H&SC Theories Flashcards
What did Piaget believe?
Cognitive development
Children pass through distinct development stages in sequence
Thought children should be allowed to discover things for themselves through spontaneous play
Stage 1 of Piaget’s cognitive development…
Sensorimotor
birth -2 years
Infants learn about their environment and develop early schemas (concepts) by using their senses to physically explore the world
Stage 2 of Piaget’s cognitive development…
Pre-operational
2 - 7 years
Children begin to control their environment by using symbolic behaviour (use representational words and drawings and pretend play)
Not yet able to think logically
Stage 3 of Piaget’s cognitive development…
Concrete operations
7 - 11 years
Children use practical resources to help them understand the world (e.g counters for maths)
Can classify, categorise and use logic to understand things they see
Stage 4 of Piaget’s cognitive development…
Formal operations
11 up to 18 years
Young people have capacity for abstract thought, rational thought and problem solving
What does Piaget’s schematic development theory explain?
How children use their experiences to construct their understanding of the world around them
Piaget’s schematic development theory
Assimilation: child constructs understanding or concept (schema)
Equilibrium: the child’s experience fits with their schema
Disequilibrium: new experience disturbs child’s schema
Accommodation: child’s understanding (schema) changes to take account of the new experience
Adults and children think the same?
NO
Piaget thought children think differently to adults
What did Piaget’s conservation test show?
The stage when children begin to reason and think logically
What does Piaget’s test show?
- children under 7 can’t conserve -they can’t think about more than one aspect of a situation at one time
- by the operational stage at age 7, children can think logically so understand water quantity stays the same even if you change the shape of the container
What does conservation refer to?
Children’s understanding that the amount remains the same even when the container’s shape changes
What is egocentrism?
Where a child cannot see something from another point of view
Which test did Piaget do to prove his egocentrism theory?
Swiss mountain test
Criticisms of Piaget’s thoughts on a child’s ability to think…
- Piaget sometimes underestimated children’s rate of development
- children can develop more advanced concepts with support
- some children can see things from other POVs before age 7
- children can be given experiences to help them move through the stages at a faster rate
What is attachment?
Emotional bond formed between infants and young children and their main caregiver
Bowlby’s theory of attachment
- infants are biologically pre-programmed to form attachments
- attachment to caregiver is essential
- disruptions to attachment have negative impact on development
- attachment to primary caregiver is a model for future attachments
- infancy is a critical period for developing attachments
Schaffer and Emerson’s stages of attachment
human infants take longer to form a bond than newborn animals
Schaffer and Emerson’s stages of attachment
asocial stage: respond to any caregiver (0-3 mths)
indiscriminate stage: shows preference for primary care giver but accepts care from others
specific stage: separation anxiety + fearful of strangers
multiple attachments: develop attachments with others who respond to them (e.g. grandparents)
Mary Ainsworth classified attachments into three types based on…
a study of children’s reactions when parted from a parent
Secure attachment…
Mary Ainsworth
- parent is in tune with child and their emotions
- infant shoes distress when caregiver leaves, greets them when they return; seek comfort when upset