January 2021 Flashcards
Describe one predictable and one unpredictable life event.
(4)
Predictable
Unpredictable
Predictable events:
Attending school (1) these are events that are expected to happen
at a particular time (1)
Unpredictable events:
Redundancy (1) these are events that happen unexpectedly (1)
Laura shares a flat with three other students at university.
They share all the bills and responsibilities associated with living independently.
(c) Describe how living away from home will have an impact on Laura’s independence.
(4)
- Will need to develop skills of managing own
money/budgeting (1) as she will have to pay her rent/bills
(1) - Will need to develop time management skills (1) will have
to complete her essays/assignments for university (1) - Develop cooking/home management skills (1) will have to
cook/clean for herself (1) - Lacks support she is used to at home (1) loses confidence
to do things by herself (1)
(d) Outline the impact of attending university on Laura’s self-concept
- Self-esteem could be raised (1) due to feeling that she is
finally completing her education (1) - If she struggles with the course, Laura’s self-image could
be negatively affected (1) due to seeing herself as being a
failing student (1) - Self-esteem/image could improve as family and friends’
perception of Laura could be affected positively (1) due
to her taking positive steps to improve her life chances
(1)
Laura is learning many new theories about child development and is finding her course
at university interesting.
(e) Describe Piaget’s theory of schemas.
(6)
The stages of schema formation may be referenced
When a child’s experience matches what they understand they
are in a state of equilibrium (1)
If they come across a new situation or task that they do not
understand, Piaget called this disequilibrium (1).
To enable understanding, Piaget suggested that new information
is added to a current schema (assimilation) (1)
or the schema is a changed, or a new one is developed to
improve understanding of the task (accommodation) (1)
* A schema describes a pattern of thought that organises
information (1)
* A schema is a mental concept that informs a person
about what to expect from a variety of experiences and
situations (1)
* Piaget viewed schemas as the basic unit or building
block of intelligent behaviour (1)
*
* A schema describes a pattern of thought or behaviour
that organises categories of information and the
relationships among them (1), e.g. understanding that allblue cars are not ‘daddy’s car ‘ just because daddy’s car
is blue, but belongs to the category ‘cars’
* It can be described as a mental structure of
preconceived ideas, a framework representing some
aspect of the world (1), e.g. a horse is large, has hair,
four legs, and a tail. When encountering a cow for the
first time, a child might initially call it a horse
* A child sees a pony. If an adult explains to a child that
the animal is actually a very small type of horse, the
child must at this time modify her existing schema for
horses (1). They now realise that while some horses are
very large animals, others can be very small. Through
new experiences, existing schemas are modified, and
new information is learned.
Accept any other valid response.
(f) Evaluate Piaget’s model of cognitive development.
(10)
Answers may focus on the following:
* Tests of conservation and egocentrism and how Piaget’s
model may explain children’s thoughts and actions, e.g.’
Ages and stages’ model
* The sensorimotor stage, from birth to age 2
* The preoperational stage, from age 2 to about age 7
* The concrete operational stage, from age 7 to 11
* The formal operational stage, which begins in
adolescence and spans into adulthood
Weaknesses
* Based his research on a limited population in a specific
geographical area
* Vygotsky and Bruner would rather not talk about stages
at all, preferring to see development as a continuous
process
* Vygotsky and Bruner would rather not talk about stages
at all, preferring to see development as a continuous
process
* Others have queried the age ranges of the stages. Some
studies have shown that progress to the formal
operational stage is not guaranteed.
For example, Keating (1979) reported that 40-60% of
college students fail at formal operation tasks, and Dasen (1994) states that only one-third of adults ever reach the
formal operational stage.
* Because Piaget concentrated on the universal stages of
cognitive development and biological maturation, he
failed to consider the effect that the social setting
(Bandura) and culture may have on cognitive
development.
Laura has completed her studies and now has a job working in a primary school.
She is teaching a group of children who are in early childhood
2 (a) State the next two life stages that the children will pass through, including the
age ranges.
(2)
1 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
2 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
- Adolescence (9–18 years)
- Early adulthood (19–45 years)
Describe how play can promote intellectual development
- Playing with word games, e.g. puzzles (1) develops their
language/reading skills (1) - Playing helps to nurture imagination (1) develops
problem-solving skills (1) - Singing nursery rhymes, e.g. three blind mice (1) can
develop numeracy (1)
Answers may refer to types of play e.g. Solo play, co-operative
play
These should be accurately explained and linked to intellectual
development
Accept any appropriate alternatives.
Hormones are a major factor in determining physical development during puberty.
(c) Describe the role of hormones in the development of sexual maturity.
(4)
- Sex hormones are responsible for stimulating secondary
sexual development (puberty) (1) - Oestrogen (1) causes eggs to mature in ovaries (1)
- Testosterone (1) stimulates sperm production in males (1)
Other hormones involved in the menstrual cycle include: - Follicle stimulating hormone (1) causing maturation of an
egg in the ovary (1) - Luteinising hormone (1) stimulating the release of the egg
(1) - Oestrogen/progesterone (1) are involved in maintaining
the uterus lining (1) - When these reproductive hormones do not work as they
should, fertility problems can occur (1)
The school where Laura works is in an area with high levels of economic deprivation.
(d) Evaluate the impact of living in a low-income household on a child’s development.
(10)
- Financial resources/cultural capital, e.g. extra-curricular
activities limited - Friendship groups/family contact – cost of travel limits
interaction - Physical development – impacted by poor diet
- Mental health and wellbeing – low self-esteem if they do
not have designer clothes, etc.
Counter arguments: - Emotional development equally important – may not bond
if parents are continually working - Genetic factors – can inherit disease regardless of
economic factors - Happiness not directly linked to economic factors
PIES: - Physical development - impact on diet, limited
opportunities to take up sporting hobbies, for example
swimming lessons, football clubs and ballet lessons - Intellectual development - financial impact on education,
toys, opportunities for hobbies - Emotional development - impact on mental health, self-esteem - comparing themselves to other children
- Social development - financial impact of not being able to
afford social events with friends and family, for example birthday parties
The children Laura teaches have a diverse range of abilities in reading, writing
and mathematics.
(e) To what extent does Gesell’s maturation theory explain intellectual development?
(10)
Key principles of Gesell’s maturation theory:
* Children develop through similar and predictable
sequences. However, Gesell noticed that they did so at
their own pace, and suggested this development starts to
occur before the child’s birth
* The pace that the individual develops through the
sequence is influenced by innate factors, such as physical
and mental development and genetics
* He disagreed with theorists who suggested that
development was solely down to environmental factors
* If a child experienced delayed development that,
according to Gesell, would be due to heredity
* A child should only be taught to complete tasks when
they are physically and mentally ready to do so. Teaching
a child to do something that is in advance of their
developmental age would cause them harm
* Can share similarities with some of Chomsky’s work
Criticisms of Gesell:
* Piaget and Bandura argue that the child is influenced
more by the environment they live in
* More recent research has suggested that Gesell’s
milestones are incorrect. We now know that babies can
follow moving objects at an earlier age than Gesell
thought
* Gesell only used white, middle-class parents and their
children in his sample, so it was not representative
Laura’s mother, Joy, is 79 years old.
Joy has always been fit and healthy but has recently been finding herself more tired
than usual.
3 (a) Describe two physical changes that may happen to Joy in her current life stage.
(4)
- Skin loses elasticity (1) leads to ‘wrinkles’ (do not accept
wrinkles without qualification) (1) - Muscles lose flexibility/strength (1) mobility diminishes
(1) - Senses, e.g. hearing or vision decline (1) leading to
difficulties reading/communicating (1) - Immune system weakens (1) increased risk of contracting infections (1)
Joy is becoming increasingly forgetful and Laura is very worried about her.
(b) To what extent is memory loss and reduced cognitive ability inevitable in
later adulthood?
(6)
Answers may include 3 x 2 marks or 2 x 3 marks.
* The brain is capable of producing new brain cells at any
age (1) so significant memory loss is not an inevitable
result of ageing (1)
* Crystalised intelligence (long-term memory)/some mental
abilities are largely unaffected by normal ageing (1) ability
to do the things always done and continue to do often,
e.g. play the piano (1) can clearly remember significant
life events, e.g. starting school (1)
* Fluid intelligence (short-term memory) may decline (1)
can combat this by; joining a book group/playing chess or
bridge/writing own life story/doing crosswords, Sudoku
or jigsaw puzzles (1).
Do not accept generic answers that refer to the development of
Alzheimer’s or Dementia
Reward any appropriate illustrative examples.
(c) To what extent could UK society be impacted negatively by the increasing
population of people aged 65 and over?
(10)
Negative
* Financial cost to society/increased taxes
* Cost of pensions
* Increased care facilities
* Strain on hospitals/housing
Positive
* People living longer healthier lives – friends/families
benefit
* People working longer and contributing to society (tax) or
via volunteering
* Help younger people with childcare, etc.
* Sharing wisdom/experiences with younger people
Laura works full time and now lives at home again with her mother, Joy, so that she
can provide some of her care.
(d) Evaluate the impact of caring for Joy on Laura’s health and wellbeing.
(10)
Physical
* Will be active and be able to maintain fitness and control
potential weight gain
* May be exhausted by the schedule of care and full- time
work – could lead to increased stress levels
Intellectual
* May not have time to learn new things she is interested
in for work or pursue her hobbies
Emotional
* Increased sense of self-esteem due to increased responsibilities * May feel that she cannot cope and lower her self-image
as she sees herself as an inadequate daughter
Social factors
* Spending quality time with her mother
* May not have time to mix with her own friends and may lose contact from them
