History of Developmental Psychology

1. History of Developmental Psychology • Introduction • Why study developmental psychology? • What is development? • Human development in historical perspective • Childhood in Medieval Times • Childhood in the Reformation • Philosophies of the Enlightenment • John Locke (1632-1704) and the British Empiricists • John-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) • Scientific roots of development • Charles Darwin’s (1809-1882) evolutionary theory • G. Stanley Hall’s (1846-1924) recapitulationist theory • Lewis Terman and Arnold Gesell • Mid-20th century theories

2. Development and the Developmental Sciences • What is development? • Development involves the systematic changes that occur in individuals between the moment of conception and the moment of death. • What is the science of development? • Developmental science versus developmental sciences • Interdisciplinary nature of the study of development

3. Child Development in Historical Perspective • Childhood in Medieval Times (6th - 15th centuries) • The view of children • The contradictory nature of childhood • Childhood in the Reformation (16th – century) • The influence of the Puritans • The idea of “original sin”

4. Philosophical roots of human development • John Locke and the British Empiricists • Rejected concept of innate ideas • Mind of infant as a Tabula Rasa • Knowledge gained through experiences • Two important conceptual points • Idea of continuous development • Importance of “nurture”

5. Philosophical roots of human development • John-Jacques Rousseau • Child born with innate ideas and knowledge that unfolds naturally with age • Development proceeds through series of stages guided by inborn timetable • Innate knowledge includes principles of justice, fairness, conscience • Child as a “noble savage” • Important conceptual ideas • Concept of stages • Idea of “maturation”

6. Scientific roots of human development • Charles Darwin • Natural selection • Environment where animal exists places demands on animal • Thus, natural environment “selects” organism for survival • Survival of the fittest • Organisms possessing characteristics that fit the requirements of the environment will survive

7. Scientific roots of human development • G. Stanley Hall • Adopted at “nature” viewpoint, translating Darwinian principles into human development • Proposed the Recapitulationist theory, in which life cycle changes are a repetition of evolutionary changes • Students of Hall • Lewis Terman • Arnold Gesell