Development Flashcards
Outline the different parts of the brain.
Brain stem:
Highly developed at birth.
Connects brain to spinal cord.
Autonomic functions.
Cerebellum:
Matures late.
Near top of spinal cord,
Coordinates sensory and motor.
Thalamus:
Deep inside the brain in each hemisphere.
Information hub, receives and then sends signals around brain.
Cortex:
Very thin and folded cover.
Thinking and processing,
Frontal, visual, auditory, motor areas in each hemisphere.
Outline the role of nature and nurture in early brain development.
Roles of nature and nurture:
Nature is inherited and nurture is environmental influences on development.
Smoking:
Smoking during pregnancy can lead to smaller brains.
Infection:
In the womb, German measles can lead to hearing loss.
Voices:
Babies learn to recognise mother’s voice.
Interaction between nature and nurture:
The brain forms due to nature but the environment has a major influence even in the womb.
Describe Piaget’s theory.
The theory:
Changes in thinking (cognition) over time.
Children think differently from adults.
Stages:
Different kinds of logical thinking occur at each stage.
Schemas:
Mental structures containing knowledge.
Schemas become more complex through
assimilation and accommodation.
Assimilation:
Adding new information to an existing schema.
Accommodation:
Receiving new information that changes our understanding so a new schema is formed.
Evaluate Piaget’s theory.
Research evidence:
Many studies have been conducted to test Piaget’ theory, which has helped improve our understanding of how children’s thinking develops.
Real-world application:
The theory has helped change classroom teaching so it is now more activity-based.
The sample: Middle-class Swiss children were used so theory may not be universal.
Describe the study on conservation.
McGarrigle and Donaldson’s study:
Aims:
The ‘naughty teddy study’ aimed to see if a deliberate change in the row of counters would help younger children conserve.
Method:
Children aged 4-6 years.
Two rows of counters, teddy messed up one of them. Child asked if rows were the same.
Results:
Deliberate change = 41% conserved.
Accidental change = 68% conserved.
Older children did better than younger ones.
Conclusion
Piaget’s method doesn’t show what children can do.
This study does show there are still age-related changes.
Evaluate a study on conservation.
The sample:
Primary school sample from one school, so comparisons between groups may not be valid.
The change was not noticed:
Children may appear to conserve because they simply didn’t notice the change as they were distracted by the teddy.
Challenges Piaget:
The study shows that Piaget confused young children with his style of questioning. This helps to refine his theory.
Describe a study on egocentrism.
Hughes’ study:
Aims:
The ‘policeman doll study’ aimed to create a test that would make more sense than Piaget’s.
Method:
3½ to 5-year-olds asked to hide a boy doll from two policemen.
They were given practice first with one doll.
Results:
90% could hide the boy doll away from two policemen. 3-year-olds did less well with a more complex task.
Conclusions:
Children aged 4 years are mostly not egocentric.
Piaget underestimated abilities but was right that thinking changes with age.
Evaluate a study on egocentrism.
More realistic:
Task made better sense to children and they were given practice so they understood, so a more realistic test of abilities.
Effects of expectations:
Unconscious cues from the researcher may have influenced the children’s behaviour, so the results lack validity.
Challenges Piaget:
The study shows that Piaget’s task confused the children making them appear less able thinkers. This helps to refine his theory.
Describe the stages of cognitive development.
Four stages at different ages. Children think differently as their brains mature. Universal order of stages.
Sensorimotor stage:
0-2 years, learn to co-ordinate sensory and motor
information.
Object permanence develops.
Pre-operational stage:
2-7 years, can’t think in a consistently logical way (it doesn’t ‘make sense”)
Egocentric and lack conservation.
Concrete operational:
7-11 years. At 7 most children can conserve and show less egocentrism.
Logical thinking applied to physical objects only.
Formal operational
11+ years. Children can draw conclusions about abstract concepts and form arguments.
Evaluate the Piaget’s stages of cognitive development.
Underestimated children’s abilities:
Some types of thinking develop earlier than Piaget proposed.
Overestimated children’s abilities:
Suggested that children 11+ are capable of abstract reasoning but most can’t cope with Wason’s card sorting task in abstract form.
Basic idea is correct:
Does show children’s thinking changes with age so theory is valid.
Describe the application of Piaget’s theory in education.
Readiness:
Can only teach something when child biologically ‘ready’.
Learning by discovery and the teacher’s role:
Children must play active role, not rote-learn. Teachers should challenge schemas.
Individual learning:
Children go through same stages in same order but at different rates.
Application to stages:
Sensorimotor - Stimulating sensory environment.
Pre-operational - Discovery learning rather than written work.
Concrete operational - Physical materials to manipulate.
Formal operational stage - Scientific experiments to develop logical thinking.
Evaluate the application of Piaget’s theory in education.
Very influential:
Positive impact on UK education as more child centred activity in primary schools.
Possible to improve with practice:
Thinking can develop at an earlier age if given enough practice, not just when ready.
Traditional methods may be good:
Direct instruction is a better teaching method in some subjects.
Describe Dweck’s mindset theory.
The set of assumptions we have (mindset) affects success.
Success is due to effort not talent.
Fixed mindset:
Effort won’t help because talent is fixed in the genes. Focused on performance.
Growth mindset:
Can improve with effort, enjoy challenge.
Focused on learning goals.
Dealing with failure:
Fixed mindset: Failure indicates lack of talent, so give up.
Growth mindset: Opportunity to learn more and put in more effort.
A continuum:
Not simply one or the other (fixed or growth). Depends on the situation.
Evaluate Dweck’s mindset theory.
Research support:
Dweck found children taught a growth mindset had better grades and motivation.
Both mindsets involve praise:
Praising effort still leads to doing things for approval so can discourage independent behaviour.
Real-world application:
In business, sport, relationships - seeing failure as a lack of effort rather than talent motivates future effort.
Describe the role of praise and self-efficacy.
Positive effect of praise:
It’s a reward. It makes someone feel good so behaviour is repeated.
Praise effort rather than performance:
Praising effort enables control. Praising performance is demotivating.
Self-efficacy:
Understanding your own abilities. Self-efficacy increases or decreases future success.
Effect of self-efficacy on motivation:
Greater effort, persist longer, greater task performance and more resilience if high self-efficacy.
