development Flashcards
what happens in the pre natal stage ?
- 16 days after fertilisation , human embryo develops a neural tube - this is what will become its brain & spinal cord
- cells created from around 6 weeks to 20 weeks gestation
- 2 months gestation - neural tube divided into brain cells & nerve cells , forming the cerebral cortex
what is the brain development in childhood
after birth - child develops many new neural connections (1000 per second)
- around age of 3 - density of synapses in the pre frontal cortex has reached its peak
what is the brain development in adolescence
- grey matter reaches maximum density
- limbic system matures
- pre frontal cortex matures last , explaining risk taking in adolescence
- frontal lobes reach matures at around 16
what is the brain development in adulthood
- around 25, pre frontal cortex matures
- later adulthood , neurodegenerative disease may occur e,g Alzheimer’s.
what are IQ tests and what do they measure
- intelligence quotient
- measure our ability & potential to learn , think & problem solve.
criticism of IQ tests
- may be culturally biased - may require cultural knowledge (language)
what are piagets stages of cognitive development
- sensri motor , pre operational , concrete operational , formal operational
what did Piaget believe
- childrens cognitive development changes as they get older & it develops in invariant stages
what age is the sensori motor stage & what happens
0-2 years
- understand world through senses
- develop object permanence : ability to understand objects exist even when not present
what age is the pre operational stage and what happens
2-7 years
- begin to use symbols & signs as part of their thinking
- animism : treat inanimate objects as if they are alive
- egocentrism : only see the world form their point of view
what age is the concrete operational stage & what happens
7-11 years
- ability to conserve - children understand that the properties of certain objects do not change even if the objects appearance does
- reversibility : children can reverse their thinking - understand numbers can be taken back to their original form
- decentration : can deal with two bits of info at the same time
what age is the formal op stage & what happens
- 11+
- hypothetical thinking : think about abstract ideas more
- can think logically
criticisms of piagets theory
- reductionist-> takes something as complex as cognitive development & reduces it down to 4 stages -> some argue we should take a more holistic approach & look at all the factors that work together to affect a child’s development
- stages too rigid & don’t allow for individual differences -> evidence that children develop at different rates & this may have something to do with their upbringing
what was piagets aim
- to figure out whether children in the concrete op stage are more able to conserve than children in the pre op stage
what was piagets sample
- group of children from Geneva Switzerland
- either in pre op stage or concrete op stage
what was piagets research methods
- natural experiment
- DV = ability to conserve number
- independent measures design
- IV = age of children used
what was piagets procedure
- each child showed 2 identical parallel rows of counters & asked if there were the same number of counters in each row
- 1 of the rows of counters was then spread in front of the child -> child was then asked the same question again
what were the results of piagets study
- 3-4 year olds said that there were more counters in the row that had been transformed
- kids at the end of the pre op stage gave correct answer but couldn’t justify it
- 7+ (concrete op stage) gave correct answer & could justify it
piagets conclusion
- hypothesis was correct - children in the concrete op stage are more likely to be able to conserve
criticisms of piagets study
- culturally biased -> only Swiss children -> ability to conserve may be affected by education & upbringing -> not generalizable
- asked same question twice -> might of confused them -> rather than being unable to conserve , may have been responding to demand characteristics as they could’ve thought they were expected to give a different answer because they had been asked the same question twice
what was dwecks theory
- people tend to have 1 / 2 beliefs about their abilities : a fixed / growth mindset
what is a growth mindset
- belief that intelligence can develop over time . Everyone has the same potential but dedication , practicing & challenging can result in improvement . Setbacks are challenges & opportunities rather than failures
what is a fixed mindset
belief that intelligence is innate & cannot be changed. Little effort is out in to change. May avoid things that they are not good at as failure can affect self esteem
what did dweck believe we should be praised on
- effort -> leads to growth mindset
- praise for intelligence leads to fixed mindset
criticisms of dwecks theory
- places failure very firmly on students -> if the child fails , it is because they haven’t tried hard enough-> negative effect on their self esteem& ignores other factors that might influence childrens learning e.g bullying
- doesn’t consider side of nature -> innate traits could have a greater impact on a child’s ability to succeed
what is willingham’s theory
- learning styles are a myth - believe most effective method depends on what they are trying to learn & a mixture of styles is often best
- teachers should focus on meaning , rather than learning styles by creating links between info & developing true understanding of the meaning
- students then learn info deeply
criticisms of willinghams theory
- ignores nature -> some children brains may be wired differently , so willingham may be ignoring the fact that those children might need to be taught in a specific way to help their learning , regardless of the content
Blackwell study 1 aim
- to see if there was a correlation between mindset & maths achievement
Blackwell study 1 sample
- 373 students from a public school in NYC - varied in ethnicity , achievement & social economic status
Blackwell study 1 research method / design
- longitudinal study (5 years)
- correlational study
Blackwell study 1 procedure
- at start of 7th grade students completed a motivational questionnaire which used a rating scale to measure intelligence , learning goals , their effort beliefs & responses to failure
- scores taken in 8th + 7th grade were compared with scores from 6th grade to measure progress
Blackwell study 1 findings
- no significant correlation between mindsets + maths scores at the start of 7th grade
- when tested later on , mindset became a significant predictor of achievement
Blackwell study 2 aim
- students who were taught that intelligence is malleable would achieve better grades
variables in Blackwell 2
- iv = whether student was in control / intervention group
- DV = levels of motivation & achievement
Blackwell 2 sample
- 99 7th graders from a public school in NYC , from varied ethnic & socio- economic groups
what was the Blackwell 2 procedure
- completed motivational questionnaire at start of 7th grade
- students randomly assigned to intervention group , taught that learning changes the brain or control group , taught about memory
- at the end of the 8 weeks , student took the questionnaire again & did a multi choice test on what they recalled
Blackwell study 2 results
- participants in the experimental group showed more positive mind sets than the control group , increased motivation & better grades in maths
Blackwell study 2 conclusion
- teaching students that intelligence is flexible has a positive effect in their motivation & achievement in maths
Blackwell et Al - criticisms
- culturally biased - only took place in 1 part of USA. different states & different countries may have different education systems which could influence impact of growth mindsets
- sample was age biased - findings may not apply to other age groups - growth mindsets may have more / less impact on younger or older children
