Theoretical Perspectives and Research

Child Development

CHAPTER 2
THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES AND RESEARCH

Perspectives on Children
The Psychodynamic Perspective: Focusing on Internal Forces
1. Theories are explanations and predictions concerning phenomena of interest, providing a
framework for understanding the relationships among an organized set of facts or principles.
2. The psychodynamic perspective is the approach that states behavior is motivated by inner
forces, memories, and conflicts of which a person has little awareness or control.
3. Who is the "Father" of Psychodynamic Theory? Hover over these words to find out if you
were right.

Freud's Psychodynamic Theory

Freud's Psychodynamic Theory

a. Freud's psychoanalytic theory suggests that unconscious forces act to determine

personality and behavior. According to Freud, one's personality has three aspects:
i. Id, the raw, unorganized, inborn part of personality that is present at birth.

1. Operates according to the pleasure principle, in which the goal is immediate reduction of
tension and maximization of satisfaction.
2. Operates on the reality principle, in which instinctual energy is restrained in order to
maintain the safety of the individual and help integrate the person into society.
3. Develops around age 5 or 6 and is acquired through interactions from those people who
are significant figures in an individual's life (parents, teachers, etc.).

Ego, the part of personality that is rational and reasonable.

 Superego, the aspect of personality that represents a person's conscience, incorporating
distinctions between right and wrong.

b. Freud suggested that psychosexual development is a series of stages that children

pass through in which gratification is obtained through a particular biological function and
body part.

Try out this crossword puzzle to see if you know the names of the stages and the ages.

b. If a child does not receive appropriate gratification of their needs (either too little or too
much), then fixation, behaviors reflecting an earlier stage of development, may occur.

Erikson's Psychosocial Theory

a. Psychosocial development is the approach that encompasses changes in the

understanding individuals have of their interactions with others, others' behavior, and of
themselves as members of society.
b. Erikson suggested that developmental change occurs throughout our lives in eight
distinct stages.
 a. Each stage emerges in a fixed pattern and is similar for all people; this does not take into
consideration cultural influences.
b. Each stage presents a crisis or conflict that each individual must address sufficiently at a
particular age.
c. No crisis is ever fully resolved, which makes life increasingly complicated.
d. Unlike Freud, Erikson believed that development continued throughout the life span.

Assessing the Psychodynamic Perspective

Critique of Freud's Theory

i. Contemporary psychological research supports the idea that unconscious memories

have an influence on our behavior.
ii. The notion that people pass through stages in childhood that determine their adult
personalities has little research support.
iii. Because Freud based his theory on a small sample of upper-middle-class Austrians
living during a strict, puritanical era, it is questionable how applicable the theory is to
multicultural populations.
iv. Freud's psychoanalytic theory is considered sexist because it devalues women.

Critique of Erikson's Theory

i. Erikson's view that development continues throughout the life span has received
considerable research support.
ii. Erikson focused more on men than women.
iii. Much of Erikson's theory is too vague to test rigorously.
b. In sum, the psychodynamic perspective provides a good description of past behavior,
but imprecise predictions of future behavior.

The Behavioral Perspective

1. The behavioral perspective suggests that the keys to understanding development are
observable behavior and outside stimuli in the environment.

a. Behaviorists reject the notion that people universally pass through a series of stages.
b. Development occurs as the result of continuing exposure to specific factors in the
environment. That is, development is quantitative in nature.

Classical Conditioning: Stimulus Substitution

 a. Classical conditioning is a type of learning in which an organism responds in a
particular way to a neutral stimulus that normally does not bring about that type of
response. It explains how we learn emotional responses.
b. John B. Watson (1878-1958) argued that by effectively controlling a person's
environment, it was possible to produce virtually any behavior.

Operant Conditioning

a. Operant conditioning is a form of learning in which a response is strengthened or

weakened, depending on whether the environmental consequences that follow the
behavior are pleasant or aversive.
b. B. F. Skinner (1904-1990) claimed that people operate on their environments to bring
about a desired state of affairs.
c. Reinforcement is the process by which a stimulus is provided that increases the
probability that a preceding behavior will be repeated.
d. When behavior receives no reinforcement, it is likely to be discontinued or extinguished.
e. Principles of operant conditioning are used in behavior modification, which is a formal
technique for increasing the frequency of desirable behaviors and decreasing the
frequency of unwanted ones.
f. Behavior modification has been used in a variety of situations, ranging from teaching
severely retarded people the rudiments of language to helping people stick to diets.

Watch this video on classical vs. operant conditioning. It should open right from here,
but if not, there is the link: https://youtu.be/H6LEcM0E0io

Social-Cognitive Learning Theory: Learning Through Imitation

a. Albert Bandura, known for his experiments with children mimicking aggression, suggests
that a certain amount of learning is in the form of social-cognitive learning. The social-
cognitive learning theory focuses on learning that occurs through observation of a
model.
b. Learning proceeds in four steps:
i. First, the observer must pay attention to model's behavior.
ii. Second, the behavior in question must be remembered.
iii. Third, the observer must accurately reproduce the behavior.
iv. Fourth, the observer must be motivated to learn and carry out the behavior.

Assessing the Behavioral Perspective

a. Both classical and operant conditioning consider learning only in terms of external stimuli
and responses. People are viewed as "black boxes."
b. Social-cognitive learning theory, with its emphasis on mental activity, dominates this
perspective now.

The Cognitive Perspective: Examining the Roots of Understanding

The cognitive perspective focuses on the processes that allow people to know, understand,
and think about the world.

Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development

a. Jean Piaget (1896-1980) proposed that all people pass in a fixed sequence through a
series of universal stages of cognitive development.
b. In each stage, the quantity of information increases; the quality of knowledge and
understanding changes as well.
c. Piaget suggested that human thinking is arranged into schemes, organized mental
patterns that represent behaviors and actions.
d. Piaget suggested that the growth of children's understanding of the world can be
explained by two principles:
i. Assimilation is the process in which people understand new stimuli or events in
terms of their current way of thinking.
ii. Accommodation is the process that changes existing ways of thinking in
response to encounters with new stimuli or events.

Assessing Piaget's Theory

a. The theory has stood the test of literally thousands of investigations.

b. Some cognitive skills emerge earlier than Piaget suggested.
c. Piaget's work, primarily based upon observations of his own children, did not consider
cultural influences on cognitive development. This is important to consider because
some cognitive skills emerge according to a different timetable in non-Western countries.
d. Some adults never reach Piaget's highest level of cognitive thoughtformal, logical
thought.
e. Some developmentalists (especially information-processing approaches) believe
cognitive thought does not develop discontinuously, but slowly, and steadily and
continuously.

Information-Processing Approaches

a. Information-processing approaches to cognitive development seek to identify the

ways individuals take in, use, and store information. Neo-Piagetian theory considers
cognition as made up of different types of individual skills.
b. Assume that even complex behaviors such as learning, remembering, and thinking can
be broken down into a series of individual processing stages.
c. Assume that cognitive development is, for the most part, a function of quantitative
changes.
d. As people age, they are better able to control the nature of processing and they modify
the strategies they use.

Assessing Information-Processing Approaches

 a. Information processing approaches are central to our understanding of human
development, but they do not offer a complete explanation for behavior.
b. They do not pay much attention to behaviors like creativity, which are nonlinear in
nature.
c. They do not take into account the social context of development.

Cognitive Neuroscience Approaches

a. Cognitive neuroscience approaches are a recent addition to child development

research.
b. Cognitive neuroscientists look at cognitive development through the lens of brain
processes.
c. Cognitive neuroscientists seek to identify actual locations of functions within the brain
that are related to different types of cognitive activity.

Assessing Cognitive Neuroscience Approaches

a. This is a new and growing field because medical science and psychology are beginning
to understand more about the brain and its functioning.
b. Critics of cognitive neuroscience argue that not enough is yet known about the brain to
make generalizations.

The Contextual Perspective: Taking a Broad Approach to

Development
The contextual perspective considers the relationship between physical, cognitive,
personality, and social worlds.

The Bioecological Approach to Development

Psychologist Uri Bronfenbrenner originated the bioecological approach, which suggests that
five levels of the environment simultaneously influence every biological organism.
 a. The microsystem is the everyday, immediate environment, and it includes homes,
caregivers, friends, and teachers.
b. The mesosystem connects the various aspects of the microsystem, like children and
parents, students and teachers, friends and friends.
c. The exosystem represents broad societal institutions such as local government, the
community, schools, places of worship, and
local media.
d. The macrosystem represents larger cultural influences like society in general, types of
governments, religious systems, and political thought.
e. The chronosystem underlies all the systems and involves the way in which the passage
of time and historical events affect children's development.

The Influence of Culture

 a. The influence of a child's culture plays an important part in development. Therefore,
researchers in child development increasingly look at how membership in cultural and
sub-cultural groups may influence each other.
b. North American culture is premised on individualism, the dominant Western philosophy
that emphasizes personal identity, uniqueness, freedom, and the worth of the individual.
c. Asian cultures emphasize collectivism, the notion that the well-being of the group is
more important than that of the individual.
d. The individualism-collectivism spectrum is one of several dimensions along which
cultures differ; it illustrates differences in the cultural contexts in which people view the
world and behave.

Assessing the Bioecological Approach

a. Some people argue that Bronfenbrenner's approach pays insufficient attention to

biological factors.
b. But the bioecological approach is of considerable importance to child development, as it
suggests the multiple levels at which the environment affects children's development.

Think about how your development fits with Bronfenbrenner's contextual, bioecological
approach. Be prepared to provide examples from each system for your module
discussion.

Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory

a. Vygotsky's sociocultural theory emphasizes how cognitive development proceeds as a

result of social interactions between members of a culture, it is a reciprocal transaction
between the people in a child's environment and the child.
b. Since culture shapes development, we must consider what is meaningful to members of
a given culture if we wish to understand the course of development.
c. Scaffolding is the temporary support that teachers, parents, and others provide children
as they are learning a task. As children become increasingly competent and master a
task, the scaffolding can be withdrawn, allowing children to carry out the task on their
own.

Assessing Vygotsky's Theory

a. Because of its sociocultural emphasis, Vygotsky's theory remains popular today.

b. Children do not develop in a cultural vacuum; instead, their attention is directed by
society to certain areas, and as a consequence, they develop particular kinds of skills
that are an outcome of their cultural environment.

The Evolutionary Perspectives: Our Ancestors' Contributions to

Behavior
The evolutionary perspective focuses on the identification of behavior that is the result of
genetic influences.

a. Evolutionary approaches grow out of Darwin's discussion of natural selection. With the
advent of "intelligent design," Darwin's theory is being challenged; however, the
evolutionary approach has stimulated a significant amount of research on how our
biological inheritance at least partially influences our traits and behaviors.
b. Genetic inheritance not only determines physical traits, such as eye or hair color, but it
also determines personality and social behaviors.
c. This area of study encompasses one of the fastest growing areas in child development;
namely, behavioral genetics, which studies the effects of heredity on behavior.

Assessing the Evolutionary Perspective

a. Pays insufficient attention to the impact of environmental and social factors on behavior.
b. No sound scientific method for testing evolutionary theories.
c. Has stimulated a significant amount of research on the influence of genetics on
behavior.

Time to test your knowledge of perspectives

The Scientific Method and Research

Theories and Hypotheses: Posing Developmental Questions and
Choosing a Research Strategy
The Scientific Method

The scientific method is the process of posing and answering questions using careful,
controlled techniques that include systematic, orderly observation and the collection of data. It
involves three steps:

a. Identifying questions of interest

b. Formulating an explanation
c. Carrying out research that either lends support to or refutes the explanation
Theories: Framing Broad Explanations

Developmental researchers formulate theories, which are broad explanations and predictions
about phenomena of interest.

a. Theories are based on a systematic integration of prior findings and theorizing.

b. The theories allow developmentalists to move beyond existing observations and draw
deductions.

Hypotheses: Specifying Testable Predictions

A hypothesis is a prediction based on theory that is stated in a way that permits it to be tested.

a. Simply stated, it is saying: if this then this as an educated guess about what might
happen.

Choosing a Research Strategy: Answering Questions

1. After forming a hypothesis, researchers must develop a strategy for testing its validity.
2. The first step is to state a hypothesis in a way that allows it to be tested.
3. Operationalization is the process of translating a hypothesis into specific, testable
procedures that can be measured and observed. The choice of how to operationalize a
variable often reflects the kind of research that is to be conducted.
4. The two main categories of research are correlational research and experimental
research.

a. Correlational research seeks to identify whether an association or relationship between

two factors exists.
i. Correlational research has given much to developmental psychology and
remains an important tool in the developmental researcher's toolbox.
b. Experimental research is designed to discover causal relationships between various
factors.

i. Experimental research is able to answer questions of causality, and is thus the

heart of developmental research.

Correlational Studies
Correlational research is research that seeks to identify whether an association or relationship
exists between two factors.
 a. It can provide investigators with important information.

The Correlational Coefficient

a. The strength and direction of a relationship between two factors is represented by the
mathematical score called the correlation coefficient which ranges in value from -1.0 to
+1.0.
b. Finding a correlation between two factors does not imply that one factor causes the
other factor to vary.

Types of Correlational Studies

a. Naturalistic Observation
i. Naturalistic observations , a type of correlational study, involve researchers
observing some naturally occurring behavior without any interference.
ii. Researchers observe everyday life and conduct in-depth interviews to obtain a
deep understanding of the culture.
b. Ethnography and Qualitative Research

i.In an ethnography, researchers seek to understand a culture's values and

attitudes.
ii. Ethnographies are a type of qualitative research. In qualitative research,
narrative descriptions are written that might be used to generate hypotheses.
c. Case Studies

i. Case studies involve extensive, in-depth interviews with a particular individual or

small group of individuals.
ii. Diaries may also be used where participants are asked to keep a record of their
behavior on a regular basis.
d. Survey Research

i.In survey research, people chosen to represent some larger population are
asked questions about their attitudes, behavior, or thinking on a given topic.
e. Psychophysiological Methods

i. Psychophysiological methods , cognitive neuroscience, focus on the

relationship between physiological processes and behavior.

Experiments: Determining Cause and Effect

Experimental research is research designed to discover causal relationships between various
factors.

a. An experiment is a process in which an investigator devises two different experiences

for subjects or participants.
b. These two different experiences are called treatments.
c. The group receiving the treatment is known as the treatment group.
 d. The control group is the group that receives either no treatment or alternative
treatment. By employing a control group, experimenters can draw accurate conclusions
about cause and effect.

Designing an Experiment

a. The independent variable is manipulated by the researchers.

b. The dependent variable is measured and expected to change as a result of the
experimental manipulation.

Random Assignment

a. Random assignment, in which participants are assigned to different experimental groups

or "conditions," is an important step in the design of experiments.
b. Replication
c. Meta-analysis

Choosing a Research Setting

a. A sample is the group of individuals chosen to participate in the research study.

b. A field study is a research investigation carried out in a naturally-occurring setting.
c. A laboratory study is a research investigation conducted in a controlled setting
explicitly designed to hold events constant.

Developmental Diversity: Choosing Research Participants Who

Represent the Diversity of Children
In order for child development to represent the full range of humanity, its research must
incorporate children of different races, ethnicities, cultures, genders, and other
categories.
Even when minority groups are included in research, the particular participants may not
represent the full range of variation that actually exists within the group.

Research Strategies and Challenges

Theoretical and Applied Research: Complementary Approaches

Theoretical research is designed specifically to test some developmental explanation and

expand scientific knowledge.

Applied research is meant to provide practical solutions to immediate problems.

Most applied research can help advance theoretical understanding in a particular area, and
theoretical research can provide concrete solutions to a range of practice problems.
From Research to Practice: Using Developmental Research to Improve Public
Policy

Developmental researchers have made a number of important contributions affecting education,

family life, and health on a national scale.

Public policy has been affected in several ways.

Optional test your knowledge quiz for how research has affected public policy, according to your
textbook.

Try this Quiz on Research in Practice

Measuring Developmental Change

Longitudinal Studies: Measuring Individual Change

In longitudinal research, the behavior of one or more individuals is measured as the subjects'
age (Terman study).

1. They require a tremendous investment of time.

2. There is the possibility of participant attrition, or loss.
3. Participants may become "test-wise."

Cross-Sectional Studies

1. In cross-sectional research, people of different ages are compared at the same point
in time.
2. Differences may be due to cohort effects, differences that exist simply because of the
unique experiences shared by individuals born at around the same time in the same
place.
3. Sometimes researchers are unable to explain changes in individuals or groups.

Sequential Studies

1. In sequential studies, researchers examine a number of different age groups over

several points in time.
2. Combines longitudinal and cross-sectional research.
3. Can tell about age changes and age differences.
4. Measures individual change.
Are You An Informed Consumer of Development? Critically
Evaluating Developmental Research
It is important to think critically about the research on which the headlines are based.

Among the most important questions that we should consider are the following:

a. Is the study grounded in theory, and what are the underlying hypotheses about the
research?
b. Is this an isolated research study, or does it fit into a series of investigations addressing
the same general problem?
c. Who took part in the study, and how far can we generalize the results beyond the
participants?
d. Was the study carried out appropriately?
e. Were participants studied long enough to draw reasonable developmental implications?

Ethics and Research

The major organizations of developmentalists have developed comprehensive ethical guidelines
for researchers.

a. Researchers must protect participants from physical and psychological harm.

b. Researchers must obtain consent from subjects before their participation in a study.
c. The use of deception in research must be justified.
d. Subjects' privacy must be maintained.