from https://www.pbs.org/parents/thrive/screen-time-and-kids-insights-from-a-new-report

Statistics Canada (2010). National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth. Retrieved from: https://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p2SV.pl?Function=getSurvey&SDDS=4450

OER Attributions

Understanding the Whole Child Copyright © 2020 by Jennifer Paris; Antoinette Ricardo; and Dawn Rymond is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

Lifespan development: A psychological perspective by Martha Lally and Susan Valentine-French is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Lifespan Development by Lumen Learning is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.