1.

) If you could interview people of medieval Europe to find out whether they thought child
development was a continuous or discontinuance process, how do you think they would respond?

The medieval conception, for all practical purposes, was that childhood did not exist. The human
lifecycle contained two main divisions: infancy and adulthood. Therefore, growth and development
reflected a continuous process. Preformationism suggests that all necessary adult ingredients are
present from the start. Hence, from this perspective, development consists of the continuous refinement
of existing behaviors.

2.) Imagine a debate between John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau on the nature-nurture controversy.
Summarize the argument that each historical figure is likely to present.

JOHN LOCKE viewed children as blank slates that could be shaped by all kinds of experiences. At birth
they are blank slates—neither good nor evil but nothing at all. They have no genetic blueprints or innate
master plans for development. The environment is the primary determinant of growth. JEAN JACQUES
ROUSSEAU thought of children as noble savages who are born with both a sense of right and wrong and
an innate plan for orderly, healthy development. Consequently, nature is supreme: the environment is
not a determinant of healthy development. Environmental intervention can only harm or delay a child’s
innate sense; it cannot determine the course of growth.

3.) A four-year-old becomes frightened of the dark and refuses to go to sleep at night. How would a
psychoanalyst and a behaviorist differ in their views of how this problem developed?

The PSYCHOANALYST views the child as an organismic being whose personality develops as a result of
inner conflicts between biological drives and social expectations. The fear of dark reflects an
unconscious motive or deep-seated anxiety within the child. The child’s fear may actually represent
anxiety concerning night-time separation from the parent. Once that anxiety is resolved, the fear will
subside.
In contrast, BEHAVIORISTS focus on environmental contingencies and behavioral responses; they do not
look at the inner workings of the mind. A child would be scared of the dark if previous experiences in
the dark were negative. (such as nightmares or hearing a sharp, loud noise in the night) Based on
previous experiences, the child would be conditioned to respond in a fearful manner to a dark situation.

4.) What biological concept is emphasized in Piaget’s cognitive-developmental approach? From which
19th century theory Piaget borrow this idea?

PIAGET theorized that an individual’s intelligence was the result of the adaptation of cognitive structures
to the demands of the environment. Borrowing the concept of adaptation from Biology, Piaget believed
that much like the body’s ability to adapt to its habitat, the mind also adapts to its surroundings. Over
the course of our lives, the cognitive structures that we actively build become an increasingly effective
and interpretations of our surrounding world. Piaget’s theory of cognitive development shares
similarities with Darwin’s theory of evolution: both emphasized the importance of adaption of structures
to the environment and believe that although development follows the same general plan for all
members of a species, no two individuals are identical.

5.) What shortcoming of the information-processing approach is a strength of ethology, ecological

systems theory, and Vigotsky’s sociocultural theory?

A major criticism of the information processing approach is its lack of attention to environmental contexts
of development, which narrows the value of the approach. The information processing approach views
cognitive functioning as analogous to computer operations. Thus, thought processing is like a laptop
computer which can easily be transported from place to place; its functioning is not affected by its
location. Oblivious to the nuances of its surroundings, the system functions similarly no matter where it
is. Ethology emphasizes the adaptation of the individual to his or her environment. To ethologists,
individuals can be understood only in their natural settings. Due to the focus of ethology on
adaptation—physical, social, and cultural environment are important in addition to biology. Ecological
systems theory views the individual as influenced by four nested levels of the environment and notes
that relationships between the child and other individuals who populate immediate settings are bi-
directional and reciprocal. Thus again, understanding the individual requires an analysis of
environmental systems and relationships. Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory states that social interaction is
necessary for development. Cognitive development is socially mediated through dialogues between the
child and more expert members of his or her culture. The type of knowledge that we acquire is a
reflection of the culture we live in. Hence, environmental contexts are crucial for understanding
development.

6.) Return to the biology and environment box on Pages 10-11. How does the story of John and Gary
illustrate bidirectional and reciprocal influences within the microsystem, as described in
Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory?

The microsystem refers to activities and interaction patterns in a child’s immediate surroundings.
Bidirectional and reciprocal relationship occur as adults affect children’s behavior; and children’s
biologically and socially influenced characteristics—their physical attributes, personalities, and
capacities—also influence the behavior of adults. For instance, in the story on pages 10-11, John and
Gary demonstrated different response patterns as their families moved during childhood. John became
anxious and angry, whereas Gary looked forward to making new friends and exploring new
neighborhoods. These personal characteristics may have subsequently influenced their caregivers’
behavior. John may have experienced harsher parental discipline after his angry outbursts; Gary’s
grandfather may have been particularly supportive because Gary maintained a relaxed approach to
stressful circumstances. As these reciprocal interactions became well established and continued to
occur, they may have had an enduring impact on each boy’s development.

7.) What features of Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory distinguish it from Piaget’s theory?

Both Piaget and Vygotsky believed children contribute actively to cognitive change. However, Vygotsky
viewed development as a socially mediated process. Consequently, children require help and support
from others to acquire the ways of thinking and behaving that make up their community’s culture. Piaget
de-emphasized the role of direct teaching and education, since he regarded children as largely learning
on their own as they manipulate and explore their world. The two also disagree on the issue of
continuous versus discontinuous change. Piaget posited a universal stage sequence, whereas Vygotsky
believed that once children became capable of communicating with others and representing their
experiences through language, cognitive development involves step-by-step changes in thought and
behavior that are promoted through the guidance of expert members of society.

8.) Why is it important for students of child development and individuals who worked directly with
children to understand research strategies?

The reason for studying research methods is to help us become wise and critical consumers of
knowledge. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of various research strategies becomes important in
separating dependable information from misleading results. Furthermore, individuals who worked
directly with children are sometimes in a position to test hypotheses or research questions, either on
their own or with an experienced investigator. At other times, they may have to provide information on
how well their goals for children are being realized to justify continued financial support for their
programs and activities.
9.) A researcher wants to study the thoughts and feelings of children. Which method should she use?
Which method is best suited for investigating the thoughts and feelings of children who have
experienced their parents’ divorce or who have a parent on active duty in the military?

Because the investigator is interested in thoughts and feelings, none of the observational techniques
would be appropriate. Instead, the clinical interview is the method of choice, since the separation
experience can affect children in the complex ways. The clinical interview allows for follow-up questions
and in-depth reactions to the questions asked. The structured interview is also a possibility. Because
each participant is asked the same question in the same way it would eliminate the possibility that an
interviewer might press in some subjects more than others, thereby distorting the results. It would also
be more efficient, in that answers are briefer and take less time to gather. However, the procedure
would not yield the same depth of information as a clinical interview.

10.) What limitations do the clinical method and ethnography have in common?

Both the clinical method and ethnographic are concerned with in-depth understanding. The clinical
method brings together interviews, test scores, and observations to gain a complete picture of an
individual. In an ethnographic study, a researcher lives with the community, observing and participating
in its daily activities to gain a complete picture of the culture. In both types of research, there is a
possible danger of researcher bias—the possibility that the investigator may inappropriately impose his
or her own theoretical commitments and experiences in interpreting the data. Furthermore,
generalizability is a problem. In both types of research, findings cannot be assumed to apply beyond the
people and settings in which the research was originally conducted.

11.) A researcher compares children who went to summer leadership camps with children who
attended athletic camps. She finds that those who attended leadership camps are friendlier. Should be
investigator tell parents that sending children to leadership camps will cause them to be more sociable?

The researcher cannot make this statement. A self-selection problem exists, in that children were not
randomly assigned to each camp but chose which camp to attend. Second, this is a correlational study.
Type of camp is related to friendliness without manipulating a treatment condition. Correlational
investigations do not allow for cause and effect conclusions. It is just as likely (and perhaps even more
probable) that children going to leadership camp are friendlier to begin with than those going to athletic
camps.

12.) Suppose a researcher wants to find out if children who go to day care centers during the first few
years of life do as well in school as those who are not in daycare. Which developmental design,
longitudinal or cross-sectional, is it appropriate for answering this question?

Since the intent of the research is to look at children at two points in time (during the first year of life
and after school entry), a longitudinal design is warranted. By using a longitudinal design, children’s
early caregiving experiences can be related to their later progress in school. This is not possible with a
cross-sectional design.

13.) An investigator decides to conduct a study of teacher-pupil interaction in a fourth-grade classroom.

From whom should she seek informed consent for research participation?

For studies involving children, parental consent is always a requirement. When research is conducted in
institutions, people who act on a child’s behalf should also be contacted. Since this study will take place
in a classroom, the schools institutional review board (responsible for reviewing and improving
research) and the child’s classroom teacher should be consulted. In addition, fourth-grade students are
old enough to understand the basic purpose of research. They should be asked for their own informed
consent.

14.) An investigator wants to assess the effectiveness of an intervention designed to promote

independence and assertiveness and 10-year-olds. After the study is under way, several parents
complain that in their ethnic group, it is not appropriate for children to behave in these ways. How
should the researcher respond? What could he have done to avoid this problem?

The parents probably were not fully and properly informed of the purpose of the study before it began.
Part of the right of informed consent is the opportunity for children, and the adults responsible for them,
to withdraw participation at any time. In response to the problem, the researcher should permit the
participants to withdraw. He might then revise his intervention to fit the ethnic values of these parents
and return a second time to seek their informed consent. An institutional review board should probably
take a second, closer look at the research in terms of the research rights of “protection from harm” and
“informed consent.” If the intervention itself is potentially damaging to the participants, the researcher
may have to abandon the research.