This page will share about the Recent Theoretical Perspectives, Comparing Child Development Theories And Studying The Child.
Recent Theoretical Perspectives
We are going to describe recent theoretical perspective on Child development.
Information processing, a complex symbol-manipulating system, much like a computer. It helps investigators achieve a detailed understanding of what children of different ages do when faced with tasks and problems.
The past two decades, researchers in developmental cognitive neuroscience have begun to study the relationship between changes in the brain and the developing child's cognitive processing and behavior patterns. They have made progress in identifying the types of experiences to which the brain is sensitive at various ages and in clarifying the brain bases of many learning and behavior disorders.
Ethology, stresses the adaptive value and evolutionary history of behavior, inspired the sensitive period concept. In a new area of research called evolutionary developmental psychology, researchers have extended this emphasis, seeking to understand the adaptiveness of species-wide competencies as they change over time.
Vygotsky's sociocultural theory focuses on how culture is transmitted from one generation to the net through social interactions, views cognitive development as a socially mediated process. Cooperative dialogues with more expert members of society, children come to use language to guide their own thought and actions and acquire culturally relevant knowledge and skills.
Ecological system theory views the child as developing within a complex system of relationships affected by multiple, nested layers of the surrounding environment - microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem and macrosysteem. Each if these levels is seen as a major influence on children's well-being. The chronosystem represents the dynamic, ever-changing nature of children and their experiences.
A new wave of theorists has adopted a dynamic systems perspective to better understand how children alter their behavior to attain more advanced functioning, The mind, body, and physical and social worlds form an integrated system that guides mastery of new skills. A change in any part of the system prompts the child to reorganize her behavior so the various components work together again but in a more complex, effective way.
(Berk, 2012)
Information processing, a complex symbol-manipulating system, much like a computer. It helps investigators achieve a detailed understanding of what children of different ages do when faced with tasks and problems.
The past two decades, researchers in developmental cognitive neuroscience have begun to study the relationship between changes in the brain and the developing child's cognitive processing and behavior patterns. They have made progress in identifying the types of experiences to which the brain is sensitive at various ages and in clarifying the brain bases of many learning and behavior disorders.
Ethology, stresses the adaptive value and evolutionary history of behavior, inspired the sensitive period concept. In a new area of research called evolutionary developmental psychology, researchers have extended this emphasis, seeking to understand the adaptiveness of species-wide competencies as they change over time.
Vygotsky's sociocultural theory focuses on how culture is transmitted from one generation to the net through social interactions, views cognitive development as a socially mediated process. Cooperative dialogues with more expert members of society, children come to use language to guide their own thought and actions and acquire culturally relevant knowledge and skills.
Ecological system theory views the child as developing within a complex system of relationships affected by multiple, nested layers of the surrounding environment - microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem and macrosysteem. Each if these levels is seen as a major influence on children's well-being. The chronosystem represents the dynamic, ever-changing nature of children and their experiences.
A new wave of theorists has adopted a dynamic systems perspective to better understand how children alter their behavior to attain more advanced functioning, The mind, body, and physical and social worlds form an integrated system that guides mastery of new skills. A change in any part of the system prompts the child to reorganize her behavior so the various components work together again but in a more complex, effective way.
(Berk, 2012)
Comparing Child Development Theories
Identify the stand taken by each major theory on the basic issues of child development
Theories that are major forces in child development research vary in their focus on different domains of development occurs, and in their view of how development occurs, and in their strengths and weaknesses.
Major theories on basic issues in child development are: Psychoanalytic Perspective, Behaviorism and Social Learning Theory, Piaget's Cognitive-Developmental Theory, Information Processing, Ethology and Evolutionary Developmental Psychology, Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory, Ecological systems theory, Dynamic Systems Perspective.
(Berk, 2012)
Theories that are major forces in child development research vary in their focus on different domains of development occurs, and in their view of how development occurs, and in their strengths and weaknesses.
Major theories on basic issues in child development are: Psychoanalytic Perspective, Behaviorism and Social Learning Theory, Piaget's Cognitive-Developmental Theory, Information Processing, Ethology and Evolutionary Developmental Psychology, Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory, Ecological systems theory, Dynamic Systems Perspective.
(Berk, 2012)
Studying the Child
Describe methods commonly used to gather information on children.
Naturalistic observations, gathered in everyday environments, permit researchers to see directly the everyday behaviors they hope to explain. On the other hand, structured observations take place in laboratories, where every participants has an equal opportunity to display the behaviors of interest.
Self-report methods can be flexible and open-ended like the clinical interviews, permits participants to express their thoughts in ways similar to their thinking in everyday like. Structured interviews, tests and questionnaires are more efficient and permits researchers to specify activities and behaviors that participants might not think of in an open-ended interview.
Investigators use the clinical, or case study, method to obtain an in-depth understanding of a single child. It involves synthesizing a wide range of information, including interviews, observations and sometimes test scores.
Researchers have adapted observational and self-report methods to permit direct comparisons of cultures. To uncover the cultural meanings of behavior, they rely on ethnography - is a qualitative research design aimed at exploring cultural phenomena
(explained from WIKIPEDIA), engaging in participant observation.
(Berk, 2012)
Distinguish between correlational and experimental research designs, noting the strengths and limitations of each.
Correlational design examines relationships between variables, generally as they occur in natural life circumstances, without altering participants' experiences. Correlation coefficient describes two measures, or variables, are associated with one another. Correlational studies do not permit inferences about cause and effect, but they can be help in identifying relationships that are worth exploring with a more powerful experimental strategy.
Experimental design permits inferences about cause and effect. Researchers manipulate an independent variable by exposing participants to two or more treatment conditions. They determine what effect this variable has on a dependent variable. Random assignment reduces the chances that characteristics of participants will affect the accuracy of experimental findings.
Field and natural, or quasi-. experiments compare treatments in natural environments. However, these approaches are less rigorous than laboratory experiments. (Berk, 2012)
Describe designs for studying development, noting the strengths and limitations of each.
Longitudinal design, participants are studied repeatedly at different ages, revealing common patterns as well as individual differences in development and the relationship between early and later events and behaviors. This research poses several problems, including biased sampling, selective attrition and cohort effects which is difficulty generalizing to children developing at other historical times, or to children who did not experience a specific event.
Cross-sectional design, which groups of children differing in age are studied at the same point in time, offers an efficient approach to investigating development. It is limited to comparisons of age-group averages. Cross-sectional studies, especially those that cover a wide age span, are also vulnerable to cohort effects.
By comparing participants of the same age who were born in different years, investigators use sequential designs to find out if cohort effects are operating. When sequential designs combine longitudinal and cross-sectional strategies, researchers can see if outcomes are similar, for added confidence in their findings.
Microgenetic design, researchers track change as it occurs for unique insights into processes of development. However, the time required for children to change is hard to anticipate, and practice effects can bias findings.
When researchers combine experimental and developmental designs, they can examine causal influences on development. This combined strategy in increasingly common today.
(Berk, 2012)
What special ethical concerns arise in doing research on children?
Because of immaturity, children are especially vulnerable to harm and often cannot evaluate the risks and benefits of research. Ethical guidelines and institutional review boards that weigh the risks and benefits of research help ensure that children's research rights are protected.
Obtaining consent from parents and others who act on children's behalf, researchers should seek the informed consent of children 7 years and older. The use of deception in research with children is especially risky because it may undermine their basic faith in the honesty of adults. (Berk, 2012)
If you have any comments about this page, please comment in the comments box.
End Chapter 1
Naturalistic observations, gathered in everyday environments, permit researchers to see directly the everyday behaviors they hope to explain. On the other hand, structured observations take place in laboratories, where every participants has an equal opportunity to display the behaviors of interest.
Self-report methods can be flexible and open-ended like the clinical interviews, permits participants to express their thoughts in ways similar to their thinking in everyday like. Structured interviews, tests and questionnaires are more efficient and permits researchers to specify activities and behaviors that participants might not think of in an open-ended interview.
Investigators use the clinical, or case study, method to obtain an in-depth understanding of a single child. It involves synthesizing a wide range of information, including interviews, observations and sometimes test scores.
Researchers have adapted observational and self-report methods to permit direct comparisons of cultures. To uncover the cultural meanings of behavior, they rely on ethnography - is a qualitative research design aimed at exploring cultural phenomena
(explained from WIKIPEDIA), engaging in participant observation.
(Berk, 2012)
Distinguish between correlational and experimental research designs, noting the strengths and limitations of each.
Correlational design examines relationships between variables, generally as they occur in natural life circumstances, without altering participants' experiences. Correlation coefficient describes two measures, or variables, are associated with one another. Correlational studies do not permit inferences about cause and effect, but they can be help in identifying relationships that are worth exploring with a more powerful experimental strategy.
Experimental design permits inferences about cause and effect. Researchers manipulate an independent variable by exposing participants to two or more treatment conditions. They determine what effect this variable has on a dependent variable. Random assignment reduces the chances that characteristics of participants will affect the accuracy of experimental findings.
Field and natural, or quasi-. experiments compare treatments in natural environments. However, these approaches are less rigorous than laboratory experiments. (Berk, 2012)
Describe designs for studying development, noting the strengths and limitations of each.
Longitudinal design, participants are studied repeatedly at different ages, revealing common patterns as well as individual differences in development and the relationship between early and later events and behaviors. This research poses several problems, including biased sampling, selective attrition and cohort effects which is difficulty generalizing to children developing at other historical times, or to children who did not experience a specific event.
Cross-sectional design, which groups of children differing in age are studied at the same point in time, offers an efficient approach to investigating development. It is limited to comparisons of age-group averages. Cross-sectional studies, especially those that cover a wide age span, are also vulnerable to cohort effects.
By comparing participants of the same age who were born in different years, investigators use sequential designs to find out if cohort effects are operating. When sequential designs combine longitudinal and cross-sectional strategies, researchers can see if outcomes are similar, for added confidence in their findings.
Microgenetic design, researchers track change as it occurs for unique insights into processes of development. However, the time required for children to change is hard to anticipate, and practice effects can bias findings.
When researchers combine experimental and developmental designs, they can examine causal influences on development. This combined strategy in increasingly common today.
(Berk, 2012)
What special ethical concerns arise in doing research on children?
Because of immaturity, children are especially vulnerable to harm and often cannot evaluate the risks and benefits of research. Ethical guidelines and institutional review boards that weigh the risks and benefits of research help ensure that children's research rights are protected.
Obtaining consent from parents and others who act on children's behalf, researchers should seek the informed consent of children 7 years and older. The use of deception in research with children is especially risky because it may undermine their basic faith in the honesty of adults. (Berk, 2012)
If you have any comments about this page, please comment in the comments box.
End Chapter 1
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