Historical Highlights of Developmental Science
As evident throughout this textbook, much more research and appreciation of the brain, social context, and the non-Western world has expanded our understanding of human development in the twenty-first century. This timeline lists a few highlights of the past.
The events presented in the timeline are as follows:
200,000 to 50,000 BCE:
With their large brains, long period of child development, and extensive social and family support, early humans were able to sustain life and raise children more effectively than other primates. This is accompanied by an outline of the continent of Africa.
Circa 400 BCE:
In ancient Greece, ideas about children from philosophers like Plato (circa 428 to 348 BCE) and Aristotle (384 to 322 BCE) influenced further thoughts about children. Plato believed children were born with knowledge. Aristotle believed children learn from experience. This is accompanied by a portrait of Plato.
140 BCE:
In China, imperial examinations are one of the first times cognitive testing is used on young people.
500 to 1500:
During the Middle Ages in Europe, many adults believed that children were miniature adults. This is accompanied by a painting of an adult with a child.
1100 to 1200:
First universities founded in Europe. Young people pay to be educated together.
1650 to 1800:
European philosophers like John Locke (1632 to 1704) and Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712 to 1778) debate whether children are born as “blank slates” and how much control parents should take in raising them. This is accompanied by portraits of Locke and Rousseau.
1797:
First European vaccination: Edward Jenner (1749 to 1823) publicizes smallpox inoculation, building on vaccination against smallpox in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.
1750 to 1850:
Beginning of Western laws regulating child labor and protecting the rights of children.
1837:
First kindergarten opens in Germany, part of a movement to teach young children before they entered the primary school system. This is accompanied by an illustration of children in a classroom with a teacher pointing to letters on the board.
1859:
Charles Darwin (1809 to 1882) publishes On the Origin of Species, sparking debates about what is genetic and what is environmental. This is accompanied by an array of images showing human skeletons developing from primate pose (hunched over) to upright (current Homo sapiens).
1879:
First experimental psychology laboratory established in Leipzig, Germany.
1885:
Sigmund Freud (1856 to 1939) publishes Studies on Hysteria, one of the first works establishing the importance of the subconscious and marking the beginning of the theories of psychoanalytic theory. This is accompanied by a photo of Freud.
1895:
Ivan Pavlov (1849 to 1936) begins research on dogs’ salivation response. This is accompanied by a photo of a dog.
1900:
Compulsory schooling for children is established for most children in the United States and Europe. This is accompanied by a sketch of several children sitting at bench tables in a classroom with a teacher at the front behind a podium.
1903:
The term “gerontology,” the branch of developmental science devoted to studying aging, first coined.
1905:
Max Weber (1864 to 1920), the founder of sociology, writes The Protestant Work Ethic, about human values and adult work. Alfred Binet’s (1857 to 1911) intelligence test published.
1907:
Maria Montessori (1870 to 1952) opens her first school in Rome. This is accompanied by a picture of Rome, with two large duomos present.
1913:
John B. Watson (1878 to 1958) publishes Psychology As the Behaviorist Views It.
1920:
Lev Vygotsky (1896 to 1934) develops sociocultural theory in the former Soviet Union.
1923:
Jean Piaget (1896 to 1980) publishes The Language and Thought of the Child. This is accompanied by a portrait of Piaget.
1933:
Society for Research on Child Development, the preeminent organization for research on child development, founded.
1939:
Mamie (1917 to 1983) and Kenneth Clark (1914 to 2005) receive their research grants to study race in early childhood. This is accompanied by a photo of a young girl in a blue dress.
1943:
Abraham Maslow (1908 to 1970) publishes A Theory of Motivation, establishing the hierarchy of needs.
1950:
Erik Erikson (1902 to 1994) expands on Freud’s theory to include social aspects of personality development with the publication of Childhood and Society. This is accompanied by a photo of Erikson.
1951:
John Bowlby (1907 to 1990) publishes Maternal Care and Mental Health, one of his first works on the importance of parent-child attachment. This is accompanied by a photo of two parents with their infant.
1953:
Publication of the first papers describing DNA, our genetic blueprint. This is accompanied by an image of the double-helix structure of DNA. B F Skinner (1904 to 1990) conducts experiments on rats and establishes operant conditioning. This is accompanied by a photo of two white rats.
1956:
K. Warner Schaie’s (born 1928) Seattle Longitudinal Study of Adult Intelligence begins.
1957:
Harry Harlow (1905 to 1981) publishes Love in Infant Monkeys, describing his research on attachment in rhesus monkeys. This is accompanied by a photo of a young monkey clinging to a cloth mother.
1961:
The morning sickness drug thalidomide is banned after children are born with serious birth defects, calling attention to the problem of teratogens during pregnancy. Alfred Bandura (born 1925) conducts the Bobo Doll experiments, leading to the development of social learning theory.
1965:
Head Start, an early childhood education program, launched in the United States. Mary Ainsworth (1913 to 1999) starts using the “Strange Situation” to measure attachment. This is accompanied by a photo of Ainsworth.
1966:
Diana Baumrind (1928 to 2018) publishes her first work on parenting styles.
1972:
Beginning of the Dunedin, New Zealand, study—one of the first longitudinal studies to include genetic markers. This is accompanied by a photo of a genetic marker panel.
1979:
Urie Bronfenbrenner (1917 to 2005) publishes his work on ecological systems theory.
1986:
John Gottman (born 1942) founded the “Love Lab” at the University of Washington to study what makes relationships work.
1987:
Carolyn Rovee–Collier (1942 to 2014) shows that even young infants can remember in her classic mobile experiments.
1990 to Present:
New brain imaging technology allows pinpointing of brain areas involved in everything from executive function to Alzheimer’s disease. This is accompanied by a photo of an MRI machine.
1990:
Barbara Rogoff (born 1950) publishes Apprenticeship in Thinking, making developmentalists more aware of the significance of culture and context. Rogoff provided new insights and appreciation of child-rearing in Latin America.
1993:
Howard Gardner (born 1943) publishes Multiple Intelligences, a major new understanding of the diversity of human intellectual abilities. Gardner has since revised and expanded his ideas in many ways. This is accompanied by a photo of a young girl sitting and holding a book.
1994:
Steven Pinker (born 1954) publishes The Language Instinct, focusing attention on the interaction between neuroscience and behavior.
1996:
Giacomo Rizzolatti publishes his discovery of mirror neurons.
2000:
Jeffrey Arnett conceptualizes emerging adulthood.
2003:
Mapping of the human genome is completed.
2013:
DSM-5, which emphasizes the role of context in understanding mental health problems, is published. U.S. President Barack Obama announces his administration’s Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative.
2017:
Several U S cities expand public funding for early-childhood education (universal pre-k).
2020 and beyond:
Onward. Many more discoveries are chronicled in this book, as researchers continue to test and explore.