PSYB32H3 Chapter 1: Chapter 1. Themes, Theories, and Methods
Document Summary
Arnold gesell believed that the course of development was largely predetermined by biological factors. He concentrated on maturation (a genetically determined process of growth that unfolds naturally over a period of time). Others like john b. watson placed emphasis strictly on the environment. Continuity: development is a smooth and gradual accumulation of abilities. Discontinuity: development is like a series of discrete steps or stages in which behaviours get reorganized into a qualitatively new set of behaviours. Forces that affect developmental change (individual characteristics vs. contextual and culture characteristics). Many resolve the controversy by adopting an interactionist viewpoint, stressing the dual role of individual and contextual factors. They help organize and integrate existing information into coherent and interesting accounts of how children develop. They generate testable hypotheses or predictions about children"s behaviour. There are five general approaches in the field: 1) structural-organismic, 2) learning, 3) dynamic systems, 4) contextual, and 5) ethological and evolutionary views.
