Evaluate a chosen perspective relating to child development. Compare this perspective with others and apply them to a chosen childhood setting.

Psychology is the science of behaviour. It looks at thought, feelings and images. Biological, environmental and psychological factors are elements of behaviour. (See appendix 1) The goals of psychology are to understand, describe, control and predict certain behaviour in particular circumstances. Biological, psychodynamic, behavioural, cognitive, humanistic and sociocultural are perspectives on behaviour. The humanistic approach is known as the “third force” founded by Abraham Maslow. The first and second are behaviourism, and psychoanalysis, derived from the early work of Sigmund Freud. Humanism states the most important aspect of human psychology is how they achieve their sense of self and actualise their potential. It has four main concepts: responsibility, the ‘here and now’, phenomenology, and personal growth. I will be focusing on the humanistic approach in relation to a primary school setting. Comparing this perspective with others.

Abraham Maslow (1908-1970), a key theorist of the humanistic approach believes that human functioning is holistic, i.e. looking at the whole self. The needs and motivation of a person is reflected upon individual personal experiences.

Maslow stated: “a good life is a process, not a state of being”.

He is known for his ‘Hierarchy of Needs’. Firstly physiological which are basic needs such as food. Secondly safety, thirdly a sense of belonging and love. Fourthly self-esteem, fifth are cognitive needs and finally the innate biological drive to become self-actualised.

This is where a person is problem centred and has an appreciation of life. He states that children can only begin to develop and become self-actualised if basic needs are met. He stated:

'The desire to become more and more what one is, to become everything that one is capable of becoming'. Self-actualisation is the epitome of personal growth (Maslow, 1955)

Carl Rogers (1902-1987) was recognised for his ‘client-centred’ therapy. He worked on the humanistic personality theory. It extended Maslow’s idea of ‘person –centres’ psychotherapy, with his emphasis on empathy, Unconditional Positive Regard (UPR) and genuiness. UPR does not put conditions on love. A lack of UPR in childhood e.g. only loving children when they are obedient could lead to a lack of self-acceptance, which could affect their development into adulthood. (The Guardian, Dec, 2002) The ‘self’ is a theory proposed by Rogers (1951), relating to development, adjustment and growth and responsibility of individual actions. The main idea is ‘self concept’. This influences how we behave, i.e. a child in a nursery who sees himself or herself as a confident person will behave very differently to a child who is insecure. The other main idea is the ‘ideal self’, i.e. the person we aspire to. The closer the ‘ideal self’ is to the ‘real self’ the happier a person will be. (Mead 1934). Rogers believes that if a child’s feelings are inconsistent with their self-image, they will become incongruent, i.e. see themselves differently to how others perceive them. He believes that positive or negative judgement by others cause children to develop their internal value. This is called conditions of worth.

He designed an experiment labelled the Q-Sort test. It investigated ‘self concept’. Statements were given to a child e.g. I am shy. The child then had to sort the statements out in correspondence to how they really are (real self) and how much they are like their ideal self. The lower the correlation between the two the less congruence (high self esteem) the child has.

Infants form a close bond with their primary care giver in the first year of life and in the second year often become distressed if they are separated. John Bowlby (1951) introduced the concept of ‘attachment’ in his report on the effects of maternal deprivation. In 1961 Bowlby said that the pattern of an infants early attachment to parents would form their social relationships later on in life. He suggested that if the primary care giver had long periods away from the child, the child’s first few months of life would be disturbed resulting in emotional scars, leading to behavioural problems. (Banyard et. al. 2000)

There is strength in the humanistic theory. It promotes physical and emotional topics such as good health and happiness. Also UPR can be a base for therapy and be applied in an educational setting. It emphasises children’s real ideas and experiences. This however can be a criticism as what is a real experience for one child may not be for another.

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In a primary school setting an effective humanistic approach is the teacher assessing each child as an individual e.g. is the child extrovert or introvert. (See Appendix 2). A humanistic based school will encourage the child’s positive self-direction and freedom. Children have the responsibility to chose what they learn and develop a sense of creativity in their thinking.

Humanists argue that a child’s feelings in the classroom are as important as academic facts. Rose. M. Gianconia and Larry. V. Hedges (1982) believe that the children see the teacher as a role model for attitudes and beliefs.

Neo-Humanism relates to human consciousness. It has important implications for the way classrooms and the curriculum can be structured. It emphasises the importance of looking at learning in relation to the child’s spirit, mind and body. It uses both the Eastern and Western cultures stating that learning should be a cultural experience for the child. Western educators have focused upon the cognitive, social aspects of learning. However this shows little understanding of the role of consciousness as a way of learning. Eastern educators focus on the spiritual dimension of the child’s learning and the spirit of the child. It does not believe that the learning of these cultures should have an intellectual process. They appreciate different cultures and promote continuity in these cultures as a way to expand the child’s learning experiences. By bringing these two perspectives together neo-humanism provides a solid base for education.

Developmental psychologists think that childhood occurs in three stages. These are infancy, early childhood and middle childhood. This view recognises that each period of growth has its own changes and challenges. However many aspects of childhood development are more continuous such as physical development, social abilities and emotional understanding. Neo humanism promotes continuity in relation to regional cultures. Neo-humanism proposes that creative experiences are important in supportive learning of culture. Each classroom has its own learning culture that is a result of the relationship between the teacher and the child. .

Like neo-humanism the sociocultural perspective looks at the manner in which culture is transmitted to its members and the similarities and differences between children within the same culture. It emphasises individualism and self identity. For example, two children from an Asian culture can be very different in their personalities. (See Appendix 3) Socioculturalists believe that child’s growth is emphasised by their values, goals and expectations of their culture. Developmental abilities may differ for children in different cultures.

In psychology ‘gender’ is a term usually referred to in a social and cultural aspect. In contrast the term ‘sex’ is usually referred to in a biological sense, whereas societies stereotype in terms of gender. Practitioners and peers treat girls differently to that of boys. Children’s’ knowledge about sex and gender role expectations develop quite early. This usually occurs under the age of three. Part of gender role development is that girls’ and boys internalise sex stereotypes. Schools play a major part in gender appropriate behaviour and appearance as well as the media. .

Albert Bandura (1977) developed the ‘social learning theory’. He believed children learnt through imitation of other people (observational learning). This could lead children mimicking behaviour they observe in the media.

A criticism of the humanistic perspective is that it appears too focused on the individual. Children may not know themselves well enough to make their own decisions. Another criticism is that self-actualisation may only be the reflection of Maslow’s values and beliefs, it ignores external aspects of human behaviour.

A lack of self-actualisation may not be a result of individualism but social pressure. Children may find it hard to become self-actualised if ‘risk’ factors are involved, e.g. a sense of not belonging. However resilient children who were subjected to ‘risk’ factors may develop into responsible adults with the aid of ‘protective’ factors, e.g. child psychologist. The humanistic approach can be looked upon as ‘idealistic’. Some may say it is a ‘romantic’ notion that is not effective in society.

In relation to a primary school setting the humanistic approach and the behaviourist approach contrast on what rewards will be most effective for a child’s learning. Behaviourists believe that extrinsic rewards are more effective, i.e. a gold star in the classroom if the child has produced conscientious work. The humanistic approach favours the idea of intrinsic rewards i.e. a reward within themselves such as satisfaction. A disadvantage of the humanistic approach is some children may not want to learn unless an extrinsic reward is given.

Behaviourists believe that if a child has continuity in the classroom their learning will improve. They praise the child for good work and punish in terms of negative criticism for unsatisfactory work. Humanism disagrees with both praise and punishment, as some children may only work when they are given praise from teachers and not work when they are unnoticed.

Teachers’ in favour of the humanistic approach put effort into developing the child’s self esteem. It is important for the child to feel confident, (high self-esteem) and feels they can achieve appropriate goals (high self-efficiency).

This type of learning is known as child centred. The child takes responsibility for its own learning. Children are active participants in their development, unlike behaviourists who see the child as passive.

Behaviourists see individual differences in children as a product of their previous learning and environment. For example, if a child’s behaviour is consistent it is likely that their environment is a consistent one. (See Appendix 4).

The humanistic teacher is a facilitator not a dictator, they are concerned with the child’s emotional welfare. They believe feeling and thinking are inter-linked and feeling good about yourself aids learning. E.g. a child sat on the mat crying will be unable to learn efficiently as they are not feeling good about themselves. (see appendix 5).

There is contrast in the thinking of the humanistic approach and the psychodynamic one. The humanistic approach argues for healthy growth whereas the psychodynamic one does not offer a description of how to develop. (Ruble et. al. 1981). The humanistic approach does not believe that humans should be judged or influenced in their choices, all humans should have free will. In contrast however is the psychodynamic approach, which believes that humans are influenced in their choices due to their unconscious forces. The psychodynamic approach believes that as a child grows their personality grows one quality at a time. Therefore occurring in stages making the child’s development discontinuous.

The psychodynamic and the humanistic approach are both similar in that they are both perspectives that have a therapy base. They are both seen as none scientific. They are both theories that can not be tested, are subjective and have lack of evidence.

The psychodynamic approach includes all theories in psychology and sees human functioning as an interaction between drive and forces, especially the unconscious conflict between the different structures of personality. Freud’s psychoanalysis was the original psychodynamic approach.

Treatment for anxiety is to look at the child’s past and resolve any conflicts. In contrast humanism states that therapy should be based on the present and that the patient /child knows themselves well enough to understand their problems.

George Kelly (1955) puts prominence on humanism by viewing the child as an individual. The child constructs its own view of the world and is viewed as a scientist who develops its own interpretations of experiences and organising information in a hierarchical manner. His theory of personal construct psychology looks at how children construct themselves in the world. This can be used as a way to help those children showing emotional, social or intellectual problems. If a child is distressed the aid of discussion about alternative constructions can be made. (Butler et.al. 1998). For example, a child may show distress when asked to bake biscuits. (See Appendix 6)

Piaget (1896-1980) emphasised cognitive development. He studied children’s development of understanding. He believed it occurred in a discontinuous manner characterised by growth stages. Unlike the humanistic view that a child’s growth is continuous. Jerome Bruner (born 1915) and Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934) saw the child as an apprentice. They believe that ‘lone’ learning is not enough and the child should be helped through peers and adults. The child is active in learning as in the humanistic approach.

In relation to the nature/nurture debate the psychodynamic and cognitive approaches compare with humanism. They all believe that behaviour is a result from nature and nurture. They all state that behaviour is both an interaction between the person and environment and that we have inborn motive and drive. However the behaviourist approach is against the humanistic approach. Behaviourism states it is nurture that effects our behaviour.

Poverty can have an effect on a child’s psychological development and their personal growth. Bryan Egeland, Alan Sroufe and Andrew Collins of the Institute of Child Development are researching a parent-child project. It is a longitudinal study that looks at poverty as a risk factor in the development of children. A way of reducing negative effects of poverty is a stable early relationship between the parent and child. This promotes the child’s personal growth.

In conclusion all theories have their advantages and limitations. For example, Piaget’s theory is helpful in explaining a child’s cognitive development. Whereas Banduras cognitive social learning theory helps explain a child’s social development. The understanding of normal child development detects difficulties in the emotional, physical, social and cognitive. This enables teachers to prevent and treat these problems in the school setting.

References

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Ruble, D. N., Balaban, T., & Cooper, J. (1981). Gender constancy and the effects of sex-typed televised toy commercials. Journal of Child Development, No.52. pp. 667-673

‘The Guardian’, 7th December 2002

Appendices

1, In my family home environment there is a strong similarity in personalities between the adult and the child. Therefore supporting the biological theory that behaviour can be a result of genes.

2, In my experience at a Primary School, an effective humanistic approach was when the teacher assessed the child as an individual. In this case there was a child aged five. He had made an error in his writing. The teacher discussed this error with him privately, as the teacher knew that this particular child was shy and by discussing his error in front of other children it would in turn cause embarrassment for the child.

3, In my work experience at a hospital nursery there were a mixture of cultures. I noticed that their were two Asian children who were very different in personalities despite been from the same culture. One child was very extrovert socially and in their play whereas the other was introvert. This emphasises individualism supporting the sociocultural perspective.

4, In my experience at a private nursery I particularly picked up on the differences of those children whose environment had been disrupted by parents divorce e.t.c and those children’s whose home life had been a stable one with no emotional problems. Those children whose parents had been divorced often seemed withdrawn socially, those with an emotionally stable home life appeared to be emotionally stable and socially active at the nursery. This supports the aspect of behaviourism. If a child’s environment is stable the child themselves are more likely to a stable person.

5, In my experience at a nursery a child was sat on the may crying as the other children were taking part in a cooking activity. The Nursery Nurse approached the child and discovered the child was missing their mother. The Nursery Nurse told the child that their mother would be collecting them soon. The child’s emotional state then became calm and they were filled with confidence. The child then joined the others and took place in learning how to cook.

6, My experience at a nursery showed me that each child has their own perception of the world around them. This showed when one child seemed distressed when asked if he wanted to make biscuits with the other children. The Nursery Nurse discussed the situation with the child and discovered he was afraid he would not get a turn at stirring the mixture. When the Nursery Nurse explained that everyone would get a turn as the bowl would be passed round the table the child showed emotional relief and joined in with the activity. This supports Kelly’s personal construct theory.

33009493 Psychological Perspectives On Growth and Development 22 February 2004