pyc2026_part_1_summary.doc

PART 1: ENTERING A CHILD’S WORLD STUDYING A CHILD’S WORLD THE STUDY OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT: BASIC CONCEPTS Developmental processes: Change and stability Quantitative change: change in number or amount (height, weight, communication frequency) Qualitative change: change in kind, structure or organisation Domains of development Physical development: growth of body and brain, development of sensory capacities and motor skills, health (a child with frequent ear infections may develop language more slowly than a child without this problem) Cognitive development: change and stability in mental abilities, such as learning, memory, language, thinking, moral reasoning and creativity. Cognitive advances are closely related to physical, social and emotional growth (ability to speak depends on the physical development of the mouth and brain) Psychosocial development: change and stability in personality, emotional life, and social relationships and it can affect cognitive and physical functioning (anxiety about taking a test can impair performance) INFLUENCES ON DEVELOPMENT Heredity, environment and maturation Heredity: inborn influences or traits inherited from biological parents Environment: totality of nonhereditary, or experiential, influences on development Maturation: unfolding of a natural sequence of physical and behavioural changes, including readiness to master new abilities Major contextual influences Family: Nuclear family: two-generational kinship, economic, and household unit consisting of one or two parents and their biological children, adopted children or stepchildren (Western and developing countries) Extended family: multigenerational kinship network of parents, children and other relatives, sometimes living together in an extended family household (Traditional societies and minority groups) Socioeconomic status and neighbourhood: Determines kind of home, neighbourhood, nutrition, medical care, supervision, schooling opportunities Influences the physical, cognitive and psychosocial development Culture and race/ ethnicity: Culture: a society’s or group’s total way of life (customs, traditions, beliefs, values, language, and physical products ~ all learned behaviour passed on from parents to children) Ethnic group: group united by ancestry, religion, language and/ or national origins, all of which contribute to a sense of shared identity Historical context: Historical events determine experiences, influence lives and development Timing of influences: Critical or sensitive periods Critical period: specific time when a given event, or its absence, has the greatest impact on development (pregnant women consuming drugs will defect the foetus) Sensitive periods: times in development when a person is open to certain kinds of experiences Typical major developments in five periods of child development Age period Physical developments Cognitive developments Psychosocial developments Prenatal Period (conception to birth) Conception occurs by normal fertilisation or other means Genetic endowment interacts with environmental influences from start Basic body structures and organs form; brain growth spurt begins Physical growth is most rapid in life span Vulnerability to environmental influences is great Abilities to learn and remember to respond to sensory stimuli are developing Foetus responds to mother’s voice and develops a preference for it Infancy and Toddlerhood (birth to 3 years) All senses and body systems operate at birth to varying degrees Brain grows in complexity and is highly sensitive to environmental influence Physical growth and motor skills development rapid Abilities to learn and remember are present, even in early weeks Use of symbols and ability to solve problems develop by end of second year Comprehension and language use develop rapidly Attachments to parents and others form Self awareness develops Shift from dependence to autonomy occurs Interest in other children increases Early childhood (3 to 6 years) Growth is steady; appearance becomes more slender and proportions more adultlike Appetite diminishes and sleep problems are common Handedness appears; fine and gross motor skills and strength improve Thinking somewhat egocentric, but understanding of others’ perspectives grow Cognitive immaturity results in some illogical ideas about the world Memory and language improve Intelligence becomes more predictable Self-concept and understanding of emotions become more complex; self-esteem is global Independence, initiative and self-control increase Gender identity develops Play becomes more imaginative, more elaborate, usually more social Altruism, aggression and fearfulness are common Family is still focus of social life, but other children become more important Middle childhood (6 to 11 years) Growth slows Strength and athletic skills improve Respiratory illness are common, but health is generally better than at any other time in life span Egocentrism diminishes. Children begin to think logically but concretely Memory and language skills increase Cognitive gains permit children to benefit from formal schooling Some children show special educational needs and strengths Self-concept becomes more complex affecting self-esteem Coregulation reflects gradual shift in control from parents to child Peers assume central importance Adolescence (11 to 20 years) Physical growth and other changes are rapid and profound Reproductive maturity occurs Major health risks arise from behavioural issues, such as eating disorders and drug abuse Ability to think abstractly and use scientific reasoning develops Immature thinking persists in some attitudes and behaviours Education focuses on preparation for college or vocation Search for identity, including sexual identity becomes central Relationships with parents are generally good Peer group may exert a positive or negative influence A CHILD’S WORLD: HOW WE DISCOVER IT ERIK ERIKSON: PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT Modified and extended Freudian’s theory by emphasising society’s influence on personality development Psychosocial development theory covers eight stages across the life span, each of which involves a ‘crisis’ in personality: major psychosocial themes which emerge according to a maturational timetable and must be satisfactorily resolved for healthy ego development (crisis = conflicting/ competing tendencies) Each stage requires the balancing of a positive trait and a corresponding negative one ~ positive quality should predominate and some degree of the negative is needed ~ the successful outcome of each stage is the development of a particular ‘virtue’ or strength Developmental stages according to Erikson’s theory (the first 5) Basic trust versus mistrust: Birth to 12-18 months Baby develops a sense of whether the world is a good and safe place Virtue = hope Autonomy versus shame and doubt: 12-18 months to 3 years Child develops a balance of independence and self-sufficiency over shame and doubt Virtue = will Initiative versus guilt: 3 to 6 years Child develops initiative when trying out new activities and is not overwhelmed by guilt Virtue = purpose Industry versus identity: 6 years to puberty Child must learn skills of the culture or face feelings of incompetence Virtue = skill Identity versus identity confusion: Puberty to young adulthood Adolescent must determine own sense of self or experience confusion about roles Virtue = fidelity JEAN PIAGET’S COGNITIVE STAGE THEORY Emphasis on mental processes Organismic perspective, viewing cognitive development as the product of children’s efforts to understand and act on their world Piaget’s clinical method combined observation with flexible questioning where in order to learn how children think he followed up their answers with more questions, and he designed tasks to test his tentative conclusions Suggests cognitive development begins with an inborn ability to adapt to the environment Occurs in four qualitatively different stages which represent universal development patterns ~ at each stage a child’s mind develops a new way of operating Children’s minds are not miniature adult minds Developmental stage according to Piaget’s theory (4 stages) Sensorimotor: Birth to 2 years Infant gradually becomes able to organise activities in relation to the environment through sensory motor activity Preoperational: 2 to 7 years Child develops a representational system and uses symbols to represent people, places and events Language and imaginative play are important manifestations of this stage Thinking is still not logical Concrete operations: 7 to 11 years Child can solve problems logically if they are focused on the here and now but cannot think abstractly Formal operations: 11 to adulthood Person can think abstractly, deal with hypothetical situations, and think about possibilities Cognitive growth occurs through three interrelated processes Organisation: Tendency to create complex cognitive structures: systems of knowledge or ways of thinking that incorporate more and more accurate images of reality These structures (schemes) are organised patterns of behaviour that a person uses to think about and act in a situation Adaptation: How children handle new information in light of what they already know Two steps: Assimilation: taking in new information and incorporating it into existing cognitive structures Accommodation: adjusting one’s cognitive structures to fit the new information Equilibration: Constant striving for a stable balance Dictates shift from assimilation to accommodation When children cannot handle new experiences within their existing cognitive structures (disequilibrium), they organise new mental patterns that integrate new experience, restoring a more comfortable state of equilibrium THE INFORMATION-PROCESSING APPROACH Explains cognitive development by observing and analysing the mental processes involved in perceiving and handling information Enables researchers to estimate an infants later intelligence from the efficiency of his or her sensory perception and processing Used to test, diagnose and treat learning problems Computer-based models Brain is compared to a computer ~ sensory impressions go in: behaviour comes out Researchers infer what goes on between a stimulus and a response Computational models have been developed to analyse specific steps children go through in gathering, storing, retrieving and using information View development as continuous and not age-related increase in speed, complexity, and efficiency of mental processing and in amount and variety of material that can be stored in memory LEV VYGOTSKY’S SOCIOCULTURAL THEORY Bronfenbrenner sees contextual systems as centred around the individual person Vygotsky’s central focus was the social, cultural and historical complex of which a child is a part ~ social processes from which a child’s thinking is derived Stresses children’s active engagement with their environment Piaget described the solo mind taking in and interpreting information about the world Vygotsky saw cognitive growth as a collaborative process ~ children learn through social interaction, they acquire cognitive skills as part of their introduction into a way of life; shared activities help children internalise their society’s way of thinking and behaving and to make those ways their own Adults (and older peers) must help direct and organise a child’s learning before it can be mastered and internalised ~ most effective in helping children cross the (ZPD) Zone of Proximal Development: Gap between what they are already able to do and what they are not quite ready to accomplish by themselves ~ children in ZPD can almost but not quite perform task on their own, therefore guidance assists them in doing it successfully Scaffolding: temporary support that parents, teachers or others give a child in doing a task until a child can do it alone (floating) Important implications for education and cognitive thinking of Vygotsky’s theory Test based on ZPD, focus = child’s potential, provide valuable alternative to standard intelligence tests that asses what that child has already learned ~ many children may benefit from Vygotsky’s prescribed expert guidance Contribution of contextual perspective: emphasis on social component of development ~ research shift from individual to larger, interactional units Contextual perspective reminds that development of children in one culture, or group within a culture, may not be the norm for children in another DEVELOPMENTAL RESEARCH DESIGNS Cross-sectional, longitudinal and sequential studies Cross-sectional study: Study design in which people of different ages are assessed at one time Shows similarities and differences between age groups Longitudinal study: Study designed to assess changes in a sample over time Reveals how children change or stay the same as they grow older The Oakland (Adolescent) Growth Study: Participants, who as teenagers showed self-confidence, intellectual commitment and dependable effectiveness made good choices in adolescence and also in early adulthood, which often lead to promising opportunities. Less competent teenagers made poorer early decisions and tended to lead crisis-ridden lives Sequential study: Sequence of cross-sectional and longitudinal Complex strategy designed to overcome drawbacks of longitudinal and cross-sectional research Type of study Procedure Advantages Disadvantages Longitudinal Data are collected on same person or persons over a period of time Can show age-related change or continuity; avoids confounding age with cohort effects Its time-consuming, expensive; presents problems of attrition, bias in sample, and effects of repeated testing; results may be valid only for cohort tested or sample studied Cross-sectional Data are collected on people of different ages at same time Can show similarities and differences among age groups; speedy, economical; presents no problem of attrition or repeated testing Cannot establish age effects; masks individual differences; can be confounded by cohort effects Sequential Data collected on successive cross-sectional or longitudinal samples Can avoid drawbacks of both cross-sectional and longitudinal designs Requires large amount of time and effort and analysis of very complex data Microgenetic studies: Study design that enables researchers to directly observe change by repeated testing over a short time Vygotsky’s ‘microgenisis experiments’ manipulated conditions to see how much children’s performance could improve over a short period of time Operant conditioning experiments – kicking mobile