CHILD DEVELOPMENT Flashcards
what is development
the sequence of physical and psychological changes that human beings undergo as they grow older through a whole life span
what is development psychology
the scientific study of age-related changes in behaviour, thinking, emotion and personality
what are the 3 big topics in developmental psychology
- continuity and change
- sources of development - nature vs nurture
- individual differences
continuity and change
to what extent is development characterised by continuous change, and to what extent does it evolve discontinuities that result in the emergence of new forms and processes of change
we are different to other but then we aren’t
something has to happen for development to not happen normally
what is continuous and non-continuous
continuous - something that we can measure/calculate
non-continuous - a lifecycle, turn into something different (eg. frog to tadpole). it is a qualitative change that you can’t measure
sources of development
is development guided primarily by genetic programme locked in to the body’s cells, or is it the external environment the driving force that produces change?
nature vs nurture - none is just one they all have a bit of another both bio and the enviro
individuals differences
no two humans beings are exactly alike. how do people come to have stable characteristics that differentiate them from all the other people
- often it is how we are brought up that show our differences
4 was to for data collection in developmental psychology
- self-report
- observation
- experimental methods
- clinical interviews methods
self reports
- hard to do a child as you can’t ask them lots of stuff as they won’t understand
- memory is an issue
- social desirability
experimental method
introduce a change and see what happens
2 research designs used in developmental psychology
- longitudinal (study across time - Dunedin one)
- cross-sectional (take different aged children at one time)
what is cognitive development and then processes
basically means intellectual growth
are those by which we get to know ourselves and our world, for example memory, learning etc.
who is the ‘father’ of cognitive development and what did he do/discover
Jean Piaget
he observed children
and proposed a sequence of development that all normal children follow
he cam up with 4 stages if cognitive development
stage one - Sensorimotor Stage
age: birth - 2
cognition closely tied to external stimulation (rely on what people do in front of them) - thinking is doing
tasks they have to achieve to move to the next stage
1. object permanence
2. schema formation
3. representation throught
Sensorimotor Stage - object permanence
the idea that objects do not cease to exist when they are out of sight
@birth-3months: look at visual stimul and turn their heads towards noise
@3 months: follow moving objects with eyes, but when it goes missing they won’t look for it
@5 months: grasp and manipulate objects, and they anticipate the future position of the object
@8 months: searches for the hidden object. A not B effect ( this is when the baby will look for the disappeared object in the last place they found the object but not the place they last saw it)
@12 months: they will search in the last place they saw it
Sensorimotor Stage - Schema Formation
a schema is a mental representation or set of rules that defines a particular behaviour category. they develop overtime and get more in depth
two processes
- Assimilation: the processes by which new information is modified to fit in with an existing schema
- Accomodation: the process by which an existing schema is modified or changed by new experience
Sensorimotor Stage - Representational Thought
ability to form mental representations of others’ behaviour
the occurs towards then ends of this stage
in
- imitation
- deferred imitation (imitate actions one has seen in the past)
- symbolic play
- the use of words to represent objects
stage two - Preoperational Stage
age: 2-7 years old
ability to think logically as well as symbolically
rapid development of language ability
need to achieve -
- counting
- object manipulation
Preoperational Stage - Object Manipulation
conservation - the understanding that specific properties of objects remain the same despite apparent changer or arrangement of these objects (odd and even numbers)
egocentrism - a child’s belief that others see the world precisely the same way as the baby does (3 mountains and the clown)
stage three - Concrete Operations Stage
age: 7-12 years old
- ability to perform logical analysis
- ability to empathise with the thoughts of others
- understanding of complex cause-effect relations
BUT they don’t have abstract thoughts
stage four - Formal Operations Stage
age: 12+ years old
abstract reasoning
metacognition (thinking about thinking)
dependent on exposure to principles of scientific thinking
what was the one biggest criticisms overall that Piaget got on his studies on children
that he underestimated children’s abilities at many ages
he had the basics right overall though
Piaget’s 2 Criticisms
- babies don’t seem to start with nothing
- he said that under 1 babies had basically nothing but this it not true - cognitive development isn’t an all-or-nothing phenomenon
- he was very move to stage to another
3 main topics of criticism one he got wrong
- space and objects
- number and math reasoning
- social cognition
Piaget critisims 1 - space and objects
- visual cliff: children appear to be able to perceive depth around the time they can crawl
- the effect of occlusion: habituation procedure, infants prefer to pay attention to novel things (4 month olds understand)
- understanding of support: develops by 6 month as when they understand when an object is supported or not
- object permanence: at 8 months old babies will look for the object where they last found it instead of where they last saw it. this shows that the error simply appears to represent difficulty overriding a motor habit
Piaget criticism 1 - number and mathematical reasoning
piaget thought that infants has no concept of number but at 6months old they can show some understanding of number
Piaget criticism 1 - social cognition
- 3 weeks old babies can imitate a facial expression
- 9 months they will follow the gaze of their mothers eye
- they understand intentions of people
- understand intended goals
- that reach and the object in reach are different
Piagets criticism 2 has two factors
- numerical skills in pre-schoolers
- social cognition in pre-schoolers
Piagets criticism 2 - social cognition in pre-schoolers
- egocentrism piaget: through around 7 but more 2-3 years of age
- theory of mind: understanding of other peoples mind
- others likes and dislikes: broccoli vs crackers study
- true and false beliefs: 3yr fail 4 yrs pass
what is 4 things that show you have gained social development
- forms bonding with people
- learning to behave in socially acceptable ways
- learning to be a good friend and allies
- learning to deal with adversaries (that some social thins aren’t always going to go well)
attachment definition
‘an emotional and social bond between infant and caregiver that spans both time and space’
achieving social development
- social learning theory (learn how to behave by watching other people do)
- cognitive developmental theory (intellectual dev. drives our social dev.)
- parents (parent styles are a two way street)
- peer relationships (have effect on how we behave)
emotional development - emotional regulation
- infants are reliant on adults to soothe them
- self-soothing ability develops over time
- display rules - govern the degree to which emotions need to be regulated in a given situation
when you hide you emotions - you have to learn to do this
emotional development
- expressing emotions (basic emotions are present from early on)
- understanding others feelings
- emotional regulation
moral development
generally accepted rules
not doing wrong
- guided by consequences
- inter rules
- principle of minimal sufficiency (harsher the punishment the quicker you internalise it is wrong, but this is not right)
doing right
- empathic distress (upset when someone else is sad)
- offers to help
- might leave you worse off
parenting
work in two dimensions
- demandingness
- responsiveness
certain kids lend them selves to certain ways of parents instead of becoming like parents
moral behaviour definition
behaviour that confirms to a generally accepted set of rules
kohlberg’s theory study (participants, methods, # of levels)
studied boys aged between 10-17 years old
presented subjects with scenarios
he had 3 levels
kohlberg’s theory of moral development - level 1 (preconventional level stages 1&2)
behaviour based on external sanctions such as authority and punishment
stage 1 - obeying punishment and avoiding obedience
stage 2 - instrumental hedonism
kohlberg’s theory of moral development - level 2 (conventional stage 3&4)
includes an understanding that the social system has an interest in peoples behaviour (all for me, what going to happen to me)
stage 3 - maintaining good relations
stage 4 - maintaining social order
kohlberg’s theory of moral development - level 3 (post-conventional stage 5&6)
moral rules have some underlying principles that apply to all situation and societies
stage 5 - social contracts
stage 6 - universal ethical principles
genetic sex definition
Y and X chromosomes
morphological sex definition
what you look like, organs and what you look like
gender identity definition
one’s private sense of male and female-ness
gender roles definition
cultural expectations abouts ways in which men and women should think and behave
gender sterotypes definition
beliefs and differences in behaviours, abilities and personality traits of males and females
the development of gender aged 18months, age 3 & 5
18months - beginnings of gender-typed preferences
age 3 - knowledge of own gender, preference for toys and friends of own sex, and have the ability to assign gender to pictures is limited
age 5 - knowledge that gender doesn’t change
biological explanations for gender differences
- environment effects our gender behaviour
- exposure t the developing brain of male sex hormones. being around males makes you more like. males deprived of testosterone act more like females
environmental explanations for gender differences
- a study found that they enjoyed playing with gender neutral and gender appropriate toys
- parents differ their comms between girls and boys
- even when the clothes of babies were manipulated the parents would play as the child was dressed
what are the 5 stages of the development of children’s drawing ability
- scribbling stage
- preschematic stage
- schematic stage
- realistic stage
- period of indecision
the development of children’s drawing stage 1 - scribbling stage
2-3 years and not representative
the development of children’s drawing stage 2 - preschematic stage
3-4yrs
first attempt at drawing human figures
tadpole drawing with 1/2 lines representing limbs
the development of children’s drawing stage 3 - schematic stage
5-6yrs
seperate head from trunk and then later on they start to add limbs and accessories
child develops a schema
the development of children’s drawing stage 4 - realistic stage
from around 9 yrs
more detailed art
the development of children’s drawing stage 5 - period of indecision
art is something to be done or be left alone
clinical value of children’s drawings - projective measures
- intelligence: gave scores based on how representative the drawings were which show how intelligent you are
- psychological wellbeing: used them to tell if they are well-adjusted or not, not proven though
- sexual abuse: suggestions that drawings may suggest abuse history, no consistent pattern yet so not proven
clinical value of children’s drawings - verbal communication aid
- help children talk about events they have experienced
Butleer, Gross & Hayne fire station drawing study
they had all the 5-6yr old free recall and direct recall their trip to the fire station. then one day later they had half the sample draw and tell, and then the other half just tell.
they found -
- children in the draw and tell group repeated twice as much information in the direct recall phase then the tell phase
- no difference between the groups in the free recall phase
- the information reported by the draw and tell group was just as accurate as the information given by the tell group
4 issues with using children as witnesses as sexual abuse cases
- unwilling to disclose abuse
- medical and physical evidence rarely present
- absences of eyewitnesses
- only a using a child as evidence
why children can’t be used as witnesses
- memory: it is better than we once thought (4-5yr olds+) but still not good enough
- verbal reports: free recall are highly accurate, but too brief to be used in court
- suggestibility: when they are questions they can be influences by mis-info to tell lies
what are the 4 potential problems for child witnesses
- lack of knowledge
- confronting the accused
- courtroom environment
- cross-examination
what are imaginary companions
an invisible character named and referred to in conversation with other people or played with directly for a period of time, at least several months, having an air or reality for the child but apparent objective basis
or giving something a personality that shouldn’t (eg. a teddy)
facts around people and imaginary companions
- upto 65% of children have one
- more common for girls than boys
- average age is 2-4 years old
- more likely to be a first born that has them
prior to 20th century little was known about IC so Dr Spok urged
- urged parents to do more hugging and piggy backs
- if IC lasted longer than 4 years he said they needed mental help to find out what is lacking
characteristics of IC
- ICs are normally children
- have unusual physical traits
- IC animals can normally talk
- not always friendly (3%)
- but for most they provide fun and companionship
the 4 problems with parental reports
- not generally a reliable source
- large difference between parent and child accounts if ICs
- parents don’t know many details
- parents might be good at supplying info that the child leaves out
why do people worry about ICs
- historically it was seen as a personality deficit
- by clinically they was not proven
kids with IC social and cognitive ability
- they are better at communicating with adults
- score more highly in verbal tests
- have a more developed theory of mind at age 4
what age do people normally have attachment objects
peak around 2years but can be between age 1.5 to 7
advantages of attachment objects
no evidence suggesting their is any
tv as an educational tool - sesame street
- targeted to 3-5 year olds
- aimed to foster intellectual and cultural curiosity in children
- designed for children from disadvantaged backgrounds
- broadcasted to 50 children
sesame street study
- had children take a alphabet and writing test before they watch ed sesame street.
- they had 4 different groups with children watching diff amounts of sesame street per week
results
- children who watched sesame street the most exhibited the biggest gain on the alphabet and writing test
- and low background children showed the biggest gain
claims against tv/study
tv violence has a negative effect on children
when violence wasn’t punished then this is when boys think it is ok
Piagets criticism 2 - social cognition in pre-schoolers
counting - even when they can’t count toddlers can understand what counting is
numerical reasoning - piagets said children can’t when before 6 they can conserve number if the task is relevant
Lawrence Kohlbergs theory of moral development - 3 levels
- preconventional
- conventional
- post conventional
gender differences in cognitive ability
are partially due to the differences in the brain
- testosterone effects spatial ability
gender socialisation often starts with the parents
- they communicate with each gender differently
-sons get more directive, fewer explanation, and more physical pressure then girls - more risk taking for the boys
research around Draw-a-person test showed that
the test can differentiate between different groups but isn’t good at identifying individual cases needing special help
suggestibility
the degree to which one’s memory and/or recounting of an event is influenced by suggested information or misinformation
NZ legal system for child witnesses
- heard under a adversarial system so direct, cross, re, -examination
- no lower age limit
- no corroboration laws
- competency requirement meaning the judge decided if the child can be apart or not
- have 3 options, live, tv, pre-recorded
- judge no longer warns that children are prone to distortion of facts
- cross examination occurs live
why do children develop IC
- acts as protectors
- help them overcome fears
- help control behaviour
- acts as a friend
why do children have attachment objects
- transitional objects
- easing the passage between walking and sleep
- substitute for a primary caregiver in some situations
children on average watch how many hours of tv per day
5.11
when children were asked if they want to watch tv or spend time with there father what % said watch tv
54%
% of children that what children that watch tv before 3months and then 2 years
40%
90%
NZ 5-14yr tv time 2hr/day
NZSS tv time 3+hr/day
64%
35%
tv time recommendations
<2
2
3-5
5-8
8+
none
none
1 hr
1 hr
1.5-2 hr
Boyatzis, matillo, nesbit study on power rangers
had children watch power ranges which 22 min/140 aggressive acts and then measures the children acts for the next 2 minutes
found that
- boys committed more aggressive acts than girls
- those watching power rangers committed 7 aggressive acts for 1 by a control child
huessman study on violence
asses boys preference to watch violent tv
found that -
boys who exhibited a higher preference violent TV at age 8, committed more serious crimes by age 30, than those who chose to watch violent TV
% of NZSS male students play videogames for more then 3 hours per day
20%
the time spent playng video games is ____ whilst tv watching is remaining ____
increase
stable
the effect of violent video game study
- women would deliver longer blasts than males
- those that played the violent game would give longer blasts than those who played non-violent games
video games benefits
- it gives those that are chronic ill a education/a real work experience
- violent games can have benefits, but violent ones can be dangerous and have bigger impact than tv
