in a sentence and word parts within words. Finally, in the fourth and final stage of language development, called pragmatic development, preschool‐aged children learn the social and cultural conventions of language use in particular contexts; that is, they learn what is (and is not) appropriate to say across different settings.
Executive function
A key component of cognitive development in early and middle childhood involves children’s abilities to control and monitor their own thinking and behavior in order to make plans, solve problems, and pursue goals. Executive function abilities refer to these higher‐order cognitive processes (such as planning and problem solving) that involve supervising and controlling lower‐level cognitive processes (such as attention and memory). Generally, executive function involves cognitive flexibility, attention, memory (particularly working memory), and inhibitory control (similar to self‐regulation; Zelazo & Müller, 2011).
Theory of mind
Theory of mind refers to the ability to attribute mental states (beliefs, intentions, desires, emotions, and knowledge) to oneself and others. Development of theory of mind is required in order to reflect on and understand that others have thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and knowledge that is different from your own. This ability to perspective‐take, which typically develops during early childhood, is vital for a range of both cognitive and social skills in childhood and adolescence. You will see that it appears again and again in the chapters to come because it is an important factor in developmental psychopathology.
Piaget’s Constructivist Theory
One of the most influential theories in all of developmental psychology is Piaget’s constructivist theory of cognitive development. Piaget argued that children have an innate motivation to learn and explore and that brain development aids in cognitive advancements (i.e., nature), while children’s own experiences and sensorimotor skills also play a pivotal role in their intellectual development (i.e., nurture). According to his theory, children acquire knowledge and advance in their cognitive skills by actively striving to master their environments, and advance through a series of stages of cognitive development, each stage reflecting a unique way of understanding or making sense of reality.
Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory
Around the same time that Piaget developed his constructivist theory of development, Vygotsky was also in the process of creating his sociocultural theory of cognitive development. Vygotsky agreed with Piaget’s claim that both biological (i.e., nature) and social (i.e., nurture) factors influence children’s development, and that children play an active role in constructing their own reality through their interactions with the environment. According to Vygotsky (1978), however, nature and nurture shape development, not by interacting directly, but by interacting with the culture. One of the most important contributions to understanding children’s development is Vygotsky’s theory of the zone of proximal development, which is defined as the gap between what children can do independently and what they can accomplish when they are interacting with more capable peers or adults. Essentially, as children begin to participate in activities that are somewhat beyond their capabilities, adults scaffold children by offering the necessary structure for accomplishing the task. As children participate in adult‐guided activities over time, they begin to incorporate new skills.
Information‐Processing Theories
Information‐processing theories describe humans’ mental functioning as analogous to the workings of a computer. These theories distinguish between the “hardware” and “software” of intellectual functioning, in which the “hardware” refers to certain brain structures and neural features (with the recognition that there are limits on information processing in humans, including storage capacity and speed of processing) and the “software” refers to problem‐solving strategies and methods that individuals use to help them process and remember information (such as memory strategies and study skills). In general, from an information‐processing approach, young children’s cognitive difficulties are due to general cognitive factors, such as limited knowledge, memory, attentional control, and speed of processing information, as well as by limited strategies for acquiring and using information (Thompson & Siegler, 2010). As children grow older, their performance improves and its unevenness decreases because the cognitive limitations are gradually being reduced through maturation of the brain (“hardware”) and the development of more effective information‐processing strategies (“software”).
Social–Emotional Development
From infancy to adulthood, big changes occur in our abilities to experience, express, and regulate emotions; form relationships with family and friends; and engage in ways that are socially acceptable. Indeed, the ability to respond to others socially and emotionally is critical for human development to proceed normally and for individuals to be resilient to life stressors and psychopathology.
Emotions
It is generally agreed that there are a number of universal basic emotions expressed in similar ways across all cultures, including joy, fear, anger, surprise, sadness, and disgust. Moreover, these basic emotions are expressed beginning in early infancy. Indeed, infants have the ability to communicate their emotions through smiling, crying, and the use of facial expressions, and these basic expressions are remarkably similar all over the world. Given that infants are fully dependent on their caregivers for survival, crying is believed to be an evolutionarily adaptive way of communicating their needs.
Sometime during the toddler and preschool years, children start to experience new emotions, called self‐conscious emotions, which include embarrassment, pride, shame, guilt, and envy (Reddy, 2005). Self‐conscious emotions depend on children’s newly acquired abilities to recognize and think about themselves in relation to other people and the goals they desire (Lewis, 2007). Unlike basic emotions, which occur in response to events that elicit them, self‐conscious emotions involve a complex combination of cognition and emotion. As their sense of self evolves, their self‐conscious emotions become deeper and more complex.
Self‐Regulation
The ability to control one’s thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, called self‐regulation, begins in infancy and evolves during early childhood. You will see that deficits in self‐regulation act as risk factors for various forms of psychopathology in the chapters that follow. Infants and young children require help with regulation, such as soothing by caregivers and guidance of emotional expressions. One important aspect of self‐regulation is the ability to inhibit an action that is already underway, known as effortful control. Children high in effortful control show an ability to keep their arousal from getting too intense by developing strategies for soothing themselves; children low in effortful control are often unable to control their arousal and become easily agitated and highly emotional.
Emotion regulation
In addition to controlling one’s thoughts and actions, children must learn to control their emotions and express their feelings in a socially appropriate way. Between two and six years, children develop a number of strategies to help them keep their emotions under control. This emerging ability is highly beneficial for young children in coping with disappointments, frustrations, and hurt feelings often experienced at this point in development. As children get older, the ability to regulate emotions becomes increasingly important. Research indicates that good emotion regulation skills predict academic performance, resilience, and well‐being (Graziano et al., 2007). Additionally, difficulties in emotion regulation are believed to underlie most forms of psychopathology.
Development of Aggression
Aggression