20th Century

1. 20th Century Analysis of Child Development Theories and Methods

2. Anthropology. • When we move into the 20th century we begin to see the division between the various disciplines. • Anthropologists-Make their contribution by studying various cultures.

3. Malinoski (1921)- • Looked at primitive cultures such as natives of the Trobriand Islands. • Looks at how children are education into basic manual skills and techniques and development into a moral culture.

4. Margaret Mead, • . Coming of Age in Samoa broke down categories of socialization -looked at maternal care, obligations to siblings, rights and responsibilities.

5. Benedict(1934) • Patterns of Culture- showed how socialization is a mediation process between the personality and culture. Individual of a particular society learns certain cultural configurations

6. Modern anthropologists Continue to look at simpler cultures to understand: • a. institutional arrangements • b. alternative arrangements and the plasticity of human nature • c. relatedness between cultural change and personality • d. correlations between specific cultural arrangements (religion, magic, art) and personality.

7. Sociology • One of the most significant sociologists was Charles Cooley and his notion of the "looking glass self" • -The self is ultimately social- the self becomes self by interacting with others.

8. Dewey • It was who modified this line of thought by arguing that organism is not a fixed thing but is constantly changing and developing through interaction with its environment

9. George Herbert Mead (1934) • Mind, Self, Society • - then went a step further- • -The self is in constant interaction with the self and the environment; 

10. Mead on `the self’ • -The self is self reflective; sees itself as subject and object. • -The self is concerned with- meaning of objects • -courses of actions • -choice -pros and cons

11. C. H Cooley • The Looking Glass Self • For Cooley the self becomes social through role taking -the ability to look upon oneself from an outsider's perspective.

12. At the same time in sociology we see a number of studies in the Chicago school tradition in the mid 1930'sthat incorporate theories into their empirical research.

13. Social Constructionism • A third sociologist Blumer (1969) attempted to make modification to earlier sociological theories of child. 

14. He argues that the human is an active and reactive agent -humans are involved in a constant process of appraisal, reapprasal and interpretation.  • -

15. Blumer (1969) • the individual considers situational contingencies to derive maximum profit (exchange model)

16. Chicago School Studies • Middletown (1929) devoted five chapters to child rearing practices • Methods of Discipline, division of chores, parental authority, kitchen table conversations, the school and the family, church and the family.

17. Saint Dennis • Horace Miner's Saint Dennis is an example of a Canadian study of this type that looks a French Canada.  • A parish town teaches French Canadian values: fatalism, communalism, obedience • Values of `la survivance’

18. Symbolic Interaction PeriodsStage One: Formative • 1890-1932-pragmatism emerges as a valid theoretical perspective-debates against postivistic science • 1933-1950-empirical theoretical period-Polish Peasant, Chicago-interactionist, Park and Burgess, Louis Wirth, Everette Hughes

19. Stage Two Radical Period • 1951-1962-a fusion of European Social Theory and Social Psychology • 1963-1970-Hippy Social -Goffman, Becker-radicalizes studies-Goffman, Garkfinkel-ethnomethodology.

20. Stage Three: Greying • 1970-1980-Ethnography-down to earth sociology-studies of Urban Life:Qualitative Sociology • 1980-1990-The Greying of Interactionism-post-moderncritiques of methods, approaches, concepts • 1990 and beyond-building on older theories look at issue of the day including aging, feminism, sexism, racism….multiple realities.

21. Psychology • Psychologists in the twentieth century held that an individuals mental content rooted in biology is shaped by interaction with other. 

22. Classic psychologist emphasized personality theories based on physiological change while various other theories diverge somewhat from a biological base along a continuum.

23. Psychology and Cognition • Another theme in psychology is to look at language, cognition and child development. • Lastly, psychologist throughout the twentieth century have become heavily involved in experimental research using sophistication analysis.

24. Information processing, • They are looking into things like information processing, • They are looking into questions such as Does a child's ability to search for information change with age?  • To what extent does a child's current knowledge help him to learn more?

25. Ethology • Looks at adaptation -Do children adapt to the world in restrictive time periods? • They look at whether child who have been deprived of food or physical and social stimulation are deprived. • ?

26. Borstein (1969) for example, developed the concept, sensitive period to refer to the time optimal for certain capacities for speech,development of motor skills etc.

27. Ethological Theory • Ethological theory borrows a great deal from Darwin’s theory of Natural Selection. • It holds that certain patterns of social behaviour are the product of evolution.

28. Ethological example • Consider for example, the bond between mother and child. For the ethologist this bond exists because it helps the species survive-certain aspects of behaviour are said to be the result of natural instincts.

29. Human beings are biologically wired to emit responses….ie babies are wired to keep them close to mother (the cry) mother is wired to love and look after infants.

30. Aggression Ethological • One of the most controversial theories of the ethologist is regarding aggression. • According to this school of thought aggression has an instinctual basis.

31. Innate Aggression • Aggression is an innate drive that may be aroused when an individual encounters frustration or threat. • The individual is automatically directed towards the goal of injuring or destroying the source of irritation. Furthermore, when the aggressive drive is aroused energy is

32. Ecological Systems Theory • -Developed by Urie Bronfrenbenner, is a classical psycholical model emphasizing how certain biological dispositions combine with environmental forces to mould development.

33. Systems micro meso, exo • His theory looks at the micro system, mesosystem, and mesosystem. • The microsystem-refers to the child's immediate environment

34. The mesosystem -encompasses broader agents of socialization such as home, neighbourhood, daycare center. • The exosystem- involves social settings beyond the childs environment that effect the child in some way. These might include work schedules, maternity leaves, sick pay etc.

35. Trait Theory • Trait theorists conceptualize personality in terms of how much an individual possesses each of several behavioural predispositions or traits such as intelligence, aggressiveness, conscientiousness, achievement motivation.

36. n-dimensional space • Each person have an n-dimensional space, with n referring to the number of independent personality traits that each theorist considers important for variability in social behaviour.

37. Personality profiles • Trait theorists use statistical analysis to chart personality profiles which may then be compared with others. • For example, a person’s inventory might be “above average on extraversion, average on dependency.

38. psychometric movement • Trait theory is associated with the psychometric movement which favours statistical analysis. By establishing group norms, traits are seen as relatively stable and enduring predispositions that are fairly generalizable..

39. Criticisms of trait theory •  Criticism of trait theory are as follows: • a.      They pay little attention to how children develop greater or lesser amount of various traits. • b.     Trait theorists are only interested in internal qualities (not a great amount of focus on external stimuli)

40. Trait theorists • c.      Trait theorists expect cross situational consistency -ie. A boy who is aggressive at school will be aggressive towards parents, peers, teachers etc..

41. Research has not supported this. Hawthorne and May (1929) found little evidence of a consistent moral pattern across situations

42. d.     People are variable on most behavioural dimensions thus behaviour cannot be predicted on the basis of generalized traits.