Child Development Unit 5 Cognition, Communication, and Socialization

Concrete Operations Stage-Conservation test

Conservation of substance To test this Have the child watch you pour an 8 ounce cup of water into a tall, thin cylinder (it will look like there is a lot of water in it). Pour another 8 ounce cup of water into a small, fat, bowl. Ask the child which one has more. Responses The 5 year old will say that the taller object contains more. They look at how high the water line is to determine which has more. The 8 year old will say that both containers have the same amount. This child has conservation of substance. The child realizes that 8 ounces is 8 ounces, it does not matter what container it is put in. Conservation of distance To test this Draw two lines that start and end at the same point. Make one straight, the other curved (see the picture below). Ask the child which one takes longer to draw or which one takes longer to follow? Responses The 5 year old will say that they both take the same time since they start and stop at the same place. They do not consider the relative length of the line. The 8 year old will say that that it takes longer to draw the curved line. They have conservation of distance: the relative length of the line determines which one will take longer to draw.

Erikson's Personality Development-Stage 2: Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt

This is typically seen in children from 1-3 years of age. At first, the child stayed close to a protective adult and that person guided the child's choices of what to and when to play. The child's motor skills have increased rapidly and the child can now independently move from one location to another. A child can also select their own play activities and decide what to do with the various toys. The hallmark here is the child, with appropriate encouragement from their parents, is beginning to make independent choices. These choices encourage more and more autonomy. Sometimes the child is constantly criticized or at the other extreme, is allowed to do anything or everything with no limits set on behavior. The child that is criticized is not encouraged to be independent. The child that is allowed to anything may never learn boundaries. In both cases, the child may never learn appropriate behavior, leading to decreased self-esteem, impulsivity, or a sense of doubt about their abilities.

Erikson's Personality Development-Stage 1: Trust vs. Mistrust

This is typically seen in the newborn up to 1 year of age. Trust develops early. The infant has to trust that someone in their environment will provide safety and security. If something happens, the infant will usually cry until someone comes and makes it better. For example, a parent starts interpreting an infant's cry as the infant is hungry or needs to be changed, or is just upset. The infant learns over time that someone will provide protection and that this is a dependable system. If there is no protection, for example if the infant cries for prolonged periods with no one checking on them or if an infant does not get enough food, mistrust may develop. Fear may be a constant in this infant's (or toddler's) life. They may even learn that they need to fend for themselves because no one else is. These children may be withdrawn and may have diagnoses like failure to thrive

Sensor motor-3rd Sub Stage Intentional Behaviors

This occurs between 5 and 8 months of age. In the gross and fine motor area, the infant is actively reaching for objects when in any position (supine, prone or sitting). The infant can also roll to retrieve desired objects. A key cognitive skill is starting to learn about concepts. Object concepts are just beginning: the infant does not care how s/he got the object, only that they have it. On the other hand, if that object "disappears" because it is dropped or someone else takes it, the infant just looks surprised. The infant is just as pleased with something else. This is nice as a therapist because it means that this infant can be easily distracted

Sensor Motor 5th Sub stage-Active Motor Experimentation

This typically occurs between 12 and 18 months of age. The toddler is moving into, on top of, around, etc. everything! They bounce, walk, step on, step over, pick up, turn over, dump out, try to put in, etc. This is usually a very active stage - with lots of falling and bruising present because of this experimentation! They are literally into everything. From a cognitive standpoint, they are progressing in their development of cause and effect, object permanence, imitation, and understanding of time and space. They are experimenting with and examining everything. As they experiment, they learn what their body is capable of and the properties of different objects - what is soft, hard, breakable, unbreakable, rough, smooth, etc. Everything they experiment with is present. This means that they can see it, feel it, smell it, taste it, and hear it. Parents label things for the child so that they start learning what all of these actions - and their appropriate words - mean.

Havighurst's Social Developmental Tasks-4

developing conscious morality and a scale of values. These are the same things that Kohlberg called preconventional and conventional reasoning. It is important that the child learn the rules and that the child learn to value others and their contributions. It is also consistent with Selman's third stage: self reflection.

Havighurst's Social Developmental Tasks-6

developing positive attitudes toward social groups & institutions. Frequently, the child is involved in many activities or teams with others (such as Boy/Girl Scouts, 4-H, or playing ball). To be successful, teams require that the individual work together with everyone else for the common good. Many teams also contribute in some way to society through things like fund raisers (bake sales) or participating in community clean-up days. This is consistent with Kohlberg's instrumental purpose and exchange stage and Selman's mutual roles stage.

Havighurst's Social Developmental Tasks-9

development of intellectual skills and concepts necessary for civic competence . The adolescent needs to understand that they are a part of society and that society often dictates rules and regulations that the adolescent may disagree with. As the adolescent contributes to society, they are achieving socially responsible behavior and acquiring a set of values that will guide their behavior. For example, to encourage these behaviors, many states have adopted laws that require all students in high school to donate so many hours to a community organization. These laws are intended to foster the adolescents desire to contribute to society through volunteerism, instead of being a drain on society's resources. Different states have different requirements. In Florida, a student cannot graduate from high school unless a specific hour requirement has been met

Auditory Development sequence

1. The neonate: Sharp sounds elicit eye blinks or reflexive movements; soft, pleasant sounds elicit eye widening; no head turning The eyes may move in the direction of the sound. The head may or may not turn. 2. 2 - 3 months: The head will turn laterally (side to side) to the general direction of the sound. That is, if the sound is toward the right, the head will turn to the right. If the sound is to the left, the head will turn to the left. 3. 3 - 4 months: The infant will turn both the head and eyes to the side of the sound. 4. 5 - 6 months: Downward localization begins. For example, if the sound is down on the right side, the infant will turn their head toward the right, then look down. The same thing happens to the left side. 5. 6 - 7 months: Upward localization begins. For example, if the sound is up on the right side, the infant will turn their head toward the right, then look up. The same thing happens to the left side. The infant also has downward localization. 6. 8 - 9 months: Curved arc downward. Instead of looking to the side and then down, the infant is starting to combine these movements into a "curve". The infant can also "follow" a sound as the sound moves down. 7. 9 - 10 months: Curved arc upward. Instead of looking to the side and then up, the infant is starting to combine these movements into a "curve". The infant can also "follow" a sound (turn the head and eyes) as the sound moves up. 8. 11 - 12 months - Diagonal head turning. This implies that the infant can look directly at the object, whether it is down, or up, or to the side, or behind. It is the highest level skill.

Sensor Motor 6th Sub Stage

18-24 months, increases in language skills, developed mental representation (can bring you an item from a different room), space and time increases-can wait until show is over to do something, handle deferred info-can wait for something. Lots of motor experimentation, learning about consequences. Learning how to combine objects together. Developing spatial awareness (nesting cups, puzzles)

Preoperational Stage-Abstract concepts

Abstract concepts are more difficult to define because you cannot see them. However, they are there and they do influence the child's behaviors and learning. Abstract concepts are very similar to the constructs that were discussed in Research I: Scientific Inquiry. We have to make sure that we define what we mean by an abstract concept so that everyone knows what we are talking about. For example, what is pain? What is hurt? How can some "hurts" cause bleeding, but others do not? How do you quantify pain? How do you tell where it is? Over time and with various experiences, the child learns what is pain and how to indicate to parents the severity of the pain that s/he is in. Everyone also knows that you have pain, but it may mean different things to different people and what one identifies as a level 8 pain, another may identify as a level 3 pain. This contributes to the child's difficulty in learning abstract concepts.

Havighurst's Social Developmental Tasks-8

Another behavior that is present is achievement of emotional independence separate from their parents/caregivers. The adolescent has realized that they are an individual that contributes both to the family and to the environments where they interact. A major accomplishment during this stage is economic independence . The adolescent knows their own interests, strengths, and weaknesses. As a result, the adolescent should (I say should because if this does not take place, the adolescent may very well become a burden on to family or to society as a whole) take steps to identify future occupations. For example, if the adolescent likes to build things, he or she may want to earn an architectural degree or become a carpenter. For those that want to pursue certain professions (teachers, engineers, therapists, etc.), a college degree is required. Therefore, the adolescent must maintain a high enough grade point average and score well enough on the SAT or the ACT to get into a college of their choice. While some choose the college route, others are more interested in pursuing marriage and family life . This adolescent needs education about how to maintain finances, including budgeting, paying bills on time, and anticipating future needs. They also need education about family planning options. I know that some people are perfectly content to have get married (or not) and have babies right away. However, they have no plans or ideas about how to finance this, nor do they really understand the long term consequences. Some end up very successful. However, many others do not.

Concrete Operations Stage-seriation test

Give the child a variety of objects of various sizes, shapes, patterns, weights, and volumes. Ask the child to put them in order. Responses: The 6 year old will put the objects in order of size (smallest to largest). This is a more obvious characteristic than some of the others. The 7 year old will be able to put objects in order of pattern (i.e. counting the number of sides: circle, triangle, square, pentagon, hexagon, etc. or counting the number of stripes). The 9 year old will be able to put objects in order of weight (which weighs more, from lowest to highest). The 10 year old will be able to put objects in order by volume - how much does each object hold (smallest amount to largest amount).

Factors Affecting Peer Interactions

As you have probably guessed by now, there is much greater interaction with people that the child is acquainted with versus strangers . This trend can be seen as early as 9 months of age. The 9 - 12 month old will go to a familiar person - like the day care worker - much faster than to a stranger. They will also play more and initiate more with the familiar person. However, if the familiar person does not see the infant for a few days, it is like starting all over again with a stranger. The infant may have stranger anxiety that is only calmed by the parent's presence and repeated exposure. In general, those that have been around peers, show more complex social behaviors than those that are not around peers. One of the things that parents always ask is "should I send my child to day care"? If there are other children within a couple years of age that the child sees frequently, my response would be "it is not necessary to send your child to day care as he or she is getting good social interactions with other children. However, if there are no other children around, day care can really help the child increase his or her social skills. Another question that you may deal with as a therapist is whether to see children in a dyad versus a group . A dyad is a one-on-one situation. One adult to one child. Or you could have one child with one child. Dyads elicit more social behaviors at a more advanced level than groups. The larger the group, the less social interaction you tend to see in all of the group members. There may be one or two that have excellent social skills. They may become the group leader. However, the rest of the group may not develop the necessary social skills because there is so much going on that it is difficult to attend to the different things.

Concrete Operations Stage Symbolic Thinking test

Ask the child "Where do dreams come from? Where is the dream made?" Responses The 5 year old really does not know where the dreams come from. They will usually report that dreams are in the room in front of you. The 8 year old will be able to tell you that dreams come from his or her head or his or her own thoughts. They realize that things do NOT need to be present in the environment for dreaming to take place.

Concrete Operations Stage-classification test

Give the child a variety of objects that include different sizes, shapes, patterns, weights, or volumes. A good thing to use are "Hot Wheels" (cars, trucks, etc). Ask the child to sort these objects. Responses: The 4-5 year old will do a generic sort based on a striking feature. This feature is usually the color (all the red cars together, blues ones, etc.) or shape (trucks, cars, SUVs, etc.). There will be some mistakes. For example, the child may not look through all of the objects and only pull out a few that fit into the classification scheme that the child uses. The 6-8 year old will start to become more descriptive in the way they classify the objects. For example, sports cars versus sedans or 4X4s versus SUVs. This indicates that this child is beginning to take into account more of a description of the object as they classify it into some category. Again, the way the child sorts will become more and more complex. You may need to ask how the child has sorted the objects!

Concrete Operations Stage

Concrete operations develops from about age 7 to age 13. This child is just beginning to apply the basic principles of logic according to certain rules. These rules help the child understand relationships between and among objects. Several key behaviors are achieved during concrete operations. To help you understand these behaviors, I am going to present the behaviors and definition, then how it is tested, then how the younger child (still at the pre-operational stage) would respond, and then how the older child (now at concrete operations) would respond.

Preoperational Stage-Representational phase

During the pre-operational stage of cognitive development, a child learns to use language to recall experiences . At first, their speech is difficult to understand: my cousin's 3 year old daughter told me about the whole "Little Mermaid" movie. However, I only understood about every fifth word! However, her mother understood most of what she said. A parent will be able to interpret their child's words easier than you or I could. Familiarity with the child - and with the topic that the child is talking about - helps with understanding as well. We'll talk more about speech and language later in this Unit. As their speech and language improve, so does their ability to recall symbols and what they represent. For example, when children are in their carseat, they will know that they are getting close to home. Their carseat and their relatively short height makes it difficult for them to see landmarks like you or I do. Children cannot see the road or other cars, but they can see the big tree that is on the corner where the car turns! They also know that the yellow arches mean - you guessed it - McDonalds As children enter pre-school (typically around age 3-4) and school (around age 5), they begin to think in terms of classes (i.e., what color is this? is this an animal?), numbers (counting to 10 and higher or identifying how many there are), and relationships (which one is big? inside? outside? etc.). These skills continue to be refined as they get older.

Havighurst's Social Developmental Tasks

Havighurst explored the contribution that learning social skills had on children and adolescent. He felt that a child's abilities depended, in part, on their physical maturity, cultural expectations, and individual aspirations. What may be accepted behavior in one culture, may not be accepted in another. Motivation is also important. Havighurst identified specific behaviors and abilities that he felt were critical for a child to learn at different ages. Skills and behaviors that were considered most important by Havighurst are building a wholesome attitude toward oneself, learning to get a long with age mates, learns appropriate masculine and feminine roles, morality and scale of values, personal independence, positive attitudes toward social groups and institutions

Development of Peer Directed Behavior-The Infanacy Phase

In the infancy phase (between 0 and 12 months), the type of behavior that is present depends upon how much exposure the infant has to other infants. It can be present as early as 2 months, where the infants will smile at each other. By 3-4 months, the infant has developed enough fine motor ability that they can reach out and touch a peer if the peer is in touching distance. However, watch out for where the infant reaches. This infant does not know their own strength, nor do they have good control of their arm movements. Consequently, they may poke the other infant in their eye, or slap the infant. This does NOT occur on purpose! It is just a lack of motor control. By 6 months of age, the truly social part begins, and the infant will smile in response to another infant's cooing or babbling. This can be easily seen if you put the infant in front of a mirror. At first, infants will just look at the other infant (they do not know that it is them!). Then, they inevitably make a noise. Since they heard a coo or babble, they will smile. When they see their reflection smile, it makes them smile more and then coo or babble more. They will also reach out and touch the mirror. As time goes on, the complexity of the interaction with a peer will increase. You may see reciprocal interaction - or taking turns. One infant will make a sound, then the other one copies it. This can go on for sometimes up to 5 minutes! If there are toys present, one infant will typically hand it to the other infant. However, if that other infant actually takes the toy, the first infant may end up very upset. On the other hand, if peers are frequently present in the infant's environment, you will see the infants handing toys back and forth You may also see game playing between the infants, such as both playing peek-a-boo or pat-a-cake.

Development of Peer Directed Behavior-Toddler Phase

In the toddler phase (typically 13 - 24 months), you will see toddlers begin to engage in complimentary and reciprocal play . This ability is tied very closely to cognitive development. If a toddler is cognitively delayed, you may not see this behavior. Reciprocal play involves two different behaviors that complement each other. The typical behavior that you will see is throwing and retrieving a ball. Both toddlers sit on the floor and roll the ball to one another (they do not have the motor skills to be able to throw/catch a ball yet). However, if one gets up and runs away with the ball, the other one will frequently start crying. Social behaviors are increasing rapidly. Just remember that the toddler is much more social with familiar versus unfamiliar people . At 12 - 18 months, when a toddler plays, he or she tends to be closer to mom and is tied to tangible objects (what you can easily see and pick up to play with). Everything the child needs is right there. That's why parents have to take so many things with them during a car trip. If a specific toy is not there, the toddler may throw a fit. If mom leaves the room, the toddler will usually pick up their toy(s) and take them along until mom stops in another room. The toddler will then play there. This can mean MANY trips back and forth. The toddler has not realized that mom is still there, even if she is in another room. This is why moms (and dads) sometimes have NO privacy to even go to the bathroom. By 18 - 24 months, the toddler is beginning to move away from mom . In fact, mom can leave the room if the toddler is playing and nothing much happens unless the toddler needs something and finally realizes mom is not there. The toddler will then try to find mom. Mom may also realize that they need to check on their toddler when mom realizes that it is very quiet. Too much quiet may mean that the toddler is getting into something that he/she is not supposed to have!

social-emotional development

Interactions with others are an important part of social skill development - how a child communicates with his or her parents, other adults, and peers determines a child's social competency. Peers are children that share similar abilities . Peers are important because they serve as a source of reinforcement . Peers watch each other - when one is rewarded, others are more likely to do the same behavior. If one is punished, the others are less likely to do the same behavior. Peers are also models for each other. They show each other how to do things and how to act in certain situations. If the peer is held in high regard, the child is more apt to copy the peer. Peers also offer a "comfort" zone so that the child can safely act out internalized struggles. For example, the child may be angry at the parent. Peers can help the child safely problem solve possible solutions. Peers also help the younger child deal with egocentrism. We discussed this in the pre-operational stage of cognitive development. If there are others around that also have the same needs and desires, the child must learn to accommodate to and work with others more cooperatively so that all can get what they want. As you can see, an "only child" may be much more egocentric than someone that has several siblings, all close in age. Interactions between the parent and the child are the catalyst for other interactions. The child can work on making eye contact, initiating, and responding to the parents. These interactions are reinforced when the parent and child are attached (the parent is the child's protector!) to one another. Playing together results in the parent being attentive to the child's needs (for example, "Push me higher"). The parent typically ensures that the child is enjoying the activity. Other adults also accommodate to the child. For example, when a child plays with the parent or another adult, the child usually wins. Other adults typically are not as attentive as the parent, but do encourage the child to participate in pleasurable activities. When another peer is present, there is a difference in play. Peers also want to win - they may not let the younger child win because they want to win too! As a result, both children must learn to take turns with each other, listen to each other, and work out compromises. These things do not happen over night. The more that a child is around a peer, the faster these will take place. Children that are never around peers, may not know what to expect when they go to school.

Erikson's Personality Development-Stage 5: Identity vs. Role Confusion

Making the transition between being a child to being an adult is hazardous! The family should be encouraging the adolescent to be more independent. Career choices are considered and the adolescent is thinking of the future. Adolescence is a time of exploration. Based on these explorations and with encouragement from their family, adolescents begin to develop their own identity separate from their family. Identity crises are common. With feedback from friends and others, their own identity becomes stronger. Adolescents that do not develop their own identity are stuck in identity crises. They may be easily led by others, such as joining a cult. Or they may strongly identify with something, and become fanatical. Both can lead to problems.

Concrete Operations Stage-Reversibility test

Put 3 different colored blocks in a row (let's say Red, Green, Blue). Push the blocks into the left end of a "tunnel", red block first. Ask the child which block will come out of the right end first. Then, with the blocks still in the tunnel in the same order, turn the tunnel 180o and ask the child which block will come out of the right end first. Responses: 5 year old: This child knows the red block went in first, so it must come out first, no matter which way the tunnel turns. 8 year old: In the first instance, the red block went in first, so it comes out first. However, when the tunnel is turned, the blocks are in reverse order (reversibility), so the Blue block comes out first.

Preoperational Stage-Matching and Sorting

Matching involves finding stimuli from a group that is similar to a model. For example, when you line up dominoes, you put a domino that has 9 dots on it next to another one that has 9 dots. You have given a child a model - here is what 9 dots looks like. Then you can ask the child to find more dominoes that have 9 dots. This is matching. Matching can be done with 2, 3, 4, or more objects. When testing matching, you show the young child one thing and ask them to find the one that matches from a choice of 2 ("which one matches (or looks like) this"). In the older child, there will be several objects to choose from. Sometimes a child has to find one object that matches or other times, the child has to find "all of the ones that look like this". For example, you may give the child 20 coins and ask them to find all of the pennies. You may one penny or there may be 10 or more pennies in the pile. Sorting applies matching skills to several objects, then the child has to independently determine a way to separate them based on some characteristic. Sorting looks for differences and similarities between objects. For example, I give the child all of the dominoes and I ask them to sort the dominoes into different piles. How the child sorts the objects depends, in large part, upon their age. As they get older, children use more abstract methods to sort objects. For now, just know that sorting begins in the preoperational stage and the complexity of how a child sorts objects depends upon their cognitive level. Sorting is a higher level skill than matching.

Sensor motor-4th Sub Stage Example of time and space

Parents frequently tell their infants what they are getting ready to do. For example, parents will say "Let's go bye-bye". The parent then completes a typical "ritual" which the infant learns over time. For example, the parent may put a coat on the infant if it is cold outside or put clean clothes on the infant. Or the parent gets the diaper bag and fills it with travel necessities. Or parents find their keys, purse, and toys in anticipation of what their infant will need in the car. All of these rituals help the child understand and anticipate the steps that are needed to complete a task and about how long ( time ) each step typically takes. Space comes in because there are certain areas where each task is typically accomplished. For example, many parents have a diaper changing table (or a place where they most frequently change diapers) at home. So if the infant needs his or her diaper changed, the parent can say let's go change your diaper, and the infant may start crawling - or walking - to the changing table. All of these are related to the specific environment - or space - where each takes place. The infant begins to learn this space concept between 8 and 12 months of age!

Erikson's Personality Development-Stage 3: Initiative vs. Guilt

This is typically seen between ages 3 and 6. As the child develops more independence, they start initiating more. Their play becomes more complex, with imagination increasing. They will initiate activities on their own and invite others to participate. They are curious about others their age and want to be involved with them. They are learning rules for play and for relationships. If a child breaks a rule, he or she will feel a healthy amount of guilt. Children that are encouraged to initiate develop important leadership skills that will help them over time. If a child is not encouraged to initiate, he or she may feel overly guilty leading the child to not do anything. On the other hand, you can also have children that initiate and never feel guilty. This person does not care what others think or feel.

Concrete Operations Stage-Transformation test

Place a glass of ice on a table and let the ice melt. Then, put the water on the stove and let it boil (produce steam). Ask the child what happened to the ice, then the water. Responses The 4-5 year old will first say that the ice cube has disappeared, then the water disappeared. They do not understand transformation. (Please note that this is why Santa Claus can exist for younger children, even if they see their Grandpa dress up as Santa. They do not realize that it is the same person, just dressed differently). The 8 year old will know that ice is frozen water and when it is warm, it melts. When it is then heated, the steam is water evaporation.

Development of Peer Directed Behavior-Preschoolers

Preschoolers (between 24 - 42 months) are into a lot of pretend play . Remember animism from the Cognition lesson? The use of symbols is really increasing and they will engage in pretend play with other preschoolers - like play house, play tea party, or play Batman. Their communications have meaning - that is, they are able to use words to describe what they want/when they want it. Being aware that you are part of a group also happens during the preschool years. Many children are going to preschool programs by the time they are 3 years old. Over the next two years, these children are aware that they are part of a group (i.e. "Who is your teacher"; "Who is in your class"). They are also being exposed to rules. They use their awareness of the rules to begin to make judgments about others - who is being good, who is being bad. By about age 6, children pursue friends that have the same interests or those needed to pursue certain interests. They now have real friends - someone to play with and to share objects with in a concrete, reciprocal way. Concrete means that you are sharing things like toys and reciprocal means that you are both sharing. One child is NOT taking something from the other child. Overtime, the child will begin to be more selective about their friends. They will start to look at their friend's ethics and morals. Gradually, who the child is, not what they like to do, becomes more important. By age 9, children are into telling secrets. Friends are someone that can help you and you can share secrets with that person. Remember passing notes in grade school?? This typically starts at around 4th grade - or 9 years old. By age 11, the child is extremely concerned about the social welfare of their friends. For example, they may want to invite friends over because their friends' parents are not home yet. This is an important moral and ethical developmental stage.

Havighurst's Social Developmental Tasks-2

Second is learning to get along with age mates . As discussed earlier, not everyone is going to have the same point of view. The child has to learn to deal with both friends and enemies. The ability to compromise and yes, hold a grudge, are both seen in 6 - 12 year olds.

Selman's Social Role Taking

Social role taking examines the development of a child's ability to see what other's perspectives are, i.e. where are they coming from? Selman developed his theory in 1980. According to Selman, the first stage of social role taking is the child seeing everything from his or her own perspective. Children are not necessarily selfish; rather, they are not able to see how their own actions or actions of others can impact someone else. They cannot put themselves into another person's shoes, so asking them what someone else might feel does not work very well! They only know that they feel, not what others feel. They do not realize that others may have a different interpret of a situation. The second stage of social role taking is the social informational stage . In this stage, the 6 - 9 year old child realizes that others may interpret actions or words the same as the child OR the interpretation may be very different. However, they are usually unable to understand these other views. The intent behind the actions or words is important, and, in fact, more important than what the other child says or does. At this stage, the child is being more aware of how others are interpreting their verbal and non-verbal skills. In fact, the non-verbal portion of communication is becoming more and more important. The third stage of social role taking is called self reflection , typically seen in children from 8-12 years of age. These children can see that other's have a different viewpoint of their own actions. However, they discard this other viewpoint because they cannot see that both views can be correct. One of the hallmarks of this stage is second guessing. Based upon past experiences (the link to cognition and learning), the child is starting to be able to "guess" what others might say or be feeling. They are aware that others, including their peers and adults, have different points of view. However, those same peers and adults must also be aware that the child can have a different point of view. This different point of view is what leads to second guessing. The problem with second guessing someone is that sometimes the child is right - sometimes they are not! If they are not right, they will end up in trouble. One example of this is a child that wants a snack before a meal. Instead of asking, because he or she knows the parent will say no, he or she sneaks into the kitchen and gets a cookie. The second guessing - thinking that the parent will say no - may be right . . . but it may also be wrong! The fourth stage of social role taking is the development of mutual roles . This is typically seen in a 10-15 year old. At this stage, the child/adolescent realizes that everyone can have a different point of view. They can "step out" of their own viewpoint and see those of others. The difference here is that the can also see the perspective of someone that is neutral. Because of this, they may seek out a neutral party to solve differences. For example, if two 12 year olds are having an argument about something, someone else may be needed to "settle" the argument provided that this someone else is a neutral party. The last stage of social role taking is the development of a social conventional system . It is seen from adolescence into adulthood. At this stage, the person realize that different points of view does not necessarily lead to understanding. As a result, compromises or mediation may be needed to reach understanding. Both parties must feel that the other has compromised, otherwise an adversarial relationship will continue. This ability to compromise indicates that there is higher level cognitive thought (abstract thought) involved as all parties must look at all aspects of any decision, including long-term ramifications of any decision. Of course, the compromise only lasts as long as all parties agree. If one party breaks the compromise, the whole process will probably need to be repeated.

Studies on the Auditory System

Studies have focused on two characteristics of sound in infants. First is the developmental changes that occur in response to auditory input. Infants can discriminate different frequencies (hertz) of sound. Second is identifying the auditory thresholds in children. Infants have a higher threshold than adults. Both of these studies are important in children. For example, studies have shown that infants react differently to patterned versus non-patterned acoustic stimuli. Patterned stimuli involves responding to sounds that are similar to speech production - like infants responding to someone making sounds like "dada" or "ahhh" or "mama". There is a rhythm to this speech. Non-patterned acoustic stimuli are all the various noises that we can make that are NOT commonly found in speech. For example, making random sounds that have nothing to do with speech (things like clicking your tongue, drinking something "loudly" so that you can hear the swallow, or making kissing sounds) can be non-patterned. Infants prefer patterned stimuli. Infants will also synchronize their motor movements to speech. The movements are at approximately the same speed as the speech. Responding better to patterned stimuli is important in developing speech and changes in motor behaviors in response to speech are related to non-verbal behaviors!

Preoperational Stage-Symbolic Play

Symbolic play involves using symbols to represent real things. For example, little girls have tea parties, little boys will use a toy hammer. These toys represent the real thing. During the pre-operational stage, there is lots of pretend or make believe play. Children copy or act out the different actions and mimic the speech/behaviors that they have seen others do. These others could be their parents, other children, or what they see on television. For example, children will play house, pretend they are their favorite action figure (who did you grow up with: the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? He-Man and the Masters of the Universe? the Power Rangers?), or wear their parents clothes and pretend that they are their parent! As the child plays and acts out elaborate schemes, they also encounter reality . Remember that children copy what they see. Unfortunately, the younger child does not know how much force to exert (have you ever opened a door that you thought was going to be "heavy" and it was too light and the door went flying open??) or how hard to kick something (if you kick concrete too hard, you can hurt yourself, or if you try to kick through paper, you may go flying through it!). As a result, a child's first trial at mimicking an action may not work - or someone may get hurt. Over time, the child learns how much force to exert or how hard to kick something to get the desired reaction. This requires memory (remembering previous actions with the object) and calibration of force (this occurs through the proprioceptors).

Erikson's Personality Development-Stage 4: Industry vs. inferiority

This is typically seen from age 6 to puberty. Teachers give children different tasks to accomplish. Children initiate and complete these tasks and develop a sense of accomplishment and pride in what they can do. As they are encouraged by their teachers and families, the child becomes more industrious. Inferiority is a result of a lack of encouragement and guidance from adults in the child's life. A child may not receive positive reinforcement and therefore feels more inferior to others. This may prevent the child from reaching their full potential. Too much inferiority can lead to helplessness. On the other hand, assuming too much competence and industry may make a child an adult at too young of an age.

Preoperational Stage-Typical Behaviors

There are three behaviors that are typically associated with the pre-operational stage of cognitive development. The first behavior is egocentrism . The pre-operational child is not necessarily selfish. Instead, they tend to be centered on themselves, not on others. For example, if someone else received a treat, they have to get one. They are very concerned about which treat is bigger. If a child believes that his/her treat is smaller, they will usually complain until they get more. They have a very difficult time see things from another person's point of view. When parents go into long explanations about why the child cannot do something, the child may not hear it, because, of course, they just want it! As a result, it is often easier for the parent to "just say no" to their child. Centration is another behavior that is common. This means that the child can focus on one idea or one aspect of an event. This is particularly seen in younger children when they want something "now" that takes a lot of time to put together. They really do not care what the individual steps are, they just want the results. You'll also this when something breaks after the child has thrown it on the floor. Things cannot be easily fixed Another aspect of centration is that it limits the viewpoint so that the younger child cannot see that there can be more than one way to do something. This becomes apparent when a child spends the day with a babysitter or stays overnight with a friend. It is very common to hear: "that's not the way mommy or daddy does it", meaning that your way is "wrong" and the parent's way is correct. The final behavior that is associated with the pre-operational stage is animism , or attributing human qualities to inanimate objects. When you attend their tea party, you "cannot sit there because that's where Molly (the imaginary friend) is sitting". Remember that animism is a normal behavior in children between 3 and 7!

Divisions of auditory system

The external ear structure develops during the embryo stage and continues to develop postnatally. It consists of the pinna (visible structure that is our ear) and the ear canal. It ends at the tympanic membrane or eardrum. The purpose of the pinna is to funnel sound through the ear canal by transmitting airborne vibrations (sound waves - the frequency) to the middle ear. The middle ear is just behind the eardrum. The middle ear begins to develop at around 7 weeks gestational age and reaches adult levels somewhere between 6 and 8 months gestational age. The purpose of the middle ear is to further transmit the sound wave to the inner ear. There are three bones (the ossicles) in the inner ear: the malleus (hammer), incus (anvil), and stapes (stirrup). The ossicles are important in transmitting the sound wave to the inner ear. Muscles within these bones also adjust to different sounds. These different sounds are also transmitted to the eardrum via sound waves. The eardrum is an important structure. It can become blocked fairly easy. In young children, the most common reason for the blockage is a build-up of fluid. The fluid is normally drained through the eustachian tube. However, if an infection occurs, the fluid cannot drain. Otitis media is the result. If the eardrum is blocked, the sound wave either cannot enter the middle ear or only parts of the sound wave enter the middle ear. As a result, the infant begins to lose hearing. Parents will usually report that their child is irritable, is running a low grade fever, and is pulling on the ears. These are classic symptoms of otitis media. With otitis media, the infant is NOT hearing things correctly, and will most likely have difficulty responding appropriately. A middle ear infection can be very difficult to cure (a child may require multiple rounds of antibiotics). In the meantime, the child is not receiving all of the verbal input. If a child has had multiple ear infections in the first year (typically three or more infections), remember that hearing has most likely been impacted. There may even be permanent damage to the middle ear that affects long term hearing ability. The inner ear contains the hearing and vestibular organs. The hearing receptor is the Organ of Corti located within the cochlea. The cochlea has tiny hair cells that connect with the auditory nerve. The sound waves are converted to electrical signals in the inner ear. These electrical signals are transmitted by the auditory nerve and then interpreted within the central nervous system, allowing the child to hear and interpret what has been said or what noise has occurred in the environment. Some people have questioned if a fetus responds to sound of if the fetus is responding to maternal movement. From a developmental perspective, we know that the fetus responds to sound because of the speed of the fetal response. Testing has been conducted that has examined this issue. Soft sounds tend to decrease fetal movement, while louder sounds tend to increase movement. Sudden, loud sounds can cause a startle response.

Sensor motor-1st Sub Stage Reflexes

The first sub-stage is present in the 0 - 2 month old: the reflex stage. The newborn is controlled by reflexes. No voluntary or learned responses are present.

Kohlberg's Moral Development-preconventional reasoning

The lowest level is preconventional reasoning typically present up to age 9. At this level, the child's behavior and responses are guided by an external system of punishment and obedience . They know what the rules are and what has happened to them in the past and what the consequences of their actions are. Children typically obey rules to avoid punishment. They are typically rewarded for making correct decisions. For example, if children say "please" or "thank you", they are more apt to get what they are asking for than if they just say "give me that".

Preoperational Stage

The preoperational stage of cognitive development typically occurs between 3 and 7 years of age. The important skill that the child attains during this stage is a huge increase in concept development . These build on those concepts learned during the sensor motor stage, It is the same here: young children learn what things look and feel like, and the name of the object. Concepts are important because they label an object. The definition of a concept is that it is a set of characteristics that is shared by all instances of the concept.

Intersensory integration

The vestibular (balance) system is located in the inner ear next to the cochlea. This proximity between the two systems is why sometimes when you have an ear infection (or a bad cold that affects your hearing), your also have balance problems. However, not all children that have hearing impairments have balance problems. It depends upon if the auditory problem is in the outer, middle or inner ear, or in a combination of any of these areas. There is also a link between the visual and auditory system. As previously mentioned, being able to turn the eyes in the direction of the sound is important in localization. The visual system is also important in learning how the mouth moves to pronounce letters and words. Lip reading is a classic example of the importance of the visual system for those individuals that are hearing impaired. Lip reading relies heavily upon the visual system.

Concrete Operations Stage Symbolic Thinking

Their ability to observe others has also increased. One thing that is different here is that they no longer need visual cues to think of things - they just seem to come from anywhere! If this child sees something happen to a friend, the child may ask "what if" questions, such as "what if mom died" or "what if the ozone layer disappeared (they are very ecologically aware at this age!). They can also remember past events and can anticipate future events based on their experiences in the past. This remembering and anticipating leads to causality: learning the relationship between the cause and the results. This is very similar to cause and effect.

Preoperational Stage-Identification and Labeling

These are also important cognitive - and communication - skills. In identification , the child points, gives, or touches a requested object. Labeling involves verbally naming the object and is highly dependent upon language skills. We'll talk more about labeling and what is involved in learning language skills in the Communication Lesson. It is a high level skill that is dependent upon receiving adequate verbal input. When assessing identification, what you say to the child is important because it can determine how the child responds. For example, some developmental assessments have you say to the child "get the ball". If the child gets it, the child gets credit. On the other hand, if you say "where is the ball" and the child points to it, the child gets credit. In this instance, the child did not have to touch or get the object. They could just point to it. In both instances, language development is critical. If you use a word that the child is unfamiliar with, the child may not get the requested object because they did not understand the word you used. For example, some parents say bottle while others say "baba" (baby talk for bottle). Depending upon which word the parent uses, the child may respond one way - or the other! Pointing is very common, particularly in children that do not have good mobility skills. This child usually knows where the object is, they just lack the mobility skills to get it. As a result, when someone else wants something, or if the child wants something, they will just point at the object. Children that lack verbal skills also rely on pointing. This is particularly true with a child that has older siblings. The younger sibling may not ever have to speak (label objects) because someone else (the older siblings) get everything for their younger sibling. As a result, the younger child's labeling may be affected because ample opportunities to practice language skills were not available. Other children may "baby speak" for pretty much the same reason: someone else interprets all of their verbalizations and provides the right label for the child instead of having the child say it.

Characteristic of sound

These characteristics can affect your behavioral state (how wide awake, how asleep, or how "on edge" you are) and thus affect your responsiveness. If you are already "on edge" or if you are trying to fall asleep, little sounds can be very irritating. On other days, you may be seeking a lot of auditory input - and perhaps driving everyone else nuts! The first characteristic of sound is loudness or amplitude or threshold. This is the intensity of sound (loud versus soft). It is measured by decibels. Second is frequency or pitch. This refers to the frequency of the sound wave (high versus low tone). This is measured in hertz. Third is duration, or how long the auditory stimulus lasts. This is important when dealing with high tone, high amplitude sounds. If these sound levels last for a very long time, permanent hearing loss can be the result. How long a "very long time" lasts is up for debate. Age is a factor. So is the loudness of the sound. The higher the decibels, the more apt there is to be permanent damage. Hearing losses are now being identified in many younger people that use earphones to listen to IPODS or similar devices. The fourth characteristic is location, or identification of the origination of the sound. Location is related to registering the sound and orienting to it. Localization occurs in a developmental sequence.

Concrete Operations Stage-Moral Development

This is developing a sense of ethics and values, morals also involves problem solving. They are an interesting way to look at a child's reasoning abilities

Concrete Operations Stage-seriation

This is the ability to put a variety of things into some kind of order. Please note that as a child gets older, the way that they organize things and put it into some type of order may not make sense to you, but it may to the child. If you cannot figure out "how the child organized it", ask! It will help you identify the child's thought processes.

Concrete Operations Stage-Reversibility

This is the ability to put things in order. For example, when things go one way, it means that the order will be reversed when turned around. For example, you can list all 12 cranial nerves in order from 1 to 12 OR you can list them in order from 12 to 1. Of course, doing them in reverse order may take longer, but you will be able to do it.

Concrete Operations Stage-Conservation

This is the ability to realize that one aspect of something can remain the same while some other aspect is changing. There are two types of conservation: conservation of substance and conservation of distance.

Concrete Operations Stage-classification

This is the ability to sort stimuli into categories according to certain characteristics. Remember that we discussed sorting in the pre-operational stage. Children can classify objects several ways. Relational classification is putting objects together by common function or association. For example, these are fruits or vegetables, or these are tools. Descriptive classification is putting objects together based on common attributes. For example, these are foods that grow underground, these are plants that are edible, or these are animals that we can eat. Generic classification is a basic method that uses general classes or categories. For example, building on the above, these are foods versus plants versus animals.

Concrete Operations Stage-Transformation

This is the ability to tell how one state or appearance of a substance can be changed into another. For example, butterflies come from a cocoon

Concrete Operations Stage-Moral test

To test moral development Ask the child which is worse: stealing a loaf of bread for your family or stealing a small ribbon for yourself. Responses The 5 year old will make the judgment based on what they have learned about good versus bad behavior. In this instance, stealing is bad, so both stealing for yourself or for your family are bad. The 8 year old will make the judgment based on the person's intent. They will decide that stealing something for yourself is worse than stealing a loaf of bread for your family. Therefore, it would be OK to steal for your family, but not for yourself. To test moral development in another way Ask the child what is a lie versus what is a mistake. Responses The 5 year old will again make the judgment based on what they have learned about good versus bad behavior. Since a lie breaks a rule, it is bad. In this instance, both a lie and a mistake are bad and you should get in trouble for either one. The 8 year old will also make this judgment based on the person's intent. If the person knew the truth, but lied about it, it is wrong and that person should be punished. If the person did not know the truth, it would be a mistake. A lie is also OK if it would hurt someone else if you told the truth. This becomes a "catch-22". If the child tells the truth, someone will get in trouble. If the child lies, the person may not get in trouble, but the child has just learned that you can push the limits and then lie about it

Sensor motor-4th Sub Stage Example of imitation and object permanence

When teaching an infant how to play "peek-a-boo", adults should always keep their face in the same place so that when the infant moves the cover, they see the adult in the same place. Once the infant knows the rules (remove the cover and find the adult), the adult can move to different places. In the younger infant, they will always look to the first place that the adult hid. This error in thinking is common in the younger infant. As their cognitive skills progress, they learn to look for "signs" that the adult has moved and are much better at finding the adult - wherever they hide! Please note that "peek-a-boo" emphasizes cause and effect and object permanence. Over time, the infant will play this game by him or herself by holding something up in front of their face, then moving it down and smiling at the person that is watching. He or she is imitating what they have seen others do.

Havighurst's Social Developmental Tasks-5

achieving more personal independence . This implies to the child that she/he can act on or with others and the environment and that they can be successful. Parents have typically helped the child with all decisions - from what the child will wear to what activities the child will participate in. At younger ages, the child has had constant supervision. Between 9 - 12 years of age, most children will start insisting that they do not need a babysitter. They are capable of taking care of themselves. Latch-key children (those children that have a key to the house and go home by themselves after school while the parent is still gone) are prevalent in our society. Most children also have specific chores that they must accomplish. This helps the child become more and more independent and to realize the consequences of their own actions (if you make the mess, you clean it up!).

Havighurst's Social Developmental Tasks-7

adolescents needed to accomplish specific tasks. These tasks build upon those established in the 9 - 12 year old. First, the adolescent needs to achieve new and more mature relationships with both sexes and with their age mates. Prior to adolescence, most children played with peers of the same gender. By adolescence, interest in the opposite sex increases and dating usually starts. The adolescent must also accept their own body and how it works. Puberty typically hits either just before or during adolescence. It is also desirable for the adolescent to achieve a sense of masculine and feminine social roles . However, in today's society, the blending of these roles are occurring more and more often. Remember Erickson's initiative versus guilt and identity versus role confusion and Selman's mutual roles and social convention system? These are all important in establishing appropriate social roles.

Erikson's Personality Development-Stage 6: Intimacy vs. isolation

associated with young adulthood and is the sixth stage of Erickson's theory. Relationships with others (non-family members) are explored, with the frequent goal of establishing a long term relationship. If successful, the person feels a sense of completion and commitment. Isolation is the opposite. The person may never establish intimate relationships because of fear or lack of opportunity. Isolation and loneliness may lead to depression. A person may also become promiscuous instead of intimate.

Havighurst's Social Developmental Tasks-1

building a wholesome attitude toward oneself . This means that the child is dealing with sexuality and their own specific self care needs.

Kohlberg's Moral Development-Postconventional reasoning

final level of moral development. The person at this level, seen in adolescence through adulthood, has developed a strong internal standard of what is right and wrong. This person has worked through many of the issues that he or she has faced. At the lower levels of moral reasoning, their decisions have been strongly influenced by others - "What would ____ do if this happened?" They have also seen how a wide variety of people have handled similar situations and realized that different people have different standards for behavior. They have also observed that what one culture may expect or accept could be criticized by another culture. By the time adolescents get to the postconventional level of reasoning, they have internalized their own sense of right and wrong. Morality is judged by determining if the person's sense of morals matches society's. A person's decisions are not based on what others would do. Instead, the person acts based on their own sense of ethics and values. They judge the situation and act accordingly. A person that is faced with deciding between two options, such as the law versus what their sense of ethical responsibility tells them is the correct response, will usually choose to follow their sense of ethical responsibility, even if it breaks the law. You can easily see what problems are created when people never develop morals or a strong sense of right and wrong. Their ethical reasoning is corrupt and they have no respect for the laws or rules of others. As a result, anarchy rules!

Erikson's Personality Development

focused on the individual's ability to act, be independent, and interdependent in their environment. In other words, he was interested in how children socialize and act in their environment. He also examined the development of personality. He thought the person progressed through several stages. If a child is to develop normally, they should progress through each of the stages. Those that do have a competent personality. If there is a problem at any one of the stages, the child (or adult) may not develop the higher stages and their personality may be affected.

Sensor motor-4th Sub Stage Example of Object Permanence and cause and effect

infant this age has learned to fling objects out of their hand ( cause ). The infant will watch the object fall and then want it back. Parents will pick the toy up and give it back ( effect ), the infant then throws it again. If the parent tries to give the infant something else, the infant usually cries. If you give them the initial object back, they are usually content. If you hide the object under a tissue or a small blanket, at first, the infant will be distracted by the tissue or blanket. However, they soon progress to actually getting the object that you hid under the tissue or blanket. This is a hallmark of object permanence . The infant knows what s/he wants and will try to get that specific object if at all possible. As a therapist, object permanence means that if you take something from the infant, they will most likely want it back!

Sensor motor-4th Sub Stage Imitation

is a skill that is learned by watching people and how they act on and with objects. The infant begins imitation by playing simple games that involve copying another person's movements. The classic examples here are waving bye-bye and playing "peek-a-boo". Waving bye-bye occurs because the parent says bye-bye, and at the same time, picks up the infant's arm and waves it at someone. Over time, the infant does not need physical cues - just the words or seeing someone else waving will be enough to get the infant to wave bye-bye.

Erikson's Personality Development-Stage 7: Generativity vs. Stagnation

is seen in middle adulthood, typically age 25-64. Generativity is seen as most adults are working toward their goals. They have established a family and are secure in their career. They are looking out at the community and becoming more involved in different organizations with their family. A danger is that a person may become so over-involved that they neglect themselves. Those that do not do this typically stagnate. They may not have a sense of purpose in their life and generally do not contribute to society. This may precipitate the so-called "middle age crisis".

Communication

is the ability to receive and respond to a verbal or non-verbal message. Receiving a message is called receptive language . As part of receiving the message, we also respond to how the message was given. This response to how the message was given is related to our ability to identify the non-verbal message. For example, if a teacher calls your name, it could be part of the roll call and the teacher is just looking for a an answer like "I'm here". On the other hand, the teacher (or a parent!) could say your name in an exasperated tone - this may signal to the receiver (you), that they are beginning to get angry and if you don't fix something, you will soon be in trouble. The same verbal message was given both times. How the message was delivered determines your response.

Sensor motor-2nd Sub Stage Primary Circular reactions

lasts from about 1 - 4 months of age. The infant repeats movements over and over. These are called primary circular reactions . These movements are body centered. Examples include putting their fingers in their mouth to console themselves, waving their arms and legs, and smiling when they see another person.

Havighurst's Social Developmental Tasks-3

learns appropriate masculine and feminine roles . Boys learn that it is OK to cry and girls learn that it is OK to excel at sports. How a person acts is important in defining their masculinity or femininity. Perhaps you played nurse/doctor. When I was younger, doctors were almost always male and nurses were almost always female. Fortunately, this role stereotyping is starting to disappear.

Sensor motor-4th Sub Stage Object Permanence

marks key accomplishments for an infant's cognitive development: the infant becomes goal oriented. They learn object permanence , begin to understand cause and effect and space and time , and learn how to imitate others. These skills commonly develop between 8 and 12 months of age. Object permanence means that if an object disappears, the infant will not be distracted by anything else - they want the object that disappears. In cause and effect , the infant learns that when I do something (the cause), something else happens (the effect). They start to learn how to use certain toys, like shaking a rattle because it makes noise. The rattle is the cause - figuring out how it makes noise is the effect.

Kohlberg's Moral Development

preconventional reasoning, conventional reasoning (instrumental purpose and exchange maintaining mutual relations, social system conscience), post conventional reasoning

Cognition

process of knowing, It is most frequently viewed as an intellectual process - that is how the thought process changes over time. Piaget, a well known cognitive development theorist, coined three terms that are still used to describe the way that we learn new things. First, is assimilation. We assimilate when we act on or with familiar objects or people in the environment in the same way that we always have. If we see someone do something different, with people, objects, or the environment, than what we have already assimilated, we watch that person and how they act. Our system is obtaining new knowledge about objects and events. This modifies our old information so that instead of doing the same old thing, we can now do two different things. This process is called accommodation. The child is accommodating as they try to imitate actions that others have done. Over time, and with lots of practice, they learn how to do new things. As this new way of doing something is integrated into our system and we start doing this new method, our system reaches equilibration, or a balance between the new and old ways. As we reach equilibration, this new way of doing something now becomes a second "old way" and is part of assimilation. Infants and children are constantly exposed to new opportunities within the environment all day long. In the normal infant and child, their system constantly assimilates, accommodates, and reaches equilibration. In addition to learning new information, cognition includes the ability to transfer or generalize learning to other situations. Problems with generalization are seen in the therapy clinic many times. For example, you teach a client how to go up and down stairs in the therapy clinic. That client gets home and cannot figure out how to go up the door stoop. To this person, the two activities - going up or down stairs and stepping up through a door - are two different things instead of the same task, just different settings. This client has problems generalizing the skill of climbing stairs learned in the therapy setting to a new setting: home. Another way of defining cognition is that it includes adapting to, relating to, and interpreting the past and current environment.

Receptive language

relies upon the auditory system for verbal messages. The auditory system is considered a distant sense organ. This means that auditory information comes from outside the body and is then interpreted by the auditory system. This translation of sound to interpreting it is completed via a mechanical system. This means that response to auditory stimulation is dependent upon movement of the sound wave into the ear to the receptor organ which then interprets the stimulation.

Piaget Stages of Cognitive Development

sensorimotor stage, the pre-operational stage, the concrete operations stage, and the formal operations stage

Kohlberg's Moral Development-conventional reasoning

typically seen from age 9 through adolescence. This person has internalized certain rules and standards of behavior that others have imposed. Moral development is present when a child meets those expectations and meets their obligations. For example, a child learns what the teacher's rules are regarding talking or passing notes in class and what the consequences are if a child breaks those rules. A child also learns to turn in their homework and that the excuse of a "my dog ate it" will probably not work with the teacher! During this stage, a child develops instrumental purpose and exchange. At this level, the child's behaviors are guided by their own and other's interests - what is considered "in" or popular beliefs. If you challenge or choose not to follow those popular beliefs, you are shunned by the rest. The exchange comes as children learn to share: if you do something for another child, you expect the favor to be returned. The child also deals with maintaining mutual relations in conventional reasoning. The golden rule, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you", becomes internalized. A child realizes that their actions with and on others are important. If a child does not treat others with respect, then how can that child expect to be treated with respect? Social interactions are a two way street: maintaining relationships with others are important. A child also learns that doing something for yourself is considered worse than doing something for others. For example, stealing a piece of jewelry for yourself is wrong while stealing a loaf of bread to feed your family may be OK. They both break rules, but the intent of the action is also important to consider. Toward the end of the conventional stage, the adolescent is developing a social system conscience . They are becoming more and more aware of the consequences of actions. They are very concerned about rules and what happens when everyone does not follow the rules. Their own personal decisions are typically based on the concepts of obedience and their own sense of responsibility to the overall social order.

Erikson's Personality Development-Stage 8: Integrity vs. Despair

typically seen in those above the age of 65. As the person reaches the age of retirement, the ability to remain active and productive is important and contributes to maintaining integrity. He or she may look forward to passing their wisdom down to younger generations. A person also reflects on the past successes and failures. If a person views him or herself as unproductive, or feels guilty about anything, despair may take over. This may lead to a downward spiral that is very difficulty to overcome.