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An Introduction to
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 An Introduction
to Developmental
Psychology

SECOND EDITION
EDITED BY ALAN SLATER AND
GAVIN BREMNER
Brief Contents

List of Contributors
Preface
Acknowledgements

Part I INTRODUCTION
1 The Scope and Methods of Developmental Psychology
Alan Slater, Scott P. Johnson, Darwin Muir
2 Theories and Issues in Child Development
Scott P. Johnson, Alan Slater, Ian Hocking
3 The Nature-Nurture Issue (An Illustration Using Behavior-Genetic
Research on Cognitive Development)
Elisa A. Esposito, Elena L. Grigorenko, Robert J. Sternberg

PART II INFANCY

4 Prenatal Development
Christine Moon and William P. Fifer
5 Perception, knowledge, and action in infancy
J. Gavin Bremner
6 Emotional development and attachment relationships
Elizabeth Meins
7 Social Interaction and the Beginnings of Communication
H. Rudolph Schaffer
8 The Development of Self and Gender
Wendy Lawrenson

PART III CHILDHOOD

9 Cognitive Development
Margaret Anne Defeyter
10 The Development of Language
Heather M. Hill, Stan A. Kuczaj II
11 Acquiring a Theory of Mind
Peter Mitchell
IV BRIEF CONTENTS

12 Reading and mathematics in developmental psychology

Peter Bryant
13 Memory Development and Eyewitness Testimony
Stephen J. Ceci Stanka A. Fitneva Cagla Aydin Nadia Chernyak
14 Play and the beginnings of Peer Relationships
Peter K Smith
15 Prosocial Tendencies, Antisocial Behavior, and
Moral Development in Childhood
Daniel Hart, Nyeema Watson, Anandini Dar, and Robert Atkins

PART IV ADOLESCENCE

16 Cognitive Development In Adolescence

Kang Lee, Gizelle Anzures, & Alejo Freire
17 Social Development
William M. Bukowski, Tanya Bergevin, and Richard Miners

PART V PRACTICAL ISSUES

18 Educational implications
Alyson Davis & Naomi Winstone
19 Risk and Resilience in Development
Leslie Morrison Gutman and Eirini Flouri
20 Social problems in schools
Peter K Smith, Julian Elliott
21 Atypical Development and Risk factors
Sarah Norgate

Glossary
Index
2 Theories and Issues in Child
Development
SCOTT P. JOHNSON, ALAN SLATER & IAN HOCKING

KEY TERMS
accommodation animism assimilation behaviour genetics behaviourism bottom-up
structures castration complex centration cephalocaudal trend chromosomes classical
conditioning cognitive adaptations concrete operations stage connectionism conservation
tasks constructivism constructivist theory continuity versus discontinuity critical period
dynamic systems theory ego egocentric Electra complex ethological approaches formal

operations stage functional invariants gender constancy gender development hardware

hierarchy of needs humanistic theory id imprinting information processing introspectionism

law of effect maturation mechanistic world view microgenetic studies monotropy motor

milestones naturenurture issue object unity observational learning oedipus complex

operant conditioning organismic world view perception of causality precocial species

preoperational stage primary drives proximodistal trend psychoanalysis psychoanalytic

theory psychosexual stages psychosocial stages reaction formation reductionism schemas

self-actualization sensitive period sensorimotor stage social cognitive theory social

learning theory stability versus change strange situation strategies superego theory of
development top-down structures zone of proximal development
 CHAPTER OUTLINE

INTRODUCTION PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORIES

Sigmund Freud The founder of
MOTOR DEVELOPMENT
psychoanalysis
Maturational theories The five psychosexual stages
Dynamic systems theory Problems with Freudian theory
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT Psychoanalysis, then and now:
An overview
Piagets theory of development Modern psychoanalysts Anna Freud
Developmental psychology before Piaget and Eric Erikson
Fundamental aspects of human development,
according to Piaget HUMANISTIC THEORY ABRAHAM
The four stages of cognitive development MASLOW

INFORMATION PROCESSING APPROACHES Abraham Maslows hierarchy of needs

Cognitive development in infancy

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER DIFFERENT
Cognitive development in childhood THEORIES FOR DIFFERENT NEEDS
Connectionism and brain development
Gender development
Summary
Comparing information-processing approaches
ISSUES IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT
with Piagets approach
The naturenurture issue
SOCIAL-COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
Stability versus change
Vygotsky Continuity versus discontinuity
Behaviourism and social learning theory
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
ETHOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
Discussion points
Evolution
The ethological approach
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER
EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT READING

Attachment theory John Bowlby and Mary

Ainsworth REFERENCES
 THEORIES AND ISSUES IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT 3

OVERVIEW

This chapter sets the theoretical background for the material in the chapters to follow. The coverage
of theoretical approaches is broad, and will give the reader a good introduction to the diversity of
explanations of childrens development.
First, different theories of motor development are outlined, and the authors point to the advantages of
dynamic systems theory according to which motor development is a product of the interplay between
brain structure, the structure and dynamics of the body, and the structure of the environment.
Next, the chapter considers theories of cognitive development. Piagets stage theory is central here,
and receives a thorough treatment. His theory is contrasted with the information processing account.
Whereas Piagets theory treats early deficits in thought as due to lack of logical ability, information
processing accounts identify processing deficits as the problem, in particular, limitations in memory.
A large number of theoretical approaches stress the social environment in some way or other.Vygotskys
theory treats higher cognitive structures as coming from the social world, becoming internalised as a
result of interactions with knowledgeable others. Behaviourist theories are all based on the principle
that the social world, and in particular the parents, shape the behaviour of the individual, and the best
example of application of these accounts to child development is Albert Banduras social learning theory.
Other theories have their origins in evolutionary theory, and the best example in developmental
psychology is attachment theory, originally formulated by John Bowlby, according to which formation
of a secure emotional attachment between infant and caregiver is a vital prerequisite for emotional
stability. Attachment theory is closely related to psychoanalytic approaches, the prime example being
Freuds theory of psychosexual development, according to which emotional problems in adulthood can
be traced to problems the child encountered in one of the psychosexual stages. Humanistic theories
bear certain similarities to psychoanalytic theory. For instance, Maslows account proposes a hierarchy
of needs that humans must achieve to reach a satisfactory adult state.
The authors summarise the sections on theories by pointing out, through examples, the fact that
different theories are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Often, one theory explains some aspects of
behaviour, while another theory fills in more of the story.
The chapter ends by summarising some key issues that will reappear in the pages that follow, namely
the naturenurture issue, stability versus change, and continuity versus discontinuity in development.
Different theories very clearly say different things with respect to these distinctions, and the challenge for
developmental psychology is to weigh these different accounts against each other.

THEORIES IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT

Es gibt nichts Praktischeres als eine gute Theorie.
Emmanuel Kant (17241804)

or . . .

There is nothing so practical as a good theory.

Kurt Lewin (1944, p. 195)
4 AN INTRODUCTION TO DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

INTRODUCTION
Human development is rich, varied, and enormously complex. We should not expect,
therefore, that any single theory of development will do justice to this complexity,
and indeed no theory attempts to do this. Each theory attempts to account for only a
limited range of development and it is often the case that within each area of devel-
opment there are competing theoretical views, each attempting to account for the
same aspects of development. We will see some of this complexity and conflict in our
account of different theoretical views, and in Chapter 1 we have seen that different
ways of studying children lead to different developmental functions, and these are
linked with different theoretical views.
Before beginning our account of theories of development it is helpful to say what
we mean by a theory, as this is a term that has many definitions.
theory of development
a scheme or system of
For our purposes a theory of development is a scheme or system
ideas that is based on of ideas that is based on evidence and attempts to explain, describe
evidence and attempts and predict behaviour and development. From this account it is clear
to explain, describe, and that a theory attempts to bring order to what might otherwise be a
predict behaviour and
development.
chaotic mass of information for this reason we can see why there
is nothing so practical as a good theory!
In every area of development there are at least two kinds of theory which we can
call the minor and the major. What we are calling minor theories are those which deal
only with very specific, narrow areas of development. So, for example, there are theo-
ries about the way in which eye movements develop, about the origins of pointing,
and so on. Major theories are those which attempt to explain large areas of develop-
ment, and it is these that are the focus of this chapter.
To make our account of theories more orderly and understandable, we have
divided them into six broad groups:

Motor development
Cognitive development
Social-cognitive development
Evolution and ethology
Psychoanalytic theories
Humanistic theory

MOTOR DEVELOPMENT
motor milestones the One of the most obvious signs of development in infancy is the baby
basic motor skills
acquired in infancy and
achieving the various motor milestones. Parents are very proud
early childhood, such as of these acquisitions and they are a focus of parental conversations
sitting unaided, standing, about their infants Billy can sit now, Helen has just started to
crawling, walking. crawl, Jimmy can walk without help, Rachel loves to climb up
 THEORIES AND ISSUES IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT 5

stairs. The development of motor skills has very important implications for other
aspects of development. The ability to act on the world affects all other aspects of
development, and each new accomplishment brings with it an increasing degree
of independence. For example, when infants begin to crawl they become independ-
ently mobile and one of the major transitions in early development begins. These
changes affect emotional and social development, communication, appreciation of
heights, and an understanding of distance and space (Campos et al., 2000).
Table 2.1 charts the sequence of development of various motor milestones dur-
ing infancy. At birth the infant has a number of well-developed motor skills, which
include sucking, looking, grasping, breathing, crying skills that are vital for survival.
However, the general impression of the newborn is one of uncoordinated inability
and general weakness. Movements of the limbs appear jerky and uncoordinated, and
it takes a few weeks before infants can lift their head from a prone position. The
muscles are clearly unable to support the babys weight in order to allow such basic
activities as sitting, rolling over, or standing. By the end of infancy, around 18 months,
all this has changed (Figure 2.1). The toddler can walk, run, climb, communicate in
speech and gesture, and use the two hands in complex coordinated actions.
The questions that a theory of motor development needs to explain include the
following: Do the early motor activities prepare the way for the more complex volun-
tary activities that follow, and if so, how do they do it? How do new motor patterns
(such as pointing, running, speaking, tool use) develop since they appear to be quali-
tatively different from earlier patterns? As we shall see, the answers to these questions
are complex.
If you look at Table 2.1 two things will become apparent. First is that the different
motor milestones emerge in a regular sequence sitting with support, sitting unaided,
crawling, standing, walking, and climbing appear almost always in this order. The
second is that there is a considerable age range in which individual infants achieve
each skill for example, some infants crawl at 5 months while others are as late as 11
months. These two aspects of motor development give separate support to the two
major theories of motor development that we will discuss here maturational theories
and dynamic systems theory.

Maturational theories
One of the first psychologists to investigate human motor develop- cephalocaudal trend
ment was Arnold Gesell, who studied hundreds of hours of films motor development that
of motor activity in longitudinal studies of children from birth to 9 proceeds in infancy from
head to foot along the
years (e.g., Gesell & Ames, 1940). He concluded that motor devel-
length of the body.
opment proceeded from the global to the specific in two directions.
One direction is called the cephalocaudal trend and is from head proximodistal trend
to foot along the length of the body that is, control of the head is the development of
motor control in infancy
first, then the arms and trunk, and finally control of the legs. The which is from the centre
other direction of development is what is called the proximodistal of the body outwards
trend, which is that motor control is from the centre of the body to more peripheral
outwards to more peripheral segments that is, the head, trunk, and segments.
6 AN INTRODUCTION TO DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

Table 1 The development of motor skills in infancy

Age Gross Motor Skills Fine Motor Skills

13 months Stepping reflex, lifts head, sits Grasps object if placed in hands, sucks,
with support. control of eye movements, the first smile.

24 months When prone lifts head and uses Grasps cube when placed near hand.
arms for support.

58 months Sits without support. Reaches for and grasps object, using one
hand.

510 months Stands with support, and pulls Points at object of interest, grasps with
self to stand. thumb and finger (pincer grip ).

511 months Crawls. Grasps spoon, gradually learns to direct

food to mouth!

1014 months Stands alone, and walks alone. Puts objects into small containers,
builds tower of cubes. Produces first
meaningful word.

1318 months Walks backwards and sideways, Holds crayon with fingers, scribbles
runs, climbs, walks up stairs. energetically.

1830 months Runs easily, jumps, skips, rides Vocabulary and articulation increases
and steers tricycle, walks on rapidly, picks up small objects (e.g.
tiptoe. candy/sweets).
 THEORIES AND ISSUES IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT 7

pelvic girdle are brought under control before

the elbow, wrist, knee, and ankle joints, which in
turn lead to finer control over hands and fingers.
These two invariant sequences of develop-
ment, together with the regular sequence with
which the motor milestones are achieved, led
Gesell to the view that maturation alone shapes
motor development development is controlled
by a maturational timetable linked particularly
to the central nervous system and also to mus-
cular development. Each animal species has its
own sequence, and experience has little, if any,
effect on motor development.
One of the first researchers to question
Gesells hypothesis was Myrtle McGraw (1945).
She tested pairs of twins where one member of
each pair received enriched motor training (in
reaching, climbing stairs, and other motor skills)
and found that in the trained twin motor devel-
opment was considerably accelerated when
compared with the untrained twin. FIGURE 2.1 The 18-month-old can
In addition to McGraws findings there are walk, run, climb and has the fine motor
other considerations which suggest that a purely skills to feed themselves
maturational account of motor development
can be largely dismissed. Here are just two such considerations. First, the fact that
motor skills develop in a regular sequence does not prove a genetic cause. Consider
advanced skills such as learning to play a sport, typing, driving, and playing the piano.
In these instances we can see an invariant sequence of development,
as we progress from simple actions to more complex integrated skil- dynamic systems
ful behaviour, but nobody would suggest that these skills are geneti- theory a theoretical
cally determined! Second, a maturational theory does not account approach applied to
many areas of develop-
for the considerable individual differences in the acquisition of vari- ment which views the
ous motor skills. individual as interacting
Clearly, a different theoretical account of motor development dynamically in a complex
is needed, and here we describe one of the most recent of these, system in which all parts
interact.
known as the dynamic systems theory of motor development.

Dynamic systems theory

What has become apparent is that infants (and children) develop skills in different
ways. As an example, there are some infants who simply do not like to crawl and
these will often stand and walk before they crawl, indicating that the motor mile-
stones referred to earlier are not set in stone. Those infants who do crawl will acquire
it in their own individual ways some will shuffle on their bellies before crawling on
hands and knees, others will skip the belly-crawling stage, and still other infants will
8 AN INTRODUCTION TO DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

microgenetic studies forgo the crawling stage entirely, and after several months of sitting
studies of development and shuffling may stand and then walk (Adolph & Joh, 2007). In addi-
that observe individual tion to these observations there are what are called microgenetic
children in great detail
from the time they first studies of motor development in which experimenters observe indi-
attempt a new skill, suchvidual infants or children from the time they first attempt a new skill,
as walking or crawling, such as walking or crawling, until it is performed effortlessly (e.g.,
until it is performed Gill, Adolph & Vereijken, 2009). From these studies it becomes clear
effortlessly.
that infants acquisition of a new motor skill is much the same as that
of adults learning a new motor skill the beginnings are usually fumbling and poor,
there is trial and error learning and great concentration, all gradually leading to the
accomplished skilful activity, which then is usually used in the development of yet
new motor skills.
According to the dynamic systems theory all new motor development is the result
of a dynamic and continual interaction of three major factors: (1) nervous system
development; (2) the capabilities and biomechanics of the body; (3) environmental
constraints and support (Thelen & Spencer, 1998). We can illustrate this dynamic
interplay by considering three separate studies on infant kicking, reaching and sitting,
and walking.

Infant kicking
Esther Thelen (1999) tested 24 three-month-olds on a foot-kicking task in which each
infant was placed in a crib in a supine (lying on their back) position and a soft elastic
ankle cuff was attached to one leg, and the cuff, in turn, was attached by a cord to
an overhead brightly coloured mobile. By kicking the leg the babies could make the
mobile dance around and they quickly learned to make this exciting event happen.
In this condition the other leg the one that was not connected to the mobile move-
ments either moved independently or alternately with the attached leg (Figure 2.2).
Then Thelen changed the arrangement by yoking the legs together. She did this by
putting ankle cuffs on both legs, and joining the two together with a strip of Velcro.
What happened then was that the infants initially tried to kick the legs separately
because moving the legs alternately is the more natural action but gradually learned
to kick both together to get the mobile to move.
This study shows that the infants were able to change their pattern of interlimb
coordination to solve a novel, experimentally imposed task.

Infant reaching
Thelen and Spencer (1998) followed the same four infants from 3 weeks to 1 year (a
longitudinal study) in order to explore the development of successful reaching. Their
aim was to look at the interrelationship between different motor systems. What they
found was that infants acquired stable control over the head several weeks before
the onset of reaching, then there was a reorganisation of muscle patterns so that the
infants could stabilise the head and shoulder. These developments gave the infants a
stable base from which to reach, and successful reaching followed. This is an indica-
tion that infants need a stable posture before they can attain the goal of reaching
successfully, and is a clear demonstration that new motor skills are learned through a
process of modifying and developing their already existing abilities.
 THEORIES AND ISSUES IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT 9

FIGURE 2.2 The ankle ribbon attached to the babys foot causes the mobile to jiggle about
when she kicks her legs
This is an example of operant conditioning, the infant learns the contingency between kicking and
reward
Source: Carolyn Rovee-Collier, reprinted with permission.

Infant walking
Newborn infants are extremely top heavy, with big heads and weak legs. Over the com-
ing years their body weight is gradually redistributed and their centre of mass gradu-
ally moves downwards until it finishes slightly above the navel. Adolph and Avolio
(2000, p. 1148) put it rather nicely It is as if infants bodies are growing to fit their
comparatively large heads! This means that as infants and children grow they need
constantly to adjust and adapt their motor activities to accommodate the naturally
occurring changes to their body dimensions. There can be few clearer demonstrations
that the motor system is dynamic and constantly changing than this simple fact.
Adolph and Avolio give a nice demonstration of the way in which infants can
make adjustments over a very short period of time. They tested 14-month-olds by
having them wear saddlebags slung over each shoulder. The saddle bags increased the
infants chest circumference by the same amount in each of two conditions: feather-
weight filled with pillow-stuffing, weighing the negligible amount of 120 g and
lead-weight the not so negligible amount of between 2.2 and 3.0 kg, which increased
their body weight by 25 per cent and raised their centre of mass (raising the centre
of mass leads to increased instability, and is similar to a backpacker carrying a heavy
pack). They found that the lead-weight infants were more cautious, and made pro-
longed exploratory movements swaying, touching and leaning before attempt-
ing to walk down a slope. That is, these infants were testing their new-found body
dimensions and weight, and adjusted their judgements of what they could and could
10 AN INTRODUCTION TO DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

not do. These findings again demonstrate that infants do not have a fixed and rigid
understanding of their own abilities, and have the dynamic flexibility to adjust their
abilities as they approach each novel motor problem.

Overview
Despite the apparent appeal of maturational theories of motor development, research
over the last 20 years has demonstrated that motor skills are learned, both during
infancy and throughout life. The apparently invariant ordering of the motor mile-
stones is partly dictated by logical necessity you cant run before you can walk! and
is not necessarily invariant (you can walk before you can crawl!) From a consideration
of the studies described above it becomes clear that motor development cannot be
accounted for by any maturational theory. These and other findings contribute to the
emerging view of infants as active participants in their own motor-skill acquisition,
in which developmental change is empowered through infants everyday problem-
solving activities (Thelen, 1999, p. 103).
The emphasis on children as active participants in their own development is an
essential characteristic of the theoretical views offered by The Giant of Developmental
Psychology, Jean Piaget, whose claim was that childrens ability to act on the world
underlies their cognitive development, and we now turn our attention to his views.

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
Piagets theory of development
Everyone knows that Piaget was the most important figure the field has ever known . . . [he]
transformed the field of developmental psychology.
(Flavell, 1996, p. 200)

Once psychologists looked at development through Piagets eyes, they never saw children
in quite the same way.
(Miller, 1993, p. 81)

A towering figure internationally.

(Bliss, 2010, p. 446)

Piagets contribution to our understanding of childrens development has been

quite extraordinary, and his influence is reflected in this book in particular Chapters
5 (infancy), 9 (early and middle childhood), 16 (adolescence), and 19 (education), and
in these chapters alternatives to Piagets account of development are also given. In
order to see why he had such an impact we will first describe the state of develop-
mental psychology before Piaget, and then describe some of the fundamental aspects
of human development that he described which changed our view of development.
We follow this with a brief account of the stages of development that he described, and
finally give an overview of his enormous contribution to developmental psychology.
 THEORIES AND ISSUES IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT 11

Developmental psychology before Piaget

Before Piaget revolutionised our understanding of childrens development psychol-
ogy was dominated by the influence of the two diametrically opposed theoretical
views of behaviourism and psychoanalysis. Both of these views are psychoanalysis the
discussed later, and for the moment we will restrict our comments to theoretical view, first
note that, despite the fact the they are strikingly opposed, they share developed by Sigmund
one essential feature, which is that the child is seen as the passive Freud, that much of our
recipient of their upbringing development results from such things behaviour is determined
by unconscious factors.
as the severity of toilet training, and of rewards and punishments.
Neither approach gives much credit to the child in shaping their own course of devel-
opment. With Piaget, all this changed . . .

Fundamental aspects of human development,

according to Piaget
Children are active agents in shaping their own development, they are not simply
blank slates who passively and unthinkingly respond to whatever the environment
offers them. That is, childrens behaviour and development is motivated largely intrin-
sically (internally) rather than extrinsically.
For Piaget, children learn to adapt to their environments and cognitive adaptations
childrens developing
as a result of their cognitive adaptations they become better able cognitive awareness of
to understand their world. Adaptation is something that all living the world. As a result of
organisms have evolved to do and as children adapt they gradually cognitive adaptations
they become better
construct more advanced understandings of their worlds. able to understand their
These more advanced understandings of the world reflect them- world.
selves in the appearance, during development, of new stages of
organismic world
development. Piagets theory is therefore the best example of the view the idea that
organismic world view that we discussed in Chapter 1, which por- people are inherently
trays children as inherently active, continually interacting with the active and continually
environment, in such a way as to shape their own development. interacting with the
environment, and there-
Since children are active in developing or constructing their fore helping to shape
worlds Piagets theory is often referred to as a constructivist theory. their own development.
In the next sections we will first discuss the ways in which children Piagets theory is an
adapt to their environments, and next give an account of the stages example of this world
view.
of development that Piaget put forward.
assimilation the proc-
ess through which child-
Adaptation: Assimilation and accommodation ren incorporate new
In order to adapt to the world two important processes are necessary. experiences into their
Assimilation is what happens when we treat new objects, people and preexisting schemas
events as if they were familiar that is, we assimilate the new to our that is, they assimilate
the new to their already-
already-existing schemes of thought. Examples would be: we meet a existing schemes of
new policeman (or doctor, professor . . .) and treat them as we habitu- thought. An important
ally treat policemen, doctors or professors. Assimilation occurs from process in Piagets
the earliest days the infant is offered a new toy and puts it in their theory.
12 AN INTRODUCTION TO DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

accommodation the mouth to use the familiar activity of sucking; the child meets a new
cognitive process teacher and treats them in the same way they treat teachers.
through which children
Accommodation is where individuals have to modify or change
adapt to new experi-
ences by modifying their their schemas, or ways of thinking, in order to adjust to a new situation.
preexisting schemas. An For example: infants might be presented with a toy that is larger than
important process in those they have previously handled, and so will have to adjust their
Piagets theory.
fingers and grasp to hold it; when children meet a new teacher who
schemas mental is different from their previous teachers they have to adjust their
structures in the childs
thinking that provide
way of thinking to understand the new person. It is worth stressing
representations and that assimilation and accommodation always occur together during
plans for enacting infancy and the examples given above are both cases of assimilation
behaviours. and accommodation occurring together.
functional invariants Throughout life the processes of assimilation and accommoda-
processes that do not tion are always active as we constantly strive to adapt to the world
change during develop-
ment, such as accommo-
we encounter. These processes, therefore, are what can be called
dation and assimilation functional invariants in that they dont change during development.
in Piagets theory. What do change are the cognitive structures (often called schemes)
sensorimotor stage in that allow the child to comprehend the world at progressively higher
Piagets theory, the first levels of understanding. According to Piagets view there are differ-
stage of cognitive develop- ent levels of cognitive understanding that take the child from the
ment, whereby thought
is based primarily on
activity-based sensorimotor functioning in infancy to the abstract
action and internalized levels of thought found in adolescence.
thinking is largely absent.
This stage is characteristic
of infants from birth to
about 2 years old.
The four stages of cognitive development
preoperational stage a Children move through four broad stages of development, each of
stage of development which is characterised by qualitatively different ways of thinking
described by Piaget in (Piaget, 1962). These stages are the sensorimotor stage of infancy,
which children under the
age of approximately 7 the preoperational stage of early childhood, the concrete opera-
years are unable to see tions stage of middle childhood, and the formal operations stage
enough aspects of prob- of adolescence and beyond. We will give a brief account of each of
lems in order to solve these stages, together with the approximate ages at which they are
them.
found note that these ages are only approximate and individual chil-
concrete operations drens development will often be slower or quicker.
stage the third Piagetian
stage of development in
which reasoning is said Sensorimotor stage (birth to 2 years)
to become more logical, This is one of the most impressive and dramatic areas of develop-
systematic, and rational
in its application to con-
ment. The child changes from the helpless newborn to the think-
crete objects. ing and knowing toddler, that is, to the cognitive individual with a
mind. These changes take place as a result of the infants actions
formal operations
stage the fourth on the objects and people in its environments, and this stage is the
Piagetian stage in which development of thought in action. As a result, infants learn to solve
the individual acquires problems, such as pulling a cloth to obtain an out-of-reach toy, and
the capacity for abstract they learn that objects continue to exist even though they cannot be
scientific thought. This
includes the ability to seen or heard. As the stage draws to a close the infant, now a tod-
theorise about impossi- dler whose language is developing rapidly, is able to reason through
ble events and items. thought as well as through sensorimotor activities.
 THEORIES AND ISSUES IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT 13

Preoperational stage (2 to 7 years)

Preschool children can solve a number of practical, concrete problems by the intelli-
gent use of means-end problem solving, the use of tools, requesting objects, asking for
things to happen, and other means. They can communicate well and represent infor-
mation and ideas by means of symbols in drawing, symbolic play, gesture, drawing,
and particularly speech.
These abilities continue to develop considerably during the preop- egocentric an ego-
erational stage, but there are some striking limitations to childrens centric child is one who
thinking during this period. Children tend to be egocentric (find it finds it difficult to see
difficult to see things from anothers point of view). They display things from another
persons point of view.
animism in their thinking (they tend to attribute life and lifelike Not to be confused with
qualities to inanimate objects, particularly those that move and are egotistical.
active, such as the wind and the clouds, and sometimes trees and
other objects. Here is Piaget asking a child about the sun, which fol- animism a characteris-
tic of childrens thinking
lows you around as you move: Piaget Is it alive? Child Of course, in Piagets preoperational
otherwise it wouldnt follow us, it couldnt shine (Piaget, 1960, p. stage in which they tend
215). Their thinking tends to be illogical, and at times seems quite to attribute life and
magical it is at this stage that children believe in Santa Claus! What life-like qualities to inani-
mate objects, particularly
underlies childrens thinking during the preoperational stage is the those that move and are
lack of a logical framework for thought, and this appears during active.
the concrete operations stage.

Concrete operations stage (7 to 11 years)

One major characteristic of preoperational thought is called centration the focusing
centration the focusing or centring of attention on one aspect of or centering of attention
on one aspect of a situ-
a situation to the exclusion of others. This is clearly demonstrated in ation to the exclusion of
Piagets conservation tasks. A typical conservation problem is the others.
conservation of number. In this problem the child is shown two rows
of candies/sweets, such as M & Ms or Smarties in one-to-one cor- conservation tasks
respondence and with each having six candies. The child is simply tasks that examine
childrens ability to
asked Look what I do and is not questioned about the number in understand that physi-
each row. Then, while the child watches, one M & M or Smartie is cal attributes of objects,
added to one row so that it has seven. Next, the other row is stretched such as their mass and
out so that it looks as though it has more, but in reality it has less. weight, do not vary
when the object changes
Then the child is asked Which row would you like? Preoperational shape.
children will usually ask for the longer row they focus on the
increase in length and ignore the addition of one candy/sweet to the other row.
However, the child at the concrete operations level knows that one has been added
to the shorter row, and since nothing has been subtracted by the action of stretching
out the other row, knows that the shorter row contains more and will therefore
ask for the shorter row. If you have access to a 4- and a 7-year-old and are allowed to
give them candies/sweets then this is an interesting experiment to do with both of
them the younger child will want the longer row, and the older child the shorter,
and neither understands the reasoning of the other!
In addition to mastering conservation, the concrete operational child becomes
better at a number of tasks that share the same underlying logic, and these are dis-
cussed in detail in Chapter 9.
14 AN INTRODUCTION TO DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

The formal operations stage (from about 11 years)

The concrete operations child becomes able to solve many problems involving the
physical world, but the major limitation in their thinking is to do with the realm of
possibilities. When children enter the final stage of cognitive development the formal
operations stage this limitation is removed. The adolescent now becomes able to reason
in the way that scientists do to manipulate variables to find out what causes things to
happen and is also introduced to the realm of possibilities and hypothetical thought.
Adolescents (and adults) spend many hours discussing abstract matters Does God
exist? Why do we need politics? Should abortion be allowed? What is the meaning
of life? A more detailed account of adolescent thinking is given in chapter 16.

Overview
In Piagets theory we have a comprehensive and detailed account of cognitive devel-
opment from birth to adulthood. Cognitive development proceeds through a series
of stages, each more complex than the last, and each building on the achievements of
the previous one. In many respects, aspects of Piagets theory seem obvious
of course children are active in shaping their own development. But it was many
years before his theories began to make an impact on American and British psychol-
ogy. This was primarily due to three factors. First, American and British psychology
was dominated by the theoretical school of thought known as behav-
mechanistic world
iourism, which offered the mechanistic world view that the child is
view the idea that a per-
son can be represented inherently passive until stimulated by the environment and so the
as being like a machine opposing view offered by Piaget took time to be accepted. Second,
(such as a computer), Piaget only ever wrote in French, which made his work less acces-
which is inherently pas-
sible to English-speaking psychologists. And, third, while Piaget was
sive until stimulated by
the environment. a brilliant thinker, his writings are often extraordinarily complex and
difficult to understand!
Piagets full impact awaited the arrival of one man who could summarise, syn-
thesise and present his theoretical views in a way that was comprehensible and avail-
able to the English-speaking world. This was John H. Flavell whose The Developmental
Psychology of Jean Piaget appeared in 1963 (and in the foreword to this book Piaget
wrote I am not an easy author; hence it must have required an immense effort at
comprehension and intellectual empathy to have produced the clear and straightfor-
ward presentation that is found here). More recently, Flavell (1996) wrote an assess-
ment of Piagets contribution, entitled Piagets legacy and quotes an anonymous
reviewer of his article The impact of Piaget on developmental psychology is . . . too
monumental to embrace and at the same time too omnipresent to detect, to which
Flavell simply adds the words I agree.

INFORMATION PROCESSING
APPROACHES
Information processing approaches view the human mind as a complex system
through which information flows. Information processing accounts of human cog-
nition include current views of memory formation, with terms such as encoding,
 THEORIES AND ISSUES IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT 15

storage, retrieval, strategies, metamemory, and this account is given in information process-
Chapter 13. A brief account of information processing explanations ing the view that
of cognitive changes in adolescence is given in Chapter 16. cognitive processes are
explained in terms of
Information processing theories are rooted in three 20th-century inputs and outputs and
innovations. The first is the rapid and continuing advances in compu- that the human mind is
ter technology. The second is the view, revolutionary at the time, that a system through which
an organisms behaviour cannot be understood without knowing the information flows.
structure of the perceivers environmentfor example, the structure
of light reflected from objects (Gibson, 1979). The third is construc- strategies knowledge
built up to solve particu-
tivism, a theory about how perception fills in information that can- lar problems.
not be seen or heard directly, such as inferring the parts of an object
that are hidden from view via processes of inference. Piagets theory constructivism Piagets
is also regarded as a constructivist view, because the child is pro- theoretical view that
posed to construct their knowledge from existing perceptual and cog- infants are not born with
nitive skills. Gibsons theory is also a constructive view, but primarily knowledge about the
world, but instead gradu-
concerned with how we construct our perceptual, rather than cogni- ally construct knowledge
tive, world. Gibsons theory and constructivism were opposed to a and the ability to repre-
theoretical viewpoint that was dominant at mid-century, behaviour- sent reality mentally.
ism, whose principal tenet was that our knowledge of an organism
is limited exclusively to what we can observe, and a position that avoided discussions
of what goes on inside the mind. Investigations of both perception and cognition and
their development, therefore, were severely constrained and, ultimately, unsatisfying
hence the need for new theoretical approaches.
Information processing theories, therefore, focus on the information available in
the external environment, and the means by which the child receives and interprets
this information. This way of thinking can provide clarity with respect to understand-
ing many aspects of cognitive development. The task of the developing child is to use
their perceptual systems vision, hearing, touch, and so forth to explore the world
and obtain information about its properties. The information must be attended to,
encoded, stored, retrieved, and acted upon to build knowledge of objects and their
characteristics.
In contrast to Piagets theory, information processing theories
are not the product of one persons work, but instead represent a bottom-up a cognitive
development process
number of scientists working with a common set of assumptions. In beginning with the
the following sections we provide some recent examples. input or uptake of infor-
mation by the child, and
building complex sys-
tems of knowledge from
Cognitive development in infancy simpler origins.

According to the information processing approach, cognitive develop-

top-down a cognitive
ment proceeds in bottom-up fashion beginning with the input, or development process
uptake of information by the child, and building complex systems in which the state of
of knowledge from simpler origins. (This is opposed to top-down the system is specified
fashion in which the state of the system is specified or presumed, or presumed, and then
working to discover its
and then working to discover its components and their development, components and their
a view more consistent with nativist theory.) For young infants, development, a view
sensory and perceptual skills are relatively immature, and this may more consistent with
impose limits on knowledge acquisition. An important part of a nativist theory.
16 AN INTRODUCTION TO DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

research agenda, therefore, is investigations of how infants assemble the building

blocks of knowledge.
A prominent example of this approach comes from the work of Les Cohen and col-
leagues, who asked how infants come to perceive causality, as when one object bumps
into another and causes it to move. Two parameters are especially important to per-
ceive causality: temporal and physical proximity. When a billiard ball strikes another
and makes it move, for instance, the second ball moves immediately upon contact.
When an event is arranged so that the second ball moves after a brief delay (violating
temporal proximity) or before being contacted by the first ball (violating physical prox-
imity), 6-month-old infants did not seem to perceive the event as causal (Leslie, 1984).
(This was learned by reversing the events and observing infants for evidence that they
saw a reversal of the causal relation). Cohen and Amsel (1998) repeated this experi-
ment and tested younger infants, and discovered that 4-month-olds perceived the
components of each event that is, the motions of the individual objects but not
their causal relation. In information processing terms, the younger
perception of causality
when one object collides infants processed the lower-order units involved in the event but not
with another and causes the higher-order relations, and this suggests that development of causal
it to move. perception between 4 and 6 months consists in noticing the higher-
order, complex relations among objects and their motions.
object unity when
two parts of an object
A second example of the information processing approach comes
are visible but its centre from the work of Scott Johnson and colleagues, who asked how infants
is hidden by another perceive object unity, as when two parts of an object are visible but
object do infants per- its centre is hidden by another object do infants perceive the visible
ceive the visible parts to
be connected?
parts to be connected? As in the case of causal perception, younger
infants perceive the components but not the wholes in this case, they
perceive the parts of a partly hidden object but do not see it as a single unit ( Johnson,
2004). Amso and Johnson (2006) found that unity perception depends on the extent to
which infants actually look at the object parts, as opposed to other parts of the scene
(this was ascertained by measuring infants eye movements with an eye tracker device).
Development of object perception, in particular object unity, therefore, consists again
in detecting the higher-order relations among lower-order components.

Cognitive development in childhood

In childhood, the task of building knowledge often comes down to determining which
of the many strategies are available to solve particular problems. This idea has been
investigated rigorously by Robert Siegler and colleagues in the area of mathematics
instruction. A typical approach to this question involves examination of arithmetic
strategies (learning to add by memorisation, counting on the fingers, and so forth)
repeatedly in individual children as the school year progresses, and recording speed,
accuracy, and strategy use. A number of strategic changes have been noted: incorpo-
ration of new strategies, identification of efficient strategies, more efficient execu-
tion of each strategy, and more adaptive choices among strategies (Siegler & Shipley,
1995). There are stable individual differences in strategy choice, but children typically
use multiple strategies at all points of assessment. Children hone their choices with
 THEORIES AND ISSUES IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT 17

experience and thus come to solve problems more quickly and accurately. A more
detailed account of Sieglers view of development is given in Chapter 9.

Connectionism and brain development

Information processing theory also takes advantage of two new connectionism a mod-
advances in cognitive science: the use of connectionist models and ern theoretical approach
that developed from
methods for recording brain activity in infants and children. Each is information processing
discussed in turn. accounts in which com-
Connectionist models are computer programs designed to emu- puters are programmed
late (model) some aspect of human cognition, including cognitive to simulate the action of
the brain and nerve cells
development. The word connectionist refers to the structure of the (neurons).
model, which consists of a number of processing units that are con-
nected and that influence one another by a flow of activations. This is analogous to
the brain, which likewise consists of processing units (neurons) that are connected
and activate one another (across synapses). Connectionist models take in information,
appropriately coded in a way that the computer can process, and provide a response,
coded in a way that a human can understand. In between input and output are units,
typically numbered in the dozens to the thousands, which process the information. The
model learns by changing the activation strengths and connections among units. It
is provided with multiple opportunities to process the information, and often some
sort of feedback on how it is doing between trials, as impetus to improve perform-
ance. Because there is no knowledge built into a model, it is effectively a blank slate,
and as such represents a model for learning in the human child. Initially the model has
to guess at how it is to respond, but given enough training and feedback, it is capable
of learning remarkably sophisticated kinds of information.
Connectionist models have been used to examine many aspects of perceptual and
cognitive development. There is no single model of cognitive development per se, but
instead modellers will choose a particular problem to emulate, design a model and a
learning regimen, and probe the time course and nature of learning as it occurs. Two
examples, relevant to infant development studies discussed previously, merit mention.
In the first, Cohen et al. (2002) described a model of infant cognitive development that
learned to discriminate the temporal and physical parameters that lead infants to per-
ceive causality, and appeared to represent truly causal events (to humans) uniquely,
as more than the sum of the parts (as do humans). In the second, Schlesinger et al.
(2007) devised a model of infants gaze patterns based on the idea of different brain
systems that respond to specific visual features in an input image: luminance, motion,
colour, and orientation. The model computed salience based on competition among
features, known to occur in real brains (Gottlieb et al., 1998), and it directed its atten-
tion toward regions in the input of highest salience. The question was how infants
learn to direct their attention to a partly hidden object, as part of the more general
question of perception of object unity. The model learned to find the object quickly
and suggests that gaze control and salience, and the development of neural struc-
tures that support them, are a vital component of object perception in infancy. Other
models of cognitive development incorporate a role for social interaction, physical
18 AN INTRODUCTION TO DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

growth, genes and gene expression, and the development of circuits and networks in
the brain, and as such epitomise both a major theoretical advancement and a more
realistic representation of human development (Westermann et al., 2007).

Summary
The theories and research we have described are motivated by multiple notions
of information: the information available in the stimulus, the uptake of that infor-
mation, the processing of the information by the individual, and the individuals
response. Understanding of information at these different levels is a central task of
information processing theory, and multiple methods are used in pursuit of this goal:
empirical studies of infants and children (including close observations of behaviours
at a microgenetic scale), connectionist models, and recordings of brain activity.

Comparing information-processing approaches with

Piagets approach
Piagets theory and information-processing approaches have quite a lot in common.
Both attempt to specify childrens abilities and limitations as development proceeds,
and both try to explain how new levels of understanding develop from earlier, less
advanced ones. More importantly, Piagets theory and information processing theo-
ries share a focus on active participation by the child in their own development. On
both views, children learn by doing, by trying new strategies (and discarding many)
and discovering the consequences, and learn by directing their attention appropriately.
However, they differ in several important ways. Information processing approaches
place great importance on the role of processing limitations (another computing
analogy) in limiting childrens thinking and reasoning at any point in time, and also
emphasise the development of stategies and procedures for helping to overcome
these limitations clear accounts of these with respect to memory development are
given in Chapters 13 and 16. Piagets theory does not discuss processing limitations,
but rather discusses developmental changes in terms of the child gradually construct-
ing logical frameworks for thought, such as concrete operations and formal operations.
Another important difference is that information processing accounts see devel-
opment as unfolding in a continuous fashion, rather than in qualitatively different
stages as Piaget suggested. To see how this difference might work consider the child
who moves from Piagets preoperational stage to the concrete operations stage. When pre-
sented with a conservation of number task the preoperational child centres attention
on one aspect of the changed array the increase in length and ignores the other,
equally important, aspect, which is that, in the example given above, a candy/sweet
has been added to the smaller row. When the child is able to overcome this limitation
they move to the qualitatively different level of thinking that characterises the stage
of concrete operations. An information processing account, on the other hand, would
simply say that the childs processing capacity has increased so that they are now able
to hold two things in mind simultaneously, so that what underlies the apparently qual-
itative change in thinking is actually a quantitative change in processing capacity.
 THEORIES AND ISSUES IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT 19

SOCIAL-COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
Whereas Piaget tended to focus on the individual child attempting to make sense of
the world (given some basic tools) other researchers have been interested in the inter-
action between the child and their community the social environment.

Vygotsky
Born in the same year as Piaget, the Russian psychologist Lev Semenovich Vygotsky
(18961934) was one of the first to recognise the importance of knowledgeable
adults in the childs environment. For him, the development of intellectual abilities
is influenced by a didactic relationship (one based on instructive dialogue) with more
advanced individuals. One fascinating facet of his work is the claim that higher men-
tal abilities are first encountered and used competently in social interactions, only
later being internalised and possessed as individual thought processes. For instance,
language is used socially to quite a level of competence before it is internalised, reor-
ganising thought in the process.
Thus, a major theme in Vygotskys theories is that social interaction plays a funda-
mental role in cognitive development. He argued that there is a gap between what the
child knows and what they can be taught. At a given stage of devel- zone of proximal devel-
opment the child has a certain level of understanding, a temporary opment (ZPD) the dif-
maximum. A little beyond this point lies the zone of proximal devel- ference between what
opment (ZPD). This zone can be seen as representing problems and children can do on their
own, and what they can
ideas that are just a little too difficult for the child to understand on do under adult guidance
their own. It can, however, be explored and understood with the help or in collaboration with
of an adult. Thus the adult can guide the child because they have a more able peers.
firmer grasp of the more complex thinking involved. introspectionism an
Vygotsky died young (from tuberculosis) but he left an impressive approach to psychology
amount of work (over 100 published articles and books) which con- common in the nine-
teenth century in which
tinues to have an impact on developmental psychology. A compari- observers were asked to
son of Vygotskys views with those of Piaget is given in Chapter 9, reflect on their thoughts,
and his contribution to education is discussed in detail in Chapter 19. feelings, and perceptions.
classical conditioning
a method of learning
first investigated by the
Behaviourism and social learning theory Russian physiologist Ivan
Pavlov in the early part
Early behaviourism of the 20th century. In
Towards the end of the nineteenth century, psychology experienced this form of conditioning,
a swing away from the subjective perspective of introspectionism certain behaviours can
(the analysis of self-reported perceptions) towards a more objective be elicited by a neutral
(normally unstimulat-
method. This scientific approach to psychology had its roots in the ing) stimulus because of
work of Vygotskys countryman, Ivan Petrovich Pavlov (18491936). its learned association
Pavlov developed a grand theory of learning called classical condi- with a more powerful
tioning. According to this theory, certain behaviours can be elicited stimulus.
20 AN INTRODUCTION TO DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

by a neutral (normally unstimulating) stimulus simply because of its learned associa-

tion with a more powerful stimulus. For example, when food was presented to dogs
at the same time as a bell, the bell would eventually cause a salivation response when
presented on its own. The dogs learned an association between the two. This principle
of conditioning is applicable to much human behaviour you might find yourself
salivating when the dinner bell sounds!
law of effect law or rule Many psychologists seized upon his ideas. Because of its funda-
devised by the American mental nature, Pavlovs work had the potential to explain all forms of
psychologist Edward Lee human behaviour and its development. It was combined with other
Thorndike which states
that the likelihood of an
theoretical notions such as Thorndikes law of effect (The likelihood
action being repeated of an action being repeated is increased if it leads to reward, and
is increased if it leads to decreased if it leads to punishment) and behaviourism was born. With
reward, and decreased if this, the pendulum swing towards objectivity was complete. In its
it leads to punishment.
most radical form as espoused by early behaviourist John Watson
(18781958) behaviourism denies the role of the mind as an object of study and
reduces all behaviour to chains of stimuli (from the environment) and the result-
ing response (the behaviour). Some took this very seriously indeed, and ascribed the
minds inner voice to a sub-vocal tremor of the larynx. One behaviourist adminis-
tered himself a muscle-relaxing nerve toxin in order to find out, but, despite his condi-
tion, his mind remained active along with his scientific zeal.
The early behaviourists view of child development is quite simple. The infant is
born with little more than the machinery of conditioning and infancy and childhood
consists of constant warping and moulding under pressure of the environment. The
child is passive and receptive and can be shaped in any direction. This view was clearly
expressed by Watson (1970, p. 94):
reductionism the claim Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own specified world
that complex behav-
iours and skills such as
to bring them up in and Ill guarantee to take any one at random and
language and problem- train him to become any type of specialist I might select doctor, lawyer,
solving are formed merchant-chief and yes, even beggar-man and thief, regardless of his talents,
from simpler core proc- penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of his ancestors.
esses, such as neural
activity and condition-
ing, and can ultimately
Any behaviours even the most elaborate, like language are tow-
be understood in these ers built upon the foundations of very simple, repeated connections
simpler terms. between a stimulus and its response. This has been termed a reduc-
tionist perspective because it reduces ostensibly complex phenom-
operant conditioning a
form of conditioning ena to simpler core processes.
investigated by B.F.
Skinner. The training, or
shaping, of an animal
B.F. Skinners behaviourism
or human by rewarding Any discussion of behaviourism would not be complete without the
them for producing the inclusion of Burrhus Frederic Skinner (190490). He had an effect
desired behaviour (or a on his area of psychology perhaps greater than any other individual
close approximation to
it) and/or either ignoring
(and during his lifetime was regularly in the list of the most famous
or punishing undesirable 10 Americans). Whilst the early behaviourists emphasised the passive
behaviours in order to nature of the child, Skinner envisioned a more active role. Operant
stop them. conditioning differs from classical conditioning because children
 THEORIES AND ISSUES IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT 21

operate (emit behaviours) on their environments. It is still the case that the childs
development is dominated by their environment, but Skinners viewpoint allowed
for more flexible and generative patterns of behaviour. According to Skinners view
it is possible to shape the animals or childs behaviour by manipulating the reinforce-
ment received.
We can see the role of reinforcement in this brief account of infant behaviour
(Skinner, 1961, p. 418):

One reinforcer to which babies often respond is the flashing on and off of a table lamp.
Whenever the baby lifts its hand, flash the light. In a short time a well-defined response
will be generated. (Human babies are just as smart as dogs or pigeons in this respect.)
Incidentally, the baby will enjoy the experience.

It is certainly the case that our behaviour is guided by reward and punishment, and
behaviourism continues to be used in the control of behaviour. Skinner gave an
account of how parents may unwittingly promote undesirable behaviours, such as
aggression, crying or shouting in their children. If, for example, the mother only gives
the child attention when it is misbehaving, then her positive reinforcement of atten-
tion is likely to promote the very behaviour she does not want! The remedy is this
(Skinner, 1961, p. 419):

The remedy in such a case is simply for the mother to make sure that she responds with
attention and affection to most if not all the responses of the child which are . . . acceptable . . .
and that she never reinforces the annoying forms of behavior.
social learning theory
Social learning theory associated with Albert
Whereas behaviourism had important but rather vague things to Bandura. The application
of behaviourism to social
say about the childs acquisition of behaviour patterns, the work and cognitive learning
of Albert Bandura (1925) examined particular behaviours in more that emphasises the
detail. His behaviourism was less mechanistic than that of Skinner. importance of observa-
He did not focus only on observable behaviour, but posited process- tional learning, that is,
learning by observation
ing that occurred within the mind a construct specifically denied by and then copying (imi-
his behaviourist colleagues. His approach was initially named sociobe- tating) the observed acts.
haviourism, then social learning theory.
During the 1960s Bandura carried out a series of experiments on childhood
aggression. In one, some children were divided into two groups. The first (control)
group saw an adult playing with toys, one of which was an inflatable Bobo doll. The
second (experimental) group saw the same adult, this time playing aggressively with
the toys, hitting the doll with a hammer. When allowed to play individually, Bandura
observed that children from the experimental group behaved in a
more aggressive way towards their own Bobo doll. observational learning
So, without obvious reinforcement, a particular aggressive behav- situation in which peo-
iour had been learned. Bandura termed this observational learn- ple (especially children)
learn by observing oth-
ing or vicarious conditioning. In some sense, the child had mentally ers and then copying
assumed the role of the observed person and taken note of any rein- (imitating) the observed
forcement. Bandura concluded that children imitate the actions of acts.
22 AN INTRODUCTION TO DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

others, based on perceived reinforcement. He followed up the Bobo-doll experiment

with investigations into cartoon and film violence. The findings were clear: children
imitated the aggressive behaviour.
Banduras approach kept the essential components of behaviourism that we learn
by reinforcement and punishment of behaviour, in accord with the Law of Effect
and added the important dimension of learning by observation. Adults and others
in the childs life provide models, and in humans learning by imitation is extremely
common in all areas of social and cognitive development. Over the last 40 years
social learning theory has become increasingly cognitive in its account of human
social cognitive theory learning and by the mid-1980s Bandura had developed the social
a theory that emphasises cognitive theory of human functioning. This theory is a develop-
social factors in cognitive ment of Social Learning Theory and emphasises humans ability to
development.
exercise control over the nature and quality of their lives, and to be
self-reflective about ones capabilities, quality of functioning, and the meaning and
purpose of ones life pursuits (Bandura, 2001, p. 1). Although not designed as a the-
ory of child development social cognitive theory is currently being used to introduce
social change in successful attempts to ameliorate global problems such as popula-
tion explosions (Bandura, 2009).

ETHOLOGY AND EVOLUTION

Evolution
The theoretical basis of any evolutionary theory of development is, of course, evolu-
tion itself. The present form of the theory is largely identical to that developed by its
founder, Charles Robert Darwin (Darwin was born on 12 February 1809 the same
day as Abraham Lincoln and died on 19 April 1882). Perhaps the most important
unit in evolution is the gene, which is the basic genetic material out of which chro-
mosomes are formed. The term gene is also used in a vague way
chromosomes strands when talking about any heritable characteristic of an organism: eye
of DNA (deoxyribo-
nucleic acid) and protein
colour, intelligence, or an inherited behaviour. When a set of genes
that contain the genes leads to an overall advantage for an organism, the organism tends to
and provide the genetic produce more copies of itself. Those genes, therefore, will become
blueprint for the animal more frequent in the gene pool. When a set of genes leads to an over-
or plant.
all disadvantage, those genes will become less frequent. This means
that as evolution proceeds any gene still in the gene pool will tend to
ethological approaches be advantageous. The difficult concept to master is to remember this
approaches which should apply to behaviours as well as physical characteristics.
emphasise the evolu-
tionary origins of many
Evolutionary theories of child development that emphasise
behaviours that are the genetic basis of many behaviours, and point to the adaptive
important for survival, and survival value of these behaviours, are known as ethological
such as imprinting. approaches.
 THEORIES AND ISSUES IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT 23

The ethological approach

The origins of ethology can be traced back to Darwin, and its modern foundations
were laid by two European zoologists, Konrad Lorenz (190389) and Niko Tinbergen
(190788), who pioneered the genetic analysis of development: they imprinting a period
both shared the 1973 Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine). soon after birth or hatch-
They reasoned that certain behaviours in the young of many spe- ing in which the young
cies would be genetic in origin because they (i) promote survival and of precocial species of
animals (which includes
(ii) are found in many species, including humans. One such behav- ducks, geese, sheep,
iour is imprinting, which refers to the tendency of the newborn horses) follow the first
or newly hatched of precocial species of animals (which includes moving objects they see.
ducks, geese, sheep, horses) to follow the first moving objects precocial species those
they see. This behaviour involves the formation of an attachment species of animals where
between the infant and the mother (Figure 2.3). Clearly, imprinting is the young are able to
adaptive (adds to survival value) because it leads to a physical prox- locomote almost imme-
imity between parent and offspring. As a consequence, the parent diately after birth or
hatching. These include
is always at hand to feed, give warmth, protect from predators and ducks, geese, sheep, and
generally attend to the offspring. horses. The young will
Lorenz is famous for his experiments with young geese (goslings). often imprint on and
He demonstrated that if the first moving object they saw after hatch- follow their mother, an
instinctive response
ing was him then the unwitting goslings would imprint on him and which has clear survival
follow him around (and even, as adults, attempt to mate with him!). value for the young.

FIGURE 2.3 Newly hatched chicks will follow their mother and siblings
Source: Jan de Wild/Shutterstock.
24 AN INTRODUCTION TO DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

There are two implications of ethologys conception of behaviours. The first is

that, for the most part, they require an external stimulus or target. For example,
imprinting needs a target parent if this target does not exist, imprinting will either
critical period a limited
not take place, or will take place with an inappropriate target (cf.
period, usually early in Lorenzs goslings). The second implication is one of time. Originally,
an animals life, in which ethologists envisioned a critical period, this being the length of
the young have to be time for the behaviour to grow to maturity in the presence of the
exposed to a particular
skill or experience in
right conditions (e.g. language developing in a rich linguistic envi-
order for it to be learned. ronment). When this critical period expires, the behaviour cannot
develop. These days, the evidence points towards a sensitive rather
than critical period; behaviours may take root beyond this sensitive time period, but
their development may be difficult and ultimately retarded.

EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Attachment theory John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth
Mother love in infancy and childhood is as important for mental health as are vitamins and
proteins for physical health.
(Bowlby, 1952)

The British physician and psychoanalyst John Bowlby was inspired by observa-
tions of imprinting, and was one of the first to offer an ethological and evolutionary
interpretation of human development. The concluding comment to his 1952 book
(given above) is one of the most widely quoted within developmental psychology. His
contribution to our understanding of attachment formation in infancy and childhood
continues to have an immense impact, and here we will give a very brief account of
his views, and that of his American colleague Mary Ainsworth.
Prior to Bowlby the prevailing belief, stemming from Behaviourism
primary drives basic
needs which include is that the attachment of infants to their caregivers was a secondary
hunger, thirst, and the drive, that is, because the mother (or primary caregiver) satisfies
need for warmth. Bowlby the babys primary drives (these include hunger, thirst and the need
and others have argued for warmth) she acquires secondary reinforcing properties. However,
that an infants need
for attachment is also a Bowlby pointed out that the need for attachment was itself a primary
primary drive. drive (as the quote given above indicates, which is the conclusion to
his 1952 report to the World Health Organization).
Several lines of evidence have since supported this conclusion. In the 1950s and
1960s Harry Harlow and his colleagues (e.g. Harlow & Zimmerman, 1959) separated
baby monkeys from their real mothers and offered them two surrogate (substitute)
mothers. One of these was made of wire, but had a nipple attached which provided
food (and hence satisfied the primary drives of hunger and thirst). The other was
made of soft cloth and provided no nutrition. What they found is that the baby mon-
keys fed from the wire mother, but cuddled up to the soft cloth mother, and ran
 THEORIES AND ISSUES IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT 25

to her when frightened by loud sounds. It therefore seemed reasonable to conclude

that the soft cloth mother provided what we can call contact comfort, and satisfied a
basic or primary need.
Bowlby argued that there is an innate, instinctual drive in humans monotropy the view
to form attachments that is as strong as any other primary drive or that the infant has a
need. He put forward the principle of monotropy, which is the claim basic need to form an
attachment with one
that the infant has a need to form an attachment with one significant significant person, usu-
person (usually the mother). This claim was later found to be over- ally the mother. A central
stated, because Rudolph Schaffer and Peggy Emerson (1964) found claim in Bowlbys early
that infants often formed multiple attachments, and that in some theory of attachment
formation.
cases their strongest attachment was to people such as the father,
a grandparent, or peers, who did not fulfil basic caregiving activities, but who did
engage in satisfying interactions (quality time) with them (see Figure 2.4).
Bowlby believed that the attachment system between infant and caregiver became
organised and consolidated in the second half of the infants first year from birth, and
became particularly apparent when the infant began to crawl. At this time, infants
tend to use the mother as a safe base from which to begin their explorations of the
world, and it then becomes possible to measure how infants react to their mothers
departure and to her return. For these measures we are indebted to
Mary Ainsworth, who trained with Bowlby, and who invented what is strange situation
commonly called the strange situation. In this situation a baby (usu- measure, devised by
Ainsworth, of the level of
ally around a year old) and their mother enter an experimental room attachment a child has
in which there are several toys. The mother sits on a chair and after a with their parent.
short while a stranger enters, at which point the mother leaves, only
to return a few minutes later. An observer then notes the infants response to several
events when the stranger enters, when the mother leaves and when she returns.

FIGURE 2.4 Infants will usually form multiple attachments

26 AN INTRODUCTION TO DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

Using the strange situation Ainsworth discovered that there are several attachment
styles that differ in degree of security. A detailed account of these attachment styles
and of Bowlbys and Ainsworths contribution in developing what is called attachment
theory is given in detail in Chapter 6. For the moment we can conclude that their
importance has been in demonstrating the importance of early secure attachments
and showing that these attachments are as basic and important as any other human
drive or motivation.

psychoanalytic theory
most prominently asso-
PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORIES
ciated with Sigmund
Freud. Freud suggested
that there are three main Sigmund Freud The founder of psychoanalysis
personality structures:
the ego, the id and the For generations almost every branch of human knowledge will be enriched
superego.
and illuminated by the imagination of Freud.
id in Freuds theory, a (Jane Harrison, 18501928)
primitive collection of
urges with which an
His place is not, as he claimed, with Copernicus and Darwin, but with Hans
individual begins life.
The id is responsible for Christian Anderson and the Brother Grimm, tellers of fairy tales.
an individuals primitive (Hans Eysenck, 191697)
instincts, such as eating
and reproducing.
As will be apparent from the above, not everyone agrees that
ego in Freuds theory, Freuds contribution to knowledge has been entirely positive! Freud
the ego can be thought claimed that much of our behaviour is determined by unconscious
of as the rational
thought that evolved forces of which we are not directly aware. In presenting his psycho-
to control the urges of analytic theory he suggested that there are three main structures to
the id in order that they personality: the id, the ego, and the superego. The id is present in
meet the demands of the newborn infant and consists of impulses, emotions and desires.
reality and maintain
social approval and It demands instant gratification of all its wishes and needs. As this is
esteem. impractical the ego develops to act as a practical interface or media-
superego in Freuds
tor between reality and the desires of the id. The final structure to
theory, a collection of develop is the superego, which is the sense of duty and responsibility
ideals, an individuals in many ways the conscience.
morality. This is what The ego and the superego develop as the individual progresses
we refer to as our con-
science and it is often in
through the five psychosexual stages oral, anal, phallic, latency
conflict with our id. and genital and these are described next.
psychosexual stages
Freud argued that there
were five stages of
human development:
The five psychosexual stages
oral (01 year), anal (13
years), phallic (35 years),
Oral stage (approximately birth to 1 year)
latency (5 years The infants greatest satisfaction is derived from stimulation of the
adolescence), and genital lips, tongue, and mouth. Sucking is the chief source of pleasure for
(adolescence onwards). the young infant.
 THEORIES AND ISSUES IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT 27

Anal stage (approximately 1 to 3 years) Oedipus complex an

During this stage toilet or potty training takes place and the child important stage of
development in Freuds
gains the greatest psychosexual pleasure from exercising control over psychoanalytic theory.
the anus and by retaining and eliminating faeces. This expression derives
from the Greek myth in
Phallic stage (approximately 3 to 6 years) which Oedipus became
infatuated with his
This is the time when children obtain their greatest pleasure from mother. In the Freudian
stimulating the genitals. At this time boys experience the Oedipus account, the young boy
complex. This expression derives from the Greek myth in which develops sexual feelings
Oedipus became infatuated with his mother. In the Freudian account toward his mother but
realizes that his father
the young boy develops sexual feelings towards his mother but real- is an important stage of
ises that his father is a major competitor for her (sexual) affections! development in Freuds
He then fears castration at the hands of his father (the castration psychoanalytic theory.
complex) and in order to resolve this complex he adopts the ideals of This expression derives
from the Greek myth in
his father and the superego (the conscience) develops. If we return which Oedipus became
to Greek mythology, the noblewoman Electra remained obsessively infatuated with his
bound, or fixated to the memory of her father Agamemnon. In the mother.
Freudian account, for little girls the Electra complex is when they castration complex in
develop feelings towards their father and fear retribution at the hands Freuds psychoanalitic
of their mother. They resolve this by empathising with their mother, theory where the young
adopting the ideals she offers, and so the girls superego develops. boy fears castration at
the hands of his father.

Latency and genital stages (approximately 6 years to Electra complex in

Freuds psycholanalytic
adolescence) theory this is where little
From around 6 years the torments of infancy and early childhood girls develop feelings
subside and the childs sexual awakening goes into a resting period towards their father and
(Latency, from around 6 years to puberty and adolescence). Then, at fear retribution at the
hands of their mother.
adolescence, sexual feelings become more apparent and urgent and
the genital stage appears. In the latter true sexual feelings emerge and the adolescent
strives to cope with awakening desires.

Problems with Freudian theory

One of the main claims of Freudian theory is that much of what motivates us is
determined unconsciously. By their very nature unconscious processes cannot be
measured and so it is often claimed that belief in Freudian ideas is precisely that
beliefs rather than evidence-based claims. It is certainly the case that Freuds views
are almost impossible to test. To illustrate this consider the Freudian notion of reac-
tion formation. If you are harshly toilet trained as a child then the
Freudian prediction would be that you become anally retentive, reaction formation a
that is, you become excessively neat and tidy. However, if in some term used in psycho-
analytic theory. The
way you recognise this in yourself (maybe even unconsciously) then individual may react,
you can react against it (i.e. reaction formation occurs) and you actively often unconsciously, to
become very untidy! What this means is that you can react against negative aspects of their
your upbringing and reverse the effects, which means in turn that it personality.
28 AN INTRODUCTION TO DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

is impossible to predict the childs development despite the fact that the first 6 years
from birth are supposedly critical in determining later personality formation.

Psychoanalysis, then and now: An overview

Freudian theory has been of immense importance in pointing out two possibilities.
One is that early childhood can be immensely important in affecting and determining
later development (a position also adopted by people such as Bowlby, whose views
are given above), and the other is that we can be driven by unconscious needs and
desires of which we are not aware. Thus, if we did not go through one of the child-
hood psychosexual stages very well, this could reflect itself in later adult disorders
such as neurotic symptoms, but we would not be aware of the causes of the problem.
The only way to come to terms with this would be intensive sessions of psychoanaly-
sis (see Figure 2.5) in which the analyst tries to discover what it is that went wrong in
your childhood that is causing your current problems.
The theory is largely unsupported by scientific evidence. Thus, there is little evi-
dence that the Oedipus and Electra complexes occur. Additionally, if events occurring
in early childhood can have different outcomes (as a result of reaction formation)
then it is impossible to make clear predictions about the effects of early experiences.
Nevertheless, there are many who believe that psychoanalytic theories are important
in understanding human development, and there have been many theoreticians who
have offered variations and alternatives to Freuds proposals. We briefly consider two
of these next, Anna Freud and Eric Erikson (psychoanalytic accounts of the develop-
ment of self and of adolescence are given in Chapters 8 and 17).

FIGURE 2.5 The psychoanalyst tries to discover what it is that went wrong in your childhood
that is causing your current problems
Source: Blaj Gabriel/Shutterstock.
 THEORIES AND ISSUES IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT 29

Modern psychoanalysts Anna Freud and Eric Erikson

Anna Freud (18951982) was the youngest of Sigmund Freuds children. She grew
up with an interest in psychoanalysis, and is often referred to as the founder of child
psychoanalysis. She felt that adolescence and puberty presented a series of chal-
lenges. During this period of ego struggle, through meeting these challenges the
ego matures and becomes better able to defend itself. For Eric Erikson (190294),
like Anna Freud, personality formation was not largely complete by
age 6 or 7 as Sigmund Freud suggested. Rather, stages of psychologi- psychosocial stages
cal conflict and adjustment occur throughout the lifespan. Whereas stages of development
Freud felt that the childs personality was determined largely by par- put forward by Erik
Erikson. The child goes
ents and by unconscious forces, Erikson gave much greater empha- from the stage of basic
sis to the role of the broader social world which includes relatives, trust in early infancy to
friends, society and culture. For this reason Eriksons stages are called the final stage in adult
psychosocial rather than psychosexual. The work of Anna Freud and life of maturity with a
sense of integrity and
Erikson as it applies to adolescent development is discussed in more self-worth.
detail in Chapter 17.

HUMANISTIC THEORY ABRAHAM

MASLOW
Humanistic theories focus on the individuals own subjective experi- humanistic theory the-
ences, motives, and desires. In general, they differ from psychoanalytic ory which emphasizes
views in putting much less emphasis on the role of the unconscious that humans have free
will and are motivated to
in determining behaviour. Humanists argue that we are not driven by fulfil their potential.
unconscious needs, neither are we driven by external environmen-
tal pulls such as reinforcement and rewards. Rather, humans have self-actualisation ful-
free will and are motivated to fulfil their potential. The inner need fillment of needs beyond
or desire to fulfil ones potential is known as self-actualisation. The those deemed necessary
drive for self-actualisation is not restricted to childhood but is appli- for survival.
cable across the life span, and a leading proponent of the humanistic
view was Abraham Maslow (190870).

hierarchy of needs
Abraham Maslows hierarchy of needs stages of needs or
desires in Abraham
Maslow suggested that there is a hierarchy of needs or motives that Maslows humanistic
determine our behaviour. The hierarchy is given below (Figure 2.6) theory which go from
and extends from the basic needs for survival through the search the basic physiological
needs for food and water
for self-actualisation. To see how Maslows hierarchy might work, to the ultimate desire
imagine the following scenario (based on Dworetsky, 1995, p. 43. You for self-actualisation or
are a young man or woman who arrives as an emigrant/immigrant the desire to fulfill ones
to a foreign country, broke and homeless. Your first aim would be potential.
30 AN INTRODUCTION TO DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

to ensure that your basic physiological

needs for food, water and warm were
Self-actualization
satisfied. Next would be finding a place
where you feel safe and secure. You are
Esteem then able to begin to search for ways of
satisfying your psychological needs, to
Love and belonging develop relationships with people so you
feel that you belong. Your sense of self-
Safety and security esteem develops as you feel needed by
others, and your final goal would be to
Physiological needs attain self-actualisation this is equivalent
to achieving your full potential, perhaps
in education, sport, music, rearing chil-
FIGURE 2.6 Maslows hierarchy of needs dren, and many other types of activity
and attainment.
Maslows theory was not intended as
a theory of childrens development the hierarchy of needs is applicable at all ages
from early childhood on, and children achieve goals and fulfil their potential as do
adults. It is worth noting that, sadly, today there are over 200 million child slaves in
the world today children who work in the fields, in domestic slavery, in bars, restau-
rants, on building sites, in sweatshops perhaps making expensive [or cheap] clothes
and shoes for Western consumption, and in many countries the prettiest children are
raised in brothels. For countries in the developing world child slave labour makes good
sense children are a renewable resource, they dont form unions, they are cheap
and trainable. These children enter a lifetime sentence of hard labour and ill health
for the crime of poverty their needs lower in Maslows hierarchy are met but self-
actualisation is a myth not an attainable possibility.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER DIFFERENT

THEORIES FOR DIFFERENT NEEDS
In this chapter we have given a sample of the many different theories that have been
developed to explain human development. As is abundantly obvious, child develop-
ment is enormously complex, and we should not expect any theory, however grand
to attempt to account for more than one or two selected areas of development. Thus,
there are theories that focus specifically on motor, perceptual, cognitive, emotional,
social, or personality development.
However, it is important to remember that in the child themselves all aspects of
development are interrelated. For example, each new motor acquisition in infancy
opens up new ways of exploring the world, which in turn affects infants awareness of
the world and their cognitive and social development. New cognitive achievements
affect the childs social development since they allow the child to interact with others
 THEORIES AND ISSUES IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT 31

at an increasing more sophisticated level of understanding. Cognitive and social

developments give increased opportunities for children to develop their potentials,
and hence allow for the possibility of self-actualisation.
The essential point is that theories typically focus on specific gender development
areas of development, but development itself is multi-faceted and all the developing under-
aspects of change are integrally linked. To illustrate this interrelated- standing that a child is
either a girl or a boy and
ness of different aspects of development we will focus on one area that there are gender-
of development where different theoretical views make their own appropriate behaviours
different contributions, the topic of gender development. associated with this
difference.

Gender development
Gender development concerns the important question of how it is that children grow
up knowing that they are either a boy or a girl. Psychologists from several different
theoretical traditions have offered accounts of how this happens, and here we give
very brief accounts of cognitive, behaviourist/social learning, psychoanalytic and
biological explanations.

A cognitive account
A cognitive view of gender development was offered nearly 40 years ago by the
American psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg (1966, see also Chapter 14 for his theory
of the development of moral reasoning). According to Kohlbergs account of gen-
der development the child gradually comes to realise that she/he is a girl or a boy
and that this is unchangeable once a girl (or boy) always a girl (or boy), a realisa-
tion that is known as gender constancy. Most children come to this
gender constancy the
realisation some time after 3 years, and almost all know it by age 7 awareness, in early child-
(Tobin et al., 2010; Wehren & De Lisi, 1983). Kohlbergs theory sug- hood, that one is either
gests that once children understand which gender they are they will a boy or a girl, and that
develop appropriate gender-role behaviours. That is, knowing you this is unchangeable
once a girl (boy), always a
are a girl or a boy helps the child to organise their behaviour to be girl (boy).
gender-appropriate.

A social learning account

Social learning accounts of gender development are based on the work of Albert
Bandura, whose views we discussed earlier, and these in turn are developed from
behaviourist theories of learning. In this account the child is reinforced for what the
parents and others perceive as being gender-appropriate behaviour (girls play with
dolls, boys dont cry). Additionally, children imitate significant others and learn to
observe same-gender models to see how to behave. In this way, through observation,
imitation and reinforcement childrens gender roles are shaped.

A psychoanalytic view
In the Freudian version of psychoanalytic theory a girls identification with her
mother, and a boys with his father, develop from the resolution of the Electra
and Oedipus complexes, as described above. As a result of this identification girls
32 AN INTRODUCTION TO DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

and boys form female and male identities (respectively!) and take on their same-
gender parents views and behaviour as their own.

Biological determinants
The accounts described so far all emphasise the role of nurture in promoting gen-
der development. But remember that the physical aspects of gender are biologically
determined by the type of chromosomes we inherit at conception (see Chapter 4).
Here we will describe a case history (which is described in more detail in chapter 8) to
highlight the role of nature (genetic and biological) in gender determination.
Bruce Reimer was one of two identical twins born on 22 August 1965. The twins
developed urinary problems and at 8 months Bruce (and his twin brother Brian)
were taken to a clinic for circumcision. What happened to Bruce was that he had his
penis accidentally burned to ablation during phimosis repair by cautery (Diamond &
Sigmundson, 1999, p. 58). What this medical terminology means is that the incompe-
tent physician destroyed Bruces penis.
At the time one of the most influential views on gender development was
expressed by the psychologist John Money (e.g. Money & Ehrhardt, 1972), and
was that individuals are psychosexually and gender neutral at birth, and that experi-
ence (nurture) is the sole determinant of their development. A decision was therefore
made to carry out gender-reassignment surgery (to create a vagina and female genital
appearance), and to rear Bruce as Brenda. This case is described in earlier textbooks
on child development as clear evidence that nurture determined gender roles, and
Moneys theoretical views achieved widespread acceptance, even to the point that
some were arguing that if a genetic male had a small penis (in extreme instances this
is referred to as a micropenis) then Often it is wiser to rear a genetic male as a female
(Donahoe & Hendren, 1976, p. 396).
But it all went drastically wrong. Even soon after the operation Brenda began
rejecting girl things, like refusing to wear dresses. Somewhere between the ages of
9 and 11 Brenda figured that I was a guy. At school she persisted in standing up to
urinate in the girls bathroom. She made several suicide attempts and finally learned
the truth. At this time Brenda refused to carry on as a female and insisted on gen-
der reassignment (which included a mastectomy and phallus reconstruction) to his
biologically determined gender, and called himself David. He later married an older
woman and adopted her children. This case is one that gives strong support for the
view that prenatal and early-infantile hormones have a strong influence on gender
development and other gender dimorphism characteristics.

Overview
These different accounts of gender development all have their appeal. It is clear that
social influences and childrens cognitive awareness influence their gender-related
behaviour. But it is also clear that biological (genetic/hormonal) influences are
important. Many, perhaps most, transsexuals (those who elect for gender reassign-
ment, often through surgical procedures) will say that they have felt that they were
a girl in a boys body (or vice versa) for as long as they can remember, even though
they may never been reinforced for gender-inappropriate behaviour. What is clear
is that we have different theoretical views and there are multiple causes of gender
 THEORIES AND ISSUES IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT 33

development in children. Perhaps biological factors provide the basic differences, and
cognitive and social factors add the fine detail to create behavioural differences.

ISSUES IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT

There are many issues, controversies and debates in the study of naturenurture ongo-
child development, and we will see the most important of these in ing debate on whether
the pages of this book. Many of these topics are specific to a par- development is the
result of an individuals
ticular area or areas of development, but there are others that affect genes (nature) or the
almost all aspects of growth and here we briefly describe three of kinds of experiences
these the naturenurture issue, stability versus change, continu- they have throughout
ity versus discontinuity. their life (nurture).

stability versus change

the question of whether
The naturenurture issue individuals are stable in
the sense of maintaining
We are all of us a product of the interaction of the two broad their rank order across
factors of nature inheritence or genetic factors and nurture age, e.g. does the bright
2-year-old become a
environmental influences. For example, it is argued that humans are bright 10-year-old?
genetically predisposed to acquire language, but which language we
continuity versus dis-
acquire is determined by the language(s) we hear and learn. It is continuity whether
important to note that without both factors no development could development is con-
occur! Nevertheless, people differ in their abilities, temperaments, tinuous, and therefore an
personalities and a host of other characteristics, and psychologists accumulation of more of
the same, or discontinu-
and behaviour geneticists have attempted to estimate the relative ous and marked by quali-
contributions of nature and nurture to these individual variations tative changes. Piagets
between people. Are certain behavioural characteristics such as gen- theory is an example of
der development (as discussed in the previous section), intelligence, a discontinuous theory of
development.
and personality more influenced by heredity or by the environment?
A detailed account of these attempts, and of the naturenurture behaviour genetics the
issue in general, is given in Chapter 3. study of how genetic
factors influence behav-
iour and, more generally,
differences between
Stability versus change individuals.

It is often claimed that the child is father to the man (or the child is mother to the
woman), meaning that early experiences influence current and later development.
This view suggests that certain aspects of childrens development display stability, in
the sense that they are consistent and predictable across time. It turns out that devel-
opment is characterised by both stability and change for example, personality char-
acteristics such as shyness, and the tendency to be aggressive tend to be stable, while
others such as approach (the tendency to extreme friendliness and lack of caution with
strangers) and sluggishness (reacting passively to changing circumstances) are unstable
(as discussed in Chapter 15).
34 AN INTRODUCTION TO DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

Continuity versus discontinuity

In Chapter 1 we described two World Views which are called organismic and mecha-
nistic. Organismic theories, such as Piagets, emphasise that some of the most inter-
esting changes in human development such as those that accompany major changes
in thinking, puberty, and other life transitions such as first going to school, going
to college, getting married, etc. are characterised by discontinuity, by qualitatively
different ways of thinking and behaving. Mechanistic theories, as exemplified by
behaviourist views, emphasise continuity that development is reflected by a more
continuous growth function, rather than occurring in qualitatively different stages.
What complicates things is that, as we have seen, it is often possible to think of the
same aspect of development (such as intelligence) as being both continuous and dis-
continuous. Sternberg and Okagaki (1989, p. 158) state the case as follows:

as it stands, the continuitydiscontinuity debate is largely misconceived and . . . we

should . . . be thinking in terms of ways in which development is simultaneously continuous
and discontinuous with respect to different dimensions of analysis.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

Although these three issues will appear regularly in the chapters of this book it is
important to keep in mind that human development requires both nature and nur-
ture, it displays aspects of stability and also change, and it is both continuous and
discontinuous.
In the rest of this book you will find many examples of theories and theoreti-
cal approaches mostly the ones that we have described in this chapter, but also
a few new ones. Always remember that a theory has specific applications that is,
attempts to account for a limited area of development and we should not ask too
much of any one. It would be a mistake to criticise Piaget, Freud, and Bowlby for
paying too little attention, respectively, to social development, the role of conscious
awareness, and cognitive development, because this was not their aim! All of these
theoreticians, the others described here, and yet others whose work will appear in
later chapters, have helped to mould our understanding of childrens development
and make it the exciting, dynamic topic of enquiry that it is today.

DISCUSSION POINTS
1. Considering the evidence presented here, list as many aspects of motor development (a) that
may not depend on experience, (b) that probably do depend on experience.
2. Discuss ways in which Piagets account of development differs from (a) maturational accounts,
and (b) accounts that portray development as moulded by the environment.
 THEORIES AND ISSUES IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT 35

3. Think of differences between Piagets theory and information processing theories of

development.
4. Skinners theory of learning through reinforcement seems quite plausible in many ways. Think
about what makes the account plausible, and also about the aspects of development that it
does not explain.
5. In what ways has Albert Banduras Social Learning Theory and Social Cognitive theory
advanced our understanding of factors influencing development?
6. Is the psychoanalytic approach to development a theory or just a compelling story?
7. How plausible is it that Maslow was able to establish a hierarchy of needs simply from inter-
views about sexuality?
8. The view presented here is that different theoretical approaches to development can exist
side by side, complementing each other. Consider whether there are limits to this view. For
instance, are there some approaches that are so opposed that they cannot coexist?

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING

Bremner, G., & Slater, A. (2004). Theories of infant development. Oxford and Massachusetts: Blackwell.
Fancher, R.E. (1990). Pioneers of psychology (2nd edn). New York & London: W.W. Norton.
Green, M., & Piel, J.A. (2002). Theories of human development: a comparative approach. Massachusetts:
Allyn and Bacon.
Harris, M. (2008). Exploring developmental psychology: understanding theory and methods. Washington,
DC & London: Sage.
Thomas, R.M. (2000). Recent theories of human development. Washington, DC & London: Sage.
Thomas, R.M. (2005). Comparing theories of child development. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishers.

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