T
SIXTH EDITION
Childhood
Adolescence
VOYAGES IN DEVELOPMENT
SPENCER A. RATHUSwe consider methods for the study of child development. Scientists have devised sophisticated
methods for studying children, and the field of ethics helps us determine what types of research are
deemed proper and what types are deemed improper.
4
PART 1 WHAT IS
Motor Development This infant
has just mastered the ability
co pull herself up to a standing
Dosition. Soon she will be able
o stand alone, and then she will
105
egin to walk.
child A person undergoing the
period of development from
infancy through puberty.
fancy The period of very early
ildhood, characterized by lack
of complex speech; the first
2 years after birth.
evelopment The processes by
ich organisms unfold features
and traits, grow, and become
re complex and specialized in
structure and function.
owth The processes by which
organisms increase in size,
weight, strength, and other
traits as they develop.
1.1
What is Child Development? Coming to
Terms With Terms
You have heard the word child all your life, so why bother to define it? We do
so because words in common usage are frequently used inexactly. A child is
a person experiencing the period of development from infancy to puberty
two other familiar words that are frequently used inexactly. The term infancy
derives from Latin roots meaning "not speaking," and infancy is usually des
fined as the first 2 years of life, or the period of life before the development
of complex speech. We stress the word complex because many children have
a large vocabulary and use simple sentences before their second birthday.
Researchers commonly speak of two other periods of development that
lie between infancy and adolescence: early childhood and middle child-
hood. Early childhood encompasses the ages from 2 to 5 years. Middle
childhood generally is defined as the years from 6 to 12. In Western
society, the beginning of this period usually is marked by the child's entry
into first grade. To study development, we must also look further back to
the origin of sperm and ova (egg cells), the process of conception, and the
prenatal period. Yet we must also describe the mechanisms of heredity
that give rise to traits in humans and other animals.
Development is the orderly appearance, over time, of physical
structures, psychological traits, behaviors, and ways of adapting to
the demands of life. The changes brought on by development are both
STOT
qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative changes are changes in type or
kind. Consider motor development. As we develop, we gain the abili-
ties to lift our heads, sit up, crawl, stand, and walk. These changes are qualitative.
However, within each of these qualitative changes are quantitative developments,
or changes in amount. After babies begin to lift their heads, they lift them higher
to run faster. 21
po stand higher. Soon after children walk, they begin to run. Then they gain the capacity
I
QEDevelopment occurs across many dimensions-biological, cognitive, social, emo-
tional, and behavioral. Development is spurred by internal factors, such as genetics,
and it is shaped by external factors, such as nutrition and culture.
The terms growth and development are not synonymous, although many people
use them interchangeably. Growth is generally used to refer to changes in size or
quantity, whereas development also refers to changes in quality. During the early
days following conception, the fertilized egg cell develops rapidly. It divides repeat-
edly, and cells begin to take on specialized forms. However, it does not "grow" in
that there is no gain in mass. Why? It has not yet become implanted in the uterus and
is therefore without any external source of nourishment. Language development is
the process by which the child's use of language becomes progressively more sophis-
of new words and their meanings.
ticated and complex. Vocabulary growth, by contrast, consists of the accumulation
loq zirlt js svine
Child development, then, is a field of study that tries to understand the processes
that govern the appearance and growth of children's biological structures, psycho-
logical traits, behavior, understanding, and ways of adapting to the demands of life.
Professionals from many fields are interested in child development. They in-
clude psychologists, educators, anthropologists, sociologists, nurses, and medical re-
searchers. Each brings his or her own brand of expertise to the quest for knowledge.Photodisc/First Light
we consider methods for the study of child development. Scientists have devised sophisticated
methods for studying children, and the field of ethics helps us determine what types of research are
deemed proper and what types are deemed improper.
Motor
Development This infant
has just mastered the ability
to pull herself up to a standing
position. Soon she will be able
to stand alone, and then she will
begin to walk.
child A person undergoing the
period of development from
infancy through puberty.
infancy The period of very early
childhood, characterized by lack
of complex speech; the first
2 years after birth.
development The processes by
which organisms unfold features
and traits, grow, and become
more complex and specialized in
structure and function.
growth The processes by which
organisms increase in size,
weight, strength, and other
traits as they develop.
1.1
What is Child Development? Coming to
Terms With Terms
You have heard the word child all your life, so why bother to define it? We do
so because words in common usage are frequently used inexactly. A child
a person experiencing the period of development from infancy to puberty
two other familiar words that are frequently used inexactly. The term
infancy
derives from Latin roots meaning "not speaking,” and infancy is usually de
fined as the first 2 years of life, or the period of life before the development
of complex speech. We stress the word complex because many children have
a large vocabulary and use simple sentences before their second birthday.
Researchers commonly speak of two other periods of development that
lie between infancy and adolescence: early childhood and middle child-
hood. Early childhood encompasses the ages from 2 to 5 years. Middle
childhood generally is defined as the years from 6 to 12. In Western
society, the beginning of this period usually is marked by the child's entry
into first grade. To study development, we must also look further back to
the origin of sperm and ova (egg cells), the process of conception, and the
prenatal period. Yet we must also describe the mechanisms of heredity
that give rise to traits in humans and other animals.
Development is the orderly appearance, over time, of physical
structures, psychological traits, behaviors, and ways of adapting to
the demands of life. The changes brought on by development are both
qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative changes are changes in type or
kind. Consider motor development. As we develop, we gain the abili-
ties to lift our heads, sit up, crawl, stand, and walk. These changes are qualitative.
However, within each of these qualitative changes are quantitative developments,
or changes in amount. After babies begin to lift their heads, they lift them higher
and higher. Soon after children walk, they begin to run. Then they gain the capacity
to run faster.c9m
Development occurs across many dimensions-biological, cognitive, social, emo-
tional, and behavioral. Development is spurred by internal factors, such as genetics,
and it is shaped by external factors, such as nutrition and culture.
The terms growth and development are not synonymous, although many people
use them interchangeably. Growth is generally used to refer to changes in size or
quantity, whereas development also refers to changes in quality. During the early
days following conception, the fertilized egg cell develops rapidly. It divides repeat-
edly, and cells begin to take on specialized forms. However, it does not "grow" in
that there is no gain in mass. Why? It has not yet become implanted in the uterus and
is therefore without any external source of nourishment. Language development is
the process by which the child's use of language becomes progressively more sophis-
ticated and complex. Vocabulary growth, by contrast, consists of the accumulation
of new words and their meanings.
that govern the
Child development, then, is a field of study that tries to understand the processes
appearance and growth of children's biological structures, psycho-
logical traits, behavior, understanding, and ways of adapting to the demands of life.
Professionals from many fields are interested in child development. They in-
clude psychologists, educators, anthropologists, sociologists, nurses, and medical re-
searchers. Each brings his or her own brand of expertise to the quest for knowledge.
PART 1 WHAT IS CHILD DEVELOPMENT?Cissy Vhe st
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sto
8
preferences, and skills are shaped by experience. There continues to be a long-standing
nature-nurture debate in the study of children. In his theoretical approach to under-
standing children, Watson came down on the side of nurture-the importance of the
physical and social environments-found, for example, in parental training and
ap-
proval. Watson's view turned upside down the history of approaches to understand-
ing children. Nature, or the inherited, genetic characteristics of the child, had long
been the more popular explanation of how children develop into who they are.
of overem-
Four years after Watson sounded his call for the behavioral view, Arnold Gesell
expressed the opposing idea that biological maturation was the main principle of
development: "All things considered, the inevitability and surety of maturation are
the most impressive characteristics of early development. It is the hereditary bal-
last which conserves and stabilizes growth of each individual infant" (Gesell, 1928,
p. 378). Watson was talking about the behavior patterns that children develop,
whereas Gesell was focusing largely on the physical aspects of growth and develop-
ment. Still, the behavioral and maturational perspectives lie at opposite ends of the
continuum of theories of development. Many observers fall into the
trap
phasizing the importance of either nature or nurture; thus they risk of overlooking
the ways in which nature and nurture interact. Just as a child's environments and
experiences influence the development of his or her biological endowment, children
often place themselves in environments that are harmonious with their personal
characteristics. Children, for example, are influenced by teachers and by other stu-
dents. Nevertheless, because of the traits they bring to school with them, some chil-
dren may prefer to socialize with other children while other children may prefer to
socialize with teachers. Still other children may prefer solitude. di baided millel
ise en begrom bad tosoolS
theory A formulation of
relationships underlying
observed events. A theory
involves assumptions and
logically derived explanations
and predictions.
What Are Theories of Child Development?
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Child development is a scientific enterprise. Like other scientists, those who study
development seek to describe, explain, predict, and influence the events they observe.
When possible, descriptive terms and concepts are interwoven into theories. Theo-
ries are based on assumptions about behavior, such as Watson's assumption that
training outweighs talents and abilities, or Gesell's assumption that the unfolding of
maturational tendencies holds sway.
ding
Theories enable us to derive explanations and predictions. For instance, a theory
concerning the development of gender roles should allow us to predict how-and
whether children will acquire stereotypical feminine or masculine gender-typed be-
havior patterns. A broad theory of the development of gender roles might apply to
children from different cultural and racial backgrounds and, perhaps, to children
male and lesbian sexual orientations as well as to children with a hetero-
sexual orientation. If observations cannot be explained by or predicted from a theory,
with gay
we may need to revise or replace the theory.
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Theories also enable researchers to influence events, as in working better with
parents, teachers, nurses, and children themselves to promote the welfare of children.
Psychologists may summarize and interpret theory and research on the effects of day
care to help day-care workers provide an optimal child-care environment. Teachers
may use learning theory to help children learn to read and write. Let us consider
various theoretical perspectives on child development.
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What is the Psychoanalytic Perspective on and
Child Development?
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A number of theories fall within the psychoanalytic perspective. Each one owes
its origin to Sigmund Freud and views children-and adults-as caught in con-
flict (Hergenhahn & Henley, 2014). Early in development, the conflict is between
the child and the world outside. The expression of basic drives, such as sex and
aggression, conflicts with parental expectations, social rules, moral codes, even laws.
PART 1 WHAT IS CHILD DEVELOPMENT?
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