ABSTRACT
This chapter presents contextual information regarding “average” child development based on statistically aggregated groups of children in present Western culture. There are three types of developmental models as cited by Young-Eisendrath, such as: the chronological age models, the life-phase models, and the structural model. Maturational stage theories are structured with the acknowledgment that a person will go through each stage simply by living long enough to reach each developmental phase. Erik Erikson’s model is perhaps the most popular of all models regarding development. Through intensive and extensive observation of children, Arnold Gesell developed a set of normal behaviors assigned to stages and patterns of development. He identified a cyclical pattern of development in which a child matures between periods of equilibrium followed by periods of disequilibrium. Perhaps one of the most detrimental gaps in the development literature is the lack of research on childhood sexuality. Jean Piaget is responsible for modern developmental psychology.
