Infants and Children in Context. Tara L. Kuther

Georgia Gwinnett College

       Connie Casha, Middle Tennessee State University

       Elaine Cassel, Lord Fairfax Community College

       Chun Chu, Fayetteville State University

       Ryan Clayton, Bunker Hill Community College

       Carmen Culotta, Wright State University

       Elizabeth Degiorgio, Mercer County Community College

       Joan Dolamore, Lasell College

       Linda Dove, Western Michigan University

       Angel Dunlap, Alabama A&M University

       Jia Fanli, Seton Hall University

       Kathryn Frazier, Worcester State University

       Ahni Fritton, Lesley University

       Veronica Fruiht, Dominican University of California

       Diana Gal-Szabo, Arizona State University

       Shinder Gill, California State University Sacramento

       Sara Goldstein, Montclair State University

       Elizabeth Goncy, Cleveland State University

       Heidi Heft Laporte, Barry University School of Social Work

       Erron Huey, Texas Woman’s University

       Matthew Jamnik, Southern Illinois University Carbondale

       Fu Jun, Oklahoma State University

       Dawn Kriebel, Immaculata University

       Deborah Laible, Lehigh University

       Emily Lewis, Tulane University

       Miriam Linver, Montclair State University

       Robert Martinez, University of the Incarnate

       John Masters, Middlesex Community College

       Martha Mendez-Baldwin, Manhattan College

       Krisztina Micsinai, Palomar College

       Pamela Parent, J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College

       Gerra Perkins, Northwestern State University

       Catherine Phillips, Northwest Vista College

       George Randall, Sam Houston State University

       Kara Recker, Coe College

       Amy Reesing, Arizona State University

       Lisa Reynolds, Western Connecticut State University

       Erin Sappio, Stockton University

       Bob Sasse, Palomar College

       Debra Schwiesow, Creighton University

       Carla Sewer, Texas Woman’s University

       Christina Sinisi, Charleston Southern University

       Patrick Smith, Florida Southern College

       Jerrie Smith Jackson, Our Lady of the Lake University

       Tara Stoppa, Eastern University

       Colleen Sullivan, Worcester State University

       Jill Trumbell, University of New Hampshire

       Jolie Van Schoik, California State University San Marcos

       Gina Wilson, RTI International

      About the Author

      Tara L. Kutheris professor of psychology at Western Connecticut State University, where she has taught courses in child, adolescent, and adult development since 1996. She earned her BA in psychology from Western Connecticut State University and her MA and PhD in developmental psychology from Fordham University. Dr. Kuther is the author of the award-winning title Lifespan Development: Lives in Context, as well as The Psychology Major’s Handbook and Careers in Psychology: Opportunities in a Changing World. She is fellow of the Society for the Teaching of Psychology (American Psychological Association, Division 2), has served in various capacities in the Society for the Teaching of Psychology and the Society for Research on Adolescence, and is the former chair of the Teaching Committee for the Society for Research in Child Development. Her research interests include social cognition and risky activity in adolescence and adulthood. She is also interested in promoting undergraduate and graduate students’ professional development and helping them navigate the challenges of pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees in psychology.

      Unit I Foundations of Child and Adolescent Development

       Chapter 1: Understanding Human Development: Approaches and Theories

       Chapter 2: Biological and Environmental Foundations of Development

       Chapter 3: The Prenatal Period, Birth, and the Newborn

      1 Understanding Human Development: Approaches and Theories

      It was a sunny day. I looked up at the bright sky as I leaned back in my stroller and pulled my hat down onto my head. The simplest of events, but it is one of my first memories. How old was I? Probably on the brink of early childhood. What is your first memory? Is it similarly vague? Were you engaging in an activity? Do you recall your surroundings and the people around you? How have you changed in the time since that early memory? Are there ways in which you remain the same? We will examine these questions and more throughout this book.

      ©iStockphoto.com/AJ_Watt

      Learning Objectives

       1.1 Describe the periods, domains, and contexts of development.Video Activity 1.1: Sociocultural Influences on Development: Desegregation

       1.2 Explain three basic issues in developmental science.Video Activity 1.2: How Poverty Affects Development Across Lifespan

       1.3 Summarize six theoretical perspectives on human development.

       1.4 Describe the methods and research designs used to study human development and the ethical principles that guide researchers’ work.

      Chapter Contents

       Understanding DevelopmentPeriods of DevelopmentPrenatal Period (Conception to Birth)Infancy and Toddlerhood (Birth to 2 Years)Early Childhood (2 to 6 Years)Middle Childhood (6 to 11 Years)Adolescence (11 to 18 Years)Domains of DevelopmentContexts of Development

       Basic Issues in Developmental ScienceNature and Nurture: How Do Nature and Nurture Influence Development?The Active Child: How Do Children Influence Their Own Development?Continuities and Discontinuities: In What Ways Is Development Continuous and Discontinuous?

       Theories of Child DevelopmentPsychoanalytic TheoriesFreud’s Psychosexual TheoryErikson’s Psychosocial TheoryBehaviorist and Social Learning TheoriesClassical ConditioningOperant ConditioningSocial Learning TheoryCognitive TheoriesPiaget’s Cognitive-Developmental TheoryInformation Processing TheoryContextual TheoriesVygotsky’s Sociocultural TheoryBronfenbrenner’s