Child and Adolescent Development essay PDF

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Write a 500-750-word paper discussing the importance of child and adolescent psychology on development...

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Child and Adolescent Development

Elizabeth Heicher College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Grand Canyon University PSY 355: Child and Adolescent Psychology Instructor Brown September 19, 2021

2 Child and Adolescent Development Children and adolescents are an important group in society. Children and adolescents have needs to survive. These include physical, psychological, and social needs. Parents, family, and other surrounding adults help to meet these needs. Child and adolescent development are reliant on growth and maturation beginning at conception. Theorists have established theories to explain the importance of development. Child and adolescent development require observation as changes have occurred in psychological development over the years. Over the past few decades, there has been extensive research and knowledge gained through child and adolescent development. Researchers have changed how child and adolescent development is viewed. Instead of viewing development as a simple subject, complex views of various categories have been incorporated. This allows for new perspectives on the development and behaviors of children and adolescents. Adolescents undergo extensive changes during their growth period into adulthood. Researchers have discovered adolescents go through not only physical changes, but also changes in hormones, emotional and cognitive growth, and independence (Schaffhuser et al., 2017). The study of child and adolescent development is always changing and becoming more advanced. This new science of psychology suggests that individuals can better understand themselves by studying what influenced their behavior and development as children (Martorell et al., 2013). Theories are being developed to better understand the complexity of the development of children and adolescents. Child and adolescent psychology on development is consistent with five theoretical perspectives. The first perspective is psychoanalytic, which focuses on unconscious emotions and drives such as hunger, sex, and aggression (Martorell et al., 2013). This theory was developed by Sigmund Freud who believed people were highly motivated to fulfill their urges.

3 According to this theory, the development of children and adolescents occurs throughout stages based off the pleasure areas of the body. Compared to other theorists, Freud believed the behavior of people remains the same throughout development. He believed behavior was determined by initial experiences during childhood. Freud explained that conflict occurring during childhood affects behavior in the future when children get to adulthood (Lyons et al., 2020). Freud goes into further detail explaining that from his experience, behavior is influenced by childhood experiences and unconscious desires. The second theory is the learning perspective. There are two different learning theories throughout the learning perspective. The learning perspective focuses on how development results from learning. A change in behavior results from experience and adjusting to environment. Development is seen as continuous, rather than stages. The first important learning theory is behaviorism established by John B. Watson. Watson focused on associative learning through two types of learning called classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Classical conditioning is where a response to a stimulus is induced after repeated association with a stimulus (Martorell el al., 2013). Watson made the claim that he could influence any infant in any way. Operant conditioning is where an individual learns from consequences. B. F. Skinner focused on this type of conditioning. He found that people will repeat a response that has been maintained by desirable consequences and withhold a response that has been punished (Martorell et al., 2013). The second learning theory is social learning (social cognitive). This theory was developed by Albert Bandura. Bandura focused on observation as a way of learning. Children and adolescents learn behavior through observation of environment, peers, and parents. Children learn whether their behavior is acceptable through feedback.

4 The third perspective is cognitive, which focuses on how thought processes reflect behavior. This theory was developed by Jean Piaget who came up with the idea that the way in which a child processes their thoughts influences how the child will interact with the environment they are in. Piaget describes this type of development as occurring in four different stages. Each of these stages impact the child’s mind and ways of operating. Knowing how children think allows for parents and educators to better understand them. The fourth perspective is contextual developed by Urie Bronfenbrenner. According to this perspective, development is understood in social context. The individual is seen not separate, but rather as inseparable. The influences on development are complex and a child must be seen within various environments. There are five levels of environmental influence. These include microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem (Martorell et al., 2013). People affect their own development, and this is what Bronfenbrenner is trying to get at. The last perspective is evolutionary/sociobiological. This perspective was originally proposed by E. O. Wilson, which focuses on evolutionary and biological aspects of behavior. This theory is influenced by Darwin’s theory of evolution to explain survival based on behavior (Martorell et al., 2013). Evolutionary development uses evolutionary principles to help explain child development. Parenting, gender, attachment, among other factors identify characteristics that help children and adolescents develop and adjust to their environment. The growth and development of children and adolescents is dependent on numerous factors. Development of both children and adolescents is changing as new advances make it possible to conduct in-depth research. Behavior is a good indicator of development as the way in which a person acts determines what experiences and development they have gone through. Proper development impacts future growth and behavior and sets up a person to succeed in life.

5 References Lyons, M. D., Griffin, C., Downer, J. T., & Smith, K. R. (2020). Theories of child development. Theories of School Psychology: Critical Perspectives, 16. Martorell, G., Papalia, D., & Feldman, R. (2013). A child’s world: Infancy through adolescence (13th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education. ISBN-13: 9780078035432. https://viewer.gcu.edu/FHYFRH Schaffhuser, K., Allemand, M., & Schwarz, B. (2017). The development of self-representations during the transition to early adolescence: The role of gender, puberty, and school transition. The journal of Early Adolescence, 37(6), 774-804....