Unit 3 - Middle and Late Childhood Flashcards
How does body growth and change in middle/late childhood differ from early childhood and adolescents?
Early childhood and adolescence are both periods of rapid growth
Middle and late childhood are periods of slow and consistent growth
Describe brain volume in middle and late childhood
brain is about 95% of adult brain volume and stabilizes by the end of late childhood (11 years old)
What brain structure develops significantly in middle/late childhood and what developments in executive function result?
prefrontal cortex development which leads to increased attention, increased reasoning (logical thinking), and increased cognitive control (processing and behavior adapt depending on goals)
3 brain changes that occur during middle/late childhood
1) thickening of cerebral cortex - improvement in language and executive function
2) synaptic pruning continues to occur - getting rid of unused neural connections to increase efficiency
3) brain connectivity improves
Describe the association between language development and cortical thickening.
Thickening in frontal and temporal lobes: Broca’s and Wernicke’s Area leads to improved vocab organization, larger vocabulary, understanding of complex grammar, and metalinguistic awareness
Broca’s Area
responsible for speech expression, written language, and processing and comprehending language
Wernicke’s Area
responsible for understanding speech sounds and receptive language
Gross motor functioning during middle and late childhood
-becomes smoother and more coordinated
-greater interest in physical activity
Fine motor functioning during middle and late childhood
-become more precise and refined due to myelination
-improved writing, fine motor crafts, and instrument playing
What characterizes Piaget’s concrete operational state of development? Define concrete operations
age 7-11
perform concrete tasks and reason logically
concrete operations - operations applied to real objects
Reciprocity
Even though things appear different they are still the same
ex: cups can be tall and short
Identity
things can have multiple characteristics
ex: cup is tall and skinny
What are the 3 major cognitive milestones that occur during middle and late childhood?
reversibility - understand that things that have changed can return to it’s original state
seriation - ordering stimuli along a quantitative dimension like length
transitivity - ability to logically combine relations to understand certain conclusions
What is working memory?
ability to hold info in mind and manipulate it to make decision, create language, and solve problems
How does working memory change during middle and late childhood and what functions does it?
WM develops slowly across middle and late childhood
WM facilitates advances in language development, math achievement, problem solving, and reasoning
Define strategies
deliberate mental activities that improve processing of info and facilitate learning and remembering
How can adults encourage the development of strategies?
-have children elaborate on what they learned
-encourage children to engage in mental imagery
-remember material by understanding it rather than memorize it
-repeat learning with variations on instructional info and link early and often
-embed memory relevant language when instructing children
Define metacognition and why it is important
thinking about thinking
-improves during middle/late childhood
-facilitates critical, independent, and creative thinking and learning
Examples of metacognition
-knowing when to use strategies
-deciding how much time to spend on tasks
-track errors and adjust approach
-knowledge of one’s own memory
How do children in middle/late childhood understand and describe themselves?
-Greater focus on below the surface characteristics such as helpful, smart, nice.
-Reference social groups in self-descriptions (popularity)
-Start comparing self to others
What is social comparison?
means for evaluating skills, knowledge, and personal qualities by comparing with peers
How does social media usage influence children’s social comparisons and self esteem?
social media causes people to engage in more social comparison, which undermines happiness, especially for kids
impacts self concept and self esteem
Describe positive and negative outcomes associated with social media use
+ connectedness, support, shared interests, entertainment
- use to evaluate likeability, popularity, cyberbullying, and comparison
What two major changes in how children understand others that occurs in middle/late childhood?
Increased perspective taking facilitated by…
cognitive inhibition - can control own thoughts to take other’s POV
cognitive flexibility - ability to see one situation in multiple ways
What changes occur in children’s detection of bias?
children become less trusting, can explain why sources of info should be doubted, and can detect and explain distorted claims
Preconventional Reasoning
interpret good and bad in terms of external rewards and punishments
Conventional Reasoning
develop expectations about societal roles and abide by standards
Postconventional Reasoning
involve flexible thinking and more internal decision making
-guided by internal checks and ethical standards
4 ways caregiver-child relationships change during middle/late childhood
- Spend (50%) less time with children
- parents serve as gatekeepers (org. playdates, choose activities)
- discipline changes from physical to loss of privilege/timeouts
- shift from co-regulation to self regulation
How do caregivers serve as managers in middle/late childhood?
- monitor homework
- give chores
- organize bedtime routines
- monitoring behavior
What outcomes are associated with effective caregivers/managers?
better grades, increased self responsibility, less problems with school
Link between caregiver-child attachment and child outcomes
Secure attachment leads to less internalizing disorders and increased mental health
Insecure attachment with mother is not predictive of anxiety
Insecure attachment to father predicted anxiety and mediated relationship between rejection and anxiety
5 ways peer relationships change during middle/late childhood
- choose friends that will reciprocate
- % of time spent with peers increasing (~1/3)
- size of peer group increase
- peer interactions are less closely supervised
- continue to prefer sam-sex peers
What is sociometric status?
extend to which one is liked or disliked by peers
What are the 5 sociometric statuses?
popular - frequently rated BF, rarely disliked
average - average amount of positive and negative votes
neglected - neither positive or negative votes
rejected - infrequently rated BF, actively disliked
controversial - frequently BF and disliked
What is adolescence?
ages 12-17
transitional period between childhood and adulthood
4 milestones that occur during adolescence
-relationships with caregiver and peers change
-puberty typically occurs
-dating and sexual exploration may begin
-thinking becomes more abstract and idealistic
What 3 things characterized “storm and stress” of adolescence?
- conflict with parents
- mood disruption
- risky behavior
inevitable turmoil
Define puberty
period of rapid physical maturation, including hormonal and body changes
continuous processing marking beginning of adolescence
Major changes for boys and girls entering puberty.
Both:
- appearance of pubic hair
- growth spurt
Boys:
increase in penis size, voice changes, muscles, ejaculation
Girls:
increase in breast size, widening of hips, menstruation
Define Timing of puberty
when puberty starts (early, on-time, or late maturating)
boys: 10, 12, 13
girls: 8-9, 11-13, 15+
Define tempo of puberty
rate at which puberty progresses (~2-4 years)
timing does not predict tempo
Outcomes for boys with early onset puberty
better body image
more positive self perception
better peer relationships
Outcomes for boys with late onset puberty
poorer body image
stronger sense of identity
better long term career outcomes
Outcomes for girls with early onset puberty
better body image
more likely to smoke and drink
more likely to experience depression
early dating and sexual exploration
more likely to have eating disorder
Outcomes for girls with late onset puberty
poorer body image until later
engagement in fewer risk behaviors
4 changes in brain development that occur during adolescence
corpus callosum thickening - improved processing
prefrontal cortex development - better reasoning & exec. function
limbic system - increased risk taking & emotional decision making
brain connectivity - improved problem solving & higher order thinking
Piaget’s Formal Operational Stage
11-adulthood
better abstract thinking
can explain how to solve problems
increased metacognition
idealistic thinking
hypothetical deductive reasoning
Adolescent egocentrism (2 components)
increased self consciousness for adolescence
imaginary audience - feeling like everyone is watching you and perform attention seeking behaviors
personal fable - belief that they and their experiences are unique and invincible
What are hot executive functions? How do they change during adolescence?
psychological processes driven by emotion
-peak at age 14 and decline through adolescence
-predict emotional problems
What are cold executive functions? How do they change during adolescence?
psychological processes involving conscious control
-driven by logical thinking
- improve throughout adolescence
- predict academic achievement
How does childhood obesity impact development?
Diabetes, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol.
Linked with low self-esteem and bullying
What impacts does bullying have on children?
feel lonely and have difficulty making friends
more likely to have low grades and to smoke and drink
poor mental health
How does self-esteem change during adolescence? Are there gender differences?
SE dips in adolescence.
Both genders experience this but females typically have a much lower dip.
Are adolescence views of themselves accurate?
Not always, research found that attractiveness was negatively associated with self esteem for girls
Describe and define Marcia’s four statuses of identity and give example.
Each is an intersection of commitment and crisis.
Identity Achievement (YY)
- challenged self and commit to who they are
Identity Foreclosure (YN)
- accepted identity without exploration of alternatives (strong girl from Encanto)
Identity Moratorium (NY)
- in the process of challenging self, exploring self and identity
Identity Diffusion (NN)
-no exploration or commitment to identity
Describe the balance between autonomy and connection.
Shift from protection and dependency on parents and mutual affection and equality.
Adolescence are seen as maturing young adults but expected to follow rules set by adults.
Describe how friendships change throughout adolescence.
shift from having a large number of friends and valuing popularity to prefer smaller groups with more intimate and intense relationships
Define cliques and crowds.
clique - 2-12 people generally formed with same age, gender, or interests and is self selected
crowd - larger, less personal groups, membership is based on reputation (stoners)
3 Stages of Dating Relationships that emerge in adolescence.
Stage 1: enter into romantic attractions
11-13, dating happens in groups and crushes
Stage 2: explore romantic relationships
14-16, casual, short relationships
Stage 3: consolidating dyadic bonds
17-19, more serious and longer lasting relationships
