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Summary Infancy. Task 1. Development Theories and Measurement Techniques
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Infancy Task 1 Theories and measurement techniquesLearning goals:
1. Classical theories of development
2. Behavioural methods to measure cognitive functions
3. Physiological methods to measure cognitive functions
4. Prediction of later outcomes
1. Classical theories of development
Memories of children and parents of childhood are unreliable. Baby diaries are more reliable:
they give insight into child rearing practices and theories at different ages AND give insights
into important aspects of infant development.
Charles Darwin (1809-1882) observed his first child closely and later compared him to his 9
other children: naturalistic observation. Piaget (1896-1980) made very detailed recordings of
his own 3 children. When he noted an interesting behaviour, he would vary the task to note
responses of the child. This combination of observation and loosely structured
experimentation is known as the clinical method. His observations and experiments enabled
him to develop a theoretical account of the development of reasoning and thinking that is still
influential and he was one of the first to begin systematic experimentation of infants’
development.
Social development.
- Wolf gave rise to the ideas of hospitalism and anaclitic depression when separated
from their mothers (hospitals/orphanages)
- Bowlby spoke of object relation theory, absence of mother was significant.
- Other researchers believed those effects were due to the general loss of all positive
stimulation and if supplied by others, would not lead to failure to thrive.
- Provence and Lipton stated that orphans in institutions had problems with their
development because there was not enough consistent caregivers to satisfy the child’s
social and emotional needs.
- Harlow believed that biological forces dictated the importance of the mother (not
father) in the infant’s life. He experimented with monkeys and let them grow up alone,
they showed severe problems in their social and emotional development (failed to
mate properly, were uncaring and abusive to their infants). However, effects can also
come from the fact that they were isolated from others. When raised with other infants
without mothers, the problems do not occur. Also, motherless mothers got better at
parenting with experience.
- Lewis states that the infant is born into a social network and it’s evolutionary task is to
adapt. With an absent mother but others surrounding the infant, the infant still has the
ability to adapt. That is also the reason that infants in day care thrive just as well as
others.
Attentional and cognitive development. William James spoke of 2 types of attention:
- Passive attention: infant is drawn toward an object or sound because the stimulus pulls
the child (i.e. loud sound)
- Active attention: involves the infant’s interest and association (mother’s face).
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