Lifespan Exam 3

Chap 7 early childhood start at chap 8 and go back to before w my notes

Early Childhood

Ages 2-6 

Relative to the first 2 years, growth slows

Lateralization

the process of hemispheres of the brain becoming specialized to carry out different functions

Between ages 2-6 years children tend to grow…

2-3 inches per year and again about 5 lbs per year

Genetics play a role in

Height

Hormones influence…

Growth

Hormones

Chemicals produced by various glands that are secreted directly in the bloodstream

From ages 2-6, appetite tends to decline…

relative to toddlerhood

Early Childhood Motor Development

Gross motor skills improve as bones and muscles strengthen and lung capacity increases

From 2-6 years coordination and balance improves

Fine motor skill development includes ability to draw, do puzzles, etc

Second Stage of Piaget

Preoperational Stage

Preoperational Stage

Second stage of Piaget, from 2-7 years of age, thought becomes symbolic

Preoperational Reasoning

Characterized by a dramatic leap in the use of symbolic thinking that permits young children to use language, interact with others, and play using their own thoughts and imaginations to guide their behavior.

Preoperational Stage mistakes

1. Egocentrism

2. Animism

3. Centration

4. Irreversibility

Egocentrism

Inability to separate his or her perspective from the perspective of others

ex: how preschoolers hide during hide and go seek

Animism

Belief that all things have lives

ex: believing plushies are people

Centration

Tendency to focus on one part of a stimulus or situation and exclude all others

ex: boy thinking that if he wears a dress he will be a girl

Irreversibility

Young children don’t understand that reversing a process can often undo it and restore the original state

Conservation

Tasks that require children to understand that the amount of a substance is not transformed by changes in its appearance, that a change in appearance can be reversed

ex: water in a tall and skinny glass is the same in a glass that is wide and short

Zone of Proximal Development

Gap between the childs competence level, what he can do alone, and what he can do with assistance

Guided Participation

Form of sensitive teaching in which partners are attuned to the needs of children and help them accomplish more than the children could do alone

Scaffolding

Temporary aid provided by one person to encourage, support, and assist a lesser-skilled person in carrying out a task or completing a problem

Sustained Attention

ability to remain focused on a stimulus for an extended period of time

Selective Attention

ability to systemically deploy one’s attention, focusing on relevant information and ignoring distractors

Recognition Memory

Ability to identify whether a stimulus has previously been encountered.

4-5 year olds capable

Recall Memory

Ability to reproduce stimuli that one has previously encountered

Episodic memory

Memory for events and information acquired during those events

Autobiographical Memory

Long lasting representations of one-time events

Personal meaning

Infantile Amnesia

Most people do not remember their memories from before 2-4 years old

The end of infantile amnesia coincides with…

the emergence of autobiographical memories

The development of language helps to…

Organize memories

Theory of Mind

Refers to childrens awareness of their own and other peoples mental processes

False Belief

Tasks require children to understand that someone does not share their knowledge

False Belief Example ft. Wimmer and Perner

Anthony is reading a book

When he is done, he puts the book on the table

Sonya comes, and moves the book from the table into the drawer

When Anthony looks for the book, where will he look?

Kids below 4 says in the drawer

Kids above 4 say at the table

Early Childhood Language Development

2 years olds average ~500 words; 3 year olds average ~1000 words

Word learning occurs by hearing conversation, videos, etc. Reading important for vocabulary

Some classes of words are difficult for young children to grasp

Tall, short, high, low

Logical Extension

Strategy in which children extend a new word to other objects in the same category

Mutual Exclusivity Assumption

Assume that objects have only one label or name

Overregularization

Speech errors in which children treat irregular forms of words as if they were regular

ex: Foots, tooths, sleeps, sheeps, mouses

Although technically wrong, Overregularization is a sign of…

Sophistication. Because it shows children are applying rules of grammar

Childrens self-directed speech is called

Private speech

Early Childhood Moral Development

Social Learning theory

Cognitive-Developmental theory

Kohlberg

Heteronomous Morality (younger children)

1. Based on relations of constraints

2. Rules are seen as inflexible requirements (moral realism)

3. Badness is judged in terms of the consequences of actions

4. Punishment is seen as the automatic consequence of the violation of rules

Moral Reasoning: Kohlbergs Theory

1. Preconventional Level

2. Conventional Level

3. Postconventional

Preconventional Level

Kohlbergs 1st level of reasoning in which childrens behavior is governed by punishment and gaining rewards

Conventional Level

Second Level of Kohlbergs theory in which moral decisions are based on conforming to social rules

Postconventional Level

Kohlbergs third level of moral reasoning emphasizing autonomous decision making based on principles such as valuing human dignity

Early Childhood Socioemotional Development (Erik Erikson’s Initiative vs. Guilt)

children develop a sense of purpose and take pride in their accomplishments

Self Esteem

Judgements we make about our own worth

Tends to be high in early childhood

Affects preschoolers task persistence

Social Comparison

Children comparing their performance to other children

Empathy

Capacity to understand other peoples emotions; Requires perspective taking ability

Prosocial Behavior

Behavior that is oriented toward others for the pure sake of helping them

Empathy is seen in

Infants. Babes have a very rudimentary understanding

As children grow, their capacity for it changes

Aggression

Not uncommon in children. They are learning to regulate emotions and manage impulses

Instrumental Aggression

Behavior that hurts someone else in order to achieve a goal such as gaining a possession

Relational Aggression

Nonphysical acts aimed at harming a persons connections with others, such as by exclusion and rumor spreading

Verbal Aggression

Form of relational aggression, intended to harm others social relationships

Baumrind believed that parents should be neither strict or lazy, but should instead develop

rules for their children and be affectionate with them

There are 3 main styles of parenting

1. Authoritarian Parent

2. Permissive Parent (Uninvolved & Indulgent)

3. Authoritative Parent

Authoritarian Parent

Parent who emphasizes behavior control and obedience over warmth. Children are expected to conform to parental standards without question

Results of authoritarian parent

Children are often anxious about social comparison, fail to initiate activity, and have poor communication skills, harsh discipline is associated with childhood aggression

Authoritarian parenting has the potential to…

backfire because children don’t always internalize parental values

Permissive Parent

Parent who sets few demands on children. Often allow child to monitor their own behavior.

2 types of permissive parents

1. Uninvolved / neglectful parent

2. Indulgent Parent

Results of Uninvolved / Neglectful parent

Associated with children’s social incompetence, especially lack of self-control

Indulgent Parent

Parents are highly involved with their children but pace few demands or controls on them

Results of indulgent parenting

Associated with childrens social incompetence, especially lack of self-control

Rarely learn respect for others and have difficulty controlling their behavior. They always expect to get their way

Authoritative Parent

Parent who are warm and sensitive to a childs needs but also are firm in their expectations that children conform to appropriate standards of behavior

Results of authoritative parenting

Children are socially competent, self reliant, and responsible

Punishment

The administration of an negative stimulus or withdrawal of rewards to decrease undesirable behaviors

Punishment facts

Some methods of punishment are more effective than others

Punishment should fit ‘ the crime ‘

Parental attributions for their childs behavior affects the choice of discipline strategy

Inductive Reasoning

Methods which use reasoning and are effective alternatives to spanking and physical punishment

Gender 

refers to the sociocultural dimensions of being male or female

2 Aspects of gender

1. Gender identity

2. Gender role

Gender Constancy

understanding that even though a boy is wearing a dress, their gender is still the same. The boy is still a boy

Gender identity

Awareness of whether one is a boy or a girl ; occurs at about age 2

Gender role

Activities, attitudes, skills, and characteristics that are considered appropriate for males or females

Gender Typing

Process by which children acquire gender roles

Happens early in life, but children do vary in the degree they show

Influence of Gender Typing

1. Parents

2. Peer influences

Parents influence

Shaping of sex roles can begin even before birth

Parents treat boys and girls differently

Encouraging different play activities and different restrictions

Children who play in gender-appropriate activities tend to

be rewarded for doing so by their peers

Media Influence

Men were seen as superior and women were seen as incompetent and not as capable.

Ex: Daphne was pretty and not smart; Velma being smart and not pretty ( not true)

Major changes occur in children’s social relationships

between the ages of 2-5 years

Between ages 3-4 years old

children begin to form relationships

As a kid gets older

play becomes more social

Representational Play

Children pretend an object is something else, knowing that an item is just a block, but also representing a make-believe telephone

Benefits of play

It increases affiliation with peers

Releases tension

Advances cognitive development

Increases exploration

Parten categorized children’s play based on

observations of children in free play at nursery schools

6 categories of play

USOPAC- Unicorns Sing On Parades And Carnivals

Unoccupied play

Solitary play

Onlooker play

Parallel Play

Associative Play

Cooperative play

Unoccupied play

Child not engaging in play as commonly understood; might stand in one spot

Solitary

Child playsalone, independently of others

Onlooker

Child watches other children play

Parallel

Child plays separately from others, but in manner that mimics their play

Associative

Play that involves social interaction with little or no organization

Cooperative

Play that involves social interaction in groups with sense of organized activity

Children begin to pretend to play

around 2 years old

In order to have pretend play, a child must have

Object permanence

Sociodramatic play

Children take on roles and engage in activities to act out stories and themes, pretending to be mothers, astronauts, characters, and more

Rough and Tumble Play

Vigorous physical activity - running, climbing, play fighting

Different from aggression as smiling and laughing is present

Physical growth is much slower in

middle childhood compared to earlier in development

Middle Childhood Physical Growth

Major advances in motor skills; influenced by increase in body size and strength

Genetics, nutrition, culture, and ethnicity play a role

Prefrontal Cortex

Located in the front of the brain, responsible for higher thought like planning, using cognitive skills and memory to solve problems