development Flashcards
autonomic functions
involuntary bodily functions such as breathing and heart rate
brain stem
the part of the brain that controls basic functions such as breathing and heart rate
cerebellum
a small wrinkled structure at the back of the brain which coordinates motor movement, dexterity, and balance
cognition
the mental processes involved in gaining knowledge; these include thinking, planning and problem solving
cortex
the outer layer of the brain where higher cognitive functions take place e.g speech
neuron
a specialised nerve cell which generates and transmits an electrical impulse
sensory processing
the brain receives messages from the senses and turns them into appropriate motor and behavioural responses
synapse
the small gap between the dendrite of one neuron and the receptor site of the next one, which allows signals to pass between them
thalamus
the part of the brain that passes info from the sense organs to the cortex
early brain development
- begins during third week of pregnancy, multiplying cells form a structure called the neural plate which forms a tube-shaped structure called a neural tube.
- fourth week: neural tube divides into spinal cord, forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain.
- sixth week: forebrain divides into two areas (pink and yellow). pink forms cortex, yellow develops into thalamus. neurons and synapses develop in the spinal cord (allows fetus to move around and react)
- fifteenth week: cerebellum formed from hindbrain
- cortex develops in last 3 months
occipital lobe
processes visual info
temporal lobe
involved with hearing
parietal lobe
processes info related to touch on the skin like heat, cold, and pain
frontal lobe
associated with cognitive activities such as thinking, planning, and problem solving
nature
the idea that our characteristics and behavior are inherited
nurture
the idea that our characteristics and behavior are influenced by our environment
twin studies
identical twins have the same genes, studies show they have similar IQ implying that nature has a major role in intelligence. Study showed that nature plays more of a role in personality than nurture
newborn babies
nature is responsible for babies being able to recognize faces. nurture is responsible for language development
animal studies
rat study supports that nurture is very important for early brain development.
schema
a cognitive model of people, objects, or situations; based on previous information and experiences which helps us to perceive, organise, and understand new information
accomodation
- mental blocks of knowledge develop through experience
- changing a schema, or developing a new schema to cope with a new situation
assimilation
adding new information to an existing schema
cognitive development
the changes that take place over time in a person’s thinking and intellect
piaget’s theory of cognitive development
believed that schemas were the key to cognitive development.
4 stages of development:
- sensorimotor stage: 0-2, child develops object permanence (covering toy task)
- pre-operational stage: 2-7, children are egocentric (mountain task)
- concrete operational stage: 7-11, developed ability to conserve (counter task)
- formal operational stage: 11+, abstract thinking and can solve problems in a systematic way (pendulum task)
sensorimotor
learning through the senses and by physical activities
pre-operational
before logic, being unable to apply reason to solve problems
egocentric
not being able to see things from another person’s point of view
conservation
knowing that the amount of something stays the same, even though its appearance may change
concrete operational
the ability to apply logic to physical objects to solve problems
formal operational
the ability to apply logic in an abstract way to solve problems, for example mental calculation
evaluation of piaget’s theory
+ it has led many studies to be carried out which have helped test the claims of his theory
+ has helped change classroom teaching for the better, teachers doing more activity based learning helps children learn more effectively
- McGarrigle and Donaldson’s Naughty Teddy study and Hughes’ Policeman doll study contradict
- unrepresentative sample, middle-class swedish children from families where academic studies were more important than making things
Hughes ‘Policeman doll’ study aim
to see if children can see things from another person’s point of view at an earlier age than Piaget’s theory suggested
Hughes Policeman doll study design
lab study where there was some control of possible EV’s. standardised procedures so it can be easily replicated. 30 children between the ages 3.5 and 5 took part in the study
hughes policeman doll study method
Hughes tested egocentrism using a model of two intersecting walls, a boy doll and two policeman
dolls.
To introduce the task, a policeman doll was placed on the model. Each child was asked to hide the
boy doll from the policeman doll.
A child was told if they made a mistake. Then they were allowed to try the task again.
In the actual experiment, a second policeman doll was placed on the model and the child was asked
to hide the boy doll so that neither of the policeman dolls could see him.
this was repeated three times so that a different section of the grid was left as the only hiding place each time.
hughes policeman doll study results
90% of the children aged between 3.5 and 5 were able to hide the boy doll from the two policemen dolls
In following trials, where more than two walls were used, the younger children were only correct 60
percent of the time
hughes policeman doll study conclusion
children aged between 3.5 and 5 years can see things from someone else’s point of view if the situation is familiar to them, and the task makes sense.
this was very different to Piaget’s findings that children were egocentric until 7 years of age.
hughes policeman doll study evaluation
+ hiding a doll made the task engaging and meaningful because it was familiar to them (Hide and seek). argued that this meant children were better able to show their cognitive ability than in Piaget’s original research
+ challenges Piaget’s theory and the fact that he underestimated the age where children could see things from other people’s point of view
- A limited sample of children was used as all of the participants came from Edinburgh, can’t generalize
- researcher bias, may have influenced the children by looking at the correct place to put the doll
McGarrigle and Donaldson study aim
to see if children developed conservation skills at an earlier age than Piaget found, if the change to the materials was accidental
McGarrigle and Donaldson study design
lab study where there was some control of possible EV’s. standardised procedures so it can be easily replicated. 80 children between ages 4 to 6 participated
McGarrigle and Donaldson study method
Eighty children aged from four to six years were shown two identical rows of counters and were asked
whether there were the same number of counters in each row.
The ‘naughty teddy’ then accidentally moved one row of counters so they were more spaced out.
Again the children were asked whether there were the same number of counters in each row.
McGarrigle and Donaldson study results
62% of the 4 to 6 year olds stated that there was still the same amount of counters in each row, therefore they could conserve.
only 16% of 4 to 6 year olds answered the question correctly in Piaget’s conservation of number study, when the adult made the change to the counters
McGarrigle and Donaldson study conclusion
children younger than the age of 7 can conserve if the change to the materials is seen to be accidental.
when naughty teddy messes up the row of counters and spreads them out, younger children know that the amount of counters has not changed.
McGarrigle and Donaldson study evaluation
+ challenged Piaget’s theory, showed that children younger than 7 can conserve
- over 30% of children still failed to conserve when ‘naughty teddy’ made the change
- study was replicated by another psychologist and results were lower
- sample was unrepresentative, came from only one uk city with narrow age range
dweck’s mindset theory of learning
fixed mindset:
- believe that success is due to innate factors like genes. This means there
is nothing you can do to change your ability or talent.
- view failure as a lack of talent.
vs. growth mindset:
- believe that ability and success is due to hard work and perseverance.
- view failure as an opportunity to grow.
Mindset is affected by the form of praise ( person praise or process praise) a student is given.
person praise: student is praised for their intelligent
process praise: student is praised for their effort
fixed mindset
the belief that ability is genetic and unchanging
growth mindset
the belief that ability comes from hard work and can be increased
evaluation of dweck’s mindset theory
+ shows that people can change their mindset and this can be used to improve performance in places e.g school
+ There is evidence to support the idea that a growth mindset can improve performance
+ research showed that teaching children to develop a growth mindset in schools increased
their motivation and grades.
praise
Expressing approval for the effort or standard of a piece of work
self-efficacy
the belief in your own ability to succeed at a task
mindset theory of learning
a theory that describes how students can achieve success in their learning
VAK theory
3 learning styles: visual, auditory, kinaesthetic
visual: learn best by reading or seeing pictures, remember things by what they look like
auditory: learn best by listening, remember what they have heard
kinaesthetic: learn best by doing something, remember best when some type of physical activity involved
verbalisers and visualisers
verbaliser: someone who processes information by speaking and listening, prefer learning from written info, like to write things down
visualisers: someone who processes information by looking at it, prefer learning from pictures and diagrams
willingham’s learning theory
suggests there is no experimental evidence to support learning style’s existence. believes that the only way to learn is by understanding the meaning of the content. agrees that students may have better visual or auditory memory. believes that students should be taught using the best method for the content being taught.
