Number Of Studies About Children's Intellectual Development example essay topic

I. Purpose of paper: Child Psychology, study of children's behavior-including physical, cognitive, motor, linguistic, perceptual, social, and emotional characteristics-from birth through adolescence. Child psychologists attempt to explain the similarities and differences among children and to describe normal as well as abnormal behavior and development. They also develop methods of treating social, emotional, and learning problems and provide therapy privately and in schools, hospitals, and other institutions. Two critical problems for child psychologists are (1) to determine how environmental variables (such as parental attitudes) and biological characteristics (such as health) interact and influence behavior, and (2) to understand how behavioral changes influence one another.

I chose to write about child psychology because thinking of all the subjects we have been introduced to in my psychology class, I have found this to be the most interesting. At first I thought of researching a subject I was not familiar with, but after analyzing many topics I still had the urge to learn more about child psychology. I figure, if I write on a subject I find interesting I should get a decent grade. Child psychology is a very important and vast field in psychology. The more we are able to understand the psychology of children, the better we may understand why people turn out the way they do. Hopefully in doing so, we may have a clearer understanding of what has negative effects on child development.

Therefore, we can revolve around the negative and focus more on the positive. Resulting in a better future for everybody. Content: Both Plato and Aristotle wrote about children. Plato believed that children are born with special talents and their training should stress those talents. His views are consistent with modern thinking about individual differences and education. Aristotle proposed methods for observing children's behavior that were forerunners of modern methods.

Fore many countries thereafter, little interest was shown in the development of children because they were regarded only as miniature adults. In the 18th century the French philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau seemed to echo Plato when he stated that children should be free to express their energies in order to develop their special talents. His view suggests that normal development occurs best in nonrestrictive, supportive environment. Similar concepts are popular today (Kroll 1995). In the 19th century, Charles Darwin's theory of evolution provided an impetus for the scientific examination of child development. He emphasis on the survival behavior of different species stimulated an interest in observing children to identify their adaptive behaviors and to learn about the inheritance of human behavior.

These studies were of limited scientific value because they lacked objectively and often failed to describe adequately he behaviors being observed, making validation impossible (kroll 1995). Scientific research in child development flourished from the early 1900's. One major stimulus was the introduction (1916) by the American psychologist Lewis Terman of the test known today as the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test. This test led to a number of studies about children's intellectual development. In the 1920's scientists at more than a dozen leading universities began large-scale observational studies of children and heir families; these included the Berkeley Growth Study at the University of California (started in 1929 and still active today), the Fels Growth Study at Antioch College, and the Harvard Growth Studies. All used the longitudinal method, in which the same children are observed and tested at over a specific time period (The Volume Library 1990: Volume 2).

The American psychologist Arnold Ges sell established a research institute at Yale University in the 1920's for the sole purpose of studying children. He developed the technique of analyzing children's behavior from film, frame by frame. Gesell also made much use of the cross-sectional method, in which different children are observed at each of several age levels (The Volume Library 1990: Volume 2). The accumulated results of all the major studies reported over a period of 20 years provided information about patterns and rates of child development, as well as age norms for a wide verity of behaviors. Both professional workers and parents to assess children's development use these norms. One problem with the observational studies was that they emerged from an interest in evolution and genetics.

Consequently, environmental influences were largely dismissed as unimportant and were excluded from (Kroll 1995). About the time observational work was flourishing, other researchers were writing about the role of the environment in children's development and behavior. Sigmund Freud, who emphasized the effects of environmental variables on development, particularly stressed the importance of parental behavior during infancy. To the present day, Freud's theory continues to influence child psychologists (Wieten 1998). Kroll (1995) helped me to learn of an American psychologist named John B. Watson who also stressed the role of the environment in shaping children's development. His views were consistent with those of Behaviorism, an approach to psychology that had a great impact in the 1950's on research about children.

Although behaviorists emphasize environment, they almost totally deny the influence of biological variables on development. Their basic assumptions are that the mind of a newborn child is a blank state; all behaviors are determined by environmental events; and differences among children are the result of those environmental variables. Behaviorists encourage experimental studied and were responsible for moving child psychology into the mainstream of psychology. Although they contributed much to the study of children, their concepts eventually were viewed as being overly narrow (The Volume Library 1990: Volume 2). In the early 1960's attention was focused on the work of the Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget, who since the 1920's had been writing about children's cognitive development.

Piaget called himself a genetic epistemologist-that is, a person who studies the origins of human knowledge-and his theories led to more advanced work in child psychology. This work involves both experimental and observational methods and, in accounting for behavior, integrates biological and environmental variables. Thus, current studies have their origins in Darwin's theory of evolution but also consider Watson's concern for environment (Kroll 1995). A theory of development should reflect an attempt to relate behavioral to chronological age; that is the diverse behavioral characteristics should be related to specific stages of growth. The rules governing the transitions between these growth states also must be identified. The dominant developmental theories are Freud's theory of personality development and Piaget's theory of perception and cognition.

Both explain human development in terms of interactions of biological determinants and environmental events (The Volume Library 1990: Volume 1). Freud's theory is based on the concept that a healthy personality requires the satisfaction of instinctual needs. In Freudian theory the personality is composed of the id, ego, and the superego. The id is the source of instinctual drives. The role of the ego is to cope with the demands of the id while remaining within the rules of society, which in turn are represented by the superego. The physical focus of instinctual needs changes with age, and the periods of different focus are called stages.

Infants, for example, achieve maximum id satisfaction from sucking; this is called the oral stage. Children progress through four stages, ending with adult sexuality. Freud clearly integrated biological and environmental variables in his theory (The Volume Library 1990: Volume 2). Piaget believed that from birth humans are active learners who do not require external incentives. He proposed that cognitive development occurs in four stages. Stage 1, sensory motor intelligence (birth-2 years), takes the child from unrelated reflexive movements to behavior that reflects knowledge of simple concepts.

Stage 2, proportional thought (2-7 years), is characterized by an increase use of abstract symbols as reflected in imaginative play. Stage 3, concrete operational thought (7-11 years), involves relatively sophisticated problem-solving behavior and attainment of adult thought. Stage 4, formal operational thought (12 years and older), is characterized by the ability to develop hypotheses and figure new concepts Kroll 1995). Theories of personality are attempts to describe how people behave in satisfying their physical and psychological needs. An inability to satisfy such needs creates a personal conflict. Personality formation is viewed as the process by which children learn how to avoid conflict when possible and how to cope with conflict when it inevitably occurs.

Overly restrictive or overly permissive parents limit their children's options in avoiding and coping with conflict. A normal response to overwhelming conflict is to revert to a defense mechanism such as rationalization-the denial that one ever wanted a specific objective, For example. Although everyone uses defense mechanisms at some time, they should not become a person's sole means of coping with conflict. A child with a balanced, integrated personality feels accepted and loved and has been allowed to learn a number or appropriate coping mechanisms (Wieten 1998). The various aspects of child development encompass physical growth, emotional and psychological changes, and social adjustments.

A great many determinants influence patterns of development and change. Personal Critique: Though I have done more researching for this paper than I have done before, I still feel unsatisfied. Do not get me wrong, I have learned a lot from all my findings, but I want to learn more. I think I may take a child psychology course next semester. Some of the topics I found during my research I already learned in my Introduction to Psychology course.

On the other hand, I learned much more than I already knew; so I am somewhat satisfied. All topics on child psychology I have researched turned out being well documented, and they all seemed to state their case well. In particular, I agree with the theories of John B. Watson when it comes to observing and documenting children in their environment. I would consider one who places a child in a laboratory and thinks they are going to get accurate results ignorant.

If I were to categorize myself as a psychologist I would be a behaviorist, but I would also agree that biological traits and environmental events influence behavior and development. The importance child psychology plays in my life is not significant. Although, I am able to better understand why people act the way they do. For instance, my little brother is at the ripe old age of 6.

He has one of the wildest imaginations I have ever seen. I am now able to understand the reasoning behind this, and it is that he is at what Piaget would call "stage II, proportional though". Even if I do not become a child psychologist I will be able to impress people by my intelligence on the subject. If I had to make recommendations for further work I would suggest that child psychologists pay more attention to the experiences a child has gone through, Such as how the parents acted towards them. Did the child have "real" parents who were able care for them or were they raised in an orphanage or foster home? This will help in understanding why children act and turnout the way they do.

Once again, resulting in a more positive future. Sources: 1. The Southwestern Company (1990). The Volume Library, Volume 2, Psychology, Nashville, Tennessee, 882-891.2.

The Volume Library, Volume 1, Social Studies, Nashville, Tennessee, 448-473.3. Kroll, E. (1995). Child Psychology, History of. Philadelphia, PA. 12 -17, 79 - 83.4. Wieten, W, (1998) Themes & Variations - Fourth Edition, Human Development, Pacific Grove, CA.

437-441,432-434, 4.