Chapter 2
A Child’s World:
How We
Discover It
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the
prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
Theory
 Coherent set of logically related concepts that
seeks to:
 Organize
 Explain
 Guide/Inspire
 Predict
 Hypotheses
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the
prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
2-2
Basic Theoretical Issues
 Nature vs. nurture
 Active vs. reactive
 Organismic vs. mechanistic
 Continuity vs. discontinuity
 Quantitative vs. Qualitative
 Early vs. later experience
 Stability vs. change
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the
prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
2-3
THEORIES OF CHILD
DEVELOPMENT
 Psychoanalytic theories:
 Freud and Erikson
 Behavior is a surface characteristic
 Need to understand the symbolic workings of the
mind
 Early experiences with parents are emphasized
?
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the
prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
Freud’s Theory
Psychosexual Development
 Sigmund Freud (1856–1939)
 Parts of personality
 Id
 Ego
 Superego
? ?
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the
prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
Psychosexual Stages
Fixation: Too much or
too little gratification
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the
prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
Erikson’s Theory
Psychosocial Development
 Erik Erikson (1902–1994)
 Modified and expanded Freud’s theory
 Psychosocial crises
 Identity
 Differences from psychosexual development




Social interactions
Conscious
Active actions
Eight stages
?
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the
prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
Learning Theories
 Behaviorism - John B. Watson
 Classical conditioning - Ivan Pavlov
 Operant conditioning - B. F. Skinner
 Observable Behavior; individual passively learn
behaviors
 Social Learning Theory
 Observational learning – Albert Bandura
 Active participants in learning
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the
prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
Behavioral Theories
 Pavlov’s classical conditioning
 A neutral stimulus acquires the ability to produce a
response originally produced by another stimulus
 Skinner’s operant conditioning
 The consequences of a behavior produce changes in
the probability of the behavior’s occurrence
 A behavior followed by Reinforcement or Punishment
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the
prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
Social Learning Theory
 Albert Bandura
 Added Social and Cognitive influences to
behaviorism
 Observational Learning
 Reciprocal Determinism (B  E  P)
 Self-Efficacy
 Child is an active learner
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the
prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
The Cognitive Perspective
Focuses on children’s mental processes and the
behavior that reflects those processes
 Jean Piaget’s Cognitive-Developmental Theory
 Information-Processing Theory
 Lev Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory
? ?
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the
prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
Piaget’s Cognitive-Developmental
Theory
 Worked with Binet on IQ tests for children
 Children are “natural physicists”
 Developmental
 Think different at different ages
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the
prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
PIAGET’S FOUR STAGES OF
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the
prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
Piaget’s Basic Concepts
 Organization
 Schemes
 Adaptation
 Assimilation
 Accommodation
 Equilibration
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the
prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
Information-Processing Theory
Influenced by the concepts of computer science
 Input, Storage, Processing, Output
 Encoding
 Memory
 Retrieval
 Software and Hardware
 Mental processes
 Brain
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the
prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
Lev Vygotsky’s
Sociocultural Theory
 Sociocultural Theory
 Culture and social interact to guide cognitive
development
 Thoughts are “created” by the culture we live in
and the tools we use
 Cognitions are created and live in our social world
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the
prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
The Contextual Perspective
Urie Bronfenbrenner’ s Ecological Theory
 Reciprocal interactions between individual
and their environment.
 Not a Developmental Theory!
 Focuses on systems children participate in
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the
prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
Figure 2.2 - Bronfenbrenner’s
Bioecological Theory
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the
prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
2-18
Evolutionary/Sociobiological
Perspective
E. O. Wilson and Darwin
 Ethology: Adaptive behaviors and critical/sensitive
periods. Study animals and apply to humans.
 Evolutionary Theory: Survival of the fittest and
development of adaptive behaviors in a particular
society/culture.
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the
prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
Research Methods
 Quantitative research: Deals with objectively
measurable data.
 Based on scientific method: System of established
principles and processes of scientific inquiry.
 Identifies a problem to be studied.
 Formulates a hypothesis to be tested by research.
 Collects data.
 Analyzes the data.
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the
prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
2-20
Research Methods
 Forms tentative conclusions.
 Disseminates findings.
 Qualitative research: Interpretation of
nonnumerical data, such as subjective
experiences, feelings, or beliefs.
 Focuses on the how and why of behavior
 Informs both how they collect data as well as its
interpretation
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the
prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
2-21
Table 2.3 - Comparing Qualitative
and Quantitative Research
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the
prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
2-22
Sampling
 Sample: Group of participants chosen to represent the
entire population under study.
 Should adequately represent the population under
study
Type used by quantitative
researchers
• Random selection
• Selection of a sample in
such a way that each person
in a population has an equal
and independent chance of
being chosen.
Type used by qualitative
researchers
• Focused selection
• Participants are chosen for
their ability to communicate
the nature of a certain
experience.
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the
prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
2-23
Table 2.4 - Major Methods of
Data Collection
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the
prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
2-24
Basic Research Designs
 Case study: Study of a single subject, such as an
individual or family.
 Offers useful in-depth information.
 Ethnographic study: In-depth study of a culture, which
uses a combination of methods including participant
observation.
 Uses a combination of methods, including informal,
unstructured interviewing and participant observation.
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the
prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
2-25
Basic Research Designs
 Participant observation: Observer lives with the people
or participates in the activity being observed.
 Correlational study: Intended to discover whether a
statistical relationship between variables exists.
 Variables - Phenomena that change or vary among
people or can be varied for purposes of research.
 Correlations are expressed in terms of direction and
magnitude.
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the
prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
2-26
Basic Research Designs
 Two variables are related positively if they:
 Increase or decrease together
 Two variables have a negative, or inverse, correlation if:
 One increases and the other decreases
 Correlations are reported as numbers ranging from +1.0
to –1.0.
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the
prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
2-27
Figure 2.3 - Scatter Plots of Positive,
Negative, and No Correlations
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the
prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
2-28
Basic Research Designs
 Experiment: Rigorously controlled, replicable
procedure in which the researcher manipulates
variables to assess the effect of one on the other.
 Experimental group: Group receiving the treatment
under study.
 Control group: Group of people, similar to those in the
experimental group, who do not receive the treatment
under study.
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the
prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
2-29
Basic Research Designs
 If the experimenter wants to compare the effects of
different treatments, overall sample may be divided into
treatment groups.
 To ensure objectivity, some experiments use doubleblind procedures.
 Neither participants nor experimenters know who is
receiving the treatment and who is instead receiving an
inert placebo.
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the
prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
2-30
Basic Research Designs
 Independent variable: Condition over which the
experimenter has direct control.
 Dependent variable: Condition that may or may not
change as a result of changes in the independent
variable.
 Random assignment: Assignment of participants in an
experiment to groups in such a way that each person
has an equal chance of being placed in any group.
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the
prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
2-31
Basic Research Designs
 Laboratory experiments - Participants are brought to a
laboratory, where they experience conditions
manipulated by the experimenter.
 Field experiment - Controlled study conducted in an
everyday setting.
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the
prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
2-32
Basic Research Designs
 Laboratory and field experiments differ in two
important respects:
 Degree of control - Exerted by the experimenter
 Degree to which findings can be generalized beyond the
study situation
 Natural experiment - Compares people who have been
accidentally assigned to separate groups by
circumstances of life.
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the
prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
2-33
Advantages and Disadvantages of
Basic Research Designs
Type
Case study
Advantages
•
•
•
Ethnographic
study
•
•
Correlational
study
•
•
Experiment
•
•
•
Disadvantages
Flexibility
Provides detailed picture of one person’s
behavior and development
Can generate hypotheses
•
•
•
May not generalize to others
Conclusions not directly testable
Cannot establish cause and
effect
Can help overcome culturally based biases in
theory and research
Can test universality of developmental
phenomena
•
Subject to observer bias
Enables prediction of one variable on basis of
another
Can suggest hyptheses about causal
relationships
•
Cannot establish cause and
effect
Establishes cause-and-effect relationships
Is highly controlled and can be repeated by
another investigator
Degree of control greatest in the laboratory
experiment
•
Findings, especially when
derived from laboratory
experiments, may not generalize
to situations outside the
laboratory
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the
prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
2-34
Table 2.6 - Cross-Sectional,
Longitudinal, and Sequential Research
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the
prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
2-35
Collaborative Research
 Meta-analysis - Provides a systematic overview of the
research on a topic .
 Through statistical analysis of the combined findings of
multiple studies
 Used for controversial findings
 Are an attempt to reconcile disparities across a large
number of studies
 Designs and methodologies of the studies may be
inconsistent
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the
prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
2-36
Ethics of Research
 Guidelines of the American Psychological Association
cover issues like:
 Informed consent and avoidance of deception
 Protection of participants from harm and loss of dignity
 Right to decline or withdraw from an experiment at any
time
 Responsibility of investigators to correct any undesirable
effects
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the
prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
2-37
Ethics of Research
Ethical Considerations
That Can Present
Problems
Three Principles of Ethical
Dilemmas
• Beneficence - Obligation to
maximize potential benefits to
participants and to minimize
potential harm
• Respect for autonomy - Of
those who are unable to
exercise their own judgment
• Justice - Inclusion of diverse
groups together with
sensitivity to any special
impact the research may have
on them
•
•
•
•
Right to informed consent
Avoidance of deception
Right to self-esteem
Right to privacy and
confidentiality
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the
prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
2-38
Table 2.7 – Developmental Considerations
in Children’s Participation in Research
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the
prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
2-39