Arnold Gesell

1. Presentation by: Mazie, Kirstie, and Alice (minus the wonderland. :D) Arnold Gesell

2. THE Arnold Gesell 1880-1961 Born in Alma, Wisconsin Strong proponent of “maturational” perspective of child development “Age-Norms”

3. One of the first psychologists to systematically describe children’s physical, social, and emotional achievements, particularly in the first five years of life. In fact, the development norms established by Gessell and his colleagues are still used by pediatricians and psychologists today.

4. Gesell received a doctorate in psychology in 1906 from Clark University. In 1911, he began a faculty position in education at Yale University.

5. Worked toward a doctorate in medicine, which he earned in 1915. • At Yale, he established and directed the Clinic of Child Development, where children’s achievements in terms of physical and psychological development were observed and measured.

6. Gesell’s observations of children allowed him to describe developmental milestones in 10 major areas: Motor characteristics Personal hygiene Emotional expressions Fears and dreams Self and sex Interpersonal relations Play and pastimes School life Ethical sense Philosophical outlook

7. He believed that child development occurs according to predetermined, naturally unfolding plan of growth.

8. Gesell’s most notable achievements was his contribution of the “normative” approach to studying children.

9. When Gesell retired from Yale in 1948, his colleagues established a private institution in his name in new haven, Connecticut, called the Gesell Institute of Child Development.

10. His practice of carefully observing, measuring, and describing child development created a foundation for subsequent research that described both average developmental trends and individual differences in development.