Psychology of Childhood and

Adolescence: Personal, Social, Emotional,

& Moral Development
2013-2014, Sem 1
Lecture 1 Key Issues in Human Development
Dr. LIN Dan

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What is Development?
The Study of Change over time
irreversible, complex, dynamic, and continuous

Feature of Development
quantitative or qualitative ?
cumulative and directional

Development is age-related or age-determined ?

How about schooling?

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Themes
Nature vs. nurture
Continuous VS. discontinuous (stage)
Active VS. passive
Holistic VS. Modular development
Critical period

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Nature vs. Nurture debate
Nature side
F.Galton --genealogical and biographical works
R.C.Tryon's rats Maze experiment
Down's syndrome
Twin studies, Gesell, A.'s study on twins
climbing stairs.

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 Nurture side
J.B. Wason, Behaviorism
uterus environment
early experience
ecological theory

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 "Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed,
and my own specified world to bring them up in
and I'll guarantee to take any one at random
and train him to become any type of specialist I
might select--doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-
chief, and, yes, even beggarman and thief,
regardless of his talents, penchants,
tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of his
ancestors. I am going beyond my facts and I
admit it, but so have the advocates of the
Waso contrary and they have been doing it for many
n thousands of years." - John B. Watson,
Behaviorism, 1930
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 Interaction between nature and nurture
Scarr & McCartney

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Continuous VS. discontinuous (stage)
Continuous
cumulative in quantity
Behaviorism learning theories
Stage
mature quantitative change to qualitative change
Piagets cognitive theory Fried & Eriksons
Psychoanalytic theories

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 Figure 2.4 The course of development as described by continuity and discontinuity (stage) theorists.
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Active VS. Passive
Children are active, determining how
society treats them
Children are passive, being molded by
society

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Holistic VS. Modular development
Are the different aspects of development
separate, or are they interrelated and influence
each other?

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Critical period issue
Critical period a period in a lifetime during which a specific
stage of development usually occurs. If it fails to do so, it
cannot readily occur afterwards.

K. Lorenz, study of imprint in young animals

W. Sluckin support the critical period view in human

Explanation of critical period

critical period is a controversial issue

wolf child
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 2003
1-3
4-5
0-4
5
10
5
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 Ericksons Theory of Psychosocial
Development
Eight Life Crises (Psychosocial Stages)
Emerge at a time dictated by biological maturation and
social demands
Must be resolved successfully for satisfactory resolution
at next stage
Extend throughout life

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Table 2.2 Ericksons and Freuds Stages of Development

 Ericksons Psychosocial Theory
Contributions
Stresses rational, adaptive nature
Emphasizes social conflicts that we can anticipate and
observe in others
Criticisms
Vague about causes of development
Descriptive, not explanatory

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Reference
Textbook, chapter 2.

Keenan (2002). An introduction to child

development. London: Sage. Chapter 1: The
Principles of Developmental Psychology. (e-
learning)

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