Theories in Child Development
Determinants and mechanisms of child development are reflected in theories in western psychology which can be classified into three general approaches based on the suggested determinants of child development: - the nativist (maturational) approach to child development sees genetically predetermined maturation as the major determinant of children's development and the behavior is the result of heredity. The promoters of this theory (Buhler, 1930, Gesell, 1933 and Hall, 1904) claim that the environment influences children's development depends on children's genotypes rather than on the characteristics and quality of their environment; - the behaviorist (environmental) approach to child development: Skinner, 1953; Thorndike, 1914 and Watson, 1925, attributed all the child's developmental accomplishments to the child's environment. Whereas behaviorists tend to view children as "fabricated" by the environment, nativists tend to view them as "fabricated" out of genetically predetermined maturation; - the constructivist (interactional) approach to child development: the major promoter of this theory is Piaget (1936/1959). Piaget holds that the major determinant of children's development is their activity of exploring the external
In contrast, children who fail in engaging in socio-dramatic play risk to have difficulties in these areas (lack of achievements in reading comprehension and arithmetic in the second grade) and to have long maladaptive outcomes (low motivation to learn, low engagement in prosocial behavior in the classroom etc. thus, the traditional instruction does not result in fully developed formal-logical thought. Another acquisition of this stage is associated with children's use of objects substitutes which increases by the end of the second year of life, indicating the transition to the second period of this stage. The development of formal-logical thought precede the next period of development, that is, the period of adolescence. In interaction with parents, teenagers are influenced when it comes to values and ethical issues, while in interactions with peers , they master, explore and internalize these values and norms as their personal choices. - 2 to 3 years: at this age children demonstrate a high level of using object substitutes: for example, a girl may use an apple when feeding the doll. The starting point in the development of a new higher mental process in children can be found in interpersonal communication with adults. However, adult shouldn't limitate their gratifications only to babies' physiological needs (which is often the case in orphanage) because, in these case children will not develop any positive attitude toward them later in their life. For example, a girl can play the mother-daughter game with the use of a doll and other toys. world and that "children come across new environmental phenomena and try to "assimilate" them into their mental schemas (that is, into their existing ways of thinking)"1. When adults are presenting a new psychological tool to the child, they inevitably "externalize" this tool and present it to the child in the form of an external device. These three theories do not see a major difference between the determinants of animal and human development.
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