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Some of the major concepts that we have discussed throughout this chapter include the interaction of genetics and environment and the active role of children in their own development. Children are motivated to understand their experience and control their environment. Each child’s characteristics and environmental circumstances and interactions are unique and influence how the child approaches developmental tasks and problems, resulting in unique patterns of functioning. Esther Thelen’s dynamic systems theory posits that children’s developmental domains, maturation, and environment form an integrated system that is constantly changing, resulting in developmental change and the emergence of new abilities (Thelen, 1995, 2000).

Many childhood milestones, such as an infant’s first steps or first word, might look like isolated achievements, but they actually develop systematically and are the result of skill-building, with each new skill (such as pulling up to stand or babbling sounds) preparing an infant to tackle the next (Thelen, 1995, 2000). Simple actions and abilities are combined to provide more complex and effective ways for babies to explore and engage the world. An infant might combine the distinct abilities to sit upright, hold the head upright, match motor movements to vision, reach out an arm, and grasp to coordinate reaching movements to obtain a desired object (Corbetta & Snapp-Childs, 2009; Spencer, Vereijken, Diedrich, & Thelen, 2000). Development reflects goal-oriented behavior because it is initiated by the infant or child’s desire to accomplish something, such as picking up a toy or expressing him- or herself. Infants’ abilities and their immediate environments, including environmental supports and constraints, determine whether and how the goal can be achieved (Spencer et al., 2000). Although Esther Thelen described developmental systems theory with motor development in mind, theorists are applying it to understand children’s cognitive and emotional development as well as mental health (Guo, Garfin, Ly, & Goldberg, 2017; Mascolo, van Geert, Steenbeek, & Fischer, 2016).

The many theories of human development offer complementary and contrasting views of how we change throughout our lifetimes. Table 1.3 provides a comparison of theories of human development.

Table 1.3