PSYC 2020 Lecture Notes - Lecture 30: Arnold Gesell
PSYC 2020 Lecture 30 Notes
Introduction
The Biological Perspective
• Working with a child-advocacy group, child-development researchers can alert
poliyakers to hildre’s eeds ad a argue for faily poliy that addresses those
needs.
• Still other child-development experts evaluate the impact of government policies (e.g.,
the No Child Le$ Behind Act) on children and families.
• Finally, a particularly good way to sway policymakers is to create a working program.
• When researchers create a program that effectively combats problems affecting
children or adolescents (e.g., sudden infant death syndrome or teenage pregnancy), this
can become powerful ammunition for influencing policy (Huston, 2008).
• Thus, from its origins more than 100 years ago, modern child-development science has
become a mature discipline.
• It has generated a vast catalog of knowledge of children from which exciting discoveries
continue to emanate.
• “ietists atiely use this koledge to iproe hildre’s lies, as e’ll see in the
Child Deelopet ad Faily Poliy features that appear.
• The researh that you’ll eouter throughout this ook is rooted i a set of
developmental theories that provide the foundation of modern child-development
research
• They are the focus of the next module.
• According to the biological perspective, intellectual and personality development
• As well as physical and motor development, are rooted in biology.
• One of the first biological theories, maturational theory, was proposed by Arnold Gesell
(1880–1961).
• According to maturational theory, child development reflects a specific and prearranged
scheme or plan within the body.
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