Developmental Psychology

History of developmental psychology

The modern form of developmental psychology has its roots in the rich psychological tradition represented by Heraclitus, Aristotle and Descartes. William Shakespeare had his melancholy character Jacques (in As You Like It) articulate the seven ages of man: these included three stages of childhood and four of adulthood. In the mid-eighteenth century Jean Jacques Rousseau described three stages of childhood: infans (infancy), puer (childhood) and adolescence in Emile: Or, On Education. Rousseau's ideas were taken up strongly by educators at the time.

In the late nineteenth century, psychologists familiar with the evolutionary theory of Darwin began seeking an evolutionary description of psychological development; prominent here was G. Stanley Hall, who attempted to correlate ages of childhood with previous ages of mankind.

A more scientific approach was initiated by James Mark Baldwin, who wrote essays on topics that included Imitation: A Chapter in the Natural History of Consciousness and Mental Development in the Child and the Race: Methods and Processes. In 1905, Sigmund Freud articulated five psychosexual stages. Later, Rudolf Steiner articulated stages of psychological development throughout human life. The first three of these stages, which correspond closely with Piaget's later-described stages of childhood, were first presented in Steiner's 1911 essay The Education of the Child; his descriptions have been taken up by educators (in the Waldorf Schools) and by psychologists (in biographical therapy; see the works of Bernard Lievegoed). By the early to mid-twentieth century, the work of Vygotsky and Piaget, mentioned above, had established a strong empirical tradition in the field.

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The role of mothers

Traditionally mothers (and women generally) were emphasized to the exclusion of other caretakers. This has begun to change, with the emphasis now placed on a primary caretaker (regardless of gender or biological relation), as well as all persons directly or indirectly influencing the child (the family system).

For example, the traditional father had little to do with an infant directly, but his method of interacting with the mother (supportive, abusive, neglectful) had a great deal of impact on the infant indirectly.

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Stages of development

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Prenatal

The prenatal development of human beings is viewed in three separate stages:

Germinal (conception through week 2)

Embryonic (weeks 3 through 8)

Fetal (week 9 through birth)

These stages are not the same as the trimesters of a woman's pregnancy.

The germinal stage least resembles a grown human. It begins when a sperm penetrates an egg in the act of conception (normally the result of sexual intercourse between a man and a woman). At this point a zygote is formed. Through the process of mitosis the cells divide and double.

The embryonic stage occurs once the zygote has firmly implanted itself into the uterine wall. It is in this stage that the vital organs are formed, and while the external body is still extremely dissimilar from an adult human, some features such as eyes and arms, and eventually ears and feet become recognizable.

The fetal period is when the brain most substantially forms, becoming more and more complex over the last few months.

During pregnancy the risk to the developing child from drugs and other teratogens, spousal abuse and other stress on the mother, nutrition and the age of the mother are quite acute.

A baby in its mother's womb, viewed in a sonogramThree methods of determining fetal defects and health include the ultrasound, amniocentesis, and chorionic villus sampling.

Ultrasound uses sound waves and a computer monitor, and is non-invasive, thus minimizing potential harm to fetus and mother. Unfortunately it's ability to determine potential defect is also far less comprehensive than more risky methods.

Chorionic villus sampling is a form of prenatal diagnosis to determine genetic abnormalities in the fetus. It entails getting a sample of the chorionic villus (placental tissue) and testing it. It is generally carried out only on pregnant women over the age of 35 and those who have a higher risk of Down syndrome and other chromosomal conditions.

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