Child Development Theories observed in the growth and development

of children from infancy through

Though there have been many child
adulthood. The Maturational Theory
development theories and the study of
takes the stance that environment has no
child development is always ongoing,
affect on a child’s development. In fact, if
you’ll find a summary of some of the
a child suffers from any developmental
more prominent child development
problem, it is believed that the problem
theories below, including their
lies within the individual child and not as
proponents, strengths, and some of the
the result of the child’s environment and
weaknesses people have encountered.
circumstances. Within the Maturational
After understand more about the child
Theory of child development, children
development theories, you can begin to
are expected to exhibit certain behaviors
develop a more cohesive understanding
according to a maturational timetable.
of what works best in helping children to
This can be very helpful for parents and
development well.
educators to see a list of normative
Maturational Theory behavior for children at a specific age.

The Maturational Theory of child Behaviorist Theory

development was developed by a
If the Maturational Theory is based
psychologist and pediatrician named
primarily in biology and heredity, the
Arnold Gesell. Gesell’s theory was shaped
Behaviourist Theory focuses on the other
by the assumptions that development is
end of the spectrum by basing child
based in biology, children alternate
development on environmental factors.
between good and bad years in
Essentially, the way a child develops in
development, and that body types share a
the Behaviorist Theory is determined by
connection with personality
the external conditions that influence
development. The Maturational Theory
particular elements of their development.
focuses on physical and mental
B.F. Skinner was one of the primary
development, and Gesell saw these
proponents of the Behaviorist Theory.
developmental patterns being
His contribution concerned a system of
determined by a child’s heredity. Gesell
reward and punishment. Skinner
observed and recorded the changes he
believed that a person’s behavior could
be shaped one way or another by
providing rewards for behavior that is
desired and punishments for behavior
that not desired. Diversity in the way that
children develop is found in the diversity
of rewards and punishments that
children experience throughout their
lives. Whereas in the Maturational
Theory, any negative development issue
is considered to originate within the
child, in the Behaviorist Theory, it would
be considered to originate exclusively in
the environment of the child. The
Behaviorist Theory can often be observed
simply by watching how children’s’
behavior is often shaped by what earns
reward and what earns punishment.
Parents and educators often rely on the
Behaviorist Theory to reinforce positive
and healthy behavior while trying to
eliminate negative and destructive
behaviors.
Cognitive Theory
Jean Piaget was a psychologist who was
specifically interested in the process of
cognitive development in children.
Through observations and tests, Piaget
developed a theory of child development
that centered on a child’s cognitive
development. His findings revealed that
children think on a different level than
adults, and they go through a process
from simple to more complex cognitive
ability. The process of development
involves a child interacting with the
world, developing an understanding
about the world in which they find
themselves, experiencing discrepancies
with their understanding and the way the
world actually is, and reorganizing their
previous discoveries about the world into
a new understanding. Piaget broke his
cognitive theory into four stages of
development.
 Sensorimotor – This stage is
experienced by children between 0-
2 years old, and the key feature of
this stage object permanence.
 Preoperational – This stage is
experienced by children between 2-
7 years old, and the key feature is
egocentrism.
 Concrete Operational – This
stage is experienced by children
between 7-11 years old, and the key
feature is conservation.
 Formal Operational – This
stage is typically experienced by
children at age 11 or after, and the
key feature of this stage is abstract
reasoning.
Piaget believed that all children around
the world experienced these four stages
of cognitive development in this
sequence. However, he acknowledged
that not all children would reach each
stage at the same age, and some children
may not even reach all the stages. He
believed the order of the stages was
universal, no matter what type of
environment the child came from. One of
the most important implications of the
Cognitive Theory of child development is
the need for children to be active in
exploring the world around them and
making discoveries. The idea is to
encourage children to learn by doing.
Psychoanalytic Theory
Sigmund Freud is probably the most
well-known psychologist in history, and
his Psychoanalytic Theory of child
development was based on the idea that a
child’s behavior is greatly determined by
unconscious desires in the child. Freud
understood the human mind to be
divided into three controlling concepts.
He believed that all children are born
with certain innate selfish desires that
drive their behavior. He called the part of
the mind where these self impules
orginate the “id.” The “id” also
functioned as the first stage of
development in Freud’s model. Freud
believed that children would begin to
learn that not every desire they have will
be met, and this would teach them to
develop an appreciation for the way
things are and an acceptance that things
won’t always go their way. He called this
stage the “Ego” Furthermore, Freud
believed that children would begin to
develop certain values and morals, which
he called the “Super-ego. In Freud’s
theory, the Super-ego would team up
with the Ego to regulate the selfish
impulses of the Id. Freud’s theory also
concerned a child’s personality
development would be determined by the
way the child’s parents dealt with the
child’s inherent sexual and aggressive
desires. Check out this course for
more information on the
psychology of personality. As a result
of the Psychoanalytic Theory of child
development, any problems in behavior
in a child are often attributed to
unconscious processes or desires within
the child. A negative implication of the
Psychoanalytic Theory was the tendency
to base negative developmental patterns
within a child on the child’s parents,
specifically the mother of the child.
Clearly, if you rely on a model of child
development that believes development
is highly influenced by a child’s nurture
or the environment that surrounds them,
it’s clear that a parent’s actions do have a
serious influence on the child’s
development, but placing all of the blame

on parent interaction isn’t telling the
whole story.
Psychosocial Theory
The Psychosocial Theory of child
development is based on the work of
psychologist Erik Erikson. Erikson’s
work focused on the development of
personality in children, and he believed
that a child’s personality development
occurred in stages. He also held that a
child’s personality was greatly impacted
by the social interactions and experiences
they go through during their lifetime.
Children develop a sense of identity
based upon the social interactions they
experience. Each social interaction has
the potential of impacting or reinforcing
a person’s identity. Below is a brief
summary of the 8 stages of Erikson’s
theory.
1. Trust vs. Mistrust (birth-18
months) – During this stage, a
child develops trust when their
needs are met in a consistent
manner.
2. Autonomy vs. Shame and
Doubt (2-3 years) – Children learn
to develop control over their own
physical skills, feeling a sense of
autonomy.
3. Initiative vs. Guilt (3-5 years) –
Children begin to exert control over
their environment and begin taking
initiative.
4. Industry vs. Inferiority (6-11
years) – A child’s interaction with
their peers as well as
encouragement from authority
figures helps them to develop self
confidence.
5. Identity vs. Role
Confusion (12-18 years) –
Adolescents begin asserting their
independence and begin forming
personal identity.
6. Intimacy vs. Isolation (19-40
years) – People in this stage
develop loving intimate
relationships with other people,
and experience this as a deep need.
7. Generativity vs.
Stagnation (40-65 years) –
Adults in this stage feel the need to
develop something that will outlast
them. For many, this means
parenthood.
8. Ego Integrity vs. Despair (65-
death) – People in this stage need
to be able to reflect on the life
they’ve lived and be satisfied on
what they accomplished.
The Psychosocial Theory helps to
understand the unique contribution that
social interaction has on a person’s
development over the course of their
lifespan. The theory also covers more
than just child development, but
development over the course of a
person’s entire life.
Multiple Intelligences Theory
The Multiple Intelligences Theory,
developed by Howard Gardner, is a more
recent theory in the area of child how people understand the way children
development. Gardner believed that not develop and learn. It’s important to
all children learn the same, and cognitive understand that no one theory addresses
processes within a group of children every aspect of the way a child develops.
might be quite diverse. Hence, Gardner For that reason, it is important to gain
suggested a multiple intelligences important insight from each of the
approach to helping children learn. theories and understand that children
Gardner believes there are 8 types of are impacted by nature and nurture.
intelligences: Parents and educators need to be
intentional about understanding the way
1. Mathematical-logical
2. Linguistic individual children are hardwired, then
3. Musical
they will be able to know how to shape
4. Visual-spatial
5. Bodily kinesthetic their development in the best way
6. Interpersonal possible. Child development is an area
7. Intrapersonal
8. Naturalist where there is always more to
learn. Take a look at this course for
The Multiple Intelligences Theory of more information behind the
child development focuses on the psychology of human development.
hardwiring of the individual child’s mind.
One child may fall under linguistic
intelligence while another falls under
interpersonal intelligence. For that
reason, the two children won’t learn the
same. Gardner’s approach saw a need to
individualize instruction toward children,
or provide differentiating instruction. In
this theory, nature dictates the type of
nurture each child should receive.

Bringing it all Together

Each of the child development theories

above make important contributions to