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Chapter 1: Issues and Themes in Child DevelopmentLecture NotesLearning Questions1. Who needs to have a good understanding of child development? And why? 2. What are the domains of child development and some recurring themes and issues in the field?3. What are the contexts for child development?4. How can you be a smart consumer of information about development?Chapter SummaryIn this first chapter, we introduce some of the basic concepts of child and adolescent development. We first look at why people study children, and present some ways that people use knowledge about children to promote positive development. We then discuss some of the basic themes related to how development occurs and introduce you to the different contexts that influence children’s lives. Finally, we provide you with strategies and guidelines that will enable you to differentiate reliable information from other material you may encounter as you study child development. Annotated Chapter OutlineWhy Study Child Development?Understanding the Process of DevelopmentOne reason why students are interested in studying child development is that experiences in childhood shape who we become as adults. Example: Terman’s (1921) study of gifted childrenHowever, it is important to remember that although experiences early in life have consequences for functioning later in life, experiences all along the path to adulthood also contribute to an adult’s psychological functioning.Using our Knowledge of Child DevelopmentA second reason to study child development is to be able to use this information to improve the lives of children and adolescents and to foster positive development.1. Parents and family members: Parents’ (and family members’) understanding of children’s needs and abilities at each stage of development helps them provide the appropriate amount and type of support and stimulation to foster children’s growth and development2. Child development professionals: Promoting the optimal development of children and adolescents is a primary goal of professionals who work in the field of education, mental health professionals, youth service workers, and representatives of community organizations who run a variety of programs for children.3. Policymakers: As a society, we have a stake in promoting the well-being of all our citizens, including our children. Research on child development can also guide and inform the people who make social policy related to children. Example: Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) ProgramUnderstanding How Development HappensDomains of DevelopmentWhen studying development, we often distinguish between three basic aspects or domains of development: physical, cognitive, and social-emotional.1. Physical development includes the biological changes that occur in the body, including changes in size and strength, as well as the integration of sensory and motor activities. 2. Cognitive development includes changes in the way we think, understand, and reason about the world. It includes the accumulation of knowledge as well as the way we use that information for problem solving and decision making.3. Social-emotional development includes all the ways we learn to connect to other individuals, understand our emotions and the emotions of others, interact effectively with others, and express and regulate our emotionsAlthough it is useful to make distinctions between these domains, it is also important to understand that they continually interact with each other.Ages and StagesAcross each domain of development, children and adolescents change at different ages and stages:1. Infancy (the first year of life)2. Toddlerhood (ages 1-3)3. Early Childhood (ages 3-6)4. Middle Childhood (ages 6-12)5. Adolescence (ages 12-18)Themes in the Field of Child DevelopmentThere are many issues that have and continue to be debated in the field of child development. 1. Nature and Nurture: Throughout history the question of whether our behavior, thoughts, and feelings result from nature, our genetic inheritance, or from nurture, the influence of the environment, has shaped our understanding of why we act certain ways and how we can influence human behavior. This issue used to be debated as “nature versus nurture,” but is nowbetter understood as “nature through nurture.”2. Continuous versus Stage-Like Development: Some theories in the field of child development that describe development as a series of discontinuous stages children move through in which each stage has characteristics that distinguish it from the stages that come before and after. Other theories, however, describe processes that change development in small increments and are described as continuous theories.a. Quantitative change is change in the amount or quantity of what you are measuring (incremental theories)b. Qualitative changes alter the overall quality of a process or function, and the result is something altogether different (stage theories). 3. Stability versus Change: There is evidence of both stability and change in children’s development (Example: Kokko, Tremblay, Lacourse, Nagin, and Vitaro (2006) study).4. Individual Differences: Our study of children needs to focus both on aspects of development that are universal and shared by all or almost all individuals, and those in which we differ from each other.a. While we can make a number of valid general statements about how development proceeds, the developmental pathway of any given individual is difficult to predict(1). Equifinality: different pathways can result in the same outcome(2). Multifinality: the same pathway can lead to different outcomesb. In the field of developmental psychopathology, psychological disorders are now seen as distortions of normal developmental pathways.5. The Role of the Child in Development: Some theories presume that it is forces in the environment that shape the development of the child, whereas others give children a much more active role in shaping their own development.a. Niche picking: a process in which people express their genetic tendencies by finding environments that match and enhance those tendencies.b. Some contemporary theorists (e.g., Lerner, 1982) suggest, however, that children are both the products and the producers of their own development.6. Positive Psychology: Traditionally, psychology has focused on the disease model; More recently, many psychologists have also become concerned with human strengths. Positive youth development is an approach to children’s and adolescents’ development based on a set of developmental assets that support optimal development for all children, not just those who are at risk. 7. Integrating Themes and Issues: Each of these issues is a lens through which we can view the process of children’s development. Contexts of DevelopmentContext is a very broad term that includes all the settings in which development occurs. Children develop in multiple contexts.Family: Families are the primary context for development for most children.Families are responsible for the socialization of children. They instill the norms, values, attitudes, and beliefs of their culture so that children grow up to be positive, contributing members of their society.Some families have more resources than others and some have less, and these differences affect children’s development. Socioeconomic status (SES) is a combined measure of a family’s income and parental education and occupation.Schools: In most countries, school is another important context for development.In schools, children learn academic skills, such as reading, writing and arithmetic and older children and adolescents are prepared for higher education or entry into the workforce, and civic socialization.Many schools now also provide nutritious meals, some health care, and social services for their students.School also is where most children and adolescents make friends, and sometimes become the victims of munity: Characteristics of the community in which children live impact many aspects of development. Economic adversity, the quality of schools in the community, neighborhood safety, and environmental pollutants can all affect children’s development in significant ways. Culture: Culture is another important context for children’s development. Culture emerges from a particular group’s environmental niche or their place in their particular environment. Research shows some similarities in children’s development across cultures but also important differences between cultures.Research in child development has been traditionally carried out in Western, developed countries, but increasingly the study of child development seeks to understand children within the context of their own cultures (Example: Levine et al. (1994) study).One way in which cultures vary is along the continuum from individualism to collectivism.Being a Smart Consumer of Information about Development: Being able to effectively judge the quality of information that you receive is important. Knowing Your Sources: Some sources of information about child development are from sources that are knowledgeable, objective, and unbiased, whereas others are not.Scholarly journals, books and professional publications in the field of child development are generally trustworthy and reliable sources of information (examples: PsychINFO and ERIC). Peer review: a process in which professionals critique an article and make suggestions for improvement before it is published. However, when you turn to the Internet to find information, such as on Google or Wikipedia, you need to provide your own scrutiny and use good judgment.Becoming a Critical Thinker: It is important to be open to new ideas but also to be cautious about jumping on a bandwagon until there is good evidence that the bandwagon is going in the right direction.Guarding Against Generalizations: Trying to generalize from one particular experience to general statements may lead to inaccurate conclusions. Likewise, when we conduct research we cannot necessarily generalize findings based on one population to another population that might have different characteristics. Avoiding Perceptual Bias: Perceptual bias is the tendency to see and understand something based on the way you expected it to be.Getting the Most from your Textbook: Your textbook has a number of helpful features to assist you in learning about child development.True/False Quiz: begins each chapter to identify important ideas that challenge your initial level of understandingJourneys of Research: put current ideas into a historical context that shows the evolution of our thinking on a given topicLearning Questions: point to the major topics covered in the chapter. These can act as guideposts that will help focus your learning.Check Your Understanding: use these questions as an opportunity to make sure you have a good understanding of that topic before moving on to the next oneChapter Summary: repeats the Learning Questions and summarizes the most relevant information on each topicActive Learning features: designed to help you relate the text material to your own life, view development from many different perspectives, and gain new insight into various aspects of development ................
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