Developmental psychology and child psychology?

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What is developmental psychology?

What is developmental psychology?

Developmental psychology is a fascinating field that explores the lifespan changes in human beings. It delves into the physical, cognitive, social, emotional, and moral development that individuals experience from conception to death.

What are the main features of developmental psychology?

  • Lifespan Approach: It examines development across all stages of life, from prenatal development to old age.
  • Multidimensional Focus: Developmental psychology recognizes that growth occurs in various domains – physical, cognitive, social, emotional, and moral.
  • Nature vs. Nurture: This field explores the complex interplay between biological (genetic) predispositions and environmental influences on development.
  • Continuity vs. Discontinuity: Developmental psychologists debate whether development is a gradual, continuous process or punctuated by distinct stages.

What are important sub-areas in developmental psychology?

  • Prenatal Development: Examines the growth and development of the fetus from conception to birth.
  • Infancy and Childhood: Focuses on rapid physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development during the early years.
  • Adolescence: Studies the physical, cognitive, and social changes experienced during puberty and teenage years.
  • Emerging Adulthood: Explores the development of identity, relationships, and career paths in young adulthood.
  • Middle Adulthood: Examines changes in physical health, cognitive abilities, and family dynamics during middle age.
  • Late Adulthood: Studies the physical, cognitive, and social changes associated with aging.

What are key concepts in developmental psychology?

  • Critical Period: A specific time window when an organism is highly susceptible to environmental influences impacting development.
  • Maturation: The biological unfolding of genetic potential, leading to physical growth and development.
  • Attachment Theory: Explores the importance of early emotional bonds with caregivers for healthy emotional and social development.
  • Cognitive Development: The process of acquiring knowledge, skills, and thinking abilities throughout life.
  • Social Development: The process by which individuals learn to interact with others and form relationships.
  • Moral Development: The development of an understanding of right and wrong, and a sense of ethical principles.

Who are influential figures in developmental psychology?

  • Jean Piaget (Psychologist): Pioneered the theory of cognitive development, proposing stages of cognitive growth in children.
  • Lev Vygotsky (Psychologist): Emphasized the role of social interaction and culture in cognitive development, introducing the concept of the Zone of Proximal Development.
  • Erik Erikson (Psychologist): Developed the theory of psychosocial development, proposing eight stages of psychosocial challenges individuals face throughout life.
  • John Bowlby (Psychoanalyst): Pioneered attachment theory, highlighting the significance of early emotional bonds with caregivers for healthy development.
  • Mary Ainsworth (Psychologist): Expanded upon attachment theory, identifying different attachment styles (secure, anxious, avoidant) formed in early childhood.

Why is developmental psychology important?

  • Understanding Human Development: Provides a deeper understanding of how humans grow and change throughout life.
  • Early Childhood Intervention: Helps design programs and interventions to support healthy development in children, especially those facing challenges.
  • Education: Developmental psychology informs educational practices by tailoring teaching methods to different age groups and developmental stages.
  • Parenting and Family Support: Offers insights into child development stages, fostering positive and supportive parenting practices.
  • Aging Well: Helps us understand the aging process and develop strategies to promote healthy aging physically, cognitively, and socially.

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What is child psychology?

What is child psychology?

Child psychology is a specialized field within developmental psychology that focuses specifically on the mental, emotional, social, and cognitive development of children from prenatal development through adolescence.

What are the main features of child psychology?

  • Focus on Childhood: It delves into the unique aspects of development during the early years of life.
  • Multifaceted Approach: Examines a variety of domains, including emotional well-being, cognitive abilities, social skills, and moral development.
  • Developmental Stages: Child psychology acknowledges that children progress through distinct stages with specific challenges and milestones.
  • Play and Exploration: Recognizes the importance of play and exploration in learning and development.

What are important sub-areas in child psychology?

  • Prenatal Development: Examines how experiences in the womb can impact a child's physical and mental development.
  • Infant Development: Focuses on rapid physical, cognitive, and social-emotional development during the first year of life.
  • Early Childhood Development: Studies the cognitive, social, and emotional growth that occurs between the ages of 2 and 6.
  • Middle Childhood Development: Examines the physical, cognitive, and social changes experienced during the school years (ages 6-12).
  • Adolescence: Studies the physical, cognitive, and social changes experienced during puberty and the teenage years.

What are key concepts in child psychology?

  • Attachment Theory: The importance of early emotional bonds with caregivers for healthy emotional and social development.
  • Developmental Milestones: The expected skills and abilities children acquire at different ages.
  • Cognitive Development: The process of acquiring knowledge, skills, and thinking abilities throughout childhood.
  • Social Development: The process by which children learn to interact with others and form relationships.
  • Play Therapy: A therapeutic approach using play to help children express themselves, process emotions, and develop coping mechanisms.
  • Temperament: Inborn behavioral styles and characteristics influencing children's responses to their environment.

Who are influential figures in child psychology?

  • Jean Piaget (Psychologist): Pioneered the theory of cognitive development, proposing stages of cognitive growth in children.
  • Lev Vygotsky (Psychologist): Emphasized the role of social interaction and culture in cognitive development, introducing the Zone of Proximal Development.
  • Erik Erikson (Psychologist): Developed the theory of psychosocial development, proposing eight stages of psychosocial challenges individuals face throughout life, including challenges specific to childhood.
  • John Bowlby (Psychoanalyst): Pioneered attachment theory, highlighting the significance of early emotional bonds with caregivers for healthy development.
  • Mary Ainsworth (Psychologist): Expanded upon attachment theory, identifying different attachment styles (secure, anxious, avoidant) formed in early childhood.

Why is child psychology important?

  • Promoting Healthy Development: Provides insights for optimizing a child's physical, cognitive, social, and emotional well-being.
  • Early Intervention: Helps identify developmental delays or challenges early on, allowing for timely intervention and support.
  • Understanding Behavior: Provides a framework for understanding children's behavior and responding appropriately.
  • Positive Parenting: Offers guidance on effective parenting practices that foster healthy development and nurturing relationships.
  • Educational Practices: Informs the development of age-appropriate curriculum and teaching methods in schools.

How is child psychology applied in practice?

  • Early Childhood Education: Provides the foundation for designing effective preschool and kindergarten programs.
  • Parenting Education and Support: Offers guidance on child development stages and
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Developmental psychology and child psychology: The best textbooks summarized

Developmental psychology and child psychology: The best textbooks summarized

Summaries and Study Assistance with Developmental psychology and child psychology

Table of content

  • Summary with the book: A Critical Introduction to Sport Psychology by Moran and Toner - 3rd edition
  • Summary with the book: Abnormal Child and Adolescent Psychology by Wicks-Nelson and Israel - 8th edition
  • Summary with the book: Adolescence by Steinberg - 12th edition
  • Summary with the book: An Introduction to Developmental Psychology by Slater and Bremner - 3rd edition
  • Summary with the book: Child and Adolescent Therapy: Cognitive-Behavioral Procedures by Kendall - 4th edition
  • Summary with the book: Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Children and Families by Graham and Reynolds - 3rd edition
  • Summary with the book: How Children Develop by Siegler a.o. - 6th edition
  • Summary with the book: Life-Span Human Development by Sigelman and Rider - 9th edition
  • Summary with the book: The boy who was raised as a dog by Perry

About developmental psychology and child psychology

  • Developmental psychology is the scientific study of how people change and grow throughout their lifespan. Child psychology is a subfield of developmental psychology that focuses specifically on the cognitive, social, and emotional development of children.
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Developmental psychology: the best scientific articles summarized

Developmental psychology: the best scientific articles summarized

Study guide with articles for Developmental psychology

Summaries and study assistance with articles for Developmental psychology

  • for 60+ summaries with articles for Developmental psychology, see the supporting content of this study guide

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Developmental psychology: The best concepts summarized

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Matson, Beighley, Williams, & May (2014). Conducting diagnostic screening and assessment.” – Article summary

To provide care to people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), it is imperative to screen for this disorder and to adequately diagnose it. Early evaluation can be useful. Diagnosis is best accomplished with standardized tests, developmental history and a clinical interview. The prevalence of ASD is 110 per 10.000.

Early intensive treatments appear to have the best outcomes. This emphasizes the need for early screening and diagnosis. Early diagnosis is affected by reluctance to express concern by parents (1), failure to be provided prompt assessment and diagnosis (2) and a failure of parents or professionals to detect signs of ASD (3). While ASD is believed to exist at birth, there are no biological markers and assessment and diagnosis thus relies on standardized tests and behavioural observation.

Parent observations are useful for early detection, especially speech regression (1), loss of motor skills (2), poor visual

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Patterson (2016). Coercion theory: The study of change.” – Article summary

Anti-social boys are less responsive to social reinforcement. Punishment only has short-term suppressive effects on behaviour. Punishment only seems effective in combination with positive reinforcement.

Coercion refers to a process during which aversive events are used to control the behaviour of another person (i.e. control behaviour using threats). A social action must be experienced by others as aversive and be used contingently to be part of the coercive process. An aversive event may serve any of the three functions:

  1. An aversive behaviour by person 1 at time 1 leads to a positive outcome by person 1 at time 2 (i.e. reinforcement).
  2. An aversive behaviour by person 1 at time 1 leads to a negative consequence by person 2 at time 2 (i.e. punishment).
  3. An aversive behaviour by person 1 at time 1 leads to an aversive behaviour by person 2 at time
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Child and adolescent psychopathology by Wilmhurst (second edition) – Summary chapter 9

Autism spectrum disorder refers to disorders that meet criteria in two broad symptom categories:
-    Deficits in social communication and social interaction
There must be deficits in social-emotional reciprocity (1), non-verbal communication (2) and the development and maintenance of relationships (3). 
-    Restricted repetitive patterns of behaviour
There must be two of four symptoms present (i.e. motor movements; rituals; fixated interests; hyper/hypo response to sensory information). 
75% of the people diagnosed with autism also have an intellectual disability. However, this may be different in the DSM-5. The onset of ASD is during early development, around 2 years of age. Symptoms may not manifest until later in people with mild versions of the disorder or manifest earlier in people with more severe variants of the disorder.
The prevalence of autism is 1% and 4 times more males than females are diagnosed. The prevalence rate

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Child and adolescent psychopathology by Wilmhurst (second edition) – Summary chapter 7

One-year prevalence of anxiety disorders in childhood and adolescence are 13%. Anxiety disorders regard chronic worry about current or future events and have common behavioural (e.g. escape and avoidance), cognitive (e.g. negative appraisal) and physiological (e.g. involuntary arousal; increased heart rate) symptoms.

There are six forms of anxiety that can exist in children:

  • Panic-agoraphobia
  • Social phobia
  • Separation anxiety
  • Physical fears
  • Generalized anxiety
  • Obsessive-compulsive problems

Separation anxiety disorder, selective mutism and specific phobias are the earliest-occurring anxiety disorders. GAD typically has an onset from 8 to 10 years of age. Social anxiety and panic disorder mainly occur in adolescence.

Disorder

SEPARATION ANXIETY

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Child and adolescent psychopathology by Wilmhurst (second edition) – Summary chapter 6

Learning disability often refers to an intellectual disability. A specific learning disability or specific learning disorder often refers to dyslexia. Diagnosis was based on the discrepancy between an individual’s intellectual functioning and one’s academic functioning. However, it was not sure how this should be applied (1), critique that it favours older children and people with higher IQ (2) and concerns that this model is failure based (3).

Another method of diagnosing is response to intervention (RTI) which refers to a tiered system of interventions that can be applied and failure to respond is a criteria for SLD. However, this does not take IQ into account. According to the DSM-5, a specific learning disorder occurs when there are academic skills that are substantially and quantifiable below those expected for somebody’s chronological age. When a sensory deficit is present, the learning disorder must be in excess of what

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Child and adolescent psychopathology by Wilmhurst (second edition) – Summary chapter 4

Intellectual disabilities are not an actual medical condition. It is a label used to designate children with subnormal intellectual functioning (i.e. IQ < 70). The DSM-5 (1), AAIDD (2) and the educational system (3) are used for classification of intellectual disability. To be diagnosed with ID in any of the three systems, a low IQ (1), deficits in adaptive functioning (2) and age of onset prior to 18 years of age (3) must be present.

  1. American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD)
    They emphasize that classification needs to depend on the degree and nature of support required. It needs to be assessed whether an individual needs services that are intermittent (1), limited (2), extensive (3) or pervasive (4). They believe that support will enhance the functioning and quality of life for individuals with ID.
  2. DSM-5
    This states that a significantly subaverage
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Child and adolescent psychopathology by Wilmhurst (second edition) – Summary chapter 5

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) consists of several subtypes:

  • Primarily inattentive presentation
  • Primarily hyperactive-impulsive presentation.
  • Combined presentation.

Children younger than 17 years need six symptoms to receive a diagnosis whereas children older than 17 years only need five symptoms. Intellectual disability (1), communication disorders (2), autism spectrum disorders (3), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (4), specific learning disorder (5) and motor disorders (6) are included in the neurodevelopmental disorder section of the DSM-5.

There are several symptoms for the inattentive presentation:

  • Careless attention to details.
  • Problems sustaining attention over time.
  • The child does not appear to listen.
  • There is poor follow-through (e.g. schoolwork; homework; chores).
  • The child is poorly organized.
  • There is a poor ability to sustain mental attention (e.g. independent work at school).
  • The child loses necessary materials (e.g. assignment sheets).
  • The child is easily distracted.
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Child and adolescent psychopathology by Wilmhurst (second edition) – Summary chapter 3

The purpose of diagnosis is to classify the problem within the context of other known behavioural clusters or disorders for the purposes of being able to draw on clinical knowledge regarding potential aetiology, course and treatment alternatives. The purpose of assessment is to diagnose the nature of the problem to ensure that the most appropriate treatment can be selected.

There are three questions that need to be answered by the clinician after the assessment:

  1. What are the characteristics of the child’s problem?
  2. How should the problem be evaluated?
  3. What are appropriate intervention strategies?

The diagnostic method can be used to predict what types of measures might be selected. Classifying child disorders can be done by using the categorical classification system or the empirical/dimensional classification system.

The diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM) and international classification of

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Child and adolescent psychopathology by Wilmhurst (second edition) – Summary chapter 2

Multifinality should be understood in terms of protective and risk factors. Similar stressors can lead to different results as a result of protective or risk factors.

In longitudinal studies, people are followed and measured for a long period of time (e.g. 15+ years). These studies provide useful results but are very costly and often have a lot of attrition. In accelerated longitudinal studies researchers study several age groups at the same time and follow these groups for the next few years. This is faster than a longitudinal study but protects against cohort effects of cross-sectional studies.

Cross-sectional research refers to studies looking at different age groups at the same time and measuring these groups at one point in time. This does not provide information regarding developmental pathways and there may be cohort effects.

There are risk and protective factors across several areas

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Child and adolescent psychopathology by Wilmhurst (second edition) – Summary chapter 1

Goddard established one of the largest training schools for the mentally disabled (i.e. extremely low IQ) but did much to harm the attitudes towards these people. There were several obstacles that prevented child psychopathology to become a unique discipline:

  1. The nature-nurture debate about the origins of a child’s problem.
  2. The shift in emphasis from treatment to identification (i.e. identified from an adult perspective).

Developmental psychopathology defines a system on human development as holistic (i.e. the whole child needs to be looked at) and hierarchical (i.e. moving toward increasing complexity). Recently, emphasis has been placed on finding protective and risk factors for the development of maladaptive behaviours in children.

To diagnose a child, information is necessary from several sources (e.g. school, home environment, sport team) to get a holistic image of this child. A case formulation refers to a hypothesis about why

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Mindfulness refers to intentionally directing attention to present moment experiences with an attitude of curiosity and acceptance. Higher levels of mindfulness is associated with better functioning for several psychological and physical health outcomes. Mindfulness skills can be augmented through t...

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About 16% of the children exposed to a trauma develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This is associated with psychiatric comorbidity (1), functional impairment (2) and persistence into adulthood (3). Early and effective treatment is needed to reduce the negative effects of PTSD. Trauma-focus...

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What can I find on this page? On this page, you can find a summary for all the study materials you need for the developmental specialization of the Psychology bachelor's programme at the University of Amsterdam. There is a link for all the separate courses. The courses have been organized into ...

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What?

  • On this page we discuss questions students have with the 2022/2023 course "Developmental Psychology" at the University of Amsterdam
  • You have the opportunity to ask any questions you might have and I will try and answer them
  • On 30/1/2023 you can ask questions!

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