The two theories that this paper will be focused on is the behaviorism theory and cognitive development theory. The behaviorism theory also known as the learning theory that shows how behavior is learned and processed. Thed theory basically states that all behavior is learned, it is not interested in feelings and thoughts, only observable behaviors. The cognitive theory states that it studies how attitudes, belief, values, and actions shape how people think over time.
In this paper, I will be discussing about the how cognitive and behavioral development that is affected by the environment the child grows up in. As we know nurturing talks about how environmental influences play a role in shaping our development. During sensitive periods the organism becomes particularly vulnerable to certain types of stimuli in their environment.
From the stage of birth to the age of two, also known as the first two years, there is not really much about how the environment can affect the cognitive or the behavioral development of a child. Although it does talk about how to care for the environment of the fetus and the newborn since they are more prone to everyday stresses and diseases because they have not built up their immune system.
The newborn will have a lot of development that occurs inside the womb like the development of their organs and the brain. The developmental portion of the brain during this time is important since it would be the bedrock for the other development that would help the child later on (Tierney, 2009). By the age of two, the child’s environment will slowly start to affect their development, since the child will be exposed more to the daily stresses of life.
As we know the brain development is completed during the first two years of the childhood is only complete. The child’s brain structure is laid down within a few weeks after birth. These allow the brain to develop sensory intelligence, which then helps them develop the behaviors that help them understand their environment (Tierney, 2009).
During this time the child would start to develop sensorimotor intelligence. With the development of the sensorimotor intelligence, the child can now learn how to things for example the development of reflexes and learn about object permanence. Also, during the first two years and the early childhood, the environment of the child has an effect on the child’s learning. An example of this is that children in low income environments have a higher disadvantage than children with higher income.
The environment plays a huge role since the child would be exposed to stress or adversity at such a young age. If a child was from a low-income family, the environment would be stressed and toxic, since the child would see how the parents are stressed about money problems and how feed the family. The parents of a low-income children would not have the time to spend with the child since they probably work a lot to provide (Bell, 2017).
Therefore, the child ends up being exposed the environment that lacks the child interaction and child care that is needed for the child. While if the child was from a higher income family, the child would have their parents around and they would have more time to interact with the child and invest in the child care. According to the article about favorable and unfavorable environment it says, “society’s children must overcome hazards or disadvantage to become competent, it becomes particularly important to understand how competence is achieved in the context of adversity” (Masten, 1998). The child at this time can learn about the behavior from the environment that is around them which might help them later on in life. Children also pick up the context that is specific to his or her culture and learn that everyone is not the same.
These children who grow up in low-income environment tend to build resilience over time. They also have the competence to effectively adapt to the environment that can determine the major success in their cognitive and behavioral development (Masten, 1998).
At the stage of being a middle childhood and adolescence, both the cognitive and the majority of the behavioral development is seen. During the middle childhood stage, the child during this time begin to see things from other school-age children’s perspectives and begin to understand how their behavior affects others. The child usually at this time learns about the social cues that will eventually help them later on in life. Since they can now pick up on how their actions can cause someone else to feel pain.
Most early adolescents are fully capable of perspective taking and understand and consider other’s perspectives. The environment during this time is also crucial for the child as well, since they tend to change their behavior depending the people that they hang out around. In conclusion, the two theories do get affected by the environment that the child grows up in. Most of it really depends on how the child reacts and if the child can adapt to the ever changing environment.