STUDY QUESTIONS

1. Child development is part of a larger, interdisciplinary field known as DEVELOPMENTAL SCIENCE,

which includes all of the changes we experience throughout the lifespan. (p. 4)

The Field of Child Development

1.

Child development is an interdisciplinary field. Explain what this means. (p. 4)

(1)

_____________________________________________________________________________________

(2)

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Domains of Development
1.

List the three broad domains of development. (p. 4)

A. _________________________________________________________________________________________
B. __________________________________________________________________________________________
C. __________________________________________________________________________________________

Basic Issues
1.

What is a theory? (p. 6)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

2.

How do theories differ from opinion and belief? (p. 7)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Continuous or Discontinuous Development?

One Course of Development or Many?
Relative Influence of Nature and Nurture?
1.

Match each theoretical approach with the appropriate description. (pp. 79)
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____

2.

Considers development to be universal across children

and across cultures
Views development as a process of gradually building on
preexisting skills
Regards the environment as the most important influence
on development
Considers child development in light of distinct contexts
Views development as a progression through a series of
qualitatively distinct stages
Views heredity as the most important influence
on development

A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.

One course of development

Multiple courses of development
Continuous
Discontinuous
Nature
Nurture

Theories that emphasize stability stress the importance of (nature/nurture), while theories that
emphasize early experiences stress the importance of (nature/nurture). (p. 9)

Biology and Environment: Resilient Children

1.

List and briefly describe four broad factors that appear to offer protection from the damaging effects of
stressful life events. (pp. 1011)

A. _________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
B. __________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
C. __________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
D. _________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Historical Foundations
Philosophies of the Enlightenment
1.

British philosopher John Locke viewed the child as a tabula rasa. What does this term mean? (p. 12)
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

2.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a French philosopher, introduced the notion of children as noble savages.
Explain what he meant by this term. (p. 12)
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Scientific Beginnings
1.

Describe Darwins theory of evolution, and cite the two related principles emphasized in his theory.
(pp. 1213)
A. _________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
B. __________________________________________________________________________________________
C. __________________________________________________________________________________________

2.

How did Binets approach to mental testing differ from earlier efforts? (p. 13)
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Mid-Twentieth-Century Theories
The Psychoanalytic Perspective
1.

Name and briefly describe the three components of personality outlined in Freuds theory. (p. 16)
A. _________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
B. __________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
C. __________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

4.

Match each of the following stages of psychosexual development with the appropriate description. (p.
17)
______ Stage in which sexual instincts die down and the superego further develops
______ Stage marked by the onset of puberty
______ Stage in which the infant desires sucking activities

A. Oral
B. Anal
C. Phallic

______ Stage in which the Oedipal/Electra conflict occurs and the superego is formed
______ Stage in which toilet training becomes a major issue between parent and child
5.

8.

D. Latency
E. Genital

In what ways did Erikson build on and improve Freuds theory? (p. 17)
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Match each of Eriksons stages with the appropriate description. (p. 18)
______ Successful resolution of this stage depends on the adults success
at productive work and caring for other people.
______ The primary task of this stage is development of a sense of self
and a sense of ones place in society.
______ Successful resolution of this stage depends on a warm, loving
relationship with the caregiver.
______ In this stage, children experiment with adult roles through makebelieve play.
______ Successful resolution of this stage depends on whether the
parents grant the child reasonable opportunities for free choice.
______ In this stage, successful resolution involves reflecting on ones
life accomplishments.
______ The development of close relationships with others helps ensure
successful resolution of this stage.
______ Children who develop the capacity for cooperation and
productive work resolve this stage successfully.

A. Basic trust versus mistrust

B. Autonomy versus shame
and doubt
C. Initiative versus guilt
D. Industry versus inferiority
E. Identity versus identity
confusion
F. Intimacy versus isolation
G. Generativity versus
stagnation
H. Integrity versus despair

Behaviorism and Social Learning Theory

1.

Briefly summarize B. F. Skinners operant conditioning theory. (p. 19)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

4.

Banduras social learning theory suggests that _____________________, otherwise known as

imitation or observational learning, is an important basis for childrens behavior. (p. 19)

5.

Describe behavior modification, and provide an example to illustrate this technique. (p. 20)
A. _________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
B. __________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Piagets Cognitive-Developmental Theory

1.

2.

True or False: Piagets cognitive-developmental theory is consistent with the principles of behaviorism;
that is, Piaget believed that knowledge is imparted to children through the use of reinforcement.
Briefly explain your response. (p. 21)
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Match each of Piagets stages with the appropriate description. (p. 21)
______ During this stage, thought becomes more complex, and children
develop the capacity for abstract reasoning.
______ This stage is characterized by the use of eyes, ears, and hands to
explore the environment.
______ During this stage, children show symbolic but illogical thought.

A.
B.
C.
D.

Sensorimotor
Preoperational
Concrete operational
Formal operational

______ This stage is marked by the development of logical, organized

reasoning skills.
4.
5.

What did Piaget use as his chief method for studying child and adolescent thought? (p. 21)
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
List three recent challenges to Piagets theory. (p. 22)
A. _________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
B. __________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
C. __________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Recent Theoretical Perspectives

Information Processing
1.

2.

Briefly describe the information-processing view of child development. (p. 22)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
In what basic way are information processing and Piagets theory alike? In what basic way are they
different? (p. 23)
Alike: ______________________________________________________________________________________
Different: ____________________________________________________________________________________

4.

Cite one strength and two limitations of the information-processing approach. (pp. 2324)
Strength: ____________________________________________________________________________________
Limitation: __________________________________________________________________________________
Limitation: __________________________________________________________________________________

Ethology and Evolutionary Developmental Psychology

1.

Describe the difference between a critical period and a sensitive period. (p. 24)
Critical period: _______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Sensitive period: ______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

3.

Explain how John Bowlby applied ethological theory to the understanding of the infantcaregiver
relationship. (p. 25)
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Vygotskys Sociocultural Theory

1.

2.

Cite one benefit of cross-cultural and multicultural research. (p. 25)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
In what way did Vygotsky agree with Piaget? In what ways did their theories differ? (p. 26)

A. _________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
B. __________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
4.

5.

Explain the role of culture on childrens learning. (p. 26)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Vygotksys emphasis on culture and social experience led him to neglect _______________
contributions to development. (p. 26)

Ecological Systems Theory

1.

2.

Summarize the core tenet of Bronfenbrenners ecological systems theory. (p. 26)
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Match each level of ecological systems theory with the appropriate description. (pp. 2629)
______ Relationships between the childs home, school, neighborhood, and childcare center
______ Cultural values, laws, customs, and resources
______ Social settings that do not contain children but that affect their
experiences in immediate settings
______ Activities and interaction patterns in the childs immediate surroundings

4.

A.
B.
C.
D.

Microsystem
Mesosystem
Exosystem
Macrosystem

Describe Bronfenbrenners concept of bidirectional relationships within the microsystem. (pp. 2627)
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Comparing Child Development Theories

1.

Identify the stand that each of the following modern theories takes on the three basic issues of
childhood and child development. (p. 31)
One Course of
Development
Continuous
versus
versus
Many Courses of
Discontinuous
Theory
Development
Development

Nature
versus
Nurture

Psychoanalytic perspective

___________________

___________________

___________________

Behaviorism and social

learning theory

___________________

___________________

___________________

Piagets cognitivedevelopmental theory

___________________

___________________

___________________

Information processing

___________________

___________________

___________________

Ethology and evolutionary

developmental psychology

___________________

___________________

___________________

Vygotskys sociocultural
theory

___________________

___________________

___________________

___________________

___________________

___________________

Dynamic systems
perspective

Applied Directions: Child Development and Social Policy

1.
2.

3.

True or False: Of all Western nations, the United States has the highest percentage of extremely poor
children. (p. 32)
Describe several measures of child health and well-being on which the United States and Canada lag
behind other developed nations. (pp. 3233)
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
True or False: The United States is the only industrialized nation in the world that does not have a
universal, publicly funded health-care system. (pp. 3233)

Culture and Public Policies

1.

Differentiate between individualistic and collectivist societies. (p. 34)

Individualistic societies: ________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Collectivist societies: __________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

3.

The United States is strongly (collectivist/individualistic). How does this influence public policy in the
United States? (p. 34)
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Looking Toward the Future

1.

3.

The ________________________________________ is the international treaty that commits each

cooperating country to work toward guaranteeing environments that foster childrens development,
protect them from harm, and enhance their community participation and self-determination. The
United States (is/is not) one of two countries in the world that has not yet ratified this treaty. (p. 36)
Name the American special interest group that has been the most vigorous and influential in promoting
the well-being of children. (p. 36)
_____________________________________________________________________________________________