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7 Main Developmental Theories

Child Development Theories of Freud, Erickson, and More

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

theories of child development essay

Amy Morin, LCSW, is a psychotherapist and international bestselling author. Her books, including "13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do," have been translated into more than 40 languages. Her TEDx talk,  "The Secret of Becoming Mentally Strong," is one of the most viewed talks of all time.

theories of child development essay

Verywell / JR Bee 

  • Top Theories

Child development theories focus on explaining how children change and grow over the course of childhood. These developmental theories center on various aspects of growth, including social, emotional, and cognitive development.

The study of human development is a rich and varied subject. We all have personal experience with development, but it is sometimes difficult to understand how and why people grow, learn, and act as they do.

Why do children behave in certain ways? Is their behavior related to their age, family relationships, or individual temperaments? Developmental psychologists strive to answer such questions as well as to understand, explain, and predict behaviors that occur throughout the lifespan.

In order to understand human development, a number of different theories of child development have arisen to explain various aspects of human growth.

History of Developmental Theories

Child development that occurs from birth to adulthood was largely ignored throughout much of human history. Children were often viewed simply as small versions of adults and little attention was paid to the many advances in cognitive abilities, language usage, and physical growth that occur during childhood and adolescence.

Interest in the field of child development finally began to emerge early in the 20th century, but it tended to focus on abnormal behavior. Eventually, researchers became increasingly interested in other topics including typical child development as well as the influences on development.

More recent theories outline the developmental stages of children and identify the typical ages at which these growth milestones occur.

Why Developmental Theories are Important

Developmental theories provide a framework for thinking about human growth and learning. But why do we study development? What can we learn from psychological theories of development? If you have ever wondered about what motivates human thought and behavior, understanding these theories can provide useful insight into individuals and society.

An understanding of child development is essential because it allows us to fully appreciate the cognitive, emotional, physical, social, and educational growth that children go through from birth and into early adulthood.

Why is it important to study how children grow, learn, and change? An understanding of child development is essential because it allows us to fully appreciate the cognitive, emotional, physical, social, and educational growth that children go through from birth and into early adulthood.

7 Best-Known Developmental Theories

There are many child development theories that have been proposed by theorists and researchers. Some of the major theories of child development are known as grand theories; they attempt to describe every aspect of development, often using a stage approach. Others are known as mini-theories; they instead focus only on a fairly limited aspect of development such as cognitive or social growth.

Freud's Psychosexual Developmental Theory

Psychoanalytic theory originated with the work of  Sigmund Freud . Through his clinical work with patients suffering from mental illness, Freud came to believe that childhood experiences and  unconscious  desires influenced behavior.

According to Freud, conflicts that occur during each of these stages can have a lifelong influence on personality and behavior. Freud proposed one of the best-known grand theories of child development.

According to Freud’s psychosexual theory, child development occurs in a series of stages focused on different pleasure areas of the body. During each stage, the child encounters conflicts that play a significant role in the course of development.

His theory suggested that the energy of the libido was focused on different erogenous zones at specific stages. Failure to progress through a stage can result in fixation at that point in development, which Freud believed could have an influence on adult behavior.

So what happens as children complete each stage? And what might result if a child does poorly during a particular point in development? Successfully completing each stage leads to the development of a healthy adult personality.

Failing to resolve the conflicts of a particular stage can result in fixations that can then have an influence on adult behavior.

While some other child development theories suggest that personality continues to change and grow over the entire lifetime, Freud believed that it was early experiences that played the greatest role in shaping development. According to Freud, personality is largely set in stone by the age of five.

Erikson's Psychosocial Developmental Theory

Psychoanalytic theory was an enormously influential force during the first half of the twentieth century. Those inspired and influenced by Freud went on to expand upon Freud's ideas and develop theories of their own. Of these neo-Freudians, Erik Erikson's ideas have become perhaps the best known.

Erikson's eight-stage theory of psychosocial development describes growth and change throughout life, focusing on social interaction and conflicts that arise during different stages of development.

While Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development  shared some similarities with Freud's, it is dramatically different in many ways. Rather than focusing on sexual interest as a driving force in development, Erikson believed that social interaction and experience played decisive roles.

His eight-stage theory of human development described this process from infancy through death. During each stage, people are faced with a developmental conflict that impacts later functioning and further growth.

Unlike many other developmental theories, Erik Erikson's psychosocial theory focuses on development across the entire lifespan. At each stage, children and adults face a developmental crisis that serves as a major turning point.

Successfully managing the challenges of each stage leads to the emergence of a lifelong psychological virtue.

Behavioral Child Development Theories

During the first half of the twentieth century, a new school of thought known as behaviorism rose to become a dominant force within psychology. Behaviorists believed that psychology needed to focus only on observable and quantifiable behaviors in order to become a more scientific discipline.

According to the behavioral perspective, all human behavior can be described in terms of environmental influences. Some behaviorists, such as  John B. Watson  and  B.F. Skinner , insisted that learning occurs purely through processes of association and reinforcement.

Behavioral theories of child development focus on how environmental interaction influences behavior and is based on the theories of theorists such as John B. Watson, Ivan Pavlov, and B. F. Skinner. These theories deal only with observable behaviors. Development is considered a reaction to rewards, punishments, stimuli, and reinforcement.

This theory differs considerably from other child development theories because it gives no consideration to internal thoughts or feelings. Instead, it focuses purely on how experience shapes who we are.

Two important types of learning that emerged from this approach to development are  classical conditioning  and  operant conditioning . Classical conditioning involves learning by pairing a naturally occurring stimulus with a previously neutral stimulus. Operant conditioning utilizes reinforcement and punishment to modify behaviors.

Piaget's Cognitive Developmental Theory

Cognitive theory is concerned with the development of a person's thought processes. It also looks at how these thought processes influence how we understand and interact with the world. 

Theorist  Jean Piaget  proposed one of the most influential theories of cognitive development.

Piaget proposed an idea that seems obvious now, but helped revolutionize how we think about child development:  Children think differently than adults .  

His cognitive theory seeks to describe and explain the development of thought processes and mental states. It also looks at how these thought processes influence the way we understand and interact with the world.

Piaget then proposed a theory of cognitive development to account for the steps and sequence of children's intellectual development.

  • Sensorimotor Stage:  A period of time between birth and age two during which an infant's knowledge of the world is limited to his or her sensory perceptions and motor activities. Behaviors are limited to simple motor responses caused by sensory stimuli.
  • Pre-Operational Stage:  A period between ages 2 and 6 during which a child learns to use language. During this stage, children do not yet understand concrete logic, cannot mentally manipulate information, and are unable to take the point of view of other people.
  • Concrete Operational Stage:  A period between ages 7 and 11 during which children gain a better understanding of mental operations. Children begin thinking logically about concrete events but have difficulty understanding abstract or hypothetical concepts.
  • Formal Operational Stage:  A period between age 12 to adulthood when people develop the ability to think about abstract concepts. Skills such as logical thought, deductive reasoning, and systematic planning also emerge during this stage.

Bowlby's Attachment Theory

There is a great deal of research on the social development of children.  John Bowbly  proposed one of the earliest theories of social development. Bowlby believed that early relationships with caregivers play a major role in child development and continue to influence social relationships throughout life.

Bowlby's attachment theory suggested that children are born with an innate need to form attachments. Such attachments aid in survival by ensuring that the child receives care and protection. Not only that but these attachments are characterized by clear behavioral and motivational patterns.

In other words, both children and caregivers engage in behaviors designed to ensure proximity. Children strive to stay close and connected to their caregivers who in turn provide a safe haven and a secure base for exploration.

Researchers have also expanded upon Bowlby's original work and have suggested that a number of different attachment styles exist. Children who receive consistent support and care are more likely to develop a secure attachment style, while those who receive less reliable care may develop an ambivalent, avoidant, or disorganized style.

Bandura's Social Learning Theory

Social learning theory is based on the work of psychologist  Albert Bandura . Bandura believed that the conditioning and reinforcement process could not sufficiently explain all of human learning.

For example, how can the conditioning process account for learned behaviors that have not been reinforced through classical conditioning or operant conditioning According to social learning theory, behaviors can also be learned through observation and modeling.

By observing the actions of others, including parents and peers, children develop new skills and acquire new information.

Bandura's child development theory suggests that observation plays a critical role in learning, but this observation does not necessarily need to take the form of watching a live model.  

Instead, people can also learn by listening to verbal instructions about how to perform a behavior as well as through observing either real or fictional characters displaying behaviors in books or films.

Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory

Another psychologist named  Lev Vygotsky  proposed a seminal learning theory that has gone on to become very influential, especially in the field of education. Like Piaget, Vygotsky believed that children learn actively and through hands-on experiences.

His sociocultural theory also suggested that parents, caregivers, peers, and the culture at large were responsible for developing higher-order functions. In Vygotsky's view, learning is an inherently social process. Through interacting with others, learning becomes integrated into an individual's understanding of the world.

This child development theory also introduced the concept of the zone of proximal development, which is the gap between what a person can do with help and what they can do on their own. It is with the help of more knowledgeable others that people are able to progressively learn and increase their skills and scope of understanding.

A Word From Verywell

As you can see, some of psychology's best-known thinkers have developed theories to help explore and explain different aspects of child development. While not all of these theories are fully accepted today, they all had an important influence on our understanding of child development.

Today, contemporary psychologists often draw on a variety of theories and perspectives in order to understand how kids grow, behave, and think. These theories represent just a few of the different ways of thinking about child development.

In reality, fully understanding how children change and grow over the course of childhood requires looking at many different factors that influence physical and psychological growth. Genes, the environment, and the interactions between these two forces determine how kids grow physically as well as mentally.

Bellman M, Byrne O, Sege R. Developmental assessment of children . BMJ. 2013;346:e8687. doi:10.1136/bmj.e8687

Marwaha S, Goswami M, Vashist B. Prevalence of Principles of Piaget's Theory Among 4-7-year-old Children and their Correlation with IQ . J Clin Diagn Res. 2017;11(8):ZC111-ZC115. doi:10.7860/JCDR/2017/28435.10513

Barnes GL, Woolgar M, Beckwith H, Duschinsky R. John Bowlby and contemporary issues of clinical diagnosis . Attachment (Lond). 2018;12(1):35-47.

Fryling MJ, Johnston C, Hayes LJ. Understanding observational learning: an interbehavioral approach . Anal Verbal Behav. 2011;27(1):191-203.

Esteban-guitart M. The biosocial foundation of the early Vygotsky: Educational psychology before the zone of proximal development . Hist Psychol. 2018;21(4):384-401. doi:10.1037/hop0000092

Berk, LE. Child Development. 8th ed. USA: Pearson Education, Inc; 2009.

Shute, RH & Slee, PT. Child Development Theories and Critical Perspectives, Second Edition. New York: Routledge; 2015.

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

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1 Chapter 1: Introduction to Child Development

Chapter objectives.

After this chapter, you should be able to:

  • Describe the principles that underlie development.
  • Differentiate periods of human development.
  • Evaluate issues in development.
  • Distinguish the different methods of research.
  • Explain what a theory is.
  • Compare and contrast different theories of child development.

Introduction

Welcome to Child Growth and Development. This text is a presentation of how and why children grow, develop, and learn.

We will look at how we change physically over time from conception through adolescence. We examine cognitive change, or how our ability to think and remember changes over the first 20 years or so of life. And we will look at how our emotions, psychological state, and social relationships change throughout childhood and adolescence. 1

Principles of Development

There are several underlying principles of development to keep in mind:

  • Development is lifelong and change is apparent across the lifespan (although this text ends with adolescence). And early experiences affect later development.
  • Development is multidirectional. We show gains in some areas of development, while showing loss in other areas.
  • Development is multidimensional. We change across three general domains/dimensions; physical, cognitive, and social and emotional.
  • The physical domain includes changes in height and weight, changes in gross and fine motor skills, sensory capabilities, the nervous system, as well as the propensity for disease and illness.
  • The cognitive domain encompasses the changes in intelligence, wisdom, perception, problem-solving, memory, and language.
  • The social and emotional domain (also referred to as psychosocial) focuses on changes in emotion, self-perception, and interpersonal relationships with families, peers, and friends.

All three domains influence each other. It is also important to note that a change in one domain may cascade and prompt changes in the other domains.

  • Development is characterized by plasticity, which is our ability to change and that many of our characteristics are malleable. Early experiences are important, but children are remarkably resilient (able to overcome adversity).
  • Development is multicontextual. 2 We are influenced by both nature (genetics) and nurture (the environment) – when and where we live and our actions, beliefs, and values are a response to circumstances surrounding us.  The key here is to understand that behaviors, motivations, emotions, and choices are all part of a bigger picture. 3

Now let’s look at a framework for examining development.

Periods of Development

Think about what periods of development that you think a course on Child Development would address. How many stages are on your list? Perhaps you have three: infancy, childhood, and teenagers. Developmentalists (those that study development) break this part of the life span into these five stages as follows:

  • Prenatal Development (conception through birth)
  • Infancy and Toddlerhood (birth through two years)
  • Early Childhood (3 to 5 years)
  • Middle Childhood (6 to 11 years)
  • Adolescence (12 years to adulthood)

This list reflects unique aspects of the various stages of childhood and adolescence that will be explored in this book. So while both an 8 month old and an 8 year old are considered children, they have very different motor abilities, social relationships, and cognitive skills. Their nutritional needs are different and their primary psychological concerns are also distinctive.

Prenatal Development

Conception occurs and development begins. All of the major structures of the body are forming and the health of the mother is of primary concern. Understanding nutrition, teratogens (or environmental factors that can lead to birth defects), and labor and delivery are primary concerns.

Figure 1.1

Figure 1.1 – A tiny embryo depicting some development of arms and legs, as well as facial features that are starting to show. 4

Infancy and Toddlerhood

The two years of life are ones of dramatic growth and change. A newborn, with a keen sense of hearing but very poor vision is transformed into a walking, talking toddler within a relatively short period of time. Caregivers are also transformed from someone who manages feeding and sleep schedules to a constantly moving guide and safety inspector for a mobile, energetic child.

Figure 1.2

Figure 1.2 – A swaddled newborn. 5

Early Childhood

Early childhood is also referred to as the preschool years and consists of the years which follow toddlerhood and precede formal schooling. As a three to five-year-old, the child is busy learning language, is gaining a sense of self and greater independence, and is beginning to learn the workings of the physical world. This knowledge does not come quickly, however, and preschoolers may initially have interesting conceptions of size, time, space and distance such as fearing that they may go down the drain if they sit at the front of the bathtub or by demonstrating how long something will take by holding out their two index fingers several inches apart. A toddler’s fierce determination to do something may give way to a four-year-old’s sense of guilt for action that brings the disapproval of others.

Figure 1.3

Figure 1.3 – Two young children playing in the Singapore Botanic Gardens 6

Middle Childhood

The ages of six through eleven comprise middle childhood and much of what children experience at this age is connected to their involvement in the early grades of school. Now the world becomes one of learning and testing new academic skills and by assessing one’s abilities and accomplishments by making comparisons between self and others. Schools compare students and make these comparisons public through team sports, test scores, and other forms of recognition. Growth rates slow down and children are able to refine their motor skills at this point in life. And children begin to learn about social relationships beyond the family through interaction with friends and fellow students.

Figure 1.4

Figure 1.4 – Two children running down the street in Carenage, Trinidad and Tobago 7

Adolescence

Adolescence is a period of dramatic physical change marked by an overall physical growth spurt and sexual maturation, known as puberty. It is also a time of cognitive change as the adolescent begins to think of new possibilities and to consider abstract concepts such as love, fear, and freedom. Ironically, adolescents have a sense of invincibility that puts them at greater risk of dying from accidents or contracting sexually transmitted infections that can have lifelong consequences. 8

Figure 1.5

Figure 1.5 – Two smiling teenage women. 9

There are some aspects of development that have been hotly debated. Let’s explore these.

Issues in Development

Nature and nurture.

Why are people the way they are? Are features such as height, weight, personality, being diabetic, etc. the result of heredity or environmental factors-or both? For decades, scholars have carried on the “nature/nurture” debate. For any particular feature, those on the side of Nature would argue that heredity plays the most important role in bringing about that feature. Those on the side of Nurture would argue that one’s environment is most significant in shaping the way we are. This debate continues in all aspects of human development, and most scholars agree that there is a constant interplay between the two forces. It is difficult to isolate the root of any single behavior as a result solely of nature or nurture.

Continuity versus Discontinuity

Is human development best characterized as a slow, gradual process, or is it best viewed as one of more abrupt change? The answer to that question often depends on which developmental theorist you ask and what topic is being studied. The theories of Freud, Erikson, Piaget, and Kohlberg are called stage theories. Stage theories or discontinuous development assume that developmental change often occurs in distinct stages that are qualitatively different from each other, and in a set, universal sequence. At each stage of development, children and adults have different qualities and characteristics. Thus, stage theorists assume development is more discontinuous. Others, such as the behaviorists, Vygotsky, and information processing theorists, assume development is a more slow and gradual process known as continuous development. For instance, they would see the adult as not possessing new skills, but more advanced skills that were already present in some form in the child. Brain development and environmental experiences contribute to the acquisition of more developed skills.

Figure 1.6

Figure 1.6 – The graph to the left shows three stages in the continuous growth of a tree. The graph to the right shows four distinct stages of development in the life cycle of a ladybug. 10

Active versus Passive

How much do you play a role in your own developmental path? Are you at the whim of your genetic inheritance or the environment that surrounds you? Some theorists see humans as playing a much more active role in their own development. Piaget, for instance believed that children actively explore their world and construct new ways of thinking to explain the things they experience. In contrast, many behaviorists view humans as being more passive in the developmental process. 11

How do we know so much about how we grow, develop, and learn? Let’s look at how that data is gathered through research

Research Methods

An important part of learning any science is having a basic knowledge of the techniques used in gathering information. The hallmark of scientific investigation is that of following a set of procedures designed to keep questioning or skepticism alive while describing, explaining, or testing any phenomenon. Some people are hesitant to trust academicians or researchers because they always seem to change their story. That, however, is exactly what science is all about; it involves continuously renewing our understanding of the subjects in question and an ongoing investigation of how and why events occur. Science is a vehicle for going on a never-ending journey. In the area of development, we have seen changes in recommendations for nutrition, in explanations of psychological states as people age, and in parenting advice. So think of learning about human development as a lifelong endeavor.

Take a moment to write down two things that you know about childhood. Now, how do you know? Chances are you know these things based on your own history (experiential reality) or based on what others have told you or cultural ideas (agreement reality) (Seccombe and Warner, 2004). There are several problems with personal inquiry. Read the following sentence aloud:

Paris in the

Are you sure that is what it said? Read it again:

If you read it differently the second time (adding the second “the”) you just experienced one of the problems with personal inquiry; that is, the tendency to see what we believe. Our assumptions very often guide our perceptions, consequently, when we believe something, we tend to see it even if it is not there. This problem may just be a result of cognitive ‘blinders’ or it may be part of a more conscious attempt to support our own views. Confirmation bias is the tendency to look for evidence that we are right and in so doing, we ignore contradictory evidence. Popper suggests that the distinction between that which is scientific and that which is unscientific is that science is falsifiable; scientific inquiry involves attempts to reject or refute a theory or set of assumptions (Thornton, 2005). Theory that cannot be falsified is not scientific. And much of what we do in personal inquiry involves drawing conclusions based on what we have personally experienced or validating our own experience by discussing what we think is true with others who share the same views.

Science offers a more systematic way to make comparisons guard against bias.

Scientific Methods

One method of scientific investigation involves the following steps:

  • Determining a research question
  • Reviewing previous studies addressing the topic in question (known as a literature review)
  • Determining a method of gathering information
  • Conducting the study
  • Interpreting results
  • Drawing conclusions; stating limitations of the study and suggestions for future research
  • Making your findings available to others (both to share information and to have your work scrutinized by others)

Your findings can then be used by others as they explore the area of interest and through this process a literature or knowledge base is established. This model of scientific investigation presents research as a linear process guided by a specific research question. And it typically involves quantifying or using statistics to understand and report what has been studied. Many academic journals publish reports on studies conducted in this manner.

Another model of research referred to as qualitative research may involve steps such as these:

  • Begin with a broad area of interest
  • Gain entrance into a group to be researched
  • Gather field notes about the setting, the people, the structure, the activities or other areas of interest
  • Ask open ended, broad “grand tour” types of questions when interviewing subjects
  • Modify research questions as study continues
  • Note patterns or consistencies
  • Explore new areas deemed important by the people being observed
  • Report findings

In this type of research, theoretical ideas are “grounded” in the experiences of the participants. The researcher is the student and the people in the setting are the teachers as they inform the researcher of their world (Glazer & Strauss, 1967). Researchers are to be aware of their own biases and assumptions, acknowledge them and bracket them in efforts to keep them from limiting accuracy in reporting. Sometimes qualitative studies are used initially to explore a topic and more quantitative studies are used to test or explain what was first described.

Let’s look more closely at some techniques, or research methods, used to describe, explain, or evaluate. Each of these designs has strengths and weaknesses and is sometimes used in combination with other designs within a single study.

Observational Studies

Observational studies involve watching and recording the actions of participants. This may take place in the natural setting, such as observing children at play at a park, or behind a one-way glass while children are at play in a laboratory playroom. The researcher may follow a checklist and record the frequency and duration of events (perhaps how many conflicts occur among 2-year-olds) or may observe and record as much as possible about an event (such as observing children in a classroom and capturing the details about the room design and what the children and teachers are doing and saying). In general, observational studies have the strength of allowing the researcher to see how people behave rather than relying on self-report. What people do and what they say they do are often very different. A major weakness of observational studies is that they do not allow the researcher to explain causal relationships. Yet, observational studies are useful and widely used when studying children. Children tend to change their behavior when they know they are being watched (known as the Hawthorne effect) and may not survey well.

Experiments

Experiments are designed to test hypotheses (or specific statements about the relationship between variables) in a controlled setting in efforts to explain how certain factors or events produce outcomes. A variable is anything that changes in value. Concepts are operationalized or transformed into variables in research, which means that the researcher must specify exactly what is going to be measured in the study.

Three conditions must be met in order to establish cause and effect. Experimental designs are useful in meeting these conditions.

The independent and dependent variables must be related. In other words, when one is altered, the other changes in response. (The independent variable is something altered or introduced by the researcher. The dependent variable is the outcome or the factor affected by the introduction of the independent variable. For example, if we are looking at the impact of exercise on stress levels, the independent variable would be exercise; the dependent variable would be stress.)

The cause must come before the effect. Experiments involve measuring subjects on the dependent variable before exposing them to the independent variable (establishing a baseline). So we would measure the subjects’ level of stress before introducing exercise and then again after the exercise to see if there has been a change in stress levels. (Observational and survey research does not always allow us to look at the timing of these events, which makes understanding causality problematic with these designs.)

The cause must be isolated. The researcher must ensure that no outside, perhaps unknown variables are actually causing the effect we see. The experimental design helps make this possible. In an experiment, we would make sure that our subjects’ diets were held constant throughout the exercise program. Otherwise, diet might really be creating the change in stress level rather than exercise.

A basic experimental design involves beginning with a sample (or subset of a population) and randomly assigning subjects to one of two groups: the experimental group or the control group. The experimental group is the group that is going to be exposed to an independent variable or condition the researcher is introducing as a potential cause of an event. The control group is going to be used for comparison and is going to have the same experience as the experimental group but will not be exposed to the independent variable. After exposing the experimental group to the independent variable, the two groups are measured again to see if a change has occurred. If so, we are in a better position to suggest that the independent variable caused the change in the dependent variable.

The major advantage of the experimental design is that of helping to establish cause and effect relationships. A disadvantage of this design is the difficulty of translating much of what happens in a laboratory setting into real life.

Case Studies

Case studies involve exploring a single case or situation in great detail. Information may be gathered with the use of observation, interviews, testing, or other methods to uncover as much as possible about a person or situation. Case studies are helpful when investigating unusual situations such as brain trauma or children reared in isolation. And they are often used by clinicians who conduct case studies as part of their normal practice when gathering information about a client or patient coming in for treatment. Case studies can be used to explore areas about which little is known and can provide rich detail about situations or conditions. However, the findings from case studies cannot be generalized or applied to larger populations; this is because cases are not randomly selected and no control group is used for comparison.

Figure 1.7

Figure 1.7 – Illustrated poster from a classroom describing a case study. 12

Surveys are familiar to most people because they are so widely used. Surveys enhance accessibility to subjects because they can be conducted in person, over the phone, through the mail, or online. A survey involves asking a standard set of questions to a group of subjects. In a highly structured survey, subjects are forced to choose from a response set such as “strongly disagree, disagree, undecided, agree, strongly agree”; or “0, 1-5, 6-10, etc.” This is known as Likert Scale . Surveys are commonly used by sociologists, marketing researchers, political scientists, therapists, and others to gather information on many independent and dependent variables in a relatively short period of time. Surveys typically yield surface information on a wide variety of factors, but may not allow for in-depth understanding of human behavior.

Of course, surveys can be designed in a number of ways. They may include forced choice questions and semi-structured questions in which the researcher allows the respondent to describe or give details about certain events. One of the most difficult aspects of designing a good survey is wording questions in an unbiased way and asking the right questions so that respondents can give a clear response rather than choosing “undecided” each time. Knowing that 30% of respondents are undecided is of little use! So a lot of time and effort should be placed on the construction of survey items. One of the benefits of having forced choice items is that each response is coded so that the results can be quickly entered and analyzed using statistical software. Analysis takes much longer when respondents give lengthy responses that must be analyzed in a different way. Surveys are useful in examining stated values, attitudes, opinions, and reporting on practices. However, they are based on self-report or what people say they do rather than on observation and this can limit accuracy.

Developmental Designs

Developmental designs are techniques used in developmental research (and other areas as well). These techniques try to examine how age, cohort, gender, and social class impact development.

Longitudinal Research

Longitudinal research involves beginning with a group of people who may be of the same age and background, and measuring them repeatedly over a long period of time. One of the benefits of this type of research is that people can be followed through time and be compared with them when they were younger.

Figure 1.8

Figure 1.8 – A longitudinal research design. 13

A problem with this type of research is that it is very expensive and subjects may drop out over time. The Perry Preschool Project which began in 1962 is an example of a longitudinal study that continues to provide data on children’s development.

Cross-sectional Research

Cross-sectional research involves beginning with a sample that represents a cross-section of the population. Respondents who vary in age, gender, ethnicity, and social class might be asked to complete a survey about television program preferences or attitudes toward the use of the Internet. The attitudes of males and females could then be compared, as could attitudes based on age. In cross-sectional research, respondents are measured only once.

Figure 1.9

Figure 1.9 – A cross-sectional research design. 14

This method is much less expensive than longitudinal research but does not allow the researcher to distinguish between the impact of age and the cohort effect. Different attitudes about the use of technology, for example, might not be altered by a person’s biological age as much as their life experiences as members of a cohort.

Sequential Research

Sequential research involves combining aspects of the previous two techniques; beginning with a cross-sectional sample and measuring them through time.

Figure 1.10

Figure 1.10 – A sequential research design. 15

This is the perfect model for looking at age, gender, social class, and ethnicity. But the drawbacks of high costs and attrition are here as well. 16

Table 1 .1 – Advantages and Disadvantages of Different Research Designs 17

Consent and Ethics in Research

Research should, as much as possible, be based on participants’ freely volunteered informed consent. For minors, this also requires consent from their legal guardians. This implies a responsibility to explain fully and meaningfully to both the child and their guardians what the research is about and how it will be disseminated. Participants and their legal guardians should be aware of the research purpose and procedures, their right to refuse to participate; the extent to which confidentiality will be maintained; the potential uses to which the data might be put; the foreseeable risks and expected benefits; and that participants have the right to discontinue at any time.

But consent alone does not absolve the responsibility of researchers to anticipate and guard against potential harmful consequences for participants. 18 It is critical that researchers protect all rights of the participants including confidentiality.

Child development is a fascinating field of study – but care must be taken to ensure that researchers use appropriate methods to examine infant and child behavior, use the correct experimental design to answer their questions, and be aware of the special challenges that are part-and-parcel of developmental research. Hopefully, this information helped you develop an understanding of these various issues and to be ready to think more critically about research questions that interest you. There are so many interesting questions that remain to be examined by future generations of developmental scientists – maybe you will make one of the next big discoveries! 19

Another really important framework to use when trying to understand children’s development are theories of development. Let’s explore what theories are and introduce you to some major theories in child development.

Developmental Theories

What is a theory.

Students sometimes feel intimidated by theory; even the phrase, “Now we are going to look at some theories…” is met with blank stares and other indications that the audience is now lost. But theories are valuable tools for understanding human behavior; in fact they are proposed explanations for the “how” and “whys” of development. Have you ever wondered, “Why is my 3 year old so inquisitive?” or “Why are some fifth graders rejected by their classmates?” Theories can help explain these and other occurrences. Developmental theories offer explanations about how we develop, why we change over time and the kinds of influences that impact development.

A theory guides and helps us interpret research findings as well. It provides the researcher with a blueprint or model to be used to help piece together various studies. Think of theories as guidelines much like directions that come with an appliance or other object that requires assembly. The instructions can help one piece together smaller parts more easily than if trial and error are used.

Theories can be developed using induction in which a number of single cases are observed and after patterns or similarities are noted, the theorist develops ideas based on these examples. Established theories are then tested through research; however, not all theories are equally suited to scientific investigation.  Some theories are difficult to test but are still useful in stimulating debate or providing concepts that have practical application. Keep in mind that theories are not facts; they are guidelines for investigation and practice, and they gain credibility through research that fails to disprove them. 20

Let’s take a look at some key theories in Child Development.

Sigmund Freud’s Psychosexual Theory

We begin with the often controversial figure, Sigmund Freud (1856-1939). Freud has been a very influential figure in the area of development; his view of development and psychopathology dominated the field of psychiatry until the growth of behaviorism in the 1950s. His assumptions that personality forms during the first few years of life and that the ways in which parents or other caregivers interact with children have a long-lasting impact on children’s emotional states have guided parents, educators, clinicians, and policy-makers for many years. We have only recently begun to recognize that early childhood experiences do not always result in certain personality traits or emotional states. There is a growing body of literature addressing resilience in children who come from harsh backgrounds and yet develop without damaging emotional scars (O’Grady and Metz, 1987). Freud has stimulated an enormous amount of research and generated many ideas. Agreeing with Freud’s theory in its entirety is hardly necessary for appreciating the contribution he has made to the field of development.

Figure 1.11

Figure 1.11 – Sigmund Freud. 21

Freud’s theory of self suggests that there are three parts of the self.

The id is the part of the self that is inborn. It responds to biological urges without pause and is guided by the principle of pleasure: if it feels good, it is the thing to do. A newborn is all id. The newborn cries when hungry, defecates when the urge strikes.

The ego develops through interaction with others and is guided by logic or the reality principle. It has the ability to delay gratification. It knows that urges have to be managed. It mediates between the id and superego using logic and reality to calm the other parts of the self.

The superego represents society’s demands for its members. It is guided by a sense of guilt. Values, morals, and the conscience are all part of the superego.

The personality is thought to develop in response to the child’s ability to learn to manage biological urges. Parenting is important here. If the parent is either overly punitive or lax, the child may not progress to the next stage. Here is a brief introduction to Freud’s stages.

Table 1. 2 – Sigmund Freud’s Psychosexual Theory

Strengths and Weaknesses of Freud’s Theory

Freud’s theory has been heavily criticized for several reasons. One is that it is very difficult to test scientifically. How can parenting in infancy be traced to personality in adulthood? Are there other variables that might better explain development? The theory is also considered to be sexist in suggesting that women who do not accept an inferior position in society are somehow psychologically flawed. Freud focuses on the darker side of human nature and suggests that much of what determines our actions is unknown to us. So why do we study Freud? As mentioned above, despite the criticisms, Freud’s assumptions about the importance of early childhood experiences in shaping our psychological selves have found their way into child development, education, and parenting practices. Freud’s theory has heuristic value in providing a framework from which to elaborate and modify subsequent theories of development. Many later theories, particularly behaviorism and humanism, were challenges to Freud’s views. 22

Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory

Now, let’s turn to a less controversial theorist, Erik Erikson. Erikson (1902-1994) suggested that our relationships and society’s expectations motivate much of our behavior in his theory of psychosocial development. Erikson was a student of Freud’s but emphasized the importance of the ego, or conscious thought, in determining our actions. In other words, he believed that we are not driven by unconscious urges. We know what motivates us and we consciously think about how to achieve our goals. He is considered the father of developmental psychology because his model gives us a guideline for the entire life span and suggests certain primary psychological and social concerns throughout life.

Figure 1.12

Figure 1.12 – Erik Erikson. 23

Erikson expanded on his Freud’s by emphasizing the importance of culture in parenting practices and motivations and adding three stages of adult development (Erikson, 1950; 1968). He believed that we are aware of what motivates us throughout life and the ego has greater importance in guiding our actions than does the id. We make conscious choices in life and these choices focus on meeting certain social and cultural needs rather than purely biological ones. Humans are motivated, for instance, by the need to feel that the world is a trustworthy place, that we are capable individuals, that we can make a contribution to society, and that we have lived a meaningful life. These are all psychosocial problems.

Erikson divided the lifespan into eight stages. In each stage, we have a major psychosocial task to accomplish or crisis to overcome.  Erikson believed that our personality continues to take shape throughout our lifespan as we face these challenges in living. Here is a brief overview of the eight stages:

Table 1. 3 – Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory

These eight stages form a foundation for discussions on emotional and social development during the life span. Keep in mind, however, that these stages or crises can occur more than once. For instance, a person may struggle with a lack of trust beyond infancy under certain circumstances. Erikson’s theory has been criticized for focusing so heavily on stages and assuming that the completion of one stage is prerequisite for the next crisis of development. His theory also focuses on the social expectations that are found in certain cultures, but not in all. For instance, the idea that adolescence is a time of searching for identity might translate well in the middle-class culture of the United States, but not as well in cultures where the transition into adulthood coincides with puberty through rites of passage and where adult roles offer fewer choices. 24

Behaviorism

While Freud and Erikson looked at what was going on in the mind, behaviorism rejected any reference to mind and viewed overt and observable behavior as the proper subject matter of psychology. Through the scientific study of behavior, it was hoped that laws of learning could be derived that would promote the prediction and control of behavior. 25

Ivan Pavlov

Ivan Pavlov (1880-1937) was a Russian physiologist interested in studying digestion. As he recorded the amount of salivation his laboratory dogs produced as they ate, he noticed that they actually began to salivate before the food arrived as the researcher walked down the hall and toward the cage. “This,” he thought, “is not natural!” One would expect a dog to automatically salivate when food hit their palate, but BEFORE the food comes? Of course, what had happened was . . . you tell me. That’s right! The dogs knew that the food was coming because they had learned to associate the footsteps with the food. The key word here is “learned”. A learned response is called a “conditioned” response.

Figure 1.13

Figure 1.13 – Ivan Pavlov. 26

Pavlov began to experiment with this concept of classical conditioning . He began to ring a bell, for instance, prior to introducing the food. Sure enough, after making this connection several times, the dogs could be made to salivate to the sound of a bell. Once the bell had become an event to which the dogs had learned to salivate, it was called a conditioned stimulus . The act of salivating to a bell was a response that had also been learned, now termed in Pavlov’s jargon, a conditioned response. Notice that the response, salivation, is the same whether it is conditioned or unconditioned (unlearned or natural). What changed is the stimulus to which the dog salivates. One is natural (unconditioned) and one is learned (conditioned).

Let’s think about how classical conditioning is used on us. One of the most widespread applications of classical conditioning principles was brought to us by the psychologist, John B. Watson.

John B. Watson

John B. Watson (1878-1958) believed that most of our fears and other emotional responses are classically conditioned. He had gained a good deal of popularity in the 1920s with his expert advice on parenting offered to the public.

Figure 1.14

Figure 1.14 – John B. Watson. 27

He tried to demonstrate the power of classical conditioning with his famous experiment with an 18 month old boy named “Little Albert”. Watson sat Albert down and introduced a variety of seemingly scary objects to him: a burning piece of newspaper, a white rat, etc. But Albert remained curious and reached for all of these things. Watson knew that one of our only inborn fears is the fear of loud noises so he proceeded to make a loud noise each time he introduced one of Albert’s favorites, a white rat. After hearing the loud noise several times paired with the rat, Albert soon came to fear the rat and began to cry when it was introduced. Watson filmed this experiment for posterity and used it to demonstrate that he could help parents achieve any outcomes they desired, if they would only follow his advice. Watson wrote columns in newspapers and in magazines and gained a lot of popularity among parents eager to apply science to household order.

Operant conditioning, on the other hand, looks at the way the consequences of a behavior increase or decrease the likelihood of a behavior occurring again. So let’s look at this a bit more.

B.F. Skinner and Operant Conditioning

B. F. Skinner (1904-1990), who brought us the principles of operant conditioning, suggested that reinforcement is a more effective means of encouraging a behavior than is criticism or punishment. By focusing on strengthening desirable behavior, we have a greater impact than if we emphasize what is undesirable. Reinforcement is anything that an organism desires and is motivated to obtain.

Figure 1.15

Figure 1.15 – B. F. Skinner. 28

A reinforcer is something that encourages or promotes a behavior. Some things are natural rewards. They are considered intrinsic or primary because their value is easily understood. Think of what kinds of things babies or animals such as puppies find rewarding.

Extrinsic or secondary reinforcers are things that have a value not immediately understood. Their value is indirect. They can be traded in for what is ultimately desired.

The use of positive reinforcement involves adding something to a situation in order to encourage a behavior. For example, if I give a child a cookie for cleaning a room, the addition of the cookie makes cleaning more likely in the future. Think of ways in which you positively reinforce others.

Negative reinforcement occurs when taking something unpleasant away from a situation encourages behavior. For example, I have an alarm clock that makes a very unpleasant, loud sound when it goes off in the morning. As a result, I get up and turn it off. By removing the noise, I am reinforced for getting up. How do you negatively reinforce others?

Punishment is an effort to stop a behavior. It means to follow an action with something unpleasant or painful. Punishment is often less effective than reinforcement for several reasons. It doesn’t indicate the desired behavior, it may result in suppressing rather than stopping a behavior, (in other words, the person may not do what is being punished when you’re around, but may do it often when you leave), and a focus on punishment can result in not noticing when the person does well.

Not all behaviors are learned through association or reinforcement. Many of the things we do are learned by watching others. This is addressed in social learning theory.

Social Learning Theory

Albert Bandura (1925-) is a leading contributor to social learning theory. He calls our attention to the ways in which many of our actions are not learned through conditioning; rather, they are learned by watching others (1977). Young children frequently learn behaviors through imitation

Figure 1.16

Figure 1.16 – Albert Bandura. 29

Sometimes, particularly when we do not know what else to do, we learn by modeling or copying the behavior of others. A kindergartner on his or her first day of school might eagerly look at how others are acting and try to act the same way to fit in more quickly. Adolescents struggling with their identity rely heavily on their peers to act as role-models. Sometimes we do things because we’ve seen it pay off for someone else. They were operantly conditioned, but we engage in the behavior because we hope it will pay off for us as well. This is referred to as vicarious reinforcement (Bandura, Ross and Ross, 1963).

Bandura (1986) suggests that there is interplay between the environment and the individual. We are not just the product of our surroundings, rather we influence our surroundings. Parents not only influence their child’s environment, perhaps intentionally through the use of reinforcement, etc., but children influence parents as well. Parents may respond differently with their first child than with their fourth. Perhaps they try to be the perfect parents with their firstborn, but by the time their last child comes along they have very different expectations both of themselves and their child. Our environment creates us and we create our environment. 30

Theories also explore cognitive development and how mental processes change over time.

Jean Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development

Jean Piaget (1896-1980) is one of the most influential cognitive theorists. Piaget was inspired to explore children’s ability to think and reason by watching his own children’s development. He was one of the first to recognize and map out the ways in which children’s thought differs from that of adults. His interest in this area began when he was asked to test the IQ of children and began to notice that there was a pattern in their wrong answers. He believed that children’s intellectual skills change over time through maturation. Children of differing ages interpret the world differently.

Figure 1.17

Figure 1.17 – Jean Piaget. 32

Piaget believed our desire to understand the world comes from a need for cognitive equilibrium . This is an agreement or balance between what we sense in the outside world and what we know in our minds. If we experience something that we cannot understand, we try to restore the balance by either changing our thoughts or by altering the experience to fit into what we do understand. Perhaps you meet someone who is very different from anyone you know. How do you make sense of this person? You might use them to establish a new category of people in your mind or you might think about how they are similar to someone else.

A schema or schemes are categories of knowledge. They are like mental boxes of concepts. A child has to learn many concepts. They may have a scheme for “under” and “soft” or “running” and “sour”. All of these are schema. Our efforts to understand the world around us lead us to develop new schema and to modify old ones.

One way to make sense of new experiences is to focus on how they are similar to what we already know. This is assimilation . So the person we meet who is very different may be understood as being “sort of like my brother” or “his voice sounds a lot like yours.” Or a new food may be assimilated when we determine that it tastes like chicken!

Another way to make sense of the world is to change our mind. We can make a cognitive accommodation to this new experience by adding new schema. This food is unlike anything I’ve tasted before. I now have a new category of foods that are bitter-sweet in flavor, for instance. This is  accommodation . Do you accommodate or assimilate more frequently? Children accommodate more frequently as they build new schema. Adults tend to look for similarity in their experience and assimilate. They may be less inclined to think “outside the box.”

Piaget suggested different ways of understanding that are associated with maturation. He divided this into four stages:

Table 1.4 – Jean Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development

Criticisms of Piaget’s Theory

Piaget has been criticized for overemphasizing the role that physical maturation plays in cognitive development and in underestimating the role that culture and interaction (or experience) plays in cognitive development. Looking across cultures reveals considerable variation in what children are able to do at various ages. Piaget may have underestimated what children are capable of given the right circumstances. 33

Lev Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory

Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934) was a Russian psychologist who wrote in the early 1900s but whose work was discovered in the United States in the 1960s but became more widely known in the 1980s. Vygotsky differed with Piaget in that he believed that a person not only has a set of abilities, but also a set of potential abilities that can be realized if given the proper guidance from others. His sociocultural theory emphasizes the importance of culture and interaction in the development of cognitive abilities. He believed that through guided participation known as scaffolding, with a teacher or capable peer, a child can learn cognitive skills within a certain range known as the zone of proximal development . 34 His belief was that development occurred first through children’s immediate social interactions, and then moved to the individual level as they began to internalize their learning. 35

Figure 1.18

Figure 1.18- Lev Vygotsky. 36

Have you ever taught a child to perform a task? Maybe it was brushing their teeth or preparing food. Chances are you spoke to them and described what you were doing while you demonstrated the skill and let them work along with you all through the process. You gave them assistance when they seemed to need it, but once they knew what to do-you stood back and let them go. This is scaffolding and can be seen demonstrated throughout the world. This approach to teaching has also been adopted by educators. Rather than assessing students on what they are doing, they should be understood in terms of what they are capable of doing with the proper guidance. You can see how Vygotsky would be very popular with modern day educators. 37

Comparing Piaget and Vygotsky

Vygotsky concentrated more on the child’s immediate social and cultural environment and his or her interactions with adults and peers. While Piaget saw the child as actively discovering the world through individual interactions with it, Vygotsky saw the child as more of an apprentice, learning through a social environment of others who had more experience and were sensitive to the child’s needs and abilities. 38

Like Vygotsky’s, Bronfenbrenner looked at the social influences on learning and development.

Urie Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Model

Urie Bronfenbrenner (1917-2005) offers us one of the most comprehensive theories of human development. Bronfenbrenner studied Freud, Erikson, Piaget, and learning theorists and believed that all of those theories could be enhanced by adding the dimension of context. What is being taught and how society interprets situations depends on who is involved in the life of a child and on when and where a child lives.

Figure 1.19

Figure 1.19 – Urie Bronfenbrenner. 39

Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems model explains the direct and indirect influences on an individual’s development.

Table 1.5 – Urie Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Model

For example, in order to understand a student in math, we can’t simply look at that individual and what challenges they face directly with the subject. We have to look at the interactions that occur between teacher and child. Perhaps the teacher needs to make modifications as well. The teacher may be responding to regulations made by the school, such as new expectations for students in math or constraints on time that interfere with the teacher’s ability to instruct. These new demands may be a response to national efforts to promote math and science deemed important by political leaders in response to relations with other countries at a particular time in history.

Figure 1.20

Figure 1.20 – Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory. 40

Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems model challenges us to go beyond the individual if we want to understand human development and promote improvements. 41

In this chapter we looked at:

underlying principles of development

the five periods of development

three issues in development

Various methods of research

important theories that help us understand development

Next, we are going to be examining where we all started with conception, heredity, and prenatal development.

Child Growth and Development Copyright © by Jean Zaar is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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7 Child Development Theories

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7 Child Development Theories

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Child development theories are focused on understanding and explaining how kids change throughout childhood. Some of these theories focus on the developmental milestones, or specific achievements children reach by a certain age. Others focus on aspects of child development, such as personality, cognition, and moral growth .

Psychologists and development researchers have proposed several theories to describe and explain the process and stages children go through as they develop. The following are just some of the major ways of thinking about the stages of child development.

The Purpose of Child Development Theories

Theories help provide a framework or lens through which we can better understand aspects of the development process. 

Some of these theories attempt to explain almost every aspect of how people change and grow over the course of childhood. In other instances, these theories focus on a more narrow aspect of development.

How Our Understanding Has Changed

Throughout psychology history, many different child development theories have emerged to explain the changes occurring during the early part of life. In the modern study of child development, we simply take for granted that children are fundamentally different from adults.

Yet, for much of human history, kids were simply seen as smaller versions of their adult counterparts. It has only been relatively recently that the field of developmental psychology has helped us understand how children think is very different from how adults think.

Thanks to the work of some pioneering psychologists and other researchers, we now have a much deeper and richer understanding of how kids grow.

Some researchers have suggested that five of the most influential child development theories are maturationist, constructivist, behaviorist, psychoanalytic, and ecological.

Freud’s Psychosexual Child Development Theory

The theories proposed by Sigmund Freud stressed the importance of childhood events and experiences but almost exclusively focused on mental disorders rather than normal functioning.

According to Freud, children progress through a series of psychosexual stages. Each stage involves satisfying a libidinal desire and can later play a role in adult personality. If a child does not successfully complete a stage, Freud suggested that they would develop a fixation that would later influence adult personality and behavior.

During each stage, the libido’s energy becomes centered on a particular area of the body. The stages of Freud’s child development theory are:

  • The oral stage
  • The anal stage
  • The phallic
  • The latent stage
  • The genital stages

During each stage, the pleasure-seeking energies of the id drive for satisfaction based on a particular erogenous zone. During the oral stage, for example, a child derives pleasure from activities that involve the mouth, such as sucking or chewing.

Conflicts associated with each stage must be successfully resolved to develop a healthy adult personality. Failing to resolve these conflicts can result in fixation at a particular point in development.

Erikson’s Psychosocial Development Theory

Erik Erikson was influenced by Freud’s work, but his own child development theories focused on the importance of social experiences in shaping a child’s psychological growth.

Like Freud’s theory, Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development lays out a series of stages people go through. Unlike Freud’s theory, Erickson’s theory covers development for the entire lifespan from birth until death. Freud believed that development was largely complete by age 5, while Erikson believed that people continue to develop and grow well into old age.

At each stage of development, people face a crisis they must master. Mastering the crisis leads to the development of a psychological virtue.

For example, the primary conflict during adolescence involves establishing a sense of personal identity. Success or failure in dealing with the conflicts at each stage can impact overall functioning. For example, failure to develop an identity during the adolescent stage results in role confusion.

Erikson’s theory begins at birth, as children start out in the trust versus mistrust stage. During this early stage of life, children need to receive consistent care so that they can learn to trust the people in the world around them. Development continues as children grow; at each stage, they face new conflicts and learn new skills that serve them well throughout life.

Behavioral Theories

Behavioral child development theories center on how children learn through their interactions with the environment. Early in the twentieth century, the school of thought known as behaviorism took hold in psychology. Behaviorists believed that learning and development result from associations, rewards, and punishments.

According to behaviorist John B. Watson, any behavior can be learned. Other theorists, including Ivan Pavlov and B.F. Skinner also contributed significantly to behaviorism, driving this school of thought to become a dominating force in psychology for many years.

Two important behavioral processes that influence development are classical conditioning and operant conditioning :

  • Classical conditioning involves forming an association between a previously neutral stimulus and a stimulus that naturally and automatically produces a response. After an association has been formed, the once neutral stimulus now produces the response all on its own.
  • Operant conditioning involves learning as a result of positive reinforcement , negative reinforcement , or punishment. The consequences of a behavior determine how likely it is for that behavior to occur again in the future.

When a behavior is reinforced, or strengthened, then it is more likely that the behavior will occur again in the future. When a behavior is punished or weakened, it is less likely to occur in the future.

Piaget’s Cognitive Development Theory

The cognitive theories of child development focus on how a child’s thought processes change over the course of childhood. One of the best-known cognitive theories is Piaget’s theory of cognitive development .

Theorist Jean Piaget suggested that children think differently than adults and proposed a stage theory of cognitive development. Another major contribution he made was noting that children play an active role in gaining knowledge of the world.

According to this theory, children can be thought of as “little scientists” who actively construct their knowledge and understanding of the world.

Early views of children tended to assume that the way kids think is similar to how adults think, but Piaget helped change this. He concluded that the way that children think is fundamentally different from that of adults.

His cognitive theory quickly became one of the most influential child development theories. His approach focuses on four distinct stages that kids go through as they progress from birth to adulthood.

The four stages in Piaget’s theory are:

  • The sensorimotor stage takes place early in life between the ages of birth and two. During this time, a child learns about the world through their sensory perceptions and motor interactions. It is a time of astonishing cognitive change as children gain a great deal of knowledge about the world around them.
  • The preoperational stage occurs between the ages of 2 and 6 and is also a time of rapid growth and development. At this stage, children still lack the ability to mentally manipulate information and struggle to see things from other people’s points of view. A great deal of language development takes place during this stage.
  • The concrete operational stage , which takes place between ages 7 and 11, involves the emergence of more logical thought. Kids can think rationally about concrete events, although they struggle with abstract concepts.
  • The formal operational stage , which lasts from roughly age 12 to adulthood, is marked by the emergence of hypothetical thought. Kids can reason about abstract concepts and make systematic plans about the future.

Concepts such as schemas, egocentrism, accommodation , and assimilation are central to Piaget’s theory. Each stage of development is marked by distinct changes in how children think about themselves, others, and the world.

Social Learning Theory

Social theories of child development focus on how parents, caregivers, peers, and other social influences impact development. Some focus on how early attachment influences development, while others center on how children learn by observing people around them.

Some examples of these social theories of child development include attachment, social learning, and sociocultural theories.

Psychologist Albert Bandura proposed what is known as social learning theory . According to this child development theory, children learn new behaviors from observing other people.

Unlike behaviorists, Bandura believed that external reinforcement was not the only way people learned new things. Instead, intrinsic motivations and rewards such as pride, satisfaction, and accomplishment could also lead to learning.

Bandura’s social learning theory combines elements of behavioral theories as well as cognitive theories while accounting for the powerful influence that social experiences have on how kids learn and grow.

Bandura believed that behavioral processes alone could not account for how kids learn. How, he wondered, could we explain learning that occurred without any direct association or reinforcement?

He noted that observation and modeling play a major part in the learning process. In his famous Bobo doll experiment, Bandura demonstrated that kids could learn aggression by watching the actions of an adult model.

Observational learning can involve directly observing another person, but it can also take place by listening to someone else explain how to do something or even reading about it in a book.

Attachment Theory

Psychologist John Bowlby proposed a child development theory focusing on the importance of early attachment with caregivers. This theory suggests that a child’s relationship with their parents or caregivers influences social and emotional development during childhood and that these early attachments continue to influence life.

Bowlby believed that children are born with an innate need to stay close to caregivers. This helps ensure safety and security and ensures that the caregivers are nearby and can respond to the child’s needs.

Mary Ainsworth studied how children reacted when left in a room without their parents. Her observations of how children responded when their parents left when they were gone, and when they returned led her to conclude that there were three major attachment styles . Later, other researchers added a fourth style of attachment to this framework.

  • Secure attachment is characterized by the ability to form loving and secure relationships with other people.
  • Anxious attachment is marked by worry, insecurity, and a fear of abandonment.
  • Avoidant attachment is characterized by difficulty trusting others, lack of emotional availability, and a fear of intimacy.
  • Disorganized attachment is marked by mixed behaviors that include neediness and avoidance.

Research suggests that these attachment styles are essential during childhood, but also impact behavior and relationships later in life.

Ecological Systems Theory

Psychologist Urie Bronfenbrenner developed an ecological system theory that focused on understanding how complex systems of social relationships affect a child’s development. Instead of focusing on stages or immediate relationships in isolation, the theory looks at the many levels of influence, including family, peers, society, culture, and customs.

Bronfenbrenner suggested that children are influenced by various environments (known as ecological systems), that interact with each other in various ways. 

This theory of child development suggests that five levels of influence have an impact on a child:

  • Microsystem : This includes the child’s immediate environment and includes parents, siblings, friends, classmates, teachers, and other people whom children directly interact within their community.
  • Mesosystem : This level includes the interaction of the different microsystems in a child’s life. Examples include connections between home and school, friends and family, and the larger community.
  • Exosystem : This includes social structures that indirectly affect a child through their influences on different microsystems. For example, this might include parental work, neighborhoods, popular media, and the microsystems of peers.
  • Macrosystem : This level includes the cultural and societal factors that can impact a child’s development. Factors such as ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and geographic location are a few examples.
  • Chronosystem : This level encompasses the environmental changes that occur during a child’s life, including major life transitions and historical events. 
The theory also notes that the relationships in these environments influence children but that children also influence the people they interact with. 

Applications for Child Development Theories

Some of the ways that child development theories are used today include:

  • Guiding parenting practices
  • Informing educational practices
  • Advancing scientific research
  • Informing public policy

Child development theories are widely used today to help parents, educators, and policymakers understand how children grow and learn. By providing a framework for understanding the stages of development that children go through, these theories help us to adapt our practices and policies to best support children’s needs.

Parents can use child development theories to understand their child’s behavior and needs better, adapting their parenting style to match their child’s developmental level. Meanwhile, educators can use these theories to create age-appropriate learning materials and curricula, ensuring their students receive the support they need to succeed.

Researchers also rely on child development theories to guide their studies and advance our understanding of how children learn and grow. Policymakers use these theories to shape public policy related to education, childcare, and child welfare, creating programs and initiatives that support children’s development and well-being.

Child development theories are crucial for anyone working with children. They provide a foundation for understanding how children develop and how we can best support their growth and success. By using these theories in our work, we can ensure that we provide children with the resources and support they need to thrive.

Key Points About Child Development Theories

Many different child development theories have emerged to explain how kids learn and grow over the course of childhood. Some of these theories attempt to be all-encompassing and explain many different aspects of the human experience, so they are often called “grand theories.” In other cases, child development theories attempt to explain a relatively narrow aspect of the developmental experience, which is why they are called “mini theories.”

In either case, each of these child development theories has helped add to our understanding of how children grow, think, learn, and change over the years from birth until adulthood.

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Cassidy J, Jones JD, Shaver PR. Contributions of attachment theory and research: a framework for future research, translation, and policy . Dev Psychopathol . 2013;25(4 Pt 2):1415-34. doi:10.1017/S0954579413000692

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Kendra Cherry

Kendra Cherry, MS.Ed., is an author, educator, and founder of Explore Psychology, an online psychology resource. She is a health writer and editor specializing in psychology, mental health, and wellness. She also writes for Verywell Mind and is the author of the Everything Psychology book (Adams Media). Follow her on Twitter , Facebook , Instagram , and Pinterest .

Developmental Psychology 101: Theories, Stages, & Research

Developmental psychology stages

You can imagine how vast this field of psychology is if it has to cover the whole of life, from birth through death.

Just like any other area of psychology, it has created exciting debates and given rise to fascinating case studies.

In recent years, developmental psychology has shifted to incorporate positive psychology paradigms to create a holistic lifespan approach. As an example, the knowledge gained from positive psychology can enhance the development of children in education.

In this article, you will learn a lot about different aspects of developmental psychology, including how it first emerged in history and famous theories and models.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Positive Psychology Exercises for free . These science-based exercises explore fundamental aspects of positive psychology, including strengths, values, and self-compassion, and will give you the tools to enhance the wellbeing of your clients, students, or employees.

This Article Contains:

What is developmental psychology, 4 popular theories, stages, & models, 2 questions and research topics, fascinating case studies & research findings, a look at positive developmental psychology, applying developmental psychology in education, resources from positivepsychology.com, a take-home message.

Human beings change drastically over our lifetime.

The American Psychological Association (2020) defines developmental psychology as the study of physical, mental, and behavioral changes, from conception through old age.

Developmental psychology investigates biological, genetic, neurological, psychosocial, cultural, and environmental factors of human growth (Burman, 2017).

Over the years, developmental psychology has been influenced by numerous theories and models in varied branches of psychology (Burman, 2017).

History of developmental psychology

Developmental psychology first appeared as an area of study in the late 19th century (Baltes, Lindenberger, & Staudinger, 2007). Developmental psychology focused initially on child and adolescent development, and was concerned about children’s minds and learning (Hall, 1883).

There are several key figures in developmental psychology. In 1877, the famous evolutionary biologist Charles Darwin undertook the first study of developmental psychology on innate communication forms. Not long after, physiologist William Preyer (1888) published a book on the abilities of an infant.

The 1900s saw many significant people dominating the developmental psychology field with their detailed theories of development: Sigmund Freud (1923, 1961), Jean Piaget (1928), Erik Erikson (1959), Lev Vygotsky (1978), John Bowlby (1958), and Albert Bandura (1977).

By the 1920s, the scope of developmental psychology had begun to include adult development and the aging process (Thompson, 2016).

In more recent years, it has broadened further to include prenatal development (Brandon et al., 2009). Developmental psychology is now understood to encompass the complete lifespan (Baltes et al., 2007).

Developmental Psychology Theories

Each of these models has contributed to the understanding of the process of human development and growth.

Furthermore, each theory and model focuses on different aspects of development: social, emotional, psychosexual, behavioral, attachment, social learning, and many more.

Here are some of the most popular models of development that have heavily contributed to the field of developmental psychology.

1. Bowlby’s attachment styles

The seminal work of psychologist John Bowlby (1958) showcased his interest in children’s social development. Bowlby (1969, 1973, 1980) developed the most famous theory of social development, known as attachment theory .

Bowlby (1969) hypothesized that the need to form attachments is innate, embedded in all humans for survival and essential for children’s development. This instinctive bond helps ensure that children are cared for by their parent or caregiver (Bowlby, 1969, 1973, 1980).

Bowlby’s original attachment work was developed further by one of his students, Mary Ainsworth. She proposed several attachment styles between the child and the caregiver (Ainsworth & Bell, 1970).

This theory clearly illustrates the importance of attachment styles to a child’s future development. Consistent and stable caregiving results in a secure attachment style (Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, & Wall, 1978). In contrast, unstable and insecure caregiving results in several negative attachment styles: ambivalent, avoidant, or disorganized (Ainsworth & Bell, 1970; Main & Solomon, 1986).

Bowlby’s theory does not consider peer group influence or how it can shape children’s personality and development (Harris, 1998).

2. Piaget’s stage theory

Jean Piaget was a French psychologist highly interested in child development. He was interested in children’s thinking and how they acquire, construct, and use their knowledge (Piaget, 1951).

Piaget’s (1951) four-stage theory of cognitive development sequences a child’s intellectual development. According to this theory, all children move through these four stages of development in the same order (Simatwa, 2010).

The sensorimotor stage is from birth to two years old. Behaviors are triggered by sensory stimuli and limited to simple motor responses. If an object is removed from the child’s vision, they think it no longer exists (Piaget, 1936).

The pre-operational stage occurs between two and six years old. The child learns language but cannot mentally manipulate information or understand concrete logic (Wadsworth, 1971).

The concrete operational stage takes place from 7 to 11 years old. Children begin to think more logically about factual events. Abstract or hypothetical concepts are still difficult to understand in this stage (Wadsworth, 1971).

In the formal operational stage from 12 years to adulthood, abstract thought and skills arise (Piaget, 1936).

Piaget did not consider other factors that might affect these stages or a child’s progress through them. Biological maturation and interaction with the environment can determine the rate of cognitive development in children (Papalia & Feldman, 2011). Individual differences can also dictate a child’s progress (Berger, 2014).

3. Freud’s psychosexual development theory

One of the most influential developmental theories, which encompassed psychosexual stages of development, was developed by Austrian psychiatrist Sigmund Freud (Fisher & Greenberg, 1996).

Freud concluded that childhood experiences and unconscious desires influence behavior after witnessing his female patients experiencing physical symptoms and distress with no physical cause (Breuer & Freud, 1957).

According to Freud’s psychosexual theory, child development occurs in a series of stages, each focused on different pleasure areas of the body. During each stage, the child encounters conflicts, which play a significant role in development (Silverman, 2017).

Freud’s theory of psychosexual development includes the oral, anal, phallic, latent, and genital stages. His theory suggests that the energy of the libido is focused on these different erogenous zones at each specific stage (Silverman, 2017).

Freud concluded that the successful completion of each stage leads to healthy adult development. He also suggested that a failure to progress through a stage causes fixation and developmental difficulties, such as nail biting (oral fixation) or obsessive tidiness (anal fixation; Silverman, 2017).

Freud considered personality to be formed in childhood as a child passes through these stages. Criticisms of Freud’s theory of psychosexual development include its failure to consider that personality can change and grow over an entire lifetime. Freud believed that early experiences played the most significant role in shaping development (Silverman, 2017).

4. Bandura’s social learning theory

American psychologist Albert Bandura proposed the social learning theory (Bandura, Ross, & Ross, 1961). Bandura did not believe that classical or operant conditioning was enough to explain learned behavior because some behaviors of children are never reinforced (Bandura, 1986). He believed that children observe, imitate, and model the behaviors and reactions of others (Bandura, 1977).

Bandura suggested that observation is critical in learning. Further, the observation does not have to be of a live actor, such as in the Bobo doll experiment (Bandura, 1986). Bandura et al. (1961) considered that learning and modeling can also occur from listening to verbal instructions on behavior performance.

Bandura’s (1977) social theory posits that both environmental and cognitive factors interact to influence development.

Bandura’s developmental theory has been criticized for not considering biological factors or children’s autonomic nervous system responses (Kevin, 1995).

Overview of theories of development – Khan Academy

Developmental psychology has given rise to many debatable questions and research topics. Here are two of the most commonly discussed.

1. Nature vs nurture debate

One of the oldest debates in the field of developmental psychology has been between nature and nurture (Levitt, 2013).

Is human development a result of hereditary factors (genes), or is it influenced by the environment (school, family, relationships, peers, community, culture)?

The polarized position of developmental psychologists of the past has now changed. The nature/nurture question now concerns the relationship between the innateness of an attribute and the environmental effects on that attribute (Nesterak, 2015).

The field of epigenetics  describes how behavioral and environmental influences affect the expression of genes (Kubota, Miyake, & Hirasawa, 2012).

Many severe mental health disorders have a hereditary component. Yet, the environment and behavior, such as improved diet, reduced stress, physical activity, and a positive mindset, can determine whether this health condition is ever expressed (Śmigielski, Jagannath, Rössler, Walitza, & Grünblatt, 2020).

When considering classic models of developmental psychology, such as Piaget’s schema theory and Freud’s psychosexual theory, you’ll see that they both perceive development to be set in stone and unchangeable by the environment.

Contemporary developmental psychology theories take a different approach. They stress the importance of multiple levels of organization over the course of human development (Lomas, Hefferon, & Ivtzan, 2016).

2. Theory of mind

Theory of mind allows us to understand that others have different intentions, beliefs, desires, perceptions, behaviors, and emotions (American Psychological Association, 2020).

It was first identified by research by Premack and Woodruff (1978) and considered to be a natural developmental stage of progression for all children. Starting around the ages of four or five, children begin to think about the thoughts and feelings of others. This shows an emergence of the theory of mind (Wellman & Liu, 2004).

However, the ability of all individuals to achieve and maintain this critical skill at the same level is debatable.

Children diagnosed with autism exhibit a deficit in the theory of mind (Baron-Cohen, Leslie, & Frith, 1985).

Individuals with depression (psychotic and non-psychotic) are significantly impaired in theory of mind tasks (Wang, Wang, Chen, Zhu, & Wang, 2008).

People with social anxiety disorder have also been found to show less accuracy in decoding the mental states of others (Washburn, Wilson, Roes, Rnic, & Harkness, 2016).

Further research has shown that the theory of mind changes with aging. This suggests a developmental lifespan process for this concept (Meinhardt-Injac, Daum, & Meinhardt, 2020).

theories of child development essay

1. Little Albert

The small child who was the focus of the experiments of behavioral psychologists Watson and Rayner (1920) was referred to as ‘Little Albert.’ These experiments were essential landmarks in developmental psychology and showed how an emotionally stable child can be conditioned to develop a phobia.

Albert was exposed to several neutral stimuli including cotton wool, masks, a white rat, rabbit, monkey, and dog. Albert showed no initial fear to these stimuli.

When a loud noise was coupled with the initially neutral stimulus, Albert became very distressed and developed a phobia of the object, which extended to any similar object as well.

This experiment highlights the importance of environmental factors in the development of behaviors in children.

2. David Reimer

At the age of eight months, David Reimer lost his penis in a circumcision operation that went wrong. His worried parents consulted a psychologist, who advised them to raise David as a girl.

David’s young age meant he knew nothing about this. He went through the process of hormonal treatment and gender reassignment. At the age of 14, David found out the truth and wanted to reverse the gender reassignment process to become a boy again. He had always felt like a boy until this time, even though he was socialized and brought up as a girl (Colapinto, 2006).

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Contemporary theories of developmental psychology often encompass a holistic approach and a more positive approach to development.

Positive psychology has intersected with developmental disciplines in areas such as parenting, education, youth, and aging (Lomas et al., 2016).

These paradigms can all be grouped together under the umbrella of positive developmental psychology. This fresh approach to development focuses on the wellbeing aspects of development, while systematically bringing them together (Lomas, et al., 2016).

  • Positive parenting is the approach to children’s wellbeing by focusing on the role of parents and caregivers (Latham, 1994).
  • Positive education looks at flourishing in the context of school (Seligman, Ernst, Gillham, Reivich, & Linkins, 2009).
  • Positive youth development is the productive and constructive focus on adolescence and early adulthood to enhance young people’s strengths and promote positive outcomes (Larson, 2000).
  • Positive aging , also known as healthy aging, focuses on the positivity of aging as a healthy, normal stage of life (Vaillant, 2004).

Much of the empirical and theoretical work connected to positive developmental psychology has been going on for years, even before the emergence of positive psychology itself (Lomas et al., 2016).

We recommend this related article Applying Positive Psychology in Schools & Education: Your Ultimate Guide for further reading.

Developmental Psychology in Education

In the classroom, developmental psychology considers children’s psychological, emotional, and intellectual characteristics according to their developmental stage.

A report on the top 20 principles of psychology in the classroom, from pre-kindergarten to high school, was published by the American Psychological Association in 2015. The report also advised how teachers can respond to these principles in the classroom setting.

The top 5 principles and teacher responses are outlined in the table below.

There are many valuable resources to help you foster positive development no matter whether you’re working with young children, teenagers, or adults.

To help get you started, check out the following free resources from around our blog.

  • Adopt A Growth Mindset This exercise helps clients recognize instances of fixed mindset in their thinking and actions and replace them with thoughts and behaviors more supportive of a growth mindset.
  • Childhood Frustrations This worksheet provides a space for clients to document key challenges experienced during childhood, together with their emotional and behavioral responses.
  • What I Want to Be This worksheet helps children identify behaviors and emotions they would like to display and select an opportunity in the future to behave in this ideal way.
  • 17 Positive Psychology Exercises If you’re looking for more science-based ways to help others enhance their wellbeing, this signature collection contains 17 validated positive psychology tools for practitioners . Use them to help others flourish and thrive.
  • Developmental Psychology Courses If you are interested in a career in Developmental Psychology , we suggest 15 of the best courses in this article.

Earlier developmental psychology models and theories were focused on specific areas, such as attachment, psychosexual, cognitive, and social learning. Although informative, they did not take in differing perspectives and were fixed paradigms.

We’ve now come to understand that development is not fixed. Individual differences take place in development, and the factors that can affect development are many. It is ever changing throughout life.

The modern-day approach to developmental psychology includes sub-fields of positive psychology. It brings these differing disciplines together to form an overarching positive developmental psychology paradigm.

Developmental psychology has helped us gain a considerable understanding of children’s motivations, social and emotional contexts, and their strengths and weaknesses.

This knowledge is essential for educators to create rich learning environments for students to help them develop positively and ultimately flourish to their full potential.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Positive Psychology Exercises for free .

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Theories of Child Development and Their Impact on Early Childhood Education and Care

  • Published: 29 October 2021
  • Volume 51 , pages 15–30, ( 2023 )

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  • Olivia N. Saracho   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-4108-7790 1  

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Developmental theorists use their research to generate philosophies on children’s development. They organize and interpret data based on a scheme to develop their theory. A theory refers to a systematic statement of principles related to observed phenomena and their relationship to each other. A theory of child development looks at the children's growth and behavior and interprets it. It suggests elements in the child's genetic makeup and the environmental conditions that influence development and behavior and how these elements are related. Many developmental theories offer insights about how the performance of individuals is stimulated, sustained, directed, and encouraged. Psychologists have established several developmental theories. Many different competing theories exist, some dealing with only limited domains of development, and are continuously revised. This article describes the developmental theories and their founders who have had the greatest influence on the fields of child development, early childhood education, and care. The following sections discuss some influences on the individuals’ development, such as theories, theorists, theoretical conceptions, and specific principles. It focuses on five theories that have had the most impact: maturationist, constructivist, behavioral, psychoanalytic, and ecological. Each theory offers interpretations on the meaning of children's development and behavior. Although the theories are clustered collectively into schools of thought, they differ within each school.

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The author is grateful to Mary Jalongo for her expert editing and her keen eye for the smallest details.

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Development Theories in Child Development Research Paper

Introduction, social-information processing theory, social-learning theory, attachment theory, major similarities in the theories, major differences.

Development theories argue that child development is influenced by a mixture of innate biological abilities that a child has at birth and the interaction that he or she has with the environment where they grow up especially in early childhood and adolescence. Though different theories hold different views, the research paper holds the opinion that child development is more as a result of environmental factors that surrounds a child as he or she grows rather than as a result of nature.

To better understand the child development, this study compares and contrasts three development theories as developed by different theorists. The theories include: Social-information processing theory, Social learning theory and Attachment theory.

According to Shaffer (2008), the social-information processing theory holds that a child’s mental development is shaped by the mental processes that he or she is forced to go through while relating to the wider society. The main concept in this theory is that while as people have pre-determined biological capabilities, experiencing difference social situations gives them social cues which prompt a specific behavioral response.

The person’s response to a situation is as a result of mental processes which begin as a person experiences specific sensations as cues are encoded in his or her mind. This then makes the person assume a specific perception about the social experience.

The second concept in this theory regards selective encoding. Since human beings are surrounded by multiple cues in every social environment they are in, this theory states that selective encoding of these cues allows people to pay attention to one thing at a time.

The next step involves representing or interpreting the cue. Here a person may attribute a specific cue to something that happened to him in the past hence shaping behavior. For example, a person who has fallen before from a push in the back will try to hold on to something should a similar push happen to him or her.

The third concept indicates that social-information processing involves evaluating a situation and making the appropriate decisions. According to the theory, this step involves the personal evaluating the consequences of any actions that he or she might take. This includes the moral, instrumental, interpersonal and intrapersonal consequences that may be borne out of his or her actions. The final step as suggested in this theory involves transforming the decisions made in the valuation and decision-making stage to verbal or motor behavior.

Citing Kenneth Dodge who initially formulated the theory, Shaffer (2008) sums up the different steps in the theory using six cognitive processes, which he says a child experiences when arriving to a response decision. The first step involves encoding the cues he or she receives from the environment, followed by an interpretation of the cues.

The third step involves the formulation of social goals by the child, which is then followed by a generation of problem-solving strategies. On the fifth step, the child evaluates the effectiveness of strategies that he or she generates and finally, the child enacts the self-chosen response (p. 294).

The social-learning theory acknowledges the role of one’s biological origins and neural-mediating mechanisms but also emphasizes that a person’s experiences in an environment plays a vital role in his or her development (Asher, 2006). The major concept in this theory is that most learning in a person occurs as one watch and imitates models.

This theory suggests that in order for human beings to survive and grow in their immediate environment, they learn to acquire behaviors through observing the more experienced people in their immediate environment. For this to affect development however, this theory posits that in addition to observing, one would need to have strong instigation and retention mechanisms.

The second concept identified in this theory is the belief that the theory is governed by four processes. The four processes are identified as:

  • Attention- responsible for the exploration instincts and perception;
  • Memory- stores observed behaviors and guide behavior in the future;
  • Motor production- responsible for the formation of novel behaviors which happens as a result of integrated constituents acts according to actions previously observed; and
  • Incentives & motivation- this regulates the practice of learnt responses.

For development to occur, this theory states that biological maturation of the four identified processes must occur as this allows the storage of complex response repertoires and contingencies in one’s memory to occur.

The third concept identified in this theory is the assumption that cognitive and biological motivators acts as instigation mechanisms (Asher, 2006). This means that internal bodily stimulations such as hunger, anger or lust may activate behavior in a person through biological motivators. Cognitive motivators on the other hand would be responsible for providing the person with the motivation needed to act.

The cognitive motivators allow one top consider the sensory and social consequences of an action. This theory further suggests that the use of external reinforcement such are rewards, punishment affect the kind of development that one chooses to adopt. Self-regulation through observation, judgment, valuation, attribution and applied consequences to one self are also factors that are considered as effective in this theory. Notably, this theory has fewer constraints when compared to other theories.

The attachment theory posits that children are born with an innate need for human contact (Bretherton, 1992). While this may be driven by a need for food (mother’s breast milk), this theory states that attachment seeking is directed more by the need for a social contact and the desire for a loving relationship from the mother. The main concept in this theory is that human’s need for attachment to other people is driven by the need for love.

The second concept revealed in the attachment theory is that the fear of the unknown is also capable of shaping behavior as one develops. Using the example of a child, this theory suggests that the separation of mother and child usually causes distress on the child, which is then replaced by joy when the mother comes back to the child.

Separation over long periods of time however induces suspicion, anxiety or clinging behavior upon the mother-child re-union (Bretherton, 1992). Although this behavior is evident in young and older children, it slowly fades away once individuation occurs and the child is able to have a mental representation of the mother even in her absence.

The third concept identified in the attachment theory is the idea that the child-parent relationship shapes the kind of future relationships that a child will have. According to the theory, the mental representation of the initial mother-child relationship is stored in one’s memory and serves as a filter in all future relationships that the child has.

This means that the primary effects of the first relationship that a child has with its parents. The attachment theory calls the mental representation borne from the initial parent-child relationship as the working model.

Innate human behaviors

The major similarity between the three identified theories is the belief that while some human characteristics are attained, others are biological. The social-information processing theory for example acknowledges that people have pre-determined biological capabilities. The social learning theory on the other hand states that one’s biological origins and neural-mediating mechanisms have vital roles in development. The attachment theory on its part states that human beings are born with an innate need for human contact.

Acquired human behaviors

All the three theories identified above acknowledge that the immediate environment where one grows up or lives have consequences on their development. The Social-information processing theory, one’s mental processes are shaped by his or her relations with the wider society.

On a similar observation, the social learning theory argues that a person’s development is shaped by the observations he makes and the emulations made from the observations. On its end, the attachment theory observes that though a child is born with love seeking tendencies, the initial parent-child relationship determines how the child will relate with other people later in life.

Mental development is spontaneous process

While all the three theories recognize the presence of innate human characteristics in a person at birth, the admission that acquired human characteristics is a testimony that one’s development is a spontaneous process that largely conforms to his or her immediate surroundings. The social-information processing theory indicates that the one’s relations to the wider society as he or she grows up shape their mental processes.

The social learning theory indicates that observation and imitation lead affects one development, while the attachment theory indicates that how one related to their parents determine how they will relate to other people in the bigger society. None of the identified theories indicate that a child can choose not to respond to their immediate environment, which leads to this study’s observation that mental development as identified in all three theories is spontaneous.

  • The major difference among the three identified theories is that they all deal with different stages of human development. The social information-processing theory for example is only applicable to children who have perceptive mental capabilities. According to Shaffer (2008), the social information-processing theory best explains why some children favor specific (usually aggressive or non-aggressive) solutions to problems they encounter in the society when growing up. The social-learning theory on the other hand seems to be a theory which can be applied at any age where a child knows that specific actions can be rewarded or cause him or her punishment. Since this theory states that a person learns through observation and imitation, one can conclude that most children learn who learn from their parents or elder siblings follow this theory. Whether there is an age limit to the learning process which involves observing and imitating others is something that existing literature is yet to find out. The attachment theory is specifically limited to an age where a child has a strong bond to the parent. The theory however argues that it is from the initial relationship that a child has with the parents (especially the mother) that it learns to relate with other people in the society in future.
  • Difference in motivation is notable in the three theories. While the social-information theory is informed by the need to respond to a situation, the social-learning theory is motivated by a need to learn or may be survive as others do. The attachment theory on the other hand formed by the natural bond that parents had with their child and therefore may be motivated by a need to conform to the basics as learned from the parents as a child.
  • The social-information theory states that the mind is central to development since it is responsible for processing cues and helping a child decide how to respond. Social learning theory on the other hand combines biological characteristics of an individual with external influences such as incentives awarded in order to shape a child’s behavior. Attachment theory on the other hand directs us towards natural influences, which occur automatically in a human being.

Interaction of cognitive, physical & emotional development in the overall development of a child

Child development involves a series of cognitive, psychological and physical changes that occur from the time a child is conceived until the end of their adolescence years (Child Fund Australia, 2008). During the continual process that marks child development, the child experiences significant changes that in his or her feelings, thoughts, movements and ability to relate with others.

The first three years of growth are especially significant to child development as stated by (Child Fund Australia, 2008). During this period, the brain develops and grows significantly thus laying the platform for cognitive development in the child. It is from cognitive development that a child learns, thinks and develops language skills among other social skills.

Physical development on the other hand is stretched through out their childhood to teenage years and includes “growth in size, strength, fine and gross motor development…” (p. 1). Emotional and psychological development on the other hand involves the development of senses such as self-worth, trust, confidence, independence among other skills that enable him or her to relate with others in the society.

For overall child development to occur there must be interaction cognitive, physical, psychological and emotional development. This however means that a child will need to be exposed to the right environment right from conception, where the mother needs to eat healthy in order to provide the child with all nutrients needed for physical development.

At birth, the child needs to be fed, clothed and loved in order to sustain their physical development, but also provide a basis where they can develop their cognitively and emotionally. As they grow, exposure to education, their parents, siblings and their peers in social forums such as school will provide them with the resources necessary to develop all the different faculties of development.

The importance of understanding normal child and adolescent development

Parents and other caretakers have an important role to play in ensuring that a child develops as it should. However, for them to do this, they would need to understand child development in order to provide the necessary environment to spur the same. Parents for example need to understand the role that proper diets play in the child’s physical and mental development, and they also need to understand that how they relate with their children could affect how the children relate with other people in future.

As Gemelli (1996) aptly puts it, though an infant may have some innate biological abilities, through an interaction with the environment, the infant is able to construct a representation of what the world should be. People who are responsible for developing the immediate environment where the child grows should hence take outmost care to present an environment that enhances the child’s development, rather than an environment that inhibits the process.

As stated elsewhere in this study, child development is more a result of the environment than nature. Whatever the biological abilities of a child are, he or she will need proper care, nutrition, mentorship, guidance and even protection for them to realize their potential.

Asher, M. (2006). Bare essentials of social learning theory . Overview. Web.

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Gemelli, R.J. (1996). Normal child and Adolescent development . New York: American Psychiatric Publishers.

Shaffer, D. R. (2008). Social and personality development . (ed). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.

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IvyPanda. (2024, January 8). Development Theories in Child Development. https://ivypanda.com/essays/development-theories/

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  • Attachment-Based Psychotherapy
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  • Psychological Concept of the Infant Attachment
  • Attachment Disorder Among Young Children in Foster Care
  • Compare and Contrast Child Developmental Theories
  • Emerging Issues in Multicultural Psychology
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Child Development Theories: Role and Importance

The complexities and challenges of child development cannot, in any way, be wished away. In equal measure, the optimal growth and development of a child are deemed not only important for the parents and family members, but also for the whole society.

As such, it is critically important to understand the social, psychological, cognitive, emotional, biological, and educational development of the young children as they progress in life from a state of dependency towards independence (Waller, 2009).

Many psychological and educational theories have been developed over the years, with the emphasis being laid on the biological, cognitive, and psychological changes that happen to individuals between the stages of birth on the one hand and the end of adolescence on the other. The importance of these theories and other models, therefore, cannot be put to question.

First and foremost, it is important to understand theories related to child development since they enable parents and other caretakers to understand the best practices in nurturing the children to achieve their maximum possible potential.

According to Berk (1999),”…investigators have reached a broad consensus that variations in biological makeup, everyday tasks, and the people who support children in the mastery of those tasks lead to wide individual differences in children’s skills” (para. 3).

For example, an individual with the knowledge of Sigmund Freud’s theory of psychosexual development will expose the child to a suitable stimulus in the hope of realizing the tasks related to each stage of development. This, according to Freud, will enable the child to navigate life’s challenges (Cherry, 2007) successfully.

Child development theories greatly assist parents in learning about children, not for the benefit of the children, but for the benefits of adults who rarely understand what childhood is all about. For example, very few adults, including parents, have the slightest idea and understanding that children are actively involved in co-designing their own experiences with the environment.

On the contrary, “…children’s lives are lived through childhoods constructed for them by adults’ understanding of childhood and what children are and should be” (Waller, 2009 p. 7). This is a wrong perception, and an understanding of child development theories should help adults debunk this myth that children have no capacity to co-construct their own childhood experiences.

Having a clear understanding of the theories related to child development will also greatly assist the child when they enroll in school. Some parents and caretakers are known to restrict children in play once they join learning institutions in the mistaken belief that, by doing so, they are assisting the children in concentrating on their studies.

This is also a wrong perception since the role of play in enhancing the children’s development has been clearly spelled out by various child development models. The theories reveal that young children are active learners who derive much pleasure from learning through tangible experiences such as plays (Waller & Swann, 2009).

According to Cherry (2007), theories of child development offer a valuable structure for thinking about individual growth, socialization process, and development. Understanding these theories is of paramount importance, specifically in the process of guiding the young ones through the process of socialization.

A proper understanding of these theories of child development will definitely assist parents and other caretakers in gaining an objective understanding of what motivates the thoughts and behaviors of children. In most civilizations across the world, children are treated as creatures with no rights whatsoever, and who are dependent sorely on adults for their survival.

Understanding the theories of child development, however, will provide adults with a framework of understanding children as individuals with their own rights and independent thought, which should be nurtured by exposing them to positive experiences (Waller, 2009).

It is almost impossible to exhaust the list of the good outcomes that arise from understanding the developmental paths of children through the various theoretical perspectives that exist to date. If Kohlberg’s theory of moral development is anything to go by, children can be assisted to develop good values, morals, and personalities by parents or caretakers with ample knowledge about the theories (Cherry, 2007).

In the same vein, parents exhibiting knowledge of theories of child development will always have the expertise necessary to handle difficult children, especially in cases of indiscipline at school or at home. Such parents will have a wide range of solutions and explanations of behavior to choose from, and hence, they are more likely to solve the problems and put the children on the right track than parents with no or limited understanding of the theories (Waller, 2009). As such, the theories’ importance in ensuring the greater good for all cannot be underestimated.

List of References

Berk, L.A (1999). Child Development .

Cherry, K (2007). Theories of Childhood Development .

Waller, T., & Swann, R (2009). Children’s Learning . In: Tim Waller’s (Eds) An Introduction to Early Childhood: A Multidisciplinary Approach. London: SAGE Publications Ltd. ISBN: 9781847875174

Waller, T (2009).  Modern Childhood: contemporary Theories and Children’s Lives. In: Tim Waller’s (Eds) An Introduction to Early Childhood: A Multidisciplinary Approach. London: SAGE Publications Ltd. ISBN: 9781847875174

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Explanation of normative and idiographic development, comparative analysis of piaget and vygotsky's developmental theories, psychodynamic and psychosocial theories of freud and erickson.

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theories of child development essay

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Essay: Child development theories

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Theories of development are important as they help us to understand children’s behaviour and ways of learning. Below are some people who changed the way of teachers thinking and approaches to children

Jean Piaget – his theories looks at the way in which children seem to be able to make sense of their world as a result of their experiences and how they learn. He suggested that as children develop so does their thinking.

Piaget’s work has influenced early year’s settings into providing more ‘hands on’ and relevant tasks for children and young people e.g. children are ‘learning through play’. Teachers are working out the needs of children and plan activities adorning to their needs.

Vygotsky — his work has been included into the early year’s framework. He believed that a child’s environment and their experiences are very important for their development. He suggested that children were born to be sociable and by being with parents and then with friends they learned and gained understanding from them.

He suggested that people in early years setting working with children should extend and challenge their thoughts in order for their development to be achieved. As well as the need for adults to work alongside children Vygotsky also felt that children could guide and develop each other’s potential by encouraging them to do tasks together e.g. doing music sessions where they are encouraged to join in.

The behaviourist approach to learning suggests that behaviour is learned from environmental factors, rewards and punishments. The consequences of actions are

Positive: children are most likely to repeat this behaviour when they do something good e.g. clapping their hands for the first time and getting an adult’s attention and praise.

Negative: children will repeat this behaviour but it is repeated to stop something happening again e.g. they might used their hands to slow down the speed they are going on the slide

Punishers: will make a child stop that behaviour e.g. going on timeout or having a toy taken away from them.

The approaches we use to work with children and the EYFS have been influenced by:

Reggoio Emilia: Children must have some control over the direction of their learning; children must be able to learn through experiences of touching, moving, listening, seeing, and hearing; children have a relationship with other children and with material items in the world that children must be allowed to explore; and children must have endless ways and opportunities to express themselves Influence:

schools s are to provide opportunities for child- imitated play There is an emphasis on outdoor play Emphasis on children learning through play with other children

The Montessori approach is designed to support the natural development of children in a well-prepared environment. respect for the child, the absorbent mind, Sensitive periods, the prepared environment,

teachers are meant to observe children individually in order to provide for their play and learning Meant to ensure that children are challenged in order to progress with their learning

This approach begins in the United States, as a way of improving outcomes for disadvantaged children. It is an established model which influences children to be involved with decision making and taking responsibility.

High/scope recognizes the uniqueness of each child and develops their self confidence by building on what they can do. Children are considered active learners so play is used as the model for learning. Routines are also considered highly important as children gain stability and consistency from this and respond better from this. Building a strong relationship with parents is also a main principle of this approach along with the appropriate curriculum.

teachers are meant to provide opportunities for child-initiated play teachers are encouraged to talk to children about their learning

The Steiner concept which involves a more holistic approach to education Lessons are focused on spiritual, creative and social skills with less of a focus on intellectual skills

Play with natural objects is encouraged for babies and toddlers Teachers are meant to plan adult-directed play and provide for child-initiated play

A key person will know the rate of a child development and will plan activities to help them move it along while also making sure that it is safe and suitable for their age

We must remember that all children are different and will have different ideas and opinions and we should respect them.

We might need to change the way we talk to child because of their age or disability e.g. we might have to sign a question or show a picture to explain what we are talking about or asking e.g. showing them a picture or a drinking to ask them if they would like one.

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    The fourth stage of Piaget's cognitive development theory is the formal operational stage starting at age 12 and above. A child at this stage is able to reason logically, give creative responses, and exhibit systematic problem-solving approaches (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2008). ... This essay, "Child Developmental Theories" is published exclusively ...

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    Theory Description. According to Piaget, there are four primary stages of cognitive development, i.e., sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational ones (Siegler 111). The specified stages imply that one should acquire the necessary knowledge and skills in a specific succession.

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    In this essay, we will explore three prominent developmental theories put forth by Erikson, Kohlberg, and Piaget. By examining these theories, we can gain a deeper insight into the cognitive, physical, and emotional development of children and adolescents. Don't use plagiarized sources. Get your custom essay on

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    According to Cherry (2007), theories of child development offer a valuable structure for thinking about individual growth, socialization process, and development. Understanding these theories is of paramount importance, specifically in the process of guiding the young ones through the process of socialization.

  18. Child Development: Comparative Analysis of Four Different Theories

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    Montessori. The Montessori approach is designed to support the natural development of children in a well-prepared environment. respect for the child, the absorbent mind, Sensitive periods, the prepared environment, Influence: teachers are meant to observe children individually in order to provide for their play and learning.

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