Week 2&3 Theories of Child Development MHP222011 Shirley Kueh Siew Sieng

1. Behaviorist theory

1.1. Behaviourism emphasizes how learners with their environment through **simulation** that forms certain behaviours. This process is known as **conditioning**.

1.1.1. Behaviourists are concerned solely with an understanding behaviour as the response to **environmental stimuli**

1.1.2. A *stimulus* is anything that activates a **behavioural change** in oneself. The key concept is that learning occurs when there is a reform in behaviour as a result of enforcing certain **reinforcement** (a *reward* or *punishment*).

1.1.3. Behaviourists believe that an individuals’ apparent reaction is based on the **behavioural response** that occurred after a *satisfying effect* which were most likely to become a patterns (or habit) that will continually occur in response to a similar stimulus.

1.1.4. The behaviourists indicate the most effect on child development happens when learning occurs in the environment. They concentrate on environmental changes and adaptation to adjust children's development.

1.2. **Influential Theorists**

1.2.1. **Ivan Pavlov** (1849-1936), Behaviourism learning theory is originated with the work of the Russian physiologist

1.2.1.1. Pavlov studied a form of learning behaviour called a **conditioned reflex**, in which an animal or human produced a reflex (*unconscious*) response to a *stimulus*. After conditioning, which is over a number of repetitions, the neutral stimulus is renamed the *conditioned stimulus*, and the response is called the *conditioned response*. That is where the formulation of new habits (rewards) or phobias (punishments).

1.2.1.2. Four stages in the process of Pavlovian **Classical conditioning**, which involves *environmental interaction*.

1.2.1.2.1. **Acquisition*** refers to the period when the stimulus comes to evoke the *conditioned response* . It is the first stage that learning is expected to happen as a result of a learner experiencing something whereby the response is then developed and reinforced in the entire process.

1.2.1.2.2. **Extinction** refers to the process of *weakening* (or eventual stop) the reinforcement to a behaviour. That behaviour eventually becomes extinct if a reward (or punishment) is no longer follows the behaviour. For example, when a teacher stops acknowledging a student’s certain behaviour, eventually the student no longer displays that behaviour.

1.2.1.2.3. **Generalisation** refers to occurs when a learner *responds to a stimulus that is similar* to the original conditioned stimulus. This happens when the learner responds in the same way to different stimuli once he/she has been conditioned to behave in a certain way. For example, imagine that a baby has been conditioned to crawl to his mum when he sees his mum with arms wide open. The baby exhibits the same response when he sees someone with open arms pose.

1.2.1.2.4. **Discrimination** refers to *the ability to differentiate* between a conditioned stimulus and other stimuli that have not been paired with an unconditioned stimulus. Which means the subject is able to differentiate between these stimuli, he/she will only respond when the conditioned stimulus is presented.

1.2.1.3. **Implication to education**: The classical conditioning can be helpful in the classroom. It facilitates the development of positive attitudes among learners and the elimination of negative attitudes. It also arouses children's emotional development in the classroom. For the teaching learning process to be successful, teachers can make the classroom environment more engaging and encouraging.

1.2.2. **Edward Lee Thorndike** (1874-1949), an American psychologist. Thorndike is known as pioneer in education psychology.

1.2.2.1. Thorndike theory explains **learning is change of behaviour** that can be observed, measured, and assessed concretely. His work on comparative psychology and the learning process led to the development of operant conditioning within behaviourism.

1.2.2.2. According to Thorndike, the basic of learning is **trial and error** or *selecting and connecting learning.*

1.2.2.2.1. Thorndike's clinical experiment on a hungry cat in a puzzle box in 1898. The random attempts (scratching the box, trying to bend the bars and stretching the feet outside) are called **errors**. At last in its random activities, it lift up the latch and obtained the meat. This examined that *the number of* **trials** *will reduce the wrong responses* and finally correct response is found.

1.2.2.2.2. Each match respond of the cat makes a new stimulus, then this new stimulus will make another respond, and it will happen repeatedly. Finally, the cat will find a match respond (escaping) with the stimulus (getting the food out side the cage). Thorndike concluded every creature in his behavior there is a *association between stimulus* **S** *and respond* **R**. This is **S-R theory** proposed by Thorndike.

1.2.2.3. Thorndike's **Laws of Learning**. Thorndike placed a great emphasis on **consequences of behaviour** as setting the foundation for *what is and is not learned* .

1.2.2.3.1. **Law of Readiness**, learner must be ready and in good condition, psychology and physically, in order to be success in learning. There is an implication that acquires *changing of behaviour* , and this behaviour result a satisfaction, then the association will be strengthen.

1.2.2.3.2. **Law of Exercise**, to result suitable and satisfied to respond stimulus, so learner should trials and practice frequently through learning. The main principle of learning is **repetition**, when a teacher assigns a task (stimulus), students will answer it (respond), and it makes the prestige of students increases.

1.2.2.3.3. **Law of effect**, every learner has own respond in facing a new stimulus or situation. If the new stimulus possesses a satisfaction, the learner will repeat the same action for similar situation. In education, law of effect is happened to someones who receives punishment or reward

1.2.2.4. **Implication to education**: Thorndike introduced the concept of *reinforcement*. He was the first to apply psychological principles to the area of learning, and led to many theories and laws of learning. His work represents the transition from the school of functionalism to behaviorism, and enabled psychology to focus on learning theory..

1.2.3. **John Watson** (1878-1958), an American psychologist who was a pioneering psychologist in developing behaviourism.

1.2.3.1. Watson put the emphasis on *external and outward behaviours* of an individual rather than the internal and psychological conditions of the individual.

1.2.3.2. According to Watson (1913), the first objective of psychology analysis is to *get insight in the human behaviours*, and “its theoretical goal is the *prediction and control* of behaviours”.

1.2.3.3. “**The little Albert Experiment**” carried out by Watson and his doctoral student, Rosalie Rayner, at Johns Hopkins University in 1919. Watson conditioned a nine-month old infant to fear a small rat by timing the arrival of the rat with a loud noise.

1.2.3.3.1. This experiment presents how **classical conditioning** can be used to *condition an emotional response*.

1.2.3.3.2. For Watson, the nature science of psychology is **stimuli** and **responses**. A child's **environment** is the factor that *shapes behaviour over his/her natural temperament* .

1.2.3.3.3. This experiment demonstrates how individuals can be conditioned to produce emotional responses to previously neutral stimuli.

1.2.3.3.4. The unwanted response is repeatedly associated with something unpleasant, eventually resulting in an *avoidance of that behaviour* .

1.2.3.4. **Nature vs Nurture**

1.2.3.4.1. Watson *rejected instinctive and genetic theories* of human functioning

1.2.3.4.2. **Training** was the way to modify behaviour, and everything is built into a child through his/her interactions with his/her environment. In other words, a child’s experiences tend to be more powerful on reshaping his/her outward behaviour.

1.2.3.4.3. Watson *contended that many behaviors thought to be inherited* are actually *shaped by early childhood experiences*. Watson concluded that this is the mechanism by which all adult emotions develop.

1.2.3.4.4. Watson’s personal experience was his nurse told him that if he ever went out walking at night, the devil would snatch him away to hell. it caused Watson to *develop an intense fear of darkness* that stayed with him for the rest of his life.

1.2.3.5. **Implication to child development**: In the book released in 1928, *The Psychological Care of the Infant and Child* , Watson dispensed his views on the subject of child-rearing. His emphasis on the importance of **nurture** in human development as children should be *treated as young adults*.

1.2.4. **Burrhus Frederic Skinner** (1904-1990), an American psychologist, behaviourist, author, inventor, and social philosopher.

1.2.4.1. **Skinner box** (also known as *operant conditioning chamber* ) demonstrated the power of rewards and *reinforcements* to shape behaviour. It has been implemented in classroom to determine how *instrumental conditioning* may change students' behaviour.

1.2.4.1.1. **Operant conditioning** also known as *instrumental conditioning* , has shown that humans can train humans and other animals to perform a whole range of tasks and skills through *positive reinforcement* .

1.2.4.1.2. Skinner believed that the best way to understand behaviour is to look at the *causes of an action* and its *consequences*. **Reinforcement** is a *consequence* that increases the probability that a behaviour will occur. Whereby, **punishment** is a *consequence* that demolishes the probability a behaviour will occur.

1.2.4.1.3. **Generalization** is giving the same response to all similar stimuli, **discrimination** is when the same individual responds differently to different stimuli, and **extinction** occurs when a previously reinforced response is no longer reinforced and the response decreases.

1.2.4.2. Comparisons of Classical and Operant Conditioning

1.2.4.3. **Implication to education**: Skinner's rewarding study impacted how behavioural theories met real-life problems, and it continue to influence the present. Skinner improved learning devices such as teaching machines and programmed textbooks. His experiments and the conclusions he drew about the mechanistic nature of humans were the source for *behaviour modification* in the 20th century, and continuously relevant in today's technological age.

1.2.5. **Sidney William Bijou** (1908-2009), an American psychologist who specialized in child psychology, behaviorism, and studies on autism.

1.2.5.1. **Psychological development** was described by Bijou and his colleague, Baer (1961) in terms of the progressive changes of an organism's behavior as a consequence of the continuous interaction between the developing, biologically changing individual and his/her environment.

1.2.5.2. They suggested that an understanding of child development required an analysis of: (a) the developing child as a *source of responses* (respondent and operant), (b) the child's *environment* (internal and external), and (c) the *continuous and reciprocal interaction* between the child and the environment.

1.2.5.3. To Bijou (1966), the learning environment of an individual with developmental disability (DD) should be *systematically programmed*, or arranged and rearranged to bring a desired behaviour change of the learner.

1.2.5.4. Bijou also suggested the highly reinforcing of **negative punishment** (or *time-out from reinforcement* ) to decrease inappropriate behaviour.

1.2.5.5. Bijou suggested that programs should be initiated at a level that ensures successful completion of the materials, with advancement to more complex programs on the basis of the child's observed responding.

1.2.5.6. **Implication to education**: Bijou’s major works include Behavior Analysis of Child Development (1993) and Childhood Development: The Basic Stage of Early Childhood (1976). He contributed to other works, such as New Directions in Behavior Development and Behavior Modification: Contributions to Education, both with Emilio Ribesinesta. His work on effective teaching and treatment methods for autistic children (1990-1998) has presented different curricula and class designs to assist autistic children in integrating into the national school system.

1.3. Impact of Behaviourism

1.3.1. Behaviourism, specially Thorndike's concept had an effect on early childhood education in **habit training** in the 20th century.

1.3.2. The emphasis on **observing children's behaviour** has continued to be vital.

1.3.3. Behaviourism has affected **special education** particularly *training programs* for children with mental disabilities.

2. Constructivist Theory

2.1. Constructivism is a theory that promotes learning as an active and internal process in which new information is added to a foundation of prior knowledge. Cognitive constructivism and social constructivism are the two major types.

2.1.1. **Cognitive Constructivisim** Learning is the process of mental constructing meaning of experiences.

2.1.1.1. **Jean Piaget** (1896–1980), a forerunner of constructivist theories of cognitive development

2.1.1.1.1. Children use *physical* (observable properties) and *social* (customary of a society) knowledge as the basic sources and approaches for information.

2.1.1.1.2. Young children are *egocentric* (the tendency not to be able to take the perspective of others) and construed circumstances exclusively from their individual perspective.

2.1.1.1.3. Children use a sequence of **schema**, which integrates their styles of *reasoning* that related to all aspects of the world.

2.1.1.1.4. Piaget attributed cognitive development to a sequence of stages. Children progress through these stages at their own developmental rate. However, all children pass through these stages regardless of social or cultural background.

2.1.1.1.5. **Implication to education** : Jean Piaget: "The principal goal of education should be creating men and women who are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what other generations have done." Piaget influenced educational policy, curricula, and teaching practices. The *Plowden report * (1967) makes Piaget-associated recommendations: **The school curriculum should contribute to children's present well-being.** .

2.1.2. **Social Constructivism** Learning is a social process, the interaction between individuals and the culture in their environment.

2.1.2.1. **Lev Semenovich Vygotsky** (1896–1934), a Soviet psychologist, known for his work on psychological development in children

2.1.2.1.1. **Natural and Cultural**

2.1.2.1.2. **Thought and Language**

2.1.2.1.3. The relationship of **ZPD**, **MKO** and **Scaffolding**

2.1.2.1.4. Vygotsky's view on **Play**

2.1.2.1.5. **Implication to teaching and learning** : Thousands of institutions have modeled their curriculum after Vygotsky's principles. Most studies have proven that students who work in collaboration with the more knowledgeable people almost always manage to work on the task given successfully. Vygotsky’s influence on the way teachers as social agents evaluate their existence within a wider society.

2.1.2.2. **Jerome Bruner** (1915–2016), an American psychologist and educationist. Bruner advocated for a discipline based on *cultural psychology* .

2.1.2.2.1. The Spiral Curriculum is based on Bruner's idea that “We begin with the hypothesis that any subject can be taught in some intellectually honest form to any child at any stage of development”.

2.1.2.2.2. The term “**scaffolding**” was first used by Bruner in the late 1950s.

2.1.2.2.3. Bruner's "**Modes of Representation**", are ways humans store and encode knowledge in memory. These modes are loosely sequential, not tied to specific ages.

2.1.2.2.4. By learning language, children can code stimuli and develop a complex and flexible cognition that enables them to develop their understanding of the world around them.

2.1.2.2.5. **Implication to education**: Bruner's social science curriculum was widely used during the 1960s and '70s. His book, The Process of Education (Bruner, 1960), had a strong impact on the curriculum-reform movement of the time. He argues that curricula should be designed to foster early intuitions and then build on them in increasingly formal and abstract ways as learning progresses.

2.2. Impact of Constructivisim

2.2.1. The constructivists provided a comparable framework showing child development are *cultivated through interactions with environment and other people* . It has led educators to *shift from individually-based instruction to cooperative instruction* . Thus, constructivists viewed that gaining knowledge is a process, not a product.

2.2.2. The learner-centred approach of constructivism has influenced early childhood educators's focus on the curriculum and physical environment with developmentally appropriate materials, and the strength of peer interactions in learning.

2.2.3. The constructivists believe that children should be actively participate in meaning learning experiences. They should assume full responsibilities for learning, whereas in behaviourism, teachers assume the responsibility for learning instead of the children.

3. Psychoanalytic Theory

3.1. Psychoanalytic theory provides an awareness to how the **unconscious mind** affects on individual's thoughts, feelings, and behaviour. It has had a continuing effect on:

3.1.1. (a) the development of the field of **child development** .

3.1.2. (b) beginning of **therapeutic programs** for children.

3.1.3. (c) the foundation of **early childhood education program** .

3.2. Influential Theorists

3.2.1. ** Sigmund Freud** (1856-1939), an Austrian neurologist, the founder of the psychodynamic approach to psychology.

3.2.1.1. **Freud's Unconscious Mind** Freud (1900, 1905) developed a *topographical model* of the mind to describe the features of the mind’s structure and function.

3.2.1.1.1. **id** resides in the unconscious part of human mind. It comprises two kinds of biological instincts, (a) **Eros** (or life instinct) helps the individual to survive, and (b) **Thanatos** (or death instinct) is a set of destructive forces present in all human beings.

3.2.1.1.2. **ego** mainly resides in the preconscious and conscious parts of the mind. It develops from the *id during infancy* to satisfy the demands of the id in a *socially acceptable way* .

3.2.1.1.3. **superego** resides in all three parts, *conscious, subconscious, and unconscious* . It develops during early childhood (when the child identifies with the same sex parent) and is responsible for *ensuring moral standards* are followed. It also deploys various defense mechanisms (Freud, 1894, 1896) to prevent it from becoming overwhelmed by anxiety.

3.2.1.1.4. Freud's **dream analysis** (1900) considered that it is in dreams that the *ego's defenses are lowered* so that some of the repressed material comes through to awareness, albeit in distorted form. Dreams perform important functions for the unconscious mind and serve as valuable clues to how the unconscious mind operates.

3.2.1.2. Freud's **psychoanalysis** concepts reinforced *personality development* in psychology. It is a method for treating mental illness and also a theory which explains human behaviour.

3.2.1.2.1. (a) the significance of the **initial years in the children's life** in forming their fundamental personality.

3.2.1.2.2. (b) **children's personality** in coping with a series of continuous struggles associated to a specific development stage.

3.2.1.2.3. (c) "**the talking cure**", a verbal therapy, becomes the central components of psychoanalysis for treating nervous disorders.

3.2.1.2.4. Freud believed that children are born with a **libido**, a sexual (pleasure) urge. There are a number of stages of childhood, during which the child seeks pleasure from a different ‘object.’

3.2.1.3. **Implication to education**: Freud's scientific discovery of the unconscious has contributed to the understanding of the role of the unconscious in the motivation aspect of learning. Based on Freud's concepts, educators is tasked with teaching children to conform to a normative set of socially approved behaviours. Education serves a social conditioning function, which manifests overwhelmingly in the form of behavioural control.

3.2.2. **Erik Erikson** (1902-1994), a German-born American psychoanalyst and psychoanalyst known for his theory on psychological development of human beings.

3.2.2.1. **Erikson's stages of development** Each stage of human life, an individual encounter his/her personal psychosocial needs that continue throughout old age. Every individual needs to prepared to overpower the sequence of dilemmas (or conflicts) to be ready for the next developmental stage. During these stages, the potential for personal growth is high but so is the potential for failure. If an individual fails to deal effectively with these conflicts, he/she may not develop the essential skills needed for a strong sense of self.

3.2.2.2. **Psychosocial Development** Erikson's theory was based on what is known as the **epigenetic principle** . This principle suggests that people grow in a sequence that occurs over time and in the context of a larger community. Yong children from *early childhood* to *play age* develop autonomy and initiative senses. Erikson believed that achieving a balance between the conflict senses would lead children to: (a) act with intention, within reason and limits, and (b) a willingness to work with others, the ego quality known as purpose emerges.

3.2.2.3. **Implication to education**: Erikson contributed to early years education in a great way. His psychosocial theory provides a broad framework to view development throughout the entire lifespan. He helped both teaching professionals and parents understand better how people, especially children, can form their own identities through the different life stages and developments they go through.

3.2.3. **Freud put emphasis on the *unconscious 'id'* vs Erikson emphasized the *adaptive abilities of 'ego'* **

3.3. Impact of Psychoanalytic Theory

3.3.1. In a child's growth journey, the expression of feelings is vitally important for he/she to deal with negative feelings and to settle emotional struggles. **Play** (particularly pretend play) is a type therapy for children where they transforming their reality into a world of its own, experimenting with the social and emotional roles of life.

3.3.2. Both Freud and Erikson have made important contributions to ECE. Teachers need to provide a mentally health environment where children are free to communicate their feelings and help them to acquire competencies to reinforce the children's ego.

4. Maturation Theory

4.1. **Individual's Hereditary**

4.1.1. Biological progression

4.1.1.1. gradually emerges

4.1.1.2. inevitably

4.1.1.3. instinctively

4.1.2. Young children gain knowledge naturally and spontaneously

4.1.3. Genetic predetermination controlled the child study domain

4.2. **Influential Theorists**

4.2.1. **G. Stanley Hall** (1844-1924)

4.2.1.1. Hall's **Theory of Recapitulation**

4.2.1.1.1. Human race progressed at a developmental sequence

4.2.1.1.2. Hall's theory was considered the theory of evolution

4.2.1.1.3. Hall believed that children's mental capabilities are substantially influenced by genes

4.2.1.1.4. "**Ontology recapitulates phylogeny** ”, the evolutionary history of an individual, a society, or a group of societies.

4.2.1.2. **Implication to education**: The initiator of the "child-centered" method to education, and also the father of the child study movement in the 1880s.

4.2.1.2.1. Education should focus on the nature of childhood.

4.2.1.2.2. integrated *genetic psychology studies* to education.

4.2.1.2.3. suggested *sex-segregated schooling* during puberty would contribute to proper gendered development and sublimate the sexual tensions of adolescence.

4.2.2. **Arnold Gessell** (1880-1961)

4.2.2.1. **The Maturational Theory** of child development was introduced in 1925

4.2.2.1.1. All children (1) go through similar and predictable sequences; (2) develop in a discontinuous manner; (3) progress through at own pace; and (4) may be different from chronological age.

4.2.2.1.2. Normative trends for 4 areas of development, (1) motor, (2) adaptive (cognitive), (3) language, and (4) personal-social behaviour.

4.2.2.1.3. **The Cyclical Spiral**

4.2.2.2. “No environment as such has the capacity… to generate the progressions of development”

4.2.2.2.1. Environmental influences were assumed to be minor.

4.2.2.2.2. Genetic predetermination controlled the child study domain.

4.2.2.2.3. Children begin mastering tasks once their nervous system has matured adequately.

4.2.2.2.4. Genetic developmental structure in the four areas: a) motor skills, b) adaptive behaviour, c) language development, and d) personal and social skills.

4.2.2.2.5. Child development are most effective when **social and cultural environments** are harmonious with the **inner maturational timetable**.

4.3. **Readiness**

4.3.1. Children must be mature enough biologically to obtain the optimal learning experience.

4.3.2. Admission to school is associated to chronological age.

4.3.3. The recognition of instructional readiness for school and the concept of a child-centered curriculum

4.3.4. related to DAP (developmentally appropriate practice) that requires teachers to be aware of children's development, meet them where they are.

4.3.5. focused on children’s normal development.

4.4. **Criticism**

4.4.1. Overemphasis on biological factors and their disregard for the effects of experience and learning.

4.4.2. **failed to provide** (1) environmental consequences on the children’s development, (2) children’s individual differences, (3) how to support the children’s development and learning, (4) effectively describe the multifaceted progressions of development, and (5) beneficial information that is able to compare children to group norms.

5. Ecological Theory

5.1. **Urie Bronfenbrenner** (1917-2005), a Russian-born American psychologist who is most known for his ecological systems theory in 1974.

5.1.1. **Bronfenbrenner's Ecological theory** addresses the *social-cultural contexts* of child development and learning. As a child develops, the interaction within the environmental systems (*microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem*) become more complex, and can arise as the child's physical and cognitive structures grow and mature. Children are not passive recipients of experiences, they reciprocally interact with their immediate environment.

5.1.1.1. **Microsystem**, a setting in which a child spends consderable time, such as family members, peers, neighbourhood, and school.

5.1.1.2. **Mesosystem** involves linkages between microsystem, such as the connections of family-school experiences, family-peer experiences.

5.1.1.3. **Exosystem** involves link between a social setting in which the child does not involve as an active participant but still affect them indirectly like school rules and regulations which hinder a child's behaviour and learning in school.

5.1.1.4. **Macrosystem** involves the broadest context, such as the culture where the child lives.

5.1.1.5. **Chronosystem** includes the sociohistorical conditions that may influence a child. For example, divorce is a major life transition that may affect a child's behaviour.

5.1.2. Bronfenbrenner (1994) later revised his theory and named it the ‘**Bioecological model**’ This model looked at patterns of *development across time* as well as the interactions between the development of the child and the environment.

5.1.2.1. Bronfenbrenner added **biological influences** after recognizing that the *individual was overlooked* in other theories of human development.

5.1.2.2. The focus shifted from focusing on environmental context influences (*micro-, miso-, exo-, and macrosystem* ) to developmental processes individuals experience over time (*chronosystem*).

5.1.2.3. This model gives prominence to **proximal processes** in which Bronfenbrenner viewed them as having positive effects on development, which are the experiences an individual actively participates in that make up the microsystem.

5.1.2.4. Example: Conceptual model of proximal processes as the source material for short-term engagement orientations and long-term implications for adolescent-teacher relationships.

5.1.3. **Implication to education**: At the center of Bronfenbrenner's theory is the developing child. The settings of day care centers and schools within which activities, roles, and interpersonal relations set the stage for *proximal processes*.

5.1.3.1. Teachers and parents should keep good communication with each other and work together to benefit the child.

5.1.3.2. Teachers should also be understanding of the situations their student’s background in order to make the learning activities relevant.

5.1.4. **Criticism**: The model focuses too little on the socioemotional aspect of children development and it does not address the step-by-step developmental changes as Piaget's and Erikson's.