Developmental Psychology Exam 2

Middle Childhood

•Period between early childhood and early adolescence, approximately from ages 6 to 11.

Healthy Time

This period involves lower death rates and fewer chronic conditions

Lower Death Rates

This healthy time involves…

• Immunizations

• Less lethal accidents and fatal illnesses

Fewer Chronic Conditions

This healthy time involves….

• Better diagnostic and preventive medical care

• Less secondhand smoke

• Better health habits

• Improved oral health

2 inches; 5 pounds

Average child gains about _____ inches and ____ pounds per year

Biological females

Do females or males begin growing rapidly around age 9, continuing into adolescents

• weight gain of 10 pounds per year is typical

• They will temporarily become taller and heavier than other

Males

Do females or males typically not enter the same growth spurt pre-puberty until around age 12

Maintenance of good health

This is related to adult instruction and regular medical care

Historical Influences

Children who enter middle childhood with stunted growth and nutritional deficits often do not catch up are examples of…

Stability

•Motor abilities ages 0-4 predict motor abilities in middle childhood.

•Gross motor skills refine and combine into more complex abilities, e.g., running and turning to dodge a ball.

These are examples of what type of motor development

Change

•Children continue to get better at motor abilities.

•Increase in body size and strength contribute greatly to advances in motor skills.

•Advances in flexibility, balance, agility, and strength.

•Educational experiences require fine motor skill development and refinement.

Examples of what type of motor development

Physical

Benefits of ______ activity can last a lifetime

Benefits of physical activity

Advances in physical, emotional, and mental health.

Academic achievement improvement.

Neighborhoods

Schools

Sports Leagues

Where can children benefit from exercise

Exercise for kids facts

•Finding play places may be difficult.

•Modern life challenges neighborhood play.

•Indoor activities often replace outdoor play.

•Economic barriers may limit participation in league and club activities.

•Time for school physical activities and recess is reduced in many schools.

Obesity

What is a health problem in middle childhood?

Obesity becomes a health problems in middle childhood

•Many 6- to 11-year-olds eat too much, exercise too little, and become overweight or obese as a result.

•Childhood obesity is increasing worldwide, having more than doubled since 1980 in North America.

•Excessive weight contributes to future health risk increases, average achievement decreases, self-esteem failures, and loneliness.

Genetic Influences on Obesity

Dozen of genes affect weight by influencing activity level, hunger, food preference, body type, and metabolism.

Parenting practices that influence obesity in infants

•No breast feeding and solid foods before 4 months

Parenting practices that influence obesity in preschoolers

Bedroom TV watching and Soda Consumption

Parenting practices that influence obesity in School Agers

Insufficient sleep, extensive screen time, little active play

Concrete operational stage of reasoning

Piaget's term for the ability to reason logically about direct experiences and perceptions.

Classification

Logical principle that things can be organized into groups (or categories or classes) according to some characteristic they have in common.

Seriation

Things can be arranged in a series. Seriation is crucial for understanding the number sequence.

Aptitude

•The potential to master a skill or to learn a certain body of knowledge.

•By middle childhood, most children have the aptitude to read and write.

•We have aptitudes that may never be achieved (we never chose to develop those abilities, or the social context discouraged us).

Achievement

•What is mastered.

• Academic ___________ for children is measured by comparing a child with norms for each grade.

•A child who is at a third-grade reading  level might be in another grade, e.g., second or fifth.

•For intelligence, one general aptitude could be assessed (general intelligence).

•IQ tests produce a quotient (mental age/chronological age X 100).

•An IQ of 100 was exactly average when mental age was the same as chronological age.

•IQ scores of nations increased substantially every decade for the past century (Flynn effect).

Gardner’s Theory about Multiple Intelligences

•Seven intelligences: linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic (movement), interpersonal (social understanding), intrapersonal (self-understanding).

•Added  two more -  naturalistic (understanding nature), and existential/spiritual (thinking about life and death)

•Everyone excels in specific ones (e.g., someone may be gifted spatially but not linguistically).

•Has yet to be firmly grounded in research.

Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory

•Analytical intelligence (information processing skills).

•Creative intelligence (solving novel problems).

•Applied intelligence (applying intellectual skills in everyday situations).

•Out of school, practical intelligence is vital for life success and helps explain why cultures vary in the behaviors they regard as intelligent.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

•Neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by persistent difficulties in attention and/or hyperactivity/impulsivity that interferes with performance and behavior in school and daily life.

•Has biological causes and is nearly 80% heritable (Aguiar et al., 2010).

•Environmental influences also play a role (Tarver et al., 2014).

•Stimulant medication is the most common treatment.

Autistic spectrum disorder (ASD)

•A family of neurodevelopmental disorders that range in severity and are characterized by deficits in social communication and a tendency to engage in repetitive behaviors.

•Evidence of hereditary influence but likely the result of multiple interacting genes (Sandin et al., 2017).

•Environmental influences also evident (Modabbernia et al., 2017).

•Three categories: Mild, moderate, severe.

Specific Learning Disorder

•Includes problems in both perception and information processing that cause low achievement in reading, math, or writing (including spelling).

Dyslexia

Unusual difficulty with reading; thought to be the result of speech and hearing difficulties.

Dyscalculia

•Unusual difficulty with math, thought to be the result of difficulty with working memory and executive function.

Gifted and Talented Education in School

High-IQ, unusually talented, and unusually creative children may require special education.

•Needs of unusually gifted children not covered by U.S. federal laws.

•Each state selects and implements own system.

1975 Education of All Handicapped Children Act

•Inclusion class; general classroom.

•Appropriate aids and services.

Response to intervention (RTI)

children taught specific skills

Individual education plans (IEP)

designed for a particular child.

Labels, Laws, and Learning of special education

•1975 Education of All Handicapped Children Act

•Inclusion class; general classroom.

•Appropriate aids and services.

•Other strategies

•Response to intervention (RTI) - children taught specific skills.

•Individual education plans (IEP)- designed for a particular child.

IQ=

Mental Age / Chronological Age x 100

IQ = 150

What is the IQ?

Mental age is 9; chronological age is 6

IQ = 9/6 × 100

IQ = 125

What is the IQ?

Mental age is 10; chronological age is 8

IQ = 10/8 × 100

IQ = 75

What is the IQ?

Mental age is 6; chronological age is 8

IQ = 10/8 × 100

Genius

IQ of 150 child is deemed…

Superior

IQ of 125 child is deemed…

Slow Learner

IQ of 75 child is deemed…

Social World

Drive for independence from parents expands the…

Self-Concept

Ideas about self that include intelligence, personality, abilities, gender, and ethnic background.

Social Comparison

•Involves tendency to assess one's abilities, achievements, social status, and other attributes by measuring them against those of other people, especially one's peers.

•Children value the abilities they have and become more realistic.

•Self-concept becomes influenced by opinions of others, materialism, and superficial attributes.

Erikson’s 2 Insights to the nature of school-aged children

Industry Versus Inferiority

Children

Industry Vs. Inferiority

•Fourth of Erikson's eight psychosocial crises.

•Characterized by tension between productivity and incompetence.

Children

•Attempt to master culturally valued skills and develop a sense of themselves as either industrious or inferior, competent or incompetent.

Signs of Psychological Maturation Developing Between Ages 6 and 11

•Responsibly perform specific chores.

•Manage a weekly allowance and activities.

•Complete homework.

•Attempt to conform to peers.

•Express preferences for after-school hours.

•Accept some responsibility for pets, younger children.

•Strive for independence from parents.

Cultures and Families

These differ in which attitudes and accomplishments they value.

Emerging Self-perception

This benefits academic and social competence

Praise for process

•not static qualities(e.g., intelligence)—encourages growth.

Unrealistically high and unrealistically low

•Traditional research findings suggest _________ ____ and ___________ _____ self-esteem:

•Reduces effortful control (deliberately modifying one’s impulses and emotions).

•May lead to lower achievement and increased aggression.

Aggression; Male bullying and aggression

•Some current research links low self-esteem with increased ________; other findings link inflated self-esteem with ____ __________ ___ ___________.

Culture of Children

•Children learn social lessons from one another

•Particular habits, styles, and values that reflect the set of rules and rituals are passed down to younger children from slightly older ones.

•Fashion

•Language

•Peer culture

Friendship

•School-age children value personal ___________ more than peer acceptance.

•Children help each other develop academic and social skills.

•Friends share demographics such as gender,  race, and ethnicity.

•Girls more likely to have diverse social networks and cross friendships than boys.

Older Children and Friendship

•Demand more of their friends.

•Change friends less often.

•Become more upset when a friendship ends.

•Find it harder to make new friends.

•Seek friends who share their interests and values.

Popular Children

•Outgoing, friendly, cooperative, well-liked.

• Skilled in emotional regulation and social information processing.

•Good at reading social situations, problem solving, and conflict resolution.

Unpopular Children

•Tend to be shunned and disliked by their peers.

•Display poor communication skills, emotional control, and social information processing skills.

Neglected, not rejected children

•Neglected by peers, but not actively rejected.

•Ignored, but not shunned.

•Do not enjoy school; but psychologically unharmed.

Aggressive-rejected children

Disliked by peers because of antagonistic, confrontational behavior.

Withdrawn-rejected children

•Disliked by peers because of their timid, withdrawn, and anxious behavior.

Independent

School-age children become more ___________ and spend less time with parents.

Parent-Child Relationship in Middle-Aged Children

School-age children become more independent and spend less time with parents.

Closeness is still evident.

•Engaging in shared task-oriented activities.

Parents begin to share power.

•Guiding and monitoring children’s behaviors from a distance, communicating expectations, and allowing them to oversee some decision making.

Family Structure

•Legal and genetic relationships among relatives living in the same home.

•Includes nuclear family, extended family, stepfamily, and others.

Family Function

•Focus on the way the family works to meet the needs of its members:

•Physical necessities

•Learning

•Self-respect

•Peer relationships

•Harmony and stability

FUNCTION

Is family function or structure more important?

Safety and Stability

Children value ________ and _______

MOVE

•Children who _____ frequently are affected academically and psychologically, but resilience is possible.

Two-Parent Families

• Nuclear Family

• Stepparent Family

• Adoptive Family

• Grandparents Alone

• Two Same-Sex Parents

Single-parent Families

• Single mother or father (never married)

• Singe mother or father (divorced, separated, or widowed)

• Grandparent alone

More than two adults

Extended family

Polygamous family

Same-sex parent families

•Typically function well, often better than average nuclear families.

•On aspects of social and academic competence

Family social and economic resources influences their ability to meet children’s needs.

Single-Parent Family

•Consists of only one parent and  children under age 18.

•May be created through death, divorce, or never being married.

•25 percent of all U.S. school-age children.

•Majority are well adjusted.

•SES poses risks for problems.

Negative:

• Blame themselves

• They are sad

• They try to be strong and get through it

• They could feel like they are the middleman

• Difficulty with change

• Witnessing fights and anger

• Traumatic in ways because they have to “pick a side”

Positive:

• It’s for the best but it takes time to understand and get through

• Safety for children in certain circumstances

• Understanding emotions is okay (emotional resilience)

• Becoming closer with siblings

How does divorce impact children (negative and positive)?

• Emotions are okay

• Crying

• Talking with siblings and/or other trusted individuals

How do children cope with divorce?

• New siblings and parents

• New House

• Living with new individuals can lead to sibling rivalries, favoritism, etc which is normal but magnified

• New traditions

What are some of the changes that occur in blended families?

Younger:

• Adapt easier because they don’t have a structured schedule quite yet

• Still dependent on parents can lead to better connections

Older:

• Less flexible ages 10-14

• Struggle to adjust because they have learned a certain way for so many years.

Does the age of children influence the level of adjustment in blended families?

Humor

Flexibility

Good communication

Introducing new individuals slowly

Discipling the same between all kids

How can families adjust well in blended families?

Extended Families

•Family consisting of parents, their children, and other relatives living in one household.

•10 percent of U.S. school-age children.

•Family type distinction based on who lives in same household.

Polygamous Family

•Family consisting of one spouse(man or woman) , several other spouses, and the biological children. 

•10 percent of children in some nations (not U.S.)

Step-sibling role is challenging for many

School Refusal

•Anxiety manifests as  school refusal.

•Displaying physical complains such as dizziness, stomachaches, and nausea.

•Most common at 5-6 years and 10-11 years.

•May experience psychological problems e.g., anxiety disorders.

•Poor relationships with peers increases risk of school refusal.

•Family transitions also play a role in children’s school refusal.

Physical Necessities of School-Aged Children to receive from parents/families

Provided with food, clothing, shelter

Learning Necessities of School-Aged Children to Receive from parents/families

Support for learning and schooling (help with homework, interact with teachers)

Self Respect Necessities of School-Aged Children to recieve from parents/families

Providing opportunities for success (sports or arts)

Peer Relationship Necessities of School-Aged Children to receive from parents/families

Neighborhood with children, play dates, group activities

Harmony and Stability Necessities of School-Aged Children to receive from parents/families

Family provides routines that are predictable (creates a sense of safety), and Family conflicts are avoided at all costs

100 years ago, began around age 14, and last a few months

___ years ago, adolescence began around age and lasted a few _______.

Three phases of adolescence

•Early adolescence (11-14 years)

•Middle adolescence ( 14-16 years)

Late adolescence (16-18 years)

11-14

Early adolescence is ages…

14-16

Middle adolescence is ages…

16-18

Late adolescence is ages…

Emerging

•A separate period called __________ adulthood has been identified.

Puberty

•Time between the first onrush of hormones and full adult physical development

•Usually lasting three to five years

•Many more years are required to achieve psychosocial maturity.

Growth Spurt

•A relatively sudden and rapid physical growth that occurs during puberty.

•Each body part increases in size.

•Height spurt follows the increase in body fat, and then a muscle spurt occurs.

Sex Maturation

The hypothalamus signals the pituitary to send hormones to the adrenals to enlarge the gonads, which  produce sex hormones.