Child development:
a specialized discipline devoted to the understanding of all aspects of human
development from birth to adolescence.
I.
Historical Perspectives
a.
Children as Miniature Adults
1.
From the Middle Ages until the last century, childhood was not seen as
a separate stage of life.
2.
Like �little adults�
b.
Children as Burdens
1.
Pre-modern birth control
o
Infanticide = frequent crime
in Europe until 1800.
c.
Utilitarian Value of Children
1.
Child labor accepted until 20th century.
2.
1st child labor laws passed in England (1832).
3.
20th c.: laws passed to regulate child labor, require
children to get education, and prosecute parents for child abuse.
II.
Early Philosophies Regarding the Moral Nature of Children
a.
Original Sin:
Christian doctrine teaching that children were born sinful and needed
redemption from God.
1.
Parents and teachers must enforce strict discipline to guide them
toward salvation.
2.
Horace Bushnell�s Christian Nature (1888) rejected this idea.
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Family as a social group
influences life and character of children.
b.
Tabula Rasa: John Locke
1.
Children are morally neutral
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Tabula rasa:
�blank slate�; children have no inborn tendencies.
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Objected physical punishment
because it doesn�t promote self-control, but teaches fear and anger.
c.
Noble Savages: Jean-Jacques Rousseau
1.
Children are noble savages: endowed with sense of right and
wrong.
2.
By training and �indoctrination,� parents corrupt children�s
development.
3.
Four stages of development:
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Infancy
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Childhood
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Late childhood
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Adolescence
4.
Maturation:
Unfolding of genetically determined patterns of growth and development, which
reflect unique patterns of thought and behavior at each stage of growth.
III.
Evolutionary Biology
a.
Origin of the Species: Charles Darwin
1.
On the Origin of the
Species (1859)
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Natural selection: Certain
species were selected to survive because they had characteristics that helped
them adapt to environment.
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Survival of the fittest: Only
the fittest live to pass on their superior traits to future generations.
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Contributions to psychology:
1.
Humans are related to all living things because we share a common
origin.
2.
Individual differences
3.
Human behavior as adaptation to environment.
4.
Importance of scientific observation in gathering data.
2. Anthropologists say society-specific cultural practices produce personalities conducive to maintenance of society.
IV.
Baby Biographies
a.
Between the late 19th and early 20th c., attempts
were made to study children by keeping biographical records of behavior.
b.
They didn�t yield much scientific information, but were forerunners
of later observations, which tried to describe growth patterns at stages of
development.
V.
Normative Studies
a.
The Contents of Children�s Minds: G. Stanley Hall
1.
Launched movements to make normative studies of children, to find out
what to expect during each age in growth and behavior.
b.
Growth Patterns: Arnold Gesell
1.
Arnold Gesell (1880-1961) observed infants and children in order to
collect normative information.
2.
Maturation is mediated by genes and biology that determine behavioral
traits and developmental trends.
c.
Intelligence Testing: Lewis Terman
1.
Lewis Terman (1877-1956) published 1st widely used
intelligence test for kids in the US: Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale.
2.
Intellectually gifted children superior in other ways as well.
VI.
Modern Contributions to Child Development
a.
Research Centers
1.
1st White House Conference on Child Health and Protection
(1909) led to establishment of US Children�s Bureau (1912).
2.
Field of research on child development grew in years following WWI.
b.
Medical and Mental Health Practitioners
1.
Developmental Pediatrics:
new field of study integrating medical knowledge, psychological understanding,
health care and parental guidance.
c.
Today
1.
Need for adequate child care for working parents.
2.
Lack of prenatal and postnatal care of mothers and infants.
3.
Thousands of children suffer from parents� abuse of drugs, HIV/AIDS
and other STDS, born unplanned and unwanted.