Overview of Social Development

Overview of Social Development

Course Information

  • Course Title: PSYC 3500
  • Term: Winter 2026
  • Instructor: Dr. Carolyn Baer

Feedback Overview

Positive Aspects of the Course

  • Course content is engaging and relevant.
  • Students are enjoying the lectures.
  • Connection between course material and real-life situations.
  • Deep dives into specific topics are appreciated.
  • Interactive components enhance learning experience.
  • Organization of the course and weekly activities is well-structured.
  • Study guides are beneficial.

Areas for Improvement

  • Perception of content overload; students find there is a lot to cover.
  • High volume of studies discussed in lectures may be overwhelming.
  • Lectures are fast-paced, making it difficult for some students to keep up.
  • Difficulty with exam formats, specifically fill-in-the-blank and short-answer questions.
  • Students express uncertainty on how to proceed with Group Project 2.

Changes Implemented Based on Feedback

What Will Stay
  • Reminders and study guides will continue to be offered.
  • Fill-in-the-blank and short-answer questions will be retained with adjustments.
  • Discussions about studies and comprehensive coverage of topics will remain.
What Will Change
  • Reduction of some content to focus on key topics.
  • Increase in in-class practice sessions on important concepts.
  • Provision of specific guidance on studying research findings.
  • Opportunities for practice with observational methods will be enhanced.

Exam Recap

Class Performance

  • Class average on exams was 69%.
  • Emphasis on supporting student success, not on making the course difficult.
  • Marks should reflect mastery rather than rote memorization.

Adjustments Made

  • Removal of specific exam questions concerning Spelke and core knowledge domains as well as living things.
  • Dual-answer questions about infants' preferences for faces had lenient acceptance of answers.
  • Changes in scoring for fill-in-the-blank questions: pairs now evaluated as one mark total rather than two.
  • Marks awarded for terms like 'overgeneralization' and 'overregularization'.
  • Three fill-in-the-blanks now considered bonus questions.
  • Competence-performance and numerical development questions had adjusted scoring maximums.
  • Overall total marks available were 62 with an opportunity for 4 bonus points.

Lecture Outline

  • Study and Test Tips
  • Observational Coding Practice
  • Learning Theories
  • Social Cognition
  • Other Theories of Social Development
  • Deep Dive: Supporting Successful Kids

Study and Test Tips

Exam Question Example Types

  • For a 5-mark question on competence-performance distinction:
    • Describe the issue.
    • Mention which cognitive developmental theory emphasizes this and justify.
    • Provide a relevant example.

Understanding Studies and What to Know

  • Template to assess studies:
    • Keywords about authors and general topics.
    • Research questions posed.
    • Method of testing used.
    • Behaviors observed by children.
    • Interpretation of results.
  • Goal: Articulate children's capabilities based on study results, e.g., "Kids can do X because they did Y in response to Z."

Expectations of Objects - Causes

Study Overview

  • Reference: Oakes & Cohen, 1990.
  • Methodology: 10-month-olds habituated to causal vs. non-causal events displayed renewed attention to changing events.
  • Conclusion: Infants quickly grasp basic causal relationships, understanding that objects can't move independently, indicating they perceive agents versus objects.

Observational Coding Practice

Designing a Coding Scheme

  • Topic Selected: Children’s Play (Ages 3-4)
  • Potential Questions:
    • Gender differences in toy selection.
    • Interaction levels: solitary play vs. cooperative play.
    • Context differences: school play versus home play.
  • Broader implications: Findings could address larger questions about socialization and gender norms.

Variables to Consider

  • Gender: Identifiable by visual cues (e.g., hair, clothing) and pronouns.
  • Toy Type: What behaviors constitute ‘playing’ with a toy? How to categorize multi-toy usage?
  • Context: Analyze the impact of location and social environment in play activities.

Reporting Findings

Data Compilation Example

  • Suggested coding scheme:
    • Video links, estimated ages, gender, types and quantities of toys (soft vs. hard), location, and social context.
  • Recommended Analysis:
    • Group data by variables and perform counts or averages on other metrics.
    • Correlate two variables to assess relationships.

Example Statistics

  • Findings depicted in comparative graphs reveal:
    • Girls typically played with more toys than boys, especially soft toys.
    • Boys showed a preference for hard toys over soft toys.
    • Presence of peers did not correlate with the number of soft toys played with.

Learning Theories and Models

Psychoanalytic Theories

Overview
  • Theories revolve around staged development, confronting crises:
    • Freud’s emphasis on relationships and erogenous zones.
    • Erikson’s focus on identity formation.

Learning Theories

Key Concepts
  • Emphasis on social interactions in learning processes:
    • Behaviourism: Connection of behaviours to consequences (Pavlov, Skinner, Watson).
    • Social Learning: Learning from observing others (Bandura).

Social Learning Theory

  • Children learn social behaviors by observing adults.
  • Involvement of active participation:
    • Selection of interactions by children.
    • Teachers facilitating observational learning scopes.

Selective Social Learning

Research Insights

Studies Indicating Preference in Learning
  1. Selective Trust in Babies (Brosseau-Liard & Poulin-Dubois, 2014)
    • Babies exhibit preferences for familiar objects during demonstrations.
  2. Selectivity in Imitation
    • Picky imitation observed in 24-month-olds, distinguishing between confidence in demonstrators.
  3. Factors Influencing Learning
    • Preferences established based on accuracy and familiarity of informants.
    • Children prefer learning from more confident, familiar, and well-educated figures.

Ecological Theories

Contextual Influences on Development

  • Focus on how environments shape individual development, featuring:
    • Evolutionary psychology focusing on survival benefits.
    • Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model categorizing varying levels of contextual influences:
    • Microsystem: Immediate environments affecting children.
    • Mesosystem: Interactions between multiple microsystems.
    • Exosystem: External environmental factors indirectly influencing children, e.g., parents' workplaces.
    • Macrosystem: Broader cultural and societal influences.
    • Chronosystem: The impact of time and change on development.

Supporting Successful Kids: Keys to Development

Critical Skill Areas

  1. Intelligence
    • Defined as general cognitive aptitude influencing learning capabilities.
    • Forms: Fluid intelligence (adaptable thinking) vs. crystallized intelligence (factual knowledge).
    • 3-Stratum Theory: General intelligence influencing a range of cognitive abilities.
Historical Context
  • Binet and Simon's development of intelligence testing in early schooling settings to identify students requiring support.

Broader Perspectives on Intelligence

Multiple Intelligences and Theories

  • Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences: eight recognized forms of intelligence.
  • Sternberg’s theory of successful intelligence incorporating analytic, practical, and creative skills while focusing on contextual success.

Persistence

Mindset Theories

  • Dweck’s framework addressing responses to failure characterized by fixed vs. growth mindsets.
  • Fixed Mindset: Attributes failure to inherent inability.
  • Growth Mindset: Views failure as a challenge to enhance effort and persistence.

Encouraging Persistence in Children

  • Strategies for parental involvement in children's persistence, guided by perception framing as learning opportunities.

Creativity

Explore-Exploit Dilemma

  • The balance between exploration (seeking new solutions) and exploitation (utilizing known solutions).
  • Environmental factors that encourage exploration and innovation in children;
  • Impacts of instructional strategies that promote or stifle exploratory behavior.

Summary of Strategies to Foster Creativity

  • Emphasis on open-ended exploration vs. direct instruction.

Course Recap

Final Key Points

  • Intelligence is multifaceted and transcends simple academic achievement.
  • Growth and fixed mindsets significantly influence student persistence and learning outcomes.
  • Acknowledge the natural inclination for exploration in children a crucial component of educational methods.

To-Do List

  • Prepare for presentations on sections W01 and W03 due tomorrow.
  • Submit presentation slides or outlines on Blackboard for evaluation.
  • Complete the quiz and submit reflections.