Child Development Theories Lecture Notes

Introduction

• Babies and children are lovable & innocent but have never-ending needs
• Psychologists and researchers have studied child development for years

Sigmund Freud

• Components of Personality:
  • Id: Seeks pleasure, avoids pain (e.g., food, attention)
  • Ego: Understands cause and effect, manages Id’s desires
  • Superego: Balances Id desires with social rules and morals
• Psychoanalytic Theory: Therapy to relive and address repressed fears

Maria Montessori

• First female doctor in Italy
• Believed every child has innate skills and talents
• Montessori Method:
  • Hands-on activities
  • Teachers observe and guide based on sensitive periods
  • Promoted learning through love and respect

Arnold Gesell

• Explored nature vs. nurture in child development
• Believed development occurs in an orderly sequence set by genetics
• Developed observational techniques using one-way mirrors

Lev Vygotsky

• Believed nurture was more influential
• Developed a Five-Step Sociocultural Development Process:
  1. Adults provide tools and guidance
  2. Child performs tasks under supervision
  3. Tasks divided into segments, assessment
  4. Support/scaffolding
  5. Transfer familiar knowledge to new situations

Jean Piaget

• Developed Cognitive Development Theory with four stages:
  1. Sensory Motor: Understanding through senses and actions
  2. Pre-operational: Language and mental images
  3. Concrete Operational: Understand others' viewpoints and logic
  4. Formal Operational: Abstract thinking and morality

Rudolph Dreikurs

• Misbehavior stems from feeling isolated
• Four ways children try to fit in:
  1. Attention seeking
  2. Power struggle
  3. Revenge
  4. Avoidance
• Solutions: Natural consequences, avoid reward-punishment system

Erik Erikson

• Developed Eight Stages of Psychological Development:
  1. Trust vs. Mistrust: Infancy
  2. Autonomy vs. Shame/Doubt: Early childhood
  3. Initiative vs. Guilt: Play age
  4. Industry vs. Inferiority: School age
  5. Identity vs. Role Confusion: Adolescence
  6. Intimacy vs. Isolation: Young adulthood
  7. Generativity vs. Stagnation: Adulthood
  8. Ego Integrity vs. Despair: Old age

Abraham Maslow

• Developed the Hierarchy of Needs Pyramid:
  1. Physiological needs
  2. Safety and security
  3. Love and belonging
  4. Esteem (self and others)
  5. Self-actualization: Full realization of potential

John Bowlby

• Developed Attachment Theory with four characteristics:
  1. Proximity Maintenance
  2. Safe Haven
  3. Secure Base
  4. Separation Distress

B.F. Skinner

• Developed Operant Conditioning
  • Positive reinforcement: Reward for desired behavior
  • Negative reinforcement: Removing bad stimuli by performing desired behavior
  • Extinction: Lack of response leads to ignoring behavior
• Found intermittent reinforcement most effective

Benjamin Spock

• Advocated that parents know best about their children
• Encouraged affection and flexibility in parenting
• Believed parenting could be fun

Lawrence Kohlberg

• Researched moral development via moral dilemmas
• Three levels:
  1. Preconventional: Personal gain
  2. Conventional: Societal norms
  3. Postconventional: Ethical principles and universal rights

T. Berry Brazelton

• Developed Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS)
• Used to assess newborn behavior and neurological responses

Diana Baumrind

• Identified Three Parenting Styles:
  1. Permissive: Lenient, few rules
  2. Authoritarian: Strict, many rules
  3. Authoritative: Balanced, encourages dialogue

Howard Gardner

• Developed Theory of Multiple Intelligences
  • Eight types:
    1. Linguistic
    2. Logical-Mathematical
    3. Spatial
    4. Bodily-Kinesthetic
    5. Musical
    6. Interpersonal
    7. Intrapersonal
    8. Naturalist

Conclusion

• Child development theories continue to evolve
• Researchers build on each other’s findings
• Ongoing research aims to help raise healthier and happier children