Changing Conceptions of Childhood. Changing conceptions of childhood Historical Background Poverty; high mortality rates Child abuse common Norms:

Changing Conceptions of Childhood

Changing conceptions of childhood

Historical Background Poverty; high mortality rates

Child abuse common Norms:

Child labor; child abandonment among poor

17th & 18th centuries: philosophers’ visions John Locke

Humans born a “tabula rasa” Jean Jacques Rousseau

Infants are innocent We should lovingly nurture babies

These practices not instituted until early 20th century

Changing Conceptions of Childhood

Late 19th Century: kinder, gentler view of children Childhood protected, dependent life stage Universal education: primary school mandatory

20th Century: Adolescence: identified by G. Stanley Hall Stage of “Storm and Stress” between childhood and adulthood In the 1930s, President Franklin Roosevelt ordered high school

attendance as mandatory.

Emerging Adulthood: newest life stage Age 18 to late 20s Time for personal exploration

JEAN PIAGET1896 – 1980 ‘GENETIC EPISTEMOLOGY’

COGNITIVE STAGES

Through observation noticed that children make similar errors in cognitive tasks

Mental structures;Cognitive systems that organize thinking into

coherent patterns so that all thinking takes place on the same level of cognitive functioning.

Maturation: Innate biologically based program is the driving force behind development.

In contrast to behaviorists, believed that children also construct their learning.

Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development

Piagetian key terms: Schemes-cognitive structure for processing,

organizing and interpreting information

Assimilation-new information is altered to fit an existing scheme

Accommodation-changing a scheme to adapt to the new information

Piaget’s Sensorimotor Stage Sensorimotor stage

Composed of 4 substages

Object Permanence

Object permanence -objects continue to exist even when not aware of them Under 4 months no understanding 4-8 months-some uncertain about existence 8-12 months-Developing awareness

Will still make A not B error

Piaget

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XwjIruMI94

Evaluating Piaget’s Sensorimotor Theory

Criticisms include Underestimating infants ability especially regarding

object permanence Renee Baillargeon and researchers tested infant

abilities using the violation of expectations method. Children look longer in the spot, even though don’t grab for the object there. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2ovHFt5YXc

Object permanence may reflect memory development Cultural limitations as well