Child Development

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the roles of nature versus nurture in the development of children. The paper discusses the view that a child's culture plays an important role in his or her development and goes into detail about the profound effects that subcultures can have on children. It then looks at the concept of cognitive solipsism, which suggests that at birth, brain structure and future function are already rigidly set. The paper compares these views and concludes that the degree to which culture affects a child's development must continue to be explored.

From the Paper:

"B. F. Skinner took a different view. His writing is often misunderstood to suggest that neither outside influences nor genetics have any significant role in shaping behavior. Actually, Skinner did not say that. He ignored issues such as genetics because he was interested in behavior with identifiable causes, and hence, behavior that could be changed (Debell, 1992). Skinner never statesd that behavior is largely determined by environmental factors, although many have interpreted his work in that way (Debell, 1992). Because Skinner's focus was exclusively on environmental causes of behavior, it is easy to conclude that he discounted the role of physiology and genetics in shaping our behavior. On the contrary, Skinner did not discount or oppose the role of genetics. Rather, he generally ignored it, because he was interested in looking for causes of behavior that we can control (Debell, 1992)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Bradley, Robert H., and Corwyn, Robert F. 2002. "Socioeconomic Status and Child Development." Annual Review of Psychology.
• Coll, Cynthia Garcia, and Szalacha, Laura A. 2004. "The Multiple Contexts of Middle Childhood." The Future of Children, Vol. 14.
• Cooper, Catherine R., and Denner, Jill. 1998. "Theories Linking Culture and Psychology: Universal and Community-Specific Processes." Annual Review of Psychology, Vol. 49.
• Debell, Camille S. 1992. "B. F. Skinner: Myth and Misperception." Teaching of Psychology, Vol. 19.
• Fleer, Marilyn. 2005. "Developmental Fossils-Unearthing the Artefacts of Early Childhood Education: The Reification of 'Child Development.'" Australian Journal of Early Childhood, Vol. 30.

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