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The Development of Children

Rita Perez

PSY: 104 Child and Adolescent Development

Lisset Pickens

October, 5, 2009

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The Development of Children

The study of child development focuses on the processes of change and stability

from conception through adolescence. There are three aspects or domains that

developmental scientists study. They are physical development, cognitive development,

and psychosocial or emotional development. They also study the qualitative and the

quantitative changes as well as the stability of personality and behavior. The five typical

periods of child development are: First, the Prenatal period which includes conception to

birth: Second, the Infancy and toddlerhood period, which may include birth to three years

of age: Third, the Early Childhood period, which may include three to six years of age:

Fourth, the Middle Childhood period, which may include six to eleven years of age:

Fifth, final period of Adolescence, which may include eleven to twenty years of age.

“These age divisions are approximate and arbitrary” (Papalial, Olds & Feldman, 2008, p.

10-11). There are influences on a child’s development that come from heredity and

environment. Children mature at different rates and maturity can affect development.

Social economic status can have a great effect on a child’s development. Other

environmental influences stem from culture, ethnicity, and historical context. All

domains of development are interrelated even though developmental scientists often look

separately at the domains or aspects of development. Children help shape their own

development. They are resilient. Children can fall within normal developmental range

because it includes a wide range of individual differences within the general processes of

development. (Papalial, Olds, and Feldman, 2008). Each child is different and is unlike

any other person in the world. Each one has their own experiences, environment, and

influences that affect their development.

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The three developmental theories that will be discussed are: Erick Erickson’s

theory of psychosocial development; second, is Bandura’s social learning theory and

third is Jean Piaget’s cognitive –stage theory. These theories try to explain why children

develop and behave certain ways. Three key concepts of each of the theories as well as

three major points of similarities as well as three major differences will be discussed.

Erickson’s psychosocial theory comes from a psychoanalytical prospective.

“Psychoanalytic prospective views development as shaped by unconscious forces such as

emotions and drives that motivates human behavior” (Papalia, Olds, & Feldman, 2008, p.

27).The basic principal is the developing personality is influenced by society and through

a series of crises. “Erickson’s theory of psychosocial development covers eight stages

across the life span. Each stage involves what Erickson originally called a “crisis” in

personality—a major psychosocial theme that is particularly important at that time but

will remain an issue to some degree throughout the rest of life” (Erickson & Kivnick,

1986, cited in Papalia, Olds & Feldman, 2008, p. 29). These developmental issues or

crises which emerged according to a maturational timetable had to be resolved in order

for the individual to develop a normal healthy ego. He believed that the development of

the ego or self was a lifelong process. In each stage there is a positive and a

corresponding negative trait and the individual must be able to balance these traits. The

successful outcome of the developmental stage is a particular virtue. For example, in

Erickson’s first stage the issues are Basic trust versus mistrust (birth to 12-18 months).

Baby develops a sense of whether the world is a good and safe place. The virtue outcome

is hope (Papalia, Olds, & Feldman, 2008). These were qualitative developmental changes

to the ego or personality.

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Erickson’s psychosocial stages are:

Basic trust versus mistrust (birth to 12-18 months) Baby develops a sense of

whether the world is a good and safe place. Virtue: Hope

Autonomy versus shame and doubt (12-18 months to 3 years) Child develops a

balance of independence and self- sufficiency over shame and doubt. Virtue: Will

Initiative versus guilt (3 to 6 years) Child develops initiative when trying out new

activities and is not overwhelmed by guilt. Virtue: purpose

Industry versus inferiority (6years to puberty). Child must learn skills of the

culture or face feelings of incompetence. Virtue: skill.

Identity versus identity confusion (puberty to young adult) Adolescent must

determine sense of self (“Who am I?”) or experience confusion about roles.

Virtue: fidelity

Intamcy versus Isolation (young adulthood). Person seeks to make commitments

to others; if unsuccessful, may suffer isolation and self-absorption. Virtue: love

Generativity versus stagnation (Middle adulthood). Mature adult is concerned

with establishing and guiding the next generation o else feels personal

impoverishment. Virtue: care.

Integreity versus despair (late adulthood). Elderly person achieves acceptance of

own life, allowing acceptance of death, or else despairs over inability to relive

life. Virtue: wisdom (Papalia, Olds, & Feldman, 2008, p. 30).

The learning prospective maintains that development results from learning in

other words a long lasting change of behavior is based on experience or adaptation to the

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environment. Learning theorists see development as continuous and not in stages and

emphasize quantitative change. There are two important learning theories, behaviorism

and social learning (social cognitive). “Behaviorism is a mechanistic theory, which

describes observed behavior as a predictable response to experience. Behavioral

researchers focus on associative learning, in which there is a mental link between two

events and there are two kinds of associative learning, classical conditioning and operant

conditioning” (Papalia, Olds, & Feldman, 2008, p. 31). The environment controls the

behavior.

Social learning or social cognitive learning theory by Albert Banduras is different

than learning theory by behaviorists because they see the environment as acting on the

child as the chief reason for development and Banduras suggests the reason for

development is bidirectional. He called this concept reciprocal determinism in which “the

child acts on the world as the world acts on the child” (Paplia, Olds, & Feldman, 2008, p.

32). The classic social learning theory is that children imitate people by watching other

people this is how they learn appropriate social behavior. This is called modeling or

observational learning. Children learn by modeling or imitating someone else they admire

like a parent or a hero. According to this theory, imitation of models is the most

important way a child learns a language, how to deal with aggression, develop a moral

sense, and learn about gender-appropriate behaviors. Observational learning can occur

even if the child is not imitating the person (Papalia, Olds, & Feldman).Bandura’s social

cognitive theory is the newest version of social learning theory where as the cognitive

process or the thought processes causes the behavior. This is where children put together

multiple models and create their own environment through their choice of playmates and

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activities. Through feedback on their behavior, children gradually form standards of

behavior for themselves and become more selective of their role models who exemplify

those standards.” They also begin to develop a sense of self-efficacy, confidence in their

ability to succeed” (Papalia, Olds, & Feldman, 2008, p. 33).