Developmental psychologies in the Roman world: Change and continuity

Area of Science:

• Ancient History
• Developmental Psychology
• Childhood Studies

Background:

• Challenges the prevailing view that ancient Romans neglected children's psychological development.
• Questions the notion that Roman childhood was solely a social construct.

Purpose of the Study:

• To re-evaluate Roman attentiveness to children's cognitive ontogeny.
• To present evidence against the ideas of Roman neglect and radical social construction of childhood.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of over four hundred years of Roman literature.
• Comparison of Roman developmental concepts with modern psychological findings and theories.

Main Results:

• Evidence of a prevailing Roman consensus on developmental psychology from the late Republic to late antiquity.
• Roman concepts align with modern findings on infant social learning, including dyadic protoconversations (2-month revolution) and triadic joint attention (9-month revolution).
• A shift in Roman consensus occurred due to the Christian doctrine of original sin, yet biological and psychological 'givens' remained foundational.

Conclusions:

• Ancient Romans possessed a sophisticated understanding of child development, contrary to common historical views.
• Roman concepts of early childhood social learning parallel contemporary developmental psychology.
• Despite ideological shifts, the construction of childhood is fundamentally constrained by inherent biological and psychological factors.