Subject: Introduction to psychology

Course Code:BPSY1123
Credit:3

• Child Development
 Child Development
Child development entails the biological, psychological and emotional changes that occur in human
beings between birth and the conclusion of adolescence, as the individual progresses from
dependency to increasing autonomy. It may also occur as a result of human nature and our ability to
learn from our environment. Child development refers to the sequence of physical, language,
thought and emotional changes that occur in a child from birth to the beginning of adulthood.
During this process a child progresses from dependency on their parents/guardians to increasing
independence.
Understanding Child Development: The speedy physical and psychological changes that children
undergo from birth through adolescence often leave parents and caregivers wondering how best to
engage and help them. The process of child development can include everything from sensory
awareness and fine motor skills to language and socialization ability. It is strongly influenced by a
child’s genetic makeup, environment, and cognitive skills.
Parents and medical professionals frequently use developmental milestones, such as when a child
learns to speak or read, to track that child’s growth relative to their peers. These milestones can also
help identify any learning disabilities or behavioral problems a child may have, so that they can be
addressed early, but it is important to note that these are just benchmarks and may have no bearing
on a child's ultimate capabilities.
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Like all fields of scientific research, child psychology is characterized by different
perspectives and theories, which have shaped how our understanding of development
has changed over time. There are many different theories to describe children’s
development, but here we focus on just two. Some theories argue that development
occurs primarily through factors internal to the child that are biologically generated. In
contrast, other theories consider environmental factors, such as the child’s social
environment, to be more important in stimulating and supporting development.
Development is primarily internal: Piaget:
Shortly after the First World War a Swiss biologist and teacher named Jean Piaget
(1896–1980) became interested in a new method for testing children’s intelligence.
Intelligence Quotient (IQ) tests were originally developed by psychologists to identify
children in France who were considered to be at risk of learning delays.
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The test involved presenting children with a series of questions and comparing each
child’s individual performance with group averages for the child’s age. Piaget noticed
that children of the same age often made the same sorts of errors in consistent
ways. This led him to think that children might think about the world in a
substantially different way from adults that could not be explained simply through
having less experience of the world. Piaget was a prolific researcher and eventually
directed one of the world’s first research institutes specializing in examining child
development. On the basis of his lifelong work he developed a theory that the
thinking of typically developing children matures in distinct stages, meaning that
older children are biologically capable of understanding things that those in earlier
stages cannot. He believed that children moved through these stages as a result of
the accumulated physical experience of interacting with objects in the world – so
that their growing abilities are the result of brain maturation as well as encountering
experience in their environments.
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Piaget was especially interested in how children became able to form mental
representations of the world and felt that cognitive development proceeds
through a series of predefined biological steps that are stimulated through
physical interaction with the world. This theory, because it partially focuses on
biological maturation, predicts that all children across the world should go
through these stages in the same order and around the same time, regardless of
differences in the environment that they are growing up in.
Jean Piaget was a Swiss developmental psychologist who studied children in the
early 20th century. His theory of intellectual or cognitive development,
published in 1936, is still used today in some branches of education and
psychology. It focuses on children, from birth through adolescence, and
characterizes different stages of development, including:
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• language
• morals
• memory
• reasoning
Piaget made several assumptions about children while developing his theory:
• Children build their own knowledge based on their experiences.
• Children learn things on their own without influence from adults or older children.
• Children are motivated to learn by nature. They don’t need rewards as motivation.
There are four stages in all:
• Sensorimotor stage
• Preoperational stage
• Concrete operational stage
• Formal operational stage
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The stages cover a range of ages from birth to 2 years old to young
adulthood.
Piaget’s four stages
Piaget’s stages are age-specific and marked by important characteristics
of thought processes. They also include goals children should achieve
as they move through a given stage.
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Sensorimotor
The sensorimotor stage covers children ages birth to 18–24 months old.
Characteristics include motor activity without use of symbols. All things learned
are based on experiences, or trial and error.
The main goal at this stage is establishing an understanding of object permanence
— in other words, knowing that an object still exists even if you can’t see it or it’s
hidden.
• Use real objects in play activities.
• Connect play to the five senses.
• Implement routines for the youngest children. They are predictable and may be
highly useful with developing communication.
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Preoperational
The preoperational stage can be seen in children ages 2 through 7. Memory and
imagination are developing. Children at this age are egocentric, which means they
have difficulty thinking outside of their own viewpoints.
The main achievement of this stage is being able to attach meaning to objects with
language. It’s thinking about things symbolically. Symbolic thought is a type of thinking
where a word or object is used to represent something other than itself.
• Children learn best by doing. Allow them to actively interact with a variety of things
in their environments, including books, people, games, and objects.
• Ask questions while children are engaged in daily routines and allow them to come
up with their own ideas.
• Point out new things and encourage children to question you about those things.
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Concrete operational
Children are much less egocentric in the concrete operational stage. It falls between the ages of 7 to
11 years old and is marked by more logical and methodical manipulation of symbols.
The main goal at this stage is for a child to start working things out inside their head. This is called
operational thought, and it allows kids to solve problems without physically encountering things in
the real world.
• Create timelines, three dimensional models, science experiments, and other ways to manipulate
abstract concepts.
• Use brain teasers and riddles to foster analytical thinking.
• Focus on open-ended questioning.
Formal operational
Children 11 years old and older fall into Piaget’s formal operational stage. A milestone of this period
is using symbols to understand abstract concepts. Not only that, but older kids and adults can also
think about multiple variables and come up with hypotheses based on previous knowledge.
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Piaget believed that people of all ages developed intellectually. But he also believed
that once a person reaches the formal operational stage, it’s more about building
upon knowledge, not changing how it’s acquired or understood.
• Offer step-by-step explanations of concepts and utilize charts and other visual
aids.
• Explore hypothetical situations. You may relate them to current events or social
issues.
• Broaden concepts whenever possible. For example, if talking about the Civil War,
discuss other issues that have divided the country since that time.
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Development is determined by environmental factors: Vygotsky:
Piaget set the tone for many decades of research, but his theory has also received a great deal
of criticism. Many believe that Piaget ignored the huge influence that society and culture have
in shaping a child’s development. At a similar time, another researcher named Lev Vygotsky
(1896–1934) had come to similar conclusions as Piaget about children’s development, in
thinking that children learned about the world through interaction with it. However, where
Piaget felt that children moved naturally through different stages of development, based on
biological predispositions and their own individual interactions with the world, Vygotsky
claimed that adult or peer intervention was a much more important contributor to the
developmental process. Vygotsky concentrated more on children’s immediate social and
cultural environment and their interactions with adults and peers. He argued that cognitive
development occurred first through children’s immediate social interactions, and then moved
to the individual level as they began to internalize their learning. While Piaget saw the child as
actively discovering the world through individual interactions with it, Vygotsky saw the child as
more of an apprentice, learning through a social environment of others who had more
experience and were sensitive to the child’s needs and abilities.
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Ages and Stages of Childhood: All children have varying physical and emotional needs,
depending on their age, personality, and developmental stage. Decades of research in
developmental psychology, pediatrics, and neuroscience converge on the fact that the first
five years are especially critical to a child's outcome.
As a child matures, they will go through phases where they explore their environment, learn
verbal and reasoning skills, socialize with others, and eventually assert their independence
from their family. Research explores how parents and caregivers can manage their own and a
child's expectations and nurture the best qualities in their children.
In the past several decades, the age of puberty has been dropping, putting an increasingly
early end to childhood. Both genetic and environmental factors influence the onset of
puberty, and observers believe that pubertal timing may to some degree represent an
assessment of childhood and that the acceleration of puberty may be a measure of the
stresses a child has experienced.
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Children go through distinct periods of development as they grow from infants to young
adults. During each of these stages, multiple changes in the development f the brain are
taking place. What occurs and approximately when these developments transpire are
genetically determined. However, environmental circumstances and exchanges with key
individuals within that environment have a significant influence on how each child benefits
from each developmental event.
Ages and Stages is a term used to outline significant periods in the human development
timeline. During each stage, growth and development occur in the primary developmental
domains, including physical, intellectual, language and social-emotional. Our goal is to help
parents understand what is taking place in their child’s brain and body during each period,
with the hope that they will be able to provide the necessary support, encouragement,
structure, and interventions to enable a child to progress through each stage as smoothly
and successfully as possible based on each child’s unique set of traits and interests.
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Newborn Development
Between the time of birth and one month, the newborn child exhibits movements
that are automatic in in response to external stimuli, according to "Child
Development: An Illustrated Guide." Some milestones include the rooting reflex,
where a newborn opens his mouth and turns his head toward people hand when
people stroke his cheek; the grasp reflex, which is when the newborn involuntarily
grasps at any object put in his hands such as people’s finger; and the startle reflex,
where a child stiffens, extends his arms and legs and then quickly brings his arms
together in front of his chest in response to sudden noises or position changes. At
this stage, a newborn is able to see objects that are close to his eyes such as his
parents' faces, recognize certain smells, move his head from side to side, smile and
cries to indicate his needs.
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Infant Development
Between one and 12 months, infants display new developmental abilities. A three-to-six-
month-old child is able to control her head movements and play with her hands together.
An infant is able to sit without support, respond to her name and babble between six and
nine months old. Between nine and twelve months, a baby can crawl, stand with support
and pick up objects with her index finger and thumb or a pincer grasp.
Toddler Development
Children between one and three years old are toddlers. At this age, they display ritualistic
behavior, such as a bedtime routine, which gives them a sense of reliability and comfort.
Although toddlers are clumsy, they can walk without help, go up a staircase, jump in
place, hold a crayon, draw a circle, build a tower of two blocks, follow simple directions
and use short sentences.
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Preschooler Development
Preschool development occurs between the ages of three and five years. This stage of
child development is characterized by increased refinement of fine motor skills, according
to the book "Maternity and Pediatric Nursing." The preschooler can throw a ball over his
head, skip, hop, stand on one foot for 10 seconds or longer, draw a person with features,
take care of his toileting needs and dress himself. He can also have long conversations.
School-Age Development
The school-age developmental stage is between six and 12 years old. Children at this
stage are more capable, independent and responsible, according to the book "The
Developing Person through Childhood and Adolescence." The school-age child has
greater motor skills and begins to develop secondary sexual characteristics. Peer
relationships become important here and are typically with members of the same sex.
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Adolescent Development
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, during the adolescent years, physical, mental,
cognitive and sexual changes occur. Girls are physically mature while boys might still be maturing.
Teenagers develop their identity and opinions. They have concerns about their looks. Eating disorders may
occur at this time. Adolescents develop interest in members of the opposite sex and spend more time with
their friends and less time with their parents.
How does socio-cultural context influence development?
Children grow up in specific physical, social, cultural, economic and historical circumstances (their socio-
cultural context), all of which will influence their childhood. Research has shown that children’s socio-
cultural context can have a large influence on their development. We know that culture influences how
children develop; across different cultures, children can develop in quite different ways (Montgomery,
2008). And we know that children who are deprived of care from a primary caregiver can often experience
difficulties in later childhood because their early attachment experiences were affected by this (Bowlby,
1980). Development of course involves a process of learning and improvement, and children can only learn
when others are there to support them, like parents, teachers and siblings. This does not conflict with
Piaget’s stage theory but does extend it to explain how some of the environmental experiences that
children receive can allow them to move from one stage to another, in line with Vygotsky’s socio-cultural
approach.
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How do children shape their own development?
A lot of research focuses on the external influences that shape children’s development and treats
them as relatively powerless. But of course, children have a role in their own development and in
selecting the sorts of environmental influences they are exposed to. Even newborns select what to
pay attention to by where they look and how they orient themselves (usually towards familiar
sounds, things that are new or surprising to them, or to the smell of milk!). Infants will often try to
elicit certain behaviors from adults by giving them cues, such as covering their eyes to play peek-a-
boo. Indeed, infants’ sensitivity to very subtle communicative cues and their role in social
interaction is surprisingly sophisticated. Aspects specific to the child such as their temperament
can also greatly influence how adults and other children interact with them. Once children begin to
speak, they often drive conversations – expecting responses from adults or asking questions. And
when children begin to engage in imaginary play from around 2 years of age they often take on
new personas and roles that help them make sense of different aspects of their world or deal with
things that they are frightened of (Howes and Matheson, 1992), for instance by pretending to be a
superhero fighting off monsters. By the time children reach school age they have begun to make
many decisions about their environment, such as who to be friends with and what interests to
pursue.
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