Child Development Robert S.

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 Child Development
Seventh Edition

Robert S. Feldman
University of Massachusetts Amherst

Boston Columbus Indianapolis New York San Francisco

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 Dedication
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Feldman, Robert S. (Robert Stephen)

Child development / Robert S. Feldman. — Seventh edition.
  pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-13-385203-5—ISBN 0-13-385203-2
1. Child development. 2. Child psychology. 3. Adolescence. 4. Adolescent psychology. I. Title.
HQ767.9.F43 2016
305.231—dc23
 2014043388

Student Edition: ISBN-13: 978-0-13-385203-5

ISBN-10: 0-13-385203-2
a la Carte: ISBN-13: 978-0-13-401194-3
ISBN-10: 0-13-401194-5
Contents
Prefaceix Review31
Acknowledgmentsxv The Scientific Method and Research 32
About the Author xvi Theories and Hypotheses: Posing Developmental
Questions and Choosing a Research Strategy 32
1 An Introduction to Child Development 1 Correlational Studies 34
Experiments: Determining Cause and Effect 37
Prologue: New Conceptions 2
Developmental Diversity and Your Life: Choosing
Looking Ahead 2 Research Participants Who Represent the Diversity
An Orientation to Child Development 3 of Children40
Characterizing Child Development: The Scope of the
Review41
Field4
Developmental Diversity: How Culture, Ethnicity, and Research Strategies and Challenges 41
Race Influence Development 6 Theoretical and Applied Research: Complementary
Approaches41
Cohort Influences on Development: Developing with
Others in a Social World 7 From Research to Practice: Using Developmental
Research To Improve Public Policy 42
Review8
Measuring Developmental Change 43
Children: Past, Present, and Future 8
Are You an Informed Consumer of Child Development?:
Early Views of Children 9
Critically Evaluating Developmental Research 45
The 20th Century: Child Development as a Discipline 9
Ethics and Research 45
Today’s Key Issues and Questions: Child Development’s
Underlying Themes 10 Review46
The Future of Child Development 12 The Case of . . . A Study in Violence 46
From Research to Practice: Preventing Violence Epilogue • Looking Back • Key Terms and Concepts
Toward Children13
Becoming an Informed Consumer of Child Development: 3 The Start of Life: Genetics and Prenatal
Assessing Information on Child Development 14
Development50
Review14
The Case of . . . Too Many Choices 15
Prologue: A Bold Choice 51
Epilogue • Looking Back • Key Terms and Concepts Looking Ahead 51
Earliest Development 52
2 Theoretical Perspectives and Research 17 Genes and Chromosomes: The Code of Life 52
The Basics of Genetics: The Mixing and
Prologue: The Unasked Questions 18 Matching of Traits 55
Looking Ahead 18 Transmission of Genetic Information 55
Perspectives on Children 19 The Human Genome and Behavioral Genetics:
The Psychodynamic Perspective: Focusing on Cracking the Genetic Code 57
Internal Forces19 Genetic Counseling: Predicting the Future From the
The Behavioral Perspective: Focusing Genes of the Present 60
on Observable Behavior 22 Review63
The Cognitive Perspective: Examining the Roots of The Interaction of Heredity and Environment 63
Understanding24
The Role of the Environment in Determining the
The Contextual Perspective: Taking a Broad Expression of Genes: From Genotypes to Phenotypes 63
Approach to Development 27
Studying Development: How Much Is Nature?
Evolutionary Perspectives: Our Ancestors’ How Much Is Nurture? 64
Contributions to Behavior 29
From Research to Practice: When Nurture
Why “Which Perspective Is Right?” Is the
Becomes Nature 65
Wrong Question30

iii
iv Contents

The Role of Genetics on Physical Traits, Intelligence,

and Personality66
5 Physical Development in Infancy 115
Developmental Diversity and Your Life: Cultural Prologue: First Steps 116
Differences in Physical Arousal: Might a Culture’s
Philosophical Outlook Be Determined by Genetics? 69 Looking Ahead 116
Growth and Stability 117
Psychological Disorders: The Role of Genetics and
Environment70 Physical Growth: The Rapid Advances of Infancy 117
Can Genes Influence the Environment? 71 The Nervous System and Brain: The Foundations
of Development118
Review71
Integrating the Bodily Systems: The Life
Prenatal Growth and Change 72 Cycles of Infancy 121
The Stages of the Prenatal Period: The Onset of SIDS: The Unanticipated Killer 123
Development72
Review124
Pregnancy Problems 75
Motor Development 124
The Prenatal Environment: Threats to Development 77
Reflexes: Our Inborn Physical Skills 125
Are You an Informed Consumer of Development?:
Motor Development in Infancy: Landmarks of
Optimizing the Prenatal Environment 81
Physical Achievement 126
Review82 Developmental Norms: Comparing the Individual
The Case of . . . The Genetic Roll of the Dice 82 to the Group 128
Epilogue • Looking Back • Key Terms and Concepts Developmental Diversity and Your Life: The Cultural
Dimensions of Motor Development 129

4 Birth and the Newborn Infant 86

Nutrition in Infancy: Fueling Motor Development
Review133
130

Prologue: A Belated Gift 87 The Development of the Senses 134

Looking Ahead 87 Visual Perception: Seeing the World 134
Birth88 From Research to Practice: Beauty is in the
Labor: The Process of Birth Begins 88 Eye of the Infant  136
Are You an Informed Consumer of Development?: Auditory Perception: The World of Sound 136
Dealing with Labor 90 Smell, Taste, and Feel 137
Birth: From Fetus to Neonate 90 Multimodal Perception: Combining Individual
Sensory Inputs 139
From Research to Practice: To Screen or
Not to Screen? 91 Are You an Informed Consumer of Child Development?:
Exercising Your Infant’s Body and Senses 139
Approaches to Childbirth: Where Medicine
and Attitudes Meet 93 Review140
Review96 The Case of . . . One Step at a Time 140
Epilogue • Looking Back • Key Terms and Concepts
Birth Complications 96
Preterm and Postmature Babies
Cesarean Delivery: Intervening in the Birth Process
97
100
6 Cognitive Development in Infancy 143
Infant Mortality and Stillbirth: The Tragedy Prologue: Baby-Talk 144
of Premature Death 102
Developmental Diversity: Overcoming Racial
Looking Ahead 144
and Cultural Differences in Infant Mortality 102 Piaget’s Approach to Cognitive Development 145
Key Elements of Piaget’s Theory 145
Postpartum Depression: Moving From the Heights
of Joy to the Depths of Despair 104 The Sensorimotor Period: Six Substages of Cognitive
Development146
Review105
Appraising Piaget: Support and Challenges 149
The Competent Newborn 105
Review151
Meeting the Demands of a New Environment 106
Information-Processing Approaches to Cognitive
Early Learning Capabilities 107
Development151
Social Competence: Responding to Others 108
Encoding, Storage, and Retrieval: The Foundations of
Review110 Information Processing 152
The Case of . . . No Place Like Home? 110 Memory During Infancy: They Must Remember
Epilogue • Looking Back • Key Terms and Concepts This . . . 153
Putting It All Together 113
 Contents v

Individual Differences in Intelligence: Is One Infant How Does Infant Child Care Affect
Smarter Than Another? 155 Later Development? 191
Review158 Are You an Informed Consumer of Development?:
The Roots of Language 158 Choosing the Right Infant Care Provider 193
The Fundamentals of Language: From Sounds Review193
to Symbols 158 The Case of . . . The Different Temperaments 194
The Origins of Language Development 162 Epilogue • Looking Back • Key Terms and Concepts
From Research to Practice: Infants Learn Putting It All Together 197
From Adults, not Videos 164
Speaking to Children: The Language of Infant-Directed
Speech164
8 Physical Development in
Preschoolers199
Developmental Diversity and Your Life: Is Infant-Directed
Speech Similar in All Cultures? 165 Prologue: The Field Trip 200
Are You an Informed Consumer of Development?: Looking Ahead 200
What can you do to Promote Infants’ Cognitive
Physical Growth 201
Development?166
The Growing Body 201
Review167 The Growing Brain 202
The Case of . . . The Unidentified Woggie 167 Developmental Diversity and Your Life: Are Gender
Epilogue • Looking Back • Key Terms and Concepts and Culture Related to the Brain’s Structure?  203
The Links Between Brain Growth and Cognitive and
7 Social and Personality Development Sensory Development 204
in Infancy 170 Sleep205
Review206
Prologue: Hidden Gender 171 Health and Wellness 206
Looking Ahead 171 Nutrition: Eating the Right Foods 206
Developing the Roots of Sociability 172 Illness in the Preschool Years 207
Emotions in Infancy 172 Injuries: Playing It Safe 208
The Development of Self: Do Infants Know Who Child Abuse and Psychological Maltreatment:
They Are? 174 The Grim Side of Family Life 210
From Research to Practice: Are Infants Racist?  175 From Research to Practice: Spanking: Why the
Social Referencing: Feeling What Others Feel 175 Experts Say “No” 211
Theory of Mind: Infants’ Perspectives on the Mental Resilience: Overcoming the Odds 213
Lives of Others—and Themselves 176 Are You an Informed Consumer of Development?:
Stranger Anxiety and Separation Anxiety 177 Keeping Preschoolers Healthy 214
Review178 Review215
Forming Relationships 178 Motor Development 215
Attachment: Forming Social Bonds 179 Gross and Fine Motor Skills 216
The Ainsworth Strange Situation and Patterns of Potty Wars: When—and How—Should Children
Attachment179 Be Toilet Trained? 217
Producing Attachment: The Roles of the Handedness and Expression 218
Mother and Father181
Review220
Developmental Diversity and Your Life: Does
Attachment Differ Across Cultures? 183 The Case of . . . Frustrated Desires  220
Epilogue • Looking Back • Key Terms and Concepts
Infant Interactions: Developing a Working
Relationship184
Review186 9 Cognitive Development
in the Preschool Years 223
Differences Among Infants 186
Personality Development: The Characteristics Prologue: Off to Work We Go 224
That Make Infants Unique 186
Temperament: Stabilities in Infant Behavior 187 Looking Ahead 224
Gender: Why Do Boys Wear Blue and Girls Intellectual Development 225
Wear Pink? 189 Piaget’s Stage of Preoperational Thinking 225
Family Life in the 21st Century 191 Information-Processing Approaches to Cognitive
Development230
vi Contents

Vygotsky’s View of Cognitive Development: Are You an Informed Consumer of Development?:

Taking Culture Into Account 233 Increasing Moral Behavior and Reducing Aggression
Review236 in Preschool-Age Children 271
The Growth of Language 236 Violent TV Programs and Video Games: Are They
Language Development During the Preschool Years 237 Harmful?271
How Living in Poverty Affects Language From Research to Practice: Do Violent Video Games
Development238 Make Children Behave Violently? 272
Review239 Review273
Schooling and Society 239 The Case of . . . The Wrong Role Models? 273
Early Childhood Education: Taking the Pre- Epilogue • Looking Back • Key Terms and Concepts
Out of the Preschool Period 240 Putting It All Together 277
The Effectiveness of Child Care 241
Developmental Diversity and Your Life: Preschools 11 Physical Development
around the World: Why Does the United States Lag in Middle Childhood 279
Behind?  242
Preparing Preschoolers for Academic Pursuits: Prologue: Kristy Melanson 280
Does Head Start Truly Provide a Head Start? 243 Looking Ahead 280
From Research to Practice: Why It’s Good to The Growing Body 281
Read to Young Children 244
Physical Development 281
Learning From the Media: Television and Computers 245 Nutrition: Links to Overall Functioning 282
Are You an Informed Consumer of Development?: Childhood Obesity 283
Promoting Cognitive Development in Preschoolers: Are You an Informed Consumer of Development?:
From Theory to the Classroom 246 Keeping Children Fit 285
Review247 Health During Middle Childhood 285
The Case of . . . The Secret Reader 247 Psychological Disorders 287
Epilogue • Looking Back • Key Terms and Concepts Review287

10 Social and Personality Development

Motor Development and Safety
Motor Skills: Continuing Improvement
288
288
in the Preschool Years 251 Threats to Children’s Safety, Offline and Online 290
Prologue: Feeling His Mother’s Pain 252 Review291

Looking Ahead 252 Children With Special Needs 291

Forming a Sense of Self 253 Sensory Difficulties: Visual, Auditory, and Speech
Problems292
Psychosocial Development and Self-Concept 253
From Research to Practice: Breaking the Silence:
Developmental Diversity and Your Life: Developing
Good or Bad?  293
Racial and Ethnic Awareness 254
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder  294
Gender Identity: Developing Femaleness and Maleness 255
Developmental Diversity: Mainstreaming and Full
Review258
Inclusion of Children with Special Needs 295
Friends and Family: Preschoolers’ Social Lives 259
Review  296
The Development of Friendships and Play 259
Preschoolers’ Family Lives 263 The Case of . . . Taking a Breather 296
Epilogue • Looking Back • Key Terms and Concepts 
Are You an Informed Consumer of Development?:
Disciplining Children 265
12 Cognitive Development
Review265 in Middle Childhood 299
Moral Development and Aggression 266
Developing Morality: Following Society’s Rights and Prologue: Verniqua Turner and Matilda 300
Wrongs266 Looking Ahead 300
Aggression and Violence in Preschoolers 268 Cognitive and Language Development 301
Social Learning and Cognitive Approaches to Piagetian Approaches to Cognitive Development 301
Aggression269
Information Processing in Middle Childhood 303
 Contents vii

Vygotsky’s Approach to Cognitive Development Review  345

and Classroom Instruction 305
The Family 345
Language Development: What Words Mean 305
The Changing Home Environment 345
Bilingualism: Speaking in Many Tongues 307
When Both Parents Work Outside the Home:
From Research to Practice: The Benefits of How Do Children Fare? 346
Speaking One’s Mind 308 Diverse Family Arrangements 347
Review309 Race, Poverty, and Family Life 350
Schooling: The Three Rs (and More) of Middle Childhood 309 From Research to Practice: Closing the Digital Divide:
Schooling Around the World: Who Gets Educated? 309 Some Unintended Consequences 351
School Readiness, Reading, and Success 311 Group Care: Orphanages in the 21st Century 351
Are You an Informed Consumer of Development?: Review352
Creating an Atmosphere that Promotes The Case of . . . Too Rich for Me 353
School Success 311 Epilogue • Looking Back • Key Terms and Concepts
Multicultural Education 314 Putting It All Together 356
Developmental Diversity and Your life: Fostering
A Bicultural Identity 315 14 Physical Development in
Alternatives to Traditional Public Schooling 316 Adolescence358
Review317
Prologue: The Stranger Down the Hall 359
Intelligence: Determining Individual Strengths 317
Intelligence Benchmarks: Differentiating the Intelligent Looking Ahead 359
From the Unintelligent 318 Physical Maturation  360
Group Differences in IQ 320 Growth During Adolescence: The Rapid Pace of
What IQ Tests Don’t Tell: Alternative Conceptions of Physical and Sexual Maturation 360
Intelligence323 Body Image: Reactions to Physical Changes in
Falling Below and Above Intelligence Norms 325 Adolescence363
Review327 Nutrition and Food: Fueling the Growth of
Adolescence365
The Case of . . . The “Big Cheese” 327
Eating Disorders: Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia 366
Epilogue • Looking Back • Key Terms and Concepts
Brain Development and Thought: Paving the Way for
Cognitive Growth 367
13 Social and Personality Development Review369
in Middle Childhood 331 Stress and Coping 370
Origins of Stress: Reacting to Life’s Challenges 370
Prologue: New Kid in Town 332
From Research to Practice: Bullies and Their Victims:
Looking Ahead 332 The Lingering Stress371
The Developing Self 333
Meeting the Challenge of Stress 372
Psychosocial Development and Self-Understanding
Are You an Informed Consumer of Development?:
in Middle Childhood 333
Coping With Stress 373
Self-Esteem: Developing a Positive—or
Negative—View of Oneself 336 Review374
Developmental Diversity and Your Life: Are the Threats to Adolescents’ Well-Being 374
Children of Immigrant Families Well Adjusted? 338 Illegal Drugs 374
Review338 Alcohol: Use and Abuse 375
Relationships: Building Friendship in Middle Childhood 339 Are You an Informed Consumer of Development?:
Stages of Friendship: Changing Views of Friends 339 Hooked on Drugs or Alcohol? 377
Individual Differences in Friendship: Tobacco: The Dangers of Smoking 377
What Makes a Child Popular? 340 Developmental Diversity and Your Life: Selling
Gender and Friendships: The Sex Segregation Death: Pushing Smoking to the Less Advantaged 378
of Middle Childhood 342
Sexually Transmitted Infections 379
Cross-Race Friendships: Integration in and out
Review381
of the Classroom 343
School-Yard—and Cyber-Yard—Bullies 343 The Case of . . . Moving Too Fast 381
Are You an Informed Consumer of Development?: Epilogue • Looking Back • Key Terms and Concepts 
Increasing Children’s Social Competence  344
viii Contents

15 Cognitive Development in Are You an Informed Consumer of Development?:

Adolescent Suicide: How to Help 422
Adolescence384
Review423
Prologue: Who Is This Person? 385 Relationships: Family and Friends 423
Looking Ahead 385 Family Ties: Changing Relationships 423
Intellectual Development 386 Relationships With Peers: The Importance of Belonging 427
Piaget’s Formal Operational Stage and Adolescent Developmental Diversity and Your Life: Race
Cognitive Development 386 Segregation: The Great Divide of Adolescence 428
Information-Processing Perspectives: Gradual Popularity and Peer Pressure in Adolescence 429
Transformations in Abilities 389 Juvenile Delinquency: The Crimes of Adolescence 431
Egocentrism in Thinking: Adolescents’ From Research to Practice: R U Friends 4 Real?
Self-Absorption389
Are Digital Communications Changing Teenagers’
Review390 Friendships?431
Moral Development 391 Dating, Sexual Behavior, and Teenage Pregnancy 432
Kohlberg’s Approach to Moral Development 391 Dating: Close Relationships in the 21st Century 432
Gilligan’s Approach to Moral Development: Review432
Gender and Morality 393
Sexual Relationships 433
Review394
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexuality, Homosexuality,
Schooling and Cognitive Development 394 and Bisexuality 435
The Transition From Elementary School to Teenage Pregnancies 436
Middle School 395
Review438
Socioeconomic Status, Race, Ethnicity, and School
Performance396 The Case of. . . Too Much of a Good Thing 438
Part-Time Work: Students on the Job 397 Epilogue • Looking Back • Key Terms and Concepts

From Research to Practice: Does Work Build Putting It All Together 441
Character?  399
Glossary443
College: Pursuing Higher Education 399
Developmental Diversity and Your Life: Overcoming
References450
Gender and Racial Barriers to Achievement 403 Credits512
Review405 Name Index 517
Choosing an Occupation 405 Subject Index 535
Choosing a Career 405 Answers543
Gender and Career Choices: Women’s Work 406
Are You an Informed Consumer of Development?:
Choosing a Career 407
Review408
The Case of . . . The Clueless Dreamer 408
Epilogue • Looking Back • Key Terms and Concepts

16 Social and Personality

Development in Adolescence 412
Prologue: Choices 413
Looking Ahead 413
Identity: Asking “Who Am I?” 414
Self-Concept and Self-Esteem 414
Identity Formation: Change or Crisis? 416
Marcia’s Approach to Identity Development:
Updating Erikson 417
Religion and Spirituality 418
Identity, Race, and Ethnicity 419
Psychological Difficulties in Adolescence 419
Preface
C
hild development is a unique field of study. Unlike
other academic disciplines, each of us has experi-
ence with its subject matter in very personal ways.
It is a discipline that deals not just with ideas and concepts
and theories, but one that above all has at its heart the
forces that have made each of us who we are.
This text, Child Development, Seventh Edition, seeks to
capture the discipline in a way that sparks, nurtures, and
shapes readers’ interest. It is meant to excite students about
the field, to draw them into its way of looking at the world,
and to mold their understanding of developmental issues.
By exposing readers to both the current content and the
promise inherent in child and adolescent development, the
text is designed to keep interest in the discipline alive long
after students’ formal study of the field has ended.
Overview
Child Development, Seventh Edition, provides a broad over-
view of the field of development. It covers the full range of
childhood and adolescence, from the moment of concep-
tion through the end of adolescence. The text furnishes a
broad, comprehensive introduction to the field, covering
basic theories and research findings, as well as highlighting
current applications outside the laboratory. It covers child-
hood and adolescence chronologically, encompassing the
prenatal period, infancy and toddlerhood, the preschool
years, middle childhood, and adolescence. Within these
periods, it focuses on physical, cognitive, and social and
personality development.
The book seeks to accomplish the following four major
goals:
• First and foremost, the book is designed to provide a
broad, balanced overview of the field of child devel-
opment. It introduces readers to the theories, research,
and applications that constitute the discipline, exam-
ining both the traditional areas of the field as well as
more recent innovations. The book pays particular
attention to the applications developed by child and
adolescent development specialists. Without slight-
ing theoretical material, the text emphasizes what we
know about development across childhood and adoles-
cence, rather than focusing on unanswered questions.
It demonstrates how this knowledge may be applied
to real-world problems. In sum, the book highlights
the interrelationships among theory, research, and ap-
plication, accentuating the scope and diversity of the
field. It also illustrates how child d
­ evelopmentalists
use theory, research, and applications to help solve
­significant social problems.
• The second major goal of the text is to explicitly tie de-
velopment to students’ lives. Findings from the study
of child and adolescent development have a significant
degree of relevance to students, and this text illustrates
how these findings can be applied in a meaningful,
practical sense. Applications are presented in a con-
temporaneous framework, including current news
items, timely world events, and contemporary uses
of child development that draw readers into the field.
Numerous descriptive scenarios and vignettes reflect
everyday situations in people’s lives, explaining how
they relate to the field.
For example, each chapter begins with an opening
prologue that provides a real-life situation relating to
the chapter subject area. All chapters also have an “Are
You an Informed Consumer of Development” section,
which explicitly suggests ways to apply developmen-
tal findings to students’ experience. These sections
portray how these findings can be applied, in a practi-
cal, hands-on way. Each chapter also includes a feature
called “From Research to Practice” that discusses ways
that developmental research is being used to answer
the problems that society faces. Finally, there are nu-
merous questions in figure and photo captions asking
readers to take the perspective of people in a variety
of professions that make use of child development, in-
cluding health care professionals, educators, and social
workers.
• The third goal of this book is to highlight both the
commonalties and diversity of today’s multicultural
society. Consequently, every chapter has at least one
“Developmental Diversity and Your Life” section.
These features explicitly consider how cultural factors
relevant to development both unite and diversify our
contemporary global society. In addition, the book in-
corporates material relevant to diversity throughout
every chapter.
• Finally, the fourth goal of the text is one that under-
lies the other three: making the field of child develop-
ment engaging, accessible, and interesting to students.
Child development is a joy both to study and teach
because so much of it has direct, immediate meaning
to our lives. Because all of us are involved in our own
developmental paths, we are tied in very personal
ways to the content areas covered by the book. Child
­Development, Seventh Edition, then, is meant to engage
ix
x Preface
and nurture this interest, planting a seed that will de-
velop and flourish throughout readers’ lifetimes.
• To accomplish this fourth goal, the book is “user-
friendly.” Written in a direct, conversational voice, it
replicates as much as possible a dialogue between au-
thor and student. The text is meant to be understood
and mastered on its own, without the intervention of
an instructor. To that end, it includes a variety of ped-
agogical features. Each chapter contains a “Looking
Ahead” overview that sets the stage for the chapter, a
running glossary, a numbered summary, a list of key
terms and concepts, and an epilogue containing crit-
ical thinking questions. In addition, each chapter has
several “Review” sections asking questions that test
mastery of the material.
The Philosophy Behind Child Development, Seventh
Edition. Child Development, Seventh Edition blends and inte-
grates theory, research, and applications. It is not an applied
development book, focused solely on techniques for trans-
lating the knowledge base of development into answers to
societal problems. Nor is it a theory-oriented volume, con-
centrating primarily on the field’s abstract theories. Instead,
the focus of the text is on the scope and breadth of human
development during childhood and adolescence. The strat-
egy of concentrating on the scope of the field permits the
text to examine both the traditional core areas of the field,
as well as evolving, nontraditional areas of development.
Furthermore, the book focuses on the here and now,
rather than attempting to provide a detailed historical re-
cord of the field. Although it draws on the past where appro-
priate, it does so with a view toward delineating the field as
it now stands and the directions toward which it is evolving.
Similarly, while providing descriptions of classic studies, the
emphasis is on current research findings and trends.
The book provides a broad overview of child and ado-
lescent development, integrating the theory, research, and
applications of the discipline. It is meant to be a book that
readers will want to keep in their own personal libraries,
one that they will take off the shelf when considering prob-
lems related to that most intriguing of questions: how do
people get to be the way they are?
Specific Features
• Chapter-opening prologues. Each chapter begins with a
short vignette describing an individual or situation
that is relevant to the basic developmental issues
being addressed in the chapter. For instance, the
chapter on physical development in infancy describes
a child’s first steps, and the chapter on the social de-
velopment in adolescents provides accounts of three
different teenagers.
• Looking Ahead sections. These opening sections ori-
ent readers to the topics to be covered, bridging the
­ pening prologue with the remainder of the chapter
o
and providing orienting questions.
• Learning Objectives. Every chapter includes sequentially
numbered learning objectives, stated as engaging
questions and based on Bloom’s taxonomy. They allow
students to understand clearly what they are expected
to learn. The learning objectives are tied to the Looking
Back summary at the end of each chapter and are also
keyed to test bank items.
• From Research to Practice. Each chapter includes a fea-
ture that focuses on the ways in which research in child
development can be used both in terms of everyday
child-rearing issues and for public policy. For instance,
these features include discussions on new explanations
for SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome), evaluations
of the effectiveness of Montessori preschools, and how
children are influenced by their siblings.
• Developmental Diversity and Your Life section. Every
chapter has at least one “Developmental Diversity and
Your Life” section incorporated into the text. These
sections highlight issues relevant to the multicultural
society in which we live. Examples of these sections in-
clude discussions of the cultural dimensions of motor
development, the adjustment of children from immi-
grant families, multicultural education, and overcom-
ing gender and racial barriers to achievement.
• Becoming an Informed Consumer of Development. Every
chapter includes information on specific uses that can
be derived from research conducted by developmental
investigators. For instance, the text provides concrete
information on exercising an infant’s body and sens-
es, keeping preschoolers healthy, increasing children’s
competence, and choosing a career.
• Review sections. Interspersed throughout each chapter
are questions designed to aid in mastery of the material.
• From the perspective of… These questions, interspersed
throughout each chapter, ask students to take the per-
spective of someone working in an occupation that
relies on findings of child development, including the
fields of health care, education, and social work.
• The Case of… Every chapter includes a case study. Case
studies describe an intriguing situation related to the
topics discussed in the chapter, and they end by asking
students questions designed to evoke critical thinking
about the case and the chapter content.
• End-of-chapter material. Each chapter ends with a sum-
mary (keyed to chapter learning objectives) and a list
of key terms and concepts. This material is designed
to help students study and retain the information
in the chapter. Finally, there is a short epilogue that
includes critical thinking questions relating to the
prologue at the opening of the chapter. Because the
opening prologues serve as case studies that fore-
­
shadow the ­topics that the chapter will address, these

end-of-chapter t­hought-­provoking questions provide
a way of tying the chapter together. They also illus-
trate how the concepts addressed in the chapter can
be applied to the real-world situation described in the
opening prologue.
• End-of-part material. Every part of the book concludes with
material that integrates different developmental domains
during a particular age range. A vignette that captures a
developmental issue or theme is considered jointly from
a physical, cognitive, and social and personality point of
view, helping students to understand how the various
perspectives work together to explain development.
What’s New in This Edition?
Child Development, Seventh Edition, includes a set of
­extraordinary online interactivities designed to engage stu-
dents and promote their learning. All newly created, these
interactivities provide an exciting means for students to
explore and more deeply understand the core concepts of
child development.
Furthermore, chapter openers and epilogues have
been replaced or updated, introducing students to the re-
al-world implications of the chapter topic. Moreover, all
From Research to Practice features—which describe a con-
temporary developmental research topic and its applied
implications—are new to this edition.
Finally, the Seventh Edition incorporates a significant
amount of new and updated information. For instance,
the revision addresses important issues such as behavior-
al genetics, brain development, evolutionary perspectives,
and social networking. In addition, there is an increased
emphasis on the findings of neuroscientists and brain scan
research, reflecting advances in the field. The new edition
also incorporates changes relating to psychological disor-
ders reflecting the publication of DSM-5.
New topics appear in to every chapter. A sampling
of specific topics that have been either newly included or
expanded illustrates the scope of the revision:
Chapter 1
Update on the first person conceived in vitro
Aggression, juvenile delinquency, and video game play
Statistics on aggression worldwide
Chapter 2
New examples of policy issues informed by lifespan
­developmental research
Research on same-sex parenting efficacy
Debunking relationship between vaccination and autism
New DSM-5 terminology: autism spectrum disorder
Scaffolding and Vygotsky
New case study
Emerging adulthood
Preface xi
Chapter 3
Transgenerational epigenetic inheritance
Placental role in brain development
Down syndrome treatment
In vitro fertilization success rates
In vitro fertilization live birth rates
Psychological consequences of miscarriage
Statistics on international abortion incidence
Clarified APA conclusions on abortion aftereffects
Incidence of hunger worldwide
Miscarriage leads to higher risk of postpartum depression
after healthy child is born
New abortion statistics
Added DSM-5 terminology (schizophrenia spectrum
disorder, major depression disorder, autism spectrum
disorder)
Added additional causes of miscarriage
Consequence of knowing one is pregnant earlier and
­earlier knowledge of miscarriage
New case study
Chapter 4
In utero tumor removal
Controversy regarding routine screening
Statistics on infant mortality
Water birthing
Costs of caring for premature infants
Increase in Cesarean deliveries
Higher risk of mental illness in preterm infants
Reorganized section on medical screening
Individual differences in labor
Deleted states of arousal
Average length of hospital stay after giving birth
Chapter 5
Infants’ affinity to attractive faces
Reduced rates of infection for breastfed infants
Shaken baby syndrome incidence and results
Brain scan showing shaken baby syndrome damage
Link between Cesarean delivery and infant obesity
New statistics on incidence of SIDS
Statistics on birth attendants worldwide
Importance of touch for social development
Chapter 6
Efficacy of educational media for children
Parent responsiveness to infants’ babbling
Infant understanding of movement trajectories
Infant understanding of gravity
Explanation of why Bayley Scales might be administered
xii Preface

Chapter 7 Change in term “mental retardation” to “intellectual

disability”
Raising gender-free children
Changes in brain due to reading
Infants’ abilities to distinguish race
New case study
Difficulties in raising children who don’t differentiate on
Charter school
the basis of race
Public schooling
Evidence of infants’ theory of mind at 18 months
Private schools
Research showing 10 and 13-month-olds mentally repre-
sent social dominance
Chapter 13
Infant preferences for helpful vs. antisocial behavior
Androgen exposure in infancy and gender-typed behavior Decreasing digital divide between poor and affluent
children
Chapter 8 Unmonitored digital use in children raised in poverty
Immigrant children’s physical health
Reinforced the importance of vaccinations
Sibling experiences in different cultural contexts
Lack of link between vaccination and autism spectrum
Anti-bullying programs
disorder
Delete material on expectation effects
Incorporation of DSM-5 term “autism spectrum disorder”
Degree of cross-race friendships and diversity of
Importance of serving food with low sodium and fat content
setting
Additional characteristics of high-quality child care
Obesity incidence trending down in last decade
Chapter 14
Added statistics on incidence of psychological disorders
in preschoolers Brain damage due to binge drinking in teenagers
Changed term “emotional disorders” to “psychological Cyberbullying
disorders” and expanded the topic Risky behavior caused by overestimation of rewards, not
only underestimation of risks
Chapter 9 New AIDS statistics
Increasing marijuana use among high school students
Montessori schooling
Meta-analysis results of reading to children
Chapter 15
Head Start enrollment figures
Head Start outcomes Summer learning loss
Preschool benefits 25 years after participation Stealth learning
Additional characteristics of high quality child care Waivers for “No Child Left Behind” law
Use of Adderall to increase academic performance
Chapter 10 Choices between media options by adolescents
Media use supplants other forms of social interaction
Effect of violent video games
New figure on teens and cell phone use
Incidence of autism
New case study
Spanking as a violation of human rights
Working and adolescent character
Genetic roots of generosity and selfishness
Methods for promoting generosity and empathy
Chapter 16

Chapter 11 Friendship and social networks

Sexting
Cost of psychological disorders in children
Teenage pregnancy rates at historic lows
ADHD incidence and treatment
Declines in rate of adolescent sexual intercourse
Increased muscular strength during middle childhood
Increase in use of condoms
Bone ossification
Religion as viewing the world in terms of intentional
Dental development
design
Cochlear implants
Cross-group friendships promote more positive inter-
DSM-5 terms: childhood-onset fluency disorder, specific
group attitudes
learning disorder, major depressive disorder
Gender-nonconforming gays and lesbian adjustment
More positive societal attitudes towards homosexuality
Chapter 12
Increase in bicultural identity
Benefits of bilingualism Use of DSM-5 terminology: major depressive disorder
Emotional well-being and bilingualism

In addition, a wealth of contemporary research is cit-
ed in this edition. Hundreds of new research citations have
been added, most from the last few years.
REVEL™
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way today’s students read, think, and learn
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tional technology boosts student engagement, which leads
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The Seventh Edition includes integrated videos and
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Revel also offers the ability for students to assess their
content mastery by taking multiple-choice quizzes that
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Ancillaries
Child Development, Seventh Edition, is accompanied by a
superb set of ancillary teaching materials. These include
the following:
• Instructor’s Resource Manual (0134026543). De-
signed to make your lectures more effective and
save you preparation time, this extensive resource
gathers together the most effective activities and
strategies for teaching your course. The Instruc-
tor’s Resource Manual includes learning objectives,
key terms and concepts, self-contained lecture sug-
gestions and class activities for each chapter with
handouts, supplemental reading suggestions, and an
annotated list of additional multimedia resources.
The Instructor’s Resource Manual can be down-
loaded via the Instructor’s Resource Center at www
.pearsonhighered.com.
• PowerPoint Lecture Slides (0134026535). These Pow-
erPoints provide an active format for presenting con-
cepts from each chapter and feature relevant figures
and tables from the text. Available for download on the
Preface xiii
Instructor’s Resource Center at www.pearsonhighered
.com.
• Test Item File (0205852726). The test bank contains
multiple choice, true/false, and essay questions. Each
question has been accuracy-checked to ensure that the
correct answer was marked and the page reference
was accurate. Available for download on the Instruc-
tor’s Resource Center at www.pearsonhighered.com.
• MyTest Test Bank (0134026519) A powerful
­assessment-generation program that helps instructors
easily create and print quizzes and exams. Questions
and tests can be authored online, allowing instructors
ultimate flexibility and the ability to efficiently man-
age assessments anytime, anywhere! Instructors can
easily access existing questions, edit, create, and store
using simple drag-and-drop technique and Word-like
controls. Data on each question provide information
on difficulty level and page number of corresponding
text discussion. In addition, each question maps to the
text’s major section and learning objective. For more
information, go to www.PearsonMyTest.com.
• MyVirtualChild. MyVirtualChild is an interactive
simulation that allows students to raise a child from
birth to age 18 and monitor the effects of their parent-
ing decisions over time. By incorporating physical, so-
cial, emotional, and cognitive development at several
age levels, MyVirtualChild helps students think criti-
cally as they apply their course work to the practical
experiences of raising a virtual child. You can access
MyVirtualChild within MyPsychLab, or separately at
www.myvirtualchild.com.
• MyPsychLab (ISBN 013401202X). Available at
www.mypsychlab.com, MyPsychLab is an online
homework, tutorial, and assessment program that
­truly engages students in learning. It helps students
better prepare for class, quizzes, and exams—resulting
in better performance in the course. It provides educa-
tors a dynamic set of tools for gauging individual and
class performance:
• Customizable MyPsychLab is customizable. In-
structors choose what students’ course looks like.
Homework, applications, and more can easily be
turned on and off.
• Blackboard Single Sign-On MyPsychLab can be
used by itself or linked to any course management
system. Blackboard single sign-on provides deep
linking to all new MyPsychLab resources.
• Pearson eText and Chapter Audio Like the print-
ed text, students can highlight relevant passages
and add notes. The Pearson eText can be accessed
through laptops, iPads, and tablets. Download the
free Pearson eText app to use on tablets. Students
can also listen to their text with the Audio eText.
xiv Preface

• Assignment Calendar and Gradebook A drag and • Personalized Study Plan Students’ personalized
drop assignment calendar makes assigning and plans promote better critical thinking skills. The study
completing work easy. The automatically graded
­ plan organizes students’ study needs into sections,
assessment provides instant feedback and flows such as Remembering, Understanding, Applying, and
into the gradebook, which can be used in the Analyzing.
­MyPsychLab or exported.
Acknowledgments
I am grateful to the following reviewers who provided a My education continued when I became a professor. I
wealth of comments, criticism, and encouragement: am especially grateful to my colleagues at the University of
Massachusetts, who make the university such a wonderful
Beth Bigler, Pellissippi State Community College
place in which to teach and do research.
Heidemarie Blumenthal, University of North Texas
Several people played central roles in the develop-
Jamie Borchardt, Tarleton State University
ment of this book. Christopher Poirier provided extraor-
Johnny Castro, Brookhaven College
dinary help on the digital interactivities, and I am thank-
Nate Cottle, University of Central Oklahoma
ful for his help on this and on other projects for which
Christie Cunningham, Pellissippi State Community
he provided help. I’m also grateful to John Bickford, who
College
provided significant editorial support. John Graiff was es-
Lisa Fozio-Thielk, Waubonsee Community College
sential in juggling and coordinating the multiple aspects
Sara Goldstein, Montclair State University
of writing this book, and I am very grateful for the central
Christina Gotowka, Tunxis Community College
role he played.
Joel Hagaman, University of the Ozarks
I am also grateful to the superb Pearson team that
Nicole Hansen-Rayes, City Colleges of Chicago/Daley
was instrumental in the development of this book. Amber
College
Chow, acquisitions editor, always provided good ideas,
Myra Harville, Holmes Community College
support, and direction. I am grateful for her enthusiasm
Mary Hughes Stone, San Francisco State University
and creativity. Program Manager Diane Szulecki, master of
Suzanne Hughes, Southwestern Community College
all details, went way beyond the call of duty to provide
Earleen Huff, Amarillo College
direction and support in every respect. Finally, I’d like to
Jo Jackson, Lenoir Community College
thank Marketing Specialists Lindsey Prudhomme-Gill and
Jennifer Kampmann, South Dakota State University
Kate Stewart, on whose skills I’m counting. It’s a privilege
Dr. William Kimberlin, Lorain County Community
to be part of this world-class team.
College
I also wish to acknowledge the members of my fam-
Francesca Longo, Boston College
ily, who play such a central role in my life. My brother,
Mark Lyerly, Burlington County College
­Michael, my sisters-in-law and brother-in-law, my nieces
Rebecca Marcon, University of North Florida
and nephews, all make up an important part of my life. In
Kathleen Miller Green, North Idaho College
addition, I am always indebted to the older generation of
Suzanne Mira-Knippel, Southwestern Community
my family, who led the way in a manner I can only hope
College
to emulate. I will always be obligated to Harry Brochstein,
Ron Mulson, Hudson Valley Community College
Mary Vorwerk, and Ethel Radler for their wisdom and sup-
Tara Newman, Stephen F. Austin State University
port. Most of all, the list is headed by my father, the late
Laura Pirazzi, San Jose State University
Saul Feldman, and my mother, Leah Brochstein.
Katherine K. Rose, Texas Woman’s University
In the end, it is my immediate family who deserve
Jeffrey Vallon, SUNY Rockland Community College
the greatest thanks. My son Jon, his wife, Leigh, and my
Amy Van Hecke, Marquette University
grandsons Alex and Miles; my son Josh and his wife Julie;
Traci Van Prooyen, University of Illinois at Springfield
and my daughter Sarah and husband Jeff, not only are nice,
Angela Williamson, Tarrant County College
smart, and good-looking, but my pride and joy. And ulti-
Melanie Yeschenko, Community College of Allegheny
mately my wife, Katherine Vorwerk, provides the love and
County
grounding that make everything worthwhile. I thank them
Many others deserve a great deal of thanks. I am all, with love.
i­ ndebted to the many people who provided me with a ­superb
education, first at Wesleyan University and later at the Uni- Robert S. Feldman
versity of Wisconsin. Specifically, Karl Scheibe played a piv- University of Massachusetts Amherst
otal role in my undergraduate education, and the late Vernon
Allen acted as mentor and guide through my graduate years.
It was in graduate school that I learned about development,
being exposed to such experts as Ross Parke, Joel Levin, Herb
Klausmeier, and many others.
xv
About the Author

R
obert S. Feldman is Professor of Psychological ­G erman, Arabic, Ta-
and Brain Sciences and Deputy Chancellor of the galog, and Japanese,
University of Massachusetts Amherst. A recipient and more than 2.5 mil-
of the College Distinguished Teacher Award, he teaches lion students have used
classes ranging in size from 10 to nearly 500 students. his textbooks.
During the course of more than two decades as a college Professor Feld-
instructor, he has taught both undergraduate and graduate man’s research interests
courses at Mount Holyoke College, Wesleyan University, include honesty and
and Virginia Commonwealth University in addition to the deception in everyday
University of Massachusetts Amherst. life, work that he de-
A Fellow of both the American Psychological Associ- scribed in The Liar in
ation and the Association for Psychological Science, Pro- Your Life, a trade book
fessor Feldman received a B.A. with High Honors from published in 2009. His
Wesleyan University (and from which he received the Dis- research has been sup-
tinguished Alumni Award). He has an MS and PhD from ported by grants from
the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He is a winner of the National Institute of Mental Health and the National
a Fulbright Senior Research Scholar and Lecturer award, Institute on Disabilities and Rehabilitation Research. He
and he has written more than 200 books, book chapters, is also president of the Federation of Associations in the
and scientific articles. He has edited Development of Nonver- Behavioral and Brain Sciences Foundation, an organiza-
bal Behavior in Children (Springer-Verlag) and Applications tion that promotes the social sciences, and a member of the
of Nonverbal Behavioral Theory and Research (Erlbaum), and board of New England Public Radio.
co-edited Fundamentals of Nonverbal Behavior (Cambridge Professor Feldman loves music, is an enthusiastic
University Press). He is also author of Development Across pianist, and enjoys cooking and traveling. He has three
the Life Span, Understanding Psychology, and P.O.W.E.R. children and two young grandsons. He and his wife, a
Learning: Strategies for Success in College and Life. His books psychologist, live in western Massachusetts in a home
have been translated into many languages, including overlooking the Holyoke Mountain Range.
­S panish, French, Portuguese, Dutch, Chinese, K ­ orean,

xvi
Chapter 1
An Introduction
to Child Development

1
2 Chapter 1

Learning Objectives
LO1 What is the scope of the field of child LO4 How has childhood been regarded since
development? the 20th century?
LO2 How would you describe the major LO5 How would you explain the key issues
societal influences that determine and questions in the field of child
development? development?
LO3 What were the earliest views of childhood LO6 What is the future of child development
and children? likely to hold?

Prologue: New Conceptions

What if, for your entire life, the image that others held of you the age of 28, Louise became a mother herself, giving birth
was colored by the manner in which you were conceived? to a baby boy named Cameron—conceived, incidentally,
In some ways, that’s what it has been like for Louise the old-fashioned way (Falco, 2012; ICMART, 2012).
Brown, who was the world’s first “test-tube baby,” born by
in vitro fertilization (IVF), a procedure in which fertilization
of a mother’s egg by a father’s sperm takes place outside
of the mother’s body.
Louise was a preschooler when her parents told her
how she was conceived, and throughout her childhood
she was bombarded with questions. It became routine to
explain to her classmates that she, in fact, was not born in
a laboratory.
At times, Louise felt completely alone. “I thought it
was something peculiar to me,” she recalled. But as she
grew older, her sense of isolation diminished as more and
more children were born via IVF.
In fact, today Louise is hardly alone. She is among
the more than 5 million babies that have been born using
the procedure, one that has almost become routine. And at Louise Brown (foreground, center) and friends

Looking Ahead
Louise Brown’s conception may have been novel, but her
development, from infancy o ­ nward, has followed predictable
patterns. While the specifics of our development vary—some
of us encounter economic deprivation or live in war-torn terri-
tories; others contend with family issues like divorce and step-
parents—the broad strokes of the development that is set in
motion the moment we are conceived are remarkably similar
for all of us.
Louise Brown’s conception in the lab is just one of the
brave new worlds of the 21st century. Issues ranging from
cloning and the consequences of poverty on development to
the effects of culture and race raise significant developmental
concerns. Underlying these are even more fundamental
issues. How do children develop physically? How does their
understanding of the world grow and change over time?
And how do our personalities and our social world develop
as we move from birth through adolescence?
These questions, and many others we’ll encounter
throughout this book, are c­ entral to the field of child develop-
ment. Consider, for example, the range of approaches that
different specialists in child development might take when
considering the story of Louise Brown:
• Child development researchers who investigate behavior
at the level of biological processes might determine
whether Louise’s physical functioning before her birth
was affected by her conception outside the womb.
• Specialists in child development who study genetics
might examine how the biological endowment from
Louise’s parents affects her later behavior.

• Child development specialists who investigate the ways
thinking changes over the course of childhood might
examine how Louise’s understanding of the nature of
her conception changed as she grew older.
• Researchers in child development who focus on
physical growth might consider whether her growth rate
differed from children conceived more traditionally.
• Child development experts who specialize in the
social world of children might look at the ways that
Louise interacted with other children and the kinds of
friendships she developed.
Although their interests and approaches take many
forms, all these specialists share one concern: understand-
ing the growth and change that occur during the course of
childhood and adolescence. Developmentalists study how
both our biological inheritance from our parents and the
­environment in which we live jointly affect our behavior.
More specifically, some researchers in child develop-
ment focus on explaining how our genetic background can
determine not only how we look but also how we behave and
how we relate to others—that is, matters of personality. These
An Orientation to Child
Development
Have you ever wondered how it is possible that an infant
tightly grips your finger with tiny, perfectly formed hands?
Or marveled at how a preschooler methodically draws a
picture? Or considered the way an adolescent can make
involved decisions about whom to invite to a party or the
ethics of downloading music files? If you’ve ever pondered
such things, you are asking the kinds of questions that sci-
entists in the field of child development pose. Child de-
velopment is the scientific study of the patterns of growth,
change, and stability that occur from conception through
adolescence.
Although the definition of the field seems straightfor-
ward, the simplicity is s­ omewhat misleading. In order to
understand what child development is actually about, we
need to look underneath the various parts of the definition.
In its study of growth, change, and stability, child devel-
opment takes a scientific approach. Like members of other
scientific disciplines, researchers in child development test
their assumptions about the nature and course of human
development by applying scientific methods. As we’ll see
in the next chapter, researchers formulate theories about
development, and they use methodical, scientific techniques
to validate the accuracy of their assumptions systematically.
Child development focuses on human development.
Although there are some developmentalists who study
the course of development in nonhuman species, the vast
An Introduction to Child Development 3
professionals explore ways to identify how much of our potential
as human ­beings is provided—or limited—by heredity. Other child
development specialists look to the ­environment in which we are
raised, exploring ways in which our lives are shaped by the world
that we encounter. They investigate the extent to which we are
shaped by our early environments and how our current circum-
stances influence our behavior in both subtle and obvious ways.
Whether they focus on heredity or environment, all child
development specialists hope that their work will ultimately
inform and support the efforts of professionals whose c ­ areers
are devoted to improving the lives of children. Practitioners in
fields ranging from education to health care and social work
draw on the findings of child development ­researchers, using
their research findings to advance children’s welfare.
In this chapter, we orient ourselves to the field of child
development. We begin with a discussion of the scope of the
discipline, illustrating the wide array of topics it covers and the
range of ages it examines, from the moment of conception
through the end of adolescence. We also survey the founda-
tions of the field and examine the key issues and questions
that underlie child development. Finally, we consider where
the child development field is likely to go in the future.
majority examine growth and change in people. Some
seek to understand universal principles of development,
whereas others focus on how cultural, racial, and ethnic
differences affect the course of development. Still others
aim to understand the unique aspects of individuals,
looking at the traits and characteristics that differentiate one
person from another. Regardless of approach, however, all
child developmentalists view development as a continuing
process throughout childhood and adolescence.
As developmental specialists focus on the ways people
change and grow during their lives, they also consider
stability in children’s and adolescents’ lives. They ask in
which areas and in what periods people show change and
growth and when and how their behavior reveals consis-
tency and continuity with prior behavior.
Watch the Video: Introduction to Human Development
child development The field that involves the scientific study
of the patterns of growth, change, and stability that occur
from conception through adolescence.
4 Chapter 1
Finally, although child development focuses on
childhood and adolescence, the process of development
persists throughout every part of people’s lives, begin-
ning with the moment of conception and continuing
until death. Developmental specialists assume that in
some ways people continue to grow and change right
up to the end of their lives, while in other respects
their behavior remains stable. At the same time, devel-
opmentalists believe that no particular, single period
of life governs all development. Instead, they believe
that every period of life contains the potential for both
growth and decline in abilities and that individuals
maintain the capacity for substantial growth and change
throughout their lives.
Characterizing Child Development:
The Scope of the Field
LO1 What is the scope of the field of child
development?
Clearly, the definition of child development is broad, and
the scope of the field is ­extensive. Consequently, profes-
sionals in child development cover several quite ­diverse
areas, and a typical developmentalist will specialize in
both a topical area and age range.
Topical Areas in Child Development. The
field of child development includes three major topics or
approaches:
• Physical development
• Cognitive development
• Social and personality development
A child developmentalist might specialize in a partic-
ular one of these topical areas. As an example, some devel-
opmentalists focus on physical development, examining
the ways in which the body’s makeup—the brain, nervous
system, muscles, and senses, as well as the need for food,
drink, and sleep—helps determine behavior. For instance,
one specialist in physical development might study the
effects of malnutrition on the pace of growth in children,
while another might look at how an athlete’s physical
performance changes during adolescence.
Other developmental specialists examine ­cognitive
development, seeking to understand how growth and
change in intellectual capabilities influence a person’s
behavior. Cognitive developmentalists study learning,
memory, problem solving, and intelligence. For example,
specialists in cognitive development might want to see
how problem solving changes over the course of child-
hood or whether cultural differences exist in the way
people explain the reasons for their academic successes
and failures. They would also be interested in how a
person who experiences significant or traumatic events
early in life would remember them later in life (Alibali,
Phillips, & Fischer, 2009; Dumka et al., 2009; Penido
et al., 2012).
Finally, some developmental specialists focus on
personality and social development. Personality develop-
ment is the study of stability and change in the enduring
characteristics that differentiate one person from another.
Social development is the way in which individuals’
interactions with others and their social relationships
grow, change, and remain stable over the course of life.
A developmentalist interested in personality development
might ask whether there are stable, enduring personality
traits throughout the life span, while a specialist in social
development might examine the effects of racism, poverty,
or divorce on development (Evans, Boxhill, & Pinkava,
2008; Lansford, 2009; Vélez, et al., 2011). These four major
topic areas—physical, cognitive, social, and personality
development—are summarized in Table 1.1.
Age Ranges and Individual Differences. As
they specialize in chosen topical areas, child developmen-
talists typically look at particular age ranges. They usually
divide childhood and adolescence into broad stages: the
prenatal period (the period from conception to birth), in-
fancy and toddlerhood (birth to age 3), the preschool peri-
od (ages 3 to 6), middle childhood (ages 6 to 12), and ado-
lescence (ages 12 to 20).
It’s important to keep in mind that these broad periods—
which are largely accepted by child developmentalists—are
social constructions. A social construction is a shared notion of
reality, one that is widely accepted but is a function of society
and culture at a given time.
Although most child developmentalists accept these
broad periods, the age ranges themselves are in many
ways arbitrary. Some periods have one clear-cut boundary
(infancy begins with birth, the preschool period ends with
entry into public school, and adolescence starts with sexual
maturity), while others don’t.
For instance, consider the separation between middle
childhood and adolescence, which usually occurs around
the age of 12. Because the boundary is based on a biological
physical development Development involving the body’s
physical makeup, including the brain, nervous system,
muscles, and senses and the need for food, drink, and sleep
cognitive development Development involving the ways that
growth and change in intellectual capabilities influence a
person’s behavior
personality development Development involving the ways
that the enduring characteristics that differentiate one person
from another change over the life span
social development The way in which individuals’
interactions with others and their social relationships grow,
change, and remain stable over the course of life

Table 1.1 Approaches to Child Development
Orientation Defining Characteristics
Physical Examines how brain, nervous system, muscles,
development sensory capabilities, and needs for food, drink,
and sleep affect behavior
Cognitive Emphasizes intellectual abilities, including learning,
development memory, language development, problem solving,
and intelligence
Personality and Examines enduring characteristics that
social development differentiate one person from another and how
interactions with others and social relationships
grow and change over the life span
a
Numbers in parentheses indicate in which chapter the question is addressed.
change, the onset of sexual maturation, which varies greatly
from one individual to another, the specific age of entry into
adolescence varies from one person to the next.
Furthermore, some developmentalists have proposed
entirely new developmental periods. For example,
psychologist Jeffrey Arnett argues that adolescence
extends into emerging adulthood, a period beginning in the
late teenage years and continuing into the mid-twenties.
During emerging adulthood, people are no longer adoles-
cents, but they haven’t fully taken on the responsibilities of
adulthood. Instead, they are still trying out different iden-
tities and engaging in self-focused exploration (Arnett,
2010, 2011; de Dios, 2012; Nelson, 2013).
Watch the Video: The Features of Emerging Adulthood Across Cultures
In short, there are substantial individual differences in the
timing of events in people’s lives—a biological fact of life.
People mature at different rates and reach developmental
milestones at different points. Environmental factors also
play a significant role in determining the age at which a
particular event is likely to occur. For example, the typical
age at which people develop romantic attachments varies
substantially from one culture to another, depending in part
on the way that relationships are viewed in a given culture.
It is important to keep in mind, then, that when devel-
opmental specialists discuss age ranges, they are talking
about averages—the times when people, on average, reach
particular milestones. Some children will reach the mile-
stone earlier, some later, and many—in fact, most—will
An Introduction to Child Development 5
Examples of Questions Askeda
What determines the sex of a child? (3) What are the long-term consequences
of premature birth? (4) What are the benefits of breast-feeding? (5) What are
the consequences of early or late sexual maturation? (14)
What are the earliest memories that can be recalled from infancy? (6) What are
the consequences of watching television? (9) Are there benefits to bilingualism?
(12) Are there ethnic and racial differences in intelligence? (12) How does an
adolescent’s egocentrism affect his or her view of the world? (15)
Do newborns respond differently to their mothers than to others? (4) What is
the best procedure for disciplining children? (10) When does a sense of gender
develop? (10) How can we promote cross-race friendships? (13) What are the
causes of adolescent suicide? (16)
This wedding of two children in India is an example of how ­cultural
factors play a significant role in ­determining the age when a
­particular event is likely to occur.
reach it around the time of the average. Such variation
becomes noteworthy only when children show substantial
deviation from the average. For instance, parents whose child
begins to speak at a much later age than average might decide
to have their son or daughter evaluated by a speech therapist.
Furthermore, as children grow older, they become
more likely to deviate from the average and exhibit indi-
vidual differences. In very young children, a good part
of developmental change is genetically determined and
unfolds automatically, making development fairly similar
in different children. But as children age, environmental
factors become more potent, leading to greater variability
and individual differences as time passes.
6 Chapter 1
The Links Between Topics and Ages. Each of the
broad topical areas of child development—physical, cog-
nitive, and social and personality ­development—plays a
role throughout childhood and adolescence. Consequently,
some developmental experts focus on physical develop-
ment during the prenatal period and others on what occurs
during adolescence. Some might specialize in social devel-
opment during the preschool years, while others look at
social relationships in middle childhood. And still others
might take a broader approach, looking at cognitive devel-
opment through every period of childhood and adolescence
(and beyond).
The variety of topical areas and age ranges studied
within the field of child development means that
specialists from many diverse backgrounds and areas of
expertise consider themselves child developmentalists.
Psychologists who study behavior and mental processes,
Developmental Diversity
How Culture, Ethnicity, and Race Influence Development
In the United States, parents praise young children
who ask a lot of questions for being “intelligent”
and “inquisitive.” The Dutch consider such children
“too dependent on others.” Italian parents judge
inquisitiveness as a sign of social and emotional
competence, not intelligence. Spanish parents praise
character far more than intelligence, and the Swedes
value security and happiness above all.
What are we to make of the diverse parental expectations
cited above? Is one way of looking at children’s inquisitiveness
right and the others wrong? Probably not, if we take into
consideration the cultural contexts in which parents operate. In
fact, different cultures and subcultures have their own views of
appropriate and inappropriate methods and interpretations of
childrearing, just as they have different developmental goals
for children (Feldman & Masalha, 2007; Huijbregts et al., 2009;
Chen & Tianying Zheng, 2012).
Specialists in child development must take into
consideration broad cultural factors. For example, as we’ll
discuss further in Chapter 10, children growing up in Asian
societies tend to have a collectivistic orientation, focusing
on the interdependence among members of society. In
contrast, children in Western societies are more likely to have
an individualistic orientation, in which they concentrate on the
uniqueness of the individual.
Similarly, child developmentalists must also consider
ethnic, racial, socioeconomic, and gender differences if they
are to achieve an understanding of how people change and
grow throughout the life span. If these specialists succeed in
doing so, not only can they achieve a better understanding
educational researchers, geneticists, and physicians are
only some of the people who specialize and conduct
research in child development. Furthermore, devel-
opmentalists work in a variety of settings, including
university departments of psychology, education, human
development, and medicine, as well as nonacademic
settings as varied as human service agencies and child
care centers.
The diversity of specialists working under the broad
umbrella of child development brings a variety of perspec-
tives and intellectual richness to the field. In addition,
it permits the research findings of the field to be used
by practitioners in a wide array of applied professions.
Teachers, nurses, social workers, child care providers, and
social policy experts all rely on the findings of child devel-
opment to make decisions about how to improve chil-
dren’s welfare.
of human development, but they may also be able to derive
more precise applications for improving the human social
condition.
Efforts to understand how diversity affects
development have been hindered by difficulties in finding
an appropriate vocabulary. For example, members of the
research community—as well as society at large—have
sometimes used terms such as race and ethnic group in
inappropriate ways. Race is a biological concept, which
should be employed to refer to classifications based
on physical and structural characteristics of species.
In contrast, ethnic group and ethnicity are broader terms,
referring to cultural background, nationality, religion, and
language.
The concept of race has proven particularly problematic.
Although it formally refers to biological factors, race has taken
on substantially more meanings—many of them inappropriate—
that range from skin color to religion and culture. Moreover, the
concept of race is exceedingly imprecise; depending on how it
is defined, there are between three and 300 races, and no race
is genetically distinct. The fact that 99.9 percent of humans’
genetic makeup is identical in all humans makes the question
of race seem comparatively insignificant (Smedley & Smedley,
2005; Fish, 2011; Balis & Aman, 2013).
In addition, there is little agreement about which names
best reflect different races and ethnic groups. Should the
term African American—which has geographical and cultural
implications—be preferred over black, which focuses primarily
on skin color? Is Native American preferable to Indian?
Is Hispanic more appropriate than Latino? And how can
 An Introduction to Child Development 7

researchers accurately categorize people with multiethnic

backgrounds? The choice of category has important
implications for the validity and usefulness of research. The
choice even has political implications. For example, the decision
to permit people to identify themselves as “multiracial” on U.S.
government forms and in the U.S. Census initially was highly
controversial, although it is now routine (Perlmann & Waters,
2002; Saulny, 2011).
As the proportion of minorities in U.S. society continues
to increase, it becomes crucial to take the complex issues
associated with human diversity into account in order to fully
understand development. In fact, it is only by looking for
similarities and differences among various ethnic, cultural, and
racial groups that developmental researchers can distinguish
principles of development that are universal from ones that are
culturally determined. In the years ahead, it is likely that child
development will move from a discipline that primarily focuses
on children with North American and European backgrounds
to one that encompasses the development of children around
the globe (Wardle, 2007; Kloep et al., 2009; Bornstein &
Lansford, 2013). The face of the United States is changing as the proportion
of children from different backgrounds is increasing.

Cohort Influences on Development: children who lived in New York City during the 9/11 terrorist
attack on the World Trade Center experienced shared biolog-
Developing with Others ical and environmental challenges due to the attack. Their
in a Social World development is going to be affected by this normative history­-
graded event (Bonanno et al., 2006; Laugharne, Janca, &
LO2 How would you describe the major societal influences
Widiger, 2007; Park, Riley & Snyder, 2012).
that determine development?
Born in 1947, Bob is a baby boomer, arriving soon a­ fter
the end of World War II, when an enormous bulge in
the United States birthrate occurred as soldiers returned
home from overseas. He was an adolescent at the height
of the civil rights movement and the beginning of protests
against the Vietnam War. His mother, Leah, was born in
1922; she is part of the generation that passed its childhood
and teenage years in the shadow of the Great Depression.
Bob’s son, Jon, was born in 1975. Now building a ­career
after graduating from college and starting his own family,
he is a member of what has been called Generation X. Jon’s
Watch the Video: Cohort Effects
younger sister, Sarah, who was born in 1982, is part of the
next generation, which sociologists have called the Millen- In contrast, age-graded inf luences are biological and
nial Generation. environmental influences that are similar for individuals
These people are in part products of the social times in a particular age group, regardless of when or where they
in which they live. Each belongs to a particular cohort, a are raised. For example, biological events such as puberty
group of people born at around the same time in the same and menopause are universal events that occur at rela-
place. Such major social events as wars, economic upturns tively the same time throughout all societies. Similarly, a
and depressions, famines, and epidemics (like the one due sociocultural event such as entry into formal education can
to the AIDS virus) work similar influences on members of be considered a normative age-graded influence because it
a particular cohort (Mitchell, 2002; Dittman, 2005). occurs in most cultures around age six.
Cohort effects provide an example of history-graded influ-
ences, which are biological and environmental influences cohort A group of people born at around the same time in the
associated with a particular historical moment. For instance, same place
8 Chapter 1
From an educator’s perspective
How would a student’s cohort membership affect his or her
readiness for school? For example, what would be the benefits
and drawbacks of coming from a cohort in which Internet use was
routine, compared with earlier cohorts prior to the appearance of
the Internet?
Development is also affected by sociocultural-graded
inf luences, which include ethnicity, social class, subcul-
tural membership, and other factors. For example, socio-
cultural-graded influences will be considerably different
for immigrant children who speak English as a second
language than for children born in the United States who
speak English as their first language (Rose et al., 2003).
Finally, non-normative life events also influence devel-
opment. These are specific, atypical events that occur in a
particular person’s life at a time when such events do not
happen to most people. For instance, the experience of
Louise Brown, who grew up with the knowledge that she
was the first person to be conceived using in vitro fertil-
ization, constitutes a non-normative life event. In addition,
Review
1. Child development takes a scientific approach to
development, and it considers __________ as well as
change, in the lives of children and adolescents.
a. growth
b. stability
c. Both a and b
d. Neither a or b
2. The field of child development includes three major
topics or approaches: physical development, __________
development, and social and personality development.
a. cultural
b. cognitive
c. artistic
d. language
3. Specialists in child development must take into consideration
broad __________ factors and account for ethnic, racial,
socioeconomic, and gender differences if they are to understand
how people change and grow throughout the life span.
a. cultural
b. age
Children: Past, Present,
and Future
Children have been the object of study from the time that
humans have walked the planet. Parents are endlessly
fascinated by their children, and the growth displayed
Society’s view of childhood and what is appropriate to ask
of children has changed through the ages. These children
worked full time in mines in the early 1900s.
children can create their own non-normative life events. For
example, a high school girl who enters and wins a national
science competition produces a non-normative life event
for herself. In a very real sense, she is actively constructing
her own environment, thereby participating in her own
development.
c. physical
d. ethnographic
4. Major social events have similar influences on members of a
particular __________, a group of people born at around the
same time in the same place.
a. race
b. generation
c. culture
d. cohort
5. __________ influences are similar for individuals in a particular
age group, regardless of when or where they were raised.
a. History-graded
b. Sociocultural-graded
c. Age-graded
d. Non-normative
Answers can be found in the Answer Key on p. 543.
throughout childhood and adolescence is a source of both
curiosity and wonderment.
But it is relatively recently in the course of history that
children have been studied from a scientific vantage point.
Even a brief look at how the field of child development has
progressed shows that there has been considerable growth
in the way that children are viewed.
 An Introduction to Child Development 9

Early Views of Children

LO3 What were the earliest views of childhood
and children?
Although it is hard to imagine, some scholars believe that
there was a time when childhood didn’t even exist, at least
in the minds of adults. According to Philippe Ariès, who
studied paintings and other forms of art, children in medi-
eval Europe were not given any special status before 1600.
Instead, they were viewed as miniature, somewhat imper-
fect adults. They were dressed in adult clothing and not
treated specially in any significant way. Childhood was
not seen as a stage qualitatively different from adulthood
(Ariès, 1962; Acocella, 2003; Hutton, 2004).
Although the view that children during the Middle
Ages were seen simply as miniature adults may be During medieval times in Europe, children were thought of as
somewhat exaggerated—Ariès’s arguments were based miniature, although imperfect, adults. This view of childhood was
reflected in how children were dressed identically to adults.
primarily on art depicting the European aristocracy, a very
limited sample of Western culture—it is clear that child-
hood had a considerably different meaning than it does could help identify how the species itself had developed.
now. Moreover, the idea that childhood could be studied He made baby biographies more scientifically respectable
systematically did not take hold until later. by producing one of his own, recording his son’s devel-
opment during his first year. A wave of baby biographies
Philosophers’ Perspectives on Children.
followed the publication of Darwin’s book.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, philosophers took
Other historical trends helped propel the develop-
the lead in thinking about the nature of childhood. For
ment of a new scientific discipline focusing on children.
­example, ­English philosopher John Locke (1632–1704) con-
Scientists discovered the mechanisms behind conception,
sidered a child to be a tabula rasa—Latin for “blank slate.”
and geneticists were beginning to unlock the mysteries
In this view, children entered the world with no specific
of heredity. Philosophers argued about the relative influ-
characteristics or personalities. Instead, they were entirely
ences of nature (heredity) and nurture (influences in the
shaped by their experiences as they grew up. As we’ll
environment).
see in the next chapter, this view was the precursor of the
modern perspective known as behaviorism. Focus on Childhood. As the adult labor pool
French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778) i­ncreased, children were no longer needed as a source of
had an entirely different view of the nature of children. He inexpensive labor, paving the way for laws that protected
argued that children were noble savages, meaning that they children from exploitation. The advent of more universal
were born with an innate sense of right and wrong and education meant that children were separated from adults
morality. Seeing humans as basically good, he argued that for more of the day, and educators sought to identify better
infants developed into admirable and worthy children and ways of teaching children.
adults unless corrupted by negative circumstances in their Advances in psychology led people to focus on the ways
lives. Rousseau also was one of the first observers of child- that childhood events influenced them during their adult
hood to suggest that growth occurred in distinct, discon- lives. As a consequence of these significant social changes,
tinuous stages that unfolded automatically—a concept that child development became recognized as a field of its own.
is reflected in some contemporary theories of child devel-
opment that we’ll discuss in the next chapter. The 20th Century: Child
Baby Biographies. Among the first instances in Development as a Discipline
which children were m ­ ethodically studied came in the
LO4 How has childhood been regarded since
form of baby biographies, which were popular in the late
the 20th century?
1700s in Germany. Observers—typically parents—tried to
trace the growth of a single child, recording the physical Several figures became central to the emerging field of child
and linguistic milestones achieved by their child. development. For example, Alfred Binet, a French psychol-
But it was not until Charles Darwin, who developed ogist, not only pioneered work on children’s intelligence
the theory of evolution, that observation of children took a but also investigated memory and mental calculation.
more systematic turn. Darwin was convinced that under- G. Stanley Hall pioneered the use of questionnaires to il-
standing the development of individuals within a species luminate children’s thinking and behavior. He also wrote
10 Chapter 1
Table 1.2 Major Issues in Child Development
Continuous Change
• Change is gradual.
• Achievements at one level build on previous level.
• Underlying developmental processes remain the same over the life span.
Critical Periods
• Certain environmental stimuli are necessary for normal development.
• Emphasized by early developmentalists.
Life Span Approach
• C
 urrent theories emphasize growth and change throughout life,
relatedness of different periods.
Nature (Genetic Factors)
• Emphasis is on discovering inherited genetic traits and abilities.
the first book that targeted adolescence as a distinct period
of development—aptly titled Adolescence (Hall, 1904/1916).
Even though prejudice hindered women in their pursuit
of academic careers, they made significant contributions to
the discipline of child development during the early part
of the 1900s. For example, Leta Stetter Hollingworth was
one of the first psychologists to focus on child development
(Hollingworth, 1943/1990; Denmark & Fernandez, 1993).
During the first decades of the 1900s, one emerging
trend that had enormous impact on our understanding
of children’s development was the rise of large-scale,
systematic, and ongoing investigations of children and
their development throughout the life span. For example,
the Stanford Studies of Gifted Children began in the early
1920s and continue today. Similarly, the Fels Research
Institute Study and the Berkeley Growth and Guidance
Studies helped identify the nature of change in children’s
lives as they became older. Using a normative approach,
they studied large numbers of children in order to deter-
mine the nature of normal growth (Dixon & Lerner, 1999).
The women and men who built the foundations of
child development shared a common goal: to scientifi-
cally study the nature of growth, change, and stability
throughout childhood and adolescence. They brought the
field to where it is today.
Continuous Change
Figure 1.1 Two Approaches
to Developmental Change
Skill
The two approaches to development
are continuous change, which is
gradual, with achievements at one
level building on those of previous
levels, and discontinuous change, Birth 3 5 7
which occurs in distinct steps or
stages.
Discontinuous Change
• Change occurs in distinct steps or stages.
• Behavior and processes are qualitatively different at different stages.
Sensitive Periods
• P
 eople are susceptible to certain environmental stimuli, but
consequences of absent stimuli are reversible.
• Current emphasis in life span development.
Focus on Particular Periods
• Infancy and adolescence emphasized by early developmentalists as
most important periods.
Nurture (Environmental Factors)
• E
 mphasis is on environmental influences that affect a person’s
development.
Today’s Key Issues and Questions:
Child Development’s Underlying
Themes
LO5 How would you explain the key issues and
questions in the field of child development?
Today, several key issues and questions dominate the field
of child development. Among the major issues (summa-
rized in Table 1.2) are the nature of developmental change,
the importance of critical and sensitive periods, life span
approaches versus more focused approaches, and the
­nature–nurture issue.
Continuous Change Versus Discontinuous
Change. One of the ­primary issues challenging child
developmentalists is whether development proceeds
in a continuous or discontinuous fashion (illustrated in
­Figure 1.1). In continuous change, ­development is ­gradual,
with ­achievements at one level building on those of pre-
vious levels. Continuous change is quantitative; the basic
underlying developmental processes that drive change
continuous change Gradual development in which
achievements at one level build on those of previous levels
Discontinuous Change
Skill
9 11 13 15 17 19 21 Birth 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21
Months Months

remain the same over the course of the life span. Contin-
uous change, then, produces changes that are a matter of
degree, not of kind. Changes in height prior to adulthood,
for example, are continuous. Similarly, as we’ll see later in
the chapter, some theorists suggest that changes in people’s
thinking capabilities are also continuous, showing gradual
quantitative improvements rather than developing entirely
new cognitive processing capabilities.
In contrast, discontinuous change occurs in distinct
steps or stages. Each stage brings about behavior that is
assumed to be qualitatively different from behavior at earlier
stages. Consider the example of cognitive development.
We’ll see in Chapter 2 that some cognitive developmentalists
suggest that as we develop our thinking changes in funda-
mental ways, and that such development is not just a matter
of quantitative change but also one of qualitative change.
Most developmentalists agree that taking an either/or
position on the continuous—discontinuous issue is inap-
propriate. While many types of developmental change are
continuous, others are clearly discontinuous.
Critical and Sensitive Periods: Gauging the
Impact of Environmental Events. If a woman
comes down with a case of rubella (German measles) in the
11th week of pregnancy, the consequences for the child she
is carrying are likely to be devastating. They include the
potential for blindness, deafness, and heart defects; how-
ever, if she comes down with the same strain of rubella in
the 30th week of pregnancy, damage to the child is unlikely.
The differing outcomes of the disease in the two
periods demonstrate the concept of critical periods. A
critical period is a specific time during development
when a particular event has its greatest consequences.
Critical periods occur when the presence of certain kinds
of environmental stimuli enable development to proceed
normally, or when exposure to certain stimuli results in
abnormal development. For example, mothers who take
drugs at particular times during pregnancy may cause
permanent harm to their developing child (Mølgaard-
Nielsen, Pasternak, & Hviid, 2013).
Although early specialists in child development placed
great emphasis on the importance of critical periods, more
recent thinking suggests that in many realms, individuals
may be more flexible than was first thought, particularly
in the domains of cognitive, personality, and social devel-
opment. In these areas, there is a significant degree of plas-
ticity, the degree to which a developing behavior or physical
structure is modifiable. For instance, rather than suffering
permanent damage from a lack of certain kinds of early
social experiences, there is increasing evidence that children
can use later experiences to help overcome earlier deficits.
Consequently, developmentalists are now more likely
to speak of sensitive periods rather than critical periods. In
a sensitive period, organisms are particularly susceptible
An Introduction to Child Development 11
to certain kinds of stimuli in their environment. A sensitive
period represents the optimal period for particular capac-
ities to emerge, and children are particularly sensitive to
environmental influences. For example, a lack of exposure
to language during sensitive periods may result in delayed
language production in infants and toddlers.
It is important to understand the difference between
the concepts of critical periods and sensitive periods. In
critical periods, it is assumed that certain kinds of envi-
ronmental influences produce permanent, irreversible
consequences for the developing individual. In contrast,
although the absence of particular environmental influ-
ences during a sensitive period may hinder development, it
is possible for later experiences to overcome the earlier defi-
cits. In other words, the concept of sensitive periods recog-
nizes the plasticity of developing humans (Armstrong,
et al., 2006; Hooks & Chen, 2008; Curley et al., 2011).
From a child care worker’s perspective
What might you do to take advantage of a sensitive period?
Life Span Approaches Versus a Focus on Par-
ticular Periods. On what part of the life span should
child developmentalists focus their attention? For early
­developmentalists, the answers tended to be infancy and ado-
lescence. Most attention was clearly concentrated on those two
periods, largely to the exclusion of other parts of childhood.
Today the story is different. The entire period encom-
passing conception through adolescence is now regarded
as important, for several reasons. One is the discovery that
developmental growth and change continue during every
stage of life.
Furthermore, an important part of every person’s
environment is the presence of other people around him
or her— the person’s social environment. To understand
the social influences on children of a given age, we need to
understand the people who are in large measure providing
those influences. For instance, to understand develop-
ment in infants, we need to unravel the effects of their
parents’ age on their social environment. It is likely that
a 15-year-old mother will provide parental influences of
a very different sort from those provided by a 37-year-old
discontinuous change Development that occurs in distinct
steps or stages, with each stage bringing about behavior that is
assumed to be qualitatively different from behavior at earlier
stages
critical period A specific time during development when a
particular event has its greatest consequences
plasticity the degree to which a developing behavior or
physical structure is modifiable
sensitive period A specific time when organisms are
particularly susceptible to certain kinds of stimuli in their
environment
12 Chapter 1

mother. Consequently, infant development is in part a The extent of social policy affected by ideas about the
consequence of adult development. origins of intelligence illustrates the significance of issues
that involve the nature–nurture question. As we address
The Relative Influence of Nature and Nurture
it in relation to several topical areas throughout this book,
on Development. One of the enduring questions of
we should keep in mind that specialists in child develop-
child development involves how much of people’s behavior
ment reject the notion that behavior is the result solely of
is due to their genetically determined nature and how much
either nature or nurture. Instead, the question is one of
is due to nurture—the influences of the physical and social
degree—and the specifics of that, too, are hotly debated.
environment in which a child is raised. This ­issue, which has
Furthermore, the interaction of genetic and environ-
deep philosophical and historical roots, has dominated much
mental factors is complex, in part because certain geneti-
work in child development (Wexler, 2006; Keating, 2011).
cally determined traits have not only a direct influence on
In this context, nature refers to traits, abilities, and capaci-
children’s behavior but an indirect influence in shaping
ties that are inherited from one’s parents. It encompasses any
children’s environments as well. For example, a child who
factor that is produced by the predetermined unfolding of
is consistently cranky and who cries a great deal—a trait
genetic information—a process known as maturation. These
that may be produced by genetic factors—may influence
genetic, inherited influences are at work as we move from the
her environment by making her parents so highly respon-
one-cell organism that is created at the moment of conception
sive to her insistent crying that they rush to comfort her
to the billions of cells that make up a fully formed human.
whenever she cries. Their responsivity to the child’s genet-
Nature influences whether our eyes are blue or brown,
ically determined behavior consequently becomes an
whether we have thick hair throughout life or eventually
environmental influence on his or her subsequent devel-
go bald, and how good we are at athletics. Nature allows
opment (Bradley & Corwyn, 2008; Stright, Gallagher, &
our brains to develop in such a way that we can read the
Kelley, 2008; Barnes & Boutwell, 2012).
words on this page.
Similarly, although our genetic background orients
In contrast, nurture refers to the environmental influ-
us toward particular behaviors, those behaviors will not
ences that shape behavior. Some of these influences may
necessarily occur in the absence of an appropriate envi-
be biological, such as the impact of a pregnant mother’s
ronment. People with similar genetic backgrounds (such
use of cocaine on her unborn child or the amounts and
as identical twins) may behave in very different ways, and
kinds of food available to children. Other environmental
people with highly dissimilar genetic backgrounds can
influences are more social, such as the ways that parents
behave quite similarly to one another in certain areas (Kato
discipline their children and the effects of peer pressure
& Pedersen, 2005; Conley & Rauscher, 2013).
on an adolescent. Finally, some influences are a result of
In sum, the question of how much of a given behavior
larger, societal-level factors, such as the socioeconomic
is due to nature and how much to nurture is a challenging
circumstances in which people find themselves.
one. Ultimately, we should consider the two sides of the
If our traits and behavior were determined solely by
nature–nurture issue as opposite ends of a continuum,
either nature or nurture, there would probably be little
with particular behaviors falling somewhere between the
debate regarding the issue. For most critical behaviors, this
two ends. We can say something similar about the other
is hardly the case. Take, for instance, one of the most contro-
controversies that we have considered. For instance,
versial arenas: intelligence. As we’ll consider in detail in
continuous versus discontinuous development is not an
Chapter 12, the question of whether intelligence is deter-
either-or proposition; some forms of development fall
mined primarily by inherited, genetic factors—nature—or
toward the continuous end of the continuum, while others
is shaped by environmental factors—nurture—has caused
lie closer to the discontinuous end. Few statements about
lively and often bitter arguments. Largely because of its
development involve either-or absolutes (Rutter, 2006;
social implications, the issue has spilled out of the scientific
Deater-Deckard & Cahill, 2007).
arena and into the realm of politics and social policy.

I m p l icati o n s f o r C h i l d R e ari n g a n d
The Future of Child Development
­S ocial ­P olicy. Consider the implications of the
­ ature-versus-nurture issue: If the extent of one’s intel-
n LO6 What is the future of child development likely to
ligence is primarily determined by heredity and conse- hold?
quently is largely fixed at birth, then efforts to improve
We’ve examined the foundations of the field of child
intellectual performance later in life may be doomed to
development, along with the key issues and questions
failure. In contrast, if intelligence is primarily a result of that underlie the discipline. But what lies ahead?
environmental factors, such as the amount and quality of ­Several trends appear likely to emerge:
schooling and stimulation to which one is exposed, then
we would expect that an improvement in social conditions maturation The process of the predetermined unfolding of
could bring about an increase in intelligence. genetic information

• As research in development continues to be amassed,
the field will become ­increasingly specialized. New
­areas of study and perspectives will emerge.
• The explosion in information about genes and the ge-
netic foundations of ­behavior will influence all spheres
of child development. Increasingly, developmentalists
will link work across biological, cognitive, and social
domains, and the b ­ oundaries between different sub-
disciplines will be blurred.
• The increasing diversity of the population of the
United States in terms of race, ethnicity, language, and
culture will lead the field to focus greater attention on
issues of diversity.
• A growing number of professionals in a variety of
fields will make use of child development’s research
and findings. Educators, social workers, nurses and
From Research to Practice
Preventing Violence Toward Children
• When his 3rd-grade teacher noticed that Lincoln Colby had
been shifting in his seat all day, she sent him to the school
nurse. The nurse found that Lincoln had belt-shaped welts
and bruises up and down his back. Lincoln admitted his
father sometimes “spanked” him when he got angry.
• Erin Johnson, a teenager in Newark, N.J., grew up hearing
about the time that Uncle Raymond killed two police
officers, or when her grandmother killed the father of her two
children.
• Four-year-old Jackson Subooma, who had been a sunny
and enthusiastic participant in his preschool class, started
acting more and more withdrawn and sad, but sometimes
mean toward other children. When he hit another child on
the playground, his teacher intervened. Jackson begged
the teacher not to call his mother, because he thought
his mother’s new boyfriend, James, would get angry and
hurt her.
Violence is part of the lives of many children. In fact, surveys
find that violence and crime rank among the issues of greatest
concern to people in the United States. And it’s a worldwide
problem: UNICEF reports 3,600 documented attacks on
students, teachers, and schools and 250,000 homicides
among 10- to 29-year-olds across the globe (NCADV, 2003;
DocuTicker, 2010; UNICEF, 2013).
How can we explain the level of violence? How do people learn
to be violent? How can we control and remedy aggression? And
how can we discourage violence from occurring in the first place?
Child development has sought to answer such questions
from several different perspectives. Consider these examples:
• Explaining the roots of violence. Some child
developmentalists have looked at how early behavioral and
An Introduction to Child Development 13
other health care providers, genetic counselors, toy
designers, child care providers, ­cereal manufacturers,
social ethicists, and members of dozens of other profes-
sions, will all draw on the field of child development.
• Work on child development will increasingly influence
public interest ­issues. Discussion of many of the major
social concerns of our time, including ­violence, prej-
udice and discrimination, poverty, changes in family
life, child care, ­schooling, and even terrorism, can be in-
formed by research in child development. C ­ onsequently,
child developmentalists are likely to make important
­contributions to 21st-century society (Zigler & Finn-Ste-
venson, 1999; Pyszczynski, S ­ olomon, & Greenberg,
2003; Block, Weinstein, & Seitz, 2005). (For one example
of the current contributions of work in child develop-
ment, see the From Research to Practice box.)
physical problems may be associated with later difficulties in
controlling aggression as adults. For instance, researchers
have found links between early maltreatment, physical
and psychological abuse, and neglect of children and
their subsequent aggressive behavior. Others have looked
at hormonal influences on violent behavior (Skarberg,
Nyberg, & Engstrom, 2010; Gowin et al., 2013; Wright &
Fagen, 2013).
• Examining how exposure to aggression may lead to
violence. Other psychologists have examined how exposure
to violence in the media and in video games may lead to
aggression. For example, psychologist Craig Anderson has
found that people who play violent video games have an
altered view of the world, seeing it as more violent than those
who do not play such games. In addition, those who play
violent video games are more easily triggered into aggressive
behavior, and they have decreased empathy for others. There
is even evidence that use of violent video games is related to
juvenile delinquency (DeLisi et al., 2013; DeWall, Anderson, &
Bushman, 2013).
• Developing programs to reduce aggression. According
to psychologists Ervin Staub and Darren Spielman,
schoolteachers and school administrators must be on the
lookout for even milder forms of aggression, such as bullying.
Unless such forms of aggression are checked, they are likely
to endure and to escalate into more blatant forms.
To combat aggression, Staub and Spielman devised
a program to help children develop constructive ways
of fulfilling their basic needs. After involvement in an
intervention that included role playing, videotaping, and
structured discussions, participants’ aggressive behavior
declined. More generally, it is clear that programs
14 Chapter 1
designed to reduce aggression can be effective, even in
cases of large-scale group violence (Spielman & Staub, 2003;
Staub, 2011, 2013).
As these examples illustrate, developmental researchers
are making progress in understanding and dealing with the
violence that is increasingly part of modern society. Violence
is just one example of the areas in which experts in child
development are contributing their skills for the betterment of
Becoming an Informed Consumer
of Child Development
Assessing Information on Child Development
If you immediately comfort crying babies, you’ll spoil them.
If you let babies cry without comforting them, they’ll
be untrusting and clingy as adults.
Spanking is one of the best ways to discipline your child.
Never hit your child.
If a marriage is unhappy, children are better off if their
parents divorce than if they stay together.
No matter how difficult a marriage is, parents should
avoid divorce for the sake of their children.
There is no lack of advice on the best way to raise a child or,
more generally, to lead one’s life. From best-sellers with titles
such as The No-Cry Sleep Solution to magazine and newspaper
columns that provide advice on every imaginable topic, each of
us is exposed to tremendous amounts of information.
Yet not all advice is equally valid. The mere fact that something
is in print, on television, or on a Web site does not automatically
make it legitimate or accurate. Fortunately, some guidelines can
help distinguish when recommendations and suggestions are
reasonable and when they are not. Here are a few:
• Consider the source of the advice. Information from
established, respected organizations such as the American
Medical Association, the American Psychological Association,
and the American Academy of Pediatrics is likely to be the
result of years of study, and its accuracy is probably high.
• Evaluate the credentials of the person providing advice.
Information coming from established, acknowledged
researchers and experts in a field is likely to be more accurate
than that coming from a person whose credentials are obscure.
• Understand the difference between anecdotal evidence
and scientific evidence. Anecdotal evidence is based
REVIEW
1. English philosopher John Locke regarded a child as a tabula
rasa, Latin for a __________.
a. noble savage c. Neither a or b
b. blank slate d. Both a and b
human society. As we’ll see throughout this book, the field has
much to offer.
• Why does violence remain such a problem not only in the
United States but around the world?
• Because research shows that exposure to violent video
games raises the level of aggression in players, do you
think there should be legal limitations on the sale and
distribution of such games? Why or why not?
on one or two instances of a phenomenon, haphazardly
discovered or encountered; scientific evidence is based on
careful, systematic procedures.
• Keep cultural context in mind. Although an assertion may
be valid in some contexts, it may not be true in all. For
example, it is typically assumed that providing infants the
freedom to move about and exercise their limbs facilitates
their muscular development and mobility. Yet in some
cultures, infants spend most of their time closely bound
to their mothers with no apparent long-term damage (H.
Kaplan & Dove, 1987; Tronick, Thomas, & Daltabuit, 1994).
• Don’t assume that because many people believe
something, it is necessarily true. Scientific evaluation has
often proved that some of the most basic presumptions
about the effectiveness of various techniques are invalid.
For instance, consider DARE, the Drug Abuse Resistance
Education antidrug program that at one time was used in
about half the school systems in the United States. DARE
was designed to prevent the spread of drugs through
lectures and question-and-answer sessions run by
police officers. Careful evaluation, however, has found no
evidence that the program is effective in reducing drug use
(Rhule, 2005; University of Akron, 2006).
The key to evaluating information relating to child
development is to maintain a healthy dose of skepticism. No
source of information is invariably, unfailingly accurate. By
keeping a critical eye on the statements you encounter, you’ll be
in a better position to determine the very real contributions made
by child developmentalists in understanding how we change
and grow over the course of childhood and adolescence.
2. Psychologist Alfred Binet pioneered the study of children’s
__________.
a. social development c. physical development
b. language development d. intelligence

3. The four key issues in child development are continuous vs.
discontinuous change, __________ vs. __________ periods, a
lifespan approach vs. a period approach, and nature vs. nurture.
a. infancy vs. childhood c. critical vs. sensitive
b. intimacy vs. isolation d. trust vs. mistrust
4. The predetermined unfolding of genetic information is
__________.
a. plasticity c. maturation
b. nature vs. nurture d. cell division
The Case of . . .
Too Many Choices
Jenny Claymore, midway through her third year of college,
is desperate to pick a career but hasn’t a clue. The problem
isn’t that nothing interests her; it’s that too many things
do. From her reading, radio listening, and TV watching,
her head is full of ideas for great-sounding careers.
Jenny loves children, having always enjoyed babysit-
ting and her summer work as a camp counselor—so
maybe she should be a teacher. She is fascinated by all
she hears about DNA and genetic research—so maybe
she should be a biologist or a doctor. She is concerned
when she hears about school violence—from bullying to
shootings—so maybe she should go into school admin-
istration or law enforcement. She is curious about how
children learn language—so maybe she should go into
speech pathology or, again, teaching. She is fascinated by
court cases that rely on the testimony of young children,
and how experts on both sides contradict each other—so
maybe she should become a lawyer.
Epilogue
We have covered a lot of ground in our introduction to
the growing field of child development. We reviewed
the broad scope of the field, touching on the wide range
of topics that child developmentalists may address, and
have discussed the key issues and questions that have
shaped the field since its inception.
Before proceeding to the next chapter, take a few min-
utes to reconsider the prologue of this chapter—about the
case of Louise Brown, the first child to be born through
in vitro fertilization. Based on what you now know about
child development, answer the following questions:
1. What are some of the potential benefits, and the costs,
of the type of conception—in vitro fertilization—that
was carried out for Louise’s parents?
An Introduction to Child Development 15
5. Changes in the composition of the U.S. population will lead
American developmentalists to give more attention to issues
of __________.
a. diversity
b. poverty
c. special needs children
d. social policy
Answers can be found in the Answer Key on p. 543.
Her college counselor once said, “Begin your search
for a career by thinking about the classes you’ve taken
in high school and college.” Jenny recalls a high school
course in early childhood that she loved, and she knows
that her favorite class in college is her child development
course. Would considering a career in child development
make sense?
1. How well might a career in the field of child develop-
ment address her love of children and her interest in
genetic research?
2. What sort of career might focus on the prevention of
school violence?
3. How might child development relate to her interest in
eyewitness testimony and memory?
4. Overall, how many careers could you think of that
would fit Jenny’s interests?
2. What are some questions that developmentalists who
study either physical, cognitive, or personality and
social development might ask about the effects on
Louise of being conceived via in vitro fertilization?
3. The creation of complete human clones—exact ge-
netic replicas of an individual—is still in the realm
of science fiction, but the theoretical possibility does
raise some important questions. For example, what
would be the psychological consequences of being a
clone?
4. If clones could actually be produced, how might
it help scientists understand the relative impact of
­heredity and environment on development?
16 Chapter 1
Looking Back
LO1 What is the scope of the field of child
development?
• Child development is a scientific approach to
­answering questions about the growth, change, and
stability that occur in individuals from conception to
adolescence.
• The scope of the field encompasses physical, cognitive,
and social and personality development at all ages
from conception through adolescence.
LO2 How would you describe the major societal
influences that determine development?
• Culture—both broad and narrow—is an important
issue in child development. Many aspects of devel-
opment are influenced not only by broad cultural dif-
ferences but also by ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic
differences within a particular culture.
• Every person is subject to history-graded influences,
age-graded influences, sociocultural-graded influ-
ences, and non-normative life events.
LO3 What were the earliest views of childhood and
children?
• Early views of childhood considered children as min-
iature adults.
• While Locke viewed a child as a tabula rasa or “blank
slate,” Rousseau argued that children had an inborn
sense of morality.
Key Terms and Concepts
child development (p. 3) social development (p. 4)
physical development (p. 4) cohort (p. 7)
cognitive development (p. 4) continuous change (p. 10)
personality development (p. 4) discontinuous change (p. 11)
LO4 How has childhood been regarded since the 20th
century?
• Later views of childhood saw it as a distinct period in
the life span and led to the emergence of the field of
child development.
LO5 How would you explain the key issues and
questions in the field of child development?
• Four key issues in child development are (1) whether
developmental change is continuous or discontinuous,
(2) whether development is largely governed by criti-
cal or sensitive periods during which certain influences
or experiences must occur for development to be nor-
mal, (3) whether to focus on certain particularly im-
portant periods in human development or on the entire
life span, and (4) the nature–nurture question, which
focuses on the relative importance of genetic versus
­environmental influences.
LO6 What is the future of child development likely to
hold?
• Future trends in the field are likely to include increas-
ing specialization, the blurring of boundaries between
different areas, increasing attention to issues involving
diversity, and an increasing influence on public interest
issues.
critical period (p. 11)
plasticity (p. 11)
sensitive period (p. 11)
maturation (p. 12)
Chapter 2
Theoretical
Perspectives
and Research

17
18 Chapter 2

Learning Objectives
LO1 What are the basic concepts of the
psychodynamic perspective?
LO2 What are the basic concepts of
the behavioral perspective?
LO3 What are the basic concepts of the
cognitive perspective?
LO4 What are the basic concepts of
the contextual perspective?
LO5 What are the basic concepts of the
evolutionary perspective?
LO6 How would you describe the value
of multiple perspectives on child
development?
LO7 What is the scientific method, and how
does it help answer questions about child
development?
LO8 What are the major characteristics of
correlational studies?
LO9 What are the major characteristics of
experiments, and how do they differ from
correlational studies?
LO10 How would you compare theoretical and
applied research?
LO11 What are the major research strategies?
LO12 What are the primary ethical principles
used to guide research?

Prologue: The Unasked Questions

It’s not every teen who gets to perform for the president,
but Hadiya Pendleton had the good fortune to do so
with her high school marching band at President Barack
Obama’s second inauguration. It was the best day of her
life, she told friends and family.
Hadiya, 15, was an honor student at Dr. Martin
­Luther King Jr. College Preparatory High School, one of
the top-ranked magnet schools in Chicago. In addition
to being a majorette for the marching band, she enjoyed
reading, volleyball, and hanging out with her friends.
She was a loving girl from a loving family, and she had
big plans for her future, including an upcoming trip
to Paris.

Looking Ahead
Hadiya never got to go to Paris. She was shot dead one
week after her trip to Washington, D.C. Her killer, a teen
himself, mistook her for someone linked to his rival gang.
Why did Hadiya’s killer become involved in gang
warfare? How did Hadiya, in contrast, become the lively,
loving adolescent that she was, interested in books, music,
and sports, optimistic and confident about the future, and
an excellent student? More broadly, how do all children and
adolescents navigate the challenges of life on their way to
adulthood?
The ability to answer these questions depends on the
accumulated findings from literally thousands of develop-
mental research studies. These studies have looked at
questions ranging from brain development and the nature
of social relationships to the way in which cognitive abilities
grow throughout childhood and adolescence. The common
challenge of these studies is to pose and answer questions
of interest in development.
Like all of us, child developmentalists ask questions
about people’s bodies, minds, and social interactions—and
about how these aspects of human life change as people
age. But to the natural curiosity that we all share, develop-
mental scientists add one important ingredient that makes
a difference in how they ask—and try to answer—ques-
tions. This ingredient is the scientific method. This structured
but straightforward way of looking at phenomena elevates

questioning from mere curiosity to purposeful learning.
With this powerful tool, developmentalists are able not only
to ask good questions but also to begin to answer them
systematically.
In this chapter, we consider the way in which devel-
opmentalists ask and answer questions about the world.
We begin with a discussion of the broad perspectives
used in understanding children and their behavior. These
perspectives provide general a ­ pproaches from which to
Perspectives on Children
When Roddy McDougall said his first word, his
parents were elated—and r­ elieved. They had
anticipated the moment for what seemed a long
time; most children his age had already uttered
their first word. In addition, his grandparents
had weighed in with their concerns, his grand-
mother going so far as to suggest that he might
be suffering from some sort of developmental
delay, although that was based solely on a “feel-
ing” she had. But the moment Roddy spoke, his
parents’ and grandparents’ anxieties fell away,
and they all experienced great pride in Roddy’s
accomplishment.
The concerns Roddy’s relatives felt derived from their
vague conceptions of how a normal child’s development
proceeds. Each of us has established ideas about the course
of development, and we use them to make judgments and
develop hunches about the meaning of children’s behavior.
Our experience orients us to certain types of behavior that
we see as particularly important. For some people, it may
be when a child says his or her first word; for others, it
may be the way a child interacts with others.
Like anybody else, child developmentalists approach
the field from a number of different perspectives. Each
broad perspective encompasses one or more theories,
broad, organized explanations and predictions concerning
phenomena of interest. A theory provides a framework for
understanding the relationships among a seemingly unor-
ganized set of facts or principles.
We all develop theories about development, based
on our experience, folklore, and articles in magazines and
newspapers. However, theories in child development are
different. Whereas our own personal theories are built on
unverified observations that are developed haphazardly,
child developmentalists’ theories are more formal, based
on a systematic integration of prior findings and theo-
rizing. These theories allow developmentalists to summa-
rize and organize prior observations, and they also permit
them to move beyond existing observations to draw
deductions that may not be immediately apparent. In addi-
tion, these theories are then subject to rigorous testing in
Theoretical Perspectives and Research 19
view the development along multiple dimensions. We then
turn to the basic building blocks of the science of child
development: research. We ­d escribe the major types of
research that developmentalists perform to pursue their
­research and get answers to their questions. Finally,
we focus on two important issues in developmental
research: one is how to choose research participants so that
results can be applied ­beyond the study setting, and the
other is the central issue of ethics.
the form of research. By contrast, the developmental theo-
ries of individuals are not subject to such testing and may
never be questioned at all (Thomas, 2001).
We’ll consider five major perspectives used in child
development: the psychodynamic, behavioral, cognitive,
contextual, and evolutionary perspectives. These diverse
outlooks emphasize somewhat different aspects of devel-
opment that steer inquiry in particular directions. Just as we
can use multiple maps to find our way around a region—for
example, one map might show the roadways and another
might focus on key landmarks—the various developmental
perspectives provide us with different views of child and
adolescent behavior. And just as maps must continually be
revised, each perspective continues to evolve and change,
as befits a growing and dynamic discipline.
The Psychodynamic Perspective:
Focusing on Internal Forces
LO1 What are the basic concepts of the psychodynamic
perspective?
When Marisol was six months old, she was involved in
a bloody automobile a­ ccident—or so her parents tell her,
since she has no conscious recollection of it. Now, at age
24, she is having difficulty maintaining relationships, and
her therapist is trying to determine whether her current
problems are a result of the early accident.
Looking for such a link might seem a bit far-fetched,
but to proponents of the psychodynamic perspective, it
is not so improbable. Advocates of the psychodynamic
perspective believe that behavior is motivated by inner
forces, memories, and conflicts of which a person has
little awareness or control. The inner forces, which may
stem from one’s childhood, continually influence behavior
throughout the life span.
theories Explanations and predictions concerning phenomena
of interest, providing a framework for understanding the
relationships among an organized set of facts or principles
psychodynamic perspective The approach to the study of
development that states behavior is motivated by inner
forces, memories, and conflicts of which a person has little
awareness or control
20 Chapter 2
Sigmund Freud
Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory. The psychody-
namic perspective is most closely associated with Sigmund
Freud and his psychoanalytic theory. Freud, who lived
from 1856 to 1939, was a Viennese physician whose revo-
lutionary ideas ultimately had a profound effect not just
on the fields of psychology and psychiatry but on Western
thought in general (Masling & Bornstein, 1996; Wolitzky,
2011; Greenberg, 2012).
Freud’s psychoanalytic theory suggests that uncon-
scious forces act to determine personality and behavior.
To Freud, the unconscious is a part of the personality
about which a person is unaware. It contains infantile
wishes, desires, demands, and needs that, because of their
disturbing nature, are hidden from conscious awareness.
Freud suggested that the unconscious is responsible for a
good part of our everyday behavior.
According to Freud, everyone’s personality has three
aspects: id, ego, and superego. The id is the raw, unorga-
nized, inborn part of personality that is present at birth. It
represents primitive drives related to hunger, sex, aggres-
sion, and irrational impulses. The id operates according to
the pleasure principle, in which the goal is to maximize satis-
faction and reduce tension.
The ego is the part of personality that is rational and
reasonable. The ego acts as a buffer between the real world
outside of us and the primitive id. The ego operates on the
reality principle, in which instinctual energy is restrained to
maintain the safety of the individual and help integrate the
person into society.
Finally, Freud proposed that the superego represents
a person’s conscience, incorporating distinctions between
right and wrong. It develops around age 5 or 6 and is
learned from an individual’s parents, teachers, and other
significant figures.
In addition to providing an account of the various
parts of the personality, Freud also suggested the ways in
Erik Erikson
which personality develops during childhood. He argued
that psychosexual development occurs as children passed
through a series of stages, in which pleasure, or gratifica-
tion, was focused on a particular biological function and
body part. As illustrated in Table 2.1, he suggested that
pleasure shifted from the mouth (the oral stage) to the anus
(the anal stage) and eventually to the genitals (the phallic
stage and the genital stage).
According to Freud, if children are unable to gratify them-
selves sufficiently during a particular stage, or conversely,
if they receive too much gratification, fixation may occur.
Fixation is behavior reflecting an earlier stage of development
due to an unresolved conflict. For instance, fixation at the oral
stage might produce an adult who is unusually absorbed in
oral activities—eating, talking, or chewing gum. Freud also
argued that fixation is represented through symbolic sorts of
oral activities, such as the use of “biting” sarcasm.
Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory. Psychoanalyst
Erik Erikson, who lived from 1902 to 1994, provided an alter-
native psychodynamic view in his theory of psychosocial
development, which emphasizes our social interaction with
other people. In Erikson’s view, both society and culture
challenge and shape us. Psychosocial development encom-
passes changes in our interactions with and understandings
psychoanalytic theory The theory proposed by Freud that
suggests that unconscious forces act to determine personality
and behavior
psychosexual development According to Freud, a series
of stages that children pass through in which pleasure, or
gratification, is focused on a particular biological function and
body part
psychosocial development The approach to the study of
development that encompasses changes in the understanding
individuals have of their interactions with others, of others’
behavior, and of themselves as members of society
 Theoretical Perspectives and Research 21

Table 2.1 Freud’s and Erikson’s Theories

Freud’s Stages Erikson’s Stages Positive and Negative
of Psychosexual Major Characteristics of of Psychosocial Outcomes of Erikson’s
Approximate Age Development Freud’s Stages Development Stages
Birth to 12–18 months Oral Interest in oral gratification from Trust vs. mistrust Positive: Feelings of trust
sucking, eating, mouthing, biting from environmental support
Negative: Fear and concern
regarding others
12–18 months to 3 years Anal Gratification from expelling and Autonomy vs. shame and Positive: Self-sufficiency if
withholding feces; coming to terms doubt exploration is encouraged
with society’s controls relating to Negative: Doubts about
toilet training self, lack of independence
3 to 5–6 years Phallic Interest in the genitals; coming to Initiative vs. guilt Positive: Discovery of ways
terms with Oedipal conflict, leading to initiate actions
to identification with same sex Negative: Guilt from actions
parent and thoughts
5–6 years to adolescence Latency Sexual concerns largely Industry vs. inferiority Positive: Development of
unimportant sense of competence
Negative: Feelings of
inferiority, no sense of
mastery
Adolescence to Genital Reemergence of sexual interests Identity vs. role diffusion Positive: Awareness
adulthood (Freud) and establishment of mature of uniqueness of self,
Adolescence (Erikson) sexual relationships knowledge of role to be
followed
Negative: Inability to identify
appropriate roles in life
Early adulthood (Erikson) Intimacy vs. isolation Positive: Development of
loving, sexual relationships
and close friendships
Negative: Fear of
relationships with others
Middle adulthood Generativity vs. stagnation Positive: Sense of
(Erikson) contribution to continuity
of life
Negative: Trivialization of
one’s activities
Late adulthood (Erikson) Ego–integrity vs. despair Positive: Sense of unity in
life’s accomplishments
Negative: Regret over lost
opportunities of life

of one another, as well as in our knowledge and under-
standing of ourselves as members of society (Zhang & He,
2011; Dunkel, Kim, Papini, 2012; Wilson et al., 2013).
Erikson’s theory suggests that developmental change
occurs throughout our lives in eight distinct stages (see
Table 2-1). The stages emerge in a fixed pattern and are
similar for all people.
Erikson argued that each stage presents a crisis or
conflict that the individual must resolve. Although no
crisis is ever fully resolved, making life increasingly
complicated, the individual must at least address the crisis
of each stage sufficiently to deal with demands made
during the next stage of development.
Unlike Freud, who regarded development as rela-
tively complete by adolescence, Erikson suggested that
growth and change continue throughout the life span. For
instance, Erikson suggested that during middle adulthood,
people pass through the generativity-versus-stagnation
stage, in which their contributions to family, community,
and society can produce either positive feelings about the
continuity of life or a sense of stagnation and disappoint-
ment about what they are passing on to future generations
(de St. Aubin, McAdams, & Kim, 2004).
Assessing the Psychodynamic Perspective. It is
hard for us to grasp the full significance of psychodynamic
theories, represented by Freud’s psychoanalytic theory and
Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development. Freud’s
introduction of the notion that unconscious influences affect
behavior was a monumental accomplishment, and that it
seems at all reasonable to us shows how extensively the idea
of the unconscious has pervaded thinking in Western cultures.
In fact, work by contemporary researchers studying memory
and learning suggests that we carry with us memories—of
which we are not consciously aware—that have a significant
impact on our behavior. The example of Marisol, who was in
a car accident when she was a baby, shows one application of
psychodynamically based thinking and research.
22 Chapter 2

Some of the most basic principles of Freud’s psycho- Furthermore, developmental change is viewed in quanti-
analytic theory have been called into question, however, tative, rather than qualitative, terms. For instance, behav-
because they have not been validated by subsequent ioral theories hold that advances in problem-solving
research. In particular, the notion that people pass through capabilities as children age are largely a result of greater
stages in childhood that determine their adult person- mental capacities rather than changes in the kind of thinking
alities has little definitive research support. In addition, that children are able to bring to bear on a problem.
because much of Freud’s theory was based on a limited
Classical Conditioning: Stimulus
population of upper-middle-class Austrians living during
Substitution.
a strict, puritanical era, its application to broad, multicul-
“Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed,
tural populations is questionable. Finally, because Freud’s
and my own specified world to bring them up in
theory focuses primarily on male development, it has
and I’ll guarantee to take any one at random and
been criticized as sexist and may be interpreted as deval-
train him to become any type of specialist I might
uing women. For such reasons, many developmentalists select—doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief,
question Freud’s theory (Messer & McWilliams, 2003; and yes, even beggar-man and thief, regardless
Schachter, 2005; Balsam, 2013). of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities ...”
Erikson’s view that development continues throughout (J. B. Watson, 1925, p. 14).
the life span is an important one, and it influenced a good
With these words, John B. Watson, one of the first
deal of thinking about how developmental change unfolds
American psychologists to advocate a behavioral
throughout life. On the other hand, the theory is vague and
approach, summed up the behavioral perspective. Watson,
hard to test in a rigorous manner. Furthermore, like Freud’s
who lived from 1878 to 1958, believed strongly that we
theory, it focuses more on men’s than women’s develop-
could gain a full understanding of development by care-
ment. In sum, although the psychodynamic perspective
fully studying the stimuli that make up the environment.
provides reasonably good descriptions of past behavior, its
In fact, he argued that by effectively controlling a person’s
predictions of future behavior are imprecise (Whitbourne
environment, it was possible to produce virtually any
et al., 1992; Zauszniewski & Martin, 1999; De St. Aubin &
behavior.
McAdams, 2004).
As we will consider further in Chapter 4, classical
conditioning occurs when an organism learns to respond
The Behavioral Perspective: Focusing
on Observable Behavior
LO2 What are the basic concepts of the behavioral
perspective?
When Elissa Sheehan was three, a large dog bit her, and she
needed dozens of stitches and several operations. From the
time of the event, she broke into a sweat whenever she saw
a dog and in fact never enjoyed being around any pet.
To a child development specialist using the behav-
ioral perspective, the explanation for Elissa’s behavior
is straightforward: She has a learned fear of dogs. Rather
than looking inside the organism at unconscious processes,
the behavioral perspective suggests that the keys to
understanding development are observable behavior and
outside stimuli in the environment. If we know the stimuli,
we can predict the behavior. In this respect, the behavioral John B. Watson
perspective reflects the view that nurture is more important
to development than nature.
Behavioral theories reject the notion that people behavioral perspective The approach to the study of
universally pass through a series of stages. Instead, people development that suggests that the keys to understanding
are assumed to be affected by the environmental stimuli development are observable behavior and outside stimuli in
the environment
to which they happen to be exposed. Developmental
patterns, then, are personal, reflecting a particular set classical conditioning A type of learning in which an
organism responds in a particular way to a neutral stimulus
of environmental stimuli, and behavior is the result of that normally does not bring about that type of response John
continuing exposure to specific factors in the environment. B. Watson

in a particular way to a neutral stimulus that normally
does not evoke that type of response. For instance, if a
dog is repeatedly exposed to the pairing of the sound of
a bell and the presentation of meat, it may learn to react
to the bell alone in the same way it reacts to the meat—
by salivating and wagging its tail with excitement. Dogs
don’t typically respond to bells in this way; the behavior
is a result of conditioning, a form of learning in which the
response associated with one stimulus (food) comes to be
connected to another—in this case, the bell.
The same process of classical conditioning explains how
we learn emotional responses. In the case of dog-bite victim
Elissa Sheehan, for instance, Watson would say that one stim-
ulus has been substituted for another: Elissa’s unpleasant
experience with a particular dog (the initial stimulus) has
been transferred to other dogs and to pets in general.
Operant Conditioning. In addition to classical
conditioning, other types of learning are found within the
behavioral perspective. For example, operant conditioning
is a form of learning in which a voluntary response is
strengthened or weakened by its association with positive
or negative consequences. It differs from classical condi-
tioning in that the response being conditioned is voluntary
and purposeful rather than automatic (such as salivating).
In operant conditioning, formulated and championed
by psychologist B. F. Skinner (1904–1990), individuals
learn to act deliberately on their environments in order
to bring about desired consequences (Skinner, 1975). In a
sense, then, children operate on their environments to bring
about a desired state of affairs.
Whether children will seek to repeat a behavior
depends on whether it is followed by reinforcement.
B.F. Skinner
Theoretical Perspectives and Research 23
Reinforcement is the process by which a stimulus is provided
that increases the probability that a preceding behavior
will be repeated. Hence a student is apt to work harder in
school if he or she receives good grades, workers are likely
to labor harder at their jobs if their efforts are tied to pay
increases, and people are more apt to buy lottery tickets
if they are reinforced by winning at least occasionally. In
addition, punishment, the introduction of an unpleasant or
painful stimulus or the removal of a desirable stimulus,
will decrease the probability that a preceding behavior will
occur in the future.
Behavior that is reinforced is more likely to be repeated
in the future, while behavior that receives no reinforce-
ment or is punished is likely to be discontinued, or in the
language of operant conditioning, extinguished. Principles
of operant conditioning are used in behavior modification,
a formal technique for promoting the frequency of desir-
able behaviors and decreasing the incidence of unwanted
ones. Behavior modification has been used in a variety
of situations, ranging from teaching severely retarded
people the rudiments of language to helping people stick
to diets (Hoek & Gendall, 2006; Matson & LoVullo, 2008;
Wupperman et al., 2012; Jensen, Ward & Balsam, 2013).
Social-Cognitive Learning Theory: Learning
Through Imitation. A 5-year-old boy seriously
injures his 22-month-old cousin while imitating a violent
wrestling move he had seen on television. Although the
infant sustained spinal cord injuries, he improved and
was discharged five weeks after his hospital admission.
(Reuters Health eLine, 2002; Ray & Heyes, 2011).
Cause and effect? We can’t know for sure, but it
certainly seems possible, especially looking at the situation
from the perspective of social-cognitive learning theory,
an approach that emphasizes learning by observing the
behavior of another person, called a model (Bandura, 1994,
2002). According to developmental psychologist Albert
Bandura and colleagues, a significant amount of learning
is explained this way.
This approach purports that behavior is learned
through observation. We don’t need to experience the
consequences of a behavior ourselves to learn it. Social-
cognitive learning theory holds that when we see the
behavior of a model being rewarded, we are likely
operant conditioning A form of learning in which a voluntary
response is strengthened or weakened, depending on its
association with positive or negative consequences
behavior modification A formal technique for promoting the
frequency of desirable behaviors and decreasing the incidence
of unwanted ones
social-cognitive learning theory An approach to the study
of development that emphasizes learning by observing the
behavior of another person, called a model
24 Chapter 2
to imitate that behavior. For instance, in one classic
­e xperiment, children who were afraid of dogs were
exposed to a model, nicknamed the “Fearless Peer,” who
was seen playing happily with a dog (Bandura, Grusec, &
Menlove, 1967). After exposure, the children who previ-
ously had been afraid were more likely to approach a
strange dog than children who had not seen the model.
Bandura suggests that social-cognitive learning
proceeds in four steps (Bandura, 1986). First, an observer
must pay attention and perceive the most critical features
of a model’s behavior. Second, the observer must success-
fully recall the behavior. Third, the observer must repro-
duce the behavior accurately. Finally, the observer must be
motivated to learn and carry out the behavior.
Assessing the BehavioralPerspective. Research
based on the behavioral perspective has made significant
contributions, ranging from techniques for educating
children with severe mental retardation to identifying
procedures for curbing aggression. At the same time,
some controversies surround the behavioral perspective.
For example, although they are part of the same general
behavioral perspective, classical and operant conditioning,
on the one hand, and social learning theory, on the other,
disagree in some basic ways. Both classical and operant
conditioning consider learning in terms of external stimuli
and responses, in which the only important factors are the
observable features of the environment. In such an anal-
ysis, people and other organisms are like inanimate “black
boxes”; nothing that occurs inside the box is understood—
nor is much cared about, for that matter.
From an educator’s perspective
How might the kind of social learning that comes from viewing
television influence children’s behavior?
To social learning theorists, such an analysis is an
oversimplification. They argue that what makes people
different from rats and pigeons is mental activity, in the
form of thoughts and expectations. A full understanding
of people’s development, they maintain, cannot occur
without moving beyond external stimuli and responses.
In many ways, social learning theory has come to
predominate in recent decades over classical and operant
conditioning theories. In fact, another perspective that
focuses explicitly on internal mental activity has become
enormously influential. This is the cognitive approach,
which we consider next.
The Cognitive Perspective: Examining
the Roots of Understanding
LO3 What are the basic concepts of the cognitive
perspective?
When 3-year-old Jake is asked why it sometimes rains,
he answers, “So the flowers can grow.” When his
11-year-old sister Lila is asked the same question, she
responds, “Because of evaporation from the surface
of the earth.” And when their cousin Ajima, who is
studying meteorology in her high school science class,
considers the same question, her extended answer
includes a discussion of cumulonimbus clouds, the
Coriolis effect, and synoptic charts.
To a developmental theorist using the cognitive
perspective, the difference in the sophistication of the
answers is evidence of a different degree of knowledge and
understanding, or cognition. The cognitive ­perspective
cognitive perspective The approach to the study of
development that focuses on the processes that allow people
to know, understand, and think about the world
On the reality show Survivor, contestants
often must learn new survival skills in order
to be successful. What form of learning is
prevalent?
 Theoretical Perspectives and Research 25

Table 2.2 Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development

Cognitive Stage Approximate Age Range Major Characteristics
Sensorimotor Birth–2 years Development of object permanence (idea that people/objects exist even when they can’t be
seen); development of motor skills; little or no capacity for symbolic representation
Preoperational 2–7 years Development of language and symbolic thinking; egocentric thinking
Concrete operational 7–12 years Development of conservation (idea that quantity is unrelated to physical appearance);
mastery of concept of reversibility
Formal operational 12 years–adulthood Development of logical and abstract thinking

focuses on the processes that allow people to know, under-
stand, and think about the world.
The cognitive perspective emphasizes how people
internally represent and think about the world. By using
this perspective, developmental researchers hope to
understand how children and adults process information
and how their ways of thinking and understanding affect
their behavior. They also seek to learn how cognitive abil-
ities change as people develop, the degree to which cogni-
tive development represents quantitative and qualitative
growth in intellectual abilities, and how different cognitive
abilities are related to one another.
Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development. No
single person has had a greater impact on the study of
cognitive development than Jean Piaget. A Swiss psychol-
ogist who lived from 1896 to 1980, Piaget proposed that
all people passed in a fixed sequence through a series of
universal stages of cognitive development (summarized
in Table 2.2). He suggested that not only did the quantity
of information increase in each stage, but the quality of
knowledge and understanding changed as well. His focus
was on the change in cognition that occurred as children
moved from one stage to the next (Piaget, 1952, 1962, 1983).
We’ll consider Piaget’s theory in detail beginning in
Chapter 6, but we can get a broad sense of it now by looking
at some of its main features. Piaget suggested that human
thinking is arranged into schemes, organized mental patterns
that ­represent behaviors and actions. In infants, such
schemes represent concrete behavior—a scheme for sucking,
for reaching, and for each separate behavior. In older chil-
dren, the schemes become more sophisticated and abstract.
Schemes are like intellectual computer software that directs
and determines how data from the world are looked at and
handled (Parker, 2005).
Piaget suggested that children’s adaptation—his term
for the way in which children respond and adjust to new
information—can be explained by two basic principles.
Assimilation is the process in which people understand
an experience in terms of their current stage of cognitive
development and way of thinking. In contrast, accommo-
dation refers to changes in existing ways of thinking in
response to encounters with new stimuli or events.
Assimilation occurs when people use their current
ways of thinking about and understanding the world to
perceive and understand a new experience. For example,
a young child who has not yet learned to count will look
at two rows of buttons, each containing the same number
of buttons, and say that a row in which the buttons are
closely spaced together has fewer buttons in it than a row
in which the buttons are more spread out. The experience
of counting buttons, then, is assimilated to already existing
schemes that contain the principle “bigger is more.”
Later, however, when the child is older and has had
sufficient exposure to new experiences, the content of the
scheme will undergo change. In understanding that the
quantity of buttons is identical whether they are spread
out or closely spaced, the child has accommodated to the
experience. Assimilation and accommodation work in
tandem to bring about cognitive development.
Assessing Piaget’s Theory. Piaget has profoundly
influenced our understanding of cognitive development
and is one of the towering figures in child development. He
provided masterful descriptions of how intellectual growth
proceeds during childhood—descriptions which have stood
the test of literally thousands of investigations. By and large,
Piaget’s broad view of the sequence of cognitive develop-
ment is accurate; however, the specifics of the theory, partic-
ularly in terms of change in cognitive capabilities over time,
have been called into question. For instance, some cogni-
tive skills clearly emerge earlier than Piaget suggested.
Furthermore, the universality of Piaget’s stages has been
disputed. A growing amount of evidence suggests that the
emergence of particular cognitive skills occurs according to
a different timetable in non-Western cultures. And in every
culture, some people never seem to reach Piaget’s highest
level of cognitive sophistication: formal, logical thought
(McDonald & Stuart-Hamilton, 2003; Genovese, 2006; De
Jesus-Zayas, Buigas, & Denney, 2012).
Ultimately, the greatest criticism leveled at the
Piagetian perspective is that cognitive development is
not necessarily as discontinuous as Piaget’s stage theory
suggests. Remember that Piaget argued that growth
proceeds in four distinct stages in which the quality of
cognition differs from one stage to the next; however, many
26 Chapter 2
developmental researchers argue that growth is consid-
erably more continuous. These critics have suggested
an alternative perspective, known as the information-
processing approach, which focuses on the processes that
underlie learning, memory, and thinking throughout the
life span.
Information-Processing Approaches. Infor­
mation-processing approaches have become an important
alternative to Piagetian approaches. Information-
processing approaches to cognitive development seek
to identify the ways individuals take in, use, and store
information.
Information-processing approaches grew out of devel-
opments in the electronic processing of information, partic-
ularly as carried out by computers. They assume that even
complex behavior such as learning, remembering, catego-
rizing, and thinking can be broken down into a series of
individual, specific steps.
Like computers, children are assumed by informa-
tion-processing approaches to have limited capacity for
processing information. As they develop, however, they
employ increasingly sophisticated strategies that allow them
to process information more efficiently.
In stark contrast to Piaget’s view that thinking under-
goes qualitative advances as children age, information-pro-
cessing approaches assume that development is marked
more by quantitative advances. Our capacity to handle
information changes with age, as does our processing
speed and efficiency. Furthermore, information-­processing
approaches suggest that as we age, we are better able to
control the nature of processing and that we can change
the strategies we choose to process information.
An information-processing approach that builds on
Piaget’s research is known as neo-Piagetian theory. In
contrast to Piaget’s original work, which viewed cognition
as a single system of increasingly sophisticated general
cognitive abilities, neo-­Piagetian theory considers cogni-
tion as being made up of different types of individual
skills. Using the terminology of information-processing
approaches, neo-Piagetian theory suggests that cognitive
development proceeds quickly in certain areas and more
slowly in others. For example, reading ability and the
skills needed to recall stories may progress sooner than
the sorts of abstract computational abilities used in algebra
or trigonometry. Furthermore, neo-Piagetian theorists
believe that experience plays a greater role than traditional
Piagetian approaches in advancing cognitive development
(Case, Demetriou, & Platsidou, 2001; Yan & Fischer, 2002;
Loewen, 2006).
Assessing Information-Processing Approa­ches.
As we’ll see in future chapters, information-processing
approaches have become a central part of our under-
standing of development. At the same time, they do not
offer a complete explanation for behavior. For example,
information-processing approaches have paid little atten-
tion to behavior such as creativity, in which the most
profound ideas often are developed in a seemingly illog-
ical, nonlinear manner. In addition, they do not take into
account the social context in which development takes
place. That’s one of the reasons why theories emphasizing
the social and cultural aspects of development have become
increasingly popular—as we discuss next.
Cognitive Neuroscience Approaches. One of
the most recent additions to the array of approaches
taken by child developmentalists, cognitive neuroscience
approaches look at cognitive development through the
lens of brain processes. Like other cognitive perspectives,
cognitive neuroscience approaches consider internal,
mental processes, but they focus specifically on the neuro-
logical activity that underlies thinking, problem solving,
and other cognitive behavior.
information-processing approaches Approaches to the
study of cognitive development that seek to identify the ways
individuals take in, use, and store information
cognitive neuroscience approaches Approaches to the study
of cognitive development that focus on how brain processes
are related to cognitive activity
Neuroscientists found
evidence that the brains
of children with autism
spectrum disorder are
somewhat larger than those
of children without the
disorder. This finding might
help identify cases of autism
spectrum disorder early,
allowing for more effective
intervention and treatment.

Cognitive neuroscientists seek to identify actual
locations and functions within the brain that are related
to different types of cognitive activity, rather than simply
assuming that there are hypothetical or theoretical
cognitive structures related to thinking. For example,
using sophisticated brain scanning techniques, cognitive
neuroscientists have demonstrated that thinking about
the meaning of a word activates different areas of the
brain than thinking about how the word sounds when
spoken.
The work of cognitive neuroscientists is also
providing clues to the cause of autism spectrum disorder,
a major developmental disability that can produce
profound language deficits and self-injurious behavior
in young children. For example, neuroscientists have
found that the brains of children with the disorder
show explosive, dramatic growth in the first year of
life, making their heads significantly larger than those
of children without the disorder. By identifying chil-
dren with the disorder very early in their lives, health
care providers can provide crucial early intervention
(Akshoomoff, 2006; Nadel & Poss, 2007; Lewis & Elman,
2008; Guthrie et al., 2013).
Cognitive neuroscience approaches are also on the
forefront of cutting-edge research that has identified
specific genes that are associated with disorders ranging
from physical problems such as breast cancer to psycho-
logical disorders such as schizophrenia (Ranganath,
Minzenberg, & Ragland, 2008; Christoff et al., 2011;
Rodnitzky, 2012). Identifying the genes that make one
vulnerable to such disorders is the first step in genetic
engineering in which gene therapy can reduce or even
prevent the disorder from occurring.
Assessing Cognitive Neuroscience Approa­
ches. Cognitive neuroscience approaches represent a
new frontier in child and adolescent development. Using
sophisticated measurement techniques, many of them
developed only in the last few years, cognitive neurosci-
entists are able to peer into the inner functioning of the
brain. Advances in our understanding of genetics also has
opened a new window into both normal and abnormal
development and has suggested a variety of treatments for
abnormalities.
Critics of the cognitive neuroscience approach have
suggested that it sometimes provides a better descrip-
tion than explanation of developmental phenomena. For
instance, finding that children with autism have larger
brains than those without the disorder does not explain
why their brains became larger—that’s a question that
remains to be answered. Still, such work offers important
clues to appropriate treatments and can ultimately lead
to a full understanding of a range of developmental
phenomena.
Theoretical Perspectives and Research 27
The Contextual Perspective: Taking
a Broad Approach to Development
LO4 What are the basic concepts of the contextual
perspective?
Although child developmentalists often consider the
course of development separately in terms of physical,
cognitive, and personality and social factors, such a cate-
gorization has one serious drawback. In the real world,
none of these broad influences occurs in isolation from
any other. Instead, there is a constant, ongoing interaction
between the different types of influence.
The contextual perspective considers the relationship
between individuals and their physical, cognitive, person-
ality, and social worlds. It suggests that a child’s unique
development cannot be properly viewed without seeing
the child enmeshed within a complex social and cultural
context. We’ll consider two major theories that fall into this
category: Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological approach and
Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory.
The Bioecological Approach to Development.
In acknowledging the problem with traditional approaches
to life span development, psychologist Urie Bronfenbrenner
(1989, 2000, 2002) has proposed an alternative perspective,
called the bioecological approach, which suggests that five
levels of the environment simultaneously influence indi-
viduals. Bronfenbrenner notes that we cannot fully under-
stand development without considering how a person is
influenced by each of these levels (illustrated in Figure 2.1).
• The microsystem is the everyday, immediate environ-
ment in which children lead their daily lives. Homes,
caregivers, friends, and teachers all are influences that
are part of the microsystem. But the child is not just a
passive recipient of these influences. Instead, children
actively help construct the microsystem, shaping the
immediate world in which they live. The microsystem
is the level at which most traditional work in child
development has been directed.
• The mesosystem provides connections among the
various aspects of the microsystem. Like links in a
chain, the mesosystem binds children to parents,
students to teachers, employees to bosses, friends to
friends. It acknowledges the direct and indirect influ-
ences that bind us to one another, such as those that
affect a mother or father who has a bad day at the
contextual perspective The perspective that considers the
relationship between individuals and their physical, cognitive,
personality, social, and physical worlds
bioecological approach The perspective suggesting that
different levels of the environment simultaneously influence
every biological organism
28 Chapter 2

• Finally, the chronosystem underlies each

Figure 2.1 Bronfenbrenner’s Approach to Development
of the previous systems. It involves
Urie Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological approach to development offers five levels of
the way the passage of time, including
the environment that simultaneously influence individuals: macrosystem, exosystem,
mesosystem, microsystem, and chronosystem. historical events (such as the terrorist
Source: Adapted from Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 1998.
attacks in September 2001) and more
gradual historical changes (such as
changes in the number of women who
M a c ro s y s te m
d id e o l o gi es o f t h e c u work outside of the home), affects chil-
s an
tude lture
Att i dren’s development.
Exosystem

M e s o s y s te m The bioecological approach emphasizes

Friends Neighbors
of family the interconnectedness of the influences on devel-
s y s te m
M i c ro opment. Because the various levels are related
Family School
to one another, a change in one part of the
The Individual:
Health Sex system affects other parts of the system. For
Peers
services Age instance, a parent’s loss of a job (involving
Health
etc. the mesosystem) has an impact on a child’s
Church Neighborhood
group play area microsystem.
Mass Legal Conversely, changes on one environ-
media services
mental level may make little difference
Social welfare if other levels are not also changed. For
services
example, improving the school environment
may have a negligible effect on academic
Chronosystem
performance if children receive little support
(patterning of
environmental events for academic success at home. Similarly, the
and transitions over the bioecological approach illustrates that the
(sociohistorical
conditions and

life course; sociohistorical

Time

influences among different family members

life events)

conditions)
time since

are multidirectional. Parents don’t just affect

office and then is short-tempered with her or his son
or daughter at home.
• The exosystem represents broader influences, encom-
passing societal institutions such as local government,
the community, schools, places of worship, and the
local media. Each of these larger institutions of society
can have an immediate, and major, impact on personal
development, and each affects how the microsystem
and mesosystem operate. For example, the quality of a
school will affect a child’s cognitive development and
potentially can have long-term consequences.
• The macrosystem represents the larger cultural influ-
ences on an individual. Society in general, types of
governments, religious and political value systems,
and other broad, encompassing factors are parts of
the macrosystem. For example, the value a culture or
society places on education or the family will affect the
values of the people who live in that society. Children
are part of a broader culture (such as Western culture)
and are influenced by their membership in a partic-
ular subculture (for instance, being part of Mexican
American subculture).
their child’s behavior—the child also influ-
ences the parents’ behavior.
Finally, the bioecological approach
stresses the importance of broad cultural
factors that affect development. Researchers
in child development increasingly look at how membership
in cultural and subcultural groups influences behavior.
The Influence of Culture. Consider, for instance,
whether you agree that children should be taught that their
classmates’ assistance is indispensable to getting good grades
in school or that they should definitely plan to continue
their fathers’ businesses or that children should follow their
parents’ advice in determining their career plans. If you
have been raised in the most widespread North American
culture, you would likely disagree with all three statements
because they violate the premises of individualism, the domi-
nant Western philosophy that emphasizes personal identity,
uniqueness, freedom, and the worth of the individual.
By contrast, if you were raised in a traditional Asian
culture, it is considerably more likely that you will agree with
the three statements. Why? The statements reflect the value
orientation known as collectivism, the notion that the well-
being of the group is more important than that of the individual.
People raised in collectivistic cultures tend to emphasize the
welfare of the groups to which they belong, sometimes even at
the expense of their own personal well-being.
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comme bon lui semble, mais je ne les lui prête que sur la promesse
qu’elle m’a faite de souscrire un contrat avec lequel je puisse
prendre mes sûretés sur sa part dans les terrains nus de Waignies.
Marguerite détourna la tête pour ne pas laisser voir les larmes
qui lui vinrent aux yeux, elle connaissait la pureté de cœur qui
distinguait Emmanuel. Élevé par son oncle dans la pratique la plus
sévère des vertus religieuses, le jeune homme avait spécialement
horreur du mensonge; après avoir offert sa vie et son cœur à
Marguerite, il lui faisait donc encore le sacrifice de sa conscience.
—Adieu, monsieur, lui dit Balthazar, je vous croyais plus de
confiance dans un homme qui vous voyait avec des yeux de père.
Après avoir échangé avec Marguerite un déplorable regard,
Emmanuel fut reconduit par Martha qui ferma la porte de la rue. Au
moment où le père et la fille furent bien seuls, Claës dit à sa fille:—
Tu m’aimes, n’est-ce pas?
—Ne prenez pas de détours, mon père. Vous voulez cette
somme, vous ne l’aurez point.
Elle se mit à rassembler les ducats, son père l’aida
silencieusement à les ramasser et à vérifier la somme qu’elle avait
semée, et Marguerite le laissa faire sans lui témoigner la moindre
défiance. Les deux milles ducats remis en pile, Balthazar dit d’un air
désespéré:—Marguerite, il me faut cet or!
—Ce serait un vol si vous le preniez, répondit-elle froidement.
Écoutez, mon père: il vaut mieux nous tuer d’un seul coup, que de
nous faire souffrir mille morts chaque jour. Voyez, qui de vous, qui de
nous doit succomber.
—Vous aurez donc assassiné votre père, reprit-il.
—Nous aurons vengé notre mère, dit-elle en montrant la place où
madame Claës était morte.
—Ma fille, si tu savais ce dont il s’agit, tu ne me dirais pas de
telles paroles. Écoute, je vais t’expliquer le problème... Mais tu ne
me comprendras pas? s’écria-t-il avec désespoir. Enfin, donne! crois
une fois en ton père. Oui, je sais que j’ai fait de la peine à ta mère;
que j’ai dissipé, pour employer le mot des ignorants, ma fortune et
dilapidé la vôtre; que vous travaillez tous pour ce que tu nommes
une folie; mais, mon ange, ma bien-aimée, mon amour, ma
Marguerite, écoute-moi donc! Si je ne réussis pas, je me donne à toi,
je t’obéirai comme tu devrais, toi, m’obéir; je ferai tes volontés, je te
remettrai la conduite de ma fortune, je ne serai plus le tuteur de mes
enfants, je me dépouillerai de toute autorité. Je le jure par ta mère,
dit-il en versant des larmes. Marguerite détourna la tête pour ne pas
voir cette figure en pleurs, et Claës se jeta aux genoux de sa fille en
croyant qu’elle allait céder.—Marguerite, Marguerite! donne, donne!
Que sont soixante mille francs pour éviter des remords éternels!
Vois-tu, je mourrai, ceci me tuera. Écoute-moi! ma parole sera
sacrée. Si j’échoue, je renonce à mes travaux, je quitterai la Flandre,
la France même, si tu l’exiges, et j’irai travailler comme un
manœuvre afin de refaire sou à sou ma fortune et rapporter un jour à
mes enfants ce que la Science leur aura pris. Marguerite voulait
relever son père, mais il persistait à rester à ses genoux, et il ajouta
en pleurant:—Sois une dernière fois, tendre et dévouée? Si je ne
réussis pas, je te donnerai moi-même raison dans tes duretés. Tu
m’appelleras vieux fou! tu me nommeras mauvais père! enfin tu me
diras que je suis un ignorant! Moi, quand j’entendrai ces paroles, je
te baiserai les mains. Tu pourras me battre, si tu le veux; et quand tu
me frapperas, je te bénirai comme la meilleure des filles en me
souvenant que tu m’as donné ton sang!
—S’il ne s’agissait que de mon sang, je vous le rendrais, s’écria-
t-elle, mais puis-je laisser égorger par la Science mon frère et ma
sœur? non! Cessez, cessez, dit-elle en essuyant ses larmes et
repoussant les mains caressantes de son père.
—Soixante-mille francs et deux mois, dit-il en se levant avec
rage, il ne me faut plus que cela; mais ma fille se met entre la gloire,
entre la richesse et moi. Sois maudite! ajouta-t-il. Tu n’es ni fille, ni
femme, tu n’as pas de cœur, tu ne seras ni une mère, ni une
épouse, ajouta-t-il. Laisse-moi prendre! dis, ma chère petite, mon
enfant chérie, je t’adorerai, ajouta-t-il en avançant la main sur l’or par
un mouvement d’atroce énergie.
 —Je suis sans défense contre la force, mais Dieu et le grand
Claës nous voient! dit Marguerite en montrant le portrait.
—Eh! bien, essaie de vivre couverte du sang de ton père, cria
Balthazar en lui jetant un regard d’horreur. Il se leva, contempla le
parloir et sortit lentement. En arrivant à la porte, il se retourna
comme eût fait un mendiant et interrogea sa fille par un geste auquel
Marguerite répondit en faisant un signe de tête négatif.—Adieu, ma
fille, dit-il avec douceur, tâchez de vivre heureuse.
Quand il eut disparu, Marguerite resta dans une stupeur qui eut
pour effet de l’isoler de la terre, elle n’était plus dans le parloir, elle
ne sentait plus son corps, elle avait des ailes, et volait dans les
espaces du monde moral où tout est immense, où la pensée
rapproche et les distances et les temps, où quelque main divine
relève la toile étendue sur l’avenir. Il lui sembla qu’il s’écoulait des
jours entiers entre chacun des pas que faisait son père en montant
l’escalier; puis elle eut un frisson d’horreur au moment où elle
l’entendit entrer dans sa chambre. Guidée par un pressentiment qui
répandit dans son âme la poignante clarté d’un éclair, elle franchit
les escaliers sans lumière, sans bruit, avec la vélocité d’une flèche,
et vit son père qui s’ajustait le front avec un pistolet.
—Prenez tout, lui cria-t-elle en s’élançant vers lui.
Elle tomba sur un fauteuil. Balthazar la voyant pâle, se mit à
pleurer comme pleurent les vieillards; il redevint enfant, il la baisa au
front, lui dit des paroles sans suite, il était près de sauter de joie, et
semblait vouloir jouer avec elle comme un amant joue avec sa
maîtresse après en avoir obtenu le bonheur.
—Assez! assez, mon père, dit-elle, songez à votre promesse! Si
vous ne réussissez pas, vous m’obéirez!
—Oui.
—O ma mère, dit-elle en se tournant vers la chambre de
madame Claës, vous auriez tout donné, n’est-ce pas?
—Dors en paix, dit Balthazar, tu es une bonne fille.
 —Dormir! dit-elle, je n’ai plus les nuits de ma jeunesse; vous me
vieillissez, mon père, comme vous avez lentement flétri le cœur de
ma mère.
—Pauvre enfant, je voudrais te rassurer en t’expliquant les effets
de la magnifique expérience que je viens d’imaginer, tu
comprendrais.
—Je ne comprends que notre ruine, dit-elle en s’en allant.
Le lendemain matin, qui était un jour de congé, Emmanuel de
Solis amena Jean.
—Hé bien? dit-il avec tristesse en abordant Marguerite.
—J’ai cédé, répondit-elle.
—Ma chère vie, dit-il avec un mouvement de joie mélancolique,
si vous aviez résisté, je vous eusse admirée; mais faible, je vous
adore!
—Pauvre, pauvre Emmanuel, que nous restera-t-il?
—Laissez-moi faire, s’écria le jeune homme d’un air radieux,
nous nous aimons, tout ira bien!
Quelques mois s’écoulèrent dans une tranquillité parfaite.
Monsieur de Solis fit comprendre à Marguerite que ses chétives
économies ne constitueraient jamais une fortune, et lui conseilla de
vivre à l’aise en prenant, pour maintenir l’abondance au logis,
l’argent qui restait sur la somme de laquelle il avait été le
dépositaire. Pendant ce temps, Marguerite fut livrée aux anxiétés qui
jadis avaient agité sa mère en semblable occurrence. Quelque
incrédule qu’elle pût être, elle en était arrivée à espérer dans le
génie de son père. Par un phénomène inexplicable, beaucoup de
gens ont l’espérance sans avoir la foi. L’espérance est la fleur du
Désir, la foi est le fruit de la Certitude. Marguerite se disait: «Si mon
père réussit, nous serons heureux!» Claës et Lemulquinier seuls
disaient: «Nous réussirons!» Malheureusement, de jour en jour, le
visage de cet homme s’attrista. Quand il venait dîner, il n’osait
parfois regarder sa fille et parfois il lui jetait aussi des regards de
triomphe. Marguerite employa ses soirées à se faire expliquer par le
jeune de Solis plusieurs difficultés légales. Elle accabla son père de
questions sur leurs relations de famille. Enfin elle acheva son
éducation virile, elle se préparait évidemment à exécuter le plan
qu’elle méditait si son père succombait encore une fois dans son
duel avec l’Inconnu (X).
Au commencement du mois de juillet, Balthazar passa toute une
journée assis sur le banc de son jardin, plongé dans une méditation
triste. Il regarda plusieurs fois le tertre dénué de tulipes, les fenêtres
de la chambre de sa femme; il frémissait sans doute en songeant à
tout ce que sa lutte lui avait coûté: ses mouvements attestaient des
pensées en dehors de la Science. Marguerite vint s’asseoir et
travailler près de lui quelques moments avant le dîner.
—Hé! bien, mon père, vous n’avez pas réussi.
—Non, mon enfant.
—Ah! dit Marguerite d’une voix douce, je ne vous adresserai pas
le plus léger reproche, nous sommes également coupables. Je
réclamerai seulement l’exécution de votre parole, elle doit être
sacrée, vous êtes un Claës. Vos enfants vous entoureront d’amour
et de respect; mais d’aujourd’hui vous m’appartenez, et me devez
obéissance. Soyez sans inquiétude, mon règne sera doux, et je
travaillerai même à le faire promptement finir. J’emmène Martha, je
vous quitte pour un mois environ, et pour m’occuper de vous, car,
dit-elle en le baisant au front, vous êtes mon enfant. Demain, Félicie
conduira donc la maison. La pauvre enfant n’a que dix-sept ans, elle
ne saurait pas vous résister; soyez généreux, ne lui demandez pas
un sou, car elle n’aura que ce qu’il lui faut strictement pour les
dépenses de la maison. Ayez du courage, renoncez pendant deux
ou trois années à vos travaux et à vos pensées. Le problème mûrira,
je vous aurai amassé l’argent nécessaire pour le résoudre et vous le
résoudrez. Hé! bien, votre reine n’est-elle pas clémente, dites?
—Tout n’est donc pas perdu, dit le vieillard.
—Non, si vous êtes fidèle à votre parole.
—Je vous obéirai, ma fille, répondit Claës avec une émotion
profonde.
 Le lendemain, monsieur Conyncks de Cambrai vint chercher sa
petite nièce. Il était en voiture de voyage, et ne voulut rester chez
son cousin que le temps nécessaire à Marguerite et à Martha pour
faire leurs apprêts. Monsieur Claës reçut son cousin avec affabilité,
mais il était visiblement triste et humilié. Le vieux Conyncks devina
les pensées de Balthazar, et, en déjeunant, il lui dit avec une grosse
franchise:—J’ai quelques-uns de vos tableaux, cousin, j’ai le goût
des beaux tableaux, c’est une passion ruineuse; mais, nous avons
tous notre folie...
—Cher oncle! dit Marguerite.
—Vous passez pour être ruiné, cousin, mais un Claës a toujours
des trésors là, dit-il en se frappant le front. Et là, n’est-ce pas?
ajouta-t-il en montrant son cœur. Aussi compté-je sur vous! J’ai
trouvé dans mon escarcelle quelques écus que j’ai mis à votre
service.
—Ha! s’écria Balthazar, je vous rendrai des trésors...
—Les seuls trésors que nous possédions en Flandre, cousin,
c’est la patience et le travail, répondit sévèrement Conyncks. Notre
ancien a ces deux mots gravés sur le front, dit-il en lui montrant le
portrait du président Van-Claës.
Marguerite embrassa son père, lui dit adieu, fit ses
recommandations à Josette, à Félicie, et partit en poste pour Paris.
Le grand-oncle devenu veuf n’avait qu’une fille de douze ans et
possédait une immense fortune, il n’était donc pas impossible qu’il
voulût se marier; aussi les habitants de Douai crurent-ils que
mademoiselle Claës épousait son grand-oncle. Le bruit de ce riche
mariage ramena Pierquin le notaire chez les Claës. Il s’était fait de
grands changements dans les idées de cet excellent calculateur.
Depuis deux ans, la société de la ville s’était divisée en deux camps
ennemis. La noblesse avait formé un premier cercle, et la
bourgeoisie un second, naturellement fort hostile au premier. Cette
séparation subite qui eut lieu dans toute la France et la partagea en
deux nations ennemies, dont les irritations jalouses allèrent en
croissant, fut une des principales raisons qui firent adopter la
révolution de juillet 1830 en province. Entre ces deux sociétés, dont
l’une était ultra-monarchique et l’autre ultra-libérale, se trouvaient les
fonctionnaires admis, suivant leur importance, dans l’un et dans
l’autre monde, et qui, au moment de la chute du pouvoir légitime,
furent neutres. Au commencement de la lutte entre la noblesse et la
bourgeoisie, les Cafés royalistes contractèrent une splendeur inouïe,
et rivalisèrent si brillamment avec les Cafés libéraux, que ces sortes
de fêtes gastronomiques coûtèrent, dit-on, la vie à plusieurs
personnages qui, semblables à des mortiers mal fondus, ne purent
résister à ces exercices. Naturellement, les deux sociétés devinrent
exclusives et s’épurèrent. Quoique fort riche pour un homme de
province, Pierquin fut exclu des cercles aristocratiques, et refoulé
dans ceux de la bourgeoisie. Son amour-propre eut beaucoup à
souffrir des échecs successifs qu’il reçut en se voyant
insensiblement éconduit par les gens avec lesquels il frayait
naguère. Il atteignait l’âge de quarante ans, seule époque de la vie
où les hommes qui se destinent au mariage puissent encore
épouser des personnes jeunes. Les partis auxquels il pouvait
prétendre appartenaient à la bourgeoisie, et son ambition tendait à
rester dans le haut monde, où devait l’introduire une belle alliance.
L’isolement dans lequel vivait la famille Claës l’avait rendue
étrangère à ce mouvement social. Quoique Claës appartînt à la
vieille aristocratie de la province, il était vraisemblable que ses
préoccupations l’empêcheraient d’obéir aux antipathies créées par
ce nouveau classement de personnes. Quelque pauvre qu’elle pût
être, une demoiselle Claës apportait à son mari cette fortune de
vanité que souhaitent tous les parvenus. Pierquin revint donc chez
les Claës avec une secrète intention de faire les sacrifices
nécessaires pour arriver à la conclusion d’un mariage qui réalisait
désormais toutes ses ambitions. Il tint compagnie à Balthazar et à
Félicie pendant l’absence de Marguerite, mais il reconnut
tardivement un concurrent redoutable dans Emmanuel de Solis. La
succession du défunt abbé passait pour être considérable; et, aux
yeux d’un homme qui chiffrait naïvement toutes les choses de la vie,
le jeune héritier paraissait plus puissant par son argent que par les
séductions du cœur dont ne s’inquiétait jamais Pierquin. Cette
fortune rendait au nom de Solis toute sa valeur. L’or et la noblesse
étaient comme deux lustres qui, s’éclairant l’un par l’autre,
redoublaient d’éclat. L’affection sincère que le jeune proviseur
témoignait à Félicie, qu’il traitait comme une sœur, excita l’émulation
du notaire. Il essaya d’éclipser Emmanuel en mêlant le jargon à la
mode et les expressions d’une galanterie superficielle aux airs
rêveurs, aux élégies soucieuses qui allaient si bien à sa
physionomie. En se disant désenchanté de tout au monde, il tournait
les yeux vers Félicie de manière à lui faire croire qu’elle seule
pourrait le réconcilier avec la vie. Félicie, à qui pour la première fois
un homme adressait des compliments, écouta ce langage toujours si
doux, même quand il est mensonger; elle prit le vide pour de la
profondeur, et, dans le besoin qui l’oppressait de fixer les sentiments
vagues dont surabondait son cœur, elle s’occupa de son cousin.
Jalouse, à son insu peut-être, des attentions amoureuses
qu’Emmanuel prodiguait à sa sœur, elle voulait sans doute se voir,
comme elle, l’objet des regards, des pensées et des soins d’un
homme. Pierquin démêla facilement la préférence que Félicie lui
accordait sur Emmanuel, et ce fut pour lui une raison de persister
dans ses efforts, en sorte qu’il s’engagea plus qu’il ne le voulait.
Emmanuel surveilla les commencements de cette passion fausse
peut-être chez le notaire, naïve chez Félicie dont l’avenir était en jeu.
Il s’ensuivit, entre la cousine et le cousin, quelques causeries
douces, quelques mots dits à voix basse en arrière d’Emmanuel,
enfin de ces petites tromperies qui donnent à un regard, à une
parole une expression dont la douceur insidieuse peut causer
d’innocentes erreurs. A la faveur du commerce que Pierquin
entretenait avec Félicie, il essaya de pénétrer le secret du voyage
entrepris par Marguerite, afin de savoir s’il s’agissait de mariage et
s’il devait renoncer à ses espérances; mais, malgré sa grosse
finesse, ni Balthazar ni Félicie ne purent lui donner aucune lumière,
par la raison qu’ils ne savaient rien des projets de Marguerite qui, en
prenant le pouvoir, semblait en avoir suivi les maximes en taisant
ses projets. La morne tristesse de Balthazar et son affaissement
rendaient les soirées difficiles à passer. Quoique Emmanuel eût
réussi à faire jouer le chimiste au trictrac, Balthazar y était distrait; et
la plupart du temps cet homme, si grand par son intelligence,
semblait stupide. Déchu de ses espérances, humilié d’avoir dévoré
trois fortunes, joueur sans argent, il pliait sous le poids de ses
ruines, sous le fardeau de ses espérances moins détruites que
trompées. Cet homme de génie, muselé par la nécessité, se
condamnant lui-même, offrait un spectacle vraiment tragique qui eût
touché l’homme le plus insensible. Pierquin lui-même ne contemplait
pas sans un sentiment de respect ce lion en cage, dont les yeux
pleins d’une puissance refoulée étaient devenus calmes à force de
tristesse, ternes à force de lumière; dont les regards demandaient
une aumône que la bouche n’osait proférer. Parfois un éclair passait
sur cette face desséchée qui se ranimait par la conception d’une
nouvelle expérience; puis, si, en contemplant le parloir, les yeux de
Balthazar s’arrêtaient à la place où sa femme avait expiré, de légers
pleurs roulaient comme d’ardents grains de sable dans le désert de
ses prunelles que la pensée faisait immenses, et sa tête retombait
sur sa poitrine. Il avait soulevé le monde comme un Titan, et le
monde revenait plus pesant sur sa poitrine. Cette gigantesque
douleur, si virilement contenue, agissait sur Pierquin et sur
Emmanuel qui, parfois, se sentaient assez émus pour vouloir offrir à
cet homme la somme nécessaire à quelque série d’expériences; tant
sont communicatives les convictions du génie! Tous deux
concevaient comment madame Claës et Marguerite avaient pu jeter
des millions dans ce gouffre: mais la raison arrêtait promptement les
élans du cœur; et leurs émotions se traduisaient par des
consolations qui aigrissaient encore les peines de ce Titan foudroyé.
Claës ne parlait point de sa fille aînée, et ne s’inquiétait ni de son
absence, ni du silence qu’elle gardait en n’écrivant ni à lui, ni à
Félicie. Quand Solis et Pierquin lui en demandaient des nouvelles, il
paraissait affecté désagréablement. Pressentait-il que Marguerite
agissait contre lui? Se trouvait-il humilié d’avoir résigné les droits
majestueux de la paternité à son enfant? En était-il venu à moins
l’aimer parce qu’elle allait être le père, et lui l’enfant? Peut-être y
avait-il beaucoup de ces raisons et beaucoup de ces sentiments
inexprimables qui passent comme des nuages en l’âme, dans la
disgrâce muette qu’il faisait peser sur Marguerite. Quelque grands
que puissent être les grands hommes connus ou inconnus, heureux
ou malheureux dans leurs tentatives, ils ont des petitesses par
lesquelles ils tiennent à l’humanité. Par un double malheur, il ne
souffrent pas moins de leurs qualités que de leurs défauts; et peut-
être Balthazar avait-il à se familiariser avec les douleurs de ses
vanités blessées. La vie qu’il menait, et les soirées pendant
lesquelles ces quatre personnes se trouvèrent réunies en l’absence
de Marguerite furent donc une vie et des soirées empreintes de
tristesse, remplies d’appréhensions vagues. Ce fut des jours
infertiles comme des landes desséchées, où néanmoins ils glanaient
quelques fleurs, rares consolations. L’atmosphère leur semblait
brumeuse en l’absence de la fille aînée, devenue l’âme, l’espoir et la
force de cette famille. Deux mois se passèrent ainsi, pendant
lesquels Balthazar attendit patiemment sa fille. Marguerite fut
ramenée à Douai par son oncle, qui resta au logis au lieu de
retourner à Cambrai, sans doute pour y appuyer de son autorité
quelque coup d’état médité par sa nièce. Ce fut une petite fête de
famille que le retour de Marguerite. Le notaire et monsieur de Solis
avaient été invités à dîner par Félicie et par Balthazar. Quand la
voiture de voyage s’arrêta devant la porte de la maison, ces quatre
personnes vinrent y recevoir les voyageurs avec de grandes
démonstrations de joie. Marguerite parut heureuse de revoir les
foyers paternels, ses yeux s’emplirent de larmes quand elle traversa
la cour pour arriver au parloir. En embrassant son père, ses
caresses de jeune fille ne furent pas néanmoins sans arrière-
pensée, elle rougissait comme une épouse coupable qui ne sait pas
feindre; mais ses regards reprirent leur pureté quand elle regarda
monsieur de Solis, en qui elle semblait puiser la force d’achever
l’entreprise qu’elle avait secrètement formée. Pendant le dîner,
malgré l’allégresse qui animait les physionomies et les paroles, le
père et la fille s’examinèrent avec défiance et curiosité. Balthazar ne
fit à Marguerite aucune question sur son séjour à Paris, sans doute
par dignité paternelle. Emmanuel de Solis imita cette réserve. Mais
Pierquin, qui était habitué à connaître tous les secrets de famille, dit
à Marguerite en couvrant sa curiosité sous une fausse bonhomie:—
Eh! bien, chère cousine, vous avez vu Paris, les spectacles...
—Je n’ai rien vu à Paris, répondit-elle, je n’y suis pas allée pour
me divertir. Les jours s’y sont tristement écoulés pour moi, j’étais
trop impatiente de revoir Douai.
 —Si je ne m’étais pas fâché, elle ne serait pas venue à l’Opéra,
où d’ailleurs elle s’est ennuyée! dit monsieur Conyncks.
La soirée fut pénible, chacun était gêné, souriait mal ou
s’efforçait de témoigner cette gaieté de commande sous laquelle se
cachent de réelles anxiétés. Marguerite et Balthazar étaient en proie
à de sourdes et cruelles appréhensions qui réagissaient sur les
cœurs. Plus la soirée s’avançait, plus la contenance du père et de la
fille s’altérait. Parfois Marguerite essayait de sourire, mais ses
gestes, ses regards, le son de sa voix trahissaient une vive
inquiétude. Messieurs Conyncks et de Solis semblaient connaître la
cause des secrets mouvements qui agitaient cette noble fille, et
paraissaient l’encourager par des œillades expressives. Blessé
d’avoir été mis en dehors d’une résolution et de démarches
accomplies pour lui, Balthazar se séparait insensiblement de ses
enfants et de ses amis, en affectant de garder le silence. Marguerite
allait sans doute lui découvrir ce qu’elle avait décidé de lui. Pour un
homme grand, pour un père, cette situation était intolérable. Parvenu
à un âge où l’on ne dissimule rien au milieu de ses enfants, où
l’étendue des idées donne de la force aux sentiments, il devenait
donc de plus en plus grave, songeur et chagrin, en voyant
s’approcher le moment de sa mort civile. Cette soirée renfermait une
de ces crises de la vie intérieure qui ne peuvent s’expliquer que par
des images. Les nuages et la foudre s’amoncelaient au ciel, l’on riait
dans la campagne; chacun avait chaud, sentait l’orage, levait la tête
et continuait sa route. Monsieur Conyncks, le premier, alla se
coucher et fut conduit à sa chambre par Balthazar. Pendant son
absence, Pierquin et monsieur de Solis s’en allèrent. Marguerite fit
un adieu plein d’affection au notaire, elle ne dit rien à Emmanuel,
mais elle lui pressa la main en lui jetant un regard humide. Elle
renvoya Félicie, et quand Claës revint au parloir, il y trouva sa fille
seule.
—Mon bon père, lui dit-elle d’une voix tremblante, il a fallu les
circonstances graves où nous sommes pour me faire quitter la
maison; mais, après bien des angoisses et après avoir surmonté des
difficultés inouïes, j’y reviens avec quelques chances de salut pour
nous tous. Grâce à votre nom, à l’influence de notre oncle et aux
protections de monsieur de Solis, nous avons obtenu, pour vous,
une place de receveur des finances en Bretagne; elle vaut, dit-on,
dix-huit à vingt mille francs par an. Notre oncle a fait le
cautionnement. Voici votre nomination, dit-elle en tirant une lettre de
son sac. Votre séjour ici, pendant nos années de privations et de
sacrifices, serait intolérable. Notre père doit rester dans une situation
au moins égale à celle où il a toujours vécu. Je ne vous demanderai
rien sur vos revenus, vous les emploierez comme bon vous
semblera. Je vous supplie seulement de songer que nous n’avons
pas un sou de rente, et que nous vivrons tous avec ce que Gabriel
nous donnera sur ses revenus. La ville ne saura rien de cette vie
claustrale. Si vous étiez chez vous, vous seriez un obstacle aux
moyens que nous emploierons, ma sœur et moi, pour tâcher d’y
rétablir l’aisance. Est-ce abuser de l’autorité que vous m’avez
donnée que de vous mettre dans une position à refaire vous-même
votre fortune? dans quelques années, si vous le voulez, vous serez
Receveur-général.
—Ainsi, Marguerite, dit doucement Balthazar, tu me chasses de
ma maison.
—Je ne mérite pas un reproche si dur, répondit la fille en
comprimant les mouvements tumultueux de son cœur. Vous
reviendrez parmi nous lorsque vous pourrez habiter votre ville natale
comme il vous convient d’y paraître. D’ailleurs, mon père, n’ai-je
point votre parole? reprit-elle froidement. Vous devez m’obéir. Mon
oncle est resté pour vous emmener en Bretagne, afin que vous ne
fissiez pas seul le voyage.
—Je n’irai pas, s’écria Balthazar en se levant, je n’ai besoin du
secours de personne pour rétablir ma fortune et payer ce que je dois
à mes enfants.
—Ce sera mieux, reprit Marguerite sans s’émouvoir. Je vous
prierai de réfléchir à notre situation respective que je vais vous
expliquer en peu de mots. Si vous restez dans cette maison, vos
enfants en sortiront, afin de vous en laisser le maître.
—Marguerite! cria Balthazar.
 —Puis, dit-elle en continuant sans vouloir remarquer l’irritation de
son père, il faut instruire le ministre de votre refus, si vous
n’acceptez pas une place lucrative et honorable que, malgré nos
démarches et nos protections, nous n’aurions pas eue sans
quelques billets de mille francs adroitement mis par mon oncle dans
le gant d’une dame.
—Me quitter!
—Ou vous nous quitterez ou nous vous fuirons, dit-elle. Si j’étais
votre seule enfant, j’imiterais ma mère, sans murmurer contre le sort
que vous me feriez. Mais ma sœur et mes deux frères ne périront
pas de faim ou de désespoir auprès de vous; je l’ai promis à celle
qui mourut là, dit-elle en montrant la place du lit de sa mère. Nous
vous avons caché nos douleurs, nous avons souffert en silence,
aujourd’hui nos forces se sont usées. Nous ne sommes pas au bord
d’un abîme, nous sommes au fond, mon père! pour nous en tirer, il
ne nous faut pas seulement du courage, il faut encore que nos
efforts ne soient pas incessamment déjoués par les caprices d’une
passion...
—Mes chers enfants! s’écria Balthazar, en saisissant la main de
Marguerite, je vous aiderai, je travaillerai, je...
—En voici les moyens, répondit-elle en lui tendant la lettre
ministérielle.
—Mais, mon ange, le moyen que tu m’offres pour refaire ma
fortune est trop lent! tu me fais perdre le fruit de dix années de
travaux, et les sommes énormes que représente mon laboratoire.
Là, dit-il en indiquant le grenier, sont toutes nos ressources.
Marguerite marcha vers la porte en disant:—Mon père, vous
choisirez!
—Ah! ma fille, vous êtes bien dure! répondit-il en s’asseyant dans
un fauteuil et la laissant partir.
Le lendemain matin, Marguerite apprit par Lemulquinier que
monsieur Claës était sorti. Cette simple annonce la fit pâlir, et sa
contenance fut si cruellement significative, que le vieux valet lui dit:
—Soyez tranquille, mademoiselle, monsieur a dit qu’il serait revenu
à onze heures pour déjeuner. Il ne s’est pas couché. A deux heures
du matin, il était encore debout dans le parloir, à regarder par les
fenêtres les toits du laboratoire. J’attendais dans la cuisine, je le
voyais, il pleurait, il a du chagrin. Voici ce fameux mois de juillet
pendant lequel le soleil est capable de nous enrichir tous, et si vous
vouliez...
—Assez! dit Marguerite en devinant toutes les pensées qui
avaient dû assaillir son père.
Il s’était en effet accompli chez Balthazar ce phénomène qui
s’empare de toutes les personnes sédentaires, sa vie dépendait
pour ainsi dire des lieux avec lesquels il s’était identifié, sa pensée
mariée à son laboratoire et à sa maison les lui rendait
indispensables, comme l’est la Bourse au joueur pour qui les jours
fériés sont des jours perdus. Là étaient ses espérances, là
descendait du ciel la seule atmosphère où ses poumons pouvaient
puiser l’air vital. Cette alliance des lieux et des choses entre les
hommes, si puissante chez les natures faibles, devient presque
tyrannique chez les gens de science et d’étude. Quitter sa maison,
c’était, pour Balthazar, renoncer à la Science, à son problème, c’était
mourir. Marguerite fut en proie à une extrême agitation jusqu’au
moment du déjeuner. La scène qui avait porté Balthazar à vouloir se
tuer lui était revenue à la mémoire, et elle craignit de voir se dénouer
tragiquement la situation désespérée où se trouvait son père. Elle
allait et venait dans le parloir, en tressaillant chaque fois que la
sonnette de la porte retentissait. Enfin, Balthazar revint. Pendant
qu’il traversait la cour, Marguerite, qui étudia sa figure avec
inquiétude, n’y vit que l’expression d’une douleur orageuse. Quand il
entra dans le parloir, elle s’avança vers lui pour lui souhaiter le
bonjour; il la saisit affectueusement par la taille, l’appuya sur son
cœur, la baisa au front et lui dit à l’oreille:—Je suis allé demander
mon passe-port. Le son de la voix, le regard résigné, le mouvement
de son père, tout écrasa le cœur de la pauvre fille qui détourna la
tête pour ne point laisser voir ses larmes; mais ne pouvant les
réprimer, elle alla dans le jardin, et revint après y avoir pleuré à son
aise. Pendant le déjeuner, Balthazar se montra gai comme un
homme qui avait pris son parti.
 —Nous allons donc partir pour la Bretagne, mon oncle, dit-il a
monsieur Conyncks. J’ai toujours eu le désir de voir ce pays-là.
—On y vit à bon marché, répondit le vieil oncle.
—Mon père nous quitte? s’écria Félicie.
Monsieur de Solis entra, il amenait Jean.
—Vous nous le laisserez aujourd’hui, dit Balthazar en mettant
son fils près de lui, je pars demain, et je veux lui dire adieu.
Emmanuel regarda Marguerite qui baissa la tête. Ce fut une
journée morne, pendant laquelle chacun fut triste, et réprima des
pensées ou des pleurs. Ce n’était pas une absence, mais un exil.
Puis, tous sentaient instinctivement ce qu’il y avait d’humiliant pour
un père à déclarer ainsi publiquement ses désastres en acceptant
une place et en quittant sa famille à l’âge de Balthazar. Lui seul fut
aussi grand que Marguerite était ferme, et parut accepter noblement
cette pénitence des fautes que l’emportement du génie lui avait fait
commettre. Quand la soirée fut passée et que le père et la fille furent
seuls, Balthazar, qui, pendant toute la journée, s’était montré tendre
et affectueux, comme il l’était durant les beaux jours de sa vie
patriarcale, tendit la main à Marguerite, et lui dit avec une sorte de
tendresse mêlée de désespoir:—Es-tu contente de ton père?
—Vous êtes digne de celui-là, répondit Marguerite en lui
montrant le portrait de Van-Claës.
Le lendemain matin, Balthazar suivi de Lemulquinier monta dans
son laboratoire comme pour faire ses adieux aux espérances qu’il
avait caressées et que ses opérations commencées lui
représentaient vivantes. Le maître et le valet se jetèrent un regard
plein de mélancolie en entrant dans le grenier qu’ils allaient quitter
peut-être pour toujours. Balthazar contempla ces machines sur
lesquelles sa pensée avait si longtemps plané, et dont chacune était
liée au souvenir d’une recherche ou d’une expérience. Il ordonna
d’un air triste à Lemulquinier de faire évaporer des gaz ou des
acides dangereux, de séparer des substances qui auraient pu
produire des explosions. Tout en prenant ces soins, il proférait des
regrets amers, comme en exprime un condamné à mort, avant
d’aller à l’échafaud.
—Voici pourtant, dit-il en s’arrêtant devant une capsule dans
laquelle plongeaient les deux fils d’une pile de Volta, une expérience
dont le résultat devrait être attendu. Si elle réussissait, affreuse
pensée! mes enfants ne chasseraient pas de sa maison un père qui
jetterait des diamants à leurs pieds. Voilà une combinaison de
carbone et de soufre, ajouta-t-il en se parlant à lui-même, dans
laquelle le carbone joue le rôle de corps électro-positif; la
cristallisation doit commencer au pôle négatif; et, dans le cas de
décomposition, le carbone s’y porterait cristallisé...
—Ah! ça se ferait comme ça, dit Lemulquinier en contemplant
son maître avec admiration.
—Or, reprit Balthazar après une pause, la combinaison est
soumise à l’influence de cette pile qui peut agir...
—Si monsieur veut, je vais en augmenter l’effet...
—Non, non, il faut la laisser telle qu’elle est. Le repos et le temps
sont des conditions essentielles à la cristallisation...
—Parbleu, faut qu’elle prenne son temps, cette cristallisation,
s’écria le valet de chambre.
—Si la température baisse, le sulfure de carbone se cristallisera,
dit Balthazar en continuant d’exprimer par lambeaux les pensées
indistinctes d’une méditation complète dans son entendement; mais
si l’action de la pile opère dans certaines conditions que j’ignore... Il
faudrait surveiller cela... il est possible... Mais à quoi pensé-je? il ne
s’agit plus de Chimie, mon ami, nous devons aller gérer une recette
en Bretagne.
Claës sortit précipitamment, et descendit pour faire un dernier
déjeuner de famille auquel assistèrent Pierquin et monsieur de Solis.
Balthazar, pressé d’en finir avec son agonie scientifique, dit adieu à
ses enfants et monta en voiture avec son oncle, toute la famille
l’accompagna sur le seuil de la porte. Là, quand Marguerite eut
embrassé son père par une étreinte désespérée, à laquelle il
répondit en lui disant à l’oreille: «Tu es une bonne fille, et je ne t’en
voudrai jamais!» elle franchit la cour, se sauva dans le parloir,
s’agenouilla à la place où sa mère était morte, et fit une ardente
prière à Dieu pour lui demander la force d’accomplir les rudes
travaux de sa nouvelle vie. Elle était déjà fortifiée par une voix
intérieure qui lui avait jeté dans le cœur les applaudissements des
anges et les remercîments de sa mère, quand sa sœur, son frère,
Emmanuel et Pierquin rentrèrent après avoir regardé la calèche
jusqu’à ce qu’ils ne la vissent plus.
—Maintenant, mademoiselle, qu’allez-vous faire? lui dit Pierquin.
—Sauver la maison, répondit-elle avec simplicité. Nous
possédons près de treize cents arpents à Waignies. Mon intention
est de les faire défricher, les partager en trois fermes, construire les
bâtiments nécessaires à leur exploitation, les louer; et je crois qu’en
quelques années, avec beaucoup d’économie et de patience,
chacun de nous, dit-elle en montrant sa sœur et son frère, aura une
ferme de quatre cents et quelques arpents qui pourra valoir, un jour,
près de quinze mille francs de rente. Mon frère Gabriel gardera pour
sa part cette maison et ce qu’il possède sur le Grand-Livre. Puis
nous rendrons un jour à notre père sa fortune dégagée de toute
obligation, en consacrant nos revenus à l’acquittement de ses
dettes.
—Mais, chère cousine, dit le notaire stupéfait de cette entente
des affaires et de la froide raison de Marguerite, il vous faut plus de
deux cent mille francs pour défricher vos terrains, bâtir vos fermes et
acheter des bestiaux. Où prendrez-vous cette somme?
—Là commencent mes embarras, dit-elle en regardant
alternativement le notaire et monsieur de Solis, je n’ose les
demander à mon oncle qui a déjà fait le cautionnement de mon père!
—Vous avez des amis! s’écria Pierquin en voyant tout à coup
que les demoiselles Claës seraient encore des filles de plus de cinq
cent mille francs.
Emmanuel de Solis regarda Marguerite avec attendrissement,
mais, malheureusement pour lui, Pierquin resta notaire au milieu de
son enthousiasme et reprit ainsi:—Moi, je vous les offre, ces deux
cent mille francs!
Emmanuel et Marguerite se consultèrent par un regard qui fut un
trait de lumière pour Pierquin. Félicie rougit excessivement, tant elle
était heureuse de trouver son cousin aussi généreux qu’elle le
souhaitait. Elle regarda sa sœur qui, tout à coup, devina que
pendant l’absence qu’elle avait faite, la pauvre fille s’était laissé
prendre à quelques banales galanteries de Pierquin.
—Vous ne me paierez que cinq pour cent d’intérêt, dit-il. Vous me
rembourserez quand vous voudrez, et vous me donnerez une
hypothèque sur vos terrains. Mais soyez tranquille, vous n’aurez que
les déboursés à payer pour tous vos contrats, je vous trouverai de
bons fermiers, et ferai vos affaires gratuitement afin de vous aider en
bon parent.
Emmanuel fit un signe à Marguerite pour l’engager à refuser;
mais elle était trop occupée à étudier les changements qui
nuançaient la physionomie de sa sœur pour s’en apercevoir. Après
une pause, elle regarda le notaire d’un air ironique et lui dit d’elle-
même, à la grande joie de monsieur de Solis:—Vous êtes un bien
bon parent, je n’attendais pas moins de vous; mais l’intérêt à cinq
pour cent retarderait trop notre libération, j’attendrai la majorité de
mon frère et nous vendrons ses rentes.
Pierquin se mordit les lèvres, Emmanuel se mit à sourire
doucement.
—Félicie, ma chère enfant, reconduis Jean au collége, Martha
t’accompagnera, dit Marguerite en montrant son frère.—Jean, mon
ange, sois bien sage, ne déchire pas tes habits, nous ne sommes
pas assez riches pour te les renouveler aussi souvent que nous le
faisions! Allons, va, mon petit, étudie bien.
Félicie sortit avec son frère.
—Mon cousin, dit Marguerite à Pierquin, et vous, monsieur, dit-
elle à monsieur de Solis, vous êtes sans doute venus voir mon père
pendant mon absence, je vous remercie de ces preuves d’amitié.
Vous ne ferez sans doute pas moins pour deux pauvres filles qui
vont avoir besoin de conseils. Entendons-nous à ce sujet?... Quand
je serai en ville, je vous recevrai toujours avec le plus grand plaisir;
mais quand Félicie sera seule ici avec Josette et Martha, je n’ai pas
besoin de vous dire qu’elle ne doit voir personne, fût-ce un vieil ami,
et le plus dévoué de nos parents. Dans les circonstances où nous
nous trouvons, notre conduite doit être d’une irréprochable sévérité.
Nous voici donc pour long-temps vouées au travail et à la solitude.
Le silence régna pendant quelques instants. Emmanuel, abîmé
dans la contemplation de la tête de Marguerite, semblait muet,
Pierquin ne savait que dire. Le notaire prit congé de sa cousine, en
éprouvant un mouvement de rage contre lui-même: il avait deviné
tout à coup que Marguerite aimait Emmanuel, et qu’il venait de se
conduire en vrai sot.
—Ah! çà, Pierquin, mon ami, se dit-il en s’apostrophant lui-même
dans la rue, un homme qui te dirait que tu es un grand animal aurait
raison. Suis-je bête? J’ai douze mille livres de rente, en dehors de
ma charge, sans compter la succession de mon oncle Des
Racquets, de qui je suis le seul héritier, et qui me doublera ma
fortune un jour ou l’autre (enfin, je ne lui souhaite pas de mourir, il
est économe!)... et j’ai l’infamie de demander des intérêts à
mademoiselle Claës! Je suis sûr qu’à eux deux ils se moquent
maintenant de moi. Je ne dois plus penser à Marguerite! Non. Après
tout, Félicie est une douce et bonne petite créature qui me convient
mieux. Marguerite a un caractère de fer, elle voudrait me dominer, et
elle me dominerait! Allons, montrons-nous généreux, ne soyons pas
tant notaire, je ne peux donc pas secouer ce harnais là? Sac à
papier, je vais me mettre à aimer Félicie, et je ne bouge pas de ce
sentiment-là! Fourche! elle aura une ferme de quatre cent trente
arpents, qui, dans un temps donné, vaudra entre quinze et vingt
mille livres de rente, car les terrains de Waignies sont bons. Que
mon oncle Des Racquets meure, pauvre bonhomme! je vends mon
Étude et je suis un homme de cin-quan-te-mil-le-li-vres de ren-te. Ma
femme est une Claës, je suis allié à des maisons considérables.
Diantre, nous verrons si les Courteville, les Magalhens, les Savaron
de Savarus refuseront de venir chez un Pierquin-Claës-Molina-
Nourho. Je serai maire de Douai, j’aurai la croix, je puis être député,
j’arrive à tout. Ha! ça, Pierquin, mon garçon, tiens-toi là, ne faisons
plus de sottises, d’autant que, ma parole d’honneur, Félicie...
mademoiselle Félicie Van-Claës, elle t’aime.
Quand les deux amants furent seuls, Emmanuel tendit une main
à Marguerite qui ne put s’empêcher d’y mettre sa main droite. Ils se
levèrent par un mouvement unanime en se dirigeant vers leur banc
dans le jardin; mais au milieu du parloir, l’amant ne put résister à sa
joie, et d’une voix que l’émotion rendit tremblante, il dit à Marguerite:
—J’ai trois cent mille francs à vous!...
—Comment, s’écria-t-elle, ma pauvre mère vous aurait encore
confié?... Non. Quoi?
—Oh! ma Marguerite, ce qui est à moi n’est-il pas à vous? N’est-
ce pas vous qui la première avez dit nous?
—Cher Emmanuel, dit-elle en pressant la main qu’elle tenait
toujours; et, au lieu d’aller au jardin, elle se jeta dans la bergère.
—N’est-ce pas à moi de vous remercier, dit-il avec sa voix
d’amour, puisque vous acceptez.
—Ce moment, dit-elle, mon cher bien-aimé, efface bien des
douleurs, et rapproche un heureux avenir! Oui, j’accepte ta fortune,
reprit-elle en laissant errer sur ses lèvres un sourire d’ange, je sais le
moyen de la faire mienne. Elle regarda le portrait de Van-Claës
comme pour avoir un témoin. Le jeune homme qui suivait les
regards de Marguerite ne lui vit pas tirer de son doigt une bague de
jeune fille, et ne s’aperçut de ce geste qu’au moment où il entendit
ces paroles:—Au milieu de nos profondes misères, il surgit un
bonheur. Mon père me laisse, par insouciance, la libre disposition de
moi-même, dit-elle en tendant la bague, prends Emmanuel? Ma
mère te chérissait, elle t’aurait choisi.
Les larmes vinrent aux yeux d’Emmanuel, il pâlit, tomba sur ses
genoux, et dit à Marguerite en lui donnant un anneau qu’il portait
toujours:—Voici l’alliance de ma mère! Ma Marguerite, reprit-il en
baisant la bague, n’aurai-je donc d’autre gage que ceci!
Elle se baissa pour apporter son front aux lèvres d’Emmanuel.