Psychology Chapter on Early Childhood Development

Brain Development in Early Childhood

• Brain rapidly grows to 20-25% of adult weight during ages 2-6.
• Myelination speeds up neuron communication, improving motor skills.
• Brain hemispheres specialize (lateralization): left for language, right for emotions.
• Corpus callosum myelination enhances communication between hemispheres, leading to handedness.

Piaget's Preoperational Stage

• Stage lasts from age 2 to 7, with two sub-stages.
• Symbolic Function (Ages 2-4):
  • Centration: Focus on one aspect.
  • Conservation: Inability to understand unchanging properties.
  • Egocentrism: Inability to see from others' perspectives.
  • Animism: Belief inanimate objects have human qualities.
  • Irreversibility: Changes are not reversible.
• Intuitive Thought (Ages 4-7):
  • Curiosity increases, but reasoning is intuitive.
  • Artificialism: Explaining natural events as human actions.
  • The three-mountain task demonstrates egocentrism by testing children's understanding of different perspectives.

Criticisms of Piaget's Theory

• Underestimates children's abilities.
• Lacks cultural considerations.

Vygotsky's Theory of Cognitive Development

• Emphasizes social learning.
• Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD): Tasks children can perform with guidance.
• Scaffolding: Support from more knowledgeable individuals.
• Language is key for cognitive development, especially private speech (seen as self-regulation).
• Vygotsky's approach contrasts with Piaget's emphasis on developmental stages and maturation.
• Vygotsky emphasizes social interaction while Information Processing focuses on internal cognitive processes.

Language Development (Ages 2-6)

• Vocabulary rapidly increases from 500 words at age 2 to over 12,000 by age 6.
• Telegraphic speech (simple two-word phrases) progresses to complex sentences.
• Overgeneralization: Applying grammatical rules to irregular cases (e.g., "runned").
• Categorization: Grouping objects by shared traits.
• Fast mapping: Learning new words quickly.

Barriers to Free Play

• Limited free time due to structured activities.
• Screen time replaces physical play.
• Lack of green spaces and unsafe/inaccessible play areas.
• Parental fear of abduction/injury.
• Social and economic factors.
• Video games lack the creativity and physical activity of free play.

Childhood Obesity and BMI

• Body Mass Index (BMI) measures body fat.
• Childhood obesity is linked to psychological and chronic health risks (e.g., depression, diabetes, heart disease, asthma).
• Prevention involves healthy eating, promoting physical activity, limiting screen time, and family support.