1 Developing Through the Life Span. 2 Infancy and Childhood Module 11.

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Developing Through the Life Span

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Infancy and Childhood

Module 11

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Physical Development Brain Development Motor Development Maturation and Infant Memory

Cognitive Development Piaget’s Theory and Current Thinking CLOSE-UP: Autism and “Mind-blindness” Reflecting on Piaget’s Theory

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Social Development Origins of Attachment Attachment Differences Parenting Styles

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Infancy and Childhood

Infancy and childhood span from birth to the teenage years. During these years,

the individual grows physically, cognitively, and socially.

Stage Span

Infancy Newborn to toddler

Childhood Toddler to teenager

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At birth, most brain cells are present. After, the neural networks multiply resulting in increased

physical and mental abilities.

Physical DevelopmentBrain Development

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Brain Development

The development of the brain unfolds based on genetic instructions, causing various bodily and mental functions to occur in sequence— standing before

walking, babbling before talking—this is called maturation.

Maturation sets the basic course of development, while experience adjusts it.

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Motor Development

First, infants begin to roll over. Next, they sit unsupported, crawl, and finally walk. Experience has little effect on this

sequence.

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Maturation and Infant Memory

The earliest age of conscious memory is around 3½ years (Bauer, 2002). A 5-year-old has a sense of self and an increased long-term memory, thus organization of

memory is different from 3-4 years.

Although they may not consciously

remember, babies are capable of

learning.

3-month-old infants can learn to move

a mobile by kicking. (Rovee -

Collier, 1989, 1997.) 10

Maturation and Infant Memory

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Cognitive Development

Cognition refers to all the mental activities

associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.

Developmental psychologist Jean Piaget

believed that children reason differently than adults and that a child’s

mind develops in a series of stages.

Jean Piaget (1896–1980)

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Schemas

Piaget felt that the driving force behind our intellectual progression is an unceasing struggle to make sense of our experiences and that to do

this maturing brains build schemas.

Schemas are a concepts or frameworks thatorganize and interpret information.

To use our schemas Piaget proposed that we assimilate new experiences, or interpret them according to our schemas and then adjust or

accommodate our schemas accordingly.

Infancy and Childhood: Cognitive Development

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Piaget’s Theory and Current Thinking

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Sensorimotor Stage

In the sensorimotor stage, babies take in the world by looking, hearing, touching,

mouthing, and grasping. Children younger than 6 months of age do not grasp object permanence, i.e., objects

that are out of sight are also out of mind. CD1, #15

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Sensorimotor Stage: Criticisms

Piaget believed children in the sensorimotor stage could not think —they

do not have any abstract concepts or ideas.

However, recent research shows that children in the sensorimotor stage can

think and count.

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Preoperational Stage

Piaget suggested that from 2 years old to about 6-7 years old, children are in the preoperational stage—

too young to perform mental operations. For example, in this stage do not understand the concept of conservation, the principle that quantity remains

the same despite changes in shape.

This preoperational child does not yet understand the principle of conservation of substance.

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Preoperational Stage: Criticism

DeLoache (1987) showed that children as young as 3 years of age are able to use

metal operations. When shown a model of a dog’s hiding place behind the couch, a 2½-year-old could not locate the stuffed dog in an actual room, but the 3-year-old

did.

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Egocentrism

Piaget concluded that preschool children are egocentric. They cannot perceive things

from another’s point of view.

When asked to show her picture to mommy, 2-year-old Gabriella holds the picture facing her own eyes, believing that her mother can

see it through her eyes.

Infancy and Childhood: Cognitive Development

Animism (confusion between physical and psychological events)

Confusion of external, physical objects with internal thoughts; thinking that objects think and feel.

Example: A child is afraid of the “monsters” in a dark closet and that clouds move “because they’re having fun.”

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Theory of Mind

Preschoolers, although still egocentric, develop the ability to understand

another’s mental state when they begin forming a theory of mind.

As theory of mind develops, they seek to understand and interpret the actions

and feelings of other people.

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Concrete Operational Stage

In the concrete operational stage, given concrete materials, 6- to 7-year-olds

grasp conservation problems and mentally pour liquids back and forth into

glasses of different shapes conserving their quantities.

Children in this stage are also able to transform mathematical functions. So, if 4 + 8 = 12, then a transformation, 12 – 4

= 8, is also easily doable.

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Formal Operational Stage

Around age 12, our reasoning ability expands from concrete thinking to abstract thinking. We can now use symbols and imagined realities to systematically reason. Piaget called this formal

operational thinking.

Rudiments of such thinking begin earlier (age 7) than what Piaget suggested, since 7-year-olds can solve the problem below (Suppes, 1982).

If John is in school, Mary is in school. John is in school. What can you say about Mary?

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Autism and “Mind-Blindness”

Diagnoses of autism, a disorder marked by deficient communication, social interaction, and

understanding of others’ states of mind, are increasing.

People with autism are said to have an impaired theory of mind, having difficulty reading inferring

others’ thoughts and feelings.

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Reflecting on Piaget’s Theory

Piaget’s stage theory has been influential globally, validating a number of ideas regarding growth and development in many cultures and societies. However,

today’s researchers believe the following:

1. Development is a continuous process.2. Children express their mental abilities

and operations at an earlier age.3. Formal logic is a smaller part of

cognition.

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Social DevelopmentStranger anxiety is the fear of strangers that

develops at around 8 months. This is the age at which infants form schemas for familiar faces

and cannot assimilate a new face.

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Origins of Attachment

No social behavior is more striking than the

intense and mutual infant – parent bond called attachment.

Harlow (1971) showed that infants bond with

surrogate mothers because of bodily contact and not

because of nourishment.

CD1, 12a, 12b, 12c

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Origins of AttachmentLike bodily contact, familiarity is another factor that causes attachment. In many animals, attachments based on familiarity likewise form during a critical

period—an optimal period when certain events must take place to facilitate proper development. In some

animals (goslings), imprinting is the cause of attachment.

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Attachment Differences

Placed in a strange situation, 60% of children express secure attachment, i.e., they explore their environment happily in the presence of their mothers. When their

mother leave, they show distress.

The other 30% show insecure attachment. These children cling to their mothers or caregivers and are less likely

to explore the environment.

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Attachment Differences

Relaxed and attentive caregiving becomes the backbone of secure

attachment.

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Insecure Attachment

Harlow’s studies showed that monkeys experience great anxiety if their terry-

cloth mother is removed.

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Separation Anxiety

Separation anxiety peaks at 13 months of age, regardless of whether the children

are home or sent to day care.

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Attachment and Adult Relationships

Erik Erikson said that securely attached children approach life with a sense of basic trust—a sense that the world is predictable

and reliable.

Although debate continues, many researchers now believe that our early

attachments form the foundation for our adult relationships and our comfort with

affection and intimacy.

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Parenting Styles

Practice Description

AuthoritarianParents impose rules and

expect obedience.

Permissive Parents submit to children’s demands.

Authoritative Parents are demanding but responsive to their children.

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Parenting Styles

Research indicates that children with the highest self - esteem, self - reliance, and social competence usually have warm, concerned, authoritative parents, while children with authoritarian parents tend

to have less socialskill and self - esteem, and those with permissive parents tend to be more

aggressiveand immature.