2. We defined Development as including not only changes but continuities over time.  It's also important to recognize that 'development' includes not simply growth or acquisition, but also losses. For instance, in physical growth, cell death is critical to proper development. (Example: in the formation of fingers, the 'web' cells between the digits have to die out in order for the fingers to work independently rather than as a fin or paddle.) Similarly, patterns of thought or behavior that are necessary for normal development at one stage must be 'outgrown' in order for the person's development to proceed .
In studying children's development, we will focus on three domains, or focal areas of study, in approaching the subject of development: physical growth and development, cognitive development, and psychosocial development. This is for the purpose of structuring our study, but in reality physical, cognitive and psychosocial developments are inextricably intertwined and interdependent.

3. As you read the text, focus on the following study points:

•  Define development. What is the nature of developmental change? What are the three domains of development that we will be focusing on?
• Why do we study child development? The basic four goals of psychology, but also Describe, understand, predict, control, have reasonable expectations and appropriate responses, design programs around developmentally appropriate goals, advocate for children'  needs through laws, policies, etc. 
• What are the major theoretical approaches to child development?  What are the basic assumptions that underlie studying child development? Be able to define the terms of these dimensions: nature vs. nurture, continuity vs. discontinuity ( 'stages'), universal (one course) vs. context-specific (many courses), active vs. passive. 
• Define the scientific method and the steps by which researchers advance our understanding of child development. 
  Review the definitions of the scientific terms you learned in Psych 101 ( hypothesis, theory, data, population, random sample, independent and dependent variables,  control/experimental group, validity, correlation, observer bias, single and double blind studies) 
• Know the various methods for researching child development. Be able to outline the major steps, strengths, limitations, and concerns of the following methods of doing developmental research:  naturalistic observation, clinical approach (I forgot to list this during class),  experimental method, case studies, surveys and interviews, correlational and archival studies. 
• Compare/contrast longitudinal and cross-sectional studies. What is a sequential study?
• Describe the four major ethical concerns in doing research. (confidentiality, disclosure, freedom to participate or refuse to participate, informed consent)  What are the special concerns in doing research on children? (Why is 'in loco parentis' an important ethical principle in doing such research?)
• Be able to describe how the concepts of 'child' and 'childhood' have changed over the course of human history.  (hunter-gatherer societies, agricultural societies, early industrial and industrial times, and our current post-industrial trends...)
• How do changes in the study of child development reflect  a) changes in our understanding of what 'childhood' refers to, and b) the development of the technologies we use in studying children?  (baby biographies, normative behavior, Piaget's and Vygotsky's observations, current studies of cognitive processes)

THEORIES OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT

1. What is a developmental theory? 
2. Be able to describe the following most important theoretical approaches to child development and analyze them in terms of the underlying assumptions about the following dimensions that are assumed by the theorists of each school of thought : nature vs. nurture, maturation vs experience, universal (one course) vs. unique (many courses), active vs. passive, continuous vs. stages, and breadth (focussed vs. broad in scope).

• Psychodynamic: Freud's three-part structure of personality (id, ego and superego) and how conflicts between these psychological structures are played out in childhood's psychosexual stages. What are defense mechanisms? fixations? Psychosocial theory: Erickson's 8 stages of development of a sense of identity: trust vs. mistrust  (0 -1 year), autonomy vs. shame and doubt (1 - 3 years), initiative vs. guilt (3 - 6 years), industry vs. inferiority (6 - 12 years), identity vs. role confusion (12 - 19 years), intimacy vs. isolation (19 - 25 years), generativity vs. stagnation (25 - 50 years) and ego integrity vs. despair (50 and up)  Other psychodynamic approaches (variations on a psychosocial theme)
• Behavioral and learning theories: Pavlov and Watson, classical conditioning; Skinner and operant conditioning; Bandura, social learning theory
• Cognitive developmental theories: Piaget stages of learning as interaction between maturation and direct experience. Assimilation, accommodation, and adaptation. .     
  Information processing theory as incremental knowledge acquisition with increasing maturational control/efficiency.
• Contextual developmental theories: Bronfenbrenner's model (micro- meso- exo- and macrosystems.)
  Vygotsky's cognitive developmental theory as socially mediated: 'zone of proximal development'.
• Ethological approaches: applies principles of evolution to the development of  human behavior.
• psychobiological (most recent, looking at structure of genome, biological aspects of psychological development.)