17 Infancy &

MODULE

Childhood

Photo Credit: © Tony Metaxas/Photolibrary

A. Prenatal Influences 378 Summary Test 402

B. Newborns’ Abilities 382 Critical Thinking 404
C. Emotional Development 384 Who Matters More—Parents or Peers?
D. Research Focus: Temperament 386 Links to Learning 405
E. Cognitive Development 388
F. Social Development 392
Concept Review 398
G. Cultural Diversity: Gender Roles 399 PowerStudy 4.5™
Complete Module
H. Application: Child Abuse 400
376
 Introduction
Nature-Nurture Question
For the first 3 years of his life, Alex was raised in an There are now about 10,000 Romanian children
Will Alex orphanage in Romania where the number of infants growing up in the United States, and nearly all of them
ever learn to and children greatly exceeded the number of care- initially had serious developmental problems. One
love a parent? givers. At the orphanage, Alex was given adequate researcher studying the adjustment of over 300 Roma-
nutrition allowing him to develop well physically, but nian adoptees in the United States found that after the
the affection, stimulation, and comfort he received were far from adequate. first year, 20% of children reached normal development,
Alex, like other children living in Romanian orphanages, spent most of his 60% showed only mild problems, and the remaining
days alone in a crib with almost no interaction with others. When he cried, 20% had serious cognitive, behavioral, and emotional
no one came to hold or soothe him. He was never given the opportunity to problems (Fischer, 1999). The reason some Romanian
bond with a caregiver. adoptees have long-term developmental problems while
When Alex was 3 years old, a family living in the United States adopted others make significant improvements is complex,
him. His adoptive mother described him as being friendly and engaging, involving both biological (nature) and environmental
but also “self-abusive” and having a “dark side.” For (nurture) factors.
instance, Alex would make himself go into
a seizure by slamming his head on the floor. Developmental Psychologists
He was also aggressive toward others, one The questions about why Roma-
time attacking his younger sister, “beating nian adoptees vary in how they
her senseless.” When asked if he wanted are affected by being raised in
his adoptive mother to love him, he said to an orphanage and how they
her, “I never want you to love me.” When later adjust to adoption illus-
his adoptive mother asked him if he loved trate the kinds of issues and
her, he replied, “No, I don’t love anybody.” questions studied by develop-
After years of exhausting every treatment mental psychologists.
option and still unable to feel loved by Developmental psychologists
Until age 3, Alex lived in an Alex, his adoptive parents arranged for study a person’s biological, emo-
orphanage where he didn’t receive
affection, stimulation, or comfort.
Alex to live with another family (Jarriel tional, cognitive, personal, and
& Sawyer, 1997). social development across the life
Children like Alex, whose emotional needs (such as forming a stable span, from infancy through late
attachment with a caregiver) go unmet during infancy and early childhood, adulthood.
may develop reactive attachment disorder. Later in this module, we’ll 7-year-old Alex still
Reactive attachment disorder is a psychiatric illness characterized by serious explain how Alex was doing at has serious problems
in his emotional
problems in emotional attachments to others beginning before age 5. Some symptoms age 7 and what it means when he attachment to others.
children may show include resisting comfort and affection by parents, being superfi- is finally able to say “I love you”
cially engaging and overly friendly with strangers, having poor peer relationships, and to a parent. From the work of developmental psycholo-
engaging in destructive behavior to themselves and to others (American Psychiatric gists, we have learned that the answer to the age-old
Association, 2000; G. C. Keck & Kupecky, 1995). question of whether nature or nurture is more impor-
Do all children raised in Romanian orphanages who are later adopted tant is that they are both important and their interac-
have attachment problems? This question brings up an interesting issue in tion is the key to understanding how an infant develops
developmental psychology referred to as the nature-nurture question. into a very complex adult with his or her own personal-
The nature-nurture question asks how much nature (genetic factors) and how ity, behaviors, and goals (Pinker, 2003).
much nurture (environmental factors) contributes to a person’s biological, emotional,
cognitive, personal, and social development. What’s Coming
Although the nature-nurture question seems like an abstract intellectual We’ll discuss how development is affected by various
issue, it has very practical consequences. For example, in the United States, prenatal factors, such as alcohol, which is the leading
courts have varied in how they side with biological parents (nature) over adop- known cause of mental retardation. We’ll explain the
tive parents (nurture) when awarding custody of an adopted child. Tradition- amazing abilities of newborns, the early appearance of a
ally, courts have favored placement with biological parents, but more recently basic emotional makeup, the surprising growth of men-
some courts have begun to favor placement with adoptive parents (M. Dolan, tal abilities, the different factors that influence social
2002). For example, Dana Wakefield, a juvenile court judge, adamantly states, development, and the terrible occurrence of child abuse,
“In my courtroom, they (children) stay where they’ve been nurtured. You have which affects more than a million children a year.
to consider who the child feels is the psychological parents. If they have a good We’ll begin with a family whose infant son’s unusual
bond in that home, I’m not about to break it” (Gibbs, 1993, p. 49). musical abilities showed how nature and nurture interact.

INTRODUCTION 377
A. Prenatal Influences
Nature and Nurture
The reviewer for the San Francisco Examiner The amazing musical abilities of young Yehudi
Was he had listened to an inspired performance certainly classify him as a prodigy.
born a violin and wrote that the violinist “would one day A prodigy is a child who shows a highly unusual talent,
player? be a master among masters” (Magidoff, ability, or genius at a very early age and does
1973, p. 35). not have mental retardation. A small per-
At that point, the “master” was all of 5 years old and had centage of autistic children, who have some
been taking lessons for only six months. His name was Yehudi degree of mental retardation, may also show
Menuhin. When Yehudi was 8 years old, he made his first pro- unusual artistic or mathematical abilities; they are
fessional appearance. The reviewer wrote, “This is not talent; called savants.
it is genius!” (Magidoff, 1973, p. 46). Yehudi made his debut in When only 8 years Because prodigies demonstrate such unusual
New York at the age of 10, and the reviewer wrote, “What built old, Yehudi made abilities so early, they are excellent examples of the
his professional
the world in six days is what contrived the genius of Yehudi. debut. interaction between nature (genetic influences) and
He walks on the waves” (Magidoff, 1973, p. 52). nurture (learned influences).

Genetic and Environmental Factors

One reason Yehudi Menuhin was a prodigy and could give an inspiring
violin performance at the age of 5 was the prenatal (before birth) effects
of genetic influences. Prenatal influences, in the form of genetic instruc-
tions, regulated the development of Yehudi’s brain and body.
Parents. The father contributed half of Yehudi’s genetic instructions
(23 chromosomes), and the mother contrib-
uted half of the genetic instructions (23
chromosomes).
The father and mother were teachers,
and both had musical interests. The father
had taken six violin lessons when he was
a boy, but his grandfather had forbidden
him to play any further. The mother had
musical ability and took regular cello lessons. Through their chromo- Interaction. Yehudi Menuhin, who was universally
somes, the parents passed some of their musical talents on to their three hailed as the greatest child prodigy since Mozart, developed
children, Yehudi and his two younger sisters. into a legendary violin performer (Magidoff, 1973). The
Daughters. The two daughters each received half of their genetic development of Yehudi’s musical talents is a perfect example
instructions from their mother and half from their of how nature and nurture interact. You can see that genetic
father. Both daughters, who were younger than influences (nature) played a major role in wiring his brain so
Yehudi, showed early musical abilities and began that his incredible musical abilities appeared at a very early
playing piano at the ages of 5 and 7. It is diffi- age, before he had a chance to learn them. You can also see
cult to tell if the daughters had as much natural that environmental influences (nurture), such as being taken
ability as Yehudi because in the 1930s and 1940s to concerts from age 2 on and being encouraged to practice
there were few opportunities for women in professional music. As a and take lessons, encouraged Yehudi to develop the musical
result, these negative environmental influences actively discouraged the talents that he had inherited from his parents.
two daughters from developing their potential musical abilities. Psychologists have long recognized the importance of
Son. Yehudi received half of his genetic instructions from his mother learning influences, but it is only in about the past ten years
and half from his father. The unique pairing of chromosomes that psychologists have also recognized the importance of
from the mother and father results in different physical and genetic factors that influence almost every aspect of behavior,
Photo Credit: © UPI/Bettmann/Corbis

mental traits for each of the three children. Because Yehudi including cognitive, social, emotional, and personality devel-
and his two younger sisters showed great musical ability by opment (C. Baker, 2004). Today, researchers no longer focus
age 5, we can assume that their early musical ability was on which is more important, nature or nurture, but rather
primarily due to genetic or inherited instructions that on how nature and nurture interact to influence and regulate
came from their parents’ chromosomes. However, certain environmen- our behaviors (Pinker, 2003).
tal factors, such as few opportunities for women musicians, discouraged Genetic instructions from our parents can result in our
the sisters from developing their talents. Different environmental fac- having a wide range of abilities. Next, we’ll explain what hap-
tors, such as more opportunities for male musicians, encouraged Yehudi pens when genetic instructions are damaged—for example, if
to develop his musical talents. the mother uses drugs during the prenatal period.

378 MODULE 17 INFANCY & CHILDHOOD

 Prenatal Period: Three Stages
You began as a single cell about the size of a grain of sand. In this
Prenatal Period:
How did tiny cell was the equivalent of about 300,000 pages of instructions 3. Fetal
Three Stages
you begin? for the development of your brain and body. This single cell marks Stage
the beginning of the prenatal period. 2. Embryonic
Stage
The prenatal period extends from conception to birth and lasts about 266 days (around nine 1. Germinal
months). It consists of three successive phases: the germinal, embryonic, and fetal stages. During Stage
the prenatal period, a single cell will divide and grow to form 200 billion cells.
As we examine the prenatal period, we’ll unravel one of the great puzzles of science—
how a human being begins, develops, and is born. We’ll start with the germinal stage.

1 Germinal Stage 2 Embryonic Stage

The germinal stage marks the beginning of our development into a During this next stage, the organism begins to develop
human being. body organs.
The germinal stage is the first stage of prenatal development and refers to the The embryonic stage is the second stage of the prenatal peri-
two-week period following conception. od and spans the 2–8 weeks that follow conception; during this
To understand how conception occurs, we need to back up a little and stage, cells divide and begin to differentiate into bone, muscle,
explain ovulation. and body organs.
Ovulation is the re- At about 21 days after conception, the beginnings of
lease of an ovum or egg the spinal cord and eyes appear; at about 24 days, cells
cell from a woman’s differentiate to form what will become part of the heart;
ovaries. at about 28 days, tiny buds appear that will develop into
In most cases, arms and legs; and at about 42 days, features of the face
Photo Credits: left, © Pascal Goetgheluck/Photo Researchers, Inc.; right, © Petit Format/Science Source/Photo Researchers, Inc.

only a single ovum is take shape.

released during ovu- During this stage, the embryo is very fragile, since all
lation, but sometimes of its basic organs are being formed. This is the time when
two ova are released. most miscarriages occur and when most major birth
If two separate ova defects occur (J. M. Nash, 2002).
are released and fer- Toward the end of the embryonic stage, the organ-
tilized, the result is ism has developed a number of body organs, such as the
fraternal twins, who Only one of millions of sperm will fertilize this egg. heart. The
can be two brothers, embryo is
two sisters, or a brother and sister. Because fraternal twins come from two only about
separate eggs, they are no more genetically alike than any other two chil- 4 cm long
dren of the same parents. In contrast, if a single ovum splits into two parts but already
after fertilization, the result is identical twins, whose genes are almost has the be-
indistinguishable. ginnings of
major body
How does conception take place? organs and
If no sperm are present, there can be no fertilization, and the ovum, limbs and
together with the lining of the uterus, is sloughed off in the process called begins to
menstruation. If, however, sperm have been deposited in the vagina (100– look some-
500 million sperm may be deposited with each act of intercourse), they what human
make their way to the uterus and into the fallopian tubes in search of an (Cunning-
ovum to be fertilized. ham et al.,
Conception, or fertilization, occurs if one of the millions of sperm penetrates 2009).
the ovum’s outer membrane. After the ovum has been penetrated by a single sperm In the left
(above photo), its outer membrane changes and becomes impenetrable to the mil- photo, you
lions of remaining sperm. Embryo—about 6 weeks can see the
Once the ovum has been fertilized, it is called a zygote, which is a head as the
single cell that is smaller than the dot in the letter i. The zygote begins a large rounded structure at the top, and the black dot on
process of repeated division and, after about a week, consists of about 150 the side of the head is the developing eye. After this sec-
cells. After two weeks, it has become a mass of cells and attaches itself to ond stage of development, which is called the embryonic
the wall of the uterus. Once the zygote is implanted, or attached to the stage and lasts 2–8 weeks, comes the last stage, which is
wall of the uterus, the embryonic stage begins. called the fetal stage.

A . P R E N ATA L INF LUE NCE S 379

A. Prenatal Influences
3 Fetal Stage
The embryonic stage is fol- fetal genetic problems (Down syndrome). In
What is the lowed by the fetal stage. cases where fetal genetic problems are possible,
fetal stage? The fetal stage, which is the mother may wish to have her fetus tested
the third stage in prenatal by a relatively safe process called amniocentesis
development, begins two months after conception and (M. B. Marcus, 2000).
lasts until birth. Birth defects and amniocentesis. During the
At the end of the fetal stage, usually 38–42 fetal stage, a number of genetic errors can be tested
weeks after conception (or roughly nine months), for by amniocentesis (AM-nee-oh-sen-TEE-sis).
birth occurs and the fetus becomes a newborn. Amniocentesis, which is a medical test done
During the fetal stage, the fetus develops vital between weeks 14 and 20 of pregnancy, involves
organs, such as lungs, and physical characteris- inserting a long needle through the mother’s abdominal
tics that are distinctively human. For example, muscles into the amniotic fluid surrounding the fetus.

Figure/Text Credit: Bar graph adapted from a figure in The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology, 4th ed., by Keith L. Moore. W. B. Saunders Co., Copyright
at about six months a fetus has eyes and eyelids By withdrawing and analyzing fetal cells in the fluid,
that are completely formed (right photo), a fine Fetus in womb at 6 months doctors can identify a number of genetic problems.
coating of hair, relatively well-developed exter- One genetic problem identified by amniocen-
nal sex organs, and lungs that are beginning to function. tesis is Down syndrome (p. 288). The risk for it increases in mothers
Infants born very prematurely (under six months) will have dif- who are in their forties (Cunningham et al., 2009).
ficulty surviving because their lungs are not completely formed Down syndrome results from an extra 21st chromosome and causes
and they have difficulty breathing. However, a six-month-old fetus abnormal physical traits (a fold of skin at the corner of each eye, a wide
usually has lungs well enough developed to begin to show irregular tongue, heart defects) and abnormal brain development, resulting in
breathing and, for this reason, can survive if born prematurely. degrees of mental retardation.
During stage 2, the embryonic stage, and stage 3, the fetal stage, Besides Down syndrome, more than 1,000 other genetic disorders
the developing organism is especially vulnerable to toxic agents can now be tested for and identified (Weil, 2006). A combination of
and chemicals. To help keep out these potentially harmful agents, various relatively noninvasive screening tests completed during the
the developing organism is protected by the placenta. first and second trimesters can detect Down syndrome up to 96%
Placenta and teratogens. Because the fetus experiences rapid of the time. More invasive fetal DNA testing is even more definitive
body growth and development of the nervous system, it is highly (Kotz, 2007b; Malone et al., 2005). As shown in the graph below,
vulnerable to the effects of drugs and other harmful agents. How- birth defects can occur if something (toxin, drug, genetic malfunc-
ever, the blood supply of the fetus is tion) interferes with developing structures, especially during the
Umbilical
Placenta cord partly protected by the placenta (left embryonic stage (J. M. Nash, 2002).
figure) (Koren, 2007).
Full
The placenta is an organ that connects Embryonic Stage Prenatal Week Fetal Stage Term
the blood supply of the mother to that of 3 4 5 6 7 8 12 16 20–36 38
the fetus. The placenta acts like a filter,
allowing oxygen and nutrients to pass Central nervous system
through while keeping out some toxic or
Heart
harmful substances.
However, certain viruses, such as

© 1988 by Keith L. Moore. Adapted by permission of the author.

Arms
HIV, and many drugs, including nico-
tine, caffeine, marijuana, cocaine, and Eyes
heroin, pass from the placenta into the

Photo Credit: top, © Lennart Nilsson Photography

Legs
fetus’s blood vessels and thus can affect
fetal development. These potentially dangerous agents are called External genitals
teratogens.
A teratogen (teh-RAT-oh-gen) is any agent that can harm a developing Ears
fetus (causing deformities or brain damage). It might be a disease (such as
genital herpes), a drug (such as alcohol), or another environmental agent Most sensitive period for Moderately sensitive period
damaging effects for damaging effects
(such as chemicals). Source: Adapted from Moore, 1988
Besides harmful chemicals, drugs, and viruses, the develop-
ing fetus can also be affected by genetic problems, especially if the Next, we’ll discuss several teratogens (from the Greek word tera,
parents are carriers of potentially harmful genes (Tay-Sachs) or if meaning “monster”) that can pass through the placenta and inter-
the mother is in her forties, which increases the risk for certain fere with fetal growth and development.

380 MODULE 17 INFANCY & CHILDHOOD

 Drugs and Prenatal Development
In the womb, the fetus is protected from physical bumps by a wraparound cushion of warm fluid. The fetus is
How well is the also protected from various teratogens (certain chemicals and drugs) by the filtering system of the placenta
fetus protected? (described on p. 380). However, we’ll discuss several drugs, both legal and illegal, that can pass through the
placenta, reach the fetus, and cause potential neurological, physiological, and psychological problems.
Drug Use and Exposure to Chemicals Alcohol
Caffeine. Pregnant women who use caffeine, even as little as one Heavy drinking—Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). In the United
cup of coffee a day, are at higher risk of having an underweight States, alcohol is the leading known cause of mental retardation.
baby. Babies born underweight are more likely to have health Alcohol (ethanol) is a teratogen that crosses the placenta, affects
problems as adults, such as high blood pressure and diabetes the developing fetus, and can result in fetal alcohol
(CARE, 2008). syndrome (S. L. Fryer et al., 2007; Riley &
Cocaine plus other drugs. Pregnant women who use crack McGee, 2005).
cocaine along with other drugs, such as alcohol, tobacco, or mari- Fetal alcohol syndrome, or FAS, results
juana, have infants with low birth weights, poor feeding habits, from a mother drinking heavily during preg-
and risks for developing other psychological problems, such as nancy, especially in the first 12 weeks. FAS
low IQ scores and poor coping skills (Bendersky & Lewis, 1999). results in physical changes, such as short
Research shows it is not the cocaine alone that is responsible for stature, flattened nose, and short eye open-
these problems but rather the combination of drugs (D. A. Frank ings (right photo); neurological changes, such
et al., 2001). as fewer brain connections within the brain
Smoking and nicotine. Smoking during pregnancy increases structure; and psychological and behavioral
the risk of low birth weight, preterm deliveries, and possible problems, such as hyperactivity, impulsive
physical problems (Cunningham et al., 2009). In addition, infants behavior, deficits in information processing Facial features
born to smoking mothers have an increased risk for developing and memory, alcohol and drug use, and poor associated with FAS
attention- deficit/hyperactivity disorder (p. 27), sudden infant socialization.
death syndrome (SIDS), oral clefts (birth defect of mouth and Children with fetal alcohol syndrome continue to have prob-
lips), and respiratory infections (J. Braun et al., 2006; Dambro, lems into adolescence and adulthood. For example, follow-up
2006; G. M. Shaw et al., 2009). Women who smoke during preg- studies up to 21 years after the original diagnosis indicated that
nancy should remember that when they inhale cigarette smoke, so FAS individuals tended to remain short, had an
does their fetus. average IQ of 68 (normal is 100), were likely to
Lead. Children exposed to large amounts of lead (paint, be easily distracted and to misperceive social
gasoline, industry) during pregnancy have low IQ scores cues, and were at risk for developing drinking
and problems in brain development. Researchers have and drug problems (Baer et al., 2003; Streiss-
also found that even lower levels of lead exposure are guth et al., 1999). This means that various physi-
associated with low IQ scores in children (Canfield, cal, neurological, psychological, and behavioral
2003). Also, there appears to be a link between lead problems associated with fetal alcohol syndrome
exposure in the womb and during childhood and are long-lasting.
attention and hyperactivity problems as well as Moderate drinking—Fetal alcohol effects
criminal and antisocial behavior in adulthood, (FAE). Recently, researchers found that moder-
Photo Credits: top right, © George Steinmetz; bottom, PhotoDisc, Inc.

such as assaults, robbery, arson, and disorderly ate drinking (7–14 drinks per week) by pregnant
conduct (J. Braun et al., 2006; Dietrich, 2003; J. P. women does not usually result in fetal alcohol syn-
Wright et al., 2008). Last, childhood lead exposure drome (FAS). However, moderate drinking may
is linked to a smaller brain region that is respon- result in fetal alcohol exposure (FAE), which is
sible for decision making and impulse control dur- less severe than fetal alcohol syndrome but more
ing adulthood, which may explain why these adults are prevalent. Researchers report children with pre-
more likely to exhibit criminal and antisocial behavior natal exposure to alcohol can have growth defi-
(Bellinger, 2008). ciencies and deficits in a number of cognitive tasks
Air pollutants. New research provides evidence that (learning and memory), academic skills, and fine
prenatal exposure to air pollutants, such as gasoline, diesel, These drugs motor speed and coordination (CDC, 2005; Watten-
can affect the
and coal, has a negative impact on children’s cognitive devel- developing fetus. dorf & Muenke, 2005). Researchers say there is no safe
opment. Also, pregnant women exposed to high levels of air level of alcohol use during pregnancy, and therefore it
pollutants are more likely to have children with low birth weights, is recommended that women who are pregnant or are planning a
fetal growth deficiencies, and delays in physical development. pregnancy should not drink any alcohol (Gorman, 2006).
Because it is not possible for pregnant women to completely avoid We have discussed the three stages of prenatal development,
exposure to air pollutants, environmental changes in vehicles and which end with the baby’s birth. After the baby gets a pat on the
power plants are important (Harder, 2006; Rich et al., 2009). backside and lets out a cry, he or she is ready to take on the world.

A . P R E N ATA L INF LUE NCE S 381

B. Newborns’ Abilities
Some animals, such as baby elephants (150 pounds), can walk immediately after birth. In comparison, baby
Why can’t a humans (7 pounds) cannot walk because neither their leg muscles nor brain areas are well enough developed.
newborn walk? However, human infants are born with a surprising number of sensory and motor abilities, such as hearing,
grasping, and sucking. How these abilities develop is explained by an inherited genetic program.

Genetic Developmental Program Sensory Development

Conception results in a fertilized egg, which has a genetic program During the nine months of development in the womb, a genetic
that is equivalent to 300,000 pages of typed instructions for devel- program is guiding the development of a number of motor and
oping the body and brain. The mother and father each contribute sensory functions that are important for the newborn’s survival.
23 chromosomes so each child receives a unique genetic program. Here’s a summary of a newborn’s sensory abilities.
Faces. Newborns show a preference for their mother’s face over
1. The cell body contains 3. A strand of DNA is stretched strangers’ faces in the first few days after birth. Apparently new-
23 pairs of chromosomes. out to show that it looks like
a twisted ladder with
borns first learn to recognize a person’s eyes, a process that occurs
“chemical rungs.” through positive stimulation, such as caressing and suckling (E. M.
Blass & Camp, 2001). Beginning at 4 months of age, an infant can
visually distinguish his or her mother’s face from a stranger’s or an
animal’s (Wingert & Brant, 2005). By 3 or 4 years of age, an infant’s
visual abilities are equal to those of an adult.
Hearing. One-month-old infants have very keen hearing and
can discriminate small sound variations, such as the difference
between bah and pah. By 6 months, infants
have developed the ability to make all the
2. Each chromosome is made of a 4. “Chemical rungs” function
long strand of DNA. On the 23 pairs like a chemical alphabet that sounds that are necessary to learn the lan-
of chromosomes are about 30,000 writes instructions (genes) guage in which they are raised (Pascalis
genes, which are pieces of DNA for development of millions of et al., 2002).
that contain specific instructions. parts for your brain and body.
Touch. Newborns also have a well-
developed sense of touch and will
Brain growth. After birth, the genetic program regulates how
turn their head when lightly touched
the brain develops, such as making thousands of connections
on the cheek. Touch will also elicit a
between neurons. For example, during the first three months of life,
number of reflexes, such as grasping
the most active areas of the newborn’s brain are involved in pro-
and sucking.
cessing sights, sounds, and touches, preparing the infant for deal-
Smell and taste. Researchers
ing with sensory information from the surrounding environment.
found that 1-day-old infants could
discriminate between a citrus odor The senses develop
1-month-old brain and a floral odor (Sullivan et al., relatively fast.
Notice how 1991). Six-week-old infants can smell
the neurons the difference between their mother and a stranger (Macfarlane,
have made very 1975). Newborns have an inborn preference for both sweet and salt
few connections.
and an inborn dislike of bitter-tasting things.
Depth perception. By the age of 6 months, infants have devel-
oped depth perception, which was tested by observing whether
they would crawl off a visual “cliff” (E. J. Gibson & Walk, 1960).
2-year-old brain A visual cliff is a glass tabletop with a checkerboard pattern over part
Notice how of its surface; the remaining surface consists of clear glass with a checker-
the neurons
have now made
board pattern several feet below, creating the illusion of a clifflike drop to
many connections. the floor.
Photo Credits: all, © PhotoDisc, Inc.

An infant is placed on the area with the checkerboard pattern

and is encouraged to creep off the cliff. Six-month-old infants hesi-
In the figures above, notice that a 1-month-old brain has very tate when they reach the clear glass “dropoff,” indicating that they
few neural connections, while a 2-year-old brain has many thou- have developed depth perception.
sands. This enormous increase in neural connections partly Although the genetic program is largely responsible for the early
explains why the weight of a baby’s brain increases from 25% to appearance of these sensory abilities, environmental stimulation,
75% of its adult weight between birth and 2 years old (Sigelman & such as parental touch and play, encourages the infant to further
Rider, 2006). develop these sensory abilities (Collins et al., 2000).

382 MODULE 17 INFANCY & CHILDHOOD

 Motor Development
“Gloria just took her first step.” Parents are Motor development refers to the stages of motor skills that all infants
Why do infants proud to note their child’s motor accom- pass through as they acquire the muscular control necessary for making
crawl before plishments, which are primarily regulated coordinated movements.
they walk? by a built-in genetic program. As infants Because each child has a unique genetic program, he or she will
learn to crawl and walk, they change from acquire motor skills at different times (Hadders-Algra, 2002). The
passive observers into very active participants in the family’s social development of early motor skills, such as sitting, crawling, and
life. The first area studied by early developmental psychologists was walking, follows two general rules, called the proximodistal and
motor skill development (Thelen, 1995). cephalocaudal principles.

1 The proximodistal principle states that parts closer to the center of 4 Parents often note the major milestones in
the infant’s body (proximo in Latin means “near”) develop before parts their infants’ motor development, such as their
farther away (distal in Latin means “far”). first time crawling or walking, because they
For example, activities involving the trunk are mastered before want to know if their children are within the
activities involving the arms and legs. For that reason, infants developmental norms.
can roll over before they can walk or bring their arms together to Developmental norms refer to the average
grasp a bottle. ages at which children perform various kinds of

2 The cephalocaudal principle states that parts of the body closer to

skills or exhibit abilities or behaviors.
Sitting up alone— Some examples of developmenta l
the head (cephalo in Greek means “head”) develop before parts closer to average 5.5 months
(range 4.5–8.0 months)
norms for stages in walking accompany
the feet (caudal in Greek means “tail”). the three photos. Because norms for
For example, infants can lift their heads before they can con- motor development represent average ages rather than absolute
trol their trunks enough to sit up, and they can sit up before they ages, parents should not be disturbed if
can control their legs to crawl. In the figure below, notice the head their infant’s motor progress does not
area (larger) developing before the feet area (smaller). match the norms.
By the age of 2, infants have grown into
toddlers who can walk up and down stairs
and use their hands to hold glasses of juice,
operate toys, and, of course, get into a lot
Adult
Child
of trouble.
(25
Newborn
(6
years)
years)
5 The reason infants develop skills
and abilities at different times is that neural Crawling—average
Two 10 months (range
connections develop at different rates. This
Photo Credits: top and center right, © Laura Dwight; bottom, © Elyse Lewin/Getty Images

months 7.0–12.0 months)

means that infants cannot per-
(fetus)
form complex cognitive, sensory, or motor tasks,
such as walking, talking, and reading, until appro-
priate areas of their brains develop neural
connections.
Head size decreases in proportion to body size. Although we have focused on the role of the
genetic developmental program (nature), it’s
3 The cephalocaudal and proximodistal principles, which regu- important to remember that nature interacts
late the sequence for developing early motor skills, are part of a with the environment (nurture) to encourage or dis-
process known as maturation. courage the development of various motor, sensory,
Maturation refers to developmental changes that are genetically or and cognitive abilities (Hadders-Algra, 2002). For
biologically programmed rather than acquired through learning or life example, infants need appropriate environmental
experiences. stimulation for development of their visual sys-
In developing motor skills (three right photos), such as sitting tems (see things), for learning to speak (hear
up alone, crawling, and walking, all infants in all parts of the parents speaking), for emotional development
world go through the same developmental stages at about the same Walking alone— (get loving care), and for motor development
times. However, if children are given more opportunities to prac- average (explore objects). These examples show how
12.1 months (range
tice their stepping reflex earlier in life, they will begin to walk at 11.5–14.5 months)
the genetic program needs and interacts with
an earlier age than children who lack such opportunities (Thelen, environmental stimulation for the proper
1995). Thus, the development of early motor development is heav- development of a child’s sensory, motor, and cognitive abilities.
ily influenced by maturation (genetic program) but the timing can Along with developing motor skills, an infant is also showing
be partly slowed or speeded up by experience/learning (nurture). emotional changes.

B. NEWBORNS’ ABILITIES 383

C. Emotional Development
Definition Temperament and Emotions
Becki is describing the One reason each of the sextuplets developed such a differ-
How can emotional makeup of her Why did the ent emotional makeup so very early in life involves some-
sextuplets be sextuplets (photo below). differences show thing called temperament.
so different? “Brenna, the oldest by 30 up so early? Temperament refers to relatively stable and long-lasting indi-
seconds, is the affection- vidual differences in mood and emotional behavior, which emerge
ate one. Julian, the second child delivered, is ‘Mr. early in childhood because these differences are largely influenced by genetic factors.
Smiley.’ Quinn, the third, is sweet and generous Researchers studied differences in infants’ temperaments by interviewing mothers
and most adventurous. Claire, fourth oldest, is with 2- to 3-month-old infants and then observing these same infants repeatedly over
the boss, as charming as she is tough. Ian, the the next seven years. Researchers rated each infant on nine components of tempera-
fifth, is the smallest and loves music, drawing, ment, including activity level, attention span, fussiness, and mood. On the basis of
and sleep. Adrian, the youngest, is the biggest these ratings, they divided infants into four categories (A. Thomas & Chess, 1977).
and most gentle” (S. Reed & Breu, 1995, p. 127).
Each of these 2-year-old sextuplets has a unique
1 Easy babies, who made up 40% of the sample, were happy and
cheerful, had regular sleeping and eating habits, and adapted quickly
emotional development (J. Bates, 2004).
to new situations.
2 Slow-to-warm-up babies, who made up 15% of the sample, were
more withdrawn, were moody, and tended to take longer to adapt to
new situations.
3 Difficult babies, who made up 10% of the sample, were fussy, fear-
ful of new situations, and more intense in their reactions. During the
course of the seven-year study, difficult babies developed more serious
emotional problems than the easy or slow-to-warm-up babies.
4

Photo Credits: left, © 1995 Taro Yamasaki; center, © David M. Grossman/Photo Researchers, Inc.; bottom, © PhotoDisc, Inc.
No-single-category babies, who made up 35% of the sample, had a variety of
Each one has a different emotional makeup.
traits and could not be classified into one of the other three categories.
Emotional development refers to the influence Genetic influence. Infants develop distinct temperaments very early, usually in
and interaction of genetic factors, brain changes, the first 2–3 months of life, and these temperaments occur largely because of genetic
cognitive factors, coping abilities, and cultural factors factors rather than learning experiences (J. Bates, 2000). For example, about 10–15%
in the development of emotional behaviors, expres- of Caucasian babies inherit an inhibited or fearful temperament (e.g., show physi-
sions, thoughts, and feelings (Goldsmith, 2003). ological arousal in novel situations), while about 40% inherit a fearless temperament
Similar to all infants, the sextuplets initially (e.g., remain calm in novel situations) (Kagan, 2003a).
showed a limited number of inherited emotional Differences in temperament are also observed in brain activ-
expressions, including interest, startle, distress, ity. For example, outgoing and friendly 9-month-old babies
disgust, and a neonatal smile (a half-smile that show increased activity in parts of the brain responsible for
appears spontaneously for no apparent reason). positive emotions (Wingert & Brant, 2005). Also, infants with
Also, similar to all infants, during the first two highly reactive or fearful temperaments at 4 months of age are
years the sextuplets developed a wide range of ten times more likely to develop depression and anxiety disor-
emotional expressions and feelings, including ders during adulthood than less reactive or less fearful infants.
social smiling (age 4–6 weeks); anger, surprise, 10% fearful The adults who are highly reactive as infants have overdeveloped
and sadness (age 3–4 months); fear (age 5–7 brain areas responsible for emotional responses, which likely
months); shame and shyness (age 6–8 months); interferes with the proper functioning of these brain areas, lead-
and contempt and guilt (age 24 months) (Kopp ing to mood disorders (C. Schwartz, 2008, 2009).
& Neufeld, 2003). Environmental influence. About 30% of infants who began
A child’s increase in emotional expressions with a fearful or fearless temperament remained that way emo-
and feelings results from the interaction among tionally into adulthood, but 70% showed moderate changes in
genetic, neurological (brain), cognitive, cop- temperament. One reason for changes in temperament involves
ing, and cultural factors. The interaction of all environmental factors, such as family influence, poverty level,
these factors explains why each of the sextu- and educational opportunities, all of which interact with and
plets has a unique emotional makeup, ranging 40% fearless can change the infant’s initial temperament (Kagan 2003b).
from being sweet and gentle to being charming, Thus, whether or not an infant’s genetically influenced tempera-
adventurous, and tough. ment persists into adolescence and adulthood depends to a considerable extent on
We’ll focus on one of the genetic factors the influence and interaction of environmental factors.
involved in emotional development, which is Because an infant’s temperament influences the development of emotional behavior,
called temperament. it also affects the bond or attachment between parent and child, our next topic.
384 MODULE 17 INFANCY & CHILDHOOD
 Attachment
For the first 3 years of his life, Psychologist John Bowlby (1969) believed that
Do infants and Alex (right picture) lived in an attachment behavior evolved through a process of
parents form a orphanage where he had no con- natural selection. According to his theory, attach-
special bond? sistent, loving person to take care ment evolved because of its adaptive value, which
of him. When he was adopted at was to give the infant a better chance of surviving
age 3, he repeatedly rejected his parents’ love and he was never because the parent was close by to provide care and
able to express love toward them. Living his first few years of protection. Much of the research on attachment was
life without close bonding to a parent or caregiver led Alex to initiated by Mary Ainsworth (1989), who asked three
have problems in attachment. Alex lived in a Romanian general questions: How does attachment occur?
Attachment is a close, fundamental emotional bond that orphanage until he was Are there different kinds of attachment? What are
develops between the infant and his or her parents or caregiver. adopted at age 3. the long-term effects of attachment?

How Does Attachment Occur? Are There Different Kinds What Are Effects of Attachment?
of Attachment?
According to attachment theory, babies Because Alex never formed an attach-
form an attachment to their parents Ainsworth (1979) is best known for devel- ment to a parent during infancy, he
through a gradual process that begins oping a method for studying infants’ reac- will likely have difficulty forming
short ly af ter birth and continues tions to being separated from, and then healthy bonds with parents or other
through early childhood. As newborns, reunited with, their mothers. She used these adults in the future. As it turned out,
infants have a powerful social signal, reactions to indicate the kind or quality of despite being adopted by parents who
crying, which elicits care and sympa- the infants’ attachment. There are now four cared tremendously for him and tried
thy. As 4- to 6-week-old infants, they different kinds of attachment, but we’ll every day to show they loved him,
will begin social smiling (smiling at focus on two, which are called secure (65% Alex never bonded with them. Even at
others), which will elicit joy and plea- of infants) and insecure (20% of infants) age 7, he still rejected his parents’ af-
sure in t heir parents. At about 6 attachment. fection and did not trust them. Be-
months, infants begin to give their par- Secure attachment is characteristic of in- cause Alex never developed a secure
ents a happy greeting (smiling, holding fants who use their parent or caregiver as a safe attachment, when the time came to
out their arms) when they reappear home base from which they can wander off and say good-bye to his parents and meet
after a short absence. These behaviors explore their environments. his new adoptive mother, he left his
contribute to children expressing their For example, when infants are placed parents without any hesitation and he
needs better and understanding their in an unfamiliar room containing many immediately called the new woman
parents’ emotional experiences, which interesting toys, securely attached infants “mom” and he also told her “I love
ultimately help to build a good parent– tend to explore freely as long as their parent you.”
child attachment (R. A. Thompson, looks on. If the parent leaves, most of the The kind of attachment formed in
1998, 2006). infants cry. On the parent’s return, securely infancy is thought to be associated
As the infant develops a closer at- attached infants happily greet the caregiver with the success of future relation-
tachment to her parents, she also shows and are easily soothed. In contrast, some in- ships. For example, a secure attach-
more distress when her parents leave; fants show insecure attachment. ment is associated with being more
this is called separation anxiety. Insecure attachment is characteristic of in- trusting, enjoying relationships more,
Separation anxiety is an infant’s dis- fants who avoid or show ambivalence or resis- and dealing better with stress; an in-
tress—as indicated by loud protests, cry- tance toward their parent or caregiver. secure attachment is associated with
ing, and agitation—whenever the infant’s For example, insecurely attached infants being dependent and having poor
parents temporarily leave. may cling and want to be held one minute social relationships and poor coping
According to Ainsworth, separation but squirm and push away the next minute, skills (Burge et al., 1997; M. S. Howard
anxiety is a clear sign the infant has be- displaying a lack of trust in the parent or & Medway, 2004).
come attached to one or both parents. caregiver. Our relationship with our parents
By the end of the first year, an infant Researchers found that an infant’s sense is also important as we get older. In
usually shows a close attachment to her of trust or attachment was not affected by Module 18 (p. 413), we discuss how
parents as well as to one or more other whether or how long a child was in day parenting styles inf luence the cog-
family members. care. Instead, what most affected the in- nitive and emotional development
However, depending on the infant’s fant’s attachment was a mother’s sensi- of teenagers.
temperament (easy or difficult) and tivity, caring, and responsiveness to the The kind of attachment an infant
the mother’s attitude (caring or not re- infant’s needs (NICHD, 1997). Attachments forms is partly dependent on temper-
sponsive), different kinds of attachment formed in infancy may also affect one’s later ament. We’ll next discuss the kinds
occur. relationships. and effects of different temperaments.
C. EMOTIONAL DE VELOPMENT 385
 D. Research Focus: Temperament
Are Some Infants Born Fearful?
We’re going to discuss a series of classic studies by Jerome Kagan (2003a) that changed
How can the way we think about children’s temperaments. Kagan wanted to answer a ques-
children be tion asked by many parents: Why do children raised by the same parents in the
so different? same family grow up with such different emotional makeups? For example,
Eric’s parents wondered why he (similar to circled child in right photo) was
more shy and fearful than his two brothers, would never leave his mother’s side to play with other
children, was afraid to tell a story to his grade-school class, and feared going into the swimming
pool with other children (Elias, 1989). Kagan wondered if Eric was born “fearful” and if he would
change as he grew up.
The first problem Kagan faced was to select between two different research methods—longitudinal Why is only one child shy?
and cross-sectional methods—to study developmental changes. As we discuss the advantages and dis-
advantages of each method, you’ll understand why Kagan selected the longitudinal method to study temperament.

Longitudinal Method Cross-Sectional Method

One method researchers use to study developmental changes, such A cross-sectional method means that several groups of different-
as a child’s temperament, is the longitudinal method. aged individuals are studied at the same time.
A longitudinal method means that the same group of individuals is For example, in the figure below, researchers are using the
studied repeatedly at many different points in time. cross-sectional method because they selected a group of 2-year-
For example, as shown in the figure below, researchers first mea- olds, a group of 7-year-olds, and a group of 12-year-olds and mea-
sure temperaments in a group of 2-year-old children, retest this sured their temperaments at the same time.
same group again at age 7, then test them again at age 12, and so on. Advantage. The primary advantage of the cross- sectional
Disadvantages. Disadvantages are that researchers must wait method is that researchers can compare any developmental differ-
many years for their participants to grow older and they must deal ences, such as in temperaments, across many different age groups,
with the problem of participants dropping all at the same time. This lowers the dropout rate due to relocation,
out of the study due to relocation, illness, illness, or death and gives immediate results.
or death.

Photo Credits: top, © LWA/Dann Tardif/Getty Images; bottom © Kayoco/zefa/Corbis

Age 2 7 12
Year 1989 1994 1999 Age 2 7 12
Year 1999
Advantage. A major advantage of the longitudinal method
is that the same participants are used throughout the study. This Disadvantage. A major disadvantage of the cross-sectional
means that researchers can track and analyze the development of approach is that it does not track the development of the same per-
each participant as he or she ages and confronts new environmen- son across time but rather compares different groups at different
tal conditions. This ability to track each participant across time is ages. This means that both the participants and the environmental
the chief reason researchers prefer to use the longitudinal method conditions are different, which allows for more error and bias in
to study developmental changes, such as changes in temperament. interpreting the results.
Procedure
Choosing the longitudinal method, Jerome Kagan and his environment; they also show increased physiological arousal
colleagues (Kagan, 2003a; Kagan & Snidman, 1991) began (increased heart rate) and brain activity (increased response of
by studying the temperaments of 4-month-olds. These amygdala—threat detector) to novel or strange situations.
same infants would be retested at different ages, until they Having identified infants with two very different
reached their early 20s. The initial findings were that some temperaments—inhibited/fearful and fearless—Kagan
4-month-olds were fearless while others were fearful, and his colleagues were able to study how these different
whom he called inhibited children. temperaments affected emotional development by retest-
Inhibited/fearful children show avoidance, anxiety, or fear ing the same participants across more than 20 years.
(measured by avoiding or crying) when in a strange or novel Here’s what they found.

386 MODULE 17 INFANCY & CHILDHOOD

 Results Conclusions
How many were fearful/inhibited? Kagan and his colleagues observed This research answers a question
several hundred 4-month-old infants and reported that about one-fourth asked by many parents: How can
were classified as inhibited or highly fearful (graph below). An inhibited children raised by the same parents
or highly fearful infant showed a high degree of avoidance, fretting, and in the same family have such differ-
crying in novel or strange situations. A typical inhibited child stayed at ent temperaments? Part of the answer
the periphery of a large group of peers, reading a book, painting at an comes from Kagan’s (2003a) series of
easel, or standing in a corner quietly watching another child. One of the longitudinal studies, which showed
best indicators of an inhibited child was that he or she spoke very little that infants have at least two distinct
and initiated very little spontaneous conversation with unfamiliar peers temperaments—fearful/inhibited or
or adults (Kagan et al., 1988; Kagan & Snidman, 1991). fearless/uninhibited. These two tem-
peraments are relatively stable across
Temperament at 4 months time and involve observable behav-
iors (avoiding and crying), physiolog-
Inhibited (fearful) 23% Being fearful
ical arousal (increased heart rate), and is one kind of
Uninhibited (fearless) 37%
differences in the activity of the brain’s temperament.
emotional detector, the amygdala.
The occurrence of different temperaments in young
How many were fearless/uninhibited? About one-third of the infants infants indicates the influence of genetic factors (nature).
were classified as uninhibited or low-fear individuals (above graph), and the However, the finding that about 80% of the children’s
remaining infants were classified in between. A typical fearless/uninhibited temperaments changed moderately indicates the influ-
child was involved in group activities, was very talkative, initiated spon- ence of environmental experiences (nurture) (Pesonen et
taneous interactions, engaged in conversations, often with smiling and al., 2003).
laughter, and showed enthusiasm for social interactions not observed in Another interesting finding was that although children
inhibited children. differed in temperament—inhibited or uninhibited—they
Based on these studies, as well as studies that compared identical did not differ in IQ scores, intellectual abilities, language,
twins (share nearly 100% of their genes) with fraternal twins (share 50% memory, or reasoning abilities (Kagan, 1998).
of their genes), researchers concluded that the influence of genetic factors How can parents help fearful children? Research-
on emotional development is as high as 60% (Goldsmith, 2003). ers advise parents with fearful children to be very caring
How many changed temperaments? About 18% of the very fearful and supportive and to consistently help their inhibited
infants remained highly fearful at 14 and 21 months and developed anx- children deal with minor stressors. With such support,
ious symptoms at about 7 years, but about 80% of infants who were ini- inhibited children learned to control their initial urges
tially classified as very fearful did not develop into very fearful children. to withdraw from strange people or situations. Addition-
However, none of the very fearful children developed into completely ally, researchers suggest that if parents avoid becoming
Photo Credits: top, © Kayoco/zefa/Corbis; bottom right, © LWA/Dann Tardif/Getty Images
fearless ones. This means that having a fearful temperament at infancy too anxious, overprotective, or angry at their children’s
puts a person at risk for becoming a fearful child, but the risk for becom- extreme fearfulness and timidity, there will be a better
ing fearful is not completely determined because some do become less chance that the inhibited child will become less anxious
fearful (but never fearless) (Kagan, 2003a). in adolescence (Kagan, 1994).
What happens in the brain? Earlier we discussed the brain’s emo- Eric’s parents followed this advice. As
tional detector, called the amygdala (p. 362), which signals threatening or an infant and child, Eric (similar to left
fearful stimuli. Researchers guessed that per- photo) showed signs of being fearful or
haps fearful infants were born with a more inhibited. For example, Eric spent two
active amygdala. Researchers measured the weeks worrying about having to give
amygdala’s activity (fMRI) in response to a book report, which meant standing
novel or familiar faces in 20-year-old adults in front of, and speaking to, the whole
who had been classified as either fearful or class. Eric was sure he couldn’t do it. His
Amygdala fearless at age 2. Researchers found that adults parents encouraged Eric to role-play giving his book
classified as fearful at age 2 had more activ- report, so Eric repeated his speech over and over at home
ity in response to novel faces than did adults until he felt comfortable. When Eric gave his book report
initially classified as fearless. Researchers to the class, he did very well and felt great afterward
suggested that an infant who is born with an (Elias, 1989). With support and understanding, parents
Fearful adults overactive amygdala is at risk for having a fearful can help a fearful child to become more outgoing and
had more activity
in the amygdala.
temperament and later developing into a fearful or less fearful.
shy person (C. E. Schwartz et al., 2003). At the same time an infant is developing emotional
How can parents help a fearful/inhibited child overcome his or her behaviors, he or she is also acquiring numerous cognitive
fear and shyness? skills and abilities, which we’ll discuss next.

D. RESE ARCH FOCUS: TEMPER AMENT 387

E. Cognitive Development
Piaget’s Theory
We have explained how a new- Assimilation
What are born’s brain and senses develop If you gave 5-month-old Sam a block, he would first try to put it into his
blocks for? relatively quick ly so that an mouth because at that age, infants “think” that objects are for sucking on.
infant is soon ready to creep and This mouthing behavior is an example of assimilation.
walk and explore and learn about a wondrous world Assimilation is the process by which a child uses old
through a process called cognitive development. methods or experiences to deal with new situations.
Cognitive development refers to how a person perceives, At 5 months, Sam will first put a new object into
thinks, and gains an understanding of his or her world through his mouth because his knowledge of objects is that
the interaction and influence of genetic and learned factors. they are for eating or sucking. Thus, Sam will assim-
For example, if you gave blocks to Sam, who is 5 ilate the new object as something too hard to eat but
months old (top right photo), he would surely put one all right for sucking.
into his mouth. If you gave the same blocks to Sam Depending on their age and knowledge, children
when he was 2 years old (bottom right assimilate blocks in different ways: infants assimi-
photo), he might stack them. late blocks as something to suck; toddlers assimilate
Blocks are for
If you gave the same blocks to putting in mouth. blocks as something to stack or throw; adolescents
Sam when he was an adolescent, assimilate blocks as something used to play games;
he might play a game of and adults assimilate blocks as something to give to children. The assimilation
throwing them into a can. of new information leads to Piaget’s next process—accommodation.
What Sam does with blocks
depend s on h is ex per i- Accommodation
ence and level of cognitive If you gave 2-year-old Sam the same blocks, he would not try to eat them, but
development. he might try to stack them, which is an example of accommodation.
Jean Piaget. In the history of developmental psy- Accommodation is the process by which a child changes
chology, the person who had the greatest impact on old methods to deal with or adjust to new situations.
the study of cognitive development was Jean Piaget, For example, because of Sam’s experience with dif-
who was both a biologist and a psychologist. From the ferent kinds of objects, he has learned that square,
1920s to his death in 1980, Piaget (1929) studied how hard objects are not food but things that can be
children solved problems in their natural settings, such handled and stacked. Sam’s learning to change
as cribs, sandboxes, and playgrounds. Piaget developed existing knowledge because of new informa-
one of the most influential theories of cognitive devel- tion (blocks are for stacking, not eating) is an
opment (Bjorklund, 2005). example of accommodation, which is one way
Piaget believed that from early on, a child acts like that mental growth occurs.
a tiny scientist who is actively involved in making As an infant or child is actively involved
guesses or hypotheses about how the world works. in exploring his or her environment, there
For example, when given blocks, 5-month-old Sam are many opportunities for assimilation and
puts them into his mouth, while 2-year-old Sam tries accommodation, which result in different kinds
Blocks are for stacking.
to stack them, and adolescent Sam laughs and plays a of cognitive growth and development.
game of tossing blocks into a can. Piaget believed that According to Piaget, children make big gains in reasoning, thinking, and
children learned to understand things, such as what to understanding through active involvement and the processes of assimilation
do with blocks, through two active processes that he and accommodation. Using these two processes, children go through a series
called assimilation and accommodation. of cognitive stages.

Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development

Piaget is best k now n for Although Piaget believed that all people
Photo Credits: both, © PhotoDisc, Inc.

What is describing the changes or dif- go through the same four cognitive stages, he
Sam thinking? ferent stages in cognitive acknowledged that they may go through the
d e ve lopme nt t h at o c c u r stages at different rates.
between infancy and adulthood (Bjorklund, 2005). Piaget’s hypothesis that cognitive development
Piaget’s cognitive stages refer to four different stag- occurs in stages and that each stage involves dif-
es—sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operations, and ferent kinds of thinking was one of his unique
formal operations—each of which is more advanced than contributions to developmental psychology. We’ll
the preceding stage because it involves new reasoning and explain Piaget’s four stages by following Sam
thinking abilities. through his cognitive development.

388 MODULE 17 INFANCY & CHILDHOOD

 Stage 1 Stage 2
Imag i ne Sa m a s a As a 4-year-old, Sam is
newborn infant. His busy pushing a block
primary way of interacting with the around the floor and making noises as he
world is through reflexive responses, such as sucking and grasp- pretends the block is a car. The cognitive ability to pretend is a
ing. By 5 months, Sam has developed enough voluntary muscle sign that Sam is going through the preoperational stage.
control so that he can reach out, grasp things, and put them The preoperational stage (from about 2 to 7 years old) is the second
into his mouth to discover if the things are good to suck on. of Piaget’s cognitive stages. During this stage, children learn to use sym-
Sam is in the sensorimotor stage. bols, such as words or mental images, to solve simple problems and to
The sensorimotor stage (from birth to about age 2) is the first of think or talk about things that are not present.
Piaget’s cognitive stages. During this stage, infants interact with and At this stage, Sam is acquiring the cognitive ability to pretend
learn about their environments by relating their sensory experiences things and to talk about or draw things that are not physically
(such as hearing and seeing) to their motor actions (mouthing and present. Although Sam is learning to use words and images in
grasping). speech and play, his thinking has a number of interesting limi-
Hidden objects. At the beginning of the sensorimotor stage, tations that make his thinking different from an adult’s. During
Sam has one thinking prob- the preoperational stage, two of his cognitive limitations involve
lem: remembering that hid- having problems with conservation and engaging in egocentric
den objects still exist. For thinking.
example, notice in the top Conservation. As 4-year-old Sam watches you pour milk from
left photo that 5-month- a tall, thin glass into a short, wide glass, will he know that the
old Sam is shown a toy dog. amount of milk remains the same even though its shape changes?
Sam immediately tries to This is called the problem of conservation.
grab it and put part of it in Conservation refers to the fact that even though the shape of some
With doggie in sight, infant his mouth. This is another object or substance is changed, the total amount remains the same.
tries to touch it.
example of assimilation; Here’s what happens when 4-year-
1
Sam believes that objects old Sam is faced with a conservation
are mostly for mouthing. problem.
However, notice in the In photo #1, 4-year-old Sam watches
bottom left photo that when as his mother fills two short, wide glasses
a screen is placed in front with equal amounts of milk.
of the dog, Sam looks away. In photo #2, Sam sees his mother pour
He doesn’t push the screen the milk from one short, wide glass into
away to get at the toy be- a tall, thin glass. Mother asks, “Does one
With doggie hidden, infant acts cause, at this point, Sam glass have more milk?”
Photo Credits: left, © Doug Goodman/Photo Researchers, Inc.; right, © Craig McClain as if there is no doggie. behaves as if things that In photo #3, Sam points to the tall, thin 2
are out of sight are out of glass as having more milk because the tall
mind and simply no longer exist. Sam has not learned object glass looks larger. He makes this mistake
permanence. even though he just saw his mother pour
Object permanence. Beginning at around 9 months, if Sam the milk from a short, wide glass.
is shown a toy dog that is then covered by a screen, he will try to Sam, like other children at the preoper-
push the screen away and look for the dog. Sam has learned that ational stage, will not be able to solve con-
a toy dog that is out of sight still exists behind the screen. This servation problems until the next stage.
new concept is called object permanence. E g o c e n t r ic t h in k in g. A second
Object permanence refers to the understanding that objects or problem that Sam has during the preop- 3
events continue to exist even if they can no longer be heard, touched, erational stage is that he makes mistakes
or seen. or misbehaves because of egocentric
The concept of object permanence develops slowly over a thinking.
period of about nine months. By the end of the sensorimotor Egocentric (ee-goh-SEN-trick) thinking
period (about age 2), an infant will search long and hard for lost refers to seeing and thinking of the world only
or disappeared objects, indicating a fully developed concept of from your own viewpoint and having difficulty
object permanence. appreciating someone else’s viewpoint.
At the end of the sensorimotor stage, 2-year-old Sam can Piaget used the term egocentric think-
think about things that are not present and can form simple ing to mean that preoperational children cannot see situations
plans for solving problems, such as searching for things. from another person’s, such as a parent’s, point of view. When
According to Piaget, after the sensorimotor stage, Sam enters they don’t get their way, children may get angry or pout because
the next stage, called the preoperational stage. their view of the world is so self-centered.

E. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 389

E. Cognitive Development
Stage 3 Stage 4
Between the ages of Sam is now 17 years old and
7 and 11, Sam learns is surfing the Web for a
that even if things change their shape, paper he’s writing on what killed the dino-
they don’t lose any quantity or mass, a new concept that saurs. This kind of abstract thinking indicates that Sam is in the formal
occurs during the concrete operations stage. operations stage.
The concrete operations stage (from about 7 to 11 years) is the The formal operations stage (from about 12 years old through adulthood)
third of Piaget’s cognitive stages. During this stage, children can is Piaget’s fourth cognitive stage. During this stage, adolescents and adults
perform a number of logical mental operations on concrete objects develop the ability to think about and solve abstract problems in a logical
(ones that are physically present). manner.
Conservation. As you may remember, when Sam was 4 Piaget believed adolescents develop thinking and reasoning typical
years old and in the preoperational stage, he had not mas- of adults during the formal operations stage. For example, 17-year-
tered the concept of conservation. In the pre- old Sam can compare theories about why the dinosaurs died, includ-
operational stage, Sam thought a tall, thin ing being destroyed by a giant asteroid, radical temperature change,
glass held more milk than a short, wide or some terrible virus. During this stage, adolescents also encounter
glass. And if 4-year-old Sam watched as a new worlds of abstract ideas and hypothetical concepts. For example,
ball of clay (top left picture) was flattened Sam can discuss abstract ideas, such as
into a long, thin piece (bottom whether computer hackers should go
Can these two pieces of
clay be the same size? left picture), he would say the long to jail, if going steady is a good idea,
piece was larger. and how strict parents should be.
However, Sam is now 10 Acquiring the ability to think in
years old and has just watched a logical, systematic, and abstract way
you flatten a ball of clay into a is one of the major characteristics
long piece. Sam now says that the long, flattened piece con- of the formal operations stage.
tains the same amount of clay as the ball, even if the shape In comparison, seven years ago,
changed. Similarly, if 10-year-old Sam watched you pour cola when Sam was in the concrete
from a short glass into a tall glass, he would correctly answer operations stage, he lacked the
that the amount of cola remained the same. Children gradu- ability to solve abstract prob-
ally master the concept of conservation during the concrete lems. As you may have already
How much does the thinking of a 17-year-
operations stage, and they also get better at classification. realized, the cognitive skills old differ from that of a 10-year-old?
Classification. If you gave a 4-year old, preoperational Sam associated with the formal
some red and blue marbles in different sizes (picture below), he operations stage are the very ones you need to do well in college.
would be able to classify the pieces Along with advances in cognitive abilities, the formal operations
according to a single category, stage welcomes the return of egocentric thinking, which refers to the
such as size. However, during tendency of adolescents to believe that others are always watching

Photo Credits: top, © Royalty-Free/Masterfile; bottom, © Hans Neleman/Corbis

the concrete operations stage, and evaluating them, and the belief that everyone thinks and cares
10-year-old Sam has acquired about the same things they do. Because adolescents think people are
the ability to classify the watching their every move, they act as though they are performing in
marbles according to two cat- front of an audience. Of course, such an audience doesn’t really exist
egories, such as color and size, because everyone is not actually obsessed with the teen’s every action.
indicating that he has learned a Thus, this phenomenon is named the imaginary audience.
new cognitive skill. During the concrete stage, Imaginary audience refers to the belief adoles-
children learn to sort objects
New abilities. During the by both size and color.
I think everyone is cents have that everyone is watching all of their
always watching me.
concrete operations stage, chil- actions.
dren learn to classify or sort objects according to more than Another aspect of adolescent thinking
one category, and they learn to solve a variety of conservation related to egocentric thinking is the personal
problems. The reason Piaget called this the concrete opera- fable.
tions stage is that children can easily classify or figure out Personal fable refers to an adolescent’s belief that
relationships between objects provided the objects are actu- he or she is invulnerable, unique, and special.
ally physically present or “concrete.” This type of thinking explains why adoles-
However, children at the concrete operations stage still have cents can never accept that anyone might even
difficulty figuring out relationships among objects that are not remotely understand how they are feeling,
present or situations that are imaginary. Thinking about imag- because after all they are unique and special
inary or hypothetical situations occurs in Piaget’s fourth stage. (Elkind, 1967, 1998).

390 MODULE 17 INFANCY & CHILDHOOD

s
 Evaluation of Piaget’s Theory
We have discussed Piaget’s cognitive stages in some detail, but there are three ideas that stand out (Larivee et al.,
What’s 2000): (1) Children gradually and in a step-by-step fashion develop reasoning abilities through the active pro-
happened to cesses of assimilation and accommodation. (2) Children are naturally curious and self-motivated to explore their
Piaget’s theory? worlds and, in the process, develop numerous cognitive skills. (3) Children acquire different kinds of thinking
and reasoning abilities as they go through different stages of cognitive development.
Piaget’s theory has had a tremendous influence on the area of cognitive development. However, over the past 50 years, there have been
numerous criticisms of Piaget’s theory. We’ll discuss these criticisms along with current ideas about cognitive development.

Impact and Criticisms New Information

Impact of Piaget’s theory. For three main reasons, Piaget’s Since Piaget developed his theory, there have been two major
theory has had a huge impact on understanding cognitive changes in understanding and studying cognitive development.
development. First, his theory
was far more comprehensive
1 Genetic factors. One of the biggest changes has involved
identifying genetic factors that influence many cognitive abilities.
than any other theory at the
For example, research on identical and fraternal twins shows that
time. Second, his theory trig-
genetic factors account for 20% to 60% of the influence on verbal,
gered an enormous amount
spatial, and perceptual abilities (Petrill, 2003). In Piaget’s time, the
of research and led to the
influence of genetic factors on cognitive abilities had not been as
development of other cogni-
clearly established.
tive development theories.
Recently, there has been an increasing number of studies showing
Third, many of Piaget’s ideas
how genetic factors (nature) interact with a child’s environmental
have proven correct and have
and learning experiences (nurture) in the development of cogni-
been replicated (R. J. Stern-
tive abilities. For example, being outgoing and fearless is related
berg et al., 2003b).
to the kind of temperament an infant inherits (nature) (Kagan,
Criticisms. There are
2003a). Researchers reported that children who had been rated
three main criticisms. First,
high in seeking stimulation at age 3 scored significantly higher on
Jean Piaget (1896–1980) Piaget’s four stages are not
IQ tests at age 11 compared to children who had been rated low in
as rigid or orderly as he pro-
seeking stimulation at age 3. This significant difference in IQ scores
posed. For example, children can solve certain kinds of prob-
(11 points) was not related to the occupation or education of their
lems at stages earlier than Piaget proposed (e.g., some babies
parents. Researchers concluded that children rated high in seeking
as young as 10 weeks understand object permanence) (S. Wang
stimulation (nature) were more curious and open to learning from
et al., 2005). Because children do show certain thinking skills
their environments (nurture), which in turn enhanced the develop-
earlier than would be predicted from Piaget’s cognitive stages,
ment of their cognitive abilities and resulted in higher scores on IQ
his four stages are now seen as not being as rigid or orderly as
Photo Credits: left, © Etienne Delessert; right, © Doug Goodman/Photo Researchers, Inc.

tests (A. Raine et al., 2002). Researchers conclude that genetic fac-
he initially proposed (R. J. Sternberg et al., 2003b).
tors set a range for many cognitive abilities and these abilities can be
Second, although Piaget described how children can
either facilitated by a stimulating environment or depressed by an
and cannot think at different ages and stages, his theory is
impoverished environment (Bjorklund, 2005).
criticized for not explaining how or why this change occurs
(Bruner, 1997). Today, researchers associate changes in think- 2 Brain development. Another
ing with changes in the brain, something unknown to Piaget major change has been our knowl-
(Petrill, 2003). edge of how the brain develops.
Third, children failed some of the Piagetian tasks not because After birth and continuing through
children lacked the thinking abilities but because they did not adolescence, different areas of the
understand the instructions. For example, preoperational chil- brain develop at different times.
dren can solve some abstract problems, such as who is taller or For example, the infant on the
shorter than someone else, provided the problems are presented right doesn’t know the doggie is Child fails to find the doggie
because his prefrontal cortex
simply. According to Piaget, preoperational children should not hidden behind the screen because is not well developed.
be able to solve these simple abstract problems. his prefrontal cortex is not yet well
Current status. Almost by himself, Piaget began the area developed (Kalat, 2009). Similarly, at about age 2, a child learns on
of cognitive development. His observational methods to study average a new word every two hours, in large part because of rapid
children and his view that children are active explorers in dis- neural growth in the brain’s language areas (Pinker, 1994). These
covering their worlds are still considered important ideas. How- kinds of studies point out that cognitive development results from
ever, because of criticisms and new findings on the influence the interaction among genetic, neural, and environmental factors,
of genetic and neural factors, Piaget’s theory is now viewed as much of which was unknown during Piaget’s time.
having historical importance but is no longer the major force in Cognitive development is closely intertwined with and occurs at
guiding research in cognitive development (Newcombe, 2002). the same time as social development, which we’ll examine next.

E. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 391

F. Social Development
At the beginning of this module we adjustment. Some psychologists would not be surprised that Alex
What will described how Alex was raised in an never developed close relationships with others or that he never
happen to Alex? orphanage until age 3, at which time he learned social skills important in personal interactions. This is
was adopted. Some psychologists wonder because some psychologists believe the first five years are the most
how Alex’s early emotional difficulties will affect his future social important and that early emotional troubles may lead to later
development. social problems.
Social development refers to how a person develops a sense of self or Alex’s social development is a long and complicated process,
a self-identity, develops relationships with others, and develops the kinds which is influenced by many of the emotional and cognitive factors
of social skills important in personal interactions. that we have just discussed. We’ll describe three different theories
After Alex was adopted, we know that even after a few years of social development, each of which emphasizes a different aspect
with his adoptive parents he never seemed to have made a good of behavior.

Freud’s Psychosexual Stages

One of the best-known theories is that of Sigmund immediately, while the parent may want to delay the feeding to a
Freud (1940/1961), who said that each of us goes more convenient time. Freud believed that interactions between
through five successive psychosexual stages. parent and child in satisfying these psychosexual needs—for
The psychosexual stages are five different developmen- example, during breast feeding or toilet training—greatly
tal periods—oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital stages— influence the child’s social development and future social
during which the individual seeks pleasure from different interactions. In addition, Freud emphasized the impor-
areas of the body that are associated with sexual feelings. tance of a child’s first five years in influencing future
Freud emphasized that a child’s first five years were most social development or future personality problems.
important to social and personality development. According to Freud, Alex will go through five devel-
In Freud’s theory, there is often conflict between opmental stages, some of which contain potential con-
the child and parent. The conflict arises because the flicts between his desires and his parents’ wishes. If his
child wants immediate satisfaction or gratification of Does an infant’s desires are over- or undersatisfied, he may become fix-
its needs, while the parents often place restrictions experience during breast ated at one of the first three stages. As you’ll see, becom-
on when, where, and how the child’s needs should feeding have lasting ing fixated at one of these stages will hinder his normal
effects?
be satisfied. For example, a child may wish to be fed social development.

1 Oral Stage 2 Anal Stage 3 Phallic Stage 4 Latency Stage 5 Genital Stage
Period: Early Period: Early infancy— Period: Early childhood— Period: Middle Period: Puberty
infancy—first 18 1½ to 3 years. 3 to 6 years. and late child- through adulthood.
months of life. Potential conflict: Potential conflict: hood—from 6 The genital stage
Potential conflict: The anal stage lasts The phallic (FAL-ick) stage to puberty. lasts from puberty
The oral stage lasts from the age of about 1½ lasts from about age 3 to 6 and The latency through adulthood
for the first 18 months of to 3 and is a time when the is a time when the infant’s stage, which lasts and is a time when the
life and is a time when infant’s pleasure seeking is pleasure seeking is centered from about age 6 individual has renewed
the infant’s pleasure centered on the anus and its on the genitals. to puberty, is a sexual desires that he
seeking is centered on functions of elimination. During this stage, time when the child or she seeks to fulfill
the mouth. If Alex were locked Alex will compete with represses sexual through relationships
Pleasure-seeking into or fixated at this the parent of the same sex thoughts and en- with members of the
activities include suck- stage, he would continue (his father) for the affec- gages in nonsexual opposite sex.
ing, chewing, and bit- to engage in behavioral tions and pleasures of the activities, such as If Alex suc-
ing. If Alex were locked activities related to parent of the opposite sex developing social cessfully resolved
into or fixated at this retention or elimination. (his mother). Problems in and intellectual conflicts in the first
stage because his oral Retention may take the resolving this competition skills. three stages, he will
wishes were gratified form of being very neat, (called the Oedipus com- At puberty, have the energy
Photo Credit: © PhotoDisc, Inc.

too much or too little, stingy, or behaviorally plex and discussed in Mod- sexuality reap- to develop loving
he would continue to rigid. Elimination may ule 19) may result in Alex pears and marks relationships and a
seek oral gratification take the form of being going through life trying to the beginning of healthy and mature
as an adult. generous or messy. prove his toughness. a new stage. personality.

According to Freud, Alex’s future personality and social development will depend, to a large extent, on what he
experiences during the first three psychosexual stages, which occur during his first five years. Freud’s psychosexual
stages are part of his larger psychoanalytic theory of personality, which we’ll discuss more fully in Module 19.
392 MODULE 17 INFANCY & CHILDHOOD
 Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages
According to well-known psychologist Erik problem that needs to be resolved. If we successfully deal with the
How Erikson, Alex will encounter kinds of prob- potential problem of each psychosocial stage, we develop positive
important lems very different from the psychosexual personality traits and are better able to solve the problem at
is trust? ones proposed by Freud. Unlike Freud’s the next stage. However, if we do not successfully handle the
emphasis on psychosexual issues, Erik- psychosocial problems, we may become anxious, worried, or
son (1963, 1982) focused on psychosocial issues and said troubled and develop social or personality problems.
that each of us goes through eight psychosocial stages. Unlike Freud, Erikson believed that psychosocial needs
The psychosocial stages are eight developmental periods deserve the greatest emphasis and that social development
during which an individual’s primary goal is to satisfy desires continues throughout one’s lifetime. Thus, Erikson would
associated with social needs. The eight periods are associat- Are the effects of emphasize Alex’s psychosocial needs and downplay the
psychosocial problems
ed, respectively, with issues of trust, autonomy, initiative, long-lasting? importance of sexuality in the first five years.
industry, identity, intimacy, generativity, and ego integrity. We’ll explain Erikson’s first five stages here and dis-
Erikson hypothesized that from infancy through adulthood we cuss the remaining three stages in Module 18, which deals with
proceed through these stages, each of which is related to a different social development in adolescents and adults.

Stage 1 Trust versus Stage 2 Autonomy Stage 3 Initiative Stage 4 Industry Stage 5 Identity
Mistrust versus Shame and versus Guilt versus Inferiority versus Role
Period: Early infancy— Doubt Period: Early child- Period: Middle and Confusion
birth through first year. Period: Late infancy— hood—3 to 5 years. late childhood—5 to Period: Adolescence.
Potential problem: Alex 1 to 3 years. Potential problem: As 12 years. Potential problem:
comes into the world as Potential problem: As a preschooler, Alex has Potential problem: Adolescents need to
a helpless infant who Alex begins walking, developed a number of Alex’s grade school leave behind the care-
needs much care and talking, and exploring, cognitive and social years are an exciting free, irresponsible,
attention. If his parents he is bound to get into skills that he is expected time, filled with par- and impulsive behav-
are responsive and sen- conflict with the wishes to use to meet the chal- ticipating in school, iors of childhood and
sitive to his needs, Alex of his parents. Thus, this lenges in his small playing games with develop the more
will develop what Erik- second stage is a battle world. Some of these other children, and purposeful, responsi-
son calls basic trust, of wills between his par- challenges involve working to complete ble, planned behav-
which makes it easier for ents’ wishes and Alex’s assuming responsibility projects. If Alex can iors of adults. If Alex
him to trust people later desires to do as he and making plans. If his direct his energy is successful in mak-
in life. If Alex’s parents pleases. If his parents parents encourage ini- into working at and ing this change, he
neglect his needs, he encourage Alex to tiative, Alex will completing tasks, he will develop a sense
may view his world as explore, he will develop develop the ability to will develop a feel- of confidence and a
uncaring, learn to a sense of independence, plan and initiate new ing of industry. If he positive identity. If
become mistrustful, and or autonomy. If his par- things. However, if they has difficulty apply- he is unsuccessful, he
have difficulty dealing ents disapprove of or discourage initiative, he ing himself and will experience role
with the second stage. punish Alex’s explora- may feel uncomfortable completing home- confusion, which will
It appears that Alex did tions, he may develop a or guilty and may work, he may result in having low
not receive the care and feeling that indepen- develop a feeling of develop a feeling self-esteem and
attention he needed dur- dence is bad and feel being unable to plan of inferiority and becoming socially
ing his first year of life. shame and doubt. his future. incompetence. withdrawn.
According to Erikson, Alex will encounter a particular psychosocial problem at each stage. If he successfully solves
the problem, he will develop positive social traits that will help him solve the next problem. If he does not solve the
problem, he will develop negative social traits that will hinder his solving a new problem at the next stage.
Evaluation of Erikson’s and Freud’s theories. Many psycholo- cognitive factors on social development (Bugental & Goodnow,
gists agree with Erikson that psychosocial conflicts do contribute 1998). In addition, longitudinal studies show that children may
to social-emotional development (Bugental & Goodnow, 1998). overcome a variety of problems during the first five years and still
Photo Credit: © PhotoDisc, Inc.

Erikson said that the first five years were not necessarily the most have a well-adjusted personality, contrary to Freud’s predictions
important and that social development continues throughout one’s (E. E. Werner, 1995).
life. In fact, longitudinal studies show that personality change and The strength of Erikson’s and Freud’s theories is that they explain
development continue well into middle adulthood (Erber, 2005). the whole of social development, from infancy through adulthood.
Many psychologists also agree with Freud that childhood events Their weakness is that many of their concepts (trust, autonomy,
are important to social development (Guterl, 2002; Sigelman oral stage, fixation) are more descriptive than explanatory and are
& Rider, 2006). However, they criticize Freud for emphasizing difficult to verify or test experimentally (Austrian, 2002). Next, we’ll
childhood sexuality while neglecting the influences of social and examine the social cognitive theory of social development.
F. S O C I A L D E V E L O P M E N T 393
F. Social Development
Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory
After watching his daddy bowl, this Social cognitive theory stresses how you learn by modeling
What is the 3-year-old boy walked up to his and imitating behaviors you observe in social interactions and
3-year-old daddy, pointed at the ball, and said, situations. For example, after watching his daddy, this boy is
doing? “Me too ball.” Neither Freud’s intrinsically motivated to imitate many of his daddy’s social
nor Erikson’s theory explains behaviors. Social cognitive theory emphasizes that chil-
why this boy wanted to learn to bowl, what motivated dren develop social behaviors and skills by watching and
him to ask his daddy, or why he clapped his hands just imitating the social behaviors of their parents, teachers,
like his daddy when the ball hit the pins. Albert Ban- and peers.
dura (2001a) says that this little boy, like all of us, devel- In comparing Bandura’s, Freud’s, and Erikson’s theo-
ops many of his behaviors and social skills through a ries, we notice that although the three theories are very
variety of social cognitive processes. different, they are complementary because each empha-
The social cognitive theory emphasizes the importance of sizes a different process. Social cognitive theory empha-
learning through observation, imitation, and self-reward in the sizes learning through modeling; Freud’s theory focuses
development of social skills, interactions, and behaviors. He watched his daddy on parent–child interactions that occur in satisfying
bowl and then he
According to this theory, it is not necessary that you perform wanted to. innate biological needs; and Erikson’s theory points to
any observable behaviors or receive any external rewards to the importance of dealing with social needs.
learn new social skills because many of your behaviors are self-motivated, We’ll use these theories to explain how some children overcame
or intrinsic. terrible childhood experiences to develop normal social behaviors.

Resiliency
Based on observations of his patients, Vulnerability refers to psychological or environmental difficulties that
How do children Freud concluded that social and personal- make children more at risk for developing later personality, behavioral, or
overcome early ity development is essentially completed social problems.
problems? in the first five years. That is, even though Resiliency refers to various personality, family, or environmental fac-
an individual might undergo later social tors that compensate for increased life stresses so that expected problems
changes, his or her basic social and personality traits are primarily do not develop.
established during the first five years. One way to test Freud’s There is no question that Dave was extremely vulnerable.
hypothesis is to do a long-term study of children who are faced with Although other children with such high vulnerability may have
major problems. One such individual is Dave Pelzer. later developed very serious emotional or behavioral problems,
Beginning in his early childhood, Dave’s extremely dis- Dave triumphed over seemingly insurmountable odds, dis-
turbed, alcoholic mother did her best to put him through playing tremendous resiliency, and developed into a com-
one life-threatening situation after another. She abused petent, courageous, and autonomous adult. He served as a
him mentally, physically, and emotionally. Some of the member of the armed forces, where his accomplishments
ways she tortured him were by denying him food, cloth- earned him personal commendations by three former
ing, and warmth, forcing him to drink ammonia, U.S. presidents. Dave has authored six best-selling inspi-
stabbing him in his stomach, and constantly threat- rational books, two of which were nominated for the

Photo Credits: top, © PhotoDisc, Inc.; bottom, Courtesy of Dave Pelzer

ening to kill him. She belittled Dave by referring to Pulitzer Prize. And, given the passion that drives him,
him only as “It” rather than his name. Dave’s father Dave’s contributions to this world are far from over.
Dave Pelzer overcame a truly
and brothers (who were not abused) did nothing to disturbing childhood because Children like Dave are called resilient, or stress-
stop the horrendous abuse. of his incredible resilience. resistant. These children defy expectations because
Dave had to do everything he could to survive. they develop into well-adapted individuals despite
He stole food to eat as his mother aimed to starve him to death. serious life stressors (Gorman, 2005a). For example, even though
When his mother burned him or stabbed him, he would take care Dave experienced a severely brutal childhood, he developed into an
of his wounds while in agonizing pain. The abuse Dave endured amazing individual with high achievement motivation and much
was so grave that it has been identified as one of the most serious insight into his life (Peltzer, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2009).
and disturbing cases of child abuse on record. Studies on resilient children show three findings. First, early
At age 12, Dave was finally removed from his mother’s custody traumatic events do not necessarily lead to later social-emotional
and placed in several foster homes. He struggled to adjust to these problems, as Freud predicted. Second, a loving, supportive caregiver
various caregivers, but he finally developed a trusting, loving rela- or teacher can substitute for a disinterested parent. Third, children
tionship with two caregivers he learned to call Mom and Dad. observe and imitate normal social behaviors modeled by caregivers
Dave was exposed to very serious life stressors during his child- (R. Brooks & Goldstein, 2002; E. E. Werner & Smith, 2001). We’ll
hood. How these stressors affect children depends on each child’s use these theories to explain how some children overcame terrible
vulnerability and resiliency. childhood experiences to develop normal social behaviors.

394 MODULE 17 INFANCY & CHILDHOOD

 Gender Differences
When you look at the photo of games, and tools. By ages 4 to 5, children have developed a
What three the infant on the right, you can’t clear idea of which occupations are stereotypically for men
words change help asking, Is it a girl or a boy? and for women. And by the relatively early age of 5, chil-
your life forever? This question has great impor- dren have already learned the thoughts, expectations, and
tance to social development behaviors that accompany their particular gender roles
because it involves gender identity. (Eckes & Trautner, 2000).
Gender identity. By the age of 3, most children Gender roles are the traditional or stereotypical
learn to label themselves as boys or girls and can behaviors, attitudes, and personality traits that par-
classify others as being the same sex or the other ents, peers, and society expect us to have because
sex (Ruble et al., 2006). we are male or female.
By age 3, this infant will
Gender identity refers to the individual’s subjective know which sex he or she is.
Gender roles become part of who we are and
experience and feelings of being a female or male. have a relatively powerful effect on how we behave,
Once children know their correct sex, they begin to learn and think, and act.
show sex-appropriate behaviors, which are called gender roles. How children acquire gender roles is explained by two some-
Gender roles. By ages 2 to 3, American children have learned what different but related theories: social role theory and cognitive
the preference of each traditional gender role for toys, clothes, developmental theory (C. L. Martin et al., 2002).

Social Role Theory Cognitive Developmental Theory

In many families, the parents expect a son to behave and act differently When you were a child, you probably learned that there
than a daughter. How parental expectations influence a child’s gender were ways or rules about what boys and girls could and
identity is explained by the social role theory (Eagly et al., 2000). could not do. This childhood experience
The social role theory emphasizes the influence of social and cognitive pro- supports the cognitive developmental
Photo Credits: top, © moodboard/Corbis; left, © Bob Daemmrich/Stock, Boston; right, © Charles Gupton/Flash! Light/Stock, Boston

cesses on how we interpret, organize, and use information. Applied to gender theory (C. L. Martin, 2000).
roles, it says that mothers, fathers, teachers, grandparents, friends, and peers The cognitive developmental theory
expect, respond to, and reward different behaviors in boys than in girls. Under says that, as children develop mental
the influence of this differential treatment, boys learn a gender role that is skills and interact with their environ-
different from girls’. ments, they learn one set of rules for
For example, the stereotypical gender roles for males include being male behaviors and another set of rules
dominant, controlling, and independent, while gender roles for females for female behaviors.
include being sensitive, nurturing, and concerned (Eagly & Karau, In this view, children actively pro-
2002; W. Wood et al., 1997). According to social role theory, these gen- cess information that results in their
der differences originate, to a large extent, because mothers and fathers learning gender rules regarding which
respond to and reward different behaviors in behaviors are correct for girls and wrong
girls than in boys. for boys, and vice versa. On the basis of
For instance, in playing with boys, fathers these rules, children form mental images
were observed to model being assertive and of how they should act; these images are
dominant, while in playing with girls, moth- called gender schemas.
ers were observed to model being concerned and Gender schemas are sets of informa-
nurturing (Leaper, 2000). Mothers were found to tion and rules organized around how either Why does
he want to be a
be more likely to enforce rules when their daughters a male or a female should think and behave baseball player?
misbehaved in a way that might be dangerous than (S. L. Bem, 1985).
when their sons misbehaved in a similar way (Mor- For instance, the traditional gender schema for being
rongiello & Hogg, 2004). Parents are more likely to a boy includes engaging in rough-and-tumble play and
encourage dependence in girls, reward boys for con- sports, initiating conversations, and exploring; the tra-
forming to traditional play activities, and reward ditional gender schema for being a girl includes play-
Why does she
want to be a
girls for doing traditional household chores (Keenan ing with dolls, expressing emotions, listening, and being
model? & Shaw, 1997). These differences in parents’ behav- dependent.
iors support the social role theory idea that parents Cognitive developmental theory emphasizes that a child
encourage or discourage behaviors depending on whether these behav- is an active participant in learning a male or female set of
iors match traditional boy–girl gender roles. rules and schemas, which result in different gender roles
One criticism of social role theory is that it focuses too much on (S. L. Bem, 1981).
rewarding and discouraging behaviors and too little on cognitive influ- Both social role theory and cognitive developmental the-
ences, which are emphasized in the cognitive developmental theory. ory predict that the sexes will develop different gender roles.

F. S O C I A L D E V E L O P M E N T 395
F. Social Development
Differences in Gender Traits
Girls and boys develop very different gender roles. For example, According to cognitive developmental theory, children acquire
girls develop traits of being concerned, sensitive, and nurturing gender schemas or cognitive rules that indicate which gender roles
(left figure), while boys develop traits of being and behaviors are right or wrong for boys and
independent, controlling, and dominant (right girls. Cognitive developmental theory focuses on
figure) (Eckes & Trautner, 2000). These differ- boys and girls developing different gender roles
ences in gender traits are explained by two differ- because of inside pressures, which come from
ent theories. their own personal rules.
According to social role theory, the expecta- These two theories are not mutually exclu-
CONCERNED INDEPENDENT
SENSITIVE tions of parents, peers, and others reward or dis- sive but rather emphasize different factors in CONTROLLING
NURTURING courage different gender roles and behaviors for the development of gender-role differences and DOMINANT
boys and girls. Social role theory focuses on boys behaviors (C. L. Martin et al., 2002).
and girls learning different gender roles and behavior because of We’ll discuss how differences in gender traits have important
outside pressures from family, peers, and society. influences on personal, social, and career choices.

Male and Female Differences

Career choices. As boys and girls grow into Different brains. One reason girls and women develop
Can a woman men and women, their different gender roles, traits of being concerned, sensitive, and nurturing may involve
be elected which involve different ways for men and how women’s brains process emotional situations. For example,
president? women to think, behave, interact socially, and researchers took brain scans (fMRI) while women and men
make career choices, are further strengthened looked at photos, which they graded from neutral (bookcase,
by pressures from parents, peers, and society (Eckes & Trautner, landscape) to emotionally intense (crying people, dead body).
2000). For example, until the early 1990s, gender roles for women did Weeks later, when the subjects were asked to pick out photos that
not include careers in law enforcement, armed forces, fire or police Amygdala they had earlier rated as emotionally intense,
departments, or management of large corporations, while gender roles women correctly remembered 10–15%
for men did not include careers as nurses, secretaries, or elementary- more than men did. Equally interesting,
school teachers. Since then gender roles have changed so that men and brain scans taken during viewing of the
especially women have more flexibility and freedom in making job emotionally intense photos indicated
and career choices. However, gender roles still inf luence career that in women’s brains the amygdala and
choices, the most obvious being the reluctance to elect a woman as additional areas were more activated than
president of the United States. in men’s brains. Researchers concluded

Photo Credits: top left and right, © PhotoDisc, Inc.; bottom left, © Ben Welsh Premium/Alamy
Aggression. Researchers find that, from the age of 2 through col- that, compared to men, women’s brains are
lege age, males tend to show more rough-and-tumble play, display Women had more effectively wired for processing, cod-
more activation
more aggressive physical and verbal behavior, and commit more of brain areas.
ing, and remembering emotional experiences.
violent crimes than females (Kenrick et al., 2004). Sex differences Researchers suggested that women’s greater
in physical aggression have been found in children as young as 17 focus on emotional events may help explain why women report
months. For example, one study found 17-month-old boys were twice higher rates of clinical depression than men (Canli et al., 2002).
as likely as girls to hit another child frequently (Baillargeon, 2002). These findings also support the evolutionary theory of behavior,
Twin and adoption studies indicate the reasons for these sex differ- which says that in early times women developed particular emo-
ences in aggressive behavior include both genetic tional traits, such as being concerned, sensitive, and nurturing,
and environmental factors (Perusse & Gendreau, because these traits were beneficial to women in maintaining a
2005). Therefore, while biological factors help to stable family structure and in raising children (Caporael, 2001).
explain why boys are more aggressive than girls, Another gender difference in brain functions is that women
psychosocial influences also play a key role. For process language by using both sides of their brains, while men
example, researchers found that parents, peers, use only the left side (Clements et al., 2006). This difference may
and society reward boys for acting out, being explain why women are generally better at processing words and
competitive, and settling their conf licts with performing language tasks (D. F. Halpern, 2000).
fighting. In comparison, “nice girls” don’t fight Conclusion. No amount of brain research will explain all
and tend to settle conflicts through talking (Coie the social differences between males and females. Many other
& Dodge, 1998). As a result of these biological factors, such as temperament, attachment, family background,
Boys and men are
more aggressive. and psychosocial influences, the gender role for and environment, may explain why the sexes can be so different
males encourages aggressive behavior and helps (Tyre, 2006). Sex differences in brain function do not mean that
explain why the majority of aggressive acts, both social and criminal, one brain is better; any difference found should not be used as
are committed by males (DiLalla, 2002; D. F. Halpern, 2000). the basis for discrimination (Galliano, 2003; L. Rogers, 2001).

396 MODULE 17 INFANCY & CHILDHOOD

 Review: The Big Picture
We have discussed how during infancy and childhood there are amazing
What’s increases in sensory abilities and motor skills and wondrous development of
going on? emotions, cognitive skills, social interactions, and gender roles. We’ll
briefly review and summarize these changes so that you can see the big
picture of infant and child development.

6 months old 10 months old 1 year old 3 years old

1 Newborns’ Abilities 4 Cognitive Development

Newborns come with more sensory One theory of cognitive development is Piaget’s theory,
and perceptual abilities than previously which says that children play an active role in cognitive
thought. They have a well-developed development by incorporating new information into
sense of touch, show an innate prefer- existing knowledge (assimilation) or changing existing
ence for sweet and salt, and recognize knowledge through experience (accommodation).
(smell) their mothers’ odors. In a few Children pass through four different cognitive stages—
more months, infants can recognize (1) sensorimotor, (2) preoperational, (3) concrete oper-
their mothers’ faces, produce speech sounds, and per- ations, and (4) formal operations—in that order but at different rates. With
ceive depth. This new and improved version of infants’ each stage, the child adds a new and qualitatively different kind of thinking
abilities better explains how they discover the world. or reasoning skill that helps the child make better sense of the world.

2 Motor Development 5 Social Development

Infants gradually acquire the At the same time that children are developing emotionally
coordinated movements that and cognitively, they are also developing socially. Freud said
Photo Credits: center left and right, © PhotoDisc, Inc.; bottom right, © Oliviero Toscani for BENETTON

Adult
Child (25
Newborn (6
years)
years) they need to crawl, sit, stand, that children develop socially by going through five psycho-
Two
months and walk. Many motor skills sexual stages and that during the first three stages, the indi-
(fetus)
occur in a set sequence called vidual seeks pleasure from different areas of the body
maturation that is regulated associated with sexual feelings. Freud’s is the only theory that
by genetic programming. Two principles for motor says the first five years are critical. Erikson said that children
development are that parts closest to the center of the develop socially by going through eight psychosocial stages during which an
body develop first—the proximodistal principle—and individual’s primary goal is to satisfy desires associated with social needs.
parts closer to the head develop first—the cephalocaudal According to Bandura’s social cognitive theory, children develop social
principle. With motor development comes the ability to skills through imitation, observation, and self-reward. These three theories
get up and explore. are not mutually exclusive but rather complement each other by focusing on

3 Emotional Development
different factors believed to be important in social development.

“Good” babies and “difficult” babies show

6 Importance of Childhood
signs of differences in temperament, which How important are events that occur during childhood? In some cases, trau-
is largely inf luenced by genetic factors. matic events (poverty, parental disinterest) result in
Oliviero Toscani for BENETTON

Temperament refers to stable differences in later behavioral and social problems, but in other
attention, arousal, and reaction to new situ- cases, a loving, supportive parent or caregiver com-
ations; it also affects level of arousal and the pensates for early problems, which results in a resil-
development of emotional behaviors. ient child. Although childhood may be an important
Infants develop many emotions, which allow a wide time for emotional, social, and personality develop-
range of wordless communications with the parent and ment, both positive and negative personality and
the world. Infants form a close emotional bond with par- social changes continue into middle adulthood.
ents (caregivers). This emotional bond, which is called After the Concept Review, we’ll examine an interesting and related ques-
attachment, is thought to influence the development of tion: Do children from very different cultures acquire similar or different
future emotional and social behaviors. gender roles and behaviors?
F. S O C I A L D E V E L O P M E N T 397
 Concept Review
1. The question that asks how much genetic factors and how 7. The close fundamental emotional bond that develops
much environmental factors contribute to a person’s biological, between the infant and his or her parent or caregiver is called
emotional, cognitive, personal, and social development is called (a) . Infants who use their parent as a safe home
the question. base from which they can wander off and explore their environ-
ments are said to have formed a (b) attachment.
2. The prenatal period, which begins at conception and ends
Infants who avoid or show ambivalence toward their parents are
at birth, is composed of three different stages. The first stage of
said to have formed an (c) attachment.
prenatal development refers to the two-
week period following conception; this 8. Piaget believed that children are actively
is called the (a) stage. involved in understanding their world
The second stage of the prenatal period through two basic processes: incorporating
spans the 2–8 weeks that follow con- new information or experience into existing
ception; this is called the (b) stage. The third knowledge is called (a) ;
stage of the prenatal period begins two months after conception changing existing knowledge or experience
and lasts until birth; this is called the (c) stage. as a result of assimilating some new infor-
mation is called (b) .
3. The organ that connects the blood supply Placenta Umbilical
of the mother to that of the fetus is called cord 9. Piaget’s theory of cognitive development
the (a) , which acts as a includes four stages, each of which is characterized by the devel-
filter. However, some agents, such as drugs, opment of particular kinds of reasoning. The first stage, during
viruses, and chemicals, pass into the fetal which infants learn about their environments by relating their
blood supply and harm the developing fetus; sensory experiences (such as hearing and seeing) to their motor
these agents are called (b) . actions, is called the (a) stage. The second stage,
One example of these agents is alcohol, which if during which infants learn to use symbols to think about things
drunk heavily by the mother during pregnancy can that are not present and to help them solve simple problems, is
result in a combination of physical changes and mental retarda- called the (b) stage. The third stage, during
tion in the baby called (c) . which children learn to perform a number of logical mental
operations on objects that are physically present, is called the
4. Newborns have some visual acuity, respond to touch, and are
(c) stage. The fourth stage, during which
able to hear, smell, and taste. This indicates that they have relatively
adolescents and adults develop the ability to think about and
well-developed .
solve abstract problems in a logical manner, is called the
5. The acquisition of the muscular control neces- (d) stage.
sary forAdultcoordinated physical activity, which is
10. According to Freud’s theory of social devel-
called
Child
(a)
(25 development, follows
Newborn
(6 years) opment, children go through five developmental
two
years)
general principles. The principle that parts of
Two
periods, which he called
months
the body closer to the head develop before parts
(fetus)
stages. During these stages, a child’s primary
closer to the feet is the (b)
goal is to satisfy desires associated with innate
principle. The principle that parts closer to the
biological needs.
center of the infant’s body develop before parts farther away is
the (c) principle. Development of motor skills 11. According to Albert Bandura’s social cognitive theory, we
occurs in a sequential and orderly fashion because of a genetic learn social skills through , ,
plan; this process is called (d) . and self–reward.
6. An individual’s stable pattern of 12. According to Erik Erikson, a person goes through eight
behavioral and emotional reactions developmental periods during which the primary goal is to satisfy
that appear early and are influenced desires associated with social needs. Each of these eight periods is
in large part by genetic factors is called a stage, during which the person works to
called his or her . resolve a potential problem.
Photo Credit: (#10) © PhotoDisc, Inc.

Answers: 1. nature-nurture; 2. (a) germinal, (b) embryonic, (c) fetal; 3. (a) placenta, (b) teratogens, (c) fetal alcohol syndrome; 4. senses;
5. (a) motor, (b) cephalocaudal, (c) proximodistal, (d) maturation; 6. temperament; 7. (a) attachment, (b) secure, (c) insecure; 8. (a) assimilation,
(b) accommodation; 9. (a) sensorimotor, (b) preoperational, (c) concrete operations, (d) formal operations; 10. psychosexual; 11. observation,
imitation; 12. psychosocial

398 MODULE 17 INFANCY & CHILDHOOD

 G. Cultural Diversity: Gender Roles
Identifying Gender Roles
Although we know that young boys and For younger children (5- and 8-year-olds), researchers told 32
Do cultures girls acquire different gender roles, the brief stories and then asked whether the person in the story was
have different intriguing question is, Why do little boys more like a man or a woman; an example is given on the left. For
gender roles? generally grow up to be more aggressive older children (11-year-olds), researchers gave a list of 300 adjec-
and independent, while little girls grow up tives, such as aggressive, affectionate, calm, bossy, sensitive, loud,
to be less aggressive and more nurturing? To answer this question, and helpful, and asked which adjectives were more likely to be asso-
researchers tested hundreds of 5-, 8-, and 11-year- ciated with men and which with women. Unlike
One of these people is a very
old children in 24 countries to find out if young affectionate person. When they 5- and 8-year-old children, 11-year-olds were able
children from so many different cultures devel- like someone, they hug and to understand the meanings of the adjectives and
oped similar or different male–female gender roles kiss them a lot. Which person indicate their choices by checking off adjectives
likes to hug and kiss a lot?
and behaviors (J. E. Williams & Best, 1990). that they thought best suited men or women.

Gender Roles across Cultures Two Answers

Similarities. Researchers found that across the 24 countries, We began with the question, Why do little boys generally grow up
relatively young children showed remarkable similarities in the to be more aggressive and independent, while little girls grow up to
characteristics that they associated with gender roles. be less aggressive and more nurturing? To this we add another
About 57% of 5-year-old children question, Why do little boys and little girls from 24 different coun-
made stereotyped responses about tries and cultures develop such similar male–female gender roles?
gender roles by associating people There are two different but somewhat complementary answers.
in the stories with a particular sex, The social role theory (discussed earlier—p. 395), which emphasizes
either male or female. For example, social and cultural influences, states that gender differences between men
5-year-old children associated being and women arise from different divisions of labor.
strong, aggressive, and dominant According to social role theory, male–female gender differences
with men, while they associated developed from traditional cultural divisions of labor, in which
being gentle and affectionate with women were childbearers and homemakers, while men were pro-
Strong, aggressive,
women. Eight-year-old children dominant, independent,
viders and protectors (Eagly et al., 2000). Because men and women
had learned even more stereotypi- coarse, loud, boastful performed different duties, men and women were under different
cal behaviors. They associated being social-cultural pressures to develop different gender roles. Another
weak, emotional, appreciative, excitable, gentle, softhearted, answer comes from a relatively new theory.
meek, and submissive with women, while they associated being The evolutionary theory, which emphasizes genetic
disorderly, cruel, coarse, adventurous, independent, ambitious, and biological forces, says that current gender differ-
Photo Credits: left, © Steven Winn/AnthroPhoto; right, © Lila Abu Lughod/AnthroPhoto

loud, and boastful with men (see photos). By the age of 11, the ences are a continuation of the behaviors that evolved
percentage of children who made stereotyped responses about from early men and women, who adapted these dif-
gender roles jumped to 90%. ferent behaviors in their attempts to survive the
Differences. Researchers also found that across countries problems of their time.
and cultures, interesting differences occurred in children’s per- According to evolutionary theory, men
ceptions of gender roles. For example, in Germany, children increased their chances for reproduction by
associated being adventurous, confident, jolly, and steady with being dominant, controlling, and aggressive.
women, while in most other countries, these characteristics In comparison, women increased their chances
were typically associated with men. Emotional, of raising their children by being concerned,
In Japan, children associated being dominant and steady appreciative, sensitive, and nurturing. According to evolu-
excitable, gentle,
with women, while in other countries, these characteristics were submissive
tionary theory, the current male–female gender
typically associated with men. differences arise from genetic and biological
Conclusions. Researchers concluded that children in 24 forces that evolved from an ancient set of mating patterns that had
different countries and cultures developed knowledge of gen- initially helped the species to survive (Buss, 1999; Caporael, 2001).
der roles relatively early and showed remarkable similarities Because social role theory emphasizes cultural influences and evo-
in choosing different gender roles and behaviors for men and lutionary theory emphasizes genetic and biological forces, researchers
women. Although there were some differences due to cultural suggest that by combining the two theories we can better explain the
values, there were generally more similarities in male–female development of our current male–female gender differences (Baldwin
gender roles across the 24 countries (J. E. Williams & Best, 1990). & Baldwin, 1997).

G . CU LT U R A L DI V E R S I T Y: G E N D E R R O L E S 399
 H. Application: Child Abuse
People probably know Teri Hatcher best for Confronting her fears. About 30 years after last seeing her
What was her acting roles in Desperate Housewives, uncle, Teri went to her parents’ house to help them with a garage
her terrible Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Super- sale. While there, she came across a newspaper article her mother
secret? man, and Tomorrow Never Dies. Yet, had been saving. The article was about a 14-year-old girl who
even though Teri is a famous Hol- shot herself and left a suicide note that implicated Richard
lywood celebrity, there is much about her life that peo- Stone, Teri’s uncle! Teri was stunned, and tears began to
ple have only recently begun to learn. pour down her face. She realized that her uncle didn’t
The story. Teri was raised in a middle-class fam- sexually abuse only her, but that he had done the same
ily; her father was a nuclear physicist and her mother horrific thing to other young girls as well.
a computer programmer. She was an only child but Teri knew she had to take quick action to help
had relatives visit during her childhood. One of these ensure that her uncle would not do the same thing
relatives was Richard Stone, her uncle, who went to anyone ever again. Concerned her uncle might
out of his way to develop a close relationship escape charges of molestation, Teri gathered the
with Teri. Beginning when Teri was only 5 courage to contact the district attorney handling
years old, her uncle began to sexually molest his case. She then painstakingly revealed the
her on special rides in his car. This continued details of her own abuse. Teri’s statement helped
for three years, after which time, Teri never to put Stone in prison for a 14-year sentence.
saw her uncle again. The prosecutor said that without Teri’s state-
Dealing with abuse. The experience of ment, the case would have been dismissed and
being sexually abused was so traumatic for At 41, Teri Hatcher admitted being sexually her uncle would still be out possibly continu-
Teri that she never told anyone this secret. abused by her uncle. ing to sexually abuse other young girls. After
Instead, she lived every day of her life with completing six years of his sentence, Stone died
the haunting memories of what her uncle did to her so many times. in prison (Associated Press, 2006c; Hatcher, 2007; Oprah, 2006).
The memories were so painful and disturbing that Teri even con- Teri was a victim of one kind of child abuse—sexual abuse.
sidered taking her own life. There are several kinds of child abuse.

Kinds of Abuse
In the United States, allegations of child- “Go ahead. They won’t believe you and they’ll put you in the
How many hood abuse and neglect are made for 5.5 darkest prison” (Time, September 5, 1983).
children are million children annually (USDHHS, The third most frequently confirmed kind of child abuse
abused? 2006). (10%) is sexual abuse. As in Teri’s case, sexual abuse is
Child abuse and neglect most frequently committed by people who know
(physical and emotional) result from inadequate care or the child, such as an acquaintance or family
acts of the parent that put the child in danger, cause member, and many children are too fearful

Photo Credits: top, © FilmMagic/Getty Images; bottom, © Photodisc/SuperStock

physical harm or injury, or involve sexual molestation. of the abuser to report their maltreatment
The most common kind of abuse (62%) is neglect, (Douglas & Finkelhor, 2005; Finkelhor,
followed in order by physical abuse and sexual 2002). National surveys of adults indi-
abuse (USDHHS, 2006). For example, 2-year- cate that 9–32% of women and 5–10%
old Brianna was left at home alone for almost of men have been sexually abused
three weeks and amazingly survived by drink- during their childhood; international
ing water from the toilet and eating any food surveys suggest similar rates of abuse
she could find and unwrap. When the sheriff ’s (7–36% of women and 3–29% of men)
department found Brianna, her body was smeared (Douglas & Finkelhor, 2005; Emery &
with ketchup and mustard, and the sheriff stated, Laumann-Billings, 1998). These numbers
“Feces and urine were everywhere” (Skipp & indicate that sexual abuse, which may result
Johnson, 2003). in serious long-term behavioral, social, neural,
Allegations of child abuse are made
The second most frequently confirmed kind for 5.5 million children annually. and personality problems, is an international
of child abuse (18%) is physical abuse. For example, problem.
Karen, who was 10 years old, vividly remembered how much and The remaining 10% of child abuse cases include emotional
how often her mother beat her. Her mother would get angry over neglect and other kinds of abuse that do not easily fit into any
the tiniest things, grab something handy (shoes, father’s belt, category.
potato masher), and start hitting her. One time her mother beat We’ll focus on three questions related to abuse and neglect:
her so hard that Karen’s legs turned black and blue. When Karen What problems do abused children suffer? Who abuses children?
threatened to tell the police, her mother replied in an angry voice, How are abusive parents helped?

400 MODULE 17 INFANCY & CHILDHOOD

 What Problems Do Abused Children Have?
Children who suffer abuse may experience a number of physical, effects include abnormal brain functioning, reduction in size of
neurological, and psychological problems. The physical problems the brain areas that are involved in recognizing and processing
include stomachaches, headaches, bedwetting, and abnormal hor- emotional cues (hippocampus and amygdala), and reduction in
monal changes that indicate their systems are trying to deal with size of the major band of fibers (corpus callosum)
large doses of stress (Yehuda, 2000). responsible for transferring neural informa-
Abused children also suffer a number of psychological problems, tion between right and left hemispheres of
which include increased anxiety, social withdrawal, delays in social, the brain (Teicher, 2002). Childhood abuse
cognitive, and emotional development, poor school performance, can also alter the functioning of a brain
and fearful nightmares. As teenagers, abused children experience area responsible for releasing
continuing problems, such as poor self-esteem, depression, loneli- hormones in response to stress.
ness, conflicts with friends, and delinquent behaviors (J. L. Davis & Consequently, individuals who
Petretic-Jackson, 2000). Adults who were abused as children and have this dysfunction experience
didn’t inherit a specific form of a stress-regulating gene are more heightened stress throughout life
likely to display moderate to severe depression than are those who (McGowan et al., 2009). These data indicate
have the protective gene variation (Bradley et al., 2008). that maltreatment or abuse at an early age can
Childhood abuse can also have enduring negative effects on result in long-lasting deficits and problems in neural development
a child’s brain development and neural functioning. Negative and functioning.

Who Abuses Children?

Parents who abuse their children are likely to have low self-esteem A child who is fussy, irritable, or sickly is more difficult to
and a wide range of personal problems. They are apt to be in dis- care for, especially if parents have personal problems of their own
tress, unhappy, impulsive, anxious, and aggressive and to have (J. R. Knutson, 1995). The interaction between a difficult child and
problems with substance abuse (Emery & Laumann-Billings, 1998; troubled parents illustrates the principle of bidirectionality, which
J. F. Pittman & Buckley, 2006). Recent statistics show 57.8% of people is one reason child abuse may occur (Maccoby, 1984).
who abused children were women and 42.2% were men. Also, nearly The principle of bidirectionality says that a child’s behaviors influence
80% of people who abused children were parents (USDHHS, 2006). how his or her parents respond, and in turn the parents’ behaviors
About 30% of abused children become parents who abuse influence how the child responds.
their own children, but a number of compensatory factors According to this principle, child abuse results from an
can prevent this from happening (J. Kaufman & Zigler, interaction between a child’s difficult traits, which tend
1989). These compensatory factors include having a pos- to elicit maltreatment or abuse from the parents, and the
itive attachment to a caregiver, resolving not to repeat parents’ social-emotional and caregiving problems, which
the abuse, having an awareness of one’s early abusive make it difficult for them to recognize and meet the needs
experiences, having good self-esteem, and having good of their child (J. Miller, 1995). Thus, the combination of a
social support. The path from being abused to becoming difficult child and parents with their own personal or drug-
Photo Credits: top and center, Private Collection; bottom, © BananaStock/SuperStock

an abusive parent is neither direct nor fixed and can be reversed by related problems results in a potentially explosive parent–child
these compensatory factors (Glasser et al., 2001). interaction that increases the risk for child abuse.

How Are Abusive Parents Helped?

Therapy programs that use some combination of cognitive- personal or drug problems usually requires long-term professional
behavioral therapy (Module 25) and parent-training programs therapy. As parents get their personal or marital problems under
(Module 10) have proven relatively successful in decreasing child control, they can concentrate on improving their interactions with
abuse. In general, these programs have at least two goals (L. Peter- their child.
son & Brown, 1994). 2. Changing parent–child interactions. Abusive parents are
1. Overcoming the parent’s personal problems. Abusive par- less likely to use positive behaviors (smiling, praising) and are more
ents need help in learning about and developing social relation- likely to use negative behaviors (disapproving, showing anger) when
ships, which are needed for dealing with their children (Reid et al., 1981). Therefore, abusive
positive bonding and attach- parents need to learn more positive ways of interacting. Parent-
ment bet ween parent a nd training programs, which focus on modifying ways parents inter-
child. Abusive parents also act with their children through behavior modification techniques
need training in basic care- (discussed in Module 10), are effective in helping parents increase
giving skills, which involves positive interactions with their children (Timmer et al., 2005).
learning how to meet t he Clinicians and researchers recognize that, in many countries,
physical, social, and emo- neglect, physical abuse, and sexual abuse are serious social prob-
tional needs of their children. lems that deserve more community-based prevention methods and
Dealing with abusive parents’ treatment programs than are currently available (Coates, 2006).
H. A PPLICAT ION: CHIL D A BUSE 401
 Summary Test
A. Prenatal Influences 7. Newborns have a limited range of emotional
expressions that include interest, startle, dis-
1. The time from conception to birth is Placenta Umbilical
tress, disgust, and neonatal smile. During the
called the (a) prenatal period, which cord
first two years, infants develop a wide range of
is divided into three parts. The two-week emotional expressions and feelings that
period that immediately follows conception signal the infant’s physiological needs and
is called the (b) geminal period; it is psychological moods.
marked by the zygote dividing into many cells.
The period that includes the 2–8 weeks after 8. The close emotional bond that develops between infant and
conception, during which cells continue to divide parent (caregiver) is called (a) attachment . As the infant
and begin to differentiate into bone, muscle, and body organs, is develops a closer attachment to her parents, she also shows
called the (c) embrgonic period. The period of development more distress when her parents leave; this distress is called
that begins two months after conception and lasts for about seven (b) seperation anxiety .
months is called the (d) fetal period. At the end of
this period, birth occurs and the fetus becomes a newborn. 9. There are two kinds of attachment. Infants who use their
caregiver as a safe home base from which they can wander off and
2. The development of the fetus can be interrupted or damaged explore their environments are said to be (a) secure
by a variety of toxic agents, called (a) teratogen , which attached. This kind of attachment may contribute to better emo-
cause malformation of the brain or body and result in birth tional bonds later in life. Infants who avoid or show ambivalence
defects. For example, heavy drinking during pregnancy can toward their caregivers are said to be (b) insecure
cause a combination of physical and psychological deficits called attached. For example, these infants may cling and want to be held
(b) FAS , which is the leading known cause of mental one minute but squirm and push away the next minute.
retardation in the United States.

D. Research Focus: Temperament

B. Newborns’ Abilities 10. Researchers use two different meth-
3. The newborn comes into the world with ods to study developmental processes.
relatively well-developed sensory and percep- Repeatedly studying the same group of
Adult
tual
Child responses.
(25
For example, the newborn individuals at different ages is using the
Newborn
(6
can
years)
see, but
years) his or her ability to see details, (a) longitudinal method. Studying
Two such as on (a) faces , is poor. Age 2 7 different groups of individuals who are
months
(fetus) Six-month-old infants will not crawl off the of different ages is using the (b) cross-sectional method.
visual cliff, indicating that they have developed
(b) depth perception. Newborns 11. Researchers found that about one-fourth of infants show
have good hearing, touch, and smell and an inherited preference avoidance, anxiety, fear, and increased physiological arousal when
for sweet and salt tastes. in a strange or novel situation. These individuals are called shy or
, and the majority remain the same into adult-
4. Motor development, which is the acquisition of the muscle hood. This finding supports the idea that temperaments appear
control required for coordinated physical activity, follows two early, are stable across time, and are partially under genetic
general principles. The principle that parts of the body closer control (nature).
to the head develop before those closer to the feet is called the
(a) cephalocaudal principle. The principle that parts closer to
the center of the body develop before those farther away is called E. Cognitive Development
the (b) proximosdistal principle. 12. Piaget believed that children participate in their
5. Development that occurs in a sequential and orderly fashion own cognitive development by active involvement
because of a genetic plan is called (a) maturation . The aver- through two different processes: incorporating new
age age at which individuals perform various kinds of motor skills information or experiences into existing knowledge
or exhibit abilities or behaviors is reflected in (b)development norm. is called (a) assimilation ; and changing one’s
knowledge or experiences as a result of assimilating
some new information is called (b) accomodation .
C. Emotional Development 13. Piaget divided cognitive development into four stages. In the
6. Early and stable individual differences in attention, arousal, first, lasting from birth to about age 2, infants interact with and
and reaction to new things refer to an infant’s temperement , learn about their environments by relating their sensory experiences
which is greatly influenced by genetic, or inherited, factors. to their motor actions; this is called the (a) sensorymotor stage.

402 MODULE 17 INFANCY & CHILDHOOD

 A significant development of this stage is the concept that objects (d) inferiority . In stage 5, the adolescent deals with issues
or events continue to exist even if they cannot be heard, touched, that involve identity versus (e) role confusion.
or seen; this is called (b) hidden permanent.
20. Early psychological difficulties increase a child’s
14. In the second stage, lasting from the age of about 2 to 7, (a) vulnerability , which in turn increases the risk for develop-
children learn to use symbols to think about things that are ing later social or personality problems. However, certain emo-
not present and to help solve simple problems; this is the tional traits, family factors, and outside emotional support help a
(a) preoperational stage
stage. A limitation in this stage is the child overcome early problems and are said to help make the child
tendency to think of the world only from one’s own viewpoint, (b) resiliency and thus develop normal social behaviors.
called (b) egocentric thinking.
21. Expectations of how we should think or behave because we
15. The third stage, which lasts from the age of about 7 to 11, is are male or female are called (a) gender role . One theory
called the (a) concrete stage. During this stage, children says that these roles develop because parents or caregivers expect,
can perform a number of logical mental operations on concrete treat, and reward different kinds of behaviors depending on the
objects (ones that are physically present). The idea that the amount child’s sex; this is the (b)social role theorytheory. Another
of a substance remains the same even in different shapes, known theory says that children learn rules for male or female behavior
as (b) conservation , is mastered during the third stage. through active involvement with their environments; this is the
cognitive
(c) development theory.
16. During the fourth and last stage, which lasts from about
age 12 through adulthood, the individual develops the ability to
think about and solve abstract problems logically; this is called
the (a) formal stage. Each of Piaget’s cognitive stages
G. Cultural Diversity: Gender Roles
is thought to be qualitatively different from the previous one 22. Although children’s perceptions of gender roles
because each new stage represents the development of some new show some variation across countries and cultures, it
(b) reasoning ability. appears that their of gender roles
or develops in a generally similar way at similar times.
cognitive
F. Social Development
17. How a person develops social relationships,
H. Application: Child Abuse
develops a sense of self, and becomes a social being 23. Inadequate care, neglect, or acts of the parent that put the
is called (a) social development. Three child in danger or that cause physical harm or injury or involve
theories of such development each emphasize a sexual molestation make up the definition of (a) child abuse .

Photo Credits: (#17) © PhotoDisc, Inc.; (#22) © Steven Winn/AnthroPhoto; (#23) Private Collection
different aspect. According to Freud, a person According to the principle of (b) , the child’s
goes through five developmental periods, called behaviors influence how the parents respond and the parents’
(b) Psycho sexual stages, during which the behaviors influence how the child responds. Two goals
primary goal is to satisfy innate biological needs. of treatment to stop or prevent child abuse are to help
In contrast, Erikson divided development into parents overcome their (c) personal
eight developmental periods, in which the primary goal is to satisfy problems and to change parent–child
social needs; he called these (c) Psychosocial stages. Bandura interactions from negative to positive.
emphasizes the importance of learning through imitation, observa-
tion, and reinforcement; this is called (d) social cognition theory.

18. Freud’s five psychosexual stages are called the Answers: 1. (a) prenatal, (b) germinal, (c) embryonic, (d) fetal;
(a) oral , (b) anus , (c) phallic , 2. (a) teratogens, (b) fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS); 3. (a) faces, (b) depth;
(d) lattency , and (e) genital stages. Freud 4. (a) cephalocaudal, (b) proximodistal; 5. (a) maturation, (b) develop-
believed that the first five years leave a lasting impression on the mental norms; 6. temperament; 7. emotional; 8. (a) attachment,
individual’s personality and social development. (b) separation anxiety; 9. (a) securely, (b) insecurely; 10. (a) longitudinal,
(b) cross-sectional; 11. inhibited or fearful; 12. (a) assimilation, (b) accom-
19. The first five of Erikson’s eight stages involve the resolution modation; 13. (a) sensorimotor, (b) object permanence; 14. (a) preopera-
of a potential social problem between the child and his or her tional, (b) egocentric; 15. (a) concrete operations, (b) conservation;
environment. In stage 1, the infant deals with resolving issues 16. (a) formal operations, (b) reasoning or thinking; 17. (a) social, (b) psy-
surrounding trust versus (a) mistrust . In stage 2, the chosexual, (c) psychosocial, (d) social cognitive; 18. (a) oral, (b) anal,
toddler must resolve issues surrounding autonomy versus shame (c) phallic, (d) latency, (e) genital; 19. (a) mistrust, (b) doubt, (c) guilt,
(d) inferiority, (e) role confusion; 20. (a) vulnerability, (b) resilient;
and (b) doubt . In stage 3, the younger child deals
21. (a) gender roles, (b) social role, (c) cognitive developmental;
with issues of initiative versus (c) guilt . In stage 4, 22. knowledge; 23. (a) child abuse, (b) bidirectionality, (c) personal
the older child deals with issues that involve industry versus

SUMMARY TEST 403

 Critical Thinking

Who Matters More—Parents or Peers?

S ig mund Freud arg ued
that parents are to blame
for the problems of children.
In fact, people all around the
world, many psychologists
included, believe parents are
responsible, at least in some
way, for children’s problems.
But, could this notion that
s e e m s l i ke i nd i sput able
common sense be wrong?
Judith Harris, a researcher, argues little effect on behavior and person-
that parents have minimal effect on ality development.

QUEST IONS
their children’s development, while
peers have a much more influential
Research finds that children learn
how to behave appropriately by ob- 4 What type of
learning describes

1 If researchers role. Skeptical? Let’s consider the serving their peers. If they simply im- the process of learn-
wanted to observe changes in parenting styles over the itated their parents’ behaviors, their ing by observing
how children typically years and the inf luence they have behavior would be considered quite peers?
behave with parents had on children’s behavior. There odd. Children are motivated to be

5
and with peers, what has been a decrease in the use of similar to their peers and at the same Which level of
type of research set- physical punishment, yet children time to be better than them. They Maslow’s hierar-
ting should they use? are no less aggressive than in previ- chy of needs best
compare themselves to their peers to
ous generations. Parents shower understand their strengths and weak- matches the need for
their children with more praise and nesses. By comparing their intellec- people to gain per-
affection than ever before, yet chil- sonal achievement
tual knowledge and ability with
and competency?
dren’s self-confidence, happiness, peers, children can judge how smart
and overall mental health are no they really are. After all, children
better for it. Could it be that Harris don’t have to know more than their
has a valid point? parents to be considered smart; they

Photo Credits: left, © Asia Images Group/Photolibrary; right, © Flirt Collection/Photolibrary

Har r is states that genetics is have to know more than their peers.
responsible for half of children’s Harris acknowledges how parents
personality and peers are essentially interact with their child affects the

2 What is the name

of the age-old
question of which is
responsible for the other half. There-
fore, Harris is not saying environ-
child’s behavior at home as well as
how the child will regard the parents
ment doesn’t play a role in shaping a when he or she becomes an adult.
more important— child’s development, but rather that However, she states parents do not
genetics or the environment that is important is have a long-term effect on the type
environment?
the one outside of the home. She
provides support for this position by
of person the child will become.
There are many researchers who 6 What type of par-
ent behavior would

3 How would the

evolutionary
approach explain
presenting research on identical
twins (genetically almost indistin-
disagree with her. They cite studies
showing that changes in the behav-
likely have a long-term
effect on children’s
development?
guishable) raised together, which ior of parents affect the behavior of
Harris’s position that shows they are no more alike than children, even outside of the home.
peers matter more
identical twins reared apart. Also, So then, which is more important to
than parents?
how people behave at home with a child’s development—parents or
their parents does not predict how peers? It’s difficult to answer with
they behave with teachers or bosses, certainty. It seems both may be just
and how one behaves with siblings as important, but perhaps in differ- ANS W ERS
does not predict how they interact ent ways. (Adapted from J. R. Har- TO CRITI CAL
with peers. Together, these findings ris 1998, 2006, 2007, 2009a, 2009b; TH I NKI NG
suggest the home environment has Saletan, 2006) QUEST I ONS

404 MODULE 17 INFANCY & CHILDHOOD

 Links to Learning
Key Terms/Key People Learning Activities
accommodation, 388 motor development, 383 PowerStudy for Introduction PowerStudy 4.5™
amniocentesis, 380 nature-nurture to Psychology 4.5
anal stage, 392 question, 377 Try out PowerStudy’s SuperModule for Infancy and Childhood! In addition to
assimilation, 388 object permanence, 389 the quizzes, learning activities, interactive Summary Test, key terms, module
attachment, 385 oral stage, 392
outline and abstract, and extended list of correlated websites provided for all
cephalocaudal ovulation, 379
principle, 383 personal fable, 390
modules, the DVD’s SuperModule for Infancy and Childhood features:
child abuse and neglect, 400 phallic stage, 392 t
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cognitive development, 388 Piaget’s cognitive t
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cognitive developmental stages, 388 skills, and perceiving gender roles.
theory, 395 placenta, 380 t
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WFSTJPOT
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conception, or prenatal period, 379 pages 402–403 and the critical thinking questions for the article on page 404.
fertilization, 379 preoperational stage, 389
CengageNOW!
concrete operations principle of
stage, 390 bidirectionality, 401
www.cengage.com/login
conservation, 389 prodigy, 378 Want to maximize your online study time? Take this easy-
cross-sectional method, 386 proximodistal to-use study system’s diagnostic pre-test and it will create a personalized study
developmental norms, 383 principle, 383 plan for you. The plan will help you identify the topics you need to understand
developmental psychosexual stages, 392 better and direct you to relevant companion online resources that are specific
psychologists, 377 psychosocial stages, 393 to this book, speeding up your review of the module.
Down syndrome, 380 reactive attachment
Introduction to Psychology Book Companion Website
egocentric thinking, 389 disorder, 377
embryonic stage, 379 resiliency, 394
www.cengage.com/psychology/plotnik
emotional development, 384 secure attachment, 385 Visit this book’s companion website for more resources to help you
evolutionary theory, 399 sensorimotor stage, 389 study, including learning objectives, additional quizzes, flash cards, updated
fetal alcohol effects separation anxiety, 385 links to useful websites, and a pronunciation glossary.
(FAE), 381 social cognitive theory, 394 Study Guide and WebTutor
fetal alcohol syndrome social development, 392 Work through the corresponding module in your Study
(FAS), 381 social role theory, 395, 399
Guide for tips on how to study effectively and for help learning the material
fetal stage, 380 stage 1: trust versus
formal operations stage, 390 mistrust, 393
covered in the book. WebTutor (an online Study Tool accessed through your
gender identity, 395 stage 2: autonomy versus eResources account) provides an interactive version of the Study Guide.
gender roles, 395 shame and doubt, 393
gender schemas, 395 stage 3: initiative versus
genital stage, 392 guilt, 393
germinal stage, 379 stage 4: industry versus
imaginary audience, 390 inferiority, 393
inhibited/fearful stage 5: identity versus role
children, 386 confusion, 393
insecure attachment, 385 temperament, 384
latency stage, 392 teratogen, 380
longitudinal method, 386 visual cliff, 382
maturation, 383 vulnerability, 394

Suggested Answers to Critical Thinking

1. Researchers should use a naturalistic setting (p. 35), which is a including your peers, can help compensate. Also, if your parents
relatively normal environment in which researchers gather informa- overly praise you and shelter you from stress, then exposure to the
tion by observing individuals’ behaviors without attempting to real social world will certainly be of benefit.
change or control the situation. 4. Learning through observation is a form of cognitive learning called
2. The age-old question is the nature-nurture question, which asks observational learning (p. 224). It involves watching others perform
how much nature (genetic factors) and how much nurture (environ- behaviors and later performing them yourself.
mental factors) contributes to a person’s biological, emotional, 5. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs consists of five levels (p. 333). The
cognitive, personal, and social development. fourth level is called esteem needs and best matches the need for
3. The evolutionary approach would state that throughout much of people to gain personal achievement and competency.
human evolution, parents have had limited time for older children. So, 6. Extreme forms of parenting would likely have lasting effects on
children benefit by learning from one another. This is advantageous a child’s development. For instance, child abuse and neglect are
because if your parents raise you poorly, the larger environment, associated with physical, psychological, and neurological problems.
LINKS TO LEARNING 405