Abstract
Psychologists study children for two main reasons. First, they want to find out how a helpless, naïve and totally dependent baby manages in due course to become a competent, knowledgeable adult. They are interested therefore in studying the process of development. The second reason stems from the many social problems associated with childhood. Should we protect children from viewing violence on television? Are children of mothers who go out to work more likely to become delinquent? Does hospitalization in the early years produce later difficulties? How can one mitigate the effects of divorce on children? Why do some parents become baby batterers? Increasingly the psychologist is asked to examine such problems and produce answers useful to society. It is primarily to this aspect of child psychology that we pay attention here.
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Bernstein, B. (1959) A public language: some sociological implications of linguistic form. British Journal of Sociology, 10, 311–326.
Bernstein, B. (1971) Class, Codes and Control. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Bernstein, B. (1973) A brief account of the theory of codes. In V. Lee (ed.), Social Relationships and Language. Bletchley: Open University.
Branfenbrenner, U. (1977) The Experimental Ecology of Human Development. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
Gahagan, G. and Gahagan, D. (1976) Talk Reform. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Hess, R. and Shipman, V. (1972) Early experience and the socialization of the cognitive modes in children. In A. Cashdan and E. Grugeon (eds), Language in Education. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Kaufman, I.C. and Rosenblum, L.A. (1967) Depression in infant monkeys separated from their mothers. Science, 155, 1030–1031.
Labov, W. (1972) The logic of nonstandard English. In P.H. Mussen, J.J. Conger and J. Kagan (eds), Basic and Contemporary Issues in Developmental Psychology. New York: Harper & Row.
Mason, W.A. (1968) Early social deprivation in nonhuman primates: implications for human behavior. In D.C. Glass (ed.), Biology and Behavior: Environmental influences. New York: Rockefeller University Press.
Rosen, H. (1972) Language and Class: A critical look at the theories of Basil Bernstein. Bristol: The Falling Press.
Suomi, S.J., Harlow, H.F. and McKinney, W.T. (1972) Monkey psychiatrists. American Journal of Psychiatry, 128, 927–932.
Whendall, K. (1975) Social Behaviour. London: Methuen.
Zigler, E. (1973) Project Head Start: success or failure? Children Today, 2, 2–7.
Annotated reading
Bernstein, B. and Henderson, D. (1969) Social class differences in the relevance of language to socialization. In M. Argyle (ed.), Social Encounters. Harmondsworth: Penguin. It is always useful to read people in the original as well as others’ accounts of what they say.
Booth, T. (1975) Growing up in Society. London: Methuen (Essential Psychology Series). A general account of the influences that determine the way in which people grow up together. It takes into account not only the contribution of psychology but of such other social sciences as sociology, anthropology and social history. Its main value lies in the way child development is seen as occurring within the social context of each particular culture.
Bowlby, J. (1965) Child Care and the Growth of Love. Harmondsworth: Penguin. A more widely available version of Bowlby’s classic report, first published in 1951, concerning the link between maternal deprivation and mental pathology. It should be read in conjunction with Rutter’s book (see below).
Clarke, A.M. and Clarke, A.D.B. (1976) Early Experience: Myth and evidence. London: Open Books. A collection of contributions by different authors, all concerned with the question of whether early experience exerts a disproportionate influence on later development. A wide range of research studies are reviewed, and the consensus is against seeing the early years as in some sense more important than later stages of development.
Dunn, J. (1977) Distress and Comfort. London: Fontana/Open Books. Discusses some of the issues that concern parents during the early stages of the child’s life, with particular reference to the causes and alleviation of distress, but places these issues in the wider context of the parent-child relationship and its cultural significance.
Harlow, H.F. and Harlow, M.K. (1968) Effects of various mother-infant relationships on rhesus monkey behaviours. In B. Foss (ed.), Determinants of Infant Behaviour. London: Methuen. An account that looks specifically at the mother-infant relationship.
Harlow, H.F. and Suomi, S.J. (1970) The nature of love — simplified. American Psychologist, 25, 161–166. Again, an original source written in a very clear way.
Kempe, R.S. and Kempe, H. (1978) Child Abuse. London: Fontana/Open Books. An account by the foremost experts on child abuse of the state of knowledge regarding all aspects of this vexed area: causation, treatment and prevention.
Lewin, R. (1975) Child Alive. London: Temple-Smith. Various researchers summarize in brief and popularized form what we have learnt about child development in recent years. Most contributions deal with young children, and the book as a whole emphasizes how psychologically sophisticated even babies already are.
Rutter, M. (1981) Maternal Deprivation Reassessed (2nd edn). Harmondsworth: Penguin. A systematic review of the evidence on this controversial topic that has accumulated since Bowlby highlighted its importance. Discusses the various studies that have been carried out on the effects, both short-and long-term, of early deprivation of maternal care.
Schaffer, H.R. (1971) The Growth of Sociability. Harmondsworth: Penguin. A description of work on the earliest stages of social development. It shows how sociability in the early years has been studied, and reviews what we have learnt about the way in which a child’s first social relationships are formed.
Schaffer, H.R. (1977) Mothering. London: Fontana/Open Books. An account of what is involved in being a parent. Brings together the evidence from recent studies of the mother-child relationship, and examines different conceptions of the parent’s task. Gives special emphasis to the theme of mutuality in the relationship.
Tizard, B. (1977) Adoption: A second chance. London: Open Books. An account of an important research study on children in residential care who were subsequently adopted. Raises some crucial issues regarding the effects of early experience and the public care of young children.
Copyright information
© 1982 The British Psychological Society
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Schaffer, H.R. (1982). Social development in early childhood. In: Psychology for Occupational Therapists. Psychology for Professional Groups. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-16882-8_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-16882-8_5
Publisher Name: Palgrave, London
Print ISBN: 978-0-333-31883-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-16882-8
eBook Packages: Palgrave Religion & Philosophy CollectionPhilosophy and Religion (R0)