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THE CHILD PSYCHOLOGY

Child psychology is one of the many branches of psychology and one of the most frequently studied specialty areas. This particular branch focuses on the mind and behavior of children from prenatal development through adolescence. Child psychology deals not only with how children grow physically, but with their mental, emotional and social development as well. A child psychologist may work as a therapist, he might be part of a research team that evaluates child learning disabilities and comes up with new psychometrics for the evaluation of child development. Also he could work as an adviser to a school district and help in formulating special education programs. Historically, children were often viewed simply as smaller versions of adults. When Jean Piaget suggested that children actually think differently than adults, Albert Einstein proclaimed that the discovery was "so simple that only a genius could have thought of it." Development involves much more than the influences that arise within an individual.Environomental factors such as social relationships, cultural and socioeconomical context context play an essential role. Today, psychologists recognize that child psychology is unique and complex, but many differ in terms of the unique perspective they take when approaching development. Experts also differ in their responses to some of the bigger questions in child psychology, such as nature vs. nurture, early experience vs. later experience, continuity vs. discontinuity, abnormal behavior vs. individual differences etc. Child psychology encompasses a wide range of topics, from the genetic influences on behavior to the social pressures on development.The major subjects

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that are essential to the study of child psychology are: genetics, prenatal development, language, gender roles.

Bibliography: y www.psychology.about.com y www.wisegeek.com