Child

Developme
nt Theories

Research has shown that early childhood may be the

most important life stage for brain development.
A babys brain is about one quarter the size of an
adults.
Scientists have found that babies brains develop in
response to stimulation.
Arouses senses such as sight, sound, touch, taste,
and smell.
Babies who are stimulated develop more quickly and
have a more secure self-image.

What is a theory?

A theory should allow us to

predict and explain human
behavior
It should be stated in such a
way that it can be shown to
be false
It must be open to scientific
investigation

Although researches dont always agree,

scientific researchers have agreed upon
the five following general rules.

Development is similar for each individual

Development builds upon earlier learning.
Development proceeds at an individual rate.
The different areas of development are
interrelated.
Development is a lifelong process.

Psychoanalytic Theories:

Freuds Psychosexual Theory

Personality has 3 parts

There are 5 stages of psychosexual

development

Oedipus complex allows child to

identify with same-sex parent

Fixation is an unresolved conflict

during a stage of development

Freudian Stages
Birth to
1 yrs

1 to 3
yrs

3 to 6
years

6 yrs to
puberty

Puberty
onward

Oral Stage

Anal Stage

Phallic
Stage

Latency
Stage

Genital
Stage

Infants
pleasure
centers on
mouth

Childs
pleasure
focuses on
anus

Figure 2.1

Childs
pleasure
focuses on
genitals

Child
A time of
represses
sexual
sexual
reawakening;
interest
source of
and develops
sexual
social and
pleasure
intellectual
becomes
skills
someone
outside of the
family

Eriksons Psychosocial Theory:

There are 8 stages of psychosocial

development
Each has a unique developmental task
Developmental change occurs throughout
life span

Key points of psychoanalytic theories:

Early experiences and family relationships
are very important to development
Unconscious aspects of the mind are
considered
Personality is best seen as a
developmental process

Eriksons Eight Life-Span Stages

Eriksons Stages

Developmental Period

Trust vs Mistrust
Infancy (first year)
Autonomy vs shame & Infancy (1 to 3 years)
doubt
Initiative vs guilt

Early childhood (3 to 5
years)

Industry vs inferiority Middle and late childhood

Identity vs identity
confusion

Adolescence (10 to 20 years)

Intimacy vs isolation
Generativity vs
stagnation

Early adulthood (20s, 30s)

Middle adulthood (40s, 50s)

Integrity vs despair

Late adulthood (60s onward)

Figure 2.2

Cognitive theories:

Piagets cognitive developmental

theory

Stresses conscious mental processes

Cognitive processes are influenced by
biological maturation
Four stages of cognitive development
in children
Assimilation and accommodation
underlie
how children understand the world,
adapt
to it, and organize their experiences

Piagets Four Stages of Cognitive Development

Sensorimotor Stage:
The infant constructs an understanding of the world
Birth to 2 by coordinating sensory experiences with physical
years of age actions: progressing from reflexive, instinctual action
at birth to the beginning of symbolic thought toward
end of the stage.

Preoperational Stage:
2 to 7 years
of age

The child begins to represent the world with words

and images. These words and images reflect
increased symbolic thinking and go beyond the
connection of sensory information and physical action.

Concrete Operational Stage:

7 to 11 years
The child can now reason logically about concrete
of age
events and classify objects into different sets.
1115 years
of age
through
adulthood
Figure 2.3

Formal Operational Stage

The adolescent reasons in more abstract idealistic
and logical ways.

Vygotskys sociocultural cognitive

theory

Children actively construct their knowledge

Social interaction and culture guide
cognitive development
Learning is based upon inventions of
society
Knowledge is created through interactions
with other people and objects in the culture
Less skilled persons learn from the more
skilled

Information-processing theory

Compares computers to the human mind

Thinking is information processing

Information-Processing Theory
geography

literature

INPUT

science

OUTPUT

Information
is taken into
brain
history

math

religion

Information is
used as basis of
behaviors and
interactions
Information
gets processed,
analyzed, and
stored until use

Banduras Social Cognitive Model

Behavior

Person
(cognitive)

Figure 2.4

Environment

Banduras Modeling/Imitation

Child
observes
someone
admired

Child imitates
behavior
that seems
rewarded

School system

Mesosystems
on
Ec

ty

Soc
ial
c

Peer
group

al i

Religion
& groups

nst
itu
tion
s
ond
itio
ns

Chronosystem

Me
d ic

mm

u ni

cu
al

Co

s
ern

Na
tio
n

School &
classroom

att

ra
ltu

a
edi
ss m
es
Ma
alu
l v

Cu

Macrosystem

Family

p
ic

s to

om

ms

Exosystem

Political philosophy

Bronfenbrenners
Ecological Theory
of Development

Figure 2.5

Group 1

Time
playing
video
games:
2 hours
each day

More
playful
and
sociable

Group 2

Time
playing
video
games:
6 hours
each day

More
aggressive
and
antisocial

Major social institution found in all human

societies

Usual image: working father + housewife

mother + dependent children

Reality: This is becoming less and less

common as more & more mothers work
outside the home. Also because of rising
divorce rates.

Cohabiting couples (with or without

children)
Single parent family (because of teen
pregnancy, divorce or abandonment)
Blended family
Homosexual couples e.g. Netherlands
has legalised homosexual marriages

Functions:

Companionship (marry for love)

Sex and reproduction
Socialisation of children
Social support (especially during crises)
Economic cooperation

Nuclear family: Father, mother and kids

Extended family: The above plus

grandparents

Family life cycle structure of an

individual family changes over time

The Family is Changing

Changing roles (role = expected behaviour
that goes with a social position)
People marry later, have fewer kids, and also
have them later
More divorces
Single parent families (these are more likely
to be poor)

The Family is Changing

More

working mothers and latchkey

kids
Children may be unsupervised and
feel neglected and unloved
Working mothers are stressed
(Supermom Syndrome and Double
Burden of Women)

Stressed Working Mothers

Examples:
Female nurses with children
Female doctors with children
Role conflict: Being a good doctor to
ones patients versus being a good
mother to ones kids

Effects of Family on Health

1) Effects on Illness Behaviour:
Stoic? self-medicate? seek
alternative medicine? Effects on
medical adherence
e.g. religion & health (faith healing,
Jehovahs Witness)

Effects of Family on Health

2) Effects on patients with long term
illness:
Quality of care provided by family
members (female relatives as care
providers for kids, husbands, in-laws
and elderly parents)

Effects of Family on Health

3) Family and social networks promote
health:
Socially isolated have poorer mental
health; recover slower from sickness

The Dysfunctional Family

Troubled family that has a negative
effect on the physical or
psychological well-being of its
individual family members

Effects of Family on Health

4) Dysfunctional families and poor parenting:

Child abuse neglect, physical abuse,

verbal abuse, sexual abuse
Overindulgence
Domestic violence
Alcoholism and substance-abuse in the
family
Gambling problems

NOTE !!
Families with divorced parents are NOT
NECESSARILY dysfunctional families !

Cultural and Media

Influences
on Health

Michael Todd
Describe one with the team, how affect the development