development

Question 1

what happens in the pre natal stage ?

Answer 1

• 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

Question 2

what is the brain development in childhood

Answer 2

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

Question 3

what is the brain development in adolescence

Answer 3

• 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

Question 4

what is the brain development in adulthood

Answer 4

• around 25, pre frontal cortex matures
• later adulthood , neurodegenerative disease may occur e,g Alzheimer’s.

Question 5

what are IQ tests and what do they measure

Answer 5

• intelligence quotient
• measure our ability & potential to learn , think & problem solve.

Question 6

criticism of IQ tests

Answer 6

• may be culturally biased - may require cultural knowledge (language)

Question 7

what are piagets stages of cognitive development

Answer 7

• sensri motor , pre operational , concrete operational , formal operational

Question 8

what did Piaget believe

Answer 8

• childrens cognitive development changes as they get older & it develops in invariant stages

Question 9

what age is the sensori motor stage & what happens

Answer 9

0-2 years
- understand world through senses
- develop object permanence : ability to understand objects exist even when not present

Question 10

what age is the pre operational stage and what happens

Answer 10

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

Question 11

what age is the concrete operational stage & what happens

Answer 11

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

Question 12

what age is the formal op stage & what happens

Answer 12

• 11+
• hypothetical thinking : think about abstract ideas more
• can think logically

Question 13

criticisms of piagets theory

Answer 13

• 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

Question 14

what was piagets aim

Answer 14

• to figure out whether children in the concrete op stage are more able to conserve than children in the pre op stage

Question 15

what was piagets sample

Answer 15

• group of children from Geneva Switzerland
• either in pre op stage or concrete op stage

Question 16

what was piagets research methods

Answer 16

• natural experiment
• DV = ability to conserve number
• independent measures design
• IV = age of children used

Question 17

what was piagets procedure

Answer 17

• 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

Question 18

what were the results of piagets study

Answer 18

• 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

Question 19

piagets conclusion

Answer 19

• hypothesis was correct - children in the concrete op stage are more likely to be able to conserve

Question 20

criticisms of piagets study

Answer 20

• 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

Question 21

what was dwecks theory

Answer 21

• people tend to have 1 / 2 beliefs about their abilities : a fixed / growth mindset

Question 22

what is a growth mindset

Answer 22

• 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

Question 23

what is a fixed mindset

Answer 23

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

Question 24

what did dweck believe we should be praised on

Answer 24

• effort -> leads to growth mindset
• praise for intelligence leads to fixed mindset

Question 25

criticisms of dwecks theory

Answer 25

- 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

Question 26

what is willingham’s theory

Answer 26

- 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

Question 27

criticisms of willinghams theory

Answer 27

- 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

Question 28

Blackwell study 1 aim

Answer 28

- to see if there was a correlation between mindset & maths achievement

Question 29

Blackwell study 1 sample

Answer 29

- 373 students from a public school in NYC - varied in ethnicity , achievement & social economic status

Question 30

Blackwell study 1 research method / design

Answer 30

- longitudinal study (5 years) - correlational study

Question 31

Blackwell study 1 procedure

Answer 31

- 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

Question 32

Blackwell study 1 findings

Answer 32

- no significant correlation between mindsets + maths scores at the start of 7th grade - when tested later on , mindset became a significant predictor of achievement

Question 33

Blackwell study 2 aim

Answer 33

- students who were taught that intelligence is malleable would achieve better grades

Question 34

variables in Blackwell 2

Answer 34

- iv = whether student was in control / intervention group - DV = levels of motivation & achievement

Question 35

Blackwell 2 sample

Answer 35

- 99 7th graders from a public school in NYC , from varied ethnic & socio- economic groups

Question 36

what was the Blackwell 2 procedure

Answer 36

- 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

Question 37

Blackwell study 2 results

Answer 37

- participants in the experimental group showed more positive mind sets than the control group , increased motivation & better grades in maths

Question 38

Blackwell study 2 conclusion

Answer 38

- teaching students that intelligence is flexible has a positive effect in their motivation & achievement in maths

Question 39

Blackwell et Al - criticisms

Answer 39

- 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