Ch. 1 Objectives

Answer the following questions on a separate word document. You may answer in note/bullet-point format.

Due: Tues. Sept. 3
Value: 30 points

Ch. 1- Studying a Child’s World

1.     Define child development. How is the field useful?

2.     Explain the contributions of Charles Darwin to the field of child development.

3.     Identify factors that led to child development becoming a science.

4.     Define physical, cognitive, and psychosocial development.

5.     How are the three domains from #4 intertwined?

6.     Summarize the history of adolescence as a separate stage.

7.     Identify the ages and stages of child development.

8.     Explain the role of individual differences on development.

9.     Identify the influences of heredity and environment

10. Define maturation. How does it affect development.

11. Summarize the impact of socioeconomic status on a person’s life.

12. Distinguish between normative and nonnormative life events.

13. Define critical period. How does it relate to imprinting?

14. Define plasticity. How does it relate to sensitive periods?

15. List the 6 emerging consensus statements in which most researchers agree.

Course Overview

Units of Study:

Ch. 1: Basic Concepts in the Study of Child Development and the Family

Early approaches; studying the lifespan; an emerging consensus; domains and periods of development; influences on development

Ch. 3: Forming a New Life: Conception, Heredity, and Environment

Becoming parents; mechanisms of heredity; nature and nurture

Ch. 4: Pregnancy and Prenatal Development

Stages of prenatal development; environmental influences on prenatal development; monitoring prenatal development

Ch. 5: Birth and the Newborn Baby

The birth process; characteristics of the newborn baby; monitoring baby’s health; newborns and parents

Ch. 6: Physical Development and Health During the First Three Years

Patterns of growth; molding the brain; early sensory capacities; motor development; health

Ch. 7 (Part 1): Cognitive Development During the First Three Years

Approaches to studying cognitive development- includes part of chapter 2

Ch. 7 (Part 2): Language development- includes parts of chapters 10 and 13

            Influences on language development from birth to early childhood

Ch. 8: Psychosocial Development During the First Three Years

Emotions and temperament; developing attachments with caregivers; developing autonomy in toddlerhood; sociability with siblings and non-siblings

Ch. 9 and 12: Physical Development and Health in Early and Middle Childhood

Nutrition; motor development; health and safety

Ch. 10: Cognitive Development in Early Childhood

The preoperational stage; memory development; intelligence; early childhood education

Ch. 11: Psychosocial Development in Early Childhood

            Self-concept, gender differences, parenting, relationships with other children

Ch. 13: Cognitive Development in Middle Childhood

The concrete operational stage; memory and processing; assessment of intelligence; the child in school

Ch. 14: Psychosocial Development in Middle Childhood

Self-esteem; family structure; peer relationships; mental health