Development Flashcards
Paper 1
describe the brain stem
highly developed at birth
connects the brain to the spinal cord
carries motor and sensory nerves to the brain from the body
controls autonomic functions such as heartbeat, breathing
describe the cerebellum
matures late in development
located near the top of the spinal cord
main role is the coordination of movement and sensory information (sensorimotor)
describe the thalamus
located deep inside the brain in each hemisphere
acts as a hub of information receiving signals from other areas of the brain and sending these signals on
describe the cortex/cerebral cortex
thin and covers the brain and is highly folded
divided into two hemispheres and several regions (frontal, visual, auditory and motor cortexes)
at birth the cortex is BASIC and develops through life
nature
the influence of things you have inherited
nurture
the influence of your environment on your development
give 3 factors affecting brain development
smoking
infection
voices
describe how smoking affects brain development
mothers who smoke during pregnancy can have smaller babies with smaller brains as nicotine slows brain growth
describe how infection affects brain development
mothers who get German measles during pregnancy can have babies with brain damage such as hearing loss
describe how voices affect brain development
DeCasper and Spence
found that babies learn to recognise their mother’s voice and even respond to book passages that had been read to them in the womb showing that your brain is changing in response to external stimuli before you are born
cognitive
mental processes especially thinking
cognitive development
the change in the way we think across time
describe Piaget’s theory of development and the 4 main parts
Piaget believed that children think differently from adults
stages - children’s brain are not mature enough to think in a logical way at the beginning and so their brains develop in stages ; at each stage different kinds of thinking occur
schemas - as children develop they create mental representations of the world which are stored in the form of schemas which become more numerous and complex through assimilation and accommodation
assimilation - when we understand a new experience and add new information to an EXISTING schema
accommodation - when we acquire new information which changes our understanding so we need to form a NEW schema
give three brief evaluation points of Piaget’s theory of development
STRENGTH - has led to many studies been carried out STRENGTH - has helped to change classroom teaching for the better WEAKNESS - Piaget's research was carried out on middle class Swiss children
describe two strengths of Piaget’s theory of development
The theory has led many studies to be carried out which have helped to test the claims of his theory
This is an important part of any theory because if we can’t test it we don’t know if it is right or wrong
Piaget’s research has helped change classroom teaching for the better.
It has led to teachers carrying out more activity-based learning.
This has helped children learn in a more effective way.
conservation
the ability to realise that quantity remains the same even when the appearance changes
who challenged Piaget’s demonstration that younger children can’t conserve with number or volume
McGarrigle and Donaldson’s ‘naughty teddy study’
aim of McGarrigle and Donaldson’s ‘naughty teddy study’
to see if younger children could conserve if there wasn’t a DELIBERATE change in a row of counters
method of McGarrigle and Donaldson’s ‘naughty teddy study’
4-6 year olds were shown a naughty teddy and two rows of four counters
teddy jumped out of his box and messed up one of the rows (making it look smaller)
each child was asked before and after the teddy jumped out ‘Is there more here or more here or are they both the same number?’
results of McGarrigle and Donaldson’s ‘naughty teddy study’
41% of the children knew the rows had the same number if the counters were changed intentionally, showing that they could conserve
68% could conserve if the change was accidental
older children gave more correct answers than younger children
conclusions of McGarrigle and Donaldson’s ‘naughty teddy study’
Piaget’s method of testing conservation doesn’t show what children could do
Children aged 4-6 could conserve number when the change was accidental, which Piaget believed they could not do until age 7
This supports his idea of age-related changes but not the age that conservation develops
give 3 brief evaluation points of McGarrigle and Donaldson’s ‘naughty teddy study’
STRENGTH - it challenges Piaget’s theory
WEAKNESS - children may not have noticed the change in the accidental condition
WEAKNESS - the primary school aged children all came from one school
describe one strength of McGarrigle and Donaldson’s ‘naughty teddy study’
it challenges Piaget’s theory
McGarrigle and Donaldson’s study implies that Piaget’s original work confused young children
therefore this study helped to refine this type of child development research
describe two weaknesses of McGarrigle and Donaldson’s ‘naughty teddy study’
the children may not have noticed the change in the accidental condition
Moore and Frye showed that if the teddy did actually take a counter away, the children still said the rows were the same ; meaning that they children weren’t conserving but were instead distracted
primary age children all came from one school so they might have done better than the nursery children due to difference in educational background
therefore, differences between the two groups of children may be due to other extraneous factors
egocentrism
to see the world only from one’s own point of view
what did Piaget suggest about egocentrism
children are egocentric until about 7 years old
who investigated egocentrism in children
Hughes ‘policeman doll study’
aim of Hughes ‘policeman doll study’
to create a test of egocentrism that would be more understandable to children younger than 7 years
method of Hughes ‘policeman doll study’
children aged 3 to 5 years old were shown a model with two intersecting walls +
the child was asked to hide 1 boy doll from 1 policeman doll to ensure they understood the task
the child’s egocentrism was then tested by asking the child to hide the boy doll from two policemen
results of Hughes ‘policeman doll study’
90% of the children could hide the boy doll from two policemen
when a complex model was used with 5 or 6 walls, 60% of 3 year olds and 90% of 4 year olds hid the boy doll correctly
conclusions of Hughes ‘policeman doll study’
children aged 4 are certainly not egocentric
Piaget underestimated younger children’s abilities because his three mountains task did not make sense to the children
he was however correct in thinking that a child’s thinking changes with age
give 3 brief evaluation points of Hughes ‘policeman doll study’
STRENGTH - the task made better sense to childrem
STRENGTH - this challenges Piaget’s theory
WEAKNESS - the researcher’s expectations may have influenced the children’s behaviour
explain two strengths of Hughes ‘policeman doll study’
the task made better sense to children as hiding from a policeman is easier to think about than selecting a view of a mountain top
this makes it a more realistic test of children’s abilities
it challenges Piaget’s theory
the results imply that Piaget’s original study confused young children because the task didn’t make sense to them
therefore this study helped to refine this type of child development research
explain one weakness of Hughes ‘policeman doll study’
the researcher’s expectations may have influenced the children’s behaviour as they may have unconsciously given the children cues how to behave in the naughty policeman task
this could have caused the results to lack validity
how many stages of cognitive development are there
4
name the 4 stages of cognitive development
sensorimotor
pre-operational
concrete operational
formal operational
at what age is the sensorimotor stage
0-2 years
features of the sensorimotor stage
focus on development is on relating what is seen (sensory) with movement (motor)
children under 8 months do not understand that when an object is not visible it still exists (OBJECT PERMANENCE)
at what age is the pre-operational stage
2-7 years
features of the pre-operational stage
by 2 years, a toddler can walk but language is not fully developed
children under 7 years old can’t think in a consistently logical way so are EGOCENTRIC and lack CONSERVATION
at what age is the concrete operational stage
7-11 years
features of the concrete operational stage
at 7 years, most children can CONSERVE and show less EGOCENTRISM
LOGICAL THINKING is a key characteristic but can only be applied to physical objects and not objects or situations that cannot be seen
at what age is the formal operational stage
11 years +
features of the formal operational stage
children can come to conclusions about problems presented in an abstract form
they focus on the form of an argument and not be distracted by its content
give 3 brief evaluation points of the stages of cognitive development
STRENGTH - shows that children’s thinking changes with age
WEAKNESS - Piaget underestimated children’s abilities
WEAKNESS - Piaget overestimated children’s abilities
describe one strength of the stages of cognitive development
shows that children’s thinking does change with age
although research has suggested that changes in thinking occur earlier, the fact remains that the changes still occur showing that the basic principle of this theory is valid
describe two weakness of the stages of cognitive development
Piaget underestimated children’s abilities
other research has found that younger children can show conservation and a reduction in egocentrism
this suggests that certain types of thinking develop earlier than he proposed
he also overestimated what children could do
he argued that 11 year old children should be capable of abstract reasoning when other research has found this to be false showing that not all children’s thinking is advanced as he suggested
what are 4 ways that Piaget’s theory can be applied to education
readiness
learning by discovery and the teacher’s role
individual learning
application to stages
explain how Piaget’s theory can be applied to education in terms of readiness
age related change means you cannot teach a child something before they are biologically ‘ready’
activities should be at the appropriate level for a child’s age
explain how Piaget’s theory can be applied to education in terms of learning by discovery and the teacher’s role
children must discover concepts for themselves rather than rote-learning
teachers plan lessons that challenge schemas so assimilation and accommodation occurs and thinking will develop
describe Dweck’s mindset theory and its 4 key points
the difference between people who are successful and not successful is their mindset
fixed mindset - abilities are fixed in your genes, effort won’t help if you are failing because success is talent based , focused on performance
growth mindset - you can always improve with effort , enjoy a challenge rather than focus on success, focus on learning goals, feeling good when working hard
dealing with failure - for people with a fixed mindset, failure is due to lack of talents so there is no point in trying harder . for people with a growth mindset, failure is an opportunity to learn more and put in more effort
there is a continuum - people are not fixed or growth but a mixture , your position on the continuum depends on the situation
give three brief evaluation points of Dweck’s mindset theory
STRENGTH - there is evidence that a growth mindset leads to better grades
STRENGTH - good real world application
WEAKNESS - any sort of praise could be bad
describe two strengths of Dweck’s mindset theory
there is evidence that a growth mindset leads to better grades
Dweck found that 7th grader taught a growth mindset had better grades and motivation that a group that were taught about memory
this suggests that this approach can improve performance
this theory has good real world application
mindset has been used to improve performance in areas such as schools, businesses, sport and relationships
in the western world, people often believe in true love and that if a relationship isn’t working they give up ; this is a ‘fixed mindset’
teaching people to see failure as lack of effort rather than lack of talent motivates future effort
describe one weakness of Dweck’s mindset theory
any sort of praise could be bad
the idea of praising people’s effort still leads to them doing things for approval from other rather than doing it for themselves
growth mindset can therefore discourage the type of independent behaviour it is trying to promote
what are the 4 key points about praise and self efficacy
positive effects of praise
praise effort rather than performance
self efficacy
effect of self efficacy on motivation
positive effects of praise
praise is a reward and makes someone feel good so they repeat behaviours
praise must fit performance and not be used for everything
why should you praise effort rather than performance
praising effort is motivating as it gives a sense of control as people can always put in more effort
praising others for performance is demotivating particularly when you can’t compete
what is self efficacy
understanding you own abilities which is related to expectations you have about future performance
experiencing success is important and opportunities should be provided by parents and teachers
what is the effect of self efficacy on motivation
self efficacy affects motivation because if it is high you will put in greater effort, persist longer, have greater task performance and more resilience than if you think you can’t do it
what are three brief evaluation points on the role of praise and self efficacy (topic)
STRENGTH - support for self efficacy come from research into the stereotype effect
STRENGTH - there is value in understanding rewards
WEAKNESS - using praise to encourage learning can have the opposite effect
explain two strengths of the role of praise and self efficacy (topic)
support for self efficacy comes from research into the stereotype effect
STEELE AND ARONSON found that African-American students scored lower on an IQ test if they had to indicate their race beforehand
this suggests that their performance was affected by how they were expected to do - supporting the theory of self efficacy
there is value in understanding rewards
Dweck found that students who were criticised for their effort performed better on a test than those who had always been praised
this shows that the kind of praise given is important
explain one weakness of the role of praise and self efficacy (topic)
using praise to encourage learning can have the opposite effect
LEPPER found that children were less interested in doing a task if they had been previously rewarded for it
this suggests that praise can be demotivating
describe a weakness of Piaget’s theory of development
Piaget only researched middle-class Swiss children. These children were from families where academic studies were more important than making things, less value of basic thinking (concrete operations) Therefore his theory may not be universal.
