Child Development Research Paper

PSY104: Child and Adolescent Development
Theories of Development
Dr. Craig Allen
November 1, 2000

Introduction
There are five major theoretical perspectives that focus on different aspects of Child Development, they are;
(1) Psychoanalytic, which focuses on the unconscious, emotions, and drives that are shaped by unconscious forces.
(2) Learning, this studies observable behavior; People react, to the environment that controls behavior.
(3) Cognitive, which analyzes thought processes; Children are natural initiators of development. (4) Contextual, which emphasizes the impact of the historical, Social, and Cultural context; (5) Evolutionary/Socio-biological, which considers evolutionary and biological underpinnings
of behavior. Papalia, Olds, Wendkos, Feldman, Duskin (2008) A Child’s world infancy through adolescence (11thed.) New York; McGraw-Hill p. 27 ch.2
The essay will attempt to discuss three of the major perspectives listed above which are Learning, Cognitive, and Contextual.

Learning The learning perspective upholds that development is a result from lasting change that stems from behavior, experience or adaptation to the environment.
Learning theorist see development as a constant and never ending development that stays with us through our lives and not in just adult stages. Many theorists have help to make the study of human development a science that can be studies in the laboratory. There are two major learning theories, behaviorism and social learning or social cognitive. Papalia, Olds, Wendkos, Feldman, Duskin (2008) p.30
Behaviorism
Behaviorism is a mechanistic theory meaning a predictable observed behavior without response to experience. Behaviorist hold that humans of all ages learn the same way as other organisms do by reacting to conditions of their environment involving pain, pleasure and threats. (Papalia 2008). Behavioral research focuses on two kinds of learning; they are classical conditioning and operant conditioning. (Papalia 2008) Classical conditioning involves experiments in which dogs learn to salivate at the sound of a bell that indicated feeding time. The ringing of the bell stimulates salivation a (stimulus) the bell, which meant food. Learning based on stimuli that elicit a particular response was created to the Russian Physiologist Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936). (Papalia
2008) Operant conditioning on the other hand is a conditioning based on behavior with consequences, because individual learns from voluntary behavior. The individual learns from the consequences of operating on the environment. (Papalia 2008) p.31 Cognitive The cognitive perspective main emphasis is on the process of thought and behavior; both are influenced theories by Piaget’s cognitive-stage theory and Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory of cognitive development. Much of todays understand of how children think is owed to the work of Swiss born theorist Jean Piaget (1896-1980) with importance on mental processes. Papalia, Olds, Wendkos, Feldman, Duskin (2008). A child’s world: infancy through adolescence (11th Ed.) New York: McGraw-Hill. “Cognition referred to knowing and thinking, therefore it involves the storing, retrieving, transforming, and manipulating, information that is obtained through the senses”Ashman, Adrian F. Conway, Robert N. (May/1997) Introduction to Cognitive Education: Theory and Applications p.283 Retrieved from an electronic database e-brary October 31, 2010. Piaget explains cognitive development in four qualitatively stages they are; (1) Sensor motor occurs from birth to two years of age, Infant gradually becomes able to organize activities in relation to the environment through sensory and motor activity.
(2) Pre-operational, occurs from two to seven years of age, Child develops a representational system and uses symbols to represent people, places, and events. (3) Concrete operations, occurs from seven to eleven years of age, Child can solve problems logically if they are focused on the here and now but cannot think abstractly. (4) Formal operations, occurs form seven to eleven years of age, can think abstractly, deal with hypothetical situation
Papalia, Olds, Wendkos, Feldman, Duskin (2008). A child’s world: infancy through adolescence (11th Ed.) New York: McGraw-Hill. P.30
Contextual
Contextual perspective is a development can be understood only in its social context. Conceptualists see the individual, not as a separate entity interacting but as a product of their environment, or as an inseparable part of it. Bronfenbrenner is accredited for the discovery of five interlocking contextual systems, Microsystem, Mesosystem, Exosystem, Macrosystem, and Chronosystem. (Papalia, 2008) Microsystems consists of the family, school, peers, church, neighbor, and play area. Exosystem refers to the social settings that the child may or may not experience firsthand that influences development. For instance a parent’s work environment is part of the child’s exosystem. The Macrosystem is the culture and subcultures in the microsystem. Mesosystem and exosystem are fixed. http://a-s.clayton.edu/ebridges/ppt/Theories%20of%20Development2.ppt.
Domains of Development The three areas of human development are physical, cognitive and social-emotional or psychosocial. These areas are different in many ways, but they also influence one another. Physical development is characterized by patterns of physical growth and maturation. It may appear that all of these areas are separate, but they are extremely closely related. For example "physical development (e.g., neurological growth) allows cognitive advancements to take place, and increases in the ability to look at situations from multiple perspectives (a cognitive ability) make possible more effective social relationships" (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2004, p. 6). Sarah Ganly (October/2007) Physical, cognitive, and social Emotional Human Development retrieved November 1, 2010.

Understanding Development Children need to move and be active in many different ways to reach their full physical development. Children grow and mature at individual rates, children’s motor development progresses through a sequence, children need to build on what they know, going from simple to complex. Different types of physical movement are important in a child 's physical development. Parents and caregivers can benefit from learning the importance of patterns of physical development to support children as they learn to move and develop physical abilities. The types of physical movement that children engage in and are important to their physical development include the following categories: Locomotor Movement Movement of the body from place to place is involved in locomotor movement. Physical abilities such as crawling, walking, hopping, jumping, running, leaping, galloping and skipping are examples of locomotor movement. This type of movement helps develop motor skills.
Nonlocomotor Movement Movement of the body while staying in one place is involved in nonlocomotor movement.
Physical abilities such as pushing, pulling, twisting, turning, wiggling, sitting and rising are examples of nonlocomotor movement. This type of movement helps develop balance and coordination skills. Manipulative Movement Movement that involves controlled use of the hands and feet is reflected in manipulative movement. Physical abilities such as grasping, opening and closing hands, waving, throwing and catching are examples of manipulative movement. This type of movement helps develop fine-motor skills and hand-eye coordination. Running, jumping, skipping, hopping, drawing, cutting, pasting, stacking - these are the skills young children develop as they grow physically. They make possible the interactions and activities that bring richness and enjoyment to anyone 's life. From muscles to motor skills, the unfolding picture of a child 's physical development is an exciting experience to observe. Parents and caregivers should pay attention to their child 's physical growth and give loving support as their children develop these skills.
Sean Brotherson (April/2006) Understanding Physical Development in young children retrieved November 1,
2010.

Conclusion There are five major theoretical perspectives that focus on different aspects of Child Development, they are; Psychoanalytic, which focuses on the unconscious, emotions, and drives that are shaped by unconscious forces. Learning, this studies observable behavior; People react, to the environment that controls behavior. Cognitive, which analyzes thought processes; Children are natural initiators of development. Contextual, which emphasizes the impact of the historical, social, and Cultural context; Evolutionary/Socio-biological, which considers evolutionary and biological underpinnings of behavior. Papalia, Olds, Wendkos, Feldman, Duskin (2008) A Child’s world infancy through adolescence (11thed.) New York; McGraw-Hill p. 27 ch.2
Growth and development do not screech to a stop even then. People change in important ways throughout adulthood. They continue to shape their development, as they have been doing since birth. What occurs in a child’s world is significant, but it is not the whole story. We each continue to write the story of human development for ourselves and our society for as long as we live. Papalia, Olds, Wendkos, Feldman, Duskin (2008). A child’s world: infancy through adolescence (11th Ed.) New York: McGraw -Hill

References
Papalia, Olds, Wendkos, Feldman, Duskin (2008). A child’s world: infancy through adolescence (11th ed.) New York: McGraw-Hill
Sean Brotherson (April/2006). Understanding Physical Development In young children Retrieved from web page November 1, 2010
Sarah Ganly (October/2007) Physical, Cognitive and Social-Emotional Human Development Retrieved from web page November 1, 2010 http://a-s.clayton.edu/ebridges/ppt/Theories%20of%20Development2.ppt. http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/yf/famsci/