PSC 140 Midterm 3!

Describe changes in the prevalence of nuclear families in U.S. households from 1970 to present day. What accounts for the drop in the nuclear family?

---1970: 40% of all US households were nuclear. ---2012: 20% of all US households are the "traditional" nuclear family. ---Why the drop? -Higher rates of divorce; higher rates of single parents; higher rates of alternative or postmodern family arrangements; higher rates of people never getting married; delayed childbearing or no children.

Changes in attention, planning, and categorization during middle childhood

---Attention: Advances in attention during middle childhood. -Can sustain attention/concentrate for longer periods of time -Better able to ignore distractions -Cognitive inhibition: Controlling thoughts and behavior. -More efficient visual scanning (better at systematically comparing objects). ---Planning: Greater ability to plan out a sequence of act to reach a goal. Understanding of sub-goals or small steps necessary to achieve larger goals. ---Language and categorization -6-7 year olds understand approximately 10,000 words. -By age 11, have a vocabulary of approximately 40,000 words. --This increase in language associated with advancements in categorization skills: -Know about relationship between superordinate and subclasses (can solve class inclusion) -Can categorize using multiple criteria, e.g. categorize stamps by country, price, year, topic, etc.

Be able to clearly describe and give examples of the 4 major types of parenting styles: authoritarian, authoritative, permissive, and uninvolved/neglectful (know how they vary on responsiveness and demandingness). What types of behaviors/child outcomes are each of these parenting styles associated with?

---Authoritarian: high demand, low responsiveness. -Lower social competence, Often seek adult help for peer conflicts, Higher rates of anger towards authority. ---Authoritative: high demand, high responsiveness. -Competent, self-controlled, curious, Better school performance. ---Permissive: low demand, high responsiveness -Low self-control, immature. ---Uninvolved/neglectful: low demand, low responsiveness -Low social competence, Poor school performance.

Approaches to teaching math (bottom-up vs. top-down)

---Bottom-up -Emphasis on "decoding" numbers. -Focus on correct procedures for adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing. -Learning through number drills, recitation scripts. ---Top-down -Math for meaning; focus on math concepts in relation to "real-world problems". -Emphasis on comprehension and the use of math as an important tool.

Approaches to teaching reading (bottom-up vs. top-down)

---Bottom-up: -Decode phonemes, combine into words, then sentences, then paragraphs. -Emphasis in phonemic analysis ---Top-down -Reading for meaning: interpret words based on prior knowledge -Emphasis on comprehension. -Emphasis on visual retrieval of entire words. -"Whole language approach".

What are some explanations for increased rate of childhood obesity? What type(s) of intervention is/are successful? What kinds of new laws are being passed?

---Causes of obesity: -Altered dietary intake (esp. increase in high-fat, high-sugar foods; increased portion sizes) -Decreased physical activity -Increased TV watching -Lower cost and higher availability of junk food. -Genetic link (twin studies; adoption studies). ---Interventions: -Lifestyle change: Diet and exercise. Typical FAMILY BASED intervention. --Many states (including CA) implemented new laws: -State mandated body mass screenings in school -New nutritional standards for school lunches -Expanded PE requirements for schools -New standards for foods/drinks provided in school vending machines. ---In November 2010 San Francisco voted to ban toys in children's meals (including happy meals) that doesn't meet nutritional standards for fat, sugar, and caloric content (< 600 calories, < 35% calories from fat.) All children's meals must come with fruits and vegetables. Took effect December 2011.

Has the average # of children per family increased or decreased in the past 50 years? What are some reasons for why?

---In mid 1950s average # of children in US family was 3.8 -Currently it is 2.1 -Why the reduction? -Greater access to contraception. Higher education level of women. Delay of childbirth. Higher divorce rate. More expensive to raise children.

Be able to describe risk factors for child abuse on the CHILD, FAMILY, AND COMMUNITY LEVELS. What are some of the effects of child abuse? How are these effects the same/different from the effects of just WITNESSING domestic violence? Is being abused in childhood a RISK FACTOR for abusing one's own children? Do MOST abused children go on to abuse their own children later when they are adults?

---Child abuse: more than 3 million cases of child abuse are reported to authorities each year. Most abuse remains unreported. Approximately 1500 children die each year at the hand of a parent (most under 3 years old). ---Types of abuse: Physical abuse. Sexual abuse. Neglect (emotional or physical). Psychological abuse. -Corporal punishment in US was not outlawed until 1974; still legal in many countries. --Causes of abuse: Affected by many interacting variables—no one single cause. ---Risk factors: --Family level: History of abuse in parent's family of origin ( BUT 70% of parents who were abused DO NOT GO ON TO ABUSE THEIR OWN CHILDREN). -Premature, sick, or temperamentally difficult child -Unmanageable parental stress (chronic poverty, marital discord, substance abuse, unemployment) --Community level: Isolation from social support --Cultural level: Availability of violent images. Acceptance of corporal punishment. --Effects of abuse: Depends on type of abuse, age and gender of the child, and how information of the abuse is handled. --Common effects: Lower school achievement. Internalizing problems (anxiety/depression). Externalizing problems (aggression/acting out). Poor peer relationships. Low self-esteem. Inappropriate sexual behavior and promiscuity (in cases of sexual abuse). ---Witnessing Marital Violence -Children who repeatedly witness marital violence exhibit many of the same symptoms of those children directly abused. -Lower school achievement. Internalizing and externalizing problems. Poor peer relationships. Difficulty in understanding and expressing appropriate emotion.

Know the definition of conservation, standard procedures for conservation tasks, and how "concrete operational children" solve them based on their knowledge about identity, compensation, and reversibility

---Conservation: ability to understand that the properties of an object/substance are not changed by a change in appearance. --Between 5-8 year old children solve conservation problems by taking into account: ---Identity: outward changes don't change substance involved. ---Compensation: changes in one dimension compensate for changes in another. ---Reversibility: one operation can be negated or reversed.

Findings from Flavell et al. on children's knowledge about thinking and stream of consciousness

---During middle childhood, children increasingly: --See the mind as experiencing a "stream of consciousness". --That a person's mind is nearly always experiencing a constant flow of thoughts and ideas. --Attribute "thinking" to people who are pretending, reading, listening, talking. --Become aware WHEN people are thinking, WHAT they are thinking about, and WHY they are having these thoughts. --Can introspect on their own thoughts, or "trains of thought." ---Children younger than 7 years old have great difficulty with these concepts.

Contrast education vs. apprenticeship

---Education -Deliberate teaching of information and skills -Explicit instruction -First "schools" appeared around 4000 BC ---Apprenticeship -Learning by observing and participating -Combine instruction with productive labor -Typically implicit instruction

Be able to describe some of the short and long term consequences of divorce. How are these effects dependent in part on the gender and age of the child? What are 4 factors that make a difference in how children handle divorce? Do most kids whose parents divorce end up doing fine or do they have significant problems?

---Financial hardship -Mother headed households experience a sharp drop in income. ¾ of mothers get less child support than they should. About 25% get nothing. -Move to new household can be disruptive resulting in less support from family and friends. -Minimal parenting -Depends on age and gender --Young children may...Exhibit separation anxiety, Blame themselves, Fantasize about parents reuniting. --Older children may...Truancy, Delinquency, Running away, Promiscuity. -Girls are more likely to exhibit internalizing problems and boys externalizing problems. ---Four factors that make a difference in how kids handle divorce (Hetherington): -Boys have more difficulty immediately especially if they live with their mother. -Children whose relationship with their father continues, do better. -Children whose parents behave well towards each other do better. -Children's whose financial circumstances do not dramatically change, do better. --High majority of children experience no serious negative long term effects.

Does this vary by culture/SES? If so, why and how? (Parenting styles)

---Influence of parenting style may vary by culture: - Authoritative parenting correlated with better outcomes for European-American and Hispanic-American children. - Authoritarian correlated with better outcomes for African-American children (esp. girls); especially in low income neighborhoods. - Authoritarian parenting also correlated with higher academic achievement in Asian-American families.

Be familiar with Dweck's research on mastery vs. helpless orientations & entity vs. incremental views of intelligence

---Motivation & Intuitive Theories of Intelligence: ---Mastery Orientation -Persist in face of failure -Have incremental theory of intelligence. Focus on effort vs. ability. ---Helpless Orientation -Give up in face of failure, or avoid challenges -Have entity theory of intelligence: Focus on ability vs. effort. --This is why parents/teachers should praise effort and NOT ability. --Helpless Orientation more common in high performing girls vs. boys.

Be familiar with the percentage of children born outside of marriage to women between 20-30 years of age (New York Times article) and how this has changed in recent years. How do the percentages vary by mother's race or ethnicity? How do the percentages vary by maternal education level?

---Now > 50% of children born in mothers under age 30 are born outside of marriage. -Fastest growth since 1990 in white women with some college, but not a 4 year degree. -Varies by education level (majority of women with a 4 year degree marry before having children. -Varies by race/ethnicity (73% of black children are born outside of marriage, compared with 53% of Latinos, 29% of whites).

Be familiar with the definitions of the several different types of families described in lecture. Also be able to describe some of the risks/problems with some of these family types (if any) and the "protective" factors that increase the chances for optimal development within these different kinds of families.

---Nuclear family (child + biological mother and father) ---Single parent (includes never-married, widowed, and divorced) -Majority headed by women ---Extended or multigenerational family -10% of families; relatives live together -Most common in African-American and Hispanic families ---Blended family = family structure that includes parent, stepparent, and children. -Mother-stepfather = most common -Stepfather often seen as "intruder". Often have limited access to biological father -Father-stepmother: Adjustment harder for girls at first; typically confounded by severe problems with biological mother -Protective factors: Strong relationship between biological parent and stepparent. "Easing" into parent role by stepparent. Family therapy. ---Gay or lesbian family -Increasing in recent years -Easier access to donors -Increased custody given by courts -Developmental effects: No difference from children in families with heterosexual parents. Depends on quality of relationship, parenting practices, parent-child relationship, SES. -Issues: Relationship to extended family/relatives may be broken. Concern that children may be stigmatized by peers ---Adoptive family -Increased adoption rate in recent years especially of foreign children -Adopted children: Tend to have more learning and emotional difficulties compared to non-adopted age mates in childhood and adolescence (depends on age of adoption). Development of ethnic identity affected by practices of adoptive parents.

What are some physical and social effects of childhood obesity?

---Physical effects: Type 2 diabetes, Elevated blood pressure levels, Orthopedic problems, Fatty liver disease, Sleep apnea, Stroke, Cardiovascular disease, Early onset of puberty, Asthma, Lowered life expectancy. ---Social effects: Depression, Low self-esteem, Suicidal ideation, Peer rejection.

What are some developmental effects of having no siblings?

---Positive outcomes: -High self-esteem, Achievement oriented (as much as children with one other sibling), More privacy, More financial resources. ---Negative outcomes: -May be more pressure from parents, May have more difficulty in social relationships, Lack of sibling relationship.

Methods for assessing the influence of schooling on cognitive development: school cut-off approach and cross-cultural approaches.

---School Cut-Off Approach -Compare the skills of students who were born a few months AFTER the cut-off date for their class VS. students who were born a few months BEFORE the cut-off date. --Findings: -Better memory (including strategy use), reading and math skills in "young" 1st graders vs "old" kindergarteners. -Suggest that you should not "hold your child back" in school when their birthday is near the cut-off (at least for academic reasons). ---Cross-Cultural Approaches -Compare cultures with and without formal educational training --Findings: -Concrete operational thought not affected by schooling (if testing is appropriately sensitive). -Memory strategies better in children with formal learning. -Metacognitive skills and explanations better in children with formal schooling. -Knowledge base more extensive in children with formal schooling.

Be familiar with how speed of processing, knowledge base, strategies, and metamemory influence children's memory and cognition in middle childhood (know what each of these are, how they develop, etc.)

---Speed of processing: --Increase in "memory span" -4-5 years: 4 digits -9-10 years: 6 digits -Adults: 7 digits --Related to the speed at which children can name the items to be remembered (faster = less memory decay). Also, an increase in age with retrieval of information from long-term memory. ---Knowledge base: store of information about objects, people, the world. Expertise improves memory. ---Memory strategies: deliberate actions to increase storage and retrieval of information. --Requires individual to: Think about goal, Plan how to achieve goal. --Three common strategies: -Rehearsal (quietly repeat items, repeat items in head). -Memory organization (mentally group or chink in meaningful units). -Elaboration (make connections between two or more things). ---Metmemory: knowledge about memory processes. -5 year olds: Overestimate how much they can remember. Underestimate the effort it takes to remember or the strategies required.

How do you compute an IQ score? What is normal IQ?

--1916 the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale (developed in collaboration with Terman). --IQ = (Mental Age/Chronological Age) X 100 -Examples: -If MA = 8 and CA = 8 then. . . -- IQ = (8/8) X 100 = 100 (normal intelligence) -If MA = 10 and CA = 7 then. . . --IQ = (10/7) X 100 = 143 (very high intelligence) --IQ is a good predictor of school performance (r = .50)

Be able to describe/identify some of the influences of poverty on child development. What percentage of children are living in poverty in U.S.?

--40% of children in US live in low-income households --18% live in poverty. -Impacts of poverty: Problems: Low quality housing, health care, schools, recreation choices. Safety a big issue. Higher stress from multiple sources. -How parents deal with it: Larger emphasis on obedience (authoritarian parenting). Discourage exploration. More likely to resort to physical punishment. Less nurturing. --May be ADAPTIVE for the current circumstances but may LIMIT long-term developmental achievements

Does the American Academy of Pediatrics believe that children under age 2 should watch t.v./videos? Does this match parents' opinions/practices?

--AAP recommends no TV for children < 2 years; but 50% of US public believes that such videos are important for cognitive development in infants and toddlers.

Practical knowledge of math in Brazilian street vendors -how does their math performance change depending upon the context in which it is evaluated?

--Able to compute math problems in the context of street vending but showed poor understanding when the same problems were presented on paper. --Need to learn how to read and write numbers. --Need to learn how to add, subtract, multiply, divide. --Influenced by culture.

Is there a correlation between exposure to t.v. violence and aggressive behavior?

--Aggression and violence increase in areas after TV is introduced. --Over 1,000 studies point to a causal connection between media violence and aggressive behavior.

3 types of mathematical knowledge

--Conceptual knowledge: Knowing what the problem is about. --Procedural knowledge: Knowing how to carry out the appropriate actions. --Utilization knowledge: Knowing when to use certain strategies or apply certain procedures.

Research by Stevenson et. al.

--American children do not perform as well as Chinese and Japanese students on math tests. --Differences in Asian schools: 60 more school days per year, spend 10 more hours per week in school, devote more time to math instruction, spend less time doing rote drills, spend more time actively discussing problem solving strategies and less time doing "seat work," require more math homework, give more support and training to teachers. --Differences in Asian home environments: Asian mothers focus more on effort vs ability as key to success, Asian parents are less satisfied with their child's performance and encouraged them to try harder, Asian families spend more time in academic-type activities outside of school and provide more assistance with homework.

Cultural differences in memory

--Better memory strategies in children who attend school. --Greater spontaneous use of organizational strategies. --But: no memory differences if objects are presented as part of a story instead of randomly.

What are the main conclusions about the influence of nature vs. nurture on IQ?

--Biology is destiny (innatist hypothesis) -Herrnstein and Murray, 1994. Jenson, 1985. --Environment plays a large role (environmentalist hypothesis) -Scarr and Weinberg, 1983. Shirley Brice Heath, 1989. --Some part of differences in performance on IQ test is inheritable. -Researchers vary in their conclusions about how much of the variance is due to genes (ranging from .4 to .7)

Be able to describe some of the child outcomes associated with teenage motherhood. What helps children of teenage moms remain resilient?

--Children of teenage moms are: -Often more aggressive and perform more poorly in school compared to other children. Do better if live in extended family households. -Why? -Teenage moms don't talk to their babies as much. Limited financial resources (typically live in poverty). Social isolation of mothers. Lower education level of mother. 2/3 of mothers never complete high school.

Children's problem solving & how it is assessed using the "balance scale" method. How do 5s vs 9s compare? What dimension (weight or distance) does 5s most often focus on?

--Children use different strategies to solve different problems. Over time and experience, less effective strategies are replaced by more sophisticated strategies that are: More efficient: more rapid solution; More accurate: correct answer. --Children can first attend to one variable. Then they can attend to two variables. Then they can combine their knowledge about two or more variables. --"The Balance Scale" - Need to consider: Weight, Distance from fulcrum, Combination of weight and distance (weight x distance = torque/downward force). --Most 5 year olds focus on weight alone; except when weights on both sides are equal. --By age 9, start to consider both weight and distance at the same time.

What are some of the causes of sibling rivalry?

--Compete for resources, including attention -New baby can be especially difficult for children < 4 --Rivalry most common in situations of: Differential treatment, Unstable family circumstances, Coercive or hostile parenting.

Besides conservation, what are some other indices of concrete operational thought?

--Concrete operations = coordinated, logical mental actions. --Children's thinking becomes: More organized. Flexible. "Reversible". "Double-sided". --Hierarchal classification: can focus on subordinate and superordinate categories at the same time (can solve class inclusion tests) --Seriation: ability to order items along quantitative dimension. Understanding of "transitive inference" = if A < B and B < C then A must me < C. --Spatial operations: better ability to represent spatial layouts, or "cognitive maps," of locations or routes

Be familiar with obesity rates. How do obesity rates vary by social economic status (SES), ethnicity, and race?

--Currently, approximately 19% of children are obese in the US. -More common in children of obese vs non-obese parents. -Among youth, highest obesity rates are in African-American girls (38%) and Mexican-American boys (44%) -More common in low SES families. -Some recent evidence that obesity rates in 2-5 year olds starting to decrease. -80% chance that obese children stay obese through adulthood. - > 67% of American adults are overweight; > 30% obese.

How and why can birth order effect intellectual development?

--Family environment affects siblings differently based on the timing of their birth. -Results of birth order effects on intelligence have been mixed. -Depends on the AGE children are tested. --A significant correlation between birth order and educational achievement has been found for children over 11-years old (firstborns outscore later borns). -Why? (Zajnc): In their earliest years of development they did NOT have to share parental resources. Firstborn children get intellectual advantage of being "tutor" to younger as they grow older.

Adult expectations for boys vs. girls and relation to children's attitudes

--For boys: -Criticism focuses on lack of neatness, failure to turn in homework, inattentiveness. -Praise focuses on intellectual ability and performance. --For girls: -Criticism focuses on intellectual ability and performance -Praise focuses on neatness, cooperation --Correlated with children's attitudes: -Girls more often focus on lack of ability when they fail -Boys more often focus on lack of effort, bad luck, or bad test.

Be familiar with research presented in lecture on gender differences in math achievement

--Gender differences in math are typically small in grammar school and favor females. --In high school and college females perform at the same or higher level as males (based on grades). --When research does find gender differences favoring males it typically begins in late high school and the effect size is small (still only about .8 to 1.5% difference). --Gender differences wider in countries with less gender equity. --Gender differences in math and science majors (college) have changed over time: -51% vs. 25% of college math & science majors were female in 2001 vs. 1966. -Still, only 20% of math and science Ph.D. full time Professors at top research universities are female.

Be able to describe the RESOURCE DILUTION MODEL for the influence of multiple children on the intellectual development.

--General consensus in research literature: children with FEWEST siblings have the best educational outcomes. --Why? (Downy 2011) --Resource Dilution Model: parental resources become "diluted" with each additional child (settings, treatments, opportunities) --Other causal possibility: more educated parents tend to have fewer children (therefore: smart people have small families, instead of small families make smart people)

Be familiar with biological changes between 5 & 12 (middle childhood) in height & weight, and influences on this development

--Grow about 15-20 inches in height --Double in weight ( gain about 45-44 lbs) --Girls have pre-puberty growth spurt earlier than boys ---Influences on growth: Genes, Good nutrition, Overall health.

Be familiar with changes in the brain during middle childhood and their connection to changes in cognition

--Increases in: Myelination of frontal cortex, Synapses (more connections), Alpha activity (indication of active engagement), EEG coherence: different parts of the brain are more able to "work together" more effectively. --Coordination of frontal cortex with other areas of the brain linked to: -Better control of attention -More sophisticated problem solving -Better planning skills -Increased self-reflection.

Contrast mental age vs. chronological age

--Index of intelligence = mental age --MA = test performance of an average child at a certain age. --For example: a 7 year old with a mental age of 9 would be "precocious": answering questions as a 9 year old would on a series of questions.

Historical/societal influences on mandatory schooling

--Influenced by the industrial revolution in the 19th century. --Two early forms: --"Mass education:" for working class; large group sizes, teaching basic skills. --"Liberal education:" for elite class; small classes or tutors, teaching complex subjects. --More contemporary schools provide "liberal" education. --In many places around the world, children are required by law to attend school from ages 5-16. 9+ months/year, 5+ days/week, 5-7 hours/day. --By adulthood, Americans have spent 15,000+ hours in classroom setting --School contexts play a central role in both social and cognitive development --Basic research on how schooling influences social and cognitive development: --Success in school strongly predictive of adult employment and income outcomes. --Has political and social implications for society as a whole. --Millions of children in US are performing very poorly in school

Skills needed in reading

--Learning to read involves: --Emergent literacy -Basic knowledge about literacy, that "words provide the meaning," letter identification -Related to exposure to literacy materials in the home (varies widely between families) --Decoding; Analyzing sounds. -In English, 26 alphabetic letters used to create 52 different phonemes. Examples: Consider "c" in the word "circus." Or the "f" sound can be made by "f" or "ph". -Breaking words into syllables and phonemes. -"Phonological awareness:" ability to do letter to sound translations. --Early writing prior to conventional spelling: Includes several or all of the sounds of the words, but not spelled correctly. -Vowels often excluded. (e.g. GRLZ or girls). -Can reveal children's early phonological awareness—that is, how they are mapping the relation between letters and sounds. --Emergent reading: Often tested by having preschoolers "read" one of their favorite books (before they know how to read conventionally). --Young children who have more experience with reading books show: -Greater understanding that words provide the meaning (may even pretend to "track" the words with their fingers). -Greater understanding of story conventions (for example: starting with "once upon a time" and ending with "the end"). -Better narrative skills (better able to tell a cohesive, detailed story).

What are some of the limitations of concrete operational thinking?

--Logic and reasoning only applied to concrete, directly perceivable objects, people, or events. --More difficult for children to reason "hypothetically."

Be familiar with Piaget's theory of moral reasoning—especially shift from heteronomous morality to autonomous morality

--Morality: understanding issues of right and wrong; including rules and social obligations. -Issues: -Links between moral reasoning (cognition) and moral behavior (action). --Cognitive theories focus on how children's moral development is closely linked to advances in cognitive skills: --Especially, how they THINK about situations and how many FACTORS or PERSPECTIVES they can keep in mind. --Piaget: --Stage 1: heteronomous morality (5-10 years). -Rules handed down by authorities. -Rules = unchangeable, must be obeyed. -"Moral realism:" rules should not be questioned. -"Immanent justice:" wrongdoers will be punished. --Stage 2: autonomous morality (> age 9). -Rules are socially agreed upon; decision to follow the rule is personal. -Rules = flexible, revisable. -"Moral relativism:" consider multiple factors when evaluating their moral conduct.

Are there gender differences in motor development (and athletic competencies)? Potential sources?

--Motor development: increase in strength, agility, and balance. --Boys: better at force and strength skills (e.g. running, throwing, catching). --Girls: better at balance and coordination skills (e.g. skipping, cartwheels, jump-rope). --Sources of gender differences: Practice/experience/opportunities during early childhood. Reinforcement from parents.

How do gender differences in math achievement link to both child attitudes and parental attitudes?

--Negative societal feelings/images about mathematically "smart" girls. --Research by Eccles: Related to children's competence and value beliefs: -Girls, as young as 1st graders(!), believe they are less competent in math (even when their performance is better than boys). -Girls value math less than boys. -Affects their motivation and participation decisions. -Parents tend to believe that girls are less competent in mathematics than boys, and value math less for their daughters than sons. -Parents believe that their daughters are good in reading and tend to promote and value that skill. -Parental beliefs influence child motivation and achievement, and also influence the types of activities and experiences adults provide.

What can be done about limiting the effects of t.v. violence?

--Parents need to take an active role in monitoring children's viewing and watch shows TOGETHER. -Problem: joint television viewing typically happens for adult programs. -Media needs to more accurately report the scientific evidence; and researchers need to spend more time being public policy advocates.

Differences in boys' vs. girls' games

--Piaget argued that "boy's games" are more complex and rule-focused (e.g. marbles). --Study by Lever (1978): Analysis of boys' and girls' play (observation, interview, and diary). -Findings: -Boys > 2 times likely to play competitive games in larger groups (team sports). -Girls more likely to play in smaller groups, with individual "winners" (e.g. hopscotch, jump-rope). --Girl's games actually do involve many rules and negotiations -Girls are no different than boys in social understanding of rules or logical reasoning. -Historical trend for girls to participate in more team sports.

Are there cultural differences in achieving concrete operational thought? If so, what are they?

--Piaget argued that concrete operations is UNIVERSAL development --Main finding: Yes, it appears to be a universal cognitive achievement but there are cultural variations in age achieved. -Need to test knowledge in native language with familiar materials.

Do children benefit from watching educational t.v., such as Sesame Street?

--Sesame Street: Can teach children about letters, numbers, colors, shapes, social relationships. --Correlated with higher performance on vocabulary and basic academic knowledge tests in early grade school. --But, despite marketed efforts to low SES families, it is watched more often in higher SES homes; has been criticized for expanding the achievement gap.

What are specific learning disabilities? How are they diagnosed?

--Specific Learning Disabilities: Failure in particular school subjects despite overall normal or high IQ. --Problems with diagnosing learning disabilities: -Not easy to identify -Typically can't diagnose until school age. -Controversy in definition/criteria -How to distinguish from retardation?

How do siblings and birth order relate to theory of mind development?

--Strong evidence that having siblings is associated with higher performance on theory of mind tests (such as false belief) in preschool years. --Children with siblings outperform singletons. --Having more older siblings (that is, being one of the youngest in the family) appears most beneficial. Not just in preschool years; extends into middle childhood as well.

What is dyslexia?

--The most common specific learning disability. -High quantitative IQ, low verbal IQ -Severe problems in phonological processing --Cause? -Abnormalities in brain development—especially in the ability to rapidly processes sounds; both visual and auditory (Research by Tallal) --Intervention? -Training and practice in discriminating speech sounds in writing and speech.

Also, is there more variation WITHIN ethnic groups on IQ or BETWEEN ethnic groups on IQ scores?

--There are differences between ethnic groups on IQ scores. --Asian Americans > European American > Native American and Hispanic >African Americans. --No evidence that differences in IQ scores BETWEEN ethnic groups is genetic. --May be caused by differences in overall environment.

Be familiar with symptoms of ADD and ADHD, gender differences, effects on school performance and social skills, and treatment options

-Affects 3-5% of school-age children. -Boys diagnosed 5-10 times more than girls (largely because they often have ADD combined with ADHD). ADD is likely under-diagnosed in females because they don't exhibit the disruptive, acting out behaviors. --Symptoms: -Great difficulty staying on task -Impulsivity (act without thinking) -Immature behavior -Often aggressive -Poor social skills and often rejected by peers --Causes: --Biology: Higher concordance in MZ vs DZ twins, Abnormal activity of prefrontal cortex, Delayed brain development, particularly in frontal cortex. --Environment: Prenatal exposure to alcohol, drugs, and other teratogens (including bacterial and viral infections). Exposure to lead (for example from lead point). New research suggests advanced paternal age (45+). --Unlikely causes: Frequent TV watching, Food/diet (such as too much sugar). --Effects of ADD/ADHD on school performance: -Do poorly on tasks requiring sustained attention -Difficulty planning, reasoning, and problem solving in academic situations -Most continue to have difficulties through adolescence into adulthood --Treatment: -Stimulant medication (e.g. Ritalin) most commonly prescribed -Improves academic and social functioning in approximately 70% of cases. -Most effective treatments combine drug treatments with cognitive-behavioral interventions (to learn appropriate academic and social skills).

What are some of the positive effects of Head Start programs?

-Began in 1964 ('War on Poverty") -Specially designed preschools for 3-5 year old children from disadvantaged homes. ---Some findings: -Children less likely assigned to remedial classrooms in grade school -More likely to graduate from high school -Less likely to be incarcerated or on welfare in adulthood -Positive results dependent on actual classroom (can vary by quality too, just as regular daycare) -Future of program uncertain due to high cost

Theories of intelligence

-General --Spearman's "g" factor (i.e. ability to see relationships among objects, events, and ideas; practical sense and initiative). --Jensen's belief that neural processing speed is the fundamental faculty that underpins "g" and results in differences in intelligence. -Specific ---Sternberg's triarchic theory -Analytic = ability to analyze, compare, judge -Creative = ability to invent, discover, imagine -Practical = ability to put knowledge into practice ---Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences -Linguistic = sensitivity to language -Musical = sensitivity to pitch and tone -Logical-mathematical = abstract reasoning and manipulate symbols -Spatial = perceive relations among objects, transform mentally what one sees, and to re-create visual images -Bodily-kinesthetic = ability to represent ideas in movement -Personal = ability to gain access to one's own feeling and understand the motivations of others -Social = ability to understand the motives, feelings, and behaviors of other people.

What are some changes in how children regulate their social interactions with peers?

-Increasing play group size. And increasing complexity of games. ---Rising importance of rules. Central to many games. -Children need to: -Learn the rules. -Negotiate, enforce, and monitor adherence to rules. -Balance personal desires with the desires of the group. -Deal with disagreements and cheaters. --Games as models of society (Piaget) ---Rise of peer influence: -Between 6-12, children spend about 40% of waking hours with peers. -Increasing opportunities to interact with friends without adult supervision. -Content of peer activity changes. -Forms of social control change. ---Measuring social status: Three sociometric techniques: -Nomination procedure -Rating scale -Paired-comparison -Sociogram = a graphic representation of friendships in a group.

Be familiar with findings about child chess-experts vs. adult non-experts (research by Chi) on memory. How does this reveal the importance of content knowledge for memory?

-Research by Chi: --10 year old chess experts had better memory for meaningful arrangements of chess pieces than adult non-experts; but adult non-experts had larger memory spans for random objects.

Common features of classroom instruction (e.g., typical features of instructional discourse)

-The standard classroom format: --Teacher sits at a desk or stands at a blackboard facing the children. --Children sit in parallel rows facing the front of the classroom --Assumption: teacher is the authority figure --Instructional discourse: a distinctive way of talking and thinking that is typical in school but rarely encountered in everyday interactions in the community or home. --"Known answer question:" teacher asks the student "what is this" and the teacher already knows the answer, but asks to see if the student knows. --Alternative forms of classroom instruction: -Reciprocal teaching: a method of teaching reading in which teachers and children take turns reading text in a manner that integrates decoding and comprehension skills. -Realistic mathematics education: an approach to math that focuses on developing the student's understanding of how math can be used to solve real-world problems.

What are some of the issues surrounding the influence of t.v. on child development (stereotypes, violence, sexual content, etc.)?

-Young children watch an average of 2-5 hours of TV per day (with some estimates as high as 40 hours per week). ---Issues: -Can children separate fantasy from reality? -Problem of television form: difficult to process? (need to develop "television literacy") -Good vs. bad television ---Media stereotypes: -Most frequent character: European-American male. Approximately 33% of entertainment shoes have ethnic minorities as main characters. -25-30% of characters are women ---Gender and ethnic stereotypes: Can encourage or maintain negative stereotypes in young children about themselves and other people. -Men = powerful, problem-solving, aggressive, smart, dominant -Women = pretty, young, passive, less intelligent, object of sexual advances --Sexual content also an issue. --60-80% of TV shows contain violence -By the time average American child enters junior high school, they will have witnessed 8,000 murders and >10,000 other acts of violence --Often defined by television networks as "reflecting the real world". < .2% of crimes are murders in "real world" compared to 50% of crimes in "reel world".

Self-esteem

= positive evaluation of one's own worth Research b Harter: Important index of mental health High self-esteem in childhood predicts satisfaction and happiness in adulthood Related to general sense of optimism Measuring self-esteem Typically through self-report questionnaires: Children judge whether a statement is "really true for me" or "sort of true for me" Usually use pictures with children 4-7 years Bases for self-esteem For 4-7 year olds, there are 2 main categories. Competence (combine athletic and cognitive traits) Acceptance (combine parental and peer acceptance) For 8-12 year olds, there are 4 categories Cognitive competence Social competence Physical competence General self-worth 8-12 year olds can relate themselves high in general self-worth even though they do not rate themselves high across all three areas of competence Young children (4-5 year olds) typically self-report higher self-esteem than older children. May be caused by: Overly positive views about their skills and abilities Lower social comparison General self-esteem Varies by child Some children have high sense of self-worth and are only competent in a few areas Other children who are competent in only a few areas have low sense of worth Influenced by what dimensions are important to the child (ideal self) Influenced by how child thinks other view him/her (looking-glass self)

Changes in parental views of their children in middle childhood

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How stable are sociometric categories (e.g., being rejected) over time?

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Research techniques for measuring social status

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Social domain theory and children's ability to distinguish between different types of rules

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What are the primary findings concerning the influence of schooling on cognitive development?

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What are some qualities of home environments related to school success and school readiness?

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Boy-girl relationships in middle childhood

Across cultures, children often spend a lot of time in gender-segregated groups Age 6: 68% of best friends are same gender Age 12: 90% of best friends Less gender-segregated play in neighborhoods vs schools Mix between "cooties" and fascination with the opposite sex in middle childhood "Rules for Contact" between boys and girl: research by Sroufe Several unwritten rules for "maintaining the border" Boys and girls can make contact if: It is accidental They need something They are forced by an adult They go into groups or raids The contact is accompanied by an insult or threat

Be familiar with the descriptions for each social status "category" (e.g., popular, neglected, etc.)

Categories of social status Popular: actively liked Rejected: actively disliked Neglected: ignored Controversial: receive both positive and negative nominations Victimized: actively harmed by part of a group Bullies: act aggressively to dominate the group

How do children become friends?

Causes of friendship Proximity/closeness Opportunities to play Degree of similarity to each other in age, gender, values, interests (esp. like t do the same activities), skills Stability of friendship increases with age (and is affected by changes in the environment)

Developmental changes in friendships and descriptions of friends—reasons for why friends are important for development

Developmental functions: Provide context to develop social skills Source of knowledge/information Companionship/fun Mutual assistance Models of intimate relationships Developmental changes in descriptions of "friends < 6/7 years focus on physical attributes and preferences: Friends are people who are nice to you and who you like to play with > age 7 see friendship as an enduring relationship; increasing focus on issues of loyalty and intimacy The importance of friends for development Children with friends Typically go on to develop in adaptive and healthy ways Immediate benefits Higher self-esteem Better adjustment to school Social support Children without friends Are at risk for many problems including: Delinquency; criminal records Poor school achievement; higher drop-out rates Difficulty in intimate relationships Mental health problems

Is there a causal link between exposure to television violence and aggressive behavior?

Exposure to violent shows predicted higher levels of future physical, verbal, and relational aggression. In girls, it was associated with higher levels of verbal aggression

What was the reason/impetus for developing intelligence tests?

In 1905, Binet and Simon developed tests to identify "mentally subnormal" children

What are some developmental outcomes of peer rejection?

Peer rejection and victimization can have long-lasting effects: Depression Self-harm Substance abuse Delinquency Suicidal thoughts or actions These negative effects are reduced if other children sometimes intervene on their behalf during bullying incidents

Social influences on children's moral development

Peer interaction More popular children are also more morally mature Modeling and imitation Children learn by observing others' behavior and its consequences Parental discipline Use of induction (explanation) correlated with higher levels of moral reasoning (especially in the US)

What are central predictors of popularity? Of rejection? Does it depend on culture?

Predictors of popularity Popular kids Physically attractive Strong social skills: good at initiating and maintaining interactions; good at resolving conflicts Smart Often athletic/coordinated React well to teasing Friendly Predictors of rejection Rejected kids Often aggressive (biggest factor) Some extremely shy Low skills in entering group play: disrupt play; call attention to themselves; inappropriate behaviors Overreact to teasing Often have problems in perspective taking (e.g. hostile attribution bias) Physically unattractive

Be familiar with Kohlberg's theories on the development of moral reasoning—preconventional, conventional, postconventional

Presented children with moral dilemmas (e.g. the Heinz dilemma) Three levels: Preconventional: morality based on rewards, punishment, individual needs Conventional: based on importance of conforming to social rules—loyalty, respect, trust, law and order Postconventional: based on abstract principles and values

Min strategy

Problem solving strategy. Problem: 2+10; Start with the larger number and add the smaller number.

Cultural issues in development of moral reasoning

Question: do children in other cultures reason the same way about rules and justice? Findings: Many similarities across cultures in moral reasoning There are differences between cultures in scope of moral rules—especially the boundary between moral rules and social conventions Many of the controversial findings about differences in moral reasoning have been found in adolescence and adult thinking

Developmental changes in self-concept during middle childhood

Rise of social comparison Defining oneself in relation to skills/attributes of one's peers Starts around 7-8 years old Increasing use of "personality traits" See their own and other's behaviors as often stable across situations (e.g. smart, funny, shy)

Be familiar with the findings from Sherif's Robber's Cave experiment

Sherif et al, 1961 Group of 5th grade boys at summer camp Two groups: the "Rattlers" and the "eagles" Competition BETWEEN groups fostered solidarity WITHIN each group: "us" vs "them" mentality This rivalry was only reduced through engagement in cooperative asks General findings Children form groups based on common interests and goals Cohesiveness is formed by common goals and competition with other groups. Inspired "cooperative learning" programs in school

Parental influences on self-esteem

Three important parental characteristics: Acceptance of children and affection Setting clear limits Respect for children's individually and point of view