The study of childhood development has opened the eyes of parents and soon-to-be parents as to how their children may develop on a cognitive, social, emotional and physical level. Parents now have an idea of how their child may develop thanks to the many theorists who had their own ideas to how the developing child develops and learns. Arnold Gesell gave many insights into childhood development, as well as giving insight to parent’s eyes as to how their child would develop at every age. Gesell is most known for his Maturation theory or Heredity vs. Nature theory. Arnold Lucius Gesell was born on June 21, 1880, in Alma, Wisconsin. His parents valued his education highly and early on he knew he wanted to be a teacher. In 1903 he graduated the University of Wisconsin and with his degree became a high school teacher and principle before entering Clark University which is where he received his Ph.D. Gesell believed in order to study child development, he must need some background in medical research and studied at Yale, receiving and M.D degree in 1915. Arnold Gesell established and directed the Yale Clinic of Child Development from 1911 to 1948. Gesell’s initial work was to study disabled children, and studied disorders like Down’s syndrome, cerebral palsy and cretinism. Through his studies, he documented similarities and patterns in children’s mental development and concluded that individuals go through identifiable sequences of stages. Gesell was able to give parents an idea of just how their child may develop at each age. In fact, Gesell by many is known to be the father of child development study in the United States. To help parents understand how their child is developing at every age, he developed the Gesell Developmental S... ... middle of paper ... ...nvironment as well as the many other theories out there, have allowed us to continue to study the child’s developing mind in hopes of finding the true key to development. Works Cited Aldridge, G., & Aldridge, G. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.education.com/reference/article/child-development-changing-theories/ Arnold Lucius Gesell - Definition of Arnold Lucius Gesell. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.yourdictionary.com/arnold-lucius-gesell Arnold Gesell Theory of Child Development - The Kid's Cave. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.thekidscave.org/child-development/arnold-gesell-theory-of-child-development/ Cherry, K. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://psychology.about.com/b/2007/12/12/theories-of-child-development.htm Child Development Theories | Education.com. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.education.com/reference/article/child-development-changing-theories
The Nurture vs. Nature has been a long standing debate amongst psychologists. This psychological controversy questions whether or not the environment has more or less to do with the outcome of a child’s psychological development than the genetics involved. The nurture side of the argument is highly illustrated by the memoir The Other Wes Moore, by Wes Moore, due to the fact that both of their lives although starting off similar, ended dramatically different.
Environment has always played an important role on how children are raised. Throughout child developmental psychology, many different theorist’s views on how environment effects a child development differently, or if it plays any role at all in a child developing with a healthy psyche. In the film Babies (2010), we are introduced to two human babies living in distinctively different parts of the world and we are given a glimpse of their lives as they grow and develop. In the film, we are introduced to Ponijao from the rural area of Opuwo, Namibia, who lives with his mother and his siblings. In another area of the world, the urban city of San Francisco, U.S., we are introduced to Hattie, who lives with her mother and father.
T-Berry Brazelton (Thomas Berry Brazelton) is a well known pediatrician, author, and clinical professor of pediatrics emeritus at Harvard Medical School. He was born May 10, 1918 and is still alive to this day at the age of 96. He was born in Waco, Texas, to Thomas Berry Brazelton and Pauline (Battle) Brazelton. Brazelton wanted to become a pediatrician at a very young age. He used to babysit as a little boy during family reunions and parties. After babysitting, he knew he wanted to be pediatrician by the 6th grade leaving behind his other choice or career of becoming a veterinarian.
Bee, H. L., & Boyd, D. A. (2009). The developing child (12th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Bronfenbrenner theorised that there are many different influences that affect a child’s development, forming 5 systems to categorise certain events, or environments into. This theory helps me to understand the theme of Nature Vs Nurture, as it gives some context as to what environments can affect a child's development. From this, we can work out solutions for each child's situation, to ensure that their development is still progressing.
Erick Erickson has made a huge contribution to the field of psychology with his developmental theory. Like Sigmund Freud, Erickson also saw that humans developed within stages of their life. With this he developed his eight psychosocial stages. Born on June 2, 1902 in Frankfort, Germany to a Jewish mother, Karla Abrahamsen and his biological father Valdemar Isidor Salomonsen. There isn’t much information on Erickson’s father because before he was even born his father abandoned his mother. Instead in 1905 his mother married Dr. Theodor Homberger who was also at the time Erickson’s pediatrician. Throughout Erickson’s youth he struggled with his identity because there wasn’t a father figure around his youth, Erickson never really knew
While teaching as a psychologist of the Connecticut State Board of Education, Gesell wrote many books about the growth and various functions of the human body. He quickly became aware of the importance and impacts both nature and nurture has on the growing of an infant. The Gesell Institute of Human Development is a nonprofit organization still functioning today; it is known for working to better understand and assist in the research of child development for children of ages 2 ½ to 9.
“Nature and Nurture in Mental Development, VIII, 291-306” Science Progress 96.4 (2013): 430. Science In Context. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.
Erik H. Erikson was a significant psychologist that greatly changed the field of child development. In the 1950’s, Erikson advanced a Freudian approach in development. He viewed that social development as a series of eight challenges that people have to overcome. Each challenge has an outcome that’s either favorable or unfavorable. The outcome drastically affects a person’s personality. For example, in a favorable outcome, the result can leave a positive feeling. With a positive outlook, it’s easier for a person to cope with challenges in life. An unfavorable outcome can leave a person at a disadvantaged for the future. During the first couple challenges, Erikson believed that the caregiver has a great impact on a child’s development (Romero).
Who we are is directly related to our environment that we are nurtured around. Our development is essential to who we are as adults and will be the very fabric connected to how, what and why we act and think the way we do. I’ve decided to talk about early childhood development, which plays the most crucial part in the foundation of who we will be. At this stage we are sponges soaking up this new world we are now apart of. I will discuss physical development, cognitive development and psychosocial development pertains to early childhood development.
Developmental theories are broken up into two perspectives; Life-course, and Latent Trait. These perspectives may answer questions on why juveniles have grown to lead a destructive life-style and why others grow out of their delinquency. Latent trait explains that some tendencies we are may be born with and how important it is to be there for our children. Our parenting skills do have a profound effect on how our children may lack self control or have an impulsive behavior.
Arnold Lucius Gesell was an American psychologist and paediatrician and professor at Yale University, known for his research and contributions in the field of child development. Gessell was one of the first theorists to identify developmental milestones – he called them ‘Gessell developmental schedules’. He developed the maturational theory, which suggests that children’s development is due to their biological makeup and that environment has only a small influence. His research led him to three principles of physical development which are:-
Child growth and development is a process that consists of some building blocks, which are components that combine in an infinite number of ways (Cherry, n.d.). As a result of the variations of building blocks in a child’s development, educators, psychologists, and philosophers have been constantly engaged in the debate of nature versus nurture debate. Many researchers agree that child development is a complex interaction between his/her genetic background (nature) and his/her environment (nurture). In essence, some developmental aspects are strongly affected by biology whereas other aspects are influenced by environmental factors. From the onset of an individu...
Wood, A. E., Wood, E. G., & Boyd, D. (2007). Child development: The world of psychology.
In the study of child development, nature and nurture are two essential concepts that immensely influence future abilities and characteristics of developing children. Nature refers to the genetically obtained characteristics and abilities that influence development while nurture refers to the surrounding environmental conditions that influence development. Without one or the other, a child may not develop some important skills, such as communication and walking. The roles of physiological and psychological needs in a person’s life are also crucial for developing children. Humanistic psychologist, Abraham Maslow, suggested that humans don’t only aim towards survival, but also aim towards self-actualization (Rathus, P. 94).