Developmental Psychology Option Flashcards
Longitudinal case study done by Clarke and Clarke (1998).
Clarke and Clarke (1998) wanted to see if deprived children can recover from even very adverse conditions if they are removed from such situations and given prior care and attention.
The two boys had conditions of severe deprivation and neglect; isolation, vitamin deficiency, no stimulation, and they could barely walk, play, or speak.
After a year in a supportive environment, they made great progress and went to a normal school. For instance, IQ went up by 50 points, socially well-adjusted, and they made great progress.
This case study clearly indicates that if a child is removed from an extremely impoverished environment, it is possible to reverse the effects of deprivation.
This was a case study with only two individuals and they had not been totally isolated, so they may have formed attachment with each other.
The twins were found when they were relatively young, and their adoptive parents provided emotional and social stimulation.
EVALUATION
STRENGTHS
(+) allows description of behavior as it occurs in the natural environment
(+) often useful in first stages of a research program
WEAKNESSES
(-) allows researcher little or no control of the situation
(-) observations may be biased
(-) doesn’t allow firm conclusions about cause and effort
Piaget’s developmental theory
The sensorimotor stage (0-2 years)
The children did not develop the schema at this stage.
Any objects has to be seen by the baby for them to think it exists.
The preoperational stage (2-7 years)
Children still relies on the external appearances rather than consistent internal logic.
Example: same amount of water in the different glasses. (classification limitation)
The concrete operational stage (7-11 years)
Child develops the definite rules (schemas) for ordering the world but still needs real world objects.
Develops conversation: objects remain same despite a change in appearance.
The formal operational stage (11 years and beyond)
Mental structures are well developed that ideas and problems can be manipulated without the need for physical objects.
Can think about possible occurrence and imagine themselves in different roles.
EVALUATION
S: Piaget allowed psychologists to that biological maturation affects the cognitive development in an exponential curve.
S: Piaget’s view on constructivism allowed psychologists to see that children are not passive observers, but rather use their interpretation to make sense of things.
W: Very reductionist, and the Piaget’s stages looks only at few cognitive abilities that does not encapsulate entire abilities of children.
W: His method may not be suitable for children, and he had small sample size.
W: By focusing on child’s limitations, he over-looked important abilities that children do possess.
W: Notion of biological readiness has also been questioned; further research has suggested that training does have an effect on cognitive development.
Discuss how social and environmental variables may affect cognitive development
Cognitive development is affected by a number of social and environmental variables that interact with the child’s genetic inheritance in complex ways that are not yet fully understood.
However, there seems to be correlation of SES, environment stimulation, parental nurturance with the cognitive development.
Social Variables:
- Socioeconomic Status (SES)
Farah (2005) found that children performed worse on all cognitive tests when children had low SES status.
Environment variables:
- Nurture and environmental stimulation: Farah et al (2008) conducted longitudinal study where Farah recruited children at birth, used interview & observation, and cognitive test to measure environment stimulation, parental nurturance, and intelligence.
- There was positive correlation between environment stimulation and language development.
- There was also positive correlation between parental nurturance and long term memory performance.
Attachment theory suggested by Bowlby (1951)
Attachment can be defined as the emotional bond between an individual and an attachment figure (caregiver who is responsive and sensitive to the child’s needs).
Parental sensitivity is important in the development of attachment. Attachment can be observed from around the age of seven months. From this age, the baby shows separation distress when the primary attachment figure (often the mother) leaves the child.
Discuss potential effects of deprivation or trauma in childhood on later development.
Cognitive development is affected by a number of social and environmental variables that interact with the child’s genetic inheritance in complex ways that are not yet fully understood.
However, there seems to be correlation of SES, environment stimulation, parental nurturance with the cognitive development.
Social Variables:
- Socioeconomic Status (SES)
Farah (2005) found that children performed worse on all cognitive tests when children had low SES status.
Environment variables:
- Nurture and environmental stimulation: Farah et al (2008) conducted longitudinal study where Farah recruited children at birth, used interview & observation, and cognitive test to measure environment stimulation, parental nurturance, and intelligence.
- There was positive correlation between environment stimulation and language development.
- There was also positive correlation between parental nurturance and long term memory performance.
Bowlby’s attachment theory
Bowlby’s attachment theory
Within 6-30 months, children develop emotional attachments to caregiver, recognizing facial expressions, hand gestures, etc.
Attachment manifest under distress, and the children uses the attachment to navigate or guide them.
Influences the personality, behavior when grown up.
When attachment is interrupted, it may be result in long term, or short term consequences.
S: Ainsworth et al seems to be able to replicate the theory’s findings.
S: Helps to explain human behavior, and connection to the evolution.
W: Current theory seems convoluted – although the idea of the attachment remains the same, it is hard to apply attachment theory as the basis of everything.
W: Clear correlation is hard to establish due to many variables that may influence the data.
Hazan et al (1988)
Aim To investigate: whether the same distribution of childhood attachment patterns was manifested in a study on adult love relationships
Procedure
Performed “love quiz” (survey with forced choices) in a local newspaper.
The questionnaire included statements characterizing the most important love relationship and childhood relationship with parents (attachment history).
Results
Secure lovers described their most important love relationships as trusting, happy, and friendly.
Avoidant lovers were characterized by fear of intimacy, emotional highs and lows, and well as jealousy.
Ambivalent lovers believed that romantic love is characterized by obsession, emotional highs and lows, extreme sexual attraction, and jealousy.
The results showed that loving and affectionate parenting correlated positively with secure attachment. Participants classified as avoidant reported cold and rejecting mothers.
Evaluation
The results supported that three different attachment styles could be found in adult love.
The study had a biased self-selected sample so results could not be generalized. More females than males responded (gender bias).
Use of questionnaires with forced choices may limit the validity of the findings.
“The strange situation” Ainsworth et al., 1978
Ainsworth et al (1978) suggested a classification system with three attachment patterns, a procedure with several sequences performed in a laboratory to test a child’s attachment pattern to the mother.
Avoidant attachment (type A): The infant does not show distress when the mother leaves the room and avoids contact when she returns. The baby is not afraid of a stranger. Mothers to avoidant children tend to be unresponsive and uninterested in the child’s signals.
Secure attachment (type B): The infant shows distress when the mother leaves the room and quickly seeks contact with her when she returns. The infant is easily soothed by the mother.
Ambivalent attachment (type C): The infant shows distress when the mother leaves the room. The baby seeks contact on her return but at the same time rejects it.
