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Piaget and Sensorimotor Stage (Infancy and Toddlerhood, birth to 2 years of age)

Sensorimotor: using senses and motor skills to understand the world; pick up an object, it goes to their mouth; they taste, feel, and see how the object looks

object permanence : the understanding that an object still exists even if not seen; is gained around 9 months

goal-directed behavior : b/t 8 and 12 mos., behaviors become more purposeful and intentional

EX: in the example of object permanence, infant will intentionally move away a blanket that is hiding a toy

Memory

visual information tends to be easier to remember and they remember it longer

can retain information if use repetition

around the middle of the 2nd year, can remember things a lot better and will remember complex actions; you can tell them to do 2 or three different things and will remember it esp. if they have watched someone do it already

Language Development

Cooing: begins around 2 mos. and make vowel sounds

oo and aahh

Babbling: around 6-9 mos., will add consonants to the vowels

dadadada mamamama babababa

typically use overextension where one word is used to describe anything similar to the original object so for ball, it can be anything round

Motor Skills

Gross motor skills: large muscle movements that allow infants to crawl, walk, roll over, etc.

usually begin rolling over around 2 mos.

sit alone around 6-7 mos.

crawl – 7 mos.

pull up and stand holding on to something – 8 mos.

stand alone and walk alone – 11 mos.; walks well by 1 yr.

Fine motor skills: small muscle movements including reaching and grasping

grasp – 3-4 mos.; hold onto it by 6 mos.

grasping small things with fingers – 12 mos.

scribbling – 14 mos.

Piaget Preoperational Stage (Early Childhood, 2-7 years)

More symbolic thinking so use a lot of mental representation including language development

Also use make-believe play and sociodramatic play : when begin make-believe play with other children

Benefits of make-believe play: tend to be more socially competent; certain mental abilities improve, such as attention, memory, language and literacy, imagination, creativity

There are limitations of preoperational thought.

One limitation is the concept of egocentrism : understanding things only from their own perspective

Aren’t able to understand other’s views on things and believe that everyone perceives, thinks and feels the same way they do

EX: if they like a certain cartoon, will assume that everyone likes it because they do

Another aspect of preoperational thought is animistic thinking : belief that inanimate objects have thoughts and feeling like a human being

EX: doll will be scared if left home alone

During this stage children don’t understand the concept of conservation : object is still the same even if its form is rearranged

EX: 4 quarters vs. one dollar bill

Adding ice to a drink, even if same amt in 2 cups

Language Development

Vocabulary:

learn general distinctions or comparisons first; EX: big-small; tall-short; high-low

tend to use metaphors like moon is made of cheese or is a cookie, clouds are pillows

can learn that certain things can have parts to them

EX: a beak is only part of the bird

Should learn that things that are similar are actually different

EX: will call a truck a car but it’s best to teach them the difference

If know the difference, learn more words at a quicker pace

Grammar

Model adult speech to learn how to use correct grammar

Use overregularization : overextend the rules of grammar to words that are exceptions

EX: will say breaked instead of broke

Will also say people have two foots or two feets instead of feet

At early age will invert subject and verb when asking certain questions

EX: “Why he can go?”

Motor Development

Gross motor development:

Center of gravity begins to shift downward because more streamlined and not top-heavy

Results in improved balance, walking is smoother, begin to run, skip, jump, hop, also riding a bike

Fine motor development:

Can do more smaller tasks like put puzzles together, build w/ small blocks, cut and paste, and string beads

Probably the most difficult task involving fine motor movements is tying shoelaces, which is usually mastered by 6

Differences in motor skills:

Boys tend to be ahead of girls in motor skills that require more force and power, so they jump a little farther, run a little faster, and throw a ball farther than girls

Girls are usually better at fine motor skills and certain gross motor skills using more balance and foot movements such as hopping and skipping

Self-concept : the attributes, abilities, attitudes, and values that a person uses to define themselves, who he or she is

Preschoolers have a very concrete self-concept; they usually talk about their observable traits when referring to themselves

EX: name, physical appearance, possessions like their toys

Self-esteem : the judgments we make about our own worth and our feelings about those judgments

Children’s understanding of self-esteem is very limited

They don’t understand the difference b/t how competent they really are compared to how competent they would like to be; they usually rate their competence and abilities as being extremely high and don’t think about difficulties associated with certain tasks

They honestly feel they can do anything

Child’s self-esteem is affected if parents criticize them a lot

However, adults should adjust their expectations for the child’s age and abilities

Emotions

Around ages 4 and 5, children can understand the cause of someone’s emotions

EX: if another child is crying, they will say that the child is crying because he or she misses his mommy

They look at external causes before looking at internal b/c not able to do so

Also, can interpret, predict, and change other people’s feelings

EX: if someone is sad, they can tell and will attempt to cheer up the person

Friendships

Children see friendship as someone who likes you and someone to always play with

Don’t see it as something long-lasting; if they get into an argument with the friend, then that friend isn’t a friend anymore

Give their friends more reinforcement—have huge greetings and praise each other more

Having those friendships offers more social support

EX: when entering school, are more comfortable if friend is there and adjust easier

Piaget’s Concrete Operational Thought (Middle Childhood, 7-11 years)

--concrete operational thought: begin to think in a more logical manner, but limited to things that can be seen or proven easily; can learn the difference between nonfiction and fiction (real vs. fake); but no egocentrism

-- identity : something remains the same even if some characteristics are changed; opposite of conservation

Teaching and Learning

SES and Vocabulary and Reading:

--correlation b/t low income and child’s vocabulary and grammar, showing that those children had less developed vocabularies and grammar than children in higher SES

--what type of language are they exposed to at home, school, and neighborhood?

Math and Sciences:

--American children lag behind in math compared to most East Asian countries

--American children tend to learn less math as they progress in school; use more computers, calculators to solve problems and this may be the cause of their lagging behind

--Is this being lazy?

Bilingual Education:

--in America, those who don’t speak English are expected to learn English, but those who speak only English are not expected to learn another language

--middle childhood is the best time to be taught another language

-- total immersion : teaching entirely in the second language without using the native language

Piaget’s Formal Operational Thought (Adolescence, 12-19 years)

The prefrontal cortex is immature so they don’t always make rational decisions, like texting while driving

Frontal lobe isn’t fully developed until approximately 21

reasoning is expanding and understanding is no longer concrete as in concrete operational stage

begin to think hypothetically and can think of other aspects of situations

hypothetical thought : thought and reasoning that includes problem solving that may not include reality

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EX: “If dogs are bigger than elephants, and elephants are bigger than mice, then dogs are bigger than mice.”

since this is hypothetical, a child would automatically say that elephants are bigger than dogs b/c their thinking is concrete

unfortunately some individuals don’t reach the formal operational stage where they use hypothetical thought

one reason is b/c they tend to stick with real-world facts or concrete thinking

also the thinking is limited to situations in which they have extensive experience

so if the opportunity is not there, hypothetical thought is not developed

adolescents also begin to develop a new form of egocentrism where they have difficulty distinguishing their own and other people’s perspectives; they concentrate on themselves a lot more

false self : acting differently from how they really are; may do it to avoid rejection or to please others or to experiment with it as a possible self

may feel that their real self will be rejected b/c no one likes it

may try to please parents or conform to how friends are

may want to see what it would be like to be different

imaginary audience : think everyone is looking at them, watching them, and judging them

may dress a certain way or won’t wear certain clothes or shoes, for example

mostly younger teens experience this and begins to fade as get older

personal fable : adolescents think they are unique and invincible

believe things only happen to them and no one else

believe they are indestructible, and nothing can hurt them

Problems with Development

Depression:

--feel sad, frustrated, hopeless about life, lose pleasure in normal activities, disturbed sleep, appetite, concentration, and energy

--most common psychological problem of adolescence

--15-20% of teens have had one or more major depressive episode

--2-8% suffer from chronic depression (a few months to yrs)

--girls twice as likely than boys (1 in 5 girls, 1 in 10 boys)

--heredity and traumatic events are factors (failing at something, parental divorce, end of close friendship or romantic relationship)

Suicide:

--rates increase sharply during adolescence

--third leading cause of death among young Americans

--boys outnumber girls by 5:1, so more likely to complete suicide

-- suicidal ideation : thinking about suicide

Most common around 15

--factors: high rates of poverty, school failure, alcohol and drug use, depression

--gay, lesbian, and bisexual adolescents are more likely to attempt suicide, 3xs more likely than other adolescents; possibly b/c of conflict within family and inner turmoil and peer rejection

Delinquency and Rebellion:

--about 17% of arrests in U.S. are adolescents

--most are minor offenses like disorderly conduct and petty theft

--many don’t commit to a life of crime

Family and Friends

Relationship with parents:

generation gap : the distance b/t generations in values, behaviors, and knowledge, marked by a mutual lack of understanding

conflict is higher in early adolescence and begins to decrease by 17 or 18, possibly b/c in early adolescence, their identity isn’t fully formed and may go through identity confusion; by 17 or 18, identity is formed and can even somewhat identify with parents in certain ways

Friends and Dating:

--friends are extremely important, esp when forming identity

--look more for intimacy and loyalty from friends, same values and attitudes

--girls have more vocal relationships, so “just talk” and self-disclose, where they share innermost thoughts and feelings

--boys are more physical—sports or competitive games

--in early adolescence, dating relationships don’t last long, but by 16 the relationships can last for on average 2 yrs

--look for companionship, affection, and social support

--typically are over by the time they are out of high school b/c realize their differences b/c identity is just about complete