CHILD DEVELOPMENT MIDTERM TWOOOOOO
controversies in early childhood education
1. what the curriculum for early childhood education should be (child centered and constructivist or academic and direct-instruction) 2. whether preschool education should be universal in the US (for 4yr olds) -proponents say that preschool prepares children for later academic success and decrease the likelihood that children will be retained in a grade or drop out before graduating high school. also say that this would decrease costs for justice and remedial services -critics say that the gains are overstated and that research hasn't proven that nondisadvantaged children benefit from attending. say it's more important to improve preschool education for kids who are disadvantaged than to fund for all 4 year olds. say that young kids should be educated by their parents not schools
lobe areas of the brain
4 (F,P,O,T) frontal: cognitive functions and control of voluntary movement or activity parietal: processes information about temperature, taste, touch and movement occipital: vision temporal: processes memories, integrating them with sensations of taste, sound, sight and touch
variations in early childhood evaluation/education
***child-centered kindergarten: education that involves the whole child by considering both the child's physical, cognitive, and socioemotional development, and the child's needs, interests, and learning styles. nurturing!! focused on learning, not what is learned -3 principles: -each child follows a unique developmental pattern -young children learn best through firsthand experiences with people and materials, play is important. -exploring, experimenting, discovering, trying out, restructuring, speaking, listening are common -developmental status of 4 and 5 yr olds montessori approach: an educational philosophy in which children are given considerable freedom and spontaneity in choosing activities and are allowed to move from one activity to another as they desire -teacher is a facilitator rather than director ***developmentally appropriate practice (DAP): education that focuses on the typical developmental patterns of children (age appropriateness) and the uniqueness of each child (individual appropriateness) -emphasis on process of learning not it's content project head start: a government funded program that is designed to provide children from low-income families the opportunity to acquire the skills and experiences important for school success
reading and language
**reading whole-language approach: reading instruction should parallel children's natural language learning, whole materials to understand language's communicative form, so taught to recognize whole words or even sentences and use context of what they are reading to guess the meaning of the words -reading integrated with other skills and subjects like science and social studies, focused on real-world material ***reading phonics approach: reading instruction should teach basic rules for translating written symbols into sounds, simplified materials to master sounds before moving on ---> research shows that children benefit from both approaches, but instruction in phonics needs to be emphasized second-language learning: bilingualism has a positive effect on children's cognitive development -subtractive bilingualism: immigrant kids monolingual in their home language to bilingual in that language and english and then end up monolingual speakers of english, negative effects on children bilingual education: research supports bilingual education -children have difficulty learning a subject when it is taught in a language they do not understand -when both languages are integrated in the classroom, children learn the second language more readily
teaching strategies with vygotsky's theory
-assess child's ZPD -use the child's ZPD in teaching -use more skilled peers as tutors -monitor and encourage children's use of private speech (the use of language for self-regulation, starts as privately out loud and then around age 7 is just inner speech) -place instruction in a meaningful context tools of the mind---based on vygotsky, school program for at-risk kids in poverty, school based on interests and stuff
3 mountain task
-child sees something else, see if they think you see the same thing to see if they are egocentric! around age 7 pass -fail if in preoperational stage
peer competence
-competence in interactions with peers, which refers to how a child defines and solves the fundamental challenges of initiating and sustaining interactions with peers, resolving conflicts with peers, and building friendships with peers -The peer group helps children learn about concepts of fairness, reciprocity and cooperation -peer competence in middle and late childhood is linked to better relationships with coworkers in early adulthood social cognition: thoughts about social matters (i.e. viewing a person's behavior as aggressive), important in order to understand peer relationships
emotional development during middle and late childhood
-improved emotional understanding -increased understanding that more than one emotion can be experienced in a particular situation -increased awareness of the events leading to emotional reactions -ability to suppress or conceal negative emotional reactions -use of self-initiated strategies for redirecting feelings -capacity for genuine empathy coping with stress: -older children generate more coping alternatives to stressful situations -outcomes for children who experience disasters: acute stress reactions, depression, panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder
parenting styles (baumrind)
Authoritarian parenting: restrictive, punitive style in which parents exhort the child to follow their directions and respect their work and effort Authoritative parenting: encourages children to be independent but still places limits and controls on their actions Neglectful parenting: parent is uninvolved in the child's life Indulgent parenting: parents are highly involved with their children but place few demands or controls on them Authoritative parenting conveys the most benefits to the child and to the family as a whole Punishment: -Corporal punishment is linked to lower levels of moral internalization and mental health -Handle misbehavior by reasoning with the child, especially explaining the consequences of the child's actions for others -time outs can be effective
development of self during early childhood
Erik Erikson: initiative vs guilt!: -children use their perceptual, motor, cognitive, and language skills to make things happen -on their own initiative, children at this stage exuberantly move out into a wider social world -the great governor of initiative is conscience -initiative and enthusiasm may also bring guilt, which lowers self-esteem begun to develop self-understanding and understanding others: -self-understanding= the child's cognitive representation of self, the substance and content of the child's self-conceptions -self understanding at first is them describing themselves with material things or body attributes -increased awareness reflects young children's expanding psychological sophistication -unrealistically positive self descriptions -start to understand others, so not as egocentric as Piaget thought!!!
children's emotional development
Expressing emotions: -pride, shame, embarrassment, and guilt are examples of self-conscious emotions (during the early childhood years, emotions such as pride and guilt become more common) -influenced by parents' responses to children's behavior Understanding emotions: -children's understanding of emotion is linked to an increase in pro-social behavior -children begin to understand that the same event can elicit different feelings in different people -by age 5 most children show a growing awareness of the need to manage emotions according to social standards Regulating emotions: -plays a key role in children's ability to manage the demands and conflicts they face in interacting with others -parents can be described as taking an emotion-coaching or an emotion-dismissing approach -ability to modulate emotions benefits children in their relationships with peers ***emotion-coaching parents: monitor their children's emotions, view their children's negative emotions as opportunities for teaching, assist them in labeling emotions, and coach them in how to deal effectively with emotions ***emotion-dismissing parents: view their role as to deny, ignore, or change negative emotions
exercise in middle and late childhood
Higher level of physical activity is linked to lower level of metabolic disease risk based on cholesterol, waist circumference, and insulin levels middle and late childhood is a time of excellent health
moral development during early childhood
Involves the development of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors regarding rules and conventions about what people should do in their social interactions with other people -feelings of anxiety and guilt are central to the account of moral development -encoding, decoding, and anticipating what kinds of action will improve another person's emotional state, help to advance children's moral development Moral Behavior: -processes of reinforcement, punishment, and imitation explain the development of moral behavior **for example, if rewarded in one context for saying that they broke a vase, doesn't necessarily mean they will say something if they break a vase at school if they would be punished there -parent-child relations, in which parents have the power and children do not, are less likely to advance moral reasoning because rules are often handed down in an authoritarian manner Moral Reasoning: *Piaget's 2 categories/stages of moral reasoning!!!!: -Heteronomous morality- children think of justice and rules as unchangeable properties, removed from the control of people (ages 4 to 7) -transition with some from both stages -Autonomous morality- children become aware that rules and laws are created by people and in judging an action, one should consider the actor's intentions as well as the consequences (age 10 on) -Immanent justice- concept that if a rule is broken, punishment will be meted out immediately (heteronomous thinker believes in this) universal law morality: kohlberg says morals are universal! ---> the mutual give and take in peer relationships helps one change in moral reasoning! (b/c not authoritarian rules from parents, this is equal status) Freud's ideas: anxiety and guilt are central to moral development -children attempt to reduce anxiety, avoid punishment, and maintain parental affection by identifying with their parents and internalizing their standards of right and wrong, thereby developing the superego, the moral element of the personality
define and evaluate moral development - Kohlberg's theory
Kohlberg's 3 levels and 6 stages!! (each level has 2 stages) Level 1: preconventional reasoning: lowest level of moral reasoning, children interpret good and bad in terms of external rewards and punishments **stage 1: heteronomous morality: moral thinking tied to punishment. obey bc fear punishment **stage 2: individualism, instrumental purpose, and exchange: think what is right involves an equal exchange, as in if they are nice to others then others will be nice to them in return. pursuing their interests is right, but let others do the same Level 2: conventional reasoning: apply certain standards, but they are standards set by others like parents or the government **stage 3: mutual interpersonal expectations, relationships, and interpersonal conformity: value trust, caring, and loyalty to others as a basis of moral judgements. adopt their parents' moral standards, seeking parental approval as a "good girl/boy" **stage 4: social systems morality: moral judgments are based on understanding the social order, law, justice, and duty. ex: say that in order for a community to work effectively it needs to be protected by laws that community members obey Level 3: post conventional reasoning: recognizes alternative moral courses, explores the options, and then decides on a personal moral code **stage 5: social contract or utility and individual rights: individuals reason that values, rights, and principles undergird or transcend the law, evaluates the validity of actual laws and may examine social systems in terms of the degree to which they preserve and protect fundamental human rights and values **stage 6: universal ethical principles: the person has developed a moral standard based on universal human rights. when faced with a conflict between law and conscience, the person reasons that conscience should be followed, even though the decision might bring risk development from one stage to another is fostered by opportunities to take the perspective of others and to experience conflict between one's current stage of moral thinking and the reasoning of someone at a higher stage influences on his stages: -cognitive development -experiences dealing with moral questions/conflicts -peer interaction and perspective taking are crucial age related: before age 9: level one early adolescence: more on level 2 not everyone progresses past level 2 criticisms: -the link between moral thought and moral behavior, whether moral reasoning is conscious/deliberative or unconscious/automatic, the roles of culture and the family in moral development, and the significance of concern for others
piaget's preoperational stage of cognitive development
Piaget's second stage!!!! -ages 2 to 7 years children represent the world with words, images, and drawings form stable concepts and begin to reason cognitions are dominated by egocentrism and magical beliefs Cannot yet form operations (Operations! : reversible mental actions that allow children to do mentally what they formerly did physically)
main theories of intelligence
Sternberg's triarchic theory of intelligence: -analytical intelligence-ability to analyze, judge, evaluate, compare, and contrast (typically do well in school because good at tests from info given) -creative intelligence- ability to create, design, invent, originate, and imagine (not great in school because give unique answers and then marked down) -practical intelligence- the ability to use, apply, implement, and put ideas into practice (also not great in school, but do well outside of school socially with good common sense) Gardner's multiple-intelligence approach: 8 types of intelligence or "frames of mind", everyone has all to varying degrees. we prefer to learn and process info in specific ways, and people learn best when they can do so in a way that uses their stronger intelligences -verbal -mathematical -spatial (spatially, like architects) -bodily-kinesthetic -musical -interpersonal (w/others) -intrapersonal (understand oneself) -naturalist (nature like farmers)
child maltreatment, and its causes and consequences
Types: -physical abuse -child neglect -sexual abuse -emotional abuse Context: -about 1/3 of parents who were abused themselves when they were young go on to abuse their own children -adolescents who experienced abuse or neglect as children are more likely to engage in violent behavior and substance abuse No single cause. Combo of factors like culture, characteristics of the family, and developmental characteristics of the child contribute. Also, parenting stress, substance abuse, social isolation, single parenting, and socioeconomic difficulties Consequences: poor emotion regulation, attachment problems, problems in peer relations, difficulty in adapting to school, and other psychological problems like depression and delinquency. Increase in suicide attempts. In adulthood, individuals who were maltreated are more likely to experience physical illness, mental illness, and sexual problems. Also difficulty in establishing and maintaining healthy intimate relations
Vygotsky's theory and ZPD
Vygotsky's social constructivist approach: emphasizes social contexts of learning and construction of knowledge through social interaction! Knowledge is mutually built and constructed zone of proximal development (ZPD): range of tasks that are too difficult for the child alone but that can be learned with guidance scaffolding: changing the level of support. a more-skilled person adjusts the amount of guidance to fit the child's current performance. ex. when a student is learning a new task, skilled person may use direct instruction. as the student's competence increases, less guidance is given. private speech: talking to oneself externally criticisms of vygotsky's theory: -not specific about age related changes -overemphasized the role of language in thinking -his emphasis on collaboration and guidance has potential pitfalls: might facilitators be too helpful in some cases, as when a parent becomes overbearing and controlling? -some children might become lazy and expect help when they could have done something on their own
executive functioning
a number of higher-level cognitive processes linked to the development of the brain's prefrontal cortex managing one's thoughts to engage in goal-directed behavior and self-control mental control and self regulation
intelligence
ability to solve problems and to adapt and learn from experiences individual differences: stable, consistent ways in which people differ from each other Binet: Mental age: measure of an individual's level of mental development, compared with that of others Intelligence quotient (IQ): person's mental age divided by chronological age multiple by 100. If mental age and chronological age are the same, IQ=100 Stanford Binet tests: fluid reasoning, knowledge, quantitative reasoning, visual-spatial reasoning, and working memory Wechsler Scales: one for preschool, on for children's intelligence and one for adult intelligence, used to assess students' intelligence, IQ score with composite indexes to show where the child is strong or weak
Piaget's theory of cognitive development -concrete operational stage
ages 7 to 11! children can perform concrete operations and reason logically, and are able to classify things into different sets operations: mental actions that are reversible concrete operations: operations that are applied to real, concrete objects. allow the child to consider several characteristics rather than focus on a single property of an object. ex. height AND width in the clay example!! child can classify or divide things into different sets or subsets and consider their relations. like analyzing a family tree!! seriation: ability to order stimuli along a quantitative dimension (such as length). like ex.: a teacher placing 8 sticks and asking the child to order them based on length transitivity: ability to logically combine relations to understand certain conclusions. ex: A B and C sticks of differing lengths, the concrete operational thinker can understand that if A is longer than B and B is longer than C, then A is longer than C concrete operational abilities do not appear in synchrony education and culture exert strong influences on children's development (more than Piaget so a criticism)
theory of mind
awareness of one's own mental process and the mental processes of others ages 2 to 3: children begin to understand the mental states -perceptions, emotions, desires ages 4 to 5: the realization that people can have false beliefs develops in a majority of children beyond age 5: children have a deepening appreciation of the mind itself
Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory
behavior, environment, and cognition are the key factors in development people learn from each other (social) and then this also encompasses things like attention and motivation (cognitive)
brain development in middle and late childhood
brain volume stabilizes significant changes in structures and regions occur, especially in the prefrontal cortex activation of some brain areas increase while others decrease
substages of preoperational stage-symbolic function substage
child gains the ability to mentally represent an object that is not present -occurs between age 2 and 4 limitations: egocentrism- inability to distinguish one's own perspective from someone else's animism-belief that inanimate objects have lifelike qualities and are capable of action
maternal employment
children (especially girls) whose mothers are employed engage in less gender stereotyping and have more egalitarian views of gender than do children whose mothers do not work outside the home
substages of preoperational stage- intuitive thought substage
children use primitive reasoning and want to know the answers to questions limitations: centration- centering attention on one characteristic to the exclusion of all others, shown with lack of conservation conservation- altering a substance's appearance does not change its basic properties
birth order
compared with later-born children, firstborn children have been described as more adult-oriented, helpful, conforming, and self-controlled sometimes mothers become more negative, coercive, and restraining and played less with the firstborn following the birth of a second child only child: popular conception is that they are spoiled brats, but researchers portray a more positive portrayal in which only children are often achievement-oriented and display desirable personality characteristics especially in comparison with later borns and children from large families but overall, birth order has limited ability to predict behavior
families- middle to late childhood
developmental changes in parent-child relationships: -parents spend less time with children during middle and late childhood -parents support and stimulate children's academic achievement -parents use less physical forms of punishment as children age parents as managers: -parents manage children's opportunities, monitor behavior, and initiate social contact -important to maintain a structured and organized family environment
health, illness, and disease in middle and late childhood
disease and death are less prevalent cancer is the second leading cause of death in children 5-14 years old -most common child cancer is leukemia -children with cancer are surviving longer because of advancements in cancer treatment being overweight is increasingly prevalent and dangerous
gender and the different influences on its development
during preschool years, most children act in ways that match their culture's gender roles gender identity: the sense of being male or female, which most children acquire by the time they are 3yrs old gender roles: sets of expectations that prescribe how females or males should think, act, and feel social role theory: a theory that gender differences result from the contrasting roles of men and women (like dif jobs show dif characteristics) psychoanalytic theory of gender: a theory deriving from Freud's view that the preschool child develops a sexual attraction to the opposite-sex parent, by approximately 5 or 6yrs of age renounces this attraction because of anxious feelings, and sub-sequently identifies with the same-sex parent, unconsciously adopting the same-sex parent's characteristics social cognitive theory of gender: a theory emphasizing that children's gender development occurs through the observation and imitation of gender behavior and through the rewards and punishments children experience for gender-appropriate and gender-inappropriate behavior parents influence their child's gender development by action and by example! peers also influence the gender roles! reward and punish gender behavior! more accepting of tom boys than males doing social female behaviors -around age 3 children start to show a preference for interactions with same sex playmates -boys likely to interact in larger groups -boys are more into rough and tumble play, competition, etc -girls are more into collaborative discourse (talk and act in a more reciprocal manner) gender schema theory: the theory that gender typing emerges as children gradually develop gender schemas of what is gender-appropriate and gender-inappropriate in their culture
Erik Erikson's stages of psychosocial development
early childhood: initiative vs guilt!: -children use their perceptual, motor, cognitive, and language skills to make things happen -on their own initiative, children at this stage exuberantly move out into a wider social world -the great governor of initiative is conscience -initiative and enthusiasm may also bring guilt, which lowers self-esteem -self understanding and understanding others middle and late childhood: industry vs inferiority! -industry-children become interested in how things are made and how they work -when encouraged in their efforts to make, build, and work, their sense of industry increases -parents who see their children's efforts at making things as mischief or making a mess will foster inferiority
emotion-coaching and emotion-dismissing parents
emotion coaching: when an emotion shows up in the child, the parent treats it as useful info and engages the child around it in a way that tells them it is okay to have that emotion -monitor children's emotions -view negative emotions as opportunities for teaching -assist in labeling emotions emotion dismissing: the opposite, the parent communicates that the child is choosing to have this emotion that the parent finds unpleasant and that making that choice is unacceptable -deny, ignore, or try to change negative emotions
development of the brain in early childhood
from 3 to 6 yrs old: -most rapid growth in the brain takes place in the prefrontal cortex (which is in the frontal lobes!!) (this plays a key role in planning and organizing new actions and maintaining attention to tasks) -rapid, distinct spurts of growth in the frontal lobes! ---myelination!! (coating axon of neuron with myelin to conduct signals more efficiently faster and all!) (def- the process by which axons are covered and insulated with a layer of fat cells, which increases the speed at which information travels through the nervous system) ---number and size of dendrites increase
explain gender stereotypes, roles, and differences
gender stereotypes: broad categories that reflect society's impressions and beliefs about females and males ex. boy: independent, aggressive, powerful. girl: dependent, nurturing, and uninterested in power boys stereotypes are more rigid in elementary school, kids know which activities are linked with males and females women: more body fat, brains smaller but more folds (so more surface brain tissue), areas involved in emotional expression have more metabolic activity, better verbal skills, better at reading and writing, better in school, relational aggression comprises most of the aggression, express more emotion and decode emotions better, smile more, cry more, happier, more kind and considerate behavior men: taller, area of parietal lobe larger, better visuospatial skills, more aggressive, more anger, less self regulation of emotions so more behavioral problems androgyny: the presence of positive masculine and feminine characteristics in the same individual lots of gender stereotypes may depend on context
motor skill development in early childhood
gross motor: -moving around in the environment becomes more automatic -age 3, more simple movements like hopping and jumping -age 4, still same, but also more adventurous -age 5, children are more adventuresome, run hard and race fine motor: -age 3, can pick up tiny objects and build high block towers, all is a little rough though like in simple jigsaw puzzles -age 4, fine motor coordination much more precise, want to be perfect so sometimes hard to do so -age 5, hand arm and body all move together under better command of the eye, more creative (churches instead of a tower of blocks)
body growth and change in middle and late childhood
growth averages 2-3 inches per year weight gain averages 5-7 pounds a year muscle mass and strength increase as "baby fat" decreases
sibling relationships
important characteristics: -emotional quality of the relationship -familiarity and intimacy of the relationship -variation in sibling relationships
emotional and personality development -middle to late childhood
justice perspective: focuses on the rights of the individual and in which individuals independently make moral decisions care perspective: alternative to the justice perspective (which is typical) and we socialize girls to develop this!!! views people in terms of their connectedness with others; emphasizes interpersonal communication, relationships with others, and concern for others
illness and death during childhood
leading causes of death in US children (only US!!): 1. accidents (motor vehicle esp, drowning, falls, and poisoning too) 2. cancer 3. cardiovascular disease cancer: -most common child cancer is leukemia, then brain, other, and lymphomas -surviving longer bc of advancements in cancer treatment safety influenced by: -children's own skills and safety-related behaviors -characteristics of their family and home, school and peers, and the community Parental smoking a major danger as well!! 22% kids exposed to smoke at home, mostly in low income families -more likely to develop wheezing and asthma -sometimes related to sleep problems -linked to kids engaging in early onset of smoking gin adolescence
educational issues related to children with disabilities
learning disabilities receive most special education services, then speech/hearing impairments, then intellectual disability, then emotional disturbance IDEA act gives mandates for providing educational services to children with disabilities. Includes evaluation and eligibility determination, appropriate education and an individualized education plan (IEP), and education in the least restrictive environment (LRE) ***IEP: A written statement that spells out a program tailored to a child with a disability LRE: a setting that is as similar as possible to the one in which children who do not have a disability are educated Inclusion: educating a child who requires special education full-time in the regular classroom Better today than years ago! teaching: constructivist approach: importance of individuals actively constructing their own knowledge and understanding direct-instruction approach: structured, teacher-centered approach characterized by teacher direction and control accountability: -No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation (statewide standardized testing)
define and describe the scope of disabilities
learning disability: difficulty in learning that involves understanding or using spoken or written language, and the difficulty can appear in listening, thinking, reading, writing, math and spelling -to be classified as a learning disability, the problem is not primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities; intellectual disability; emotional disorders; or due to environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage dyslexia: severe impairment in the ability to read and spell dysgraphia: difficulty in handwriting dyscalculia: developmental arithmetic disorder attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): characterized by inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity -number of children diagnosed has increased -possible causes: genetics, brain damage during prenatal or postnatal development, cigarette and alcohol exposure during prenatal development, low birth weight, delayed or decreased myelination -prefrontal cortex delayed peak in thickness of cerebral cortex!! -difficulty in executive functioning basically Autism spectrum disorders (ASD): range from autistic disorder to Asperger syndrome -disorders are characterized by problems in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication, and repetitive behaviors. may also show atypical responses to sensory experiences --> Autistic disorder- onset in the first 3 years of life, deficiencies in social relationships, abnormalities in communication, restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of behavior Asperger syndrome- good verbal language skills, milder nonverbal language problems, restricted range of interests and relationships ---> -brain dysfunction characterized by abnormalities in brain structure and neurotransmitters, lack of connectivity between brain regions, genetics
SES (low, high)
low SES: less access to resources (nutrition, health care, protection from danger, enriching educational and socialization opportunities like tutoring and activity lessons, etc), poverty in early childhood linked to less effective executive function in 2nd and 3rd graders -parents more concerned that their children conform to society's expectations, create a home atmosphere in which it is clear that parents have authority over children, are more likely to use physical punishment in disciplining their children, and are more directive and less conversational with their children high SES: -more concerned with developing children's initiative and their capacity to delay gratification, create a home atmosphere in which children are more nearly equal participants and in which rules are discussed as opposed to being laid down in an authoritarian matter, are less likely to use physical punishment, and are less directive and more conversational with their children
young children and memory
memory development: -most infants' memory are fragile and short lived except for perceptual-motor actions -short term memory increases during early childhood (changes with age because once older, use rehearsal, and processing speed) and so does the accuracy -autobiographical memory (memory of significant events and experiences in one's life) increases during preschool and on short-term memory: the memory component in which individuals retain information for up to 30 seconds, assuming there is no rehearsal of the information. -to assess: memory span task: hear short list rapidly then asked to repeat the digits rehearsal: repeating information after it has been presented, can use this to keep info in short term memory for longer suggestibility: preschoolers are the most suggestible group, still concern about older children with this when there are suggestive interviews how accurate long term memory? -age differences in children's susceptibility to suggestion -individual differences in susceptibility -interviewing techniques can produce substantial distortions in children's reports about highly salient events
motor development in middle and late childhood
motor skills become smoother and more coordinated boys outperform girls in gross motor skills involving large muscle activity improvement of fine motor skills during middle and late childhood due to increased myelination of the central nervous system
conservation task
move liquid from one dif shaped container to next! if failed-> still in preoperational stage!
prefrontal cortex
part of frontal lobe!! responsible for thinking, planning, organizing new actions, maintaining attention to tasks -aka executive functions!!
peers, friendships, and the role they play in development
peer relationships: -provide a source of information and comparison about the world outside the family -good peer relations can be necessary for normal socio-emotional development
play and television
play: -play therapy is used to allow the child to work off frustrations and to analyze the child's conflicts and ways of coping with conflicts tv: -many kids spend more time in front of the tv set than they do with their parents -extent to which children are exposed to violence and aggression on tv and video games raises special concerns -tv can also teach children that it is better to behave in a positive, pro-social way
different types of peer status
popular children: frequently nominated as a best friend and are rarely disliked by their peers average children: receive an average number of both positive and negative nominations from peers neglected children: infrequently nominated as a best friend but are not disliked by their peers rejected children: infrequently nominated as a best friend and are actively disliked by their peers controversial children: frequently nominated both as a best friend as being disliked by their peers
peers developmental changes middle/late childhood
reciprocity becomes important in peer interchanges size of peer group increases peer interaction is less closely supervised by adults children's preference for same-sex peer groups
Development of self in middle and late childhood
self descriptions: -describe themselves in terms of psychological characteristics and traits rather than the younger children's concrete self descriptions -"popular, nice, helpful, mean, smart, dumb" -children recognize social aspects of the self -social comparison increases understanding others: -perspective taking- ability to assume other people's perspectives and understand their thoughts and feelings self esteem and self concept: -self-esteem- global evaluative dimension of the self, also referred to as self-worth or self-image. ex: i'm a good person. related to what their attachment with their parents was in childhood!! -self-concept- domain-specific evaluations of the self. ex: domains of academic, athletic, appearance, etc -----> children with high self-esteem do not necessarily perform better in school, they do have greater initiative (positive or negative) though ----> low self esteem has been implicated in overweight and obesity, anxiety, depression, suicide, drug use, and delinquency -----> increasing children's self-esteem: -identify the causes of low self-esteem -provide emotional support and social approval -help children achieve -help children cope self-efficacy: -belief that one can master a situation and produce favorable outcomes. "I can" self-regulation: -deliberate efforts to manage one's behavior, emotions, and thoughts... leading to increased social competence and achievement more self control than before, as they become more effective at cognitively managing their emotions such as soothing themselves after an upset, use more strategies to control their emotions -control their emotions to meet social standards! industry versus inferiority: industry-children become interested in how things work inferiority- parents who see their children's efforts as mischief may encourage inferiority
play (early childhood)
sensorimotor play: behavior engaged in by infants to derive pleasure from exercising their existing sensorimotor schemes **** practice play: play that involves repetition of behavior when new skills are being learned or when physical or mental mastery and coordination of skills are required for games or sports. engage in in preschool! pretense/symbolic play: child transforms the physical environment into a symbol. substitute objects for other objects! ex. preschool child treats the table as if it were a car and says he's fixing the car when he grabs the leg of the table social play: play that involves social interactions with peers constructive play: play that combines sensorimotor and repetitive activity with symbolic representation of ideas. occurs when children engage in self-regulated creation or construction of a product or a solution games: activities that are engaged in for pleasure that include rules and often involve competition between 2 or more individuals
information processing
short term memory increases during early childhood but after age 7 does not show as much increase working memory: a mental "work-bench" where individuals manipulate and assemble information when making decisions, solving problems, and comprehending written and spoken language. bringing info to mind and mentally working with or updating it like when you link one idea to another -more active and powerful in modifying info than short-term memory -develops slowly, even 8yr olds can only hold in memory half of what adults can remember long-term memory: a relatively permanent and unlimited type of memory -increases with age during middle and late childhood strategies for long-term memory: deliberate mental activities that improve the processing of information ***-elaboration: engaging in more extensive processing of the information, such as thinking of examples or relating the info to one's own life. makes info more meaningful -engage in mental imagery -understanding the material rather than memorizing it -repeat with variation -embed memory-relevant language like mnemonic devices thinking: manipulating and transforming info in memory critical thinking: thinking reflectively and productively, as well as evaluating the evidence creative thinking: ability to think in novel and unusual ways and come up with unique solutions to problems ***-convergent thinking: produces one correct answer (kind of thinking tested by standardized intelligence tests) ***-divergent thinking: produces many answers to the same question and characterizes creativity
body growth and changes in early childhood
still growth of height and weight-most obvious physical change girls more fat, boys more muscle slim down in preschool b/c trunk of the body lengthens growth patterns vary! -ethnic origin and nutrition
define and evaluate moral development - domain theory of moral development
theory that identifies different domains of social knowledge and reasoning, including moral, social conventional, and personal domains. these domains arise from children's and adolescents' attempts to understand and deal with different forms of social experience social conventional reasoning: thoughts about social consensus and convention, in contrast with moral reasoning which stresses ethical issues. rules to control behavior and maintain the social system ex. not cutting in line, raising hand in class. rules can be changed by consensus even though there are sanctions if violated concepts of social organization moral reasoning: ethical issues and rules of morality, not arbitrary. obligatory, widely accepted, and somewhat impersonal ex. lying, cheating, stealing, physically harming someone concepts of justice personal reasoning: decision making and personal discretion ex. control over one's body, privacy, and choice of friends and activities
information processing theory
there's piaget's and vygotsky's and then information processing is the new one -for how children process info during preschool years -executive attention and sustained attention, etc
the different functions of friendships
typically characterized by similarity! 6 functions: companionship stimulation physical support ego support social comparison affection and intimacy developmental advantages occur when children have friends who are socially skilled and supportive (not beneficial with coercive and conflict-ridden friendships)
bullying, its effects, and strategies to reduce it
verbal or physical behavior intended to disturb someone less powerful boys are more likely to be bullies, but not a huge difference regarding victims bullied children: more loneliness and difficulty in making friends -anxious, socially withdrawn, aggressive those who are doing the bullying: more likely to have low grades and to smoke and drink alcohol outcomes: -depression -suicidal ideation -attempted suicide -difficulty in forming lasting relationships and getting along with coworkers strategies to reduce: bullying intervention program by Dan Olweus! to decrease opportunities and rewards for bullying, school staff instructed on ways to improve peer relations and make schools safer, focused on whole school!!
vygotsky vs piaget
vygotsky: - strong emphasis on sociocultural context - social constructivist - no stages of development - key processes: ZPD, language, dialogue, tools of the culture - language has a major role in shaping thought - education plays a central role, helping children learn the tools of the culture - teacher is facilitator and guide (not director) and establishes opportunities for child to learn w/ the teacher and skilled peers piaget: - cognitive constructivist - strong emphasis on stages (sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, formal operational) - key processes: schema, assimilation, accommodation, operations, conservation, classification - language has a minimal role, cognition primarily directs language - education merely refines the child's cognitive skills that have already emerged - teacher is facilitator and guide (not director) (both agree on that) and provides support for children to explore their world and discover knowledge
changing family in a changing society
working parents: -children of working mothers engage in less gender stereotyping and have more egalitarian views of gender than do children of nonworking mothers children in divorced families: -poorer adjustment than counterparts -many of the problems begin during the pre-divorce period -frequent visits by the noncustodial parent benefit the child -children with a difficult temperament often have problems in coping with their parents' divorce -income loss for divorced mothers is accompanied by increased workloads, high rates of job instability, and residential moves Lower-SES parents: -more concerned that their children conform to society's expectations -create a home atmosphere in which it is clear that parents have authority over children, among others Higher-SES parents: -more concerned with developing children's initiative and delay of gratification -less likely to use physical punishment, among others
preschool physical activity
young children should engage in physical activity every day -guidelines recommend 3hrs per day in preschoolers, more time spent in vigorous physical activity was strongly linked to a lower probability of being overweight or obese sedentary most of the day at school even at outdoor play time physical activity enhanced by family members engaging in sports together and by parents' perception that it was safe for their children to play outside incorporation of a "move and learn" physical activity curriculum increased the activity level of 3-5 yr old children in a half-day preschool program 60 minutes of physical activity per day in preschool academic contexts improved early literacy
