Conclusion

Theme 1: Nature and Nurture: All Interactions, All The Time

• The interaction of nature and nurture begins before birth

§ Examples: teratogens,

• Infants’ nature elicits nurture

§ A baby’s “cuteness” encourages

• Timing

§ Teratogens and the “use it or lose it” sensitive periods of perceptual development

• Nature does not reveal itself all at once

§ Examples:

• Everything influences everything

§ Nature « Nurture

Theme 2: Children Play Active

Roles In Their Own Development

• Self-Initiated Activity

§ Children choose what to look at and what to say

§ As children get older they choose their friends

• Active Interpretation of Experiences

§ Children construct theories of inanimate objects, living things and people

§ Children interpret why they succeed and fail

• Self-Regulation

§ Children regulate their behavior, emotions, and activities

• Eliciting Reactions From Other People

§ Temperament evokes different reactions from caregivers

Theme 3: Development is both Continuous and Discontinuous

• Individual Differences

§ IQ scores show both stability and random fluctuations overtime

§ Popularity may or may not vary overtime

• Stages?

§ Discontinuity: stages provide coherence, but

§ Continuity: children continuously progress in all realms of development, but there can be sudden jumps (showing fear of strangers at 7 months)

• It depends on if the focus is on behavior or underlying processes

• Time must be considered:

Theme 4: Mechanisms of Developmental Change

• Biological Change Mechanisms

§ Brain formation (neurogenesis to pruning)

• Behavioral Change Mechanisms

§

§

• Cognitive Change Mechanisms

§ General Information-Processing Mechanisms

v Basic Processes, Strategy Formation, Metacognition, Content Knowledge

§ Domain-Specific Learning Mechanisms

v Development of perception, assumptions about experiences, informal theories about inanimate objects, people, and living things

Theme 5: The Sociocultural Context Shapes Development

• Personal Context

§ Examples: families, friends, neighbors, teachers, classmates

• Impersonal Context

§ Examples: historical, economic, technological, political, societal beliefs, attitudes, and values

Theme 6: How Do Children Become

So Different From One Another

• Factors:

§ Child’s status on a skill or dimension

v If a child is high on one skill he/she tends to be high on similar skills

• Stability over time

• Child’s status on a skill or dimension predicts outcomes on other important skills or dimensions in the future

Theme 7: Child Development Research

Can Improve Children’s Lives

• Parenting

§ Pick a good partner

§ Ensure a healthy pregnancy

§ Know which decisions are likely to have a long-term impact

§ Form a secure attachment

§ Prepare older siblings for the baby’s arrival

§ Provide a stimulating environment

• Education

§ Theories

v Piaget: the child is active in learning

v Information-processing: identify source of misunderstanding

v Core-knowledge: children’s informal theories

v Sociocultural: creating a classroom community

• Helping Children at Risk

§ Importance of timing: LBW babies, learning difficulties, detection of child maltreatment

§ Biology and environment work together (ADHD treatments)

§ Every problem has many causes

• Improving Social Policy

§ Maternity leave

§ Day Care

§ Eyewitness testimony