Developmental Psychology

Question 1

What is development

Answer 1

Development is widely recognised as a lifelong process that extends into late adulthood
Take a lifespan view and cover all areas of human development, from prenatal development to death

Question 2

Developmental stages:

Answer 2

• Prenatal development
• Early & middle childhood
• Adolescence
• Adulthood

Question 3

Domains of Development:

Answer 3

• Physical
• Cognitive
• Socio-emotional
  o All development is interrelated and interactive

Question 4

Physical development

Answer 4

1. Prenatal
2. Neonatal
3. Pre-school
4. Middle- childhood
   Includes physiological changes and motor development

Question 5

Physical development Prenatal period

Answer 5

Germinal
Embryonic
Foetal

Question 6

Physical development
Neonatal period

Answer 6

Vision
Hearing
Taste & smell

Question 7

Physical development Preschool period

Answer 7

1. Cephalocaudal Developmental Trend
2. Proximodistal Developmental Trend
3. Body proportions change

Question 8

Physical Middle- childhood period

Answer 8

Physical growth slows down
Brain : growth
spurt (frontal)

Question 9

prenatal period
progress before birth

Answer 9

• Science & society continue to consider the roles of genetics, environmental & parental (particularly maternal) factors on child development
• As a result – the debate about the relative importance of biological & environmental factors is ongoing
• From conception to birth = 9 months of pregnancy
• A great deal of important development occurs before birth

Question 10

prenatal period
Stage 1 – germinal stage (0-2 weeks)

Answer 10

• Last from conception to about 2 weeks
• Conception = moment when the sperm cell
  fertilises the ovum (egg cell), zygote is formed
• Rapid cell division occurs & the mass of cells
  migrates to the uterus
• Implants into the uterine wall, forms a
  placenta during the implantation process

Question 11

prenatal period
Stage 2 – embryonic stage (2-8 weeks)

Answer 11

• From the end of the 2nd week until the 8th week
• Development of the placenta and the umbilical cord
• Most of the vital organs and bodily systems such as the heart,
  spine and brain emerge
• Time of great vulnerability
• Embryo is contained in a sac within the mother’s uterus and is surrounded by
  amniotic fluid, which cushions & protects the embryo

Question 12

prenatal period
Stage 3 – foetal stage (8 Weeks – birth)

Answer 12

Lasts from 8 weeks to birth
* During the early parts of this stage, the muscles and bones begin to form

• Sex organs develop in the third month and brain cells multiply during the final three months
• By about 26 weeks, the zone of viability is reached – when the baby could survive if born prematurely (NB)
• At 22/23 weeks – the chances of survival are slim
• By 26-28 weeks – the chances improve to a survival rate of about 85%

Question 13

Factors influencing on prenatal development

Answer 13

1. Maternal nutrition
2. Maternal stress & emotion
   -Stresshormones (epinephrine,
   no repinephrine, adreno- corticotropic hormone)
   -Effect of blood pressure ,
   immune system
3. Maternal drug use
   Alcohol
   Smoking –smaller, low birthweight, higher
   risk of miscarriage
   -Other substances
   -Prescription & over-the counter
   drugs
4. Maternal Illness & Psychopathology
   -Many illnesses pose high risk for
   damaging brain
   development -
   lead to intellectual & other disorders
   -Rubella, Suphilis, HIV
5. Genetic disorders
   -Gene abnormalities
   -Chromosome abnormalities
6. Culture, family, environmental toxins
   -Culture influences thoughts &
   decision around
   pregnancy & child-rearing
   -Miscarriages oChangesin
   family structure
   over time
   -Environmental
   toxins: air
   pollution, radioactivity

Question 14

Physical development Neonatal period

Answer 14

• Spans approximately the first 2-4 weeks after birth
• Transition from relatively safe environment of its mother’s uterus to an environment where it must now breathe & feed
  on it’s own
• The newborn baby (neonate) is much more competent than was previously thought
• Display more than 20 reflexes over which they initially have no control o Involuntary responses to specific stimuli
  o Important for the newborn’s survival
  ▪ Rooting
  ▪ Sucking
  ▪ Swallowing for feeding
• The absence of reflexes may be an early indication of neurological problems

Question 15

Perceptual development

Answer 15

Neonates are able to take in information from their environment via their
1. Taste & smell
* Well-developed sense of smell
* Can distinguish between different
smells
* Their sense of taste is also well
developed
* Strong preference for sweet as opposed to sour
2. Hearing
* Can distinguish human speech from other sound
* Can distinguish between human speech sounds
* A preference for their mother’s voice
*Baby talk directed towards them
3. Vision
* Present at birth
* Certain parts of the eye & visual cortex are not fully developed, nor is the
ability to coordinate the movement of eyes
* Cannot focus properly – blurry vision
* Neonates actively scan their surroundings
* Can see objects about 21 cm away
* Distinct preference for looking at faces, patterns rather than plain stimuli &
patterns with sharp contrasts

Question 16

Physical development Preschool period

Answer 16

• Characterised by rapid growth during the first 2 years of life, slower pattern of growth between the ages of 2 & 6 years
• Growth follows the cephalocaudal developmental trend & the proximodistal developmental trend

Question 17

Cephalocaudal Development Trend (top-down)

Answer 17

• From the head downward
• Trunk grows fastest during the 1st year – gain control over
  muscles of the head and neck, then the arms and abdomen
  & finally the legs
• By 4 – 6 months – birth weight has often doubled – by end year one, birth
  weight has tripled
• Body proportions also change
  o At2years–theheadisabout1⁄4oftotalbodysize;by51⁄2yearsitis1/6th
• The brain increases from being 25% if its eventual adult weight at birth to
  being about 50% at the age of one year
• The brain & nervous system develop increasingly dense neural networks
• Ability to acquire new information increases
  o Genetics & the environment influence the growth
• Malnutrition may stunt brain growth & cognitive development
• Very physically active – engaging in activities such as running, walking,
  hopping, jumping, skipping & climbing
• Children improve both gross motor skills & fine motor skills
  o Gross motor skills – capabilities involving large body movements such as walking, running & hopping
  o Fine motor skills - capabilities involving small body movements such as handling a spoon & writing

Question 18

Proximodistal developmental trend

Answer 18

o From the centre outward
o Gross motor skills develop faster than fine motor skills during this
period
* Preference for right or left hand begins to show at about two years
* Develops slowly – only established at about age 5 to 6
* Environmental factors can stunt or delay normal development
o Sustained periods of malnutrition are associated with stunted physical growth, reduced activity levels & delays in maturation & learning

Question 19

Physical development Middle childhood ( 6 – puberty )

Answer 19

• Slower average growth rate
• Increase in strength, coordination & muscular control, leads to improved
  gross motor & fine motor skills
• An improvement in motor-perceptual functioning ( hand-eye coordination )
• 3 main environmental influences on physical growth & development : the
  quality care, nutrition & illnesses
• Brain continues to grow in both structure and function
• Between five & seven years, the brain experiences a growth spurt,
  particularly in the frontal lobes & their connections to other parts of the brain o Frontal lobe development is important for planning and for the
  sequential organisation of thoughts & actions

Question 20

Physical Adolescence

Answer 20

• Puberty is the stage during which sexual functions reach maturity, marking the beginning of adolescence.
  o It is during puberty that the primary sex characteristics, the structures necessary for reproduction, develop fully.
• In females, the onset of puberty is signalled by menarche – the first occurrence of menstruation.
• In males, it is signalled by sperm production.
• At this time, males begin to show acne, facial and body hair, voice change,
  muscle development and the ability to ejaculate.
• Females also develop acne, as well as body hair, breast development,
  rounded contours, as well as menstruation.
• Psychological consequences of body changes largely influenced by gender.
• Eating disorders most often begin in adolescence.
• Body changes in adolescence for transgender adolescents may be
  challenging as well and associated with body image, eating problems,
  and psychological challenges.
• Social pressures play a big role.

Question 21

Physical Early adulthood

Answer 21

• Prime of life: physical peak
• Problem free overall health
• First signs of aging from late 20’s onwards
• SA Health risks: young adults are at risk both from violence and from
  disease.
• In this age group, individuals are amongst those most at risk of death or
  injury through almost all forms of violence, including violent assault and suicide, and motor vehicle collisions

Question 22

Physical Middle adulthood

Answer 22

• Spans from age 40-60 (Dependent on life expectancy of a country’s population)
• Perceptible decline in physical attributes and functioning. Decrease in muscle size, increased body fat retention and decline in dexterity
• Decline in visual capacities from about age 40
• Women reach menopause and males experience a decline in sexual
  responsiveness
• Good diet and regular exercise can slow down aging process
• Health Risks: During middle adulthood, the individual becomes increasingly
  susceptible to the risk of various ailments, such as cardiovascular diseases (which include cardiac disorders, arteriosclerosis and hypertension), various forms of cancer, arthritis and respiratory diseases.

Question 23

Physical Late adulthood/old age

Answer 23

• Traditionally use age 60 as marker for onset of late adulthood
• The commencement of late adulthood coincides with senescence – the
  increasing decline of all the body’s systems, including the cardiovascular,
  respiratory, endocrine and immune systems
• The belief that old age is always associated with profound intellectual and
  physical infirmity is a myth.
  o The majority of older people retain most of their physical and cognitive
  abilities.
• Increased susceptibility to illness during this stage of development is largely
  a result of the progressive degeneration of the body.
• In South Africa, however, many older people who have experienced a lifetime
  of poor diet, arduous physical labour, multiple pregnancies and inadequate reproductive health care have an even greater susceptibility to ill health

Question 24

Cognitive development

Answer 24

• Refers to the age-related changes that occur in mental activities such as paying attention, perceiving, learning, thinking & remembering
• The transition in children’s pattern of thinking, including:
  o Reasoning
  o Remembering
  o Problem solving

Question 25

Jean piaget

Answer 25

the interaction with the environment & maturation gradually alters the way children think
Occurs through 2 complementary processes:
Assimilation
- interpreting new experiences in
terms of existing mental
structures without changing them
* Piaget proposed that children’s thought processes go through a series of 4 major stages
Accomodation
- changing existing mental
structures to explain new
experiences

Question 26

1. Pre-school period
   PIAGET Cognitive development

Answer 26

Sensorimotor stage 1 : birth – 2 years
* Coordination of sensory input & motor responses
* Development of object permanence
* Progressively develops coordination of sensory input & motor responses
* Move from reflex action to goal directed activity
* Primitive understanding of cause & effect
* Learn by doing : look, touch, sucking
* Begin to make us of memory, imitation & thought
* Symbolic representation
* Object permanence: the recognition that objects continue to exist when they
are no longer visible

Question 27

Preoperational Stage
PIAGET Cognitive development

Answer 27

(2 - 7 years)
* Development of symbolic thought marked by irreversibility, centration & egocentrism
* Children engage in symbolic thought and pretend play.
* However, with characteristic flaws in their reasoning such as:
* Irreversibility: inability to envision reversing an action.
* Centration: the tendency to focus on just one feature of a problem, and
* Egocentrism: the limited ability to share another’s viewpoint.
* Animism: the belief that all things are living, just like oneself.
* Lack conservation in their thinking:
o cannot understand that quantities can remain the same regardless of changes in appearance.
* Preoperational child (aged between 2-7) will say the taller glass has more water as they have not yet developed the ability of conservation which develops at the concrete operational stage

Question 28

Language development

Answer 28

• At birth, undifferentiated crying to communicate their needs.
• After the first month, caregivers can distinguish cries of pain, hunger,
  discomfort, tiredness and boredom by listening to the pitch of the cry.
• Six to eight weeks, babies start making cooing sounds.
• Around four months, babies utter consonant-vowel combinations in long
  strings, such as ‘babababa’ or ‘mamamama’.
• Six to seven months, babbling starts to resemble the child’s home language.
  o Most children utter their first word at about 12 months.
  o Start with holo-phrases: one-word sentences to convey the meaning of
  a whole sentence.
• Vocabulary increases to about 50 words by the age of 18 months.
• At about 24 months, babies use telegraphic speech. Only those words that
  are necessary to communicate meaning.
• From three to six years, vocabulary and sentence length increase. By age six
  the child uses all the parts of speech.
  o Vocabulary spurt: develops a vocabulary of approximately 10 000
  words.
• Four years later their vocabulary increases to around 40 000 words.

Question 29

Middle childhood
PIAGET Cognitive development

Answer 29

Concrete Operational Stage (7 - 11 years)
* Mental operations applied to concrete events
* Mastery of conservation
* Hierarchical classification
* Earlier limitations in thinking are overcome. Thinking becomes less
egocentric and more logical.
Features of the concrete operational thought are:
* Conservation: recognise that properties of objects do not change because their form changes.
* Reversibility: One operation can be reversed by the effects of another.

Middle childhood
Concrete Operational Stage (7 - 11 years)

• Compensation: can mentally compare changes in two aspects and say that the one change compensates for the other.
• Decentration: can simultaneously focus attention on several attributes of an object.
• Seriation: can arrange objects along quantitative dimensions.
• Transitivity: can recognise relations amongst a number of ordered objects.
• Requires real objects. Cannot mentally manipulate abstract ideas or
  hypothetical events.

Question 30

Adolescence
PIAGET Cognitive development

Answer 30

• The formal operational period (11-adulthood)
• marked by the ability to apply operations to abstract concepts such as
  justice, love, and free will.
• Able to solve abstract problems in a logical way
• More scientific in thinking (logic, comparisons and classification)

Question 31

Implications of cognitive changes in adolescents

Answer 31

• Adolescent egocentrism: refers to the adolescent’s preoccupation with the self and related self-consciousness,
• The effects of egocentrism in formal operational thinking have been described using the concepts of personal myths, the invincibility fable and the imaginary audience:
• Personal myths refer to adolescents’ fantasies about themselves as unique and special.
• Invincibility fable involves unrealistic ideas about themselves as invincible and untouchable (facilitates risk taking behaviour).
• The imaginary audience refers to an adolescent’s self-consciousness and
  self-centredness, which stems from the belief that the adolescent is always
  the centre of focus in any situation.
• Mature cognitive development is generally viewed as characterised by
  rationality, independence and self-sufficiency, which are traditionally seen as masculine characteristics, as opposed to emotional sensitivity, sensitivity to relationships and inter-dependence, which are traditionally seen as feminine qualities.

Question 32

Early adulthood
PIAGET Cognitive development

Answer 32

• Despite Piaget’s theory certain writers believe cognitive development progresses beyond formal operational thinking during early adulthood.
  Adolescence
  Formal operational period
• Thinking during early adulthood is more complex, more global and more adaptive than the formal operational thinking of adolescence generally allows for.
• During early adulthood, thinking is less absolute and abstract than during adolescence, and therefore allows the individual to deal with unpredictable challenges and the practical problems of life much more effectively.

Question 33

Middle adulthood
PIAGET Cognitive development

Answer 33

• Age-related changes in middle adulthood are highly variable and this trend increases with age
• Episodic memory declines steadily during adulthood, although some research has shown a steeper drop in early middle adulthood.
• However, for many individuals, cognitive functioning does not show any dramatic decline during middle adulthood.
• During middle adulthood, the individual’s cognitive abilities may be as good as during early adulthood. Some research even shows that reasoning and verbal skills may actually improve during this stage.
• The period from 40 to 60 years is characterised by fairly steady intellectual productivity or output, which is generally well above the levels attained by their counterparts who are in their twenties.
• This trend may be explained by the idea of crystallised intelligence as it represents an increasing fund of knowledge.

Question 34

Late adulthood
PIAGET Cognitive development

Answer 34

• The cognitive abilities of older adults may decrease in late adulthood, in particular the ability to rapidly and flexibly manipulate ideas and symbols.
• Reasoning, mathematical ability, comprehension, novel problem-solving and working memory all decline over this period
• Alzheimer’s disease is a dementia that may affect older people

Question 35

PIAGET’S THEORY: 4
stages of Cognitive Development

Answer 35

1. Sensorimotor (0-2)
2. Preoperational (2-7)
3. Concrete Operational (7-11)
4. Formal Operational (11-)

Question 36

VYGOTSKY

Answer 36

• Lev Vygotsky, a Russian psychologist.
• Important challenge to Piaget’s theory.
• Focuses on how culture is transmitted between generations.
• Vygotsky saw cognitive growth as a socially mediated activity.
• Children gradually acquire new ways of thinking and behaving through
  cooperative dialogues with more knowledgeable members of society.
• Higher mental functions: acquired through guided instruction from more

competent people in their environment.
o These functions are internalised by the child over the course of development.

Question 37

Sociocultural theory of cognitive development

Answer 37

Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD): - NB
* the hypothetical space within which the child interacts with the caregiver or teacher.
* It marks the boundaries between the child’s actual level of development and their potential development.
* The level of cognitive tasks a child can perform with the help of a competent instructor.
* Area where we are able to learn things with help
Scaffolding:
* A scaffold provides temporary support while a task is being completed.
* Specific guidance is provided to a child learning a new skill until they are
able to complete it alone.
* May include: defining the task in familiar terms; breaking the task down into
logical parts; demonstrate parts of the task; actively motivate learners. o Motivating them to believe they can do it

Question 38

Moral Development
KOHLBERG’S
Stage Theory

Answer 38

• A stage theory of moral development based on subjects’ responses to presented moral dilemmas.
• Kohlberg was interested in a person’s reasoning, not necessarily their answer.
• People progress through a series of three levels of moral development, each of which can be broken into two sublevels.
• Each stage represents a different way of thinking about right and wrong.

Question 39

Moral Development
KOHLBERG’S
Stage Theory levels

Answer 39

1. preconvential level
   Reward/punishment, Selfinterest
2. conventional level
   Pleasing others, Law & order
3. post convential level
   Social contract, Principle

Question 40

1. preconvential level

Answer 40

• Think in terms of external authority - acts are considered wrong or right based on whether or not they are punished for them.
  Stage 1 -Punishment Orientation : motivation
• Avoid punishment
  Stage 2 -Naïve Reward Orientation : motivation
• Reward
• Serve own needs
• Reciprocal benefit

Question 41

2. conventional level

Answer 41

• See rules as necessary for maintaining social order, it gains them approval and they believe rules should be applied rigidly.
  Stage 1 -Good Boy/Girl Orientation: motivation
• Gain approval
• Avoid disapproval
  Stage 2-Authority Orientation: motivation
• Uphold laws
• Avoid harm

Question 42

3. post convential level

Answer 42

• Acts are individually judged by a personal code of ethics. At this stage someone might allow for the possibility that an individual may not comply to societies rules if they in conflict with personal ethics.
  Stage 1 -Social Contract Orientation: motivation
• Welfare of all
• Commitment to rational rules agreed to by all
  Stage 2 -Individual Principles & Conscience Orientation: motivation
• Uphold person principles (even if this means breaking the rules)

Question 43

Social & Emotional
Development
neonatal period

Answer 43

Emotional Development: Temperament
* In the first year of life, children can show a wide range of emotions.
* Infants show consistent differences in emotional tone, tempo of activity and
sensitivity to environmental stimuli very early in life.
* Temperament: An individual’s characteristic manner of responding to the
environment.
o characteristics of mood, activity level & emotional reactivity. o Some babies cheerful while others are irritable.
* Individual differences in temperament appear to be influenced to a considerable degree by heredity.
* Although temperament tends to be fairly stable over time, theorists emphasize that it is not unchangeable.
* There appear to be some modest cultural differences in the prevalence of specific temperamental styles

Question 44

types of temperment

Answer 44

1.Easy: happy, adaptable, regular, easy to soothe
2. Difficult: adapts slowly, distractable, inflexible, intense reactions, crying
3. Slow-to-warm up: adapts slowly, reactions arent as intense

Question 45

Preschool period Social & Emotional
Development

Answer 45

ttachment
* The close, emotional bonds of affection that develop between infants and their caregivers.
* The cornerstone of all relationships.
* Made up of the emotional, social, cognitive and physical connection of
infants and young children with their primary caregivers.
* Not just a “special affection”.
* Enduring bond that one person has for another who fulfils needs for safety
and comfort
Attachment and Separation Anxiety
Separation anxiety
* emotional distress when separated from people with whom they have formed an attachment.
o Emerges 7-9 months
o Peak 14-18 months
o Seen in many cultures, suggests attachment is universal
Stranger Danger
* Wary reaction to strangers.
o Peak at 8-10 months and gradually declines in intensity

Question 46

Theories of attachment

Answer 46

John BOWLBY
* One of the most dominant theories of attachment was proposed by John Bowlby, a prominent British psychoanalyst.
* Ethological theory (attachment has evolutionary mechanism)
* Bowlby asserted that attachment has a biological basis.
* According to Bowlby, infants are programmed by evolution to exhibit endearing behaviour − such as smiling, cooing, and clinging − that triggers an affectionate, protective response from adults.
* Behaviors (crying, clinging, proximity seeking) – keeps carer nearby.

Mary Ainsworth
* Mary Ainsworth: showed that attachments vary in character.
* The strange situation procedure: assesses the quality of attachment between 1- to 2-year-old infants and their caregivers.
* The strange situation procedure puts infants through a series of short separations from, and reunions with, their caregivers.* As a result, Ainsworth concluded that attachment falls into three patterns:
o Secure
o Anxious−ambivalent o Avoidant
Secure attachment:
playing and exploring comfortably when caregiver is present, becoming visibly upset when they leave and calming quickly upon their return.
Most infants have a secure attachment,
Correlational evidence suggests that babies with secure attachment tend to show favourable traits as they develop through childhood, such as resilience, self- reliance, curiosity and leadership.
Insecure-avoidant attachment (avoidant attachment):
seek little contact with their caregiver and are not distressed when they leave.
Appear independent and self-sufficient.
Insecure-resistant attachment (anxious-ambivalent):
* upset by the departure of the caregiver and protest excessively when they leave but are not particularly comforted when they return.
Display ambivalent behaviour alternating between seeking comfort and the rejecting that comfort.
Disorganised attachment: show confusion about whether they should approach the caregiver or not.
Displayed marked fear in the presence of their caregiver. Infants whose behaviour did not easily fit the other categories.

Question 47

Adolescence Social & Emotional
Development

Answer 47

• Seen as a troublesome stage of development
• “Storm and Stress”: natural moodiness of adolescents
• There is a growing argument in developmental psychology that adolescence
  is not necessarily a traumatic process or time of upheaval
• It is now more widely accepted that there may not be one common
  experience of adolescence, but rather that this stage may take on different forms across different cultures, and even within different families and for different individuals.

Question 48

Personality development : Freud

Answer 48

• Freud: foundation for personality laid down by age 5
• Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory of Development
  o Early childhood experiences leave permanent stamp on adult
  personality
  o Evolve not only until 5 year, but across lifespan and how social
  experiences play a role
  o Erikson: 8 stage Psychosocial Development of personality
  o Each stage build on the preceding stage and paves the way for the
  periods of development to follow

Question 49

Parenting styles (Baumrind)

Answer 49

1. Permissive:
   * Parents are warm and nurturing.
   o Very few demands are made and rules are not enforced.
   o Children are permitted to express their impulses and parents do not
   monitor their children’s activities.
   o Childrenmakemanyoftheirowndecisionsatanagewhentheyarenot
   yet capable of doing so responsibly.
   o Children are often found to be generally immature and impulsive.
2. Authoritative
   * These parents are warm and responsive to the needs of their children
   * Set limits and explains the reasoning behind these limits
   * Have open communication & involve children in decision-making
   * Listen to the concerns of the children and are flexible when appropriate –
   encourage autonomy
   * Children tend to be self-reliant, self-controlled & soundly competent
3. Authoritarian
   * Set absolute standards & rules for their children
   * Rely on force & punishment to enforce their standards
   * Show very little warmth
   * Preschoolers were generally anxious, withdrawn & unhappy

Question 50

Nsamenang’s Social
Selfhood Theory

Answer 50

• Bame Nsamenang proposed an African view of the human life cycle
• Conceptualises social selfhood development as made up of seven stages,
  the first three of which take place across the neonatal and preschool periods
• Each stage is characterised by a distinct developmental task and social
  roles.
• the first social stage covers the birth and the naming of the newborn to
  integrate them into the community.
  o Parentsplayacentralrole,andtheallocationofnamesisinfluencedby
  historical and circumstantial factors related to the family.
• The second social stage, infancy, is considered to be pre-social
  o Developmentischaracterisedbybiologicalmarkersorreflexessuchas smiling, crying, teething and sitting.
• The third social stage, childhood, involves social roles being gradually learned.
  o Children are expected to become aware of, internalise, and practise the learned social roles

Question 51

Social
Selfhood Theory Adolescence

Answer 51

Nsamenang proposed that social selfhood development in adolescence is made up of two stages: social entrée and social internship
Social entrée
* occurs during puberty and is characterised by the appearance of secondary sexual characteristics (e.g. breasts and facial hair) and may see some individuals attending initiation ceremonies and schools, depending on what ethnic group they come from.
Social internship
* occurs during adolescence, and involves the child being inducted into social roles. This stage prepares adolescents for adult life and trains them to be responsible adults.
Relationships with their community, family & peers
* Adolescent child strives for autonomy, “pulling away” and this can cause conflict
* This conflict serves an important function in the development of the adolescent into an autonomous adult.
* The role of peers in the adolescent’s life is central.
* Peer group pressure is seen as very powerful in adolescence, and the
adolescent has been shown to spend far more time with peers than anyone
else.
* Conforming to peers is not necessarily negative, as peer groups may also
inspire pro-social behaviours. On the other hand, some of the areas of risk for adolescents, such as teenage pregnancy, substance abuse and violence, are clearly areas where peer pressure can play a negative role.

Question 52

Risk-taking behaviour: Page 104-106

Answer 52

Risk behavior: behavior that places individual at risk for negative social, psychological or physical consequence.

Question 53

Development of the Gender Concept

Answer 53

• Traditionally, an infant is assigned a binary sex at birth based on their genitalia, either male or female
  o The infant is then referred to as a “boy” or a “girl” in their social environment
• By the age of three, preschoolers label themselves as either a ‘boy’ or a ‘girl’ and so are said to have acquired a gender identity
  o Begin to act according to gender roles, which are the behaviours considered appropriate for them according to their biological sex
• Caregivers’ differential treatment reinforces gender roles

Question 54

ERIKSON’S
PSYCHOSOCIAL THEORY

Answer 54

• 8 stages across the lifespan
• Each stage has a ‘psychosocial crisis’ that must be successfully resolved.
• Personality is shaped by how the individual deals with these crises.
• Each crisis entails a struggle between 2 opposing tendencies, which
  represent personality traits in varying degrees later in life
• Conflict dealt with successfully will serve as a strength throughout life (mastery or ego strength), and if not dealt with effectively can result in
  struggles and poor sense of self (inadequacy in specific area of development)

Question 55

Preschool period
ERIKSON’S
PSYCHOSOCIAL THEORY

Answer 55

• The first three stages occur in early childhood. Stage 1: trust vs mistrust
• the infant in its first year of life must depend solely on its caregiver, which should lead to a trusting view of the world. (or distrusting and pessimistic)
  Stage 2: autonomy vs shame and doubt
• the child begins to take personal responsibility and should acquire a sense of self-sufficiency and autonomy (or doubt, shame and not good enough).
  Stage 3: initiative vs guilt
• children should learn to get along with family members, experiment, and take initiative, leading to self-confidence. (or guilty for taking initiative)

Question 56

Middle childhood
ERIKSON’S
PSYCHOSOCIAL THEORY

Answer 56

Stage 4: industry vs inferiority
* children must function socially outside of the bounds of their family which is less nurturing and emphasizes productivity from which a sense of competence should evolve. (or struggles with competence can lead to low self esteem)
The development of self-concept and self-esteem
Self-concept refers to how we see or describe ourselves.
Made up of self-perceptions, abilities, personality characteristics and behaviours that are organised and generally consistent with one another.
Develops from their experiences and represents how they see themselves.
The ideal self is based on children’s hopes and wishes and reflects how they would like to see themselves.
Self-esteem: the evaluation of one’s worth as a person, based on an assessment of the qualities that make up the self-concept.
The development of self-esteem is facilitated by the challenges they are confronted with in the school system, such as the challenges generated by learning tasks and their interaction with teachers and peers.
The importance of schools in social development
Schools are a powerful agent of socialisation during middle childhood Cultural norms and values are conveyed here.
One of the purposes of schooling is to extend the socialisation process begun by the family.
Children are expected to relate to a new form of authority, namely teachers, follow a new set of rules, make new friends and learn to get along with other children who are not their friends.
School provides the child with the knowledge and skills necessary for adjustment in adulthood.

Question 57

Adolescence
ERIKSON’S
PSYCHOSOCIAL THEORY

Answer 57

Stage 5- identity vs confusion
* According to Erikson, the key challenge of adolescence is to form a clear sense of identity
* Identity: beliefs, ideas and values that guide our actions, beliefs and behaviours
* Pursuit of alternative behaviours and styles, striving to mold experiences into a cohesive sense of self
* Personal identity shaped by experiences and interactions
* Failure to resolve this crisis will result in identity confusion.
* May take the form of social isolation or loss of identity in groups.
* Successful resolution will result in a settled, stable and mature identity.
Patterns of Identity Formation
* James Marcia asserts that the presence or absence of crisis and commitment during the identity formation stage can combine in various ways to produce four different identity statuses.
* Identity diffusion is a state of lack of direction and apathy, where a person does not confront the challenge and commit to an ideology.
* Foreclosure is a premature commitment to a role prescribed by one’s parents, guardians or society.
* A moratorium involves delaying commitment and engaging in experimentation with different roles.
* Identity achievement involves arriving at a sense of self and direction after some consideration of alternative possibilities.

Question 58

Risk-taking behaviour : pay attention to page 104-106 Erikson

Answer 58

• Risk behavior: behavior that places individual at risk for negative social, psychological or physical consequence.

Question 59

Early adulthood ERIKSON’S
PSYCHOSOCIAL THEORY

Answer 59

Stage 6 -intimacy vs isolation (study page 107-108)

• According to Erikson, adulthood involves three stages
• Intimacy vs isolation is the concern with the ability to share intimacy with
  others, and should lead to empathy and openness
• Have romantic and imporatnt rleationships whle still having healthy, well -
  balnced sense of self

Question 60

Middle adulthood ERIKSON’S
PSYCHOSOCIAL THEORY

Answer 60

Stage 7 -Generativity VS. Self-absorption
generativity refers to urge and commitment to take care of the next generation, and may expressed in various ways, including nurturing, teaching, guiding d mentoring children and young adults generativity is also expressed in attempts to contribute to and improve society. According to Erikson’s theory, people in middle adulthood who
*⁠ ⁠not express a sense of generativity enter a state of stagnation characterised by self-centred self-absorption typical of earlier stages of development.

Question 61

Erikson Late adulthood (pg 109-111 =study)

Answer 61

• Retirement and economic adjustments
• Family and social roles
• Death and dying
• Erikson: Integrity vs Despair
  Stage 8 -integrity vs. despair
• involves overcoming the tendency to dwell on mistakes of the past, as well as the imminent presence of death
• Find meaning and satisfaction in life instead of wallowing in bitterness and resentment