The Wondrous Years of Childhood Flashcards
Motor Development
refers to the progression of muscular coordination required for physical activities.
Motor Development
refers to the progression of muscular coordination required for physical activities.
Cephalocaudal trend
the head-to-foot direction of motor development. Children tend to gain control over the upper part of their bodies before the lower part.
The Proximodistal trend
is the centre-outward direction of motor development. Child gain control over their torso before their extremities. Thus, infants reach for things by twisting their entire body, but gradually they learn to extend their arms.
Maturation
Early progress in motor skills has traditionally been attributed almost entirely to the process of maturation. Maturation is development that reflects the gradual unfolding of one’s genetic blueprint.
a New view – experience
the driving force behind motor development is infant’s ongoing exploration of their world and their need to master specific tasks.
Progress in motor development is attributed to infants’ experimentation and their learning and remembering of the consequences of their activities.
Developmental Norms
Parents often compare early motor development of their child to developmental norms.
–> indicate the median age at which individuals display various behaviours and abilities.
Cultural Variations
some cultures provide special practice in basic motor skills –> rapid motor development
some cultures discourage motor exploration –> slowing down motor development
cultural variations in the emergence of basic motor skills demonstrate that environmental factors can accelerate or slow down early motor development.
Similarities outweigh differences across culture–> motor development is considerably a factor at maturation. As they mature exploration and experience factors in.
Easy and Difficult Babies: Temperament
Infants show considerable variability in temperament. Temperament refers to characteristic mood, activity level, and emotional reactivity.
Longitudinal study of the development of temperament (Alexander Thomas and Stella Chess)
In a longitudinal design, investigators observe one group of participants repeatedly over a period of time.
This approach to the study of development is often contrasted with the cross-sectional approach
Longitudinal studies tend to be more senstive toe developmental changes. But because it often takes years to complete, many participants drop out.
The cross-sectional design
investigators compare groups of participants of differing age at a single point in time. cross sectional are faster and cheaper than longitudinal studies. However, cross-sectional studies, changes that appear to reflect development may really be cohort effects.
Cohort effects –> occur when differences between age groups are due to the groups growing up in different time periods.
Thoms and Chess
found that temperamental individuality is well established by the time the infant is 2-3 months old.
40% were easy children
15% were slow-to-warm up children
10% difficult children
35% showed mixture of the 3 temperaments
Kagan and Snidman (1991) Inhibited vs. uninhibited temperament
relied on direct observations of children
found that 15-20% of infants displayed an inhibited temperament– shyness, timidity, and wariness of unfamiliar people
25-30% of infants displayed an uninhibited temperament– less restrained, approaching unfamiliar people, and events with little trepidation.
Early Emotional Development: attachment
Attachment refers to the close, emotional bonds of affection that develop between infants and their caregivers.
The first important attachment is usually with the mother, because in most cultures she is the principle caregiver.
Separation anxiety
emotional distress seen in many infants when they are separated fro people whom they have formed an attachment
infants show a preference for their mothers when her presence is not there.
this typically peaks at around 14 to 18 months and then begins to decline.
Theories of Attachment: Behaviourists
argued that this special attachment between infant and mother develops because mothers are associated with the powerful, reinforcing event of being fed.
Theories of Attachment: Harlow and his monkeys
Cloth mother vs. Wire mother –> both fed the monkeys, but when monkeys were scared they went to cloth mother even if they were fed by wire mother –> this shows that contact can be a reinforcer
this was disregarded because animals are less complex than humans.
Theories of Attachment: John Bowlby – survival value
according to his view, infants are biolically programmed to emit behaviour (smiling, cooing, clinging, and so on ) that triggers and affectionate, protective response from adults.
bowlby asserts that adults are programmed by evolutionary forces to be captivated by this behaviours and to respond with warmth love, and protection.
Theories of Attachment: contemporary evolutionary theorists – reproductive fitness
parents expect to pass their genes on to future generations, they need to raise their offspring to reproductive age and help them develop the social maturity required for successful mating. Parent-child attachments make crucial contribution to these outcomes by fostering social and emotional development in children.
Developing secure attachment
maternal behaviours appear to have considerable influence on the type of attachment that emerges between an infant and mother - mother is more sensitive and responsive –> better attachment
the type of attachment that emerges between an infant and mother may depend on the nature of the infants temperament s well as the mothers sensitive.
quality of attachment relationship can have important consequences for children’s subsequent development . –> it will effect their relationships in the future with a wide range of people.
secure attachment –> more cognitive development during childhood and adolescence.
Stage theories of personality development: Erikson
what is a stage?
3 components to this theory.
A stage is a development period during which characteristic patterns of behaviour are exhibited and certain capacities become established.
(1) individuals must progress through specified stages in a particular order because each stage builds on the previous stage
(2) progress through theses stages is strong related to age
(3) development is marked by major discontinuities that usher in dramatic transitions in behaviour.
Cephalocaudal trend
the head-to-foot direction of motor development. Children tend to gain control over the upper part of their bodies before the lower part.
The Proximodistal trend
is the centre-outward direction of motor development. Child gain control over their torso before their extremities. Thus, infants reach for things by twisting their entire body, but gradually they learn to extend their arms.
Maturation
Early progress in motor skills has traditionally been attributed almost entirely to the process of maturation. Maturation is development that reflects the gradual unfolding of one’s genetic blueprint.
a New view – experience
the driving force behind motor development is infant’s ongoing exploration of their world and their need to master specific tasks.
Progress in motor development is attributed to infants’ experimentation and their learning and remembering of the consequences of their activities.
Developmental Norms
Parents often compare early motor development of their child to developmental norms.
–> indicate the median age at which individuals display various behaviours and abilities.
Cultural Variations
some cultures provide special practice in basic motor skills –> rapid motor development
some cultures discourage motor exploration –> slowing down motor development
cultural variations in the emergence of basic motor skills demonstrate that environmental factors can accelerate or slow down early motor development.
Similarities outweigh differences across culture–> motor development is considerably a factor at maturation. As they mature exploration and experience factors in.
Easy and Difficult Babies: Temperament
Infants show considerable variability in temperament. Temperament refers to characteristic mood, activity level, and emotional reactivity.
Formal Operation Period
Children begin to apply their operations to abstract concepts in addition to concrete objects.
The cross-sectional design
investigators compare groups of participants of differing age at a single point in time. cross sectional are faster and cheaper than longitudinal studies. However, cross-sectional studies, changes that appear to reflect development may really be cohort effects.
Cohort effects –> occur when differences between age groups are due to the groups growing up in different time periods.
Thoms and Chess
found that temperamental individuality is well established by the time the infant is 2-3 months old.
40% were easy children
15% were slow-to-warm up children
10% difficult children
35% showed mixture of the 3 temperaments
Kagan and Snidman (1991) Inhibited vs. uninhibited temperament
relied on direct observations of children
found that 15-20% of infants displayed an inhibited temperament– shyness, timidity, and wariness of unfamiliar people
25-30% of infants displayed an uninhibited temperament– less restrained, approaching unfamiliar people, and events with little trepidation.
Early Emotional Development: attachment
Attachment refers to the close, emotional bonds of affection that develop between infants and their caregivers.
The first important attachment is usually with the mother, because in most cultures she is the principle caregiver.
Separation anxiety
emotional distress seen in many infants when they are separated fro people whom they have formed an attachment
infants show a preference for their mothers when her presence is not there.
this typically peaks at around 14 to 18 months and then begins to decline.
Theories of Attachment: Behaviourists
argued that this special attachment between infant and mother develops because mothers are associated with the powerful, reinforcing event of being fed.
Theories of Attachment: Harlow and his monkeys
Cloth mother vs. Wire mother –> both fed the monkeys, but when monkeys were scared they went to cloth mother even if they were fed by wire mother –> this shows that contact can be a reinforcer
this was disregarded because animals are less complex than humans.
Theories of Attachment: John Bowlby – survival value
according to his view, infants are biolically programmed to emit behaviour (smiling, cooing, clinging, and so on ) that triggers and affectionate, protective response from adults.
bowlby asserts that adults are programmed by evolutionary forces to be captivated by this behaviours and to respond with warmth love, and protection.
Theories of Attachment: contemporary evolutionary theorists – reproductive fitness
parents expect to pass their genes on to future generations, they need to raise their offspring to reproductive age and help them develop the social maturity required for successful mating. Parent-child attachments make crucial contribution to these outcomes by fostering social and emotional development in children.
Patterns of attachment: Ainsworth –strange situation procedure
Strange situation procedure– in which infants are exposed to a series of eight separation and reunion episodes to assess the quality of their attachment.
stranger enters room where infant is playing with parent, parent leaves, then returns. There were 3 patterns:
(1) Secure attachment – they play comfortably with mother present, are upset when she leaves, and calm down when she returns
(2) Anxious-ambivalent attachment –> appear anxious when their mother is near and protest excessively when she leaves, they are not particularly comfortable when she returns.
(3) Avoidant attachment– seek little contact with their mother and often are not distressed when she leaves.
Developing secure attachment
maternal behaviours appear to have considerable influence on the type of attachment that emerges between an infant and mother - mother is more sensitive and responsive –> better attachment
the type of attachment that emerges between an infant and mother may depend on the nature of the infants temperament s well as the mothers sensitive.
quality of attachment relationship can have important consequences for children’s subsequent development . –> it will effect their relationships in the future with a wide range of people.
Erikson’s Stage Theory
Erikson partition the life span into eight stages, each of which brings psychosocial crisis involving transitions in important social relationships
Personality is shaped by how individuals deal with these psychosocial crises.
Look at Katies notes
The Growth of Cognitive Development
Cognitive development refers to transitions in youngster’s patterns of thinking, including reasoning, remember ,and problem solving.
Jean Piaget’s Stage Theory
proposed that youngsters progress through four major stages of cognitive development
(1) sensorimotor period (birth-2 years)
(2) the preoperational period (2-7)
(3) the concrete operational period(7-11)
(4) the formal operational period (11-onward)
mention that the transitions or ages may vary, but all youngsters will progress through these cognitive stages.
Piaget: Assimilation/ Accomdation
Piaget asserted that interaction with the environment and maturation gradually alter the way children think. According to him, children progress in their thinking thought the complementary processes of assimilation and accommodation.
Assimilation–> involves interpreting new experiences in terms of existing mental structures without changing them
Accommodation–> involves changing existing mental structures to explain new experiences.
Sensoritmotor period
called this stage sensorimotor period because infants are developing the ability to coordinate theory sensory input with their motor actions.
the key to this transition is the acquisition of the concept of object permanence–> develops when a child recognizes that objects continue to exist even when they are no longer visible.
Preoperational Period
not yet mastered the principle of conservation–> term for the awareness that physical quantities remain constant in spite of change sin there shape or appearance.
according to Piaget, their inability to understand conservation is due to some basic flaw sin preoperational thinking. These flaws include centration, irreversibility and egocentrism.
Centration–> is the tendency to focus on just on feature of a problem, neglecting other important aspects
Irreversibiliity–> is the inability to envision reversing an action
Egocentrism–> in thinking is characterized by a limited ability to share another person’s viewpoint.
concrete operational period
called this because children can perform operations only on images of tangible objects and actual events.
Among the operations that children master during this stage are:
Reversibility–> permits a child to mentally undo an action
decentration–> allows the cild to focus on more than one feature of a problem simultaneously.
Formal Operation Period
Children begin to apply their operations to abstract concepts in addition to concrete objects.
vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory
child should initiate and try on their own: important this is for them to take the initiative and try on their own
Vygotsky’s: The zone of proximal development (ZPD)
is the gap between what a learner can accomplish alone and what he or she can achieve with guidance from more skilled partners.
Vygotsky’s : Scaffolding
occurs when the assistance provided to a child is adjusted as learning progresses
Innate Cognitive abilities: Habituation/dehabituation
Habituations is a gradual reduction in the strength of a response when a stimulus event is presented repeated.
Dehabituation occurs if a new stimulus elicits an increase in the strength of a habituated response
these findings have led some theorists to conclude that certain basic cognitive abilites are biologically built into human neural architectures.
Critical Periods of Development
some psychologists have argued that there are critically sensitive period for the development of some of out abilites and characteristics.
critical period–> as a limited time spanned in the development of an organism when it is optimal for certain capacities to emerge because the organism is especially responsive to certain experiences. The term critical period is traditionally used to suggest hat if the ability or knowledge i snot acquired at that point, it will not be possible to acquire later.
SENSITIVE – suggest an optimal period for acquisition but one that does not obviate acquisition at a later point.
The Development of Moral Reasoning: Kohlberg Stage theory
focuses on moral reasoning rather than overt behaviour. –> kohlberg found that individuals progress through a series of 3 levels of moral development, each of which can be broke down into two sub-levels
(1) pre-conventional level–> think in terms of external authority
(2) conventional level–> of moral reasoning see rules as necessary for maintaining social order
(3) post-conventional level–> which involves working out a personal code of ethics.
Look at katies notes for all 6 (diagram)
