Middle Childhood

Physical: Big Picture

  • physical growth is slow and steady- growing pains, losing teeth

    • adolescent growth spurt may hit during this time (usually girls first)

  • gross and fine motor skills continue to improve

    • flexibility, balance, agility and force all grow during this time

    • role of cognitive development- reaction time

    • gender differences - largely due to experience, not biology

  • nutrition remains highly important

    • overwight/obese children more likely to have long-term health issues

  • asthma and other illnesses- environmental factors

Cognitive: Big Picture

  • piaget’s ‘concrete operational’ phase

    • classification, seriation, conservation - no longer challenging

    • role of school?

  • executive function improves; planning and self-regulation still developing

  • theory of mind improves; understanding of others’ false beliefs

  • language development; pragmatics, bi/multilingual

Memory

  • improvements in memory strategies

    • rehearsal (repetition)

    • organization

    • elaboration (building connections between ideas)

  • role of semantic memory

    • when we know more about a subject, we can organize better

    • soccer vs. non-soccer example

  • role of culture- more common when memorization is needed (e.g., for school)

What is Intelligence, Anyway?

  • IQ tests

    • idea of ‘g’, general intelligence

  • processing speed

  • multiple intelligences

    • sternberg’s triarchic theory

    • gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences

    • however, strong correlations across types of intelligences - idea of ‘g’ factor

    • flynn effect (reverse flynn effect?)

Social-Emotional: Big Picture

  • erikson’s ‘industry vs inferiority’

  • social comparisons and self-esteem

  • greater emotional understanding, emotion regulation

  • more active moral thinking

  • friendships become more selective and long-term

  • ingroup favoritism, prejudice; stereotypes

  • spend less time with parents; sibling rivalry common

Social Status

  • ask children to rate classmates results in peer acceptance types:

    • popular (many positive votes; well-liked; may be pro- or anti-social)

    • rejected (many negative votes; may be aggressive or withdrawn)

    • controversial (many positive and negative votes)

    • neglected (rarely mentioned; usually well-adjusted, just independent)

    • average (about 1/3 of children)

  • perceived ‘popularity’ and peer acceptance are not the same

  • how can ‘rejected’ children by helped? how does this differ baed on reason for rejection?