Describe the core ideas of ethology and evolutionary developmental psychology as theoretical perspectives on child development

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Ethology is concerned with the adaptive, or survival, value of behavior and its evolutionary history. Its roots can be traced to the work of Darwin. Two European zoologists, Konrad Lorenz and Niko Tinbergen, laid its modern foundations. Watching diverse animal species in their natural habitats, Lorenz and Tinbergen observed behavior patterns that promote survival. The best known of these is imprinting, the early following behavior of certain baby birds, such as geese, that ensures that the young will stay close to the mother and be fed and protected from danger. Observations of imprinting led to a major concept in child development: the critical period, a limited time span during which the child is biologically prepared to acquire certain adaptive behaviors but needs the support of a stimulating environment. The term sensitive period applies better to child development than the strict notion of a critical period. A sensitive period is a time that is biologically optimal for certain capacities to emerge because the individual is especially responsive to environmental influences. However, its boundaries are less well-defined than those of a critical period.
Investigators have extended the efforts of ethologists in an area of research called evolutionary developmental psychology. It seeks to understand the adaptive value of species-wide cognitive, emotional, and social competencies as those competencies change with age. Evolutionary psychologists are not just concerned with the genetic and biological roots of development. They recognize that humans’ large brain and extended childhood resulted from the need to master an increasingly complex environment, so they are also interested in learning. In sum, evolutionary developmental psychology aims to understand the entire person–environment system.