He was one of the first to argue that development took place in stages. In his book Emile (1762), he championed a view that emphasized the natural unfolding of the child based on an innate blueprint. Rousseau is often identified as the father of classical developmental psychology. The role of Locke and later learning theorists was to emphasize the role of the environment in development. For him, the child was a tabula rasa or blank slate on which experience writes. Locke is considered the father of modern learning theory.

Philosophical Bases of Developmental Psychologyįrom a philosophical perspective, John Locke (1632-1704) and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) are the usual starting points for Western discussions of development. Preformationist views were largely abandoned on the biological level with the development of modern science. The homunculus was only quantitatively different from the adult. In one of the earliest views of the child, preformationism, a homunculus or miniature adult was believed to be contained in the semen or egg at conception. Views of development have always reflected the culture in which they emerged. Developmental psychology began as a correlational science, focusing on observation, not on experimentation, and thus differed from traditional research psychology. Later, adult development and aging began to assume more importance. Its antecedents were different from those that led to the founding of experimental psychology.In its early years, developmental psychology was primarily concerned with child and adolescent development. As a discipline, it arose shortly after the emergence of scientific psychology in the latter part of the nineteenth century. In addition, the topic cuts across nations and cultures, adding to the diversity of subject matter and approaches. Developmental psychology is concerned with constancy and change in psychological functioning over the life span. Human development is the concern of many disciplines, including biology, sociology, anthropology, education, and medicine.

Lev vygotsky timeline