1. A Child’s World: Infancy Through Adolescence , Ninth EditionBy
Diane E. Papalia,
Sally Wendkos Olds,
Ruth Duskin Feldman

2. PowerPoint Presentation for Papalia et al A Child’s World
Prepared By
Diane Feibel, Ed. D.
University of Cincinnati

3. Entering a Child’s World
PART 1

4. Studying a Child’s World
Chapter 1
In discussing the Vignette: Victor, The Wild Boy of Aveyron, you can cover the topic of the natural child and the effects of society. Rousseau believed that a child is born in a pure, natural state and society ruins him. However, in the case of Victor, he was wild because he had never been socialized. Also, there is a possibility that Victor was autistic, as many of his symptoms indicate, and that he was abandoned because he was not functioning normally.

5. Guideposts for Study
1 What is child development, and how has its study evolved?
2 What are six fundamental points on which consensus has emerged?
3 What do developmental scientists study?

6. Guideposts for Study
4 What are the three major aspects and five periods of child development?
5 What kinds of influences make one child different from another?

7. The Study of Child Development
Early Approaches
Baby biographies: journals of individual children
Darwin (1877) and Hall(1904/16) made child and adolescent study scientific
Studying the Life Span:Conception to Death
Integrates all aspects of human development
Baby biographies became more scientific when Darwin wrote one about his son. He incorporated a developmental approach in his scientific study (1877).
One of the most important and well-known initial researchers involved in Life Span studies was Terman, who studied the gifted over their life spans.

8. The Study of Child Development Then and Now
New Frontiers
Technology, i.e. cameras, videos, tape recorders improved objectivity in studies.
Basic Research (to answer questions) vs.
Applied Research (to solve a practical problem)
Newest technology enables researchers to study the processing of the brain as the infant or child is looking or listening to something (PET scan)
Basic Research gives us information about specific aspects of development without worrying about how the information can be used in “real-life.”
Applied Research sets out to apply that basic research in order to help solve problems in a practical way.

9. Do you see any ethical problems in the studies of Genie and Victor
Do you see any ethical problems in the studies of Genie and Victor? Is the knowledge gained from such studies worth any possible damage to the individuals involved?

10. An Emerging Consensus Developmental Domains are Interrelated
Normal Development is very Diverse
Bi-directional influence on children’s Development
History and Culture strongly influence Development
Resilience to Trauma or Deprivation
Continuity between Early and Late Development

11. An Emerging Consensus Developmental Domains are Interrelated:
Different domains or aspects of development affect each other as they develop, i.e. eye-hand coordination
A problem in one can affect the development of the other, i.e. poor visual skills impacts the development of eye-hand coordination
Development in one can enhance the development of the other

12. An Emerging Consensus Normal Development is very diverse:
Differences in personality and temperament
Differences in talents and abilities
Differences due to heredity or environment
Differences in speed of maturation
Differences due to gender, social interactions, or disabilities

13. An Emerging Consensus Bi-Directional Influence on development:
Children affect the reactions of adults
Adults respond to and react to children
Culture and History Influences:
Children develop within an ever-enlarging circle of influences, moving from family outward to neighborhood and culture
History is different at each point in time

14. Looking back, what were some of the most important influences on your development as a child?
How might you be different if you had grown up in a culture other than your own?

15. An Emerging Consensus Continuity between Early and Late Development:
Traumatic events early in life can have a residual effect upon later development
Children are remarkably resilient to early trauma
Development continues throughout the life-span with one stage moving on to another

16. The Study of Child Development: Basic Concepts
Developmental Processes: Change
Quantitative Change: Change in Amount, i.e.
height, weight, vocabulary.
Qualitative Change: Change in Kind, Structure, or Organization, i.e. understanding the world in a more mature way.

17. The Study of Child Development: Basic Concepts
Developmental Processes: Stability
Constancy in certain Characteristics, i.e.
Personality and Behavior.
Ability to Modify some Characteristics is very limited, i.e. shyness.
Ability to Modify other Characteristics is much larger,i.e. openness to new experiences.

18. Can you …
Summarize six fundamental points of
agreement that have emerged from the study
of child development?

19. Domains of Development
Physical Development
Growth: Body and Brain
Sensory Abilities and Motor Skills
Cognitive Development
Learning and Memory
Language and Thinking
Psychosocial Development
Personality Stability and Change
Social and Emotional Development

20. Can you distinguish between quantitative and qualitative development and give an example of each?
Can you identify three domains of development and give examples of how they are interrelated?

22. Periods of Development: A Social Construction
Prenatal: Conception to Birth
Infancy and Toddler: Birth to age Three
Early Childhood: Three to Six Years
Middle Childhood: Six to Eleven Years
Adolescent: Eleven to approx. Twenty Years
Young Adulthood: Twenty to Forty Years
Middle Adulthood: Forty to Sixty-Five Years
Late Adulthood: Sixty-Five Years and Older

23. Influences on Development
Heredity, Environment, and Maturation
Nature vs. Nurture
Maturation is the natural sequence of development
Major Contextual Influences
Family: Nuclear or Extended
Socioeconomic Status: income, education, and occupation
Culture: Society or Group
The influences and interrelationships of heredity (nature) and environment (nurture) depend upon several variables. The more impaired the child is due to heredity or trauma, the less influential can be the environment. In cases of abuse or neglect, normal development can be prevented. If the trauma or abuse occurs during certain critical or sensitive periods, the effects are much worse.

24. Major Contextual Influences
Normative Influences
Normative age-graded influences, i..e. biological or social
Normative history-graded, i.e. cohort
Non-normative Influences
Individual events that impact the person
Events can be traumatic or happy

25. Major Contextual Influences
Timing of Influences
Critical Periods: Time when the presence or absence of an event can cause the greatest impact upon development.
Sensitive Periods: Time when the presence or absence of an event can cause some impact upon development.
Plasticity: the ability of the body and brain to modify or ameliorate negative impacts.