Nature And Nurture Controversy

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The term development refers to how people grow, adapt, and change over the course of their lifetimes, through physical development, personality development, socioemotional development, cognitive development (thinking), and language development. This chapter presents several major theories of human development including Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive and moral development, Lev Vygotsky's theory of cognitive development, Erik Erikson's theory of personal and social development, and Lawrence Kohlberg's stages of moral reasoning. Children are not miniature adults. They think differently, they see the world differently, and they live by different moral and ethical principles than adults do. One of the first requirements of effective teaching …show more content…

Today, most developmental psychologists acknowledge the role of a variable combination of both inborn factors and social experiences when explaining children's behavior. Another issue revolves around the continuous and discontinuous theories, emphasizing how change occurs. One perspective assumes that development occurs in a smooth progression as skills develop and parents and the environment provide experiences. This continuous theory of development would suggest that children are capable of thinking and acting like adults, given the proper experience and education. Piaget explored both why and how mental abilities change over time, assuming that the child is an active organism in this process. Thus, development in general depends on the child's active interaction with the environment according to Piaget, evidencing his direct application of biological principles and methods to formulate this

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