Developmental Processes for Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers PDF

CONCORDIA EDUC 311 Developmental Processes for Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers  Where are we? - Quiz 1 - Analysis Readings and Mediagraphy Required: FYI: UNICEF: Chapter 7/8 Developmental Mileston...

CONCORDIA EDUC 311 Developmental Processes for Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers  Where are we? - Quiz 1 - Analysis Readings and Mediagraphy Required: FYI: UNICEF: Chapter 7/8 Developmental Milestones in Children https://www.yout ube.com/watch?v =SBFnO2FCdeE Infancy and Toddlerhood Parental Responsibilities Infancy: the period of the life span that extends between birth and the first year following the birth. Requires parents to be extremely attentive and responsible as the baby transitions from the womb to the world. Parents must learn the infant’s communication patterns to provide responsive and responsible care. Developmental event examples: Changes in size, weight, and body proportions. Changes in physiological structures and functions. Development of particular physical skills, including walking and speaking. Sensory and Motor Development Milestones impacted by three growth principles Cephalocaudal: top to bottom - growth starts at the centre of the body and moves toward the extremities Proximodistal: interior to outer - growth starts at the centre of the body and moves toward the extremities Mass-to-specific: large before small and detailed Gross motor skills are voluntary use of large muscle groups and are typically large movements of the arms, legs, head, and torso. Fine motor skills are more exact movements of the hands and fingers and include the ability to reach and grasp an object. Motor Development Physical Growth and Development in Infancy The Brain extending from the neuron’s cell body are two types of fibres known as axons and dendrites axons carry signals away from the cell dendrites carry signals toward it myelin sheath - fat cells layer encasing many axons, insulating them, and helping electrical signals travel faster neurotransmitters - terminal buttons at end of axons which release chemicals into synapses (gaps between neurons) \(a) The dendrites of the cell body receive information from other neurons, muscles, allowing information to pass or glands through the axon. (b) Axons transmit information away from the cell body. (c) A myelin sheath covers most axons and speeds information transmission. (d) As the axon ends, it branches out into terminal buttons. Structures of the Brain The cortex: cerebral lateralization Cerebral hemispheres: two halves of the cortex For the most part, sensory input from one side of the body goes to the opposite hemisphere of the brain Corpus callosum: a dense tract of nerve fibres Enables the two hemispheres to communicate Cerebral lateralization: specialization of the brain’s hemispheres for different modes of processing Developmental Processes Synaptogenesis The process by which neurons form synapses with other neurons Results in trillions of connections Synapse elimination (synaptic pruning) The normal developmental process Abnormal pruning patterns Synapses rarely activated get eliminated Myelination: formation of myelin around axons of neurons Speeds and increases information-processing abilities The Importance of Experience Plasticity: capacity of brain to be modeled or changed by experience Experience-expectant plasticity: describes the role of general human experience in shaping brain development Heightened vulnerability Sensitive periods Experience-dependent plasticity: occurs when neural connections are created and reorganized throughout life as a result of experiences Physical Growth and Development in Infancy Sleep The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that infants 0–3 months of age get 14–17 hours of good-quality sleep daily Many parents express concern about their baby’s sleep patterns Cultural expectations of sleep differ Infants not only sleep more than adults, but they also spend a much greater amount of time in REM (rapid eye movement) sleep self-stimulation promote the brain’s development and learning in infancy At the end of the first year, infants approximate an adultlike sleep–wake schedule Recommended Sleep Physical Growth and Development in Infancy Sleep and Cognitive Development Shorter sleep durations during infancy have been linked to a lower level of cognitive and language development at 2 years of age (Smithson et al., 2019) and to inattentiveness and hyperactivity at 5 years of age Link between sleep and cognitive development: Role of sleep in brain maturation and memory consolidation, which may improve daytime alertness and learning  Co-sleeping and SIDS Bedsharing = Co-sleeping but Co-sleeping ≠ Bedsharing Placing infants on their backs to sleep Co-sleep for the first 6 months SIDS (“crib death”): when a healthy baby dies suddenly, usually during sleep, for no apparent reason. In Canada 3 babies per week die from SIDS Child Development and Family Policy This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY- SA https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/healthy-living/joint- statement-on-safe-sleep.html https://www.laleche.org.uk/bedsharing-breastfeeding-risk-sids/ Physical Growth and Development in Infancy Nutrition For the first 4–6 months of life, human milk or an alternative formula is the baby’s source of nutrients and energy benefits include appropriate weight gain and reduced risk of child and adult obesity, reduced risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), fewer gastrointestinal infections, and fewer lower respiratory tract infections Health professionals have argued breastfeeding facilitates development of an attachment bond between mother and infant New research shows this is not supported Sensory and Perceptual Development Exploring Sensory and Perceptual Development Sensation - when information interacts with sensory receptors (senses: eyes, ears, tongue, nostrils, skin) Perception - interpretation of senses infants have visual preferences; tend to look at patterned objects (e.g., faces); less colour interest  Sensory and Perceptual Development Studying the Infant’s Perception The Visual Preference Method (Fantz) Habituation: a state of diminished responding Dishabituation: a state of re-orientation Eye Tracking Figure 3.13 Fantz’s Experiment on Infants’ Visual Perception. (a) Infants 2–3 weeks old preferred to look at some stimuli more than others. In Fantz’s experiment, infants preferred to look at patterns rather than at colour or brightness. For example, they looked longer at a face, a piece of printed matter, or a bull’s-eye than at red, yellow, or white discs. (b) Fantz used a https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZT8c8aMyFCg looking chamber to study infants’ perception of stimuli. (b) David Linton, Courtesy of the Linton Family Sensory and Perceptual Development Visual Perception visual experience begins at birth newborn’s vision is estimated at 20/600 Figure 3.16 Visual Acuity during the First Months of Life. The four photographs represent a computer estimation of what a picture of a face looks like to a 1-month-old, a 2-month-old, a 3-month-old, and a 1-year-old visual acuity improves rapidly during (which approximates the visual acuity of an adult). Kevin Peterson/Photodisc/Getty Images the first year of life by 6 months of age, an average infant’s vision is 20/40 Sensory and Perceptual Development Depth Perception As infants become mobile, there is clear adaptive value to perceiving depth. Babies must avoid crawling or walking over edges. Figure 3.17 Examining Infants’ Depth Perception on the Visual Cliff. Eleanor Visual cliff experiment Gibson and Richard Walk (1960) found that most infants would not crawl out on the glass, which, according to Gibson and Walk, indicated that they had depth perception. Mark Richard/PhotoEdit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WanGt1G6ScA&pp=ygU MdmlzdWFsIGNsaWZm Sensory and Perceptual Development Face Perception within hours of birth, infants prefer to look at faces rather than other objects and to look at faces adults label as attractive more than faces adults label as unattractive babies do not recognize faces like adults do, but their ability to recognize is similar across all face categories Perceptual narrowing is adaptive Sensory and Motor Development Other newborn senses Hearing: fetal discrimination possible Within days, can tell the difference between a variety of sound patterns Sensitive to voices, biologically prepared for task of acquiring language Ability to identify precise location of a sound improves over first 6 months and beyond Taste and Smell: From birth, infants prefer sweet tastes and display certain odor preferences Newborns sensitive to basic tastes. Exposure to a flavor, prenatally or in breast milk, can have long-term effects on baby’s preferences Cognitive Development Piaget’s Theory Adaptation - involves adjusting to new environmental demands infants and children build schemes to organize knowledge Schemas - organized patterns of functioning, that adapt and change with mental development Processes of development: assimilation - children use their existing schemes to deal with new information accommodation - children adjust schemes to account for new information and experiences Cognitive Development Piaget’s Theory Sensorimotor Stage – lasts from birth to about age 2 infants construct an understanding of the world by coordinating sensory experiences (such as seeing and hearing) with physical, motor actions. Object permanence: the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen, heard, or touched Develops around 8-9 months of age Appraising Piaget: Support and Challenges Accepted about the Piagetian approach Accurate description of progress of infant cognitive development Assumption that children learn by acting on objects in their environment Sequence of increasing cognitive accomplishments during infancy Appraising Piaget: Support and Challenges Scrutinized or criticized about the Piagetian approach Stage conception of cognitive development (Siegler/waves) Grounding of cognitive development in motor activities; overlooking sensory and perceptual systems Stage at which object permanence occurs (Baillargeon/violation of expectations) Western culture sample Contemporary approach Alternative explanations for performance on Piagetian tasks Object permanence may occur at a younger age than Piaget theorized. Young children: develop theories: Naïve physics organize knowledge about the properties of objects and living things: Naïve biology https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1tQOR5L0iI Promoting Infants’ Cognitive Development Provide opportunities for exploration Be verbally and nonverbally responsive Read to infants Understand it is not necessary to be with an infant 24/7 Do not push or expect too much too soon Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock i-Babies: Technology and Language Learning Passive viewing does not appear to support learning; infants do seem able to learn when they can actively engage with another human, even via screens. Live video chat is the only acceptable use of technology for infants younger than 2 years of age. Adult device usage can detract from adults’ responsiveness to children’s needs and from opportunities to provide learning experiences. Emotional and Personality Development Emotional Development What are emotions? Emotion - feeling or affect that occurs when a person is in a state or an interaction that is important to them, especially to their well-being Emotions play a role in communication with others and behavioural organization almost all classifications designate emotion as positive or negative Have several components Neural Physiological Subjective feelings Emotional expressions Desire to act Emotional and Personality Development Emotional Development Early Emotions Early emotions in the first six months of life: Primary emotions: surprise, interest, joy, anger, sadness, fear, and disgust Self-conscious emotions: jealousy, empathy, embarrassment, pride, shame, guilt develop later require self-awareness Emotional and Personality Development Infants’ Emotional Expressions and Relationships Smiling Smiling - critical social skill and social signal two types of smiling in infants: Reflexive smile - not from external stimuli; appears in first month, usually in sleep Social smile - occurs in response to external stimulus (a face); occurs as early as 2 months of age Emotional and Personality Development Infants’ Emotional Expressions and Relationships Fear Fear - one of earliest emotions, first appears at about 6 months and peaks at about 18 months findings support the general belief that people are predisposed to quickly detect threatening stimuli most frequent expression involves stranger anxiety which emerges gradually at app. 6 mo. as wary reactions environment, location of mother, characteristics of stranger impact feelings of stranger anxiety Emotional and Personality Development Infants’ Emotional Expressions and Relationships With age, children learn to: Understand their emotions, Identify emotions, Know the meanings of emotions Social Referencing Social referencing - “reading” emotional cues in others to determine how to act in situation helps infants interpret ambiguous situations more accurately become better in 2nd year Emotional and Personality Development Emotion Regulation and Coping A set of conscious and unconscious processes Used to monitor and modulate emotional experiences and expressions Develops gradually over childhood Paves the way for success in social interactions and academic settings Emotional and Personality Development Emotion Regulation and Coping Co-regulation: the process by which a caregiver provides the needed comfort or distraction to help a child reduce his or her distress An external process Strategies Self-comforting behaviours: repetitive actions that regulate arousal by providing a mildly positive physical sensation Self-distraction: looking away from an upsetting stimulus to regulate one’s level of arousal Improvements in self-regulations partly due to maturation of the neurological systems The Relation of Emotion Regulation to Social Competence and Adjustment Emotional self-regulation The process of initiating, inhibiting, or modulating Emotional and Personality Development Personality and Temperament Personality: sum total of enduring characteristics that differentiate one individual from another Temperament: patterns of arousal and emotionality consistent with enduring characteristics of an individual How children behave Show differences from birth Reflected in activity level and irritability Some Dimensions of Temperament in Infants, with Behavioral Indicators Dimension Definition Activity level High: wriggles while diaper is changed Low: lies still while being dressed Approach-withdrawal Approach orientation: accepts novel foods and toys easily Withdrawal orientation: cries when a stranger comes near Quality of mood Negative: cries when carriage is rocked Positive: smiles or smacks lips when tasting new food Distractibility Low: continues crying even when diaper is changed High: stops fussing when held and rocked Rhythmicity Regular: has consistent feeding schedule Irregular: has varying sleep and waking schedule Threshold of High: not startled by sudden noises or bright lights responsiveness Low: pauses sucking on bottle at approach of parent or slight noise Emotional and Personality Development Personality and Temperament Easy babies: positive disposition, curious, moderate emotions Difficult babies: negative moods, slow to adapt Slow-to-warm babies: inactive, calm reactions, negative mood Others may have combinations of characteristics Emotional and Personality Development Personality and Temperament No temperament is invariably good or bad Goodness-of-fit: development dependent on match between child’s temperament and nature and demands of the environment in which they are being raised Key determinant is how parents react to infant’s behavior Cultural differences influence consequences of temperament Emotional and Personality Development The Developing Sense of Self – rudimentary form of self-recognition appears as early as 3 months use of a mirror technique (rouge on nose) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2I0kwSua44&pp=ygUbcm91Z2UgdGVzdCBzZWx mIHJlY29nbml0aW9u Social Orientation and Attachment Social Orientation and Understanding As infants develop the ability to crawl, walk, and run, they are able to explore and expand their social world. Social Orientation Infants are captivated by the social world at birth, infants look preferentially toward face-like patterns face-to-face play begins to characterize caregiver-infant interactions when the infant is about 2-3 mos. of age learn about the social world from other contexts as well joint attention/gaze-following helps infant understand that other people have intentions Social Orientation and Attachment Attachment Attachment - close emotional bond that infants develop with their caregivers Three theorists—Freud, Erikson, and Bowlby— proposed influential views of attachment Freud: attachment due to oral satisfaction (e.g., Harlow’s monkeys) Erikson: physical comfort Bowlby: biological predisposition Figure 4.5 Contact Time with Wire and Cloth Surrogate Mothers. Regardless of whether the infant monkeys were fed by a wire or a cloth mother, they overwhelmingly preferred to spend contact time with the cloth mother. How do these results compare with what Freud’s theory and Erikson’s theory would predict about human infants? Martin Rogers/The Image Bank/Getty Images Social Orientation and Attachment Attachment Four phases of attachment: 1. birth to 2 mo. - infants direct their attachment to human figures; strangers, siblings, and parents are equally likely to elicit smiling or crying from the infant 2. 2 - 7 mo. - attachment focused on one figure (usually primary caregiver); baby distinguishes between familiar/unfamiliar people 3. 7 - 24 mo. - specific attachments develop; locomotor skills allow babies to actively seek contact with caregivers 4. 24 mo. - children aware of others’ feelings, goals, plans; take these into account in their own actions Social Orientation and Attachment Attachment THE AINSWORTH STRANGE SITUATION AND PATTERNS OF ATTACHMENT To measure attachment, sequence of staged episodes that illustrate strength of attachment between child and (typically) mother Reaction to Ainsworth Strange Situation reveals: Securely attached - use caregiver as secure base from which to explore the environment Insecure avoidant - show insecurity by avoiding the caregiver Insecure resistant - cling to caregiver then resist by fighting the closeness Insecure disorganized - disorganized and disoriented; might appear dazed, confused, and fearful Episodes in Ainsworth’s Strange Situation Procedure Episode Events Aspect of Attachment Behaviour Assessed 1 Experimenter introduces caregiver and infant to the None unfamiliar room; shows toys to baby; then leaves. 2 Caregiver and child are alone; caregiver is told not to Exploration and use of caregiver as a secure base initiate interaction but to respond to infant as appropriate. 3 Stranger enters and is seated quietly for 1 minute; then Reaction to the stranger talks to caregiver for 1 minute; then tries to interact with the infant for 1 minute. https://www.youtu 4 Caregiver leaves child alone with the stranger, who lets Separation distress and reaction to stranger’s be.com/watch?v= the infant play but offers comfort if needed. Segment is comforting m_6rQk7jlrc shortened if the infant becomes too distressed. 5 Caregiver calls to the infant from outside door, enters Reaction to reunion with caregiver the room, and pauses by the door. Stranger leaves. Caregiver lets the infant play or may comfort the infant if distressed. 6 Caregiver leaves infant alone in the room. Segment is Separation distress ended if the infant is too distressed. 7 Stranger enters room, greets the infant, and pauses. Ability to be soothed by stranger She sits or comforts the infant if the infant is upset. Segment is ended if the infant is very upset. 8 Caregiver calls from outside the door, enters and greets Reaction to reunion the infant and pauses. Caregiver sits if the infant is not upset but may provide comfort if the infant is distressed. Caregiver allows the infant to return to play if interested. Classifications of Infant Attachment: Classification Criteria Blank CLASSIFICATION Blank Blank Blank CRITERIA Label Seeking Proximity Maintaining Avoiding Resisting with Caregiver Contact with Proximity with Contact with Caregiver Caregiver Caregiver Avoidant Low Low High Low Secure High High (if distressed) Low Low Ambivalent High High (often Low High pre-separation) Disorganized- Inconsistent Inconsistent Inconsistent Inconsistent disoriented  Social Orientation and Attachment 1. Securely attached These infants explored the room, keeping an eye on their mothers. They cried when separated from their mothers, but when their mothers returned they were greeted with pleasure, often by the baby’s wanting to be held. These children were easy to console. 2. Insecurely attached—ambivalent These infants were clingy even before the mother left and were afraid to explore the room. They were extremely anxious and agitated when their mother left the room and cried to be held when she returned. However, they arched away from her body and refused to be consoled. 3. Insecurely attached—avoidant These children explored the room but did not turn around to keep an eye on their mothers. When the mother left, these infants did not get upset and when she returned they avoided her. 4. disorganized/disoriented attachment*** Fourth category added for children that did not fit into the other ones. Their behavior is often confused or even contradictory, and they often appear dazed or disoriented. Social Orientation and Attachment Attachment – what we know Secure attachment in the first year of life provides foundation for psychological development later on. Consistent positive caregiving is an important factor in connecting early attachment with child’s functioning later on. --- Criticism of attachment theory is that it ignores the diversity of socializing agents and contexts that exists in an infant’s world. In some cultures, infants show attachments to many people. Collective caregiving results in low levels of stranger anxiety. --- Securely attached infants have caregivers who are sensitive to their signals and are consistently available to respond to the infants’ needs. Attachment Styles and Intimate Relationships Secure attachment style is characterized by trust, a lack of concern over being abandoned, and the view that one is worthy and well-liked. Anxious/Ambivalent attachment style is characterized by a concern that others will not reciprocate one’s desire for intimacy, resulting in higher- than-average levels of anxiety. Avoidant attachment style is characterized by a suppression of attachment needs, because attempts to be intimate have been rebuffed in the past. People with this style find it difficult to form intimate relationships. Infant attachment and relationships Attachment styles and their underlying dimensions The current thinking assumes that attachment style is determined by where people fall on two continuous dimensions (Brennan, Clark, & Shaver, 1998): Attachment anxiety: reflects how much a person worries that a partner will not be available when needed. This fear of (anxious/ambivalent) abandonment stems, in part, from a person’s doubts about his or her lovability. Attachment avoidance: reflects the degree to which a person distrusts a partner’s goodwill and has tendencies to maintain emotional and behavioral distance from a partner. Correlates of attachment styles Securely-attached individuals have more committed, satisfying, interdependent, and well-adjusted relationships How, then, do insecurely attached individuals maintain a relationship?? A person’s partner can protect or buffer against the negative outcomes associated with an insecure attachment by providing reassurance of commitment Early Childhood Brain Development Rapid growth of the brain 70%-80% Synaptic pruning continues https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0S0jKbh6R1I( FYI) Myelinization continues corpus callosum - bridge sensory and motor regions The brain is reorganized and fine-tuned in a dynamic process shaped by environmental input Sleep Amount of sleep decreases – children give up naps around 4 years of age – Longer sleep Bedtime struggles can occur consistent bedtime routine required Some children have sleep disturbances – nightmares – night terrors – sleep walking – Bedwetting Gross Motor Skills Big improvements in running and hopping Improved ability to catch and throw a ball Advanced motor skills lead to unstructured play Cultural policies, attitudes, and habits shape motor skills Fine Motor Skills Improved dexterity Improved hand-eye coordination Better grip of writing implements Helps to provide more independence Handedness By 2 years there is a clear hand preference 90% are right-handed Left-handedness linked to: – migraines, allergies and language problems – artistic and mathematical talents Exercise Young children should engage in physical activity every day Recommended that young children get an average of 15 or more minutes of physical activity per hour over a 12-hour period, or about 3 hours per day total Physical activity is linked positively to physical, socioemotional, and cognitive development (e.g., creativity and problem solving) Lack of exercise plays a key role in childhood obesity Nutrition Preschoolers need to eat less per kilogram than infants and toddlers. About 1500-1700 calories for many preschoolers Parents should encourage a well-balanced diet including limiting sugar and fat intake. Canada’s Food Guide Table (https://food-guide.canada.ca/en/ ) TIPS: https://food-guide.canada.ca/en/tips-for-healthy-eating/parents-and- children/ Encouraging Healthy Eating Picky eaters generally take in adequate food for growth. Understand normal preschool eating habits (see textbook for more examples) Encourage children to be open-minded about food by offering choices; offer new foods one at a time in small amounts. Threats to Children’s Development Minor illnesses are common. Chronic illness, except asthma, is not common. Stress and poverty lead to injury and illness. Access to adequate mental health services is a challenge across Canada. Hospital stays addressing children’s concerns offering some choices while in hospital “Child-first” approach to service delivery Child-friendly, family-centered, advocacy Piaget’s Four Stages of Cognitive Development Stage Approximate Age New Ways of Knowing Sensorimotor Birth to 2 years Infants know the world through their senses and through their actions. For example, they learn what dogs look like and what petting them feels like. Preoperational 2–7 years Toddlers and young children acquire the ability to internally represent the world through language and mental imagery. They also begin to see the world from other people’s perspectives, not just from their own. Concrete 7–12 years Children become able to think logically, not just operational intuitively. They now can understand that events are often influenced by multiple factors, not just one. Formal operational 12 years and Adolescents can think systematically and reason about beyond what might be, as well as what is. This allows them to understand politics, ethics, and science fiction about alternative political and ethical systems, as well as to engage in scientific reasoning. Piaget’s Stage of Preoperational Thinking Children are not yet capable of operations— organized, formal, logical mental processes They can carry out operations at end of this period Symbolic function, according to Piaget, is the ability to use a mental symbol, a word, or an object to represent something that is not physically present Piaget’s Account Summary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhcgYgx7aAA&pp=ygUbcGlhZ2V0IHByZW9wZXJhdGlvbmFsIHN0YWdl Preschoolers are in Piaget’s preoperational stage. Children use symbols to represent objects and events. Characteristics are: egocentrism, centration, animism, and appearance as reality. Appearance as reality Child assumes that an object really is what it appears to be. Centration: What You See Is What You Think Centration: The process of concentrating on one limited aspect of a stimulus and ignoring other aspects Conservation: Learning That Appearances Are Deceiving Conservation: The knowledge that quantity is unrelated to the arrangement and physical appearance of objects https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnArvcWaH6I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxUxgPwpfgk Incomplete Understanding of Transformation Transformation The process whereby one state is changed into another Children in preoperational period are unable to envision or recall successive transformations Common Tests of Children’s Understanding of the Principle of Conservation Egocentrism: The Inability to Take Other’s Perspectives Egocentric thought Thinking that does not take the viewpoints of others into account Two forms Lack of awareness that others see things from a different physical perspective Failure to realize that others may hold thoughts, feelings, and points of view that differ from theirs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDJ0qJTLohM&pp=ygUPcGlhZ2V0aWFuIHRhc2tz Characteristics of Preoperational Thinking - Recap Characteristic Definition Example Egocentrism Child believes that all people A child gestures during a see the world as he or she telephone conversation, not does. realizing that the listener cannot see the gestures. Centration Child focuses on one aspect In conservation of quantity, the of a problem or situation butchild pays attention to the height ignores other relevant of the liquid in the beaker but aspects. ignores the diameter of the beaker. Appearance as Child assumes that an object Child mistakes a person wearing a reality really is what it appears to Halloween mask for a “real” be. monster. Evaluating Piaget’s Approach to Cognitive Development Strengths Insightful and groundbreaking observations in historical context Criticisms Children are more capable at an earlier age than Piaget theorized Piaget focused observations on children’s lack of logical thought Recent theorists found increasing evidence for higher degree of capability in preschoolers Neo-Piagetians argue that Piaget’s theory needs revision Place more emphasis on how children use attention, memory, and strategies to process information Vygotsky’s View of Cognitive Development: Taking Culture Into Account Vygotsky Viewed cognitive development as a result of social interactions Proposed children learn through guided participation, working with mentors to solve problems Suggested children gradually grow intellectually and begin to function on their own Contended that nature of partnership between developing children and adults and peers is determined largely by cultural and societal factors The Zone of Proximal Development and Scaffolding: Foundations of Cognitive Development Zone of proximal development (ZPD): According to Vygotsky, the level at which a child can almost, but not fully, comprehend or perform a task without assistance Scaffolding: The support for learning and problem solving that encourages independence and growth Cognitive Development - Vygotsky’s Theory Zone of proximal development (ZPD) - task range too difficult for child to master alone; can be learned with guidance/assistance of adults or more skilled children lower limit of the ZPD - level of skill reached by the child working independently upper limit - level of additional responsibility the child can accept with the assistance of an able instructor linked to scaffolding Cognitive Development Vygotsky’s Theory Teaching Strategies Based on Vygotsky’s Theory 1. Assess the child’s zone of proximal development 2. Use the child’s zone of proximal development in teaching 3. Use more skilled peers as teachers 4. Place instruction in a meaningful context Parents who are effective scaffolders have children who are more advanced in executive function and overall intellectual performance Cognitive Development Applications in Everyday Life Social Cognition Theory of Mind – an understanding that others have different mental states continues to develop throughout childhood False belief task https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGSj2zY2OEM Language Development Changes in Syntax and Semantics Six key principles in young children’s vocabulary development: 1. Children learn the words they hear most often. 2. Children learn words for things and events that interest them. 3. Children learn words best in responsive and interactive contexts. 4. Children learn words best in contexts that are meaningful. 5. Children learn words best with clear information about word meaning. 6. Children learn words best when grammar and vocabulary are considered. Language Development During the Preschool Years around age 4–5, children learn to change their speech style to suit the situation school adds new skills Preschoolers also learn what cannot be said as they acquire the principles of grammar They are correct in grammatical constructions more than 90 percent of the time Grammar The system of rules that determine how thoughts can be expressed Developing a Sense of Self and Others Self-Understanding cognitive representation of self, including the physical and psychological qualities that make them unique As children understand their uniqueness, they begin the process of self-categorization Identify as a member of a specific social group Two main differences with self-descriptions during early childhood and middle childhood: Begin by describing oneself in psychological terms rather than concrete/physical In middle and late childhood, children Increasingly describe themselves with psychological characteristics and traits rather than more concrete self-descriptions Developing a Sense of Self and Others Understanding Others ages 4 - 5, children start describing themselves and others in terms of psychological traits perspective taking - process involved in assuming the perspective of others and understanding their thoughts/feelings. involves understanding joint commitments understanding that people don’t always give accurate reports of their beliefs (skepticism) associated with frontal cortex development Developing a Sense of Self and Others Gender Gender roles: behaviors, interests, attitudes, skills, and traits that a culture considers appropriate for each sex; differ for males and females. Cognitive Influences Interactions between the child and the social environment are the main keys to gender development Gender Schema Theory - gender typing emerges as children gradually develop gender schemas of what is gender appropriate and gender inappropriate in their culture Gender Stereotypes - broad categories that reflect general impressions and beliefs about females and males Children are aware in elementary school about which activities are linked with being male or female Emotional Self-regulation Emotional regulation: The ability to control when and how emotions are expressed. Strategies improve with age; outbursts decline Temperament Intensely Prepare them for difficult experiences Emotional Development Emotional Development Developmental Changes during Middle and Late Childhood Improved emotional understanding Increased understanding that more than one emotion can be experienced in a particular situation Increased tendency to be aware of the events leading to emotional reactions Ability to suppress or conceal negative emotional reactions Use of self-initiated strategies for redirecting feelings Capacity for genuine empathy Put a name to it Children have better emotional understanding when adults around them label emotions and explain them Secure attachments The more “emotion words” children use and the better developed their emotional understanding Figure 8.3- Appropriate Family Functioning Scale Appropriate Family Functioning Scale