Theory and Research in Behavioral Pediatrics: Volume 2

295 Pages·1984·6.86 MB·English

by  Barbara R. Tinsley

Theory
and Research in
Behavioral Pediatrics
2
Volume
A Continuation Order Plan is available for this series. A continuation order will bring
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Theory
and Research in
Behavioral Pediatrics
2
Volume
Edited by
Hiram E. Fitzgerald, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology
Michigan State University
East Lansing, Michigan
Barry M. Lester, Ph.D.
Director ofD evelopmental Research
Child Development Unit
Chl"ldren's Hospital Medical Center
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Harvard Medical School
Boston, Massachusetts
and
Michael W. Yogman, M.D.
Associate Chiif, Division of Child Development
Children's Hospital Medical Center
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Harvard Medical School
Boston, Massachusetts
SPRINGER SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, LLC
ISBN 978-1-4899-1662-4 ISBN 978-1-4899-1660-0 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4899-1660-0
© Springer Science+Business Media New York 1984
Originally published by Plenum Press, New York in 1984
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1984
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming,
recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher
Contribu tors
J. Lawrence Aber, Ph.D .• Department of Psychology, Barnard College,
Columbia University, New York, New York
Heidelise Als, Ph.D. • Child Development Unit, Children's Hospital Med
ical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
Catherine T. Best, Ph.D .• Department of Human Development, Cogni
tion, and Learning, Teachers College/Columbia University, New York,
New York
Nancy A. Carlson, Ph.D .• Center for the Study of Youth Development,
Stanford University, Stanford, California
Thomas Z. Cassell, Ph.D. • Plymouth Center for Human Development,
Northville, Michigan
Dante Cicchetti, Ph.D. • Department of Psychology and Social Relations,
William James Hall, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Frank H. Duffy, M. D .• Developmental Neurophysiology Laboratory, Sei
zure Unit and Department ofNeurology, Children's Hospital Medical
Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
v
vi CONTRIBUTORS
DonnaJ. Follansbee, M. S. • Department ofPsychiatry, Harvard Medical
School, Boston, Massachusetts
Stuart T. Hauser, M. D., Ph.D. • Department ofPsychiatry, Harvard Med
ical School, Boston, Massachusetts
FrancesJensen, M. D .• Developmental Neurophysiology Laboratory, Sei
zure Unit and Department ofNeurology, Children's Hospital Medical
Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
George Mower, Ph.D. • Developmental Neurophysiology Laboratory, Sei
zure Unit and Department ofNeurology, Children's Hospital Medical
Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
Ross D. Parke, Ph.D. • Department of Psychology, University of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois
Barbara R. Tinsley, Ph.D .• Department ofPsychology, University ofIlli
nois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois
Preface
Volume I of Theory and Research in Behavioral Pediatrics focused on issues of
early human development, with special emphasis given to assessment of the
preterm infant and to factors inftuencing the organization of the caregiver
infant relationship. Chapters in Volume 2 cover a broader range of topics
and encompass a wider age span. Chapter I provides a historical review of
the relationship between developmental psychology and pediatrics. The
authors, Barbara R. Tinsley and Ross D. Parke, discuss differences between
behavioral pediatrics and pediatric psychology and note that interdiscipli
nary collaboration in research and application has increased steadily in re cent
years. However, if similar collaborative efforts are to occur in education and
training of pediatricians and developmental psychologists, it will be necessary
to determine just what each discipline hopes to gain from such collaborative
efforts. Tinsley and Parke report the results of anational survey designed to
determine the areas of developmental psychology that pediatricians perceive
to be of potential benefit to them in their delivery of pediatric care. Results
of the survey suggest that there are many ways in which developmental
psychology could be in corpora ted into the pediatric curriculum.
In many respects, Chapter 2 sets the stage for the remaining chapters.
Nancy A. Carlson and Thomas Z. Cassel argue that behavioral pediatrics
research should be guided by a social-ecological theoretical model that is
firmly grounded in contemporary evolutionary theory and that stresses the
systemic nature of the organism and the environments to which the organism
adapts. Their theoretical stance rejects static, linear approaches to bio
behavioral organization because such approaches fail to account for the many
transformations that must occur as the individual "adapts to and makes
transitions to expanding social-ecological environments." Carlson and Cassel
encourage the study of the behaviors and environments of physicians and
other members of the health care system in order to determine how they
VlI
VIll PREFACE
inftuence patient access to this system, transitions from one component of
the system to another, and outcomes of primary care.
The idea of dynamic, evolving, adaptive, developmental systems is
implicit in Chapter 3, in which Frank H. Duffy, George Mower, Frances
]ensen, and Heidelise Als review evidence for neural plasticity. Drawing on
evidence from studies of the visual system of intact and brain-lesioned ani
mals, the authors conclude that brain development is regulated by events
occurring in both the organism's internal environment (for example, action
of opiate peptides) and by events occurring in the external environment (for
example, events that affect the temporal regulation of critical periods ). Duffy
and colleagues are particularly interested in determining how evidence for
neural plasticity derived from animal research can be applied to the study
of the premature infant's negotiation of developmental pathways. Their review
of the animal literature suggests that "the premature infant's environment
may weil have a profound effect on subsequent neural development."
In Chapter 4, Catherine T. Best evaluates two prominent theories of
infant speech perception. One of these suggests that infants have specialized
perceptual mechanisms genetically "tuned" to linguistic contrasts among
phonemes. The other view suggests that speech perception is controlled by
acoustic properties of the sound stimulus, regardless of whether the auditory
stimulus represents speech sounds or non speech sounds. Best argues that
each ofthese genetic-based theories are deficient and offers an alternate view
that emphasizes the active, information-processing abilities of the infant.
This speech source view implies that infants attend to vocal tract information.
Moreover, Best suggests that left-hemispheric specialization for language can
be linked to the infant's ability to detect information about the articulatory
gestures of the speaker's vocal tract. According to this essentially ecological
perspective, "auditory perception is the co-detection of the transformations
(motions) and structure of the sound source."
In Chapter 5, J. Lawrence Aber and Dante Cicchetti provide a detailed
critical review oftwenty years ofresearch on the socioemotional development
of maltreated children. The authors concentrate on a representative sampie
ofinftuential studies, using them to illustrate how one's theoretical orientation
and research methodology can inftuence the kinds of conclusions drawn by
the investigator. Five types of studies are reviewed: clinical, cross-sectional,
follow-up, theoretically derived, and prospective longitudinal. They conclude
the chapter by advancing aseries of recommendations for improving the
quality of research in the area. Among their conclusions is the advocacy of
a transactional developmental model, which shares much in common with
the socioecological perspective described by Carlson and Casse!.
In the final chapter, Stuart T. Hauser and Donna]. Follansbee examine
major theoretical views of the development of ego identity, perhaps the
PREFACE IX
dominant adaptive aehievement to be realized during the transitIOn from
ehildhood to adulthood. After a systematie review of the theories of Erikson,
Marcia, Hauser, Block, and Loevinger, the authors proceed to an integrative
discussion ofpsyehosoeial development during adolescenee, foeusing not only
on the growth tasks of this transitional period of human development but
also on the role of the family in the transitional process. They suggest that
lack of interdiseiplinary collaboration impedes development of a compre
hensive "unders tanding of the eon textual aspects of adolescen t developmen t."
Catehwords for the offerings in Volume 2 include: system, organization,
context, ecology, interdisciplinary eollaboration, and transition. Collectively,
these chapters suggest that behavioral pediatric research may be a medium
in which the various social, behavioral, and life sciences can coalesee, yielding
an integrative understanding of human development and providing a base
for comprehensive health care.
HIRAM E. FITZGERALD
BARRY M. LESTER
MICHAEL W. YOGMAN