3A Self

Question 1

Developmental Psychology

Answer 1

Classics in field as they provided the beginning basis of understanding

Question 2

Piaget Theory - Adaption

Answer 2

• Adaption
• > Continuous process of using the environment to learn
• > Learning to adjust to changes in the environment

Question 3

Piaget Theory - Assimilation

Answer 3

• Assimilation
• > Process of taking in new information, fitting it into and making it part of an existing mental idea about objects or the world.

-> Making sense of new information by applying it to existing knowledge

Question 4

Piaget Theory - Accommodation

Answer 4

• Accommodation
• > Advanced process
• > Changing an existing mental idea in order to fit in new information

Question 5

Piaget Theory - Schema

Answer 5

• Schema

- > Organised mental representation of what something is and how to deal with it

Question 6

Piaget 4 Stages of Cognitive Development

Answer 6

• Sensorimotor
• Pre-operational stage
• Concrete operational stage
• Formal Operational Stage

Question 7

Object Permanence

Answer 7

Understanding that objects still exist even if they can not be seen or touched

Question 8

Goal-orientated behaviour

Answer 8

• Behaviour carried out with a particular purpose in mind

e. g. reaching the table to collect things

Question 9

Sensorimotor Stage - Piaget

Answer 9

• > Birth- 2 years
• > Infants construct the understandings of their world by co-ordinating sensory experiences with motor abilities
• > Learn object permanence
• > Goal orientated behaviour

Question 10

Pre-Operational Stage - Piaget

Answer 10

• 2-7 years
• > Increasingly able to internally represent events
• Ego Centrism
• > Children have difficulty seeing from another person’s perspective
• Animism
• > Belief that everything which exists has some kind of consciousness or awareness
• Transformation
• > Smoething can transform from one state to another
• Centration
• > Child can only focus on one quality or feature at a time
• Reversibility
• > Ability to follow a line of reasoning back to original starting point

Question 11

Concrete Operational Stage

Answer 11

• Revolves around what the child know and that they can experience through their senses
• Conservation
• > Object does not change its weight, mass, volume or area when object changes appearance
• Classification
• > Ability to organise information into categories based on common featuers that sets them apart from other categories
• 7 to 12 years old

Question 12

Formal Operational Stage

Answer 12

• 12 years and over
• > Complex thought processes become evident and thinking becomes increasingly sophisticated
• Abstract thinking
• Logical Thinking

Question 13

Abstract Thinking

Answer 13

• A way of thinking that does not rely on being able to see or visualise things in order to understand concepts

Question 14

Logical Thinking

Answer 14

• Able to develop strategies to solve problems
• Identify range of solutions
• Develop hypothesis
• Systematically test solutions

Question 15

Piaget Criticisms Overall

Answer 15

• Underestimated young minds
• Fail to distinguish b/w competence and performance
• Little emphasis on how children’s minds develop through interactions w/ others

Question 16

Piaget Contributions

Answer 16

• Emphasized children are active
• Construct understandings through interactions w/ the world
• Develop from concrete to abstract thinking and reasoning

As they develop -> less ego centric, think systematically, reason abstractly

Question 17

Follow up studies On Piaget: Donaldson and McGarrigle

Answer 17

• Show that children as young as 4 could conserve number if situation is given meaning
• Also important to note that Piaget concentrates entirely on mathematical skill and logic

Tests conservation of 6 year olds

• > Humans messed up 2 rows, 16% can identify
• > Bears mess up 2 rows, 62% can identify

Shows that children are better able to conserve than Piaget proposed

Question 18

Follow Up Studies on Piaget: Siegal and Gilligan

Answer 18

• Problems arose when experimenter asks questions where the answer is obvious
• or repeat question when answer is given
• Answer is changed maybe to:
• > Please experimenter
• > Makes child rethink answer due to repeating Q
• > Piaget assumed if child failed cognitive task, lacked competence.
• > Many factors can affect whether a person successfully performs a task
• > Results in follow up studies changing the way that the question is being asked.

Question 19

Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development

Answer 19

• Universal sequence to the dev of morality
• > Morality : Principle concerning the distinction of right and wrong
• Found stages based on children’s responses to various moral dilemmas
• > Dilemmas focus on value of human life.

Question 20

Stages of Kohlberg’s Theory Level 1

Answer 20

• Level 1: Pre-conventional ( up to 9 years)
• > Stage 1: Punishment and Obedience Egocentric
• -> Does not recognise different POV
• Stage 2: Instrumental Relativist Orientation
• > Aware of different interests and that these may conflict
• > Instrumental exchange of services, goodwil and fairness

Question 21

Stages of Kohlberg’s Theory LEVEL 2

Answer 21

• Level 2: Conventional ( 10 to adolescence)
• > Stage 3: Interpersonal expectations, conformity and relationships
• > Following rules, living up to expectations of others, maintaing trust, gratitude, respect.
• > Stage 4: Authority and social order
• > Doing ones duty
• > Uphold social order
• > Take the view of the system

Question 22

Stages of Kohlberg’s Theory LEVEL 3

Answer 22

• Level 3 Post conventional (Adulthood)
• > Stage 5: Social contract Orientation
• > Asserting and integrating basic rights, values, legal contracts
• > Stage 6: Universal ethical principles and morals orientation
• > Commitment to the universal principles of justice
• > Respect for others

Kohlberg based stages on children’s responses to various moral dilemmas
-> Considered that stages occur in the same sequence throughout the world.

Question 23

Kohlberg Criticism

Answer 23

• Centred around only male participants
• Choice of dilemmas were western views of moral development.

Shweder (1991)

• > Moral development systems did not follow reasoning form other cultures due to western bias
• > Theory is cross-sectional / not longitudinal
• > Doesn’t allow assessment of moral reasoning over-time.

Question 24

Kohlberg Contributions

Answer 24

• Gilligan (1982)
• > Difference b/w genders w/ regards to moral decision making
• > Was due to socialisation of the genders
• > Found that men focus more on justice
• > Women focus more on caring when answering q about moral development.
• > Males are achievement orientated, independent
• > Women are socially responsible, nurturing.
• > Found that females had 3 different levels of reasoning:
• > level 1: self interest
• > level 2: self sacrifice
• > level 3: care as a universal obligation