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