Child and Adolescent Development

Lesson 1

Child development that occurs from birth to adulthood was largely Ignored
throughout history. Children were often viewed simply as small versions of adults and
little attention was paid to the many advances in cognitive abilities, language, usage,
and physical growth that occurs during childhood and adolescence.

Why is it important to study how children grow, learn, and change?

 it allows us to fully appreciate the cognitive, emotional, physical, social, and

educational growth that children go through from birth and to early adulthood.
 Some of the major theories of Child Development are known as Grand theories;
they attempt to describe every aspect of development, often using a stage
approach.
 Others are known as Mini-theories; they focus only on a fairly limited aspect of
development, such as Cognitive or Social growth.

Child Development Theories

A theory of development deals with change over time and is usually concerned
with three things.

1. First: It should describe changes over time within an area or several areas of
development.
2. Second: It should describe changes among areas of development.
3. Third: It should explain these changes.

Some of the Historical and current theories that have influenced education is as follows:

1. Maturational Theory (Gesell)

The maturational theory of Arnold Gesell (1925) continues to affect what goes on in
schools, particularly in early childhood classrooms. He based his theory on three major
assumption:

a) Development has a biological basis

b) Good and bad years alternate
 c) Body types(endomorph, ectomorph, mesomorph) are correlated
with personality development (Thomas 1992).
Maturational theory is strongly influenced the teaching of reading in the mid-
1900s(Morphet &Washburne, 1931). Children were not thought to be ripe for reading
until they had a mental age of sic and a half year. Consequently, readiness activities
were developed for children who were not yet ready to read. Some of this nonsense still
occurs in preschool, kindergarten, and even primary-level classrooms. Today,
maturational theory is partially responsible for the existence of pre-kindergartens and
pre-first grades aimed at children who supposedly need the “gift of time”, because of
immaturity or a late birthday. These classrooms tend to have a ration of boys to girls of
anywhere form 7:1 to 10: 1 (Aldridge, Eddowes, &Kuby, 1998.)

Another, perhaps unintentional consequently of maturational theory is the recently

popular “late birthday” phenomenon. Children in classrooms who are the youngest and
have a “late birthday” are often branded by the teachers report other instruction. Many
teachers report other instructors as saying “I knew the child would have problems. He
has a late birthday”. This theory ascertains that the level of neurological development
and the genetically directed increase of physiological development directly affects the
development of physical abilities.

2. Psychodynamic Perspective (objects Relations Theory)

This theory is descendant of the original Psychoanalytic approach developed by
Sigmund Freud in the late 1800s. Dr. Freud was one of the first “psychotherapist”
(professionals who treat mental problems with a talk therapy.) He popularized the idea
that the mind has conscious and unconscious parts which can conflict with one another,
producing a phenomenon called Repression (a state where you are unaware of certain
troubling motives or wishes or desires.)Talking about your problems and coming to
understand them doesn’t necessarily make them go away, but it can be very helpful
nevertheless.

The Idea of Repression (and the related idea of dissociation) which has developed
into the study of coping strategies and defense mechanisms (ways that people attempt
to manage or ward off knowing about stressful information).

One Psychodynamic theory (sometimes called “Object Relations” theory) is much

less concerned about the struggles between parts of the mind, and much more
concerned about how people understand and represent their relationships with other
people. The “Objects” in object relations theory are representations of people (how
others are experienced represented and remembered by the person doing the
objectification). Object relational therapist note that people’s early relationships often set
the tone the later relationships will take. This occurs in part because of phenomena
called transference, and because what you experience early in life seems “normal” to
you and you become in some ways drawn to new relationships that help you replicate
that original “normal” feeling.

 This tendency works out well when early relationships are healthy but very
poorly when they are disturbed. People whose early relationships involve
abuse or neglect often end up not feeling quite comfortable in later
relationships unless whose relationships recreate in some fashion those early
abusive or neglectful dynamics.
 It theorizes that when children and young adults face social decisions they
are directed by the impulses presented by sexuality and aggression, but they
are also led by a need for social contribution and acceptance. Through many
different stages children learn to use their impulses in a way that is
constructive to society (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2004, p.22)
 This concept is exemplified when a student hits another student or lashes out
at teachers or parents. As a child develops and received feedback on his
reactions the child will learn with these impulses in a better way such as
playing an instrument or planting in a garden.

The Key Insights:

a) That the mind is not so straightforward as it might seem, but instead may play
tricks on you (e.g.
You may end up repressing knowledge because it is disturbing to you).

b) That your early relationships set the tone for your adult ones.

3. Cognitive Development Perspectives (Piaget)

Jean Piaget is perhaps one of the most well-known and influential child development
specialists. His work was first published during the 1920’s but his theory of cognitive
development continues to influence contemporary researchers and clinicians.

Piaget’s identified five characteristic indicators of adolescent cognitive development

and named them as follows:
 a) Formal Operation
b) Hypothetico-deductive reasoning
c) Propositional thought
d) The imaginary audience
e) The person fables

He suggests that children add their own development intellectually. As children

face conflicts they rearrange their perspectives and develop new methods of dealing
with challenges and viewing the world. A good example of this is when a child has a
problem learning arithmetic, and the child develops a system of remembering and
figuring out the problem.

4. Behavioral/ Environmental Learning Perspectives (Skinner)

The behavioral theories of Skinner (1974) and Bijou (1989) also continue to
influence what goes on in schools, especially for some special education programs. The
mechanistic theory of behaviors, emphasizes the role of the environment on an
individual’s development. Preparing the environment for appropriate reinforcements is a
major goal.

 Two examples of Skinner’s contribution to education include behavior

modification and programmed learning. Both of these rely heavily on
immediate reinforcements, in which a child has to exhibit the “right” behavior
or produce the right answers in order to be positively reinforced.
Application of this theory have resulted in an overemphasis on isolated skills and
drill, as well as a heavy reliance on teacher-directed and teacher-reinforced activities.
Consequently, teachers often ignore children’s curiosity and prior knowledge.

This theory suggest that children will actively work in order to gain recognition and
the thigs they enjoy (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2004). Children will learn from observations
what behavior is rewarded and use these ideas to gain their own rewards. This is
reflected when a student tries to improve his grades in order to receive recognition of
the teacher.

5. Evolutionary Perspectives
This is the application of the basic principles of Darwinian evolution, particularly
natural selections, to explain contemporary human development. It involves the study of
the genetic and environmental mechanism that underlie the universal development of
social and cognitive competencies and the evolved epigenetic (gene-environment
interactions) processes that adapt these competencies to local conditions. It assumes
that not only are behaviors and cognitions characterize adults as the product of natural
selection pressures operating over the course of evolution, but also are characteristics
of children’s behavior and minds.

It further proposes that an evolutionary account would provide some insight not only
into predictable stages of ontogeny but also into specific differences between individuals
as well. Such as a perspective suggest that there are multiple alternative strategies to
recurring problems that human children would have faced throughout our evolutionary
past and that individual differences in developmental patterns are not necessarily
idiosyncratic reactions but are predictable adaptive responses to environmental
pressures.

This theory suggests that behavior is reflected by the genetic inclination to survive.

Some Basic Assumptions

a) All Evolutionarily-influenced characteristics develop, and this requires examining

not only the functioning of these characteristics in adults but also their ontogeny.
b) All evolved characteristics develop via continuous and bidirectional gene-
environment interactions that emerge dynamically over time.
c) Development is constrained by genetic, environmental, and cultural factors.
d) An extended childhood is needed in which to learn the complexities of human
social communities and economies.
e) Many aspects of childhood serve as preparations for adulthood and were
selected over the course of evolution (deferred adaptations).
f) Some characteristics of infants and children were selected to serve an adaptive
function at specific times in development and not as preparations for adulthood
(ontogenetic adaptations).
g) Children show a high degree of plasticity, or flexibility, and the ability to adapt to
different contexts.

6. Information Processing Perspective

The information Processing model is another way of examining and understanding
how children develop cognitively. This model, developed in the 1960’s and 1970’s,
conceptualizes children’s mental processes through the metaphor of a computer
processing, encoding, storing, and decoding data.
  By ages 2 to 5 years, most children have developed the skills to focus
attention for extended periods, recognize previously encountered information,
recall old information, and reconstruct it in the present.
Part of long-term memory involves storing information about the sequence of events
during familiar situations as “scripts”. Scripts help children understand, interpret, and
predict what will happen in future scenarios. Children ages 2 through 5 also start to
recognize that are often multiple ways to solve a problem and can brainstorm different
(though sometimes primitive).

 Between ages of 5 and 7, children learn how to focus and use their cognitive
abilities for specific purposes. For examples, children can learn to pay
attention to and memorize lists of words of facts. This skill is obviously crucial
for children starting school who need to learn new information, retain it and
produce it for test and other academic activities. This expanding information
processing capacity allows young children to make connections between old
and new information.
Metacognition, “the ability to think about thinking”, is another important cognitive
skill that develop during early childhood. Between ages 2 and 5 years young children
realize that they use their brain to think. However, their understanding of how a brain
works is rather simplistic; a brain is simply a container (much like a toy box) where
thoughts and memories are stored. BY ages 5 to 7 years, children realize they can
actively control their brains, and influence their ability to process and to accomplish
mental tasks.as a result, school-age children start to develop and choose specific
strategies for approaching a given learning task, monitor their comprehension of
information, and evaluate their progress toward completing a learning task.

Ascertains that the way a child remembers and processes information changes
over time, and as a child becomes older the child can better choose what information is
retained (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2004, p. 22). This is noticeable as children are young and
are confused easily by instructions.

7. Thee Sociohistorical Approach (Vygotsky)

The more cultural approach of Vygotsky (1978) affected learning and development
through an emphasis on sociohistorical context, language and literacy learning, and the
scaffolding of an adult or more able peer within a child’s cone of proximal development.
Although Vygotsky (1978) emphasized the salience of culture and language, the zone of
proximal development concept probably has had the biggest effect on education.
 The Zone of Proximal Development is the instructional level of a child, the area in
which the child can most benefit from instruction with help form an adult or more
knowledgeable peer. Vygotsky did not expound on the nature of the child’s zone of
proximal development, how to determine it, or how to work with a child within that zone.
For children exhibiting attention and activity-level difficulties, the zone of proximal
development may be even more difficult to determine and utilize.

This obviously when children are actively involved in habits that are valued at home
or in the community; an example of this is a child who reads many books because his
parents read on their own time.

8. Developmental System Perspective (Ecological Systems Theory)

Also called ‘development in context” or “human ecology” theory, ecological systems
theory, originally formulated by Urie Bronfenbrenner specifies four types of nested
environmental systems, with bi-directional influences within and between the systems.
The Four systems are:

 Microsystem
 Mesosystem
 Exosystem
 Macrosystem
Each system contains role, norms and rules that can powerfully shape
development. Since its publication in 1979, Bronfenbrenner’s major statement of this
theory, the Ecology of Human Development has had widespread influence on the way
psychologist and others approach the study of human beings and their environments.

9. Life Span Perspective

The Study of lifespan development grew out of Darwin’s desire to understand
evolution. Lifespan is the period of time from conception extending to death. This paper
will define the development of humans throughout the lifespan and describe the
characteristics of the lifespan perspective.

Lifespan Development Defined

Lifespan development is a process beginning at conception that continues until

death. Lifespan Development can be defined as a methodical, intra-individual change
associated with progression corresponding to age. The main development periods are
child and adolescence, early adulthood, middle adulthood and late adulthood. Each
era’s transition involves a necessary change in the character of the individual’s life and
sometimes takes up to six years to complete the change (Smith, 2009).

Characteristic of the Lifespan Perspective

The lifespan perspective argues that significant modifications take place

throughout development. The lifelong perspective consists of a development of humans
that is multidimensional, multidirectional, plastic, multidisciplinary and contextual. The
development involves growth, maintenance and regulation. Changes that occur should
be interpreted in a manner that considers the culture and context of the occurrences.
Through the perspective comprehensions of the modifications of adulthood have gained
as much importance as those occurring in childhood; an understanding from other
disciplines in turn have increased importance in human development.

Human Development Domains

The domains of development are categories used by scientist. The categories

include, physical, cognitive and social domains characterize human development. The
physical domain is characterized by how human grow and change physically,
specifically during childhood and adolescence. The cognitive domain is concerned with
how learning occurs and why memory deteriorates during old age. The social domain
contains adjustments in variable within social situations such as personality research,
social skills and developing relationship.

Human Development Periods

Human development periods span the lifetime from conception to the end of life.
these periods are as follows, prenatal, early, middle and late childhood. As the child
grows and approaches adulthood the periods are adolescence, early, middle and late
adulthood.

Contemporary Concerns in Lifespan Development

Nature versus nurture is one of the many contemporary concerns in lifespan

development. Additional concerns in the area of development include continuity and
discontinuity. Nature and nurture concerns surround the basis of development. The
issue lies in determining the weather genetics or environment influence development.
The concern of continuity and discontinuity’s impact on development lies in relationship
development. “the question is whether age-related change is primarily a matter of
amount or degree (the continuity side of the debate) or more commonly involves
changes in type or kind (the discontinuity side)” (Boyd & Bee, 2006, p. 8).

10. Constructivists / Interactionist’s Perspectives (Piaget)

This theory relies heavily on logical-mathematical knowledge and universal invariant
stages of development to the neglect of other forms of knowledge and the importance of
context in a child’s development. Even though knowledge with the environment, the
focus is more on the individual’s coordination of relationships rather than on socially
constructed knowledge.

Constructivists, or Interactionists, view children as active participants in the learning

process as they interact both with the environment and those around them (NCREL,
2004). More Importantly, development progress through several stages as a child is
motivated to inquire and to extend understanding and skill through the activities in which
they initiate and engage (Hand and Nourot, NCREL, 2004).

11. Ecological Systems Theory (Bronfenbrenner)

Bronfenbrenner (1989) proposed that children are influenced by, and thus influence,
the multiple systems in which they reside, either directly or peripherally. These systems
include the Microsystem, the mesosystem, the exosystem, and the macrosystem.
Applications of this contextual theory focus on the seemingly endless variables within
the child, and between the child and the numerous contexts affecting he. Although few
people would quarrel with the importance of these influences, trying to account for all
the endless interactions and variables affecting a child is exhausting and impractical.

12. Multiple Intelligences Theory (Gardner)

The multiple intelligences theory of Howard Gardner (1983) is a more recent
influence on education. Traditional views of intelligence favored particular cognitive
processes, including certain types of problem solving (mathematical-logical intelligence)
and language abilities (linguistic intelligence).
 Five other intelligences—musical, visual-spatial, bodily kinetic, interpersonal, and
intrapersonal must be considered. Gardner has also added an eight intelligence he calls
the naturalist. A naturalist is someone who has the ability to recognize important
distinction in the natural world (Checkley, 1997).

 Multiple intelligences theory shows promise in developing appropriate

practices for children who do not fit the traditional mold or do not excel in the
math or linguistic areas.
LESSON 2

I. Three Theories of Development

A. Sigmund Freud’s Psychosexual Theory

1. The First Stage: Oral Stage: It occurs between birth and 18 months. During
this stage, the baby’s chief source of pleasure involves mouth- oriented activities.

2. The Second Stage: Anal Stage: It occurs between one year and three years
of age. During this stage, the child derives sensual gratification from withholding
and expelling feces.

3. The Third Stage: Phallic Stage: This stage occurs between three to six years
of age. During this stage, the child becomes attached to parent of the other sex
and later identifies with same-sex parent.

4. The Fourth Stage: Latency Stage: It occurs between six years and puberty.
This stage is a time of relative calm between more turbulent states.

5. The Final Stage: Genital Stage: It occurs from puberty through adulthood.
This stage is a reemergence of sexual impulses of the phallic stage, channeled
into more mature adult sexuality.

B. Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory

1. Trust v. Mistrust: During this stage an infant learns to develop trust and
mistrust with the world around him.

2. Autonomy v. Shame and Doubt: In this stage during early childhood, the
child develops a balance of independence and self- sufficiency over shame and
doubt.

3. Initiative v. Guilt: This stage is during preschool age. The child develops
initiative when trying new things and is not concerned about guilt.

4. Industry v. Inferiority: This stage is when the child must learn skills of culture
or face feelings of incompetence. It usually occurs during the school age.

5. Identity v. Role Confusion: During this stage the adolescent must determine
who they are or a sense of self. There may be some confusion of roles.

6. Intimacy v. Isolation: This stage occurs as young adults. During this stage
the person seeks to make commitments to others or suffer from isolation and
self-absorption.
 7. Generativity v. Stagnation: This is a parenting stage. During this stage, the
mature adult is concerned with establishing and guiding the next generation or
they feel personal impoverishment.

8. Integrity v. Despair: This stage occurs at a mature age such as with

grandparents. During this stage, the elderly person achieves acceptance of his
own life, allowing acceptance of death or else despairs over inability to relieve
life.

C. Piaget’s Cognitive Stage Theory

1. Sensorimotor Stage: This stage occurs from birth to two years of age. During
this stage, the infant builds an understanding of himself and reality and how
things work through interactions with the environment

2. Preoperational Stage: This stage occurs from ages two to four. During this
stage, the child is not yet able to conceptualize abstractly and needs concrete
physical situations. They classify objects in simple ways or features

3. Concrete Operations Stage: It occurs from ages 7 to 11. During this stage,
the child begins to think abstractly and conceptualize, creating logical structure
that explains his or her physical experiences. As physical experiences
accumulate, accommodation increases.

4. Formal operations Stage: The formal operations stage begins around ages
11 to 15. At this stage cognition is in its final form. The person no longer requires
concrete objects to make rational judgements They are capable of deductive
reasoning and begin to think like an adult.

II. Key Concepts of the Theories

1. Freud's Psychosexual

a. The personality forms through conflicts between the id and a child's

environment. "Ego processes work toward satisfying id impulses through
thoughts and actions without generating strong feelings of guilt in the superego"

b. The ego processes serve both the id and the superego, striving to provide
gratification, but in morally and socially acceptable ways.

c. The ego also gives one personality.

 d. The strength of the ego determines the person's effectiveness in meeting his
or her needs, handling the • demands of the superego, and dealing with the
demands of reality.

2. Erikson's Psychosocial Theory

a. Erikson believed that the personality was influenced by society and develops
by a series of crises or stages.

b. He also believed an individual's culture and society had an influence on their

development.

c. Basic psychosocial virtues are a result of successfully passing through each

crisis with a balance of the two extremes.

d. Some of these virtues included hope, willpower, purpose, competence, fidelity,

love, care, and wisdom.

e. Erickson created maladaptations and malignancies to represent the negative

outcomes arising from an unhelpful experience through each of the crisis stages.

f. These negative outcomes can result in thoughtless c)/ arrogant actions to

withdrawal or rejection.

3. Piaget's Cognitive-Stage Theory

a. Organization is the tendency to create ways of thinking or systems of

knowledge.

b. This process includes schemas, which are organized patterns of behavior a

person uses to think about or act in a situation.

c. Adaptation is how a child handles new information from what they already
know. This process includes assimilation and accommodation.

d. Assimilation is the process of taking in new information into our existing

cognitive structures.

e. Accommodation is modifying ones cognitive structures to include the new

information.

f. Equilibrium is a constant striving for a stable balance. Children maintain a

balance between applying previous knowledge (assimilation) and changing
behavior to account for new knowledge (accommodation). By keeping a stable
balance or equilibrium, children are able to move from one stage to the next.
III. Similarities of the Three Theories of Development

1. Erikson's psychosocial theory was based on some aspects of Freud's

psychosexual theory; they are similar more often than Piaget's cognitive stage
theory. He added to Freud's theory, but in a different view.

2. Each of these theories is concerned with human development.

3. Another similarity is that all three of these development theories are stage
oriented.

4. Freud and Erikson’s theories address basic qualitative changes in self –

understanding and social orientation. Piaget’s did not offer any hypothesis about
the qualitative changes

5. Each of these theories is similar in its time table and sequence of life events.

6. Both the psychosexual and the psychosocial theories describe characteristics

and functions of the ego system.

7. Freud and Erikson viewed adolescence as a time of turmoil and stress.

8. Erikson believed the turmoil resulted from an identity crisis rather than a
struggle between the id and ego. While Freud and Piaget's theories ended at
adolescence, Erickson's theory covered one's whole life.

9. They each believe development occurs over a series of stages, but at various
ages. The child needs to complete one stage before moving on to the next. If
they are not successful with each stage, they may have turmoil in their life. They
will have difficulties moving on to the next stage.

10. Another similarity is that all of these theories are useful when applied to its
relationship to educational practices. Teachers are able to use these theories to
guide them in trying to understand the way a child learns and how they are
developing.

IV. Contrasts of Differences across the three Theories of Development

 1. Whether development is continuous or discontinuous with the preceding and
following stages in the life cycle; Whether the period of adolescence is one of
turmoil and stress or is relatively uneventful; whether it is critical for adolescents
to accomplish specific developmental tasks during this time or whether internal or
environmental factors have a more significant influence on the experiences and
outcomes of adolescent development.

2. One difference in these theories was that three theories had different stages at
different ages. Freud developed five stages in his theory based on the id, ego,
and superego. Erickson developed eight stages based on individual
development. Piaget developed only four stages based on how we think.

3. Each theory also had a different focus. Freud focused on sex, Erikson focused
on the self and social orientation, and Piaget focused on the child's abilities and
senses.

4. They also differed with respect towards learning and development, and their
relationship towards educational practice. Freud's psychosexual theory was
fueled by inner forces. His theory was linked to sex and the sexual being.
Erickson's psychosocial theory took some of Freud's aspects and shifted the
focus to identity rather than sexuality. Piaget's cognitive stage theory was based
on what a child was able to do and how they developed cognitively over their
lifetime.

V. How the Domains of Development Influence Each Other

There are three domains of ' development; physical developments,

developments.

1. Physical developments influence cognitive development, cognitive

development influences psychosocial development, and so forth. Each of these
domains has an influence on each other. A child's physical development can
influence their cognitive development because of their brain development, gross
motor development, and fine motor development. The brain develops mostly
before birth and continues to grow rapidly the first year of life. Physical
development also determines the timing of language development. Physical
changes, which mostly occurred in childhood, are accompanied by rapid changes
in the child's cognitive and language development.

2. Cognitive development also begins with coordinating tin, movements with

incoming sensory data. Language powerful tool to enhance cognitive
 development. Cognitive development, although occurs throughout one's lifetime
occurs mostly in middle childhood and adolescence tears. Using language allows
the child to communicate with others and solve problems. The development of
language and cognitive skills influences psychosocial development.

3. Psychosocial development begins during infancy and toddlerhood years and

continues through middle childhood and adolescence. Cognitive development
influences self-concept and independence. The growth in socioemotional skills
includes the formation of peer relationships, gender identification, and the
development of a sense of right and wrong.

VI. How Understanding Development Helps Those Who Work With Developing
Children

Understanding child growth and development are important parts of

teaching young children. Children differ in physical, cognitive, social, and
emotional growth patterns. By understanding these theories of development,
those who work with developing children can understand how a child is
developing and what areas need improvement for their proper development. If
one understands the theories of development, they can understand the
characteristics of learning in childhood, middle childhood, and adolescence
years. They can assist in developing the child’s cognitive skills, knowledge, moral
reasoning. Children can also be identifiedas gifted and talented or with any
disability.Teachers are able to understand the learning abilities of their students
by understanding these theories of development. . They can create their lesson
plans and such with this in mind.

Parents who understand these theories and human development are able
to help their children develop physically, emotionally, and mentally. An
understanding ofneeds, cognitive abilities, psychosocial crises, and moral and
social development can help us with raising our children. We can understand
their learning skills and need and therefore are able to select the kinds of books
and reading-related activities that will be most satisfying to a child of a particular
age. We are also able to understand how children with disabilities develop
compared to other children and can adapt to the changes. Those who work with
developing children can relate the theories of development with the child's
individual developmental level and social and cultural environment.

In conclusion, human development and behavior have been researched

and analyzed for centuries. Sigmund Freud, Eric Erikson, and Jean Piaget are all
great theorists with different ideas concerning human development. Their
theories had similarities and also differences but all had important explanations
to describe one's development and to predict his behavior. Each theory had its
own key concepts. The domains of human development influence each other to
determine how one will develop or the kind of person he will turn out to be. Other
factors, such as culture and environment, can also affect a person's
development. These three theories are all equal in importance towards human
development. One can only research and understand each theory and use the
knowledge from them to help a child develop into a well-rounded individual.
LESSON 3

SOCIAL POLICY PERSPECTIVES

Social Child Development Theories

1. Attachment Theory - John Bowlby

Attachment theory is highly regarded as a well researched explanation of infant

and toddler behavior and in the field of infant mental health. It is hard to imagine any
clinical work with an infant or toddler that is not about attachment, since dealing with
that issue has been shown to be an essential developmental task for that age period.

Following Bowlby's leads, a few established child-development researchers and

others have suggested developmentally appropriate mental health interventions to
sensitively foster emotional relationships between young children and adults. These
approaches used tested techniques which were not only congruent with attachment
theory, but with other established principles of child development. In addition, nearly all
mainstream approaches for the prevention and treatment of disorders of attachment
disorder use attachment theory.

Some children look on the outside like they're very independent and seem not to
notice but physiologically are very emotional, and stay emotional even in the presence
of when the caregiver returns. By contrast, the securely attached child often notices,
cries when the caregiver leaves, and when the caregiver comes back. Easily turns to
the caregiver and looks to the caregiver to be comforted. And then they can get back to
some kind of homeostasis.

There is a great deal of research on the social development of children. John

Bowbly proposed one of the earliest theories of social development. Bowlby believed
that early relationship with caregivers play a major role in child development and
continue to influence social relationships throughout life.

2. Social Learning Theory (Bandura)

Psychologist Albert Bandura proposed what is known as social learning theory.

According to this theory of child development, children learn new behaviors from
observing other people. Unlike behavioral theories, Bandura believed that external
reinforcement was not the only way that people learned new things. Instead, intrinsic
reinforcements such as a sense of pride, satisfaction and accomplishment could also
lead to learning. By observing the actions of others, including parents and peers,
children develop new skills and acquire new information.

Necessary conditions for effective modeling:

a) Attention. Various factors increase or decrease the amount of attention paid.

Includes distinctiveness: affective valence prevalence, complexity, functional value.
One's characteristics (e.g sensory capacities, arousal level, perceptual set, past
reinforcement) affect attention.

b) Retention. Remembering what you paid attention to. Includes symbolic coding,
mental images, cognitive organization, symbolic rehearsal, motor rehearsal

c) Reproduction. Reproducing the image. Including physical capabilities, and self

observation of reproduction.

d) Motivation. Having a good reason to imitate. Includes motives such as past (ie.
traditional behaviorism), promised (imagined incentives) and vicarious (seeing and
recalling the reinforced model).

Hence, they will repeat the behavior to receive positive incentive.

Social learning theory has sometimes been called a bridge between behaviorist and
cognitive learning theories because it encompasses attention, memory, and motivation.
The theory is related to Vygotsky's Social Development Theory and Lave's Situated
Learning, which also emphasize the importance of social learning.

3. Social Development Theory (Lev Vygotsky)

The major theme of Vygotsky’s theoretical framework is that social interaction

plays a fundamental role in the development of cognition. Vygotsky (1978) states:
“Every function in the child’s cultural development appears twice: first, on the social
level, and later, on the individual level; first, between people (interpsychological) and
then inside the child (intrapsychological). This applies equally to voluntary attention, to
logical memory, and to the formation of concepts. All the higher functions originate as
actual relationships between individuals.”

Vygotsky’s theory was an attempt to explain consciousness as the end product of

socialization. For example, in the learning of language, our first utterances with peers or
adults are for the purpose of communication but once mastered they become
internalized and allow “inner speech”.
Example:

Vygotsky provides the example of pointing a finger. Initially, this behavior begins
as a meaningless grasping motion; however, as people react to the gesture, it becomes
a movement that has meaning. In particular, the pointing gesture represents an
interpersonal connection between individuals.

A second aspect of Vygotsky’s theory is the idea that the potential for cognitive
development depends upon the “zone of proximal development” (ZPD): a level of
development attained when children engage in social behavior. Full development of the
ZPD depends upon full social interaction. The range of skill that can be developed with
adult guidance or peer collaboration exceeds what can be attained alone.

Vygotsky sees the Zone of Proximal Development as the area where the most sensitive
instruction or guidance should be given; allowing the child to develop skills his/her will
then use on his/her own, developing higher mental functions.
LESSON 4

Key Areas for Ethical Consideration

Harm and Benefits

The most fundamental consideration in undertaking research involving children is

deciding whether the research actually needs to be done, if children need to be involved
in it and in what capacity. Accordingly, at the very outset of the research process
researchers need to engage with critical issues regarding the purpose of the research
and the impact that participating in the research may have on children in terms of
potential harm and possible benefits.

Informed Consent

Obtaining consent from parents/carers and children is central to the research

relationship and signals respect for the research participant’s dignity, their capability to
express their views and their right to have these heard in matters that affect them.
Informed consent is an explicit agreement which requires participants to be informed
about, and have an understanding of, the research. This must be given voluntarily and
be renegotiable, so that children may withdraw at any stage of the research process.

Privacy and Confidentiality

Respecting the privacy and confidentiality of children participating in research

involves close consideration of several aspects: privacy with regard to how much
information the child wants to reveal or share, and with whom; privacy in the processes
of information gathering/data collection and storage that allows the exchange of
information to be confidential to those involved; and privacy of the research participants
so that they are not identifiable in the publication and dissemination of findings.

Payment and Compensation

Research participants should be appropriately reimbursed for any expenses,

compensated for effort, time or lost income, and acknowledged for their contribution.
Payment should be avoided if it potentially pressures, coerces, bribes, persuades,
controls, or causes economic or social disadvantage. The guiding principles of justice,
benefit and respect underpin the need for research participants to be properly
acknowledged, adequately recompensed and given fair returns for their involvement.