life span development the play years (ages 2 to 6): cognitive development – chapter 9 psychosocial...

Life Span Development

The Play Years (ages 2 to 6): Cognitive Development – Chapter 9Psychosocial Development – Chapter 10

July 1, 2004Class #8

Theory of Mind

• We each have our own personal understanding of human mental processes, and child develops this too– complex interaction of human mental

processes• emotions• thoughts• perceptions• actions

Emergence by Age 4

• Social referencing• Sudden understanding that mental

phenomena may not reflect reality– people can be deliberately deceived

or fooled

Contextual Influences on Theory of Mind

• Brain maturation (prefrontal cortex)

• General language ability• An older sibling• Culture that anticipates the future

Language

• Emergent literacy—skills needed to learn to read

• Is early childhood a sensitive or a critical period for language development?– ages 2 to 6 do seem to be a sensitive

period—a time when a certain type of development (in this case, emergent literacy) occurs most rapidly

Vocabulary

• Fast mapping—speedy and not precise way a child assimilates new words by mentally “charting” them into interconnected categories– logical extension, or application of newly learned

word to other unnamed objects in same category, closely related to fast mapping

– fast mapping aided by the way adults label new things for children

• Children use basic assumptions about syntax and reference to fast map– children cannot comprehend every

word they hear– difficulties may occur

• with words expressing comparisons• with words expressing relationships of

time and place

Vocabulary

• The grammar of a language includes the structures, techniques, and rules used to communicate meaning

• Young children learn grammar so well they tend to apply its rules when they should not, a tendency called overregularization– examples: plural nouns (“foots”), past

tense (“breaked the glass”)

Grammar

Learning Two Languages

• How easy is it to be bilingual?– many 6-year-olds have difficulty

pronouncing certain sounds– but auditory sensitivity helps young

children master pronunciation over time, a much harder task if language learned after puberty

• Best solution: children become “balanced bilinguals,” fluent in 2 languages– research confirms children can become

equally fluent in 2 languages– easiest way for child to become bilingual is

if parents speak 2 languages• ideally, each parent represents 1 language and

helps child with mastery• sending child to preschool where 2nd language

taught also effective

Learning Two Languages

Early-Childhood Education

• Controversy over whether, when, and where

Many Types of Programs

• Distinct educational curricula have been developed– Maria Montessori (100 years ago)

developed structured, individualized projects for poor children

• Many newer programs are “child-centered” or “developmental”– use a Piaget-inspired model that allows

children to discover at their own pace

• Alternative programs stress academic readiness– some readiness programs explicitly

teach basic school skills

Child-Centered and Readiness Programs

Reggio-Emilia

• A new form of early-childhood education pioneered in the Italian city of that name– children encouraged to master skills not

normally seen until age 7– artistic expression, exploration of the

environment, and collaboration between parents and teachers encouraged

• Early childhood is the prime learning period for every child and some learn even more

• The above has led to conclusion: nations should provide quality early education

• Head Start – has provided half-day education for millions

of 3 to 5 year olds, boosting abilities and skills, at least temporarily and probably for longer

Reggio-Emilia

• High-quality early education is associated with positive outcomes for all children– what is high-quality education?

• safety, adequate space, and equipment• low adult-to-child ratio• trained staff

• curriculum geared to cognitive development

• learning includes creative/constructive play

Quality Learning

Chapter 10: Psychosocial Development

• Emotional Development– Self– Goals– Emotion

• During this age is now key ingredient allowing self to reach goals

Erikson’s 3rd Stage: Initiative vs. Guilt• Occurs during the preschool years…

– As preschool children encounter a widening social world, they are challenged more than when they were infants

– Active, purposeful behavior is needed to cope with these challenges

– Attention span gets longer– Children are asked to assume responsibility for their

bodies, their behavior, their toys, and their pets– Self-concept develops– Developing a sense of responsibility increases

initiative– Uncomfortable guilt feelings may arise, though, if

the child is irresponsible and is made to feel too anxious about being independent

• First step to emotional regulation: awareness of own emotions and the emotional response of others

• Emotional intelligence—Goleman’s term for the understanding of how to interpret and express emotions– develops throughout life, but crucial in early

childhood• amygdala—emotional hotspot in prefrontal cortex

of brain that children need to govern if they are to become balanced and empathic adults

• parents can use children’s natural attachment to teach them how and when to express feelings

Cognition and Emotions

• Empathy—understanding another person’s emotions– leads often to prosocial actions

• helping another without obvious benefit to oneself

• Antipathy—disliking or hating someone else– may lead to antisocial behavior

• injuring another person or destroying something that belongs to another

Empathy and Antipathy

Empathy and Antipathy

• Sharing– freely done or directed by others

• Aggression– instrumental—used to obtain an object such as

a toy– reactive—involves retaliation for an act whether

or not it was intentional– relation—designed to inflect psychic (mental)

pain – bullying aggression—unprovoked attack

•Peers—others of the same age and status- peers make the best playmates- play is most adaptive and

productive activity of children

Learning Social Skills Through Play

•Rough-and-tumble play - helps child develop muscle

strength and control- caregivers should look for a “play

face” when attempting to figure out if child is playing or fighting

Active Play

•Sociodramatic play- helps child explore and rehearse

social roles he/she has seen- helps child test ability to convince

others- helps child regulate emotions

through imagination- helps child examine personal

concerns in nonthreatening way

Imaginative Play

• Baumrind’s 4 important dimensions that influence parenting– expression of warmth or nurturance– strategies for discipline– quality of communication– expectations for maturity

Baumrind’s Three Styles of Parenting

• 3 Styles– authoritarian—high standards and expectations with

low nurturance• children likely to become conscientious, obedient,

and quiet—but not happy– permissive—little control, but nurturing

• children likely to lack self-control and are not happy– authoritative—limits and guidance provided but willing

to compromise• children are more likely to be successful, articulate,

intelligent, and happy



• Recent studies have found link between parenting styles and child behavior less direct than Baumrind’s original research indicated– impact of child’s temperament– influence of community and cultural differences on

child’s perception of parenting– in poor or minority families, authoritarian

parenting tends to be used to produce high-achieving, emotionally regulated children: strict and warm can be successful

Techniques of Discipline

•We discussed this at length in last class…some points which both discussion and research seem to indicate are as follows…

•Discipline an integral part of parenting


•Culture is a strong influence- expectations- offenses- punishments

•In United States- time-out is used

• child stops all activity and sits in corner or stays inside for a few minutes


• From class discussion and research it appears evident that big variation occurs not only in different cultures but in ours…

• In deciding which technique to apply, parents should ask: How does technique relate to child?– child’s temperament, age, and

perceptions crucial considerations

What About Spanking?

• Reasons for parenting variations– culture, religion, ethnicity, national origin– parents’ own upbringing

• Developmentalists fear children who are physically punished will learn to be more aggressive– domestic violence of any kind can increase

aggression between peers and within families– Violence begets more violence???

• Dilemma for parents about letting children watch television and play video games– parents find video a good babysitter– parents believe video can sometimes be

educational tool

• Experts suggest parents turn off the TV to avoid exposing children to video violence

The Challenge of Video

• Exposure to violence great—good guys and bad guys show violent behavior

• All good guys male; no non-white heroes• Women/females portrayed as victims or

adoring friends—not as leaders• Content of video games even worse

than than that of television– more violent, sexist, racist

The Evidence on Content


• Children, especially males, who watched educational television became teens who earned higher grades, read more

• Children, especially females, who watched violent television had lower grades


• Content of video games crucial reason behind great concern of developmental researchers- research shows that violent TV and

video games push children to be more violent than they normally would be• computer games probably worse, as

children are doing the virtual killing

Role of Learning and Culture in Aggression

• Aggressive behavior is more common in individualist than in collectivist cultures

• Many learn aggressive responses by watching others– e.g., Bandura’s “Bobo doll”

experiments• People become aggressive when

rewarded for aggressiveness and less aggressive when punished for aggression

How do rewards influence aggressiveness?

Andrew Golden, at age 11 gunned down 4 students & 1 teacher at age 11…his grandfather is a gun collector who owns hundreds of firearms and is also a licensed gun dealer

• Rewards are reinforcers

• Social learning theory Social learning theory of aggressionof aggression

Glamorizing Violence

• Plagens, et al. (1991)– Typical American child sees 200,000 acts

of violence on TV by age 18 – Children who watch a lot of violent TV

are more violent towards peers– Experimental studies, in which violence is

controlled, also find effects of watching violence

Space BlasterSpace Blaster

Doomsday Version 2.5

In this video game, it appears you win by beheading the guy???

Violent Video Games

• Several studies have shown significant results indicating that playing violent video games is associated with a history of property destruction and hitting other students…– Anderson & Dill (2000)

• College students randomly assigned to play a violent video game (Wulfenstein) later had more aggressive thoughts and feelings than those who played a nonviolent game (Tetrix)


• Developmentalists look at the following to evaluate poor content- perpetuation of sexist, ageist, and racist

stereotypes- depiction of violent solutions for every

problem and no expression of empathy- encouragement of quick, reactive,

emotions rather than thoughtful regulation of emotions

Albert Bandura (1925-present)

• Pioneering researcher in observational learning

Is Television To Blame?

• Hundreds of studies say yes! – Bandura says:

• People become immune to the horrors of violence

• They gradually come to accept violence as a way to solve problems• They imitate the violence they observe on television• They identify with certain characters

• Male or female—important feature of self-concept– Sex differences—biological differences

between males and females• far less apparent than in adulthood

– Gender differences—culturally imposed differences in roles and behaviors• more significant to children than to adults

Boy or Girl: So What?

• By age 2, awareness of gender-related preferences and play patterns

• By age 3, cognitive awareness of own gender

• By age 4, awareness of “gender appropriate” toys or roles

• By age 6, well-formed ideas and prejudices about own sex and the other sex

Development of Gender Awareness

• Psychoanalytic– Freud’s view: sexual attraction to

opposite-sex parent• phallic stage—according to Freud, 3rd

stage of psychosexual development; occurring in early childhood when penis becomes the focus of psychological concern and physiological pleasure

Theories of Gender Differences

Freud’s Phallic Stage (3-6yrs old)

• Children realize anatomical difference – up to this point Freud feels that children thought that the other had the same “equipment” they did…

• Boys: – Initially think girls are hiding penis; then

think its been cut off (ouch!)– According to Freud, at this point in the

phallic stage the boy has discovered masturbation and wants to direct this phallic activity towards his mother

Freud’s Phallic Stage: Boys

• At this point, boys enter Oedipus complex and are in a “sexual love” with mother and want to kill father and marry mother

• They want sole sexual possession

• “Castration anxiety” ends this…– Fear of their father creates the superego– Desires for mother goes deeply into

unconscious and creates strong superego– He identifies with dad and incorporates

many of his values


• Basically, he abandons the incestuous desires of the Id (under the threat of castration) and subdues the pleasure principle…– He does however understand that his

time will come…he’ll get a woman someday hence he just has to wait to fulfill his libidinal urges


• This ends the Oedipus complex for boys…

• Their desires for mom go deeply into the unconscious…later on in life other unfulfillable and inexpressible wishes will follow into this repressed area – like prohibitions on behavior from parents, teachers, police, religious authorities, etc.

Freud’s Phallic Stage: Girls

• The path for girls is less clear:• First of all, Freud believes that all

girls suffer from “penis envy”…

• She has seen it, and knows that she is without it, and she wants to have it…


• Freud feels that girls try to deal with these feelings in three possible ways:– Denial – she persists in her thinking (at

least for awhile) that she has a penis and this leads to psychosis later in life

– I’ll get one somehow – she may somehow fixate on the idea that she will someday get a penis by whatever means possible

– The normal route – accept the fact that she has been castrated


• According to Freud, many girls believe they have been castrated, probably as a punishment for masturbating…

• Well, regardless of the route taken…– Inferiority complex develops which carries

into adulthood– Furious with mother

• Anger and hatred for not giving her a penis– Contempt for entire female sex– Also, she feels the clitoris is inferior to the

penis…so much so that she gives up masturbation entirely…even the idea disgusts her


• Ok, so what happens next…• Her father becomes a love object…

– Since I can’t get a penis – I’ll have dad’s baby instead•At this point, Freud announces, “the

girl has turned into a little woman”• Mother is rival

– The mother becomes solely the object of jealousy and rivalry


• So then, how does the Oedipus (Electra) complex end for girls???– Freud struggles with explanation…– Basically, somehow (???) its repressed

• But not deeply into unconscious…– Girls don’t ever develop strong superego– Thus, they are not as moral as men– Aren’t suitable to be leaders, rulers

(someone better tell Hillary)


• Basically, girls never formed the strong superego – its not anchored like the boys and thus their unconscious wishes are more likely to rise up into consciousness during adulthood

• Many girls stay in Oedipus complex forever…– Nothing really ever ended it for them– Marry guys like dad

• Bottom line:• Guilt and fear resolved by gender

appropriate behavior– Identification

Freud’s Phallic Stage

• Gender-appropriate behavior learned through observation and imitation

• Children learn gender-appropriate behavior by modeling it after that of people they want to imitate

• Especially for young boys, conformity to gender expectations rewarded, punished, modeled

Behaviorism

• Gender typing occurs after concept of gender has developed

• Once gender consistently conceived, child organizes world based on that understanding

• Gender schema organizes the world in terms of male and female- internal motivation to conform to gender-based

cultural standards and stereotypes guides attention and behavior

Cognitive Theory

• Gender values strenuously kept• Many traditional cultures emphasize

gender distinctions • To break through restrictiveness of

cultural expectations, some embrace the idea of androgyny—a balance of male and female psychological characteristics- true androgyny possible if supported by

whole culture

Sociocultural Theory

• Every aspect of human behavior a mix of genetics and environment– environment shapes, enhances, or

halts genetic impulses

• Differences between male and female brains

• Environmental influences

Epigenetic Theory

life span development the play years (ages 2 to 6): cognitive development – chapter 9 psychosocial...

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