Five Perspectives Of Child Development

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There are five major perspectives on child development: psychoanalytic, behavioral, cognitive, context, and evolutionary. Psychoanalytic perspective is the theory of personality developed by Freud that focuses on repression and unconscious forces and includes the concepts of infantile sexuality, resistance, transference, and division of the psyche into the Id, ego, and superego. Freud was also the first one who believed that all human beings were born with the desire towards hunger, sex and aggression. The Id is present at birth at represents unconscious desires, the ego is conscious and balances the needs of the id with societal demands, and the superego is the moral guide. Freud broke this development up into five stages. The first stage …show more content…
Evolutionary/Sociobiological perspective is based upon the notion that our biological evolution and adaptation influence in our everyday lifestyles. This theoretical perspective has been majorly influenced by John Bowlby’s evolutionary theory of attachment, this suggests that children come into the world biologically pre-programmed to form attachments with others, because this will help them to survive. The Ecological Systems Theory, influenced by UrieBronfenbrenner, explains development through reciprocal interactions between children and the settings in which they live.
The fifth theoretical perspectives are the Contextual perspective. Contextual perspective describes the learning process and studying between two individuals or organisms(Hurst, 2003).This stage adolescents are between the ages 12 to 18 years old. As teen’s progress through a series of stages and changes searching for their identity, independency, self-worth, growth, and fidelity fundamentally leading to a strong understanding of themselves that will continue to influence them as they progress through life(Cherry,
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The cross-sectional perks are that it is inexpensive, quick and easy. Unfortunately, since the process is simple and fast, the results don’t always come out as clear as we would think. Comparisons are made of the behavior or abilities of two or more different groups of children, with each group covering a different age range. There are different variables that go into a child’s abilities and most of them are ethical problems. Longitudinal study perks are that the results are more accurate. The disadvantage that comes from using this method is that it could take years to fully finish the testing. Longitudinal research consists of researching one group of subjects over an extended period of time, typically for years. Advantages consist of accurate data and the ability to accurately observe the changes within the subjects over time. Disadvantages consist of data being extremely slower than average and possibility of lacking dedicated participants. Cross-sectional research consists of observing different groups of people at different ages then comparing the data. Advantages are data is gathered faster than average. Disadvantage is that the data is difficult to determine whether the causation is age or experience. Correlational research consists of determining if one change is linked or can be related to another change, cause, or effect. Advantages consist of finding relationships.

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