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Key Issues in Developmental Psychology
166
Key Issues in Developmental Psychology
EDUC/525
Justin Call
Continuity vs. Discontinuity
Description
Continuity vs. Discontinuity is the debate of whether developmental change occurs smoothly over time or does it occur in a series of predetermined steps. The idea of change occuring smoothly over time deals with quantitative change. The idea of change occuring in steps or stages is qualitative change.
"Some theories of development argue that changes aer simply a matter of quanity; children display more of a certain skill as they grow older. Other theories outline a series of sequential stages in which skills emerge at certain points of development" (Cherry, 2017).
Description
Examples of Discontinuity
Freud's Theory of Psychosexual Development
Examples of Discontinuity
Believed that development occured through a series of psychosexual stages:
1. The oral stage (Birth to 1 year)
2. The anal stage (1 to 3 years)
3. The phallic stage (3 to 6 years)
4. The latent period (6 years to puberty)
5. The genital stage (puberty to death)
Freud believed early development was key to the developmental processes later in life. If one of the needs in the stages were not met properly it could lead to a fixation and the person would look to fulfill the need from that stage and could cause issues later in life.
Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development
Piaget believed children develop cognitively in four stages of mental development. He believed children had an active role in learning and they took previous knowledge to help develop new knowledge. The four stages of the theory are:
1. The sensorimotor stage (Birth to 2 years)
2. The preoperational stage (2 to 7 years)
3. The concrete operational stage (7 to 11 years)
4. The formal operational stage (12 and up)
Children develop based on observations , existing knowldege, and interactions with the world around them, but still tend to be in chunks or stages of development.
Examples of Continuity
Bandura's Social Learning Theory
Development occurs more smoothly and gradual and is shaped by interactions between an indivdual and the evniroment.
He believed children imitate what they see and hear and remember based on their surroundings.
Watson's Behaviorism Theory
Examples of Continuity
Used a white rat and an 11 month old child name Albert in an experiment to show behavior can be learned through experiences. Loud noises were produced when the rat was touched which scared the child. The child did not want to touch the rat again. This illustrated that a child learns based off their experiences and enviroment over time not necessarily in stages.
Classroom Applications
I believe that it is vital to understand both area of continuity and discontinuity because I think they both have merits when it comes to human development.
In the classroom, it is important to know how and when children learn certain things so we can prepare proper curriculum and know if children are on track developmentally. For example, with continuity we need to set expectations in every classroom and create experiences that children can build off of and continue to grow. If we know they aren't building off of previous teachings and lessons then we may note that something is wrong and can address the issue.
Discontinuity also plays a role in the classroom because we can look at certain stages and develop learning goals and expectations for that stage or period. For example, children tend to be taught multiplication at around the same age because their congnitive abilities tend to be ready for this step at a certain age or time period.
Nature vs. Nurture
Description
The nature vs. nurture question has been debated throughout history by psychologists and philosophers. The main question is whether development is due more to genetics or their enviornment. Early philosophers, Plato and Descartes, felt that many ideas were inborn (nature). However, John Locke, believed in the mind being a blank slate (tablua rasa) and that knowledge only came from experience (nurture).
Due to the debate that has occurred over the years, most psychologists feel today that both nature and nurture play roles in human development.
Description
Examples of Nature
Language Acquisition--The ability to learn language is something that is wired into our brains at birth. "Chomsky taught that language is much like walking. Although humans learn by example, he proposed that we are all born with a fundamental understanding of the underlying mechanisms of language (Dovey, 2015)."
Twins--Identical twins that were raised by separate families having the same behaviors, personalities, and intelligence would support the ideas that nature is the key contributor to development.
Puberty-- All children go through the biological developments of puberty.
Examples of Nature
Examples of Nurture
Language--The view that baby talk interferes with language acquistion is an example of the nurture mindset. "Such a statement assumes that language development is mostly a matter of imitation: The child must hear language that is properly pronounced and grammatically correct in order to develop linguistic fluency (Boyd & Bee, 2012)."
Twins--Identical twins that were raised by different families and showed the similar behaviors, intelligence, and personalities as their families rather than their twin would support the idea that evnironment is more important than heredity.
Puberty--While puberty may be biological, it can be affected by environmental factors such as diet and nutrition and poverty. This would lead someone to belief that environmental factors play a key role in development and therefore help to support the idea of nurture over nature.
Classroom Applications
The nature vs. nurture debate has went on throughout history, but today we tend to believe it is an interaction between these two areas. This is important because teachers must understand that there are certain biological influences that effect student learning. Some may have certain talents that makes learning easier. We must be able to differentiate learning to reach all types of learners.
However, if all learning was determined by nature, then teachers wouldn't play much of a role in learning. We see that environmental factors do influence learning. For that reason, we must be able to create a positive learning enviroment in our classroom where students are supported in a positive manner. Teachers can be the support and role-model to help students meet those environmental factors needed for maximum learning.
Classroom Applications
Stability vs. Change
Description
The issue of stability vs. change questions whether characteristics of individuals remain constant over time or do they change with time and new experiences. Those that believe in stability feel that personality traits that develop in the first few years can predict the traits that develop in adulthood.
Those that believe in change feel that traits can change gradually over time with the influence of culture and environmental factors.
Description
Examples of Stability
The Psychoanalytic theories tend to support the idea of stability when it comes to developing personality because they focus on events from early childhood. Freud believed much of a child's development is established by the age of five.
An example of this thought of stability may be the attachment of a child to a parent or individual early in life that continues throughout the lifetime of the child.
Another example of stability is the belief of the things you do during pregnancy can impact the baby's behavior and development later in life.
Examples of Change
Change theorists feel that childhood events do not necessarily have a dominating effect over behavior throughout life. For example, many children that have difficult childhoods in terms of abuse and poverty overcome these events and become well rounded and productive adults. Another example could be how a shy child may become outgoing and extroverted as they grow into adulthood.
Examples of Change
Classroom Applications
I think in the classroom, the reason teachers teach is because the believe in change and that children can change and become more than they thought they could. Therefore, I believe that teachers must provide the experiences and lessons that can shape learning and change in children. I think this also affects the behavior of the children in the belief of what they accomplish. Having a growth mindset is vital in education. When students feel they are "not smart" and they can't learn, they are falling into the stability mindset. The growth mindset is where they believe they can change and learn.
References
Boyd, D., & Bee, H. (2012). The Developing Child (13th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Pearson.
Cherry, K. (2017, Summer). Issues in Developmental
Psychology. , (), . Retrieved from
https:// www.verywell.com/issues-in- developmental-psychology-2795069
Dovey, D. (2015, December). Noam Chomsky’s Theory Of Universal Grammar Is Right; It's
Hardwired Into Our Brains. , (), . Retrieved from http://www.medicaldaily.com/noam-
chomskys-theory-universal-grammar-right-its-hardwired-our-brains-364236