Child Development, Care and Guidance Unit 2 - - Name:______Hour____

Major Theorists of Child Development

Theorist Findings or Ideas Significance Sigmund Freud Freud believed that personality develops The idea that early experiences (1856-1939) through a series of stages. Emotional affect adult life has profound experiences in childhood have profound importance for anyone caring for a effects on a persona as an adult. child. Maria Montessori Montessori stressed that children learn by Children need to be given objects to (1870-1952) using their senses and that they learn best manipulate so they can exercise by pursuing their interests. their sensory learning. Arnold Gessell Gessell developed basic information about Parents and other caregivers need to (1880-1961) eh order in which children master various be aware o the standard course of skills and the typical rate of this development. development. Jean Piaget Piaget, the first to study children in a Children should be given learning (1896-1980) scientific way, focused on how children tasks that are suitable for their stage learned. He said that children go through of thinking. four stages of thinking that shape how they see and learn about the world. Lev Vygotsky Vygotsky believed that both biological Children should have many (1898-1934) development and cultural experiences opportunities for social interaction influenced children’s ability to think and to develop intellectually. learn. He said social contact was essential for intellectual development. Erik Erikson Erikson, like Freud, said personality Parents and other caregivers must (1902-1994) develops through stages. He thought that be aware of a child’s needs at a each stage includes a unique psychological particular stage and be sensitive to crisis. If that crisis is met in a positive way, the child’s needs at that stage. the individual develops maturity. B. F, Skinner Skinner argued that when a child’s action Parents and other caregivers can use (1904-1990) repeatedly brings positive effects, it will be rewards and punishments to try to repeated and learned. When negative influence a child’s behavior. results repeatedly occur, the child will eventually stop the action. Albert Bandura Bandura said that children learn by Since children learn by modeling, (1925-) modeling. He disagreed with Skinner. He parent and caregivers must provide pointed out that although the good examples. environment shapes behavior, behavior also affects the environment. Robert Coles Coles has studied children’s moral For children to adopt moral learning, (1929-) development. He stresses the important parents must show moral behavior role that parents and other caregivers play by the examples they set.