The introductory text reads, 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 21st century.
This timeline lists a few highlights of the past.
200,000 to 50,000 B. C. E.: 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. An outline of a map of Africa accompanies the text.
Circa
400 B. C. E.: In ancient Greece, ideas about children from philosophers likePlato (circa 428 to 348 B C E) and
Aristotle (384 to 322 B C E) influenced further thoughts about children. Plato believed children were born with
knowledge. Aristotle believed children learn from experience. A portrait of Plato accompanies the text.
140 B.
C. E.: 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. A mosaic
depicting an adult consoling a little girl in the foreground of an empty bed accompanies the text.
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. A portrait of John
Locke and another of Rousseau accompany the text.
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. A sketch accompanying the text depicts young ones sitting on small stools
attending a class in a school, and the blackboard reads the English alphabets.
1859: Charles Darwin (1809 to
1882) publishes On the Origin of Species, sparking debates about what is genetic and what is environmental. A
diagram of human skeletons shows the evolution process to the modern man.
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. A portrait of Sigmund Freud accompanies the text.
1895: Ivan Pavlov (1849 to 1936)
begins research on dogs’ salivation response. A photo of a dog accompanies the text.
1900: Compulsory
schooling for children is established for most children in the United States and Europe. A painting accompanying the
text shows a teacher standing on a podium and teaching a class of students seated on long benches.
1903: The
term ‘gerontology,’ the branch of developmental science devoted to studying aging, first coined. A photo
accompanying the text shows a nurse taking care of an aged person seated on a chair.
1905: Max Weber (1864 to
1920), the founder of sociology, writes The Protestant Work Ethic, about human values and adult work.
1905:
Alfred Binet’s (1857 to 1911) intelligence test published.
1907: Maria Montessori (1870 to 1952) opens
her first school in Rome. A photo accompanying the text shows school buildings in Rome with dome-shaped roofs.
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. A portrait of Jean Piaget accompanies the text.
1933: Society for
Research on Child Development, the preeminent organization for research on child development, founded. A photo of a
little girl admiring her dress accompanies the text.
1939: Mamie (1917 to 1983) and Kenneth Clark (1914 to
2005) receive their research grants to study race in early childhood.