Chapter 4: Early Childhood

Question 1

Give details regarding the general physical development during early childhood

Answer 1

Height and weight: during 1st 30months 80% increase in height and 300% increase in weight. At 4 children have doubled in birth length. Ave mass increase is about 2kg per year where height is about 5-8cm p.a

Physical proportion: loss of baby fat increase in muscle and bone growth cause loss of chubby appearance and resemble young children

Muscle and bone growth: promoted by daily activities like running and further ossification strengthen bones

Teeth: children lose primary teeth replaced by more permanent teeth

Brain development: at 3 brain reaches 75% of total adult weight and at 5 approx 90%. The frontal lobe areas of cerebral cortex devoted to planning and organising behavior developes. Heightened development in left cerebral hemispheres support expanding Lang skills. Diff connection established among different brain structure enhance balance and motor control alertness and consciousness.

Perceptual development: visual improvement in ability to distinguish detail in environments. Figure ground perception improve between 4-6yrs which is the ability to distinguish between the object which is focused and rest of percetual field
By 3 most can hear soft sounds called auditory acuity.

Motor development: gross motor skills- use of large muscles by 3 children can run and jump well. 4 yr olds can throw and catch objects. At 5 able to ride a bicycle.

Fine motor skills- refer to use of small muscles in hands and fingers.at 3 children still experience problems. 4 most can draw lines and pictures 5 can cut out use utensils. Improved co ordination of muscles and dexterity enables children to play simple instruments draw better and start writing.

Bilateral co ordination- improves and show preference for using one hand from other which by 5 is fixed.

Question 2

What influence does heredity and hormones play on physical development

Answer 2

Genes influence growth by controlling the body’s production of hormones.

The pituitary gland at the base of brain releases GH necessary for development of body tissues. Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) stimulated thyroid gland to release thyroxin necessary for normal development of nerve cells of the brain and GH to have full impact on body size.

Question 3

What influence does nutrition play on physical development

Answer 3

Malnutrition: accociated with 30-50% of child death. Lowers resistance to infections. Inadequate weight or height gain. Increases risk of delayed motor and mental development, deficits on cognitive ability morbidity and mortality.

Obesity which is extreme amount of total body fat has Physical and mental health risks. These risks include orthopaedic neurological pulmonary gastrointestinal and endocrinic conditions. The psychological consequences are low self esteem lack of confidence and depression. The psychosocial impact is perception of being unattractive and social rejection.

Undernourishment between conception and age of 2 increases risk of impaired cognitive development.

Question 4

What influence does emotional well being play on physical development

Answer 4

Environmental factors like divorce marital conflict unemployment and poverty can have effects on growth of child.

Condition where children show delayed physical growth dur to stress and emotional deprivation is called psychosocial or deprivation dwarfism where they are below ave height not due to malnutrition. They experience emotional problems due to unstable family environment and lack of emotional care or support.

Hypothesis of this includes

• Stress influence functioning of pituitary gland where GH affected
• Stress influence digestion process and affects secretion of digestive juices
• Effects immune system causing greater susceptibility to viruses.

Question 5

Discuss Piaget’s theory of the preoperational stage with regards to cognitive development

Answer 5

Operations indicate an action or mental representation carried out through logical thinking.

Preoperational thinking refers to illogical thinking implying that they aren’t yet ready to engage in logical mental operations. This stage lasts from 2-7 and subdivided into symbolic or preconceptual period (2-4) and the intuitive period (4-7)

Symbolic period characterised by increasing complex use of symbols or mental representation like words numbers or pictures to which child attached meaning

During intuitive period children begin to use primative reasoning and want answers to questions. They start developing own ideas about world which are simple.

Question 6

Explain the advances of preoperational thought

Answer 6

Mental representation includes:
?deferred initiation which refers to ability to repeat behavior of a model that’s not present
? Symbolic play which refers to substituting imaginery situation for real ones.
? Spoken language which is most evident development during preoperational period. Thinking occurs through representation of action and ability to use words and understand their symbolic meanings gives new meaning to their world.

Question 7

Expand on the immature aspects of preoperational thought

Answer 7

Perceptual centration: refers to tendency to only one attribute of what one observes and to ignore the rest. Unable to explore all aspects of a stimulus and center attention on what to them appears to be more salient. Due to inability to not being able to process multiple characteristics and dimensions tend to make perceptual errors.

Conservation: the understanding that matter can change in appearance without changing in quantity.

Irreversibility: refers to an inability to reverse an operation.

Preoperational thought limits ability to classify and categorise and concept of number. By the end of this stage children can classify and categorise objects on basis of one dimension. They don’t have number concept and lack basic number skills like ordinarity cardinality number transformation and estimation

Question 8

Evaluate the neo- piagetians Theory of cognitive development

Answer 8

Neo-piagetians are theorists who have expanded on Piaget’s theory. They believe that cognitive development is an action based self regulating constructive process and disagree on the generalised competence. They believe that it should be described for each task and in every context.

Robbie case believe children thinking is influenced by executive processing space which refers to activate temporary conscious memory and to max number on how many schemas may be attending to which refers to operational efficiency. This is improved through practice and brain maturation as child gets older.

Question 9

Discuss the child as theorist concept

Answer 9

Their naïve theories because they aren’t created by specialists and evaluated by formal research but are valuable as they allow child to understand new experiences and predict future events.

The core knowledge hypothesis suggest that children are born with basic knowledge of the world elaborated based on child experience.

Naive physics: refers to understanding of objects and properties. They know a physical object can’t move through another object. Middle of 1st year are aware that one object bumping another can cause it to move and also that unsupported objects can fall. Tall object can hide short object

Naive biology: distinction between Living and non living objects. By 12_15 m infants determine that animate objects are self propelled and act to achieve goals. Theory includes

Movement
Growth
Internal parts 
Inheritance
Healing 

Naïve psychology and theory of mind
Naive psychology refers to individuals tendency to try and explain why people act as they do.
Theory of mind Specifies set of opinions constructed by a child to explain other people’s ideas beliefs desires and behavior.

Henry Wellman believe ToM occurs by 3 phrases: earliest in 2 yr old aware of desires and communicate them and link desire to behavior.
At 3 they distinguish mental world from physical
At 4 mental states become important in child understanding of own and others actions.

Reciprocal thought where children understand that other people think but don’t understand that other people can think about them.

Question 10

State the prior development needed for ToM

Answer 10

+Self awareness: recognition of child’s own mental state.
+Capacity for pretence: making believe play where use of imagination is needed.n
+Ability to distinguish between reality and pretence: projection of child feelings on to object. Ability to see others aren’t just extensions of desires is later sophisticated development.
+Understanding emotions:
+Executive functioning:

Question 11

Comment on Vygotskys sociocultural Theory

Answer 11

•zone of proximal development refers to diff between level of performance a child may achieve when doing so independently and the higher level of performance when working under guidance of others. The more a competent person works with children to help move from where they are to where they can be . This is accomplished by cues modelling explanation questions discussion participation encouragement and control of child attention

Scaffolding refers to temporary assistance provided by one person to a less skilled person when learning new tasks. Giving of help but not more than what’s needed promotes learning

Guided participation occurs in context of play and other activities which refers to participation of an adult in a child’s activity in way that helps to structure the activity and bring understanding of it closer to that of adult.

•language and thought
Piaget suggest cognitive development comes first which makes Lang possible. Vygotsky believe Lang ability reflects every aspect of child though and is a significant instrument in structuring thought and regulating cognitive behaviour

Piaget termed self talk in terms of egocentric speech which plays no role in cognitive development
Vygotsky uses private speech for self talk viewing it as intermediate step toward self regulation of cognitive skills. Private speech becomes inner speech important for cognitive growth and regarded as thought.

•mechanisms of development
Development follows dialectical process of thesis antithesis and synthesis which produces higher level concept of more advanced functioning. These opposing ideas confront intertwine and transform into higher level where conflict and resolution play part in development

Question 12

Analyze the theory of info processing

Answer 12

Short term memory: also working memory and as children progress through early childhood are increasingly able to hold more material in STM.

Long term memory: regarded as permanent storehouse of info. The generic knowledge which is general knowledge about a subject is referred to as script knowledge.

Memory strategies: consists of deliberate mental activity to improve processing and storing of info which includes rehearsal where children repeat target info and retrieval is the process of accessing info and entering it into consciousness. The development of retrieval strategy consists of ability to search memory intelligently efficiently flexibly systematically and selectively to address problems.

Recognition: refers to type of memory that notices whether a stimulus is identical or similar to one previously expressed.
Recall: involves remembering a stimulus that’s not present and involves representational skills.

Metamemory refers to knowledge of memory skills and appropriate use of strategies and metacognition refers to knowledge about and control of thought processes.

Executive functioning: refers to conscious control of thoughts emotions and actions to accomplish goals or solve problems.

Question 13

How can children cognitive development be enhanced

Answer 13

Exposure to new and interesting situations. New and interesting situations cause a state of disequilibrium in child that will force them to change their cognitive structures where development takes place

Interaction with other children

Play

Practising of cognitive skills

Transmission of knowledge

Pre primary schools

Enrichment programs

Question 14

Explain the concept of language development in early childhood

Answer 14

By can produce sentences of 4-5 words an by 3 8 words. Mean Length of Utterance (MLU) to calculate the complexity of children’s language usage (usually the average number of morphemes in a set of utterances and not the number of words).

Question 15

Discuss the role vocabulary

Answer 15

By the age of three, the child knows and can use approximately 900 to 1 000 words, and by the age of six, most children have a receptive (understanding) and expressive (speaking) vocabulary or lexicon of about 10 000 to 20 000 words. This implies that they learn several new words per day. This rapid expansion of vocabulary may occur through a process called fast mapping, which allows the child to pick up the approximate meaning of a word after hearing it only once or twice. Extended mapping, which involves further exposure and usage of the particular word.

Underextensions refers to the tendency to restrict the usage of a word, such as using the word “juice” only for orange juice and not for other fruit juices.
Overextensions refers to the usage ofa word for a wider variety of objects or referents that is incorrect, such as using the word “dog” for another four-legged animal such as a horse

Question 16

Explain what is phonology and morphology

Answer 16

Phonology refers to the sounds of language.
Morphology refers to the smallest language unit that has meaning in order to structure a word, such as adding an –s to indicate plural or –ed to indicate past tense and –ing to indicate continuing action.

Question 17

What is grammar and syntax

Answer 17

grammar (the rules of a language) and syntax (combining words in meaningful phrases and sentences according to grammatical rules)

Question 18

Discuss the pragmatic use of language

Answer 18

pragmatic language refers to the rules for using language effectively and appropriately in social contexts and according to social conventions. These are all aspects of social speech, which is speech intended to be understood by a listener.

Question 19

What is meant by emergent literacy

Answer 19

Emergent literacy refers to the development of skills that are needed for understanding the printed word. These skills are called prereading skills and can be divided into two types: oral language skills, such as vocabulary, syntax, and oral narrative skills; and phonological skills, such as linking letters with sounds that facilitate the decoding of the printed word.

To do this
they need to be able to recognise letters.they need to understand grapheme-phoneme correspondence rules. This means they have to recognise which sounds correspond with which letter symbols. hey must be able to recognise words. they need to recognise the meanings of words and their relation to real-world references they need comprehension and interpretation skills. This relies on automatic word recognition, a large vocabulary, working memory capacity and knowledge of the world.

Question 20

What role does cognitive development and the media have?

Answer 20

The displaced time view argues that television viewing harms cognitive development because it takes away time from other activities that are more beneficial, such as reading or pretend playing. ∑The passivity view holds that, because it takes little effort to watch television, habitual inactivity may result. ∑The shallow information processing view posits that the rapid and short segments typical of many television shows over time result in shorter attention spans and difficulty in sustaining focus. ∑The visual/iconic view argues that television viewing selectively enhances visual information processing at the possible expense of verbal processing, which can lead to a lowered ability to imagine or infer information that is not explicitly present

Question 21

Give suggestions on healthier media usage

Answer 21

Suggestions for healthier media use include the following (Gregory, 2013): ∑Help children to consume media in a healthier manner by differentiating between entertainment (fantasy) and reality. ∑ Adults can help children become media literate by deconstructing commercials and watching programming critically. The ideal is to watch television with the child to comment on content and to answer questions. ∑Share television viewing as a family. Young children should not have a television or Internet access in their bedrooms. Also limit viewing to certain times of the day. ∑Choose not only programme content wisely, but also in proportion to other activities. ∑Regard media as an excellent resource of information to better understand the world.

Question 22

What is the role of early childhood education

Answer 22

The child-centred approach. Nurturing is a key aspect of this approach, which emphasises the education of the whole child and concerns his or her physical, cognitive and socio-emotional development. Instruction is organised around the child’s needs, interests and learning styles. Emphasis is on the process of learning rather than on what is learned.

The child-centred approach honours three principles: (a) Each child follows a unique developmental pattern. (b) Young children learn best through first-hand experiences with people and materials. (c) Play is extremely important in the child’s total development. Experimenting, exploring, restructuring, speaking and listening are frequent activities in excellent pre-primary programmes. Furthermore, the teacher takes responsibility for stimulating, directing and supporting children’s learning by providing the experiences that each child needs.

The curriculum is planned to help children achieve goals that are developmentally and educationally significant.
Direct instruction. This method relies on abstract paper-and-pencil activities presented to large groups of children. The emphasis is on direct academic instruction with extensive use of workbooks, worksheets and rote drill or practice. Children are also mostly seat bound. This method largely ignores the concrete hands-on approach to learning. This approach is often called developmentally inappropriate, as it does not consider the child’s developmental needs. Socio-emotional development is also neglected. Furthermore, research has indicated that children taught in these classrooms show slower growth in vocabulary and maths application

the Montessori approach, children are given considerable freedom and spontaneity in choosing activities. They are allowed to move from one activity to another, as they desire, while the teacher acts as a facilitator rather than an instructor. The teacher shows the child how to perform intellectual activities, demonstrates interesting ways to explore materials. They offer help when needed.

Question 23

Critically discuss the theories of personality development during early childhood

Answer 23

Freud characterised early childhood as the phallic stage of development. According to him, the foundations of personality are laid during these years, when the boy has successfully resolved the Oedipus complex and the girl the Electra complex and both identify with the same gender parent.

Erik Erikson’s psychosocial theory in which he emphasises the development of basic trust during infancy and emerging autonomy during the second and third years of life as important facets of personality development. During the ages of three to six, initiative de velops. This means that children are becoming resourceful in exploring their en vironment, tackling new problems, and joining in activities with peers.

According to the social learning perspective, the child’s behaviour is shaped by external rewards, punishments, and role models. However, children’s rewards could also be internal, such as behaving in ways that could enhance their self-esteem, feelings of pride and accomplishment.
According to the social-cognitive development perspective, children increasingly learn complex concepts, such as those pertaining to gender, race, ethnicity and friendships. They learn to accept some schemes and to reject others

Question 24

What role does emotions play in personality development

Answer 24

Happiness:By the end of their second year, babies are able to express themselves quite spontaneously. They will jump up and down, clap their hands, run, laugh out loud, and hug their loved ones to indicate their joy and excitement. During the course of the socialisation process, however, children are taught to control their emotions some.

Fear and anxiety:den intense and unknown stimuli confronting a child will produce a fear reaction. The cause of fear may be either the presence of something threatening or the absence of something that provides safety and security. Fear is influenced by contexts, individual differences in temperament and by experience.

Question 25

How can parents help children cope with fears

Answer 25

∑Children should be encouraged to talk about their fears. ∑The feared object or situation could be neutralised by associating it with something positive. For example, fear of the dark could be overcome by playing pleasant (and not ‘scary’) games with the child in the dark. ∑Children should see other people handling the object or situation that they fear, without fear. For instance the child who fears dogs should be allowed to observe how other children play with dogs. ∑The child could gradually (step-by-step), be brought into contact with the feared object or situation. ∑Children could be taught certain skills to deal with the feared situation. A girl who fears the dark may be taught, for instance, to ‘control’ the dark by turning on a light within reach of her bed. A cuddly toy could also be placed with her in her bed. ∑By explaining the feared situation, certain fears may be overcome. The child who fears thunder may be less fearful if the reasons for this phenomenon are explained simply. ∑Situations that could cause fear, such as hospitalisation or starting nursery school, could become less fearful when the hospital or school is visited beforehand.

Question 26

State ways you can help children go to bed and control their fears

Answer 26

Helping children go to bed It is recommended that pre-schoolers sleep between 11 and 13 hours a night and school-aged children between 10 and 11 hours per night. However, many young children resist going to bed, to the exasperation of their parents. About 20% to 30% of all preschool children, particularly those between the ages two and four, have difficulty in falling asleep and wake up quite often during the night. Sleep problems are sometimes related to stressful situations. Psychologists recommend that parents use the following steps in helping preschool childrento accept that they should go to bed: •Establish an unrushed and regular bedtime routine: allow about 20 minutes for four to seven quiet activities such as quiet conversation, reading a story or singing.•Do not allow the child to watch scary television programmes.•Avoid active or highly stimulatingplay just before bedtime.•Keep a soft night-light switched on if it makes the child feel more comfortable.•Remain calm, but do not yield to impulsive requests such as “Just one more story” or “I just want to go and drink some water.”•A favourite blanket or special toy (such as a teddy bear) are soothing objects and are comforting to the child. Many children resist going to bed without these objects.•If you are trying to break a habit, offer the preschoolerrewards for good bedtime behaviour, for example, by praising him or her.•Do not send the preschooler to bed too early. This is a common reason why sleep problems occur.•If the child’s fears of going to sleep persist, try to involve the preschooler in a programme that will help the child to learn how to relax, substitute frightening thoughts for pleasant ones and deal with stressful situations.•In many cultures (and families), children share their parents’ room (or bed) for the majority of their early childhood years. This may help to alleviate their fears and discomfort.∑In the event of a divorce, the parents should assure the child of their unconditional love and that he or she had no part whatsoever in the situation. Reasons for the divorce shouldbe explained to the child, and if possible, contact should be maintained with both parents. ∑Until they are old enough to distinguish between fantasy and reality, children who have irrational fears of monsters and other fantasy creatures should not be allowed to watch too many television programmes or read books that contain this kind of material. ∑Parents should provide a secure haven by dealing with their children’s fears in a sympathetic, patient and comforting manner

Question 27

What is anger

Answer 27

Anger :Anger refers to a strong emotional reaction that is primarily socially instigated, often under conditions of threat or frustration.

Question 28

Explain how emotional expression and involving the self influences emotions

Answer 28

Self-consciousemotions (feelings that invol ve injury or enhancement of their sense of self, such as embarrassment, shame, guilt, envy and pride) developas children’s self-concepts become better defined. These emotions also require an understanding of the perspective of another person; for example, that the person may be disappointed with the child, may be hurt or may feel affection for athird party.
elf-conscious emotions become increasingly linked to self-evaluation. Children can now evaluate their own thoughts, plans, desires and behaviour against what is considered socially acceptable. This means that self-conscious emotions may serve as a guideline for children’s behaviour.

Question 29

Explain how emotional expression and involving others influences emotions

Answer 29

empathy refers to a person’s understanding of another’s situation and feelings. The de velopment of empathy is related to the child’s developing self-awareness, language, and cognitive skills. This means that not only do children become increasingly aware of another’s situation, but they are also able to verbalise their concern

Question 30

How is emotion regulation achieved

Answer 30

Avoidance strategies, i.e. to avoid situations that lead to negative emotions
language strategies
Cognitive strategies
masking (pretending) an emotional state.
Display rules are cultural guidelines for when, how and to what degree, emotions may be displayed

emotion-coaching approach monitor their children’s emotions, view their children’s negative emotions as opportunities for teaching, assist them in labelling emotions and coach them how to deal effectively with emotions. They interact with their children in a less rejecting way, nurture them, and use scaffolding to help them regulate their emotions.
arents who have an emotion-dismissing approach view their role as one to deny, ignore or change negative emotions. Children of such parents generally show poorer regulation of emotion, less focused attention and more behaviour problems than children of emotion-coaching parents do.

Question 31

How is the development of the self concept achieved

Answer 31

The self-conceptrefers to a person’s view of him- or herself.Children in the early childhood years establish a categorical self, meaning that they can describe themselves in terms of their name, gender, age, skills and possessions, where they live and who their friends are. These are external observable attributes

internal self, that is, psychological aspects such as emotions and attitudes.By the age of three and a half, preschoolersare able to describe themselves in typical emotions and attitudes This suggests that they have some awareness of their own psychological characteristics. Their developing understanding of personality traits is also indicated by their correct inference of motives. self-definition; that they are learning to define boundaries between themselves and others.

Question 32

Expand on concept of self esteem

Answer 32

a person’s self-esteem is the personal evaluation of his or her characteristics. Indi viduals’ self-esteem and self-concept are positive when they evaluate their characteristics as good and acceptable, and negative when they are dissatisfied withtheir characteristics. The degree of self-acceptance plays an important role in children’s personality de velopment and influences all aspects of their development

Self esteem is generally based :
the degree to which the individual feels that he or she receives love, acceptance, support and encouragement from others; ∑the specific characteristics and skills the person has; and ∑the degree to which the person accepts the various aspects of the self, especially when comparing the self to others.

In an individualistic society, preference is given to personal goals, self-reliance, independence and creativity in child-rearing practices. In a communal society, individual goalsare subordinate to collective (community) goals, therefore child-rearing styles emphasise interdependence, obedience and conformity. This means that individualistic societies will value individual skills more in their defining of the self-concept. Communal societies on the other hand, willconsider social acceptance, living in harmony with others and subordination to the wishes of others, as important attributes of the self. It is therefore clear that the culture in which children grow up will determine which aspect of the self-concept will be emphasised

Question 33

What role does gender play in a persons self concept

Answer 33

gender stereotypes (i.e. mostly inaccurate beliefs that certain characteristics and activities pertain only to a specific gender
gender role refers to the behaviour patterns and attitudes that are viewed as appropriate or typical for a male or female of a specific society. Gender-role development therefore implies the development of these behaviour patterns and attitudes. Gender-role development includes three processes: the acquisition of a gender identity; the developmentof gender stereotypes; and the development of gender-typed behaviour patterns:

Gender identity, i.e. children’s knowledge of themselves as male or female, is a critical milestone inthe development of gender roles. Most children between the ages of two-and-a-half and three years can label themselves correctly as a boy or a girl, although they do not yet have a concept of gender constancygender stereotypes.Gender stereotypes become stronger as children grow older; especially, after age six, when gender constancy has been formed. Moreover, children regard gender stereotypes as absolute rules (e.g. a boy cannot be a ballet dancer and a girl cannot be a soccer player). However, these absolutist assumptions fade with the onset of adolescencethe typical behaviour of their gender at a very early age. This is called gender-typed behaviour.

Question 34

Discuss the theories of gender role development

Answer 34

Biological theories Biological differences between the sexes begin at conception when an XX chromosome combinationdevelops into a female and an XY chromosome combination develops into a male individual. Not only do the chromosomes play a role, but hormones in the bloodstream before or about the time of birth, may affect the developing brain and influence gender differences. Themale hormone testosterone seems to be related to aggressiveness, competitiveness and dominance and could be a reason why males are more aggressive than females.Female fetuses that received an excess of androgens (male hormones) prenatallywere born with an XX genetic combination, but with male-like genitals (a condition called the androgenital syndrome or AGS).hermaphroditism, that is infants born with ambiguous sexual organs (part male and part female), or accidental damage to their sexual organs. Such children areassigned as early as possible to a gender(usually with surgical intervention) that holds the potential for the most normal functioning and stable gender identity.

Theories of gender-role developmentSome psychologists emphasise the role of biological factors in the differences between the sexes, while others believe that the social environment has a major impact. Some believe that children’s cognitive development plays a role in their gender-role development. We will be looking at each of these viewpoints. (a)Biological theories Biological differences between the sexes begin at conception when an XX chromosome combination develops into a female and an XY chromosome combination develops into a male individual. Not only do the chromosomes play a role, but hormones in the bloodstream beforeor about the time of birth, may affect the developing brain and influence gender differences. The male hormone testosterone seems to be related to aggressiveness, competitiveness and dominance and could be a reason why males are more aggressive than females. Another example comes from studiesof children in whom hormonal imbalances occurred during prenatal development (Money & Ehrhardt, 1972). Female fetuses that received an excess of androgens (male hormones) prenatally, were born with an XX genetic combination, but with male-like genitals (a condition called the androgenital syndrome or AGS). A number ofthese androgen girls’ genitals were surgically corrected and they were raised as girls. In follow-up studies, Money and Ehrhardt found that these androgen girls showed more male personality characteristics than their sisters or other girls. For example, they preferred typical male activities to female activities and they showed better visualspatial abilitiesthan other girls did. Perhaps the most dramatic example of biologically based contributions to gender is hermaphroditism, that is infants born with ambiguous sexual organs (part male and part female), or accidental damage to their sexual organs. Such children are assigned as early as possible to a gender(usually with surgicalintervention) that holds the potential for the most normal functioning and stable gender identity. In one case, where 27 male children were born without penises, 25 were raised as girls (Reiner, 2005). However, in childhood these ‘girls’ engaged in rough-and-tumble play and considered themselves boys. In another dramatic case (the JohnJane case described in Chapter 2), a seven-month-old boy’s penis was accidentally cut off during circumcision. It was decided to raise him as a girl and he received surgical reconstruction. Although initially, he seemed to developinto a normal girl, the child later rejected the female identity and at puberty, switchedto living as a male. After another surgical reconstruction, turning him back into male, he married a woman and adopted her children. These cases seem to make a strong point for the biological basis of gender behaviour. (b)Psychoanalytic theory of Sigmund Freud The psychoanalytic theory of Sigmund Freud indicates biologicalfactors (sexual energy that is channelled to the various zones of the body during the course of development) and the social environment (the way in which the child is treated by the parents) as determining influences on the child’s gender-role development. gender-role development begins during the phallic phasethree to six years) of psycho-sexual development. During this stage, the child experiences a biologically based love for the parent of the opposite gender Oedipus complex in boys and the Electra complex in girls. gender-role development begins because of children’s identification with the same gender parent. This means that a child takes on the characteristicsof the same gender parent. This process occurs mainly on the unconscious level and is therefore not under the control of either the parent or the child. Freud also believed that should the mother or father be inappropriate models (e.g. the father is often absent or not dominant enough or the mother is not feminine enoughthe children will not acquire appropriate gender roles

According to social learning theory, children learn gender roles in two ways: firstly, through differential reinforcement and secondly, through observation and modelling (imitation) of behaviour.
Differential reinforcement means that children are encouraged in and rewarded forgender-appropriate behaviour and punished for gender-inappropriate behaviour.
Observation and modelling: According to the social learning theory, children also learn gender roles through observation and modelling. Children see which toys and activities are for girls and for boys and begin to imitate individuals of their own gender. Children are exposed to a number of models, not only at home, but also in the world outside and in the media

Question 35

What are the cognitive influences on gender development

Answer 35

(i) The cognitive developmental theoryThe cognitive developmental theory was initially proposed by Lawrence Kohlberg (1966). According to this theory, children’s gender typing develops after they have acquired a concept of gender. As soon as they consistently typify themselves as male or female they organise their world based on gender. This means they actively acquire knowledge regarding gender-appropriate behaviour from models of the same gender and other sources of information. Kohlberg’s theory therefore rests on two assumptions; First, genderrole development is dependent on cognitive development. This means that children must first understand gender before they can be influenced by their social experiences. Second, children are actively involved in their own socialisation. They are not passive recipients of social influences.
∑Gender identity, i.e. children’sknowledge of themselves as male or female. This develops at approximately age three. ∑Gender stability, i.e. the knowledge that gender identity remains stable over time. In other words, boys eventually become men and girls, women. This develops after children have established a gender identity at approximatelyfour years of age. ∑Gender constancy, i.e. the knowledge that a person’s gender also remains stable across situations. This develops at the ages of five to seven. Children now realise that a person’s gender is unchangeable. The concept of gender is therefore establishedThe gender schema
Theory

thegender schema theory (Bem, 1981; Martin & Halverson, 1981) emphasises the importance of the development of a gender identity and children’s intrinsic motivation to act in a gendertypical way. This is reached by children actively seeking knowledge regarding values, attitudes and activities related to their view of a specific gender. This means that they actually socialise themselves.
self-socialisation begins when children have developed a basic gender identity at approximately two- to three-years-of-age (and not, as Kohlberg proposedat five to seven years when gender constancy is reached.A gender schema is a cognitive structure that organises the social world into male and female.First, children develop a same gender and opposite gender schema. This is a relatively simple cognitive structure in which children classify appropriate behaviour for girls and appropriate behaviour for boys (e.g. girls play with dolls; boys play with cars). ∑Second, they develop an own-gender schema. This is a more elaborate cognitive schema that includes own-gender behaviour anda basis for guidelines for gender-appropriate behaviour. Thus, although both boys and girls know that boys fix cars, boys will be moservestivated to obtain knowledge about this, but not girlshe biological viewpoint stresses genetic and biochemical influences, the psychoanalytic theories stress the interaction between biological and social forces, the social learning theory points towards influences from the social environment and the cognitivetheories indicate the importance of cognitive development and the individual’s own input. Although each theory highlights an important facet of gender-role development, no theory can provide an adequate explanation on its own.

Question 36

Explore the concepts of race and ethnicity

Answer 36

race isa socio-political construct andis used to describe observable differences in individuals, such as their skin colour or other visible physical differences. The term ethnicity is used to describe one’s cultural background, which is typically associated with a specific (language) group.

The components of ethnic identity

∑Ethnic knowledge refers to children’s knowledge that their ethnic group has certain distinguishingcharacteristics such as behaviours, physical traits, values, customs and language that set them apart from other groups. ∑Ethnic self-identification reflects children’s categorisation of themselves as members of their ethnic group. ∑Ethnic constancy concernschildren’s understanding that the distinguishing characteristics of their ethnic group do not change across time and place and that they will always be members of their ethnic group. ∑Ethnic-role behaviours involvechildren’s engagementin the behaviours that reflect the characteristics of their ethnic group. ∑Ethnic feelings and preferences refer to children’s feelings about belonging to their ethnic group and its members, and their preferences for the characteristics that distinguish the group.

Question 37

Explain social development during early childhood

Answer 37

Parent or caregivers
by the age of 12 months, infants have normally established a clear attachment to their primary caregivers. By the age of two or three, many attachment behaviours have become less visible. They are less distressed when separated from their parents and are cognitively advanced enough to understand the explanation from the caregiver why he/she must go away for a while and when he/she will be back. By the age of three or four, children may also usecommunication offered by parents (“We’ll be back after your naptime”) to lessen their anxiety.

Bowlby refers to this new form of attachment as a goal-corrected partnership. The infant’s goal is always to have the attachment figure within sight or touch. While thepreschooler’s goal is still to be in contact with the parent, this contact no longer requires a constant physical presence.
Attachment quality also influences various aspects of children’s development in the preschool years. Securely attached preschoolers seem to experience fewer behaviouralproblems, while insecurely attached preschoolers seem to experience more anger and aggression towards both peers and adults in social settings

dimensions of parenting:

∑Warmth and nurturance. Children with warm and nurturingparents are generally more securely attached than children of cold and detached parents. They generally show positive de velopment in most areas. Parental warmth may even buffer a child against the negative effects of otherwise disadvantageous environments, such as poor and tough neighbourhoods∑Consistent control. Parents who set clear rules and consistently apply them, usually have children who are much less likely to be defiant or noncompliant. The form of control is also important. The most optimal outcomes for children occur when parents are not overly restrictive, explain things to the child and avoidthe use of physical punishment. ∑Expectations. Children of parents who have high expectations of them (Baumrind calls this maturity demands), also tend to fare better, specifically regarding their self-esteem and altruistic behaviours. ∑Communication. Open, clear and regular communication betweenparent and child has been linked to positive outcomes. Listening to the child is just as important as talking to him or her. In this way, the parent communicates to the child that what he or she has to say is important. Children of such parents tend to be more emotionally and socially mature.

Question 38

Describe the different parenting styles

Answer 38

The authoritative parenting style. These parents meet the standards of all four dimensions: warmth and nurturance, consistent control, expectations and communication. It involves highacceptance and involvement, adaptive control techniques and the granting of appropriate autonomy. Parents are warm and sensitive to their children’s needs, but set appropriate limits. This style is regarded as the most successful approach to child rearingand is linked to many aspects of competence throughout childhood and adolescence. These include a positive mood, self-control, task persistence, cooperativeness, social and moral maturity and favourable school performance.

The authoritarian parenting style. This style is high in control and expectations, but low in nurturance and communication. Authoritarian parents appear cold and rejecting. They frequently degrade their children by putting them down. To exert control they shoutcommand and criticise. If the child disobeys, they resort to force and punishment. Outcomes for these children are generally negative: they tend to be unhappy and anxious, show high rates of anger and defiance, and tend to be dependent and overwhelmedby challenging tasks.

The permissive parenting style. These parents show warmth and nurturance, but fail as far as expectations, control and communication are concerned. Parents are generally warm and accepting, but rather than beinginvolved, they tend to be overindulgent and inattentive. They exert little control over their children’s behaviour, with the result that children have to make many of their own decisions at an age when they are not yet capable of doing so. Children of permissive parents tend to be impulsive, disobedient, and rebellious. Theyalso tend to be overly demanding and dependent on adults and show less persistence in tasks than children whose parents have more control and expectation demands.

The uninvolved parenting style. These parents do not meet the expectations of any of the parenting styles. They tendto be emotionally detached, often because of their own overwhelming problems or because they are attracted to more exciting activities. They tend to have little time and energy left to cater to their children’s needs. At its extreme, uninvolved parents often maltreattheir children by neglecting them. This style disrupts virtually all aspects of development, including attachment, cognition, and emotional and social skills.

Question 39

What role does play have social development

Answer 39

preschoolers share affection, offer approval, and make demands on one another, providing valuable learning opportunities in social interaction. Play also offers preschoolers opportunities in visual-spatial skills, thus enhancingtheir cognitive development

Functional play refers to repetitive activities such as skipping, jumping, rolling clay, or moving toy cars. This type of play involves activity and does not have the goal of creating some end result. This type of play involves grossand fine motor development, as well as body movement

Constructive play involves children manipulating objects or toys to make something, such as a tower from blocks or a house from clay. This type of play encourages children to practisetheir fine motor and cognitive skills, for example, how pieces fit together to build a tower or complete a puzzle.

Social pretend play (also called socio-dramatic or fantasyplay). This is one of the most interesting forms of play seen in preschoolers, in whichthey use make-believe to change the functions of objects (e.g. a stick becomes a horse), create imaginary situations (e.g. riding a magic carpet) and enact pretend roles (e.g. playing Mommy and Daddy). These play activities reflect children’s growth in cognitive, perspective-taking and communication skills. For exampleto pretend a stick is a horse, children must develop symbolic capabilities to allow them to let one object represent another; to play ‘Mommy’ a child must relinquish her own perspective and appreciate another’s role. In complex pretend play, such as when one child acts as a ’Mommy’ and another as the ‘crying baby’, children learn to understandthe rules of social dialogue and communication.

Games-with-rules such as hide-and-seek, board games and hop-scotch, provide opportunities for cognitive development and social understanding

play proceeds in sequence fromsolitary play in which a child plays individually and apart from other children, to parallel play where children play near other children but do not try to influence their behaviour, to cooperative play where children interact by sharing, following one another and making suggestions. Parten believed thata stage-like developmental progression takes place from solitary to cooperative play.

Question 40

Explain the occurance of aggressive behaviour

Answer 40

Aggression refers to physical or verbal behaviour intended to injure or harm someone else.

Instrumental aggression refers to aggression being used as a means to an end (i.e. an instrument to obtain something). Children are usuallynot deliberately hostile, but shout, push or attack someone in order to get something. • Hostile aggression, on the other hand, is intended to hurt someone deliberately by hitting, kicking, or insulting him or her. Aggression is no longer a means to an end, but an end in itself.

Question 41

What are the causes of aggression

Answer 41

(i) Instinct theoriesAccording to instinct theories,aggression is part of the evolutionary survival process of humans and therefore we are programmedto act aggressively in certain situations. These theories assume that aggression is an inherent response characteristic of the whole species. However, because of the vast differences between individuals and cultures regarding aggression, psychologists today no longer accept that aggression is simply an evolutionary, inbornand instinctive response
(ii) Biological factorsSome psychologists believe that reactions to stimuli are activated by biological systems. According to this theory, certain brain areas (e.g. hypothalamus and amygdala) and hormones (e.g. testosterone) play an important role in the tendency to act aggressively. Genetic factors also seem to play a role. For example, studies of identical and non-identical twins show aggressive behaviour, like other personality characteristics, could have a genetic basis.

(iii)The frustration-aggression hypothesis This hypothesis, proposed by Dollardet al. (1939), suggests that individuals experience frustration when the attainment of their goals is blocked. Their inevitable reaction to this is aggression.This reformulated version states that frustration may cause aggression because frustrating events may elicit negative feelings. Toddlers andpreschoolers are often frustrated because they cannot always do what they want and because they cannot express their needs clearly, they often express their frustration through aggression. As children acquire greater ability to communicate, plan and organise their activities, their frustrationlevel declines and overt aggression becomes less) Cognitive factors
One of the core determinants of aggression is the child’s understanding of the intentions of the other person. When children believe that their peers are deliberately hostile, they will be more inclined to retaliatewith aggression than when they believe that the action was accidental. Aggressive children seem to differ from non-aggressive children regarding their interpretations of a social situation. In situations where peers’ intentions are unclear, aggressive children will be morelikely to attribute hostile motives to them than non-aggressive children. ∑Aggression is caused by an inability to process social information adequately. For example, during interaction with their peers, aggressive children tend not to consider all available social cues, but tofocus on aggressive cues. They then (wrongly) interpret that their social environment is a hostile place and retaliate with aggression. ∑Aggressive children view the outcomes or results of aggression differently to non-aggressive children. Aggression may lead to tangible rewards (e.g. getting what they want; or thatother children will leave them alone). Moreover, aggressive children do not seem to be concerned about the consequences of aggression (e.g. rejection from the peer group, harm to the victim of aggression or retaliation from the victim). Additionally, aggressive children do not view themselves negatively becauseof their aggressive behaviour. These outcomes may contribute towards the continuation of the aggressive behaviour, because the child’s interpretation is that aggression holds no negative consequences for him or her. Social factors
Parents. Many psychologists today believe that parents play a vital role in their children’s aggressive behaviour. Two dimensions of parenting styles are of particular importance in this regard, namely the type of nurturance a child receives, andthe disciplinary strategies that parents follow. Children whose parents are cold, negative, hostile, and rejecting towards them tend to be more aggressive than children whose parents are warm and positive. The reason for this could be that parents’ negative behaviour maycause frustration in the children because their emotional needs are not being met. Therefore, they react with aggressive behaviour. Parents who use strict and punitive disciplinary strategies (such as physical punishment and verbal aggression) have children who also show aggressive interaction styles. When parentsuse physical punishment, they are in fact acting as powerful models of aggression. Through their parents’ actions, children learn that they can control others by hitting or threatening them. In addition, when parents settle their own mutual disputes through aggression, children gradually beginto view their world as a violent and hostile place in which acting aggressively becomes a way of life
hen parents use permissive parenting styles by not providing their children with guidelines regarding aggressive behaviour, children also tend to be aggressive. The reason for this is most probably that permissiveparents set no boundaries for their children’s behaviour, thereby implying that everything is permissible. Furthermore, permissive parents are often inconsistent in applying punishment, which means that children are sometimes punished for aggression and at other times not. Children thereforereceive confusing messages as to which behaviour is performed

Question 42

What influence is there on violence

Answer 42

Community violence. Exposure to community violence may have an important influence on the aggressive behaviour of both parents and their children.This aggression also has a negative influence on their parenting styles: parents are more aggressive, punitive, and rejecting towards their children. There is also a significant relationship between children’sobservation of or exposure to community violence and their levels of aggression. This means that the more children witness community violence, the higher their levels of aggression.

The media. Media violence, such as portrayed on television and in electronic games, has an important influenceon the child’s behaviour. Worldwide, children start viewing television at a very early age. Children of different ages watch and understand television in different ways, depending on the length of their attention spans, the ways in which they process information and the amount of mental effort they invest and their own life experiences

Question 43

What are the effects of violent entertainment

Answer 43

-The desensitisation effect. Desensitisation refers to the reduction or eradication of cognitive, emotional and, ultimately also behavioural responses. Continued exposureto violence portrayed as justified and fun, first in cartoons watched in childhood and continued in other programming in adolescence and adulthood, causes systematic violence desensitisation, which has long-term negative effects. -The aggressor effect. Some childrenand adults tend to become meaner, more aggressive and more violent as a result of exposure to violence. -The victim effect. Both children and adults tend to see the world as a scarier place, become more fearful and initiate more self-protective measures. The bystander effect. Both children and adults tend to become more desensitised to violence (both in the media and in real life), and more callous and less sympathetic to victims of violence. -The appetite effect. Both children and adults tend to develop an increased appetite for seeing more violent entertainment.

Question 44

How can one control aggressive behaviour

Answer 44

∑Parents are powerful models. They should therefore ensure that their own interaction styles are not aggressive. ∑Firmness is of the utmost importance. Parents should never give in to a child’s aggressive behaviour∑Parents should make less use of power assertion (i.e. physical punishment, threats and insults) and more of induction (i.e. reasoning, explaining and setting limits for behaviour). ∑Children’s cognitions regarding the consequences of aggression can be changed by explaining to them that their behaviour harms other people. ∑Childrenshould be encouraged to practise prosocial behaviour. ∑Parents should investigate the causes of their children’s behaviour in order to understand their children’s aggression. ∑Children should be granted opportunities to verbalise their feelings in an appropriate manner. ∑Parents could influence theirchildren’s TV viewing habits (and thereby limit their exposure to violence). For example, by setting limits on what and when they may watch; watching programmes with the children and commenting on acts of violence; talking to the children about the content of programmes; using television as a baby-sitteras little as possible; and by cultivating healthy TV viewing habits themselves. ∑Parents should evaluate a video or Internet game before a child is allowed to play. The following questions should be asked
-Does the game involve some characters trying to harm others? -Does this happen frequentlymore than once or twice in 30 minutes? -Is the aggression/violence rewarded in any way? -Is the aggression/violence portrayed humorously? -Are non-violent solutions absent or less ‘fun’ than the violent ones? -Are realistic consequences of violence absent from the game? If two or more answers are “yes”, parents should think carefully about the lessons taught before allowing the child to access the game. ∑Should children persist with high levels of aggressive behaviour despite the abovementioned guidelines, it wouldbe advisable to seek professional help.

Question 45

What is prosocial behaviour

Answer 45

Prosocial behaviour is any voluntary action that is intended to benefit another individual. It includes positive social actions such as empathy and altruism. Altruistic behaviours first become evident in children at the ages of two to three yearsat about the same time as real interest in play develops. They will, for example, offer help to another child who is hurt, share a toy, or comfort another person. Children at this age are only beginning to understand that others feel differently from them

Question 46

How does moral development occur in early childhood

Answer 46

Morality refers to a set of principles or ideas that enables individuals to differentiate between right and wrong and to direct their behaviour accordingly.
children should learn two lessons: (1) to experience negativeemotions when they violate rules and (2) to control their impulses to engage in prohibited behaviours

Question 47

Discuss what’s socialisation

Answer 47

socialisation refers to the process through which individuals acquire the beliefs, customs, attitudes, values and roles of their culture and social group, in order to be integrated into and accepted by society. These behaviours generally refer to prosocial behaviours (e.g. empathy, sharing, caring, altruism), gender-role behaviour, emotional control and moral behaviour.

socialisation agents
Parents:parents are powerful modelsfor children’s antisocial, prosocial and moral development. Parents who use an authoritative parenting style, characterised by warmth, democratic discipline, and age appropriate limit setting, seem to enhance children’s positive socialisation. Positive disciplining techniques (i.e. teaching correct behaviours) have a particularly major influence. Of importance is setting appropriate boundaries, being consistent (i.e. enforcing rules in the same way at all times), using inductive techniques (e.g. explanationand discussion, rather than power assertion such as spanking and shouting), positive reinforcement (rewarding good behaviour) and appropriate punishment (e.g. restrictions such as time-out and removing privileges).

Siblings and peers. Children generally learn social skills such as cooperation, sharing and emotional control in sibling and peer relationships. These skills are learnt through play, modelling and direct instruction (such as, when older siblings act as caregivers to their youngersiblings

The media

Pre-primary schools and day-care centres:When preschoolers interact with their peers and teachers or day-mothers, they learn how to behave in an organised group setting. They also learn to distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable behaviour, acquire prosocial behaviour (e.g. cooperation, sharing, helping, empathy) and moral behaviour (i.e. what is wrong and what is right).