Sociological Implications of Americas High Divorce Rate Discussion Questions Essay

Child development theories: Discuss the historical development of child development philosophies. What were the major historical changes that brought about the development of these various theories/philosophies? Who were the major theorists/groups of people associated with these changes in our views on childhood development?

divorce: Discuss the sociological implications of America’s high divorce rate. Should it be harder to get a divorce? If so, why? If not, why not? What are the pros and cons associated with no fault divorce? What do you think are the effects of divorce on American Society?

Child Development  Definition:  Change in the child that occurs over time. Changes follow an orderly pattern that moves toward greater complexity and enhances survival.  Periods of development:  Prenatal period: from conception to birth  Infancy and toddlerhood: birth to 2 years  Early childhood: 2-6 years old  Middle childhood: 6-12 years old  Adolescence: 12-19 years old Domains of Development Development is described in three domains, but growth in one domain influences the other domains.  Physical Domain:  body size, body proportions, appearance, brain development, motor development, perception capacities, physical health.  Cognitive Domain:  thought processes and intellectual abilities including attention, memory, problem solving, imagination, creativity, academic and everyday knowledge, metacognition, and language.  Social/Emotional Domain:  self-knowledge (self-esteem, metacognition, sexual identity, ethnic identity), moral reasoning, understanding and expression of emotions, self-regulation, temperament, understanding others, interpersonal skills, and friendships. Theories  What is a theory?  Orderly set of ideas which describe, explain, and predict behavior.  Why are theories important?  To give meaning to what we observe.  As a basis for action — finding ways to improve the lives and education of children. Historical Development of Child Development Theories 6th – 15th centuries Medieval period  Preformationism: children seen as little adults.  Childhood is not a unique phase.  Children were cared for until they could begin caring for themselves, around 7 years old.  Children treated as adults (e.g. their clothing, worked at adult jobs, could be married, were made into kings, were imprisoned or hanged as adults.) 16th Century Reformation period  Puritan religion influenced how children were viewed.  Children were born evil, and must be civilized.  A goal emerged to raise children effectively.  Special books were designed for children. 17th Century Age of Enlightenment  John Locke believed in tabula rasa  Children develop in response to nurturing.  Forerunner of behaviorism

www.cooperativeindividualism.org/ locke-john.jpg 18th Century Age of Reason  Jean-Jacques Rousseau  children were noble savages, born with an innate sense of morality; the timing of growth should not be interfered with.  Rousseau used the idea of stages of development.  Forerunner of maturationist beliefs 19th Century Industrial Revolution  Charles Darwin  theories of natural selection and survival of the fittest  Darwin made parallels between human prenatal growth and other animals.  Forerunner of ethology 20th Century Theories about children’s development expanded around the world.  Childhood was seen as worthy of special attention.  Laws were passed to protect children, Beliefs focus on the formation of personality. According to this approach, children move through various stages, confronting conflicts between biological drives and social expectations. Sigmund Freud Psychosexual Theory  Was based on his therapy with troubled adults.  He emphasized that a child’s personality is formed by the ways which his parents managed his sexual and aggressive drives. Erik Erikson Psychosocial Theory  Expanded on Freud’s theories.  Believed

that development is life-long.  Emphasized that at each stage, the child acquires attitudes and skills resulting from the successful negotiation of the psychological conflict.  Identified 8 stages:  Basic trust vs mistrust (birth – 1 year)  Autonomy vs shame and doubt (ages 1-3)  Initiative vs guilt (ages 3-6)  Industry vs inferiority (ages 6-11)  Identity vs identity confusion (adolescence)  Intimacy vs isolation (young adulthood)  Generativity vs stagnation (middle adulthood)  Integrity vs despair (the elderly) Beliefs that describe the importance of the environment and nurturing in the growth of a child. Behaviorism  Developed as a response to psychoanalytical theories.  Behaviorism became the dominant view from the 1920’s to 1960’s. John Watson  Early 20th century, “Father of www.psych.utah.edu./…/Cards/Watson.html American Behaviorist theory.”  Based his work on Pavlov’s experiments on the digestive system of dogs.  Researched classical conditioning  Children are passive beings who can be molded by controlling the stimulus-response associations. B. F. Skinner  Proposed that children “operate” on their environment, operational conditioning.  Believed that learning could be broken down into smaller tasks, and that offering immediate rewards for accomplishments would stimulate further learning. Social Learning Theory Albert Bandura  Stressed how children learn by observation and imitation.  Believed that children gradually become more selective in what they imitate.

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Belief that heredity and innate biological processes govern growth. Maturationists: G. Stanley Hall and Arnold Gesell  Believed there is a predetermined biological timetable.  Hall and Gesell were proponents of the normative approach to child study: using age-related averages of children’s growth and behaviors to define what is normal. Ethology  Examines how behavior is determined by a species’ need for survival.  Has its roots in Charles Darwin’s research.  Describes a “critical period” or “sensitive period,” for learning Konrad Lorenz  Ethologist, known for his research on imprinting. Attachment Theory  John Bowlby applied ethological principles to his theory of attachment.  Attachment between an infant and her caregiver can insure the infant’s survival. Beliefs that describe how children learn Jean Piaget Cognitive development theory  Children “construct” their understanding of the world through their active involvement and interactions.  Studied his 3 children to focus not on what they knew but how they knew it.  Described children’s understanding as their “schemas” and how they use:  assimilation  accommodation. Piaget’s Cognitive Development Stages  Sensori-motor  Ages birth – 2: the infant uses his senses and motor abilities to understand the world  Preoperation  Ages 2-7: the child uses metal representations of objects and is able to use symbolic thought and language  Concrete operations  Ages 7-11; the child uses logical operations or principles when solving problems  Formal operations  Ages 12 up; the use of logical operations in a systematic fashion and with the ability to use abstractions Lev Vygotsky     Socio-Cultural Theory Agreed that children are active learners, but their knowledge is socially constructed. Cultural values and customs dictate what is important to learn. Children learn from more expert members of the society. Vygotsky described the “zone of proximal development”, where learning occurs. ced.ncsc.edu/hyy/devtheories.htm Information Processing Theory  Uses the model of the computer to describe how the brain works.  Focuses on how information is perceived, how information is stored in memory, how memories are retrieved and then used to solve problems.