Childhood development

Question 1

Prenatal stages of development

Answer 1

Germinal/ Zygote (fertilised egg, conception to 2 weeks old).

Embryo (2 weeks - 2 months old).

Foetus (2 months old to birth).

Question 2

Teratogens

Answer 2

Any substance or environmental factor that might cause birth defects (alcohol, smoking, stress, radiation).

Question 3

Maturation

Answer 3

Biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behaviour, relatively uninfluenced by experience.

Sequencing of development is consistent but timing varies slightly. Development is cephalocaudal and proximal to distal.

Question 4

Critical periods

Answer 4

A period of special sensitivity to specific types of learning that shapes the capacity for future development.

Question 5

Sensitive periods

Answer 5

Developmental period during which environmental input is especially important, but not absolutely required, for future development in a domain.

Question 6

Piaget’s stages of cognitive development

Answer 6

Sensorimotor (approx. 0 – 2 years); Preoperational (approx. 2-7 years); Concrete operational (approx. 7-11/12 years); Formal operational (approx. 11/12+ years)

Question 7

Sensorimotor stage 0-2 years old

Answer 7

Thought primarily takes the form of perception and action. Gradually, children acquire object permanence, recognising that objects exist in time and space independent of their actions on or observation of them. Sensorimotor children are extremely egocentric, or thoroughly embedded in their own point of view.

Question 8

Preoperational stage 2-7 years old

Answer 8

Characterised by the emergence of symbolic thought. Operations are mental actions the individual can use to manipulate, transform and return an object of knowledge to its original state. Thought still limited by egocentrism. Another limitation is centration, the tendency to focus, or centre, on one perceptually striking feature of an object without considering other features that might be relevant.

Theory of mind is the ability to infer other person’s mental stages. Basic understanding develops around age 3-4 but impaired in autism.

Question 9

Concrete operational stage 7-11/12 years old

Answer 9

Children can operate on, or mentally manipulate, internal representations of concrete objects in ways that are reversible. The concrete operational child understands conservation — the idea that basic properties of an object or situation remain stable even though superficial properties may change. Begin to understand arithmetic operations. Has developed Seriation- the ability to arrange items along a quantitative dimension, such as length or weight. Develops Transitive inference is the ability to seriate mentally.

Question 10

Formal operational stage 11/12 years old +

Answer 10

Characterised by the ability of Hypothetico-deductive reasoning: Begin with a general theory of all possible factors affecting outcome, deductive specific hypothesis, test hypothesis in orderly fashion. Propositional thought: can evaluate the logic of propositions (verbal statements) without referring to real world circumstances.
Formal operational egocentrism is the inability to distinguish the abstract perspective of the self and others. Imaginary audience- they are the focus of everyone else’s attention and concern. Personal fable- they are special and unique (others cannot understand their thought and feelings).

Question 11

Schema

Answer 11

A concept or framework to organise and interpret information and exercised patterns of thought and behaviour that changes with age.

Question 12

Adaption

Answer 12

The process of building schemes through direct interaction with the environment. Built up of two complimentary activities: assimilation and accommodation.

Question 13

Accommadation

Answer 13

Old schemes are adjusted and new ones created to incorporate new information.

Question 14

Assimilation

Answer 14

Interpreting experience in terms of existing schemes

Question 15

Diana Baumrind’s parenting styles

Answer 15

Permissive, Neglectful, Authoritarian, Authoritative

Question 16

Permissive parenting style

Answer 16

Low control/ high warmth. Accept children’s behaviour. Make few demands. Punish them infrequently. Children will show specific competencies, will perform well when tasks interest them.

Question 17

Neglectful/ Uninvolved parenting style

Answer 17

Low control/ low warmth. Meet basic physical needs. Minimise the amount of time they spend with their children. Avoid becoming emotionally involved. Associated with least competent children. Children show low self-esteem, low achievement and are prone to delinquency.

Question 18

Authoritarian parenting style

Answer 18

High control/ little warmth. Lay down rules and expect them to be obeyed with no discussion. Rules are not explained. Aim to cultivate hard work, respect, and obedience. Enforceable competence, children do what they are supposed to do as long as the authority figure retains a means of enforcement. Likely to rebel when the authority figure is absent or no longer poses a threat.

Question 19

Authoritative parenting style

Answer 19

High control/ high warmth. Exert control by setting rules and enforcing them but also explain their reasons (especially older children). Associated with high overall competence, children show high self-esteem and high achievement. Self motivated and respond appropriately to authority.

Question 20

John Bolby’s theory of attachment

Answer 20

Pre-attachment (birth-6 weeks): Variety of signals (grasping, crying, smiling, gazing) helps bring and keep close proximity to adult. Attachment not yet formed.

Attachment in the making (6 weeks – 6-8 months): Respond differently to strangers. Expectation that caregiver will respond. Little protest when separated from parent.

Clear-cut attachment (6-8 months – 18-24 months): Separation anxiety. Understand caregiver continues to exist. Act to maintain caregiver presence.

Formation of reciprocal relationship (18-24 months +): Understand reasons for parents “coming and going”. Negotiates.

Question 21

Mary Ainsworth’s attachment styles

Answer 21

Secure attachment: Use parents as secure base. Distress in absence but settles quickly on return. Playful, less inhibited, exploration orientated, sociable. 60% of population.

Avoidant attachment: Unresponsive to parent; avoid or are slow to greet on reunion. Maintains close proximity but avoids close contact. 10%.

Resistant/ ambivalent attachment: Seeks closeness (clingy), fails to explore. Angry, resistive (hitting/ pushing) on return. Difficult to comfort. 10%.

Disorganised/ disorientated attachment: Greatest insecurity. Confused/ contradictory behaviours regarding approach vs. avoidance. E.g. looks away while held, cry out after being calmed, depressed/flat behaviours, dazed facial expression. 15%.

Infant attachment patterns reflect a combination of temperament, parental responsiveness and the interaction of the two.

Parents tend to produce children with an attachment style similar to their own. Attachment patterns have considerable stability because internal working models tend to change slowly, but as life circumstances change, so can attachment styles.

Question 22

Cross-sectional studies

Answer 22

Compare groups of participants of different ages at a single time to investigate differences between them. Does not account for individual differences.

Question 23

Longitudinal studies

Answer 23

Follow the same individuals over time and thus can directly assess age changes rather than age differences. Vulnerable to cohort effects (difference among the groups e.g. cultural or era or generation differences).

Question 24

Sequential studies

Answer 24

Minimise the confounding variable of cohort by studying multiple cohorts longitudinally. Can be expensive and difficult and can take a lot of time and resources to complete.

Question 25

Twin studies

Answer 25

Researching twins. Effective case studies to investigate the role of nature and nurture.

Question 26

Intermodal processing

Answer 26

The ability for infants to associate sensations of an object from different senses and match their own actions to behaviours they have observed visually.

Question 27

Equilibration

Answer 27

The driving force behind cognitive development to balance assimilation and accommodation to adapt to the world.

Question 28

Criticism of Piaget’s theory

Answer 28

Underestimating the capacities of younger children, assuming too much consistency across domains and downplaying the influence of culture.

Question 29

Socialisation

Answer 29

The process by which children learn the rules, beliefs, values, skills, attitudes and behaviour patterns of their society. Is a transactional and lifelong process.