The Developmentalists

In The Story of Psychology, Morton Hunt covers a division of Psychology known as Developmental Psychology in Chapter 12 titled “The Developmentalists.” Broken up into several sections, Hunt discusses Developmental Psychology by delving into subjects such as the English Proverb “Great Oaks from Little Acorns Grow,” Grand Theory and Non-Theory, A Giant and a Giant Theory, Cognitive Development, Maturation, Personality Development, Social Development, and Development from A to Z. In these 8 sections, Morton Hurt deliberates on Developmental Psychology. In this short essay, we will explore these topics as well as summarize and focus on key concepts of Developmental Psychology, and theories our author suggests to us.

Hunt opens the chapter by reciting to us several instances of Developmental Psychology. According to Morton Hunt, one of many of these situations goes as followed, “In a small office, a psychologist holds up a green poker chip and says to the ten-year-old girl seated on the other side of the desk, “Either the chip in my hand is red or it is not yellow. True or false?” She promptly says, “False.” Later that day he does the same with a Fifteen-year-old girl; she thinks a moment, then says, “True.” (p. 509). Hunt goes on to clarify the common quest among all Developmental Psychologists, which is that they seek to discover the processes by which the psychological acorn becomes a psychological oak. When Hunt says this, he gives light and clarification to the English Proverb, “Great Oaks from Little Acorns Grow.”

Next, the author discusses “Grand Theory and Non-Theory” by giving us a quick history lesson about how the late 19th century and early 20th century theories transformed the entire foundation of Developmental Psychology. At this time in Psychology, Hunt explains, “the leading theory in the field scanted details and hard data in favor of a bold and sweeping concept” (p. 511). Hunt also points out the importance of American James Mark Baldwin who made a very important contribution to developmental psychology. He turned the child study movement into one that was founded on experimentation and data gathering.

Furthermore, on the subject of “A Giant, and a Giant Theory,” Hunt introduces us to Jean Piaget, whom our author talks about throughout the entire chapter, and also agrees with, like many other Developmental Psychologists. They believed that Piaget was the greatest psychologist in childhood and adolescent development of the twentieth century and without his involvement in Psychology, as the British psychologist Peter Bryant would say, “child psychology would have been a meager thing” (p. 513). Piaget invented toys and puzzles for children in which he could study their development. He also shared his own concepts with the world, one of them being, “the mind, through its interaction with the environment, undergoes a series of metamorphoses. It does not merely accumulate experiences but is changed by them, achieving new and more advanced kinds of thinking, until by about age fifteen it is the sort of mind we think of as characteristically human” (p. 514).

Moreover, in the section of “Cognitive Development”, the author continues to discuss Piaget and his accomplishments at launching modern cognitive development studies in Europe and in America. The author compares the field of Cognitive Development to “an overgrown and unweeded garden” (p. 525). Though much of Cognitive Development was influenced by Piaget, it has evolved into something far beyond his original theories in memory recognition, sense of self/sense of competence, language and thought, language acquisition, intellectual development, cultural psychology, and evolutionary psychology. Piaget asks some very daunting questions such as, “Why is cautiousness and fearfulness far more common than boldness and bravery? Because, according to evolutionary psychology, it’s more adaptive: Our cautious ancestors were more likely to survive and procreate than our bold ancestors,” among many other questions (p. 537).

Additionally, when Hunt begins to discuss “Maturation,” which is the study of growth processes the physical body goes through that cause changes in a person’s behavior, he still incorporates Piaget because he often ignores or takes maturation for granted (p. 539). Hunt points out that it is difficult to observe these maturation behaviors without also observing learning, but he still acknowledges the ability to do by explaining that, “infants begin to babble at three or four months as a preparation for speech—but so do deaf children” (p. 539).

Personality Development and Social Development also focus on the natural programming of humans, absent from learning. The author discusses a Bowlby theory that suggests infants are genetically or “naturally” programmed to cry, smile, and make sounds, and coo, as it evokes care and in turn, their survival. Bowlby also suggests that the special bond created between mother and infant is crucial in the personality development of a child because without it, the child may develop “an affectionless character” and be “permanently vulnerable to psychopathology” (p. 547). That child will grow to act only in terms of survival and lack emotional responsiveness. Among many theories of Social Development, including a social-learning view, a cognitive-developmental view, a cultural psychology view, and evolutionary psychology view, the author highlights what he finds most interesting, the biology aspect and/or view. Hunt discusses, “that hormone levels begin to rise at around seven—long before secondary sex characteristics appear and sex-typed behavior becomes exaggerated” (p. 558).

Lastly, Development from A to Z is the idea of development continuing throughout life, meaning we can change and mold far beyond maturation, a point of view much different from Piaget and others theorists like him. Though this is much different from the concepts we previously learned, it is indeed one to consider in our overgrown and unweeded garden of Developmental Psychology.

Reference

Hunt, M. M. (1993). The story of psychology. New York: Doubleday.