Chapter Outline

The Stories of Erik Erikson and Jean Piaget

Research on Child Development

1. Why Research on Child Development Is Important
2. The Scientific Research Approach

Theories of Child Development

1. Psychoanalytic Theories
   1. Freud's Theory
   2. Erikson's Theory
2. Evaluating the Psychoanalytic Theories
3. Cognitive Theories
   1. Piaget's Cognitive Developmental Theory
   2. Vygotsky's Sociocultural Cognitive Theory
   3. The Information-Processing Approach
   4. Evaluating the Cognitive Theories
4. Behavioral and Social Cognitive Theories
   1. Pavlov's Classical Conditioning
   2. Skinner's Operant Conditioning
   3. Social Cognitive Theory
   4. Evaluating the Behavioral and Social Cognitive Theories
5. Ethological Theory
   1. Evaluating Ethological Theory
6. Ecological Theory
   1. Evaluating Ecological Theory
7. An Eclectic Theoretical Orientation

Research Methods

1. Measures
   1. Observation
   2. Interviews and Questionnaires
   3. Standardized Tests
   4. Case Studies
2. Correlational and Experimental Methods
   1. Correlational Method
   2. Experimental Method
3. Time Span of Research

Research Challenges

1. Ethics
2. Gender
3. Ethnicity and Culture
4. Being a Wise Consumer of Information about Children's Development