EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT THEORIES
GENERAL OBJECTIVES OF THE SUBJECT
At the end of the course, Individuals will analyze the elements of the communication and
will explain the basic principles of this course.
3. Early Childhood Development Theories
3.1 Abstract Developmental Theories
3.2 Attachment Theory
3.3 Cognitive Theory
3.4 Applied Behavior Analysis
3.5 Social Learning Theory
3.6 Parenting Styles
3.7 Ecological Systems Theory
3.1 Abstract Developmental Theories
Abstract Developmental theories are useful towards understanding how children
learn and grow, and by what means their trajectories can be supported. Most
theorists agree that both biology and experience are key factors that shape
developmental outcomes. Risk and protective factors are said to contribute to
development and often can be modified through intervention efforts. The
prevention model emphasizes a foundation of supports and services aimed to foster
healthy development.
Keywords Secure base behavior • Emotional regulation • Egocentric • Accommodation •
Assimilation • Equilibrium • Zone of proximal development • Positive reinforcement •
Negative reinforcement • Punishment • Parenting styles • Modeling • Ecological theory •
Risk and protective factors • Prevention model
Theories of development provide a framework for thinking about human growth,
development, and learning. If you have ever wondered about what motivates human
thought and behavior or how personalities form, understanding these theories can provide
useful insight into both the individual and societal influences on early development. The
next section will briefly review the major developmental theories that help to explain
how development unfolds, sources of vulnerability and protection that influence child
development, and how the course of development may be altered by prevention and
intervention efforts. Understanding factors which may support or compromise
development and integrating this knowledge into one’s work with children and their
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families are key to supporting healthy developmental outcomes and creating trusting
partnerships with caregivers.
3.2 Attachment Theory
Attachment theory is rooted in the joint work of John Bowlby and Mary
Ainsworth, whose research first documented the importance of the relationship that
developed between the mother and her child. Additionally, this research helped to
document the detrimental impact upon children’s development resulting from
parental separation, deprivation, or bereavement (Ainsworth & Bowlby, 1991).
Attachment is thought to be developed in phases, beginning before birth, when mothers
first develop emotional feelings for their unborn babies. Attachment is believed to be a
lifelong process, involving both intimacy and independence.
Newborn babies have been described as “wired for feelings and ready to learn” (National
Research Council and Institute of Medicine [NRCIM], 2000), and advances in research
about early brain development support the importance of nurturing during the earliest
years of life (NRCIM, 2000). In the first 2 months after birth, the baby and his or her
caregivers must adjust and adapt to the changes brought on by the baby’s first few weeks
at home. During the early attachment phase, the baby learns to signal caregivers, who in
return, respond to the baby’s needs for food and comfort. Emotional regulation is a
process whereby the infant learns to manage stressful situations through interactions with
his or her caregivers, which eventually helps the infant to self-sooth.
The quality of early caregiving is thought to either assist or impede the infant’s ability to
regulate inner emotional states; when the caregiver responds consistently to the baby’s
signals, the baby begins to develop a sense of competence and enjoys social interactions.
By 2–7 months of life, the baby’s feeding and sleeping cycles are becoming more
regulated and predictable. Babies are more interactive, easier to care for, and will smile at
their caregivers. By 6 months of age, babies show differentiated emotions of joy,
surprise, sadness, disgust, and anger, respond to the emotional expressions of others, and
enjoy turn-taking vocalizing.
Around 7–9 months of age, the preference for familiar caregivers and protests around
separation from them emerges and is referred to as separation anxiety. When babies
become “attached,” they become increasingly wary and anxious around strangers, and it
becomes even more important for the caregiver to offer comfort, nurturance, and
protection. Babies become attached to caregivers with whom they have had significant
amounts of interaction. Caregivers are described as being hierarchically arranged in terms
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of preference, so that the baby has a most preferred caregiver, a next most preferred
caregiver, etc.; however, there is thought to be a limit to the attachment capacity. Serious
attachment disturbances become evident in settings where babies have to depend upon
large numbers of caregivers, such as in institutions, or when there are frequent
disruptions of caregivers, such as in foster care placements (Smyke, Dumitrescu, &
Zeanah, 2002).
The concept of secure base behavior, which emerges during toddlerhood (12–20
months), describes the willingness of the child to venture out from the caregiver to safely
explore the world (Ainsworth & Bowlby, 1991). Secure base behavior develops along
with the toddler’s ability to walk and explore and the toddler’s new sense of will. A
toddler’s ability to say “no” demonstrates that he or she has developed a solid sense of
self as separate from the caregiver. The caregiver must learn to guide the child’s behavior
by setting limits firmly and lovingly to keep the toddler safe and secure. At the same
time, the caregiver must reinforce and build the child’s self-confidence through positive
reinforcement.
Between 20 and 24 months, the toddler’s attachment continues to evolve to others outside
of the immediate family through exposure to new experiences in community settings such
as daycares. Communication and play skills become more developed and complex.
Securely attached children are described as more autonomous, socially confident, flexible
in problem solving, and affectionate. By age 3, such children are described as empathetic,
have better social skills, and have become good communicators. In summary, attachment
theory posits that early human relationships and experiences lay the foundation for later
development and learning.
3.3 Cognitive Theory
Certainly, anyone trained to work with young children has come across the work of
Jean Piaget. Piaget is best known for his theory of cognitive development in
children, which proposed that children’s cognitive skills progress through a series
of stages in which new information from experiences is taken in and understood.
Stages in early childhood development include the sensori-motor (ages birth to 24
months) and preoperational (ages 2–6 years) periods. In the sensori-motor period,
children learn to coordinate and repeat actions which are pleasurable. They also begin to
understand that symbols (words) can represent objects or events and to comprehend the
concept of object permanence, meaning that objects continue to exist, even when not
visible. In the preoperational period, language becomes the hallmark of development.
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Children begin to engage in pretend play and will take on roles such as Mommy or
Daddy. However, they are still egocentric, or unable to take the view of another person.
Piaget believed that from birth, children are driven to explore and master their own
environment, take pleasure in mastery, and develop self-confidence through doing.
Children learn by taking in new information (assimilation), which adds to and changes
(accommodation) their prior understanding and knowledge (schemas). For example, if a
child’s experience has been with small dogs, she might believe that all dogs are furry,
have four legs, bark, and are small. When she encounters a big dog, she must take in the
new information and modify her existing schema so that it makes sense. Piaget explained
that children must strike a balance between assimilation and accommodation
(equilibrium), and in doing so, are able to move from one stage of thought to the next
stage. Thus, children in the sensori-motor and preoperational stages of development must
have experiences and opportunities to learn new information and concepts.
Caregivers can facilitate children’s learning by providing them ample opportunities to
explore and by monitoring them to keep them safe. The insights offered by psychologist
Lev Vygotsky are also important to consider in working with young children. Vygotsky
coined the term zone of proximal development, which refers to the ideal level of
adult/older child support or assistance that a child needs to learn a new skill. Scaffolding
refers to the adjustment that one must make with supports, in order to enhance the child’s
independence and confidence in learning new skills. Like Piaget, Vygotsky emphasized
the importance of play in learning new language and cognitive skills, and along with
attachment theorists believed that play enhanced social development. Play becomes the
vehicle through which children learn and internalize social rules, which develops self-
regulation, and relationships with others (Vygotsky, 1978).
3.4 Applied Behavior Analysis
Applied behavior analysis (ABA) has been referred to as “the science devoted to
theunderstanding and improvement of human behavior” (Cooper, Heron, &
Heward, 2007). Behavior is understood by observing the relationship of behavior
to the environment, which incorporates rules governing learning and maintenance
of behaviors. ABA always involves careful measurement of behavior and its
consequences, and utilizes behavioral technology to strengthen desired behaviors
and to weaken undesirable behaviors.
Other terms for ABA include learning theory (most often used in educational
settings), behaviorism (associated mostly with Skinner and early pioneers in this
field), and behavior modification. Positive Behavior Support (PBS) emerged from
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ABA and emphasizes the prevention of inappropriate behavior, understanding the
function of behavior, redirection of problem behaviors, and teaching replacement
skills. ABA has been used successfully with individuals of all ages and abilities,
and is implemented across settings such as home, school, or other community
settings.
Behavior, by definition, must be observable and measurable, and includes both reflexive
and operant behaviors. Reflexive behaviors are those which automatically occur.
Reflexive behaviors can also become linked to a neutral stimulus. For example, a dog
will automatically salivate to food; however, if one rings a bell right before feeding a
dog, the dog will eventually salivate to the sound of the bell, even without the food being
presented. In fact, the dog may even salivate when a doorbell rings, a timer goes off, or to
anything similar to the bell, and this is called generalization. However, if one continues
to ring the bell over a period of time and does not present food, the dog will no longer
salivate, which is called extinction.
This technology is used to help people overcome fears or anxiety responses, by gradually
exposing them to anxiety-evoking events, while teaching them to relax. Operant
behaviors refer to behaviors as they are maintained by consequences, or the outcomes of
the behavior. If the behavior is increased, the consequence is referred to as reinforcement.
Positive reinforcement includes consequences such as food, attention, or activities that
increase the probability that the behavior will reoccur.
An example of positive reinforcement is praise for desired behavior. Negative
reinforcement refers to consequences which are avoided through the behavior. For
example, a driver may slow down when he notices a police car ahead of him. This
behavior results in avoiding a ticket, which increases the likelihood of slowing down in
the presence of a police car in the future. Punishment is a consequence that may
temporarily stop a behavior from occurring; for example, if the driver is ticketed for
speeding, he may slow down for a while. Extinction refers to a process of withholding
reinforcement that has maintained behavior, which will lead to a decline of the behavior.
Ignoring unwanted behavior will gradually extinguish that behavior if practiced
consistently.
Shaping refers to a process of teaching new skills through the process of reinforcement.
By breaking down the desired behavior into simple skills, and reinforcing each skill, the
desired goal will eventually be reached. If there is also undesired behavior, one may
consider combining reinforcement and extinction; for example, ignoring undesirable
behavior, while reinforcing desired behavior, will eventually result in increases of desired
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behavior. Schools have utilized principles of ABA not only to address challenging
behaviors once they have occurred but also to prevent these behaviors from occurring in
the first place. School-wide PBS combines ABA technology within a prevention
framework, such that all students benefit from school-wide supports such as social skills
training, while those students with more intensive needs receive the attention that they
require to be successful (Sugai & Horner, 2005). This model has been successfully
implemented in early childhood through high school settings and emphasizes the
following:
1) Proactive instructional approaches to teaching and improving social behaviors
2) Conceptually sound and empirically validated practices
3) Systems change to support effective practices
4) Data-based decision making
For young children, and children with disabilities, the following PBS strategies are
endorsed (Fox, Carta, Strain, Dunlap, & Hemmeter, 2010):
1) Functional Behavioral Assessment and Assessment-Based Interventions
2) Functional Communication Training
3) Self-Management/Monitoring
4) Choice Making
3.5 Social Learning Theory
Social learning theory emerged from learning theory and helps to explain how new
behavior may be learned simply by watching others (Bandura, 1977). Social
learning theory is also known as modeling or vicarious learning. Through the
controversial Bobo Doll experiments, Bandura proved that young children exposed
to televised aggression became more aggressive, even though their behaviors had
not been reinforced through consequences. Social learning is thought to be
influenced by internal processes involving attention, memory, and motivation,
which might not be as readily observable as behavior and its consequences.
Young children are especially attuned to learning through modeling or watching others,
especially if they identify with the model, or see that the model is reinforced for its
actions. Thus, aggressive and violent actions shown by cartoon characters or other media
and seen by children may actually influence children to behave in similar ways,
especially if the character is reinforced for its actions.
3.6 Parenting Styles
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Parenting styles is a concept first described by Diana Baumrind (1966) and later
expanded by Maccoby and Martin (1983). It refers to the degree to which parents
respond to their child’s needs, disciplinary strategies they use, parental expectations for
maturity and control, and the effects that this has on their child’s development. There are
four styles of parenting:
1) Authoritarian , or “too hard,” parenting style is described as highly demanding
but not responsive parenting. Children are expected to follow strict rules, and not
following rules will result in punishment. These parents value obedience, tradition,
and order, and expect children to obey without questioning. This type of parenting
style may lead to children who are obedient and proficient, but less happy and self-
confident. In extreme cases, abusive parents may fall in this category.
2) Permissive, or “too soft,” parenting style is depicted as low demands, but highly
responsive. Parents, who are permissive, place few demands on the child, allow the
child to regulate his or her own behavior, and remain nurturing and
communicative. Parents take on the role more of a friend than a parent. This may
lead to children who seem spoiled or self-centered, and they do not perform as well
in school.
3) Authoritative, or “just right,” parenting style is portrayed as moderately
demanding and responsive. Authoritative parents set and reinforce limits, but are
much more responsive and willing to listen to questions. When children fail to
meet expectations, they are more likely to be forgiving instead of punishing, and
see discipline as teaching. Children of authoritative parents are thought to be the
most happy, capable, and successful.
4) Uninvolved parenting style is characterized by few demands, low responsiveness,
and little communication. These parents seem to be detached from their child’s
life and, in extreme cases, may neglect or reject their child. Their children may
lack self-control, have lower self-esteem, and are less competent than peers.
Various researchers have supported the authoritative parenting style as being the most
beneficial towards raising happy, confident, and capable children (Baumrind, 1991;
Guzell & Vernon-Feagans, 2004 ; Neary & Eyberg, 2002 ). As such, the authoritative
parenting style is the most often included in the evidence-based parenting programs.
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3.7 Ecological Systems Theory
Ecological systems theory was proposed by Urie Bronfenbrenner (1979) to help
explain how children develop within the context of their world. He described five
systems that influence development, Microsystem, Mesosystem, Exosystem,
Macrosystem, and Chronosystem, and considered that the person’s biology also
contributed to this system. Thus, both environmental and biological factors are
thought to shape development and child outcomes.
Bronfenbrenner is one of the founders of the Head Start Program, a federal
program intended to improve cognitive and developmental outcomes for children
and their families from low income backgrounds through education, health,
nutrition, and parent training efforts.
The concept of risk and protective factors emerges out of ecological systems theory.
Those features which are thought to contribute to behavioral disorders and poor
developmental outcomes are defined as risk factors. Risk factors, which are biological in
nature, reside within the child and include prenatal exposure to substances, premature
birth, temperament, developmental delays, chronic medical conditions, and insecure
attachments. Environmental risk factors, or those which are external to the child, include
factors such as inconsistent caregiving, poverty, abuse, and neglect.
Protective factors, on the other hand, are thought to improve self-regulation and behavior
and, again, may be described as within-child factors and external factors. Within-child
protective factors include health and wellness, high cognitive skills, and strong adaptive
skills. External protective factors include warm and predictable caregiving relationships,
safe experiences and environments, and firm and consistent discipline, as well as
community supports, health services, schools, laws, etc.
a) Prevention Model - Concerns about young children’s health and well-being have
caused researchers and practitioners to think in terms of prevention. The public
health prevention model emphasizes multiple layers of supports and services aimed
to decrease risk factors and reduce disorders, in order to promote better outcomes
(Kazak, 2006). In the case of young children, the principle of nurturing
environments is proposed to prevent multiple problems and improve success
(Mercy & Saul, 2009).
b) Primary Prevention - refers to efforts which target all children and families. An
example of primary prevention would be the Back-to-Sleep campaign, which is
intended to reduce infant deaths due to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or SIDS.
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c) Secondary Prevention / Intervention is more intensive and is targeted towards at-
risk populations, with Head Start being a prime example as it supports young
children at risk for school failure due to poverty.
d) Tertiary Prevention / Intervention is considered to be the most intensive support
within the prevention model, and intended for children and their families who are
already experiencing significant difficulties. Federal special education and early
intervention are examples of tertiary prevention/intervention, as only the most at-
risk are eligible for those services, and the intention is to prevent further damage
and improve outcomes.
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