PSYCHOLOGY Flashcards
Define PSYCHOLOGY
It is the scientific study of animal and human behavior as well as mental processes
Define BEHAVIOR
These are actions displayed by human beings that are observable & measurable
Define PERSONALITY
This is the sum total of all behaviours & mental characteristics by means of which makes an individual unique
Define CHARACTER TRAITS
These are elements that make up the personality of an individual
GOALS OF PSYCHOLOGY
describe, explain, predict, control, improvement
IMPORTANCE OF KNOWING CHILDREN’S PERSONALITY TYPES & TEMPERAMENTS
- it helps to discover children’s strengths/talents & nurture them accordingly
- it helps to identify children’s weaknesses, accept those weaknesses as you make an effort to improve them.
- helps improve relationships with children
- helps in having a better understanding of children.
- Helps to learn to appreciate & respect individual differences in children
- helps to allocate tasks/activities according to the uniqueness of children
CHILDREN’S PLAY
it is any spontaneous activity done for fun/enjoyment
CHARACTERISTICS OF CHILDREN’S PLAY
- it is intrinsically motivating-children do not expect a reward for engaging in play
- it is a spontaneous activity since children are not forced
- It is an active process since children are kind of busy as they play
- it is flexible/unstructured - play activities can change at any given time
- it involves a lot of pretense - children assume roles of others or pretend to be something else during play
- it is a pleasurable activity since children experience enjoyment & fun while they play
TYPES OF CHILDREN’S PLAY
- Solitary Play - below 3 yrs - child plays on their own
- Parallel play - btw 2-3yrs-children play near each other without much social interaction
- Social play - classified into two:-
i) Associative play - similar to parallel play but with
social interaction
ii)Cooperative play - common among old preschool children. all social skills are displayed e.g cooperating, sharing, leadership, communication and teamwork. - Symbolic play - (9mnth - 2yrs) children involve themselves in activities using objects as symbols. e.g a kid using a piece of wood and pushing it like a car.
- Pretense play - kids pretend to be something in the surrounding environment. e.g doctor, driver, farmer.
- Dramatic play - Children act out an experience ora scene from a story, television
- Constructive play - children engage in creating or making something. e.g. building a tower using blocks, maize cobs, bottle tops.
- onlooker play - a child takes an interest in other children’s play activities by watching them ply but not joining in.
- Motor(Physical) play - when children run, jump, and play games such as racing and tag.
IMPORTANCE OF PLAY IN CHILD GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT
- Mental/congitive development - play promotes thinking, reasoning & understanding.
- Social development - play provides an opportunity to interact & learn to live together in harmony. social skills learnt include sharing, turn taking, teamwork, communication, leadership
- Emotional development - play helps children learn to control and express their feelings appropriately.
- Physical development - Play helps in the development of strong & healthy bones.
- Language development - Children develop their vocabulary as they learn new words about things in the environment
- Moral development - helps children learn about morals such as respect of elders and how to behave with others.
- Aesthetic development - helps in enhancing appreciation & expression of beauty in various forms.
- Spiritual development - as most play activities are conducted in the natural environment, the children learn that there is a higher Supernatural Being (God) who created all that they are seeing and using.
THE ROLE OF CAREGIVERS IN CHILDREN’S PLAY
- Ensuring the safety of children so that play can be a free activity
- Allocating adequate time for children’s to play.
- Providing sufficient materials for children to play with
- Participating in children’s play in order to motivate them.
- Modifying they play environment by adding new things and making the play activities to be more challenging for children to master many skills
- Use teachable moments to introduce new skills & concepts.
- Encourage all children to participate in play
- Ensure children are well nourished because play consumes a lot of body energy
- teach children social skills such as turn taking, sharing and team work
LEARNING
It is a relatively permanent change in behavior of an individual as a result of experience.
- Relatively permanent - for learning to be said to have taken place behavior acquired should last somehow for a long time
- Change in behavior - for learning to be said to have taken place there has to be transformation in the behavior of an individual.
- Experience - Learning takes place due to an experience one goes through such as training experience.
WAYS CHILDREN LEARN
- imitation/Modeling - Children learn from the example set by models in their lives such as teachers, parents, siblings
- Exploration & discovery - Children learn as they move around in the environment and manipulate things.
- Observation/use of senses - Children learn how to use senses such us sight, hearing, touching, smelling, tasting
- Trial & Error - Children learn from experimenting with things, making mistakes along the way and learning from the mistakes
- Repetition - Children learn by practicing a given skill over & over again
- Corrections - Children tend to make mistakes and then caregivers tell them how something should have been done.
- Play - Play can be used as a means of acquiring many concepts and skills
- Reinforcements - refers to consequences/actions that follow given behavior. it can be positive or negative
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE LEARNING
a) Hereditary Factors
b) Environmental Factors
Hereditary Factors that influence Learning
- Intelligence - it is the ability of a person to think & understand
- Sex - Distinction BTW a man and a woman. there are some skills that are acquired at different rates depending on the sex of a person
- Motivational Level - it determines if a person will be interested to focus in a given learning activity
- Talents - a talent is a special ability that stands out from other possessed abilities.
- Age - Determines if an individual will be physically & mentally ready to perform a given task.
- Emotional status - How stable a person is emotional determines how ready he/she will be to learn