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2 Socioemotional and Cognitive Development A little girl wearing a cardboard space helmet, holding a toy space shuttle. Choreograph/iStock/Thinkstock The childhood shews the man, As morning shews the day. —John Milton, Paradise Lost Learning Objectives After studying this chapter you will be able to: Explain how society and genetics influence the development of gender roles. Summarize the stages of Erikson's theory of psychosocial development and explain their implications for teachers. Describe how Piaget's theory of cognitive development influences how we teach children. Assess Vygotsky's and Bronfenbrenner’s models and indicate how they can help teachers understand students' perspectives. Describe how human development is characterized with respect to genetics and environment, brain-based education, differential growth rates, and environmental influences. Introduction To teach children effectively, it's useful to know what to expect of them. We don't expect our 6-year-olds to understand programming languages such as FORTRAN or Pascal. Nor do we expect our teenagers to become excited at the prospect of being allowed to play on the swings if they color their drawing of mommy nicely, staying inside the lines. But what can 6-year-olds understand? And what does excite teenagers? This chapter presents the beginnings of answers for questions such as these. It's important to keep in mind, however, that our discussion is necessarily limited to that mythical but convenient invention, the "average child." Your children are not likely to be average; they will need to be understood as individuals. Nevertheless, knowledge of the average may prove valuable in understanding the individual. When an infant was about to be born among the Mundugumor of New Guinea, the parents would adorn themselves with their most prized clothing and jewelry: a skirt of brilliant parrot feathers for the father, with plumes and beetle shells around his neck. And for the mother, bracelets of wild orchids, a necklace of smoothly polished dog teeth, and, through her nostrils, the long white leg bone of a wild guinea fowl. The Mundugumor considered this business of dressing well for a birth extremely important. If others in the village looked at the parents in admiration, this would bode well for the child. But they also knew that other matters that they could not so easily control are even more important. For example, the Mundugumor knew without any doubt that only infants who are born with their umbilical cords wrapped around their necks have any chance of becoming great artists. And among the Mundugumor, to be a great artist is a lucky and wonderful thing. Amazingly, the Mundugumor were right: Infants not born with their umbilical cords coiled around their necks simply did not become great artists—to absolutely no one's surprise. When I was born, my parents were not particularly concerned with the position of my umbilical cord—unless, of course, the cord was wrapped dangerously tightly around my scrawny neck. You see, my parents knew without any doubt whatsoever that the position of the umbilical cord at birth had absolutely nothing to do with whether or not I would become a great artist. I didn't. I had no brushes as a child! But that's another story. Besides, where I was born and raised, becoming a great artist was an uncommon ambition. Still, my parents were very much like the Mundugumor in their attempts to foretell my future at birth. No, they didn't look at the location of my umbilical cord. Instead, they wanted to know whether I was a girl or a boy. 2.1 Gender Roles My parents were convinced they could make stunningly accurate predictions based on my gender. They believed that if I were a boy, which I was, I would be fast and strong and tough and just a little aggressive (it's not a bad thing in this dog-eat-dog world, you know). And if I were a girl, well, I'd be gentler and more emotional and not nearly so aggressive, and I'd want to help out in the house, but no way would I be interested in chopping wood or becoming a great scientist or a computer programmer. My parents were heir to a vast body of beliefs dealing with the most likely characteristics associated with gender. These characteristics define gender roles (also called sex roles). There have traditionally been masculine roles and feminine roles, and all societies seem to have had relatively clear ideas of what these should be. They are evident in culture-specific stereotypes that describe the behaviors, personality characteristics, and attitudes that a culture finds appropriate for each sex. Learning the behaviors that correspond to one's gender is called gender typing (or sex typing). Gender stereotypes are not always wrong, based as they are on actual experiences with males and females. That there should be a smidgen of truth in our preconceived notions of male–female differences should hardly be surprising. At the same time, however, we need to keep in mind that stereotypes are typically vast oversimplifications and that, especially when they are wrong, they can be grossly unfair. Teachers need to be especially vigilant about stereotypes; they need to be carefully examined. Development of Gender Roles As for all aspects of human development, there are two main influences on the development of gender roles: the environment, evident in the social pressures and models that lead children to adopt male or female roles; and genetics, whose influence is related to our different biological makeup. See Table 2.1 for definitions of important terms in the study of development. Table 2.1: Human development: Definitions Term Definition Psychology The science that studies human behavior and thought. Developmental psychology Division of psychology concerned with changes that occur over time and with the processes and influences that account for these changes. Development includes: Growth Physical changes such as increases in height and weight. Maturation Naturally unfolding changes, relatively independent of experience (for example, pubescence—the changes of adolescence that lead to sexual maturity). Learning Relatively permanent changes in behavior or in potential for behavior that result from experience. Social Pressures and Models In many, though not all, societies, the roles of men and women are different. Often, women are more responsible for looking after children and men are more responsible for producing income. These different social roles, explain Eagly, Wood, and Johannessen-Schmidt (2005), inevitably lead to sex differences in expectations and behavior and, consequently, in gender stereotypes. That's because these traditional roles constrain the individual, in a sense, forcing the adoption of nurturing behaviors by women and the adoption of more assertive behaviors by men who are forced to compete in the sometimes more vicious work world. In societies where these social roles are clear, it's hardly surprising that caring and nurturing should be seen as feminine traits and that assertiveness and competitiveness should be considered masculine traits. It follows from this social role theory of gender typing that a change in the roles of men and women would eventually result in a change in gender roles and in gender stereotypes. Thus, dramatic changes in college enrollment patterns in North America, as well as in occupational patterns, coupled with the fact that far fewer women now carry out the role of traditional homemaker, are rapidly leading to very different conceptions of gender and gender roles. Consider, for example, that in 1960, for every 10 males who graduated from college, only 6 females did likewise (Figure 2.1) Now, almost 60 percent of college graduates are women (U.S. Census Bureau, 2015). Figure 2.1: Ratio of female to male college graduates Increase in ratio of female to male college graduates in the United States from 1950 to 2015. Line graph showing the increasing ratio of female to male college graduates by year from 1950 to 2015. Source: U.S. Census Bureau (2015). Educational Attainment in the United States: 2015 [Data file]. Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/data/tables /2015/demo/education-attainment/p20-578.html Still, however, there are a large number of occupations that are traditionally male rather than female, where fewer than 25 percent of jobs are held by women, , including occupations such as architects, clergy, machinists, truck drivers, fire fighters, and mechanics (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2016). In Lippa's (2005b) survey of occupational preferences of 4,749 men and women, he found that the men typically preferred three categories of occupations: "blue-collar realistic" (carpenter; plumber), "educated realistic" (electrical engineer), and "flashy, risk-taking" (jet pilot). Women preferred occupations such as "fashion related" (fashion model), "artistic" (author), "helping" (social worker), and "children related" (child-care center). Female occupations, even for college-educated women, also tend to be lower-paying than the occupations of comparably educated men (Figure 2.2). Figure 2.2: U.S. male and female median earnings by educational attainment Median earnings tend to increase with increasing education. They are still higher for males than for females. Bar graph showing the discrepancy between median weekly earnings in 2015 for females and males, based on either a high school diploma or bachelor's degree. Men earn more in both categories. Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census (2016). BLS Reports, November 2015 [Data file]. Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/cps/earnings.htm#education Exactly how the different social roles of boys and girls translate into the characteristics that make up masculinity and femininity is not entirely clear. One explanation is gender schema theory. According to this theory, the child begins with no understanding of the nature of gender—no notion of what is called basic gender identity. But notions of gender identity appear even within the first year of life when infants begin to develop what researchers label gender schemas—notions about what male and female mean and what the characteristics of each are. Children can correctly label people as "man" or "woman," "boy" or "girl," almost as soon as they can talk, and they can also predict the sorts of activities in which each is most likely to engage. Parents tend to exert an enormously important influence on the development of gender role in their children (Croft, Schmader, Block, & Baron, 2014). Not only do they typically provide them with what are considered sex-appropriate toys and encourage gender-appropriate behaviors, but they also communicate their own gender biases and stereotypes. For example, research indicates that, among other things, North American parents typically think that boys find math more interesting and easier than do girls. Children may well internalize this and many of the subtle messages parents send out regarding gender and regarding what is expected and appropriate for boys and girls. As a result, these stereotypes can affect children's math performance (Casad, Hale, & Wachs, 2015). Once children have begun to develop gender schemas, these act as powerful constraints on their behavior. Because boys aren't supposed to cry, Robert bites his lip and tries hard to hold back his tears; because girls aren't supposed to like playing with boys' things, Elizabeth tries to ignore her brother's gleaming red fire truck. Biological Influences As we noted, biology also contributes to the development of gender roles. Biology, after all, determines whether we are anatomically male or female. And there are strong indications that some male–female personality differences may have physiological roots. For example, there are anatomical differences between male and female brains, both in terms of size and function. Men's brains are, on average, larger than those of women; structures that are linked with sex and aggression are more developed among men; women tend to have relatively more gray matter; and men, more white matter (Belfi, et al., 2014; Escorial, et al., 2015; Luders et al., 2009). Also, the part of the brain associated with spatial relations and mathematics is more developed in males, whereas the areas of the frontal and temporal lobes linked with language are more developed in women (Sabbatini, 2010). Hormones are another physiological factor thought to be closely involved in the development of gender. When children are exposed prenatally to male or female hormones, their behaviors may subsequently appear to be more masculine or feminine than might otherwise have been expected (Ehrhardt et al., 2007). Thus, females exposed to male sex hormones tend to be somewhat more aggressive. Gender Differences Parents, children, and society in general assume that there are important differences between males and females in their different gender roles. But just how real and important are these differences? Following an early review of research on gender differences, Maccoby and Jacklin (1974) suggested four areas in which gender differences are significant: (1) verbal ability, particularly in the early grades, favoring females; (2) mathematical ability, favoring males; (3) spatial-visual ability (evident in geographic orientation, for example), favoring males; and (4) aggression (lower among females). But many of these differences no longer seem as clear now as they did in 1974. There is mounting evidence that when early experiences are similar, there are few significant male–female differences (Strand, 2010). Furthermore, even when differences are found, they tend to be modest and far from universal. Still, to the extent that there might be predictable differences in school-related areas, such as verbal ability and science and mathematical achievement, these differences can be important for teachers. Verbal Ability Differences in verbal ability are not always apparent and are usually quite small, but almost invariably favor girls (Reilly, Neumann, & Andrews, 2016). In most comparisons that have looked at specific skills, such as those involved in spelling, verbal fluency, and verbal composition, girls tend to perform better than boys. Mathematics, Science, and Visuospatial Abilities On average, boys tend to do better than girls on measures of mathematical skills (CollegeBoard SAT, 2010). They also typically do better in sciences such as physics and chemistry, which are heavily dependent on mathematical and visuospatial abilities (evident in tasks involving mentally rotating objects, map orientation, way-finding, and geographical knowledge). Males are also more variable than females on most tests (Halpern, 2011). That is, more males are at the highest and at the lowest levels. Interestingly, however, there is some evidence that although females don't do as well as males in mathematics on average, there are more females than males who are high in both verbal and mathematical ability (Wang, Eccles, & Kenny, 2013). Physical Abilities Some of the physical differences between boys and girls are clear and not especially controversial. On average, males are taller and heavier than females throughout life except for a short period during pubescence when girls' earlier maturation gives them a short-lived advantage in height and weight. That these differences in height and weight should be reflected in different physical abilities is not especially surprising. Males tend to perform better than females in activities requiring strength and stamina. As a result, males can often throw objects further, lift heavier weights, run faster, throw farther, jump higher, do more sit-ups, and more effectively fend off cantankerous bears. On the other hand, women have better eye-hand coordination than men, are more flexible, and do better at rhythmic tasks such as hopscotch and dancing (Lippa, 2005a). The Implications of Gender Roles for Teaching Stereotypes about the different abilities and interests of boys and girls may well lead teachers to treat them differently and to expect them to perform differently. Hence, it is extremely important for teachers to keep in mind that many apparent gender differences are trivial or even nonexistent. Teachers need to be aware of—and work to eliminate—the many subtle instances of sex bias that still permeate our attitudes, our books, our schools, and our society. See the case "And for Noon Detention, Here Is the List..." for examples of still common gender inequities in three areas. Cases from the Classroom: And for Noon Detention, Here Is the List... The Time: Early morning at Wes Horman School The Place: Ms. Fenna's fifth-grade class Morning messages are just ending on the intercom. "And,'' says Mr. Sawchuk, school principal, "for noon detention in Mr. Klein's office, the list is Ronald West, Juan González, Eddie Mio, and Eddie Nyberg . . . and I hope there won't be any more by noon.''* Ms. Fenna: You heard that, Ronald? Ronald nods. "Also," continues Mr. Sawchuk, "grade sixers who aren't going on the field trip: the boys will spend the day in Mr. Klein's phys ed classes, and the girls will go to the art room. . . . That's all.'' Ms. Fenna: Now, class, I want you to open your math workbooks to page 34, which we started yesterday, and finish the assignment on that page before we go on. Tom Larsen: I finished mine. What can I do now? Ms. Fenna: I'll come check it in a minute. Rosa Donner: Me too. Ms. Fenna: In this class, we raise our hand, Rosa. Teddy Langevin: Can we read our Tom Sawyers if we're finished? Ms. Fenna: How many are finished with page 34? *Note that the principal's reading the names of detention students over an intercom system is not a highly recommended school management behavior. (See Chapter 9.) One example at the Wes Horman School, as in many other schools, is evidence of gender inequity in the administration. The principal and vice principal are both male; the majority of teachers are female. As Figure 2.3 shows, the proportion of female to male teachers has been increasing so that about 3 of every 4 teachers are now female. Yet almost half of all principals are male. But that proportion, too, is declining (See Figure 2.4). Figure 2.3: Percentage of elementary and secondary teachers who are male and female Declining ratio of male to female teachers in U.S. elementary and secondary schools. Line graph showing the percentage of male and female elementary and secondary school teachers between 1961 and 2011. Female numbers have risen, while male numbers have declined. Source: Institute of Educational Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (2008; 2015). [Data file]. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=28 Figure 2.4: Declining proportion of male principals in elementary and secondary schools The relative proportion of male to female public school principals has dropped dramatically in the last several decades. Line graph showing the declining proportion of male principals in elementary and secondary schools from 1993 to 2012. Source: Institute of Educational Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (2007). [Data file]. Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/.; Institute of Educational Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (2013). Characteristics of public and private elementary and secondary school principals in the United States: Results from the 2011-2012 schools and staffing survey. Retrieved from nces.ed.gov/pubs2013/2013313.pdf Another example of inequity is the treatment of students. When Tom and Teddy called out, Ms. Fenna responded to them directly. But when Rosa echoed Tom, Ms. Fenna reprimanded her: "In this class, we raise our hand," she said. Is this unusual? No. At virtually all educational levels, teachers interact more with male students than with female students: Boys receive more instructional time, more attention, even more praise and encouragement (Sadker & Sadker, 1986). And, like the detainees at Wes Horman School, they are also more often reprimanded and punished. Gender inequities are also apparent in the sexual stereotypes still found in books, in the curriculum, in classroom examples, and elsewhere. At Wes Horman School, boys who need looking after because they did not go on a field trip are sent to gym classes; girls are sent to the art room. And for those who have finished their arithmetic, the reading assignment is Tom Sawyer. Although "male hero" books are no longer as pervasive in schools as they once were, boys are often portrayed as more dominant and girls as more helpless. It isn't sufficient simply to know that schools reflect much of the racism, sexism, and other prejudices of our society. Teachers (and principals) need to be on guard constantly lest they unconsciously propagate the same stereotypes and inequities. In the United States, gender equity is mandated by laws that prohibit discrimination by sex in any federally funded educational program. But this doesn't mean that all inequities have been wiped out. There is still much to be done. 2.2 Personality Development: Erik Erikson Gender is one very important aspect of our personality. But personality is much more than our notions of being male or female and related attitudes and interests. Personality includes all of the abilities, predispositions, habits, and other qualities that make each of us different from every other person. Exactly how personality develops—for example, the extent to which personality characteristics are innate or result from our experiences—is not entirely certain. But one highly useful theory of personality development for teachers is that of Erik Erikson. Much of Erikson's theory was inspired by Sigmund Freud. But whereas Freud's theory highlighted the importance of sexuality and sexual conflicts in human development, Erikson emphasizes the importance of the child's social environment. The result is a theory of psychosocial rather than psychosexual development. The major emphasis in Erikson's theory is on the development of a healthy self-concept, or identity to use his term. Psychosocial Stages in Childhood and Adolescence Psychosocial development, says Erikson, can be described in terms of eight stages, the first five of which span infancy, childhood, and adolescence; the last three occur in adulthood. Each stage involves a conflict brought about mainly by a person's need to adapt to the social environment. And because the demands of a given environment tend to be much the same for all individuals within that culture, we tend to experience the same problems and conflicts at about the same ages—hence the notion of stages. Trust versus Mistrust For example, for infants to adapt to an initially complex and largely bewildering world, they have to learn to trust the world. Doing so, explains Erikson, is highly dependent on the consistency and care with which caregivers meet the infant's needs for drink, food, warmth, and comfort. Should caregiving be haphazard and unreliable, the infant becomes mistrustful. Hence, the basic psychosocial conflict is one of trust versus mistrust. Resolving the conflict results in a sense of competence and enables infants to continue to develop and grow. In Erikson's words, "The infant's first social achievement is his willingness to let the mother out of sight without undue anxiety or rage, because she has become an inner certainty as well as an outer predictability" (1950, p. 247). Autonomy versus Shame and Doubt Initially, infants don't deliberately act upon the world; instead, they react to it. Sucking, for example, is something that happens when stimulation is appropriate; it isn't something that infants deliberately decide to do. But during the second year of life, they gradually begin to realize that they are the authors of their own actions. As a result, they begin to develop a sense of autonomy. At this stage, it's important for parents to encourage their children to explore and to provide opportunities for their independence. Overprotectiveness can lead to doubt and uncertainty in dealing with the world. Initiative versus Guilt By the age of 4 or 5, children have begun to develop a sense that they are separate, autonomous individuals capable of their own decisions and actions. Now they must discover who they are. This discovery, Erikson (1959) explains, comes about largely as a result of identification. Identification involves trying to be like the person with whom the child identifies—in this case, the parent. A child's painting of his brother and mother. Marie Lefrançois/Marie's Photography By the age of 4 or 5, children have begun to develop a sense of autonomy and independence. Still, the most important people in their lives are parents and family—as is evident in this child's painting of his mother and brother. During this stage of development, children's worlds expand dramatically, not only in a physical sense, but also through their use of language and in the fact that preschool teachers, friends, and siblings become more important. Children need to develop a sense of initiative with respect to their own behaviors—a sense that they are autonomous as well as responsible for initiating that behavior. Industry versus Inferiority It's important to keep in mind that each of Erikson's stages reflects the principal social and cultural demands in the child's life. Thus this next stage, which spans the elementary school years, is marked by children's increasing need to interact with and be accepted by peers. It now becomes vital that children receive assurance that they are significant and worthwhile. During this stage, children often take advantage of opportunities to learn things that they think are important in their culture. It is as though, by so doing, they hope to become someone important rather than someone inferior. Successful resolution of this stage's conflict depends largely on how the culture's main socializing agencies—especially schools and teachers—respond to children's efforts. Recognition and praise are crucial for developing a positive self-concept. If children's work is continually demeaned, seldom praised, and rarely rewarded, the outcome may well be a lasting sense of inferiority. Identity versus Identity Diffusion Adolescence brings with it an extremely critical, and sometimes very difficult, task: that of developing a strong sense of identity rather than a vague, uncertain self-concept. The formation of an identity, notes Erikson (1959), involves arriving at a notion not so much of who one is but rather of who one can be. The source of conflict is the almost overwhelming number of possibilities open to children. The conflict is made worse by the variety of models and the range of different values evident in society. In the absence of clear commitment to values, and perhaps to vocational goals as well, adolescents are said to be in a state of identity diffusion. Later in adolescence, children may experiment with a variety of identities. In this sense, Erikson explains, adolescence serves as a sort of "moratorium"—a period during which adolescents can try out different roles without a final commitment. The crisis of adolescence is simply the conflict between the need to find an identity and the difficulties involved in doing so. Resolution of the crisis normally involves achieving a relatively mature identity. Achieving a mature identity is clearly not something that all adolescents manage to do by the time they are out of their teens. There are many potential pitfalls and issues that might confront the adolescent and interfere with identify formation: pregnancy and parenthood, sexual abuse and violence, drug and alcohol use, the possibility of sexually transmitted diseases, parental conflict, and coping with insistent hormonal urges. Add to these issues problems associated with making career and life-shaping decisions and it becomes clear why Hall (1916) described adolescence as a period of sturm und drang (storm and stress.) Stages of Identity Formation: Marcia Erikson's description of adolescent identity formation has been clarified by Marcia (1966, 1993). There are essentially four distinct types of identity status, explains James E. Marcia, each distinguishable in terms of whether the adolescent is currently undergoing a crisis and whether a commitment has been made to a specific identity. Identity Diffusion Adolescents in a state of identity diffusion are characterized by a total lack of commitment and by the absence of any real crisis. These are individuals whose political, social, and religious beliefs are either ambiguous or nonexistent and who have no vocational aspirations. Identity diffusion is characteristic of early adolescence. Older adolescents (and adults) marked by identity diffusion are recognizable as full-time "fun-seekers" says Marcia, or as immature and disturbed individuals often characterized by high anxiety and low self-confidence (Marcia, 1980). Foreclosure Foreclosure describes a strong commitment to an identity without having gone through a crisis. Foreclosure is often characteristic of individuals reared in close-knit religious communities where there is no need to make vocational, political, or religious choices. The most striking characteristic of foreclosure individuals is obedience and high adherence to authoritarian values. Moratorium Adolescence provides adolescents with an opportunity to experiment with various roles and to toy with vague, changing commitments while struggling with the need to develop a strong sense of identity. In this sense, adolescence is a moratorium—an interlude or period of delay. Moratorium individuals are those who are not yet committed (to occupational, political, or religious roles, for example) and who are going through crises of varying severity. Adolescents who have foreclosed their identities are those who have not experienced this period of exploration without commitment. Identity Achieved Identity-achieved adolescents are those who have experienced a crisis and made a choice (commitment). Note, however, that identity can develop independently in different areas. For example, an adolescent who is married and has a child has achieved a relatively high level of identity with respect to social relationships, but the same adolescent might still be in a stage of identity diffusion or moratorium with respect to career development. Adolescents who have achieved a sense of identity, notes Marcia (1980), are more independent, better able to cope with stress, and marked by higher self-esteem. Psychosocial Stages of Adulthood Of less importance to K–12 teachers, Erikson describes three additional psychosocial conflicts that occur during adulthood and old age. Each of these reflects the most common social realities in North American cultures. And each requires new competencies and adjustments. The first of the adult stages, intimacy and solidarity versus isolation, reflects most adults' need for intimate relationships with others (as opposed to being isolated). Such relationships are especially important for those who want marital and parental roles. For others, developmental tasks might be quite different. The second adult stage, generativity versus self-absorption, describes individuals' need to take on social, work, and community responsibilities that will be beneficial to others (that will be generative). The basic conflict here is between a tendency to remain preoccupied with the self (as are adolescents, for example) and cultural demands that individuals contribute to society in various ways. The final adult stage in the human lifespan, integrity versus despair, has to do with facing the inevitability of our own death and realizing that life has meaning—that we should not despair because the end is imminent. (See Table 2.2 and Table 2.3 for a summary of Erikson's stages and Marcia's descriptions of identity formation.) Table 2.2: Erikson's psychosocial stages Erikson's psychosocial crisis* Important social and cultural influences Main accomplishments required for healthy development 1. Trust vs. mistrust (Birth to 18 months) Mother or other principal caregiver Developing sense of trust with main caregiver(s) 2. Autonomy vs. shame and doubt (18 months to 3 years) Supportive parents; family Developing sense of ownership over actions; developing intentional behavior 3. Initiative vs. guilt (3 to 6 years) Parents and family, beginning to expand to preschool, friends, and relatives Identifying with parents to develop a sense of self and of responsibility for own actions 4. Industry vs. inferiority (6 to 12 years) Schools, teachers, friends, and family Developing a positive self-concept 5. Identity vs. identity diffusion (teen years) Peers and role models; social pressure Developing a sense of identity; resolving crises and making commitments 6. Intimacy vs. isolation Spouse, colleagues, partners, society Developing close relationships with others; achieving the intimacy required for marriage 7. Generativity vs. self-absorption Spouse, children, friends, colleagues, community Assuming responsible adult roles in the community; contributing; being worthwhile 8. Integrity vs. despair Friends, relatives, children, spouse, community, religious support Facing death; overcoming potential despair; coming to terms with the meaningfulness of life *A crisis is defined as a period of active and conscious decision making during which various alternatives are examined and evaluated. Commitment is acceptance of a combination of political, social, religious, and vocational alternatives. Level of crisis and commitment may be different in each of these areas. Table 2.3: Marcia's description of identity formation Status Commitment Crisis Characteristics Identity diffusion None None Ambiguous belief systems; no vocational commitment Foreclosure Strong None Commitment predetermined by political, social, or religious affiliation Moratorium None Yes Period of exploration of alternatives Identity achieved Yes Finished Crisis finished; commitment made; higher independence and self-esteem; clearer sense of self The Relevance of Erikson's Theory for Teachers Erikson's theory, notes Elkind (2015), has had a profound influence on psychoanalysis, on psychology, and yes, on the way we view children and adolescents. The theory is especially important for teachers because of the insights it provides concerning normal, healthy development. It underlines the close relationship between emotions and cognitions and emphasizes the role of teachers and parents in helping children develop positive emotions and social competencies (Thompson, 2010). To the extent that each of Erikson's stages reflects some truth about human nature, perhaps about our most basic tendencies and conflicts, it can be important in helping teachers better understand children. In the same way as parents are the most important source of influence in the lives of infants, so too are teachers a fundamentally important source of influence in the lives of schoolchildren. One of the things that Erikson's theory emphasizes is the importance of the child's self-concept. As we noted, teachers can do a great deal to enhance self-concept. They can also do much to facilitate the adolescent's occasional struggles with issues of identity. Erikson's theory deals mainly with emotional and personality development. Also of profound importance for teachers is cognitive development. Cognition has to do with knowing. Cognitive theorists are concerned with how we obtain, process, and use information. Cognitive development refers to the stages and processes involved in the child's intellectual development. In the next sections, we look at three important theories of cognitive development: those of the Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget, Soviet psychologist Lev Vygotsky, and of the Russian born, American psychologist Urie Bronfenbrenner. Each of these theories has important implications for teachers. 2.3 Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development Babies are remarkable little sensing machines. Almost from birth, they can detect sounds, odors, sights, tastes, and touches; they can respond by squirming and wriggling, by crying, by flinging their limbs about and grasping things, and by sucking. But can they think? Do they have a store of little ideas? Of budding concepts? We can't answer these questions easily because the neonate (newborn) doesn't communicate well enough to tell us. But Piaget tells us that the child probably does not think in the sense that we ordinarily define thinking. The newborn does not have a stockpile of memories or hopes and dreams—does not have a fund of information about which, and with which, to think. But what this little sensing machine does have are the tools necessary for acquiring information. Factors Underlying Development From the very beginning, says Piaget, the infant continually seeks out and responds to stimulation, and by so doing it gradually builds up a repertoire of behaviors and capabilities. To begin with, the infant is limited to reflexive behaviors, unlearned, biologically-based actions such as sucking and grasping. Soon, however, these behaviors become more complex, more coordinated, and eventually purposeful. The process by which this occurs defines adaptation. And adaptation is made possible through the twin processes of assimilation and accommodation. Assimilation and Accommodation To assimilate is to respond in terms of pre-existing information using previously learned behaviors. In contrast, to accommodate is to change a behavior in response to a given situation. As a result, explains Piaget, assimilation involves little change in the child's cognitive system because old learning and old behaviors are being used and practiced. But accommodation involves changes in the mental system because old behaviors and old learning are now being modified. Assimilation and accommodation are the processes that make adaptation possible throughout life. However, these are not separate and independent processes; they always occur together. We cannot begin to make changes in mental structure (accommodating) without first having some basis for responding (assimilating). But all instances of assimilation also involve some degree of change, no matter how familiar the situation or how well learned the respons—even if the change is no more significant than that the response will be a tiny fraction better learned and more readily available in the future. Equilibration One of the governing principles of mental activity, explains Piaget, is equilibration, a tendency to maintain a balance between assimilation and accommodation. At one extreme, if the child always assimilated stimulation to previous learning and responses, there would be no new learning. Everything would be responded to in the same way. This would be a state of disequilibrium that would lead to little cognitive change (hence, little learning). On the other hand, if everything were always accommodated to, behavior would be in a constant state of flux, forever changing—again an extreme state of disequilibrium resulting in little new learning. As an illustration, if Matthew always calculates area by multiplying two dimensions of a figure, he can be said to be assimilating all area problems to what he has already learned about the area of squares and rectangles. This state of disequilibrium will lead to an incorrect answer every time an area problem involves a different geometric figure (such as a circle or a triangle), and it will also result in little new learning about calculating area. However, if Matthew insists on using a different method of calculating area each time he is faced with a new problem, he will be accommodating (modifying responses) excessively and inappropriately. Again, this state of disequilibrium will lead to few correct answers and not much new learning. Four Factors that Shape Development The tendency toward equilibration, says Piaget (1961), is one of the four great forces that shape a child's development. The second is maturation, a biologically based process that makes certain kinds of learning possible and even probable. Thus, physical maturation allows infants to learn to control tongue, lip, and mouth movements, enabling them to learn to speak. But without the right experiences, of course, physical maturation alone would not result in a child who speaks. Hence, the need for active experience. Through active interaction with the real world, the child develops important notions about objects and their properties. Similarly, through social interaction children elaborate their ideas about things, about others, and about the self. The development of progressively more advanced ways of representing the world and of interacting with it depends on: Equilibration: The tendency to balance assimilation (responding in terms of previous learning) and accommodation (changing behavior in response to the environment). Maturation: Genetically based changes that make certain developments possible and probable. Active experience: Interaction with real objects and events allows an individual to discover things and to construct mental representations of the world. Social interaction: Interaction with people leads to the elaboration of ideas about things, people, and self. Piaget's Stages of Development Piaget describes development in terms of a series of stages through which children progress as they develop. Each of these stages is characterized by certain kinds of behaviors and certain ways of thinking and solving problems. Piaget's descriptions of these ways of solving problems, of behaving, and of thinking can be valuable for helping teachers understand their students. (See Table 2.4 for an overview of the stages.) Table 2.4: Piaget's stages of cognitive development Stage Approximate age Some major characteristics Sensorimotor 0–2 years Motoric intelligence World of the here and now No language, no thought in early stages No notion of objective reality Preoperational thought Preconceptual thinking Intuitive thinking 2–7 years 2–4 years 4–7 years Egocentric thought Reason dominated by perception Intuitive rather than logical solutions Inability to conserve Concrete operations 7–11 or 12 years Ability to conserve Logic of classes and relations Understanding of number Thinking bound to concrete Formal operations 11 or 12–14 or 15 years Complete generality of thought Ability to deal with the hypothetical Development of strong idealism Sensorimotor Intelligence: Birth to 2 Years During the first two years of life, Piaget explains, infants understand the world only in terms of the actions they perform and the sensation that results. Sensation is defined as the immediate, physical effects of a stimulus (for example, a sound, a sight, a taste). Hence, Piaget's use of the label sensorimotor intelligence to describe this period. It seemed to Piaget that, until the child develops a way to represent the world mentally, intelligent activity must be confined mainly to sensorimotor functions. The child's world at birth is a world of the here and now, says Piaget. Objects exist when they can be seen, heard, touched, tasted, or smelled; when they are removed from the infant's immediate sensory experience, they cease to be. One of the child's major achievements during the sensorimotor stage is the acquisition of what Piaget calls the object concept—the notion that objects have a permanence and identity of their own and that they continue to exist even when they aren't being immediately sensed. If an attractive object is shown to a very young infant and then hidden, the child will not even look for it: it does not seem to exist when they can no longer see or touch it. In general, says Piaget, the first two years of life are characterized by a sensorimotor representation of the world. But one of the important achievements of this stage is symbolic representation evident in the learning of a language. The Preoperational Period: 2 to 7 Years The preoperational period is so called because, according to Piaget, children do not acquire operational (logical) thinking until around age 7. During this period, thinking is full of contradictions and errors. Piaget illustrates this point by describing his young son's reaction to a snail they had seen while out walking one morning. When they later saw another snail, the boy exclaimed, "Here it is again, the snail." He was certain this was the same snail. This, Piaget says, is an example of preconceptual thinking. The child does not yet understand that similar objects define classes (all snails are snails), but are not identical (snail A is not snail B). Another feature of preoperational thought is found in the animism that sometimes marks the 3-year old's thinking. Piaget (1960) relates a conversation he had with a young child as they walked. "Does the sun move?" asked Piaget (p. 215). "Yes," the child answered, going on to explain that the sun, like the moon, goes wherever he goes, that it stops when he stops, turns when he turns, moves fast when he runs, and that it must surely be alive. Animistic thinking—the belief that inanimate things are alive—grants a different magic to the thinking of the 2-year-old, a magic that sees life in all things that move or otherwise act as though they were alive. But even among preschoolers, animism has its limits. Bullock (1985) suggests to a 4-year-old that if the moon or the sun are alive because they move, then surely a car, which clearly moves, must also be alive. But the child is not so easily fooled. How can this thing of metal and rubber and plastic be alive? In fact, says Bullock, animistic thinking is relatively common among very young preschoolers, but it is rare among 4- and 5-year-olds. And even among the very young, animism is often limited to things like the sun, the moon, clouds, the wind, and other things about which even we adults are not always entirely certain; it seldom applies to rocks and trees and pitchers of cold water. After around age 4, children's thinking becomes somewhat more logical, although it is still largely dominated by perception rather than by reason. It is not so much rational as it is intuitive thinking, which is marked by the child's ability to solve many problems intuitively and also by the child's inability to respond correctly in the face of misleading perceptual features of problems. Intuitive thought, explains Piaget, is often marked by egocentrism, evident in this simple demonstration: A boy and girl doll are placed side by side on a string. A researcher holds one end of the string in each hand so that the dolls are hidden behind a screen placed between the child and the researcher. The child is asked to predict which doll will come out first if the string is moved toward the right. Whether the child is correct or not, the boy doll is moved out and hidden again. The question is repeated; again the boy doll will come out on the same side. This time, or perhaps next time, but almost certainly before many more trials, the child will predict that the other doll will come out. Why? "Because it's her turn. It isn't fair." The child interprets the problem only from a personal point of view, from an egocentric view. That perception tends to dominate the child's thinking is evident in this Piagetian demonstration: Michael, a 4-year-old, is asked to take a bead and place it in one of two containers. As he does so, a researcher places a bead in another container. They repeat this procedure until one of the containers is about half full. To confuse Michael, the researcher has put her beads in a low, flat dish whereas Michael's container is tall and narrow. The researcher now asks, "Who has more beads? Or do we both have the same number?" "I have more," says Michael, "because they're higher." Or he might just as easily have said, "You have more 'cause they're bigger around." In either case, his answers reflect his reliance on the appearance of the containers. This reliance on perception, even when it conflicts with logic, is one of the major differences between children and adults. The thinking of 6- and 7-year-olds, says Piaget, is more magical than ours. It does not draw as fine a line between reality and imagination; the logic that governs it is less compelling and more easily swayed. (See Figure 2.5 for a summary of preoperational thought.) Figure 2.5: Preoperational thought Some characteristics of preoperational thought, which occurs from 2–7 years of age. Figure comparing the characteristics of preoperational thought in both the preconceptual period (2–4 years of age) and the intuitive period (4–7 years of age). The dinosaur case (see "Aren't Dinosaurs Real?") shows how magical thinking operates. Dinosaurs are completely extinct, yet there remains the chilling possibility that there might still be a real one somewhere, maybe even in this classroom, today. When, later that day, the teacher asked this same class, apropos of something entirely different, "How many of you have ever seen a real dinosaur?" fully one-third of those little second-grade hands shot instantly in the air. Cases from the Classroom: Aren't Dinosaurs Real? The Place: Marie's second-grade classroom The Setting: A dinosaur expert from the local museum is visiting the class. He has brought what looks like a large stuffed Tyrannosaurus rex with him. Expert: Dinosaurs are extinct. Does anyone know what that means? Roseanne: Means there's no more. Billy: Means they stink bad. (burst of laughter) Ronald: Means they're all gone and all dead and there's no more, and . . . and I don't know. Expert: That's right. It means there's no more. They're all gone. They're extinct. Roseanne: (very seriously, pointing to the stuffed tyrannosaurus rex): Is that a real dinosaur? Concrete Operations: 7 to 11 or 12 Years An operation is a mental activity—a thought, in other words—that is subject to certain rules of logic. Before the stage of concrete operations, children are preoperational not because they are incapable of thinking but because their thinking is limited by a reliance on perception and intuition and egocentric tendencies. With the advent of concrete operations, children begin to make a transition from a prelogical form of thought to thinking characterized by rules of logic that are applied to real, concrete objects and events. Concrete operations are well illustrated by the child's ability to conserve. Conservation is the realization that quantity or amount doesn't change—despite changes in appearance—unless something is taken away from or added to an object or a collection of objects. The demonstration in which an equal number of wooden beads are put into two different-shaped containers leading the child to conclude that one container has more beads than the other because it's taller or wide illustrates lack of conservation. There are as many types of conservation as there are measurable characteristics of objects: There is conservation of number, length, distance, area, volume, continuous substance, discontinuous substance, liquid substance, and so on. None of these conservations is achieved before the period of concrete operations; even then, some (volume, for example) will not be acquired until quite late in that period. Several experimental procedures used to test for conservation are shown in Figure 2.6, together with the approximate ages of attainment. Figure 2.6: Procedures for demonstrating conservations Some simple tests for conservations with approximate ages of attainment. Figure displaying five different tests of conservation. Tests include: 1. Conservation of substance (6–7 years of age); 2. Conservation of length (6–7 years of age); 3. Conservation of number (6–7 years of age); 4. Conservation of liquids (6–7 years of age); 5. Conservation of area (9–10 years of age). One of the intriguing things about conservation is that preoperational children can be made to contradict themselves many times without ever changing their minds. After the experiment on conservation of liquid quantity, for example, the experimenter can pour the water back into the original containers and repeat the question. The child now acknowledges that they contain the same amount of water, but as soon as the water is again poured into the tall and flat containers, that decision may be reversed. Besides conservation, children at this stage also acquire the ability to classify and to seriate, both of which are essential to fully understand number. Classification involves incorporating subclasses into more general classes, while maintaining the identity of the subclasses (an example is given in Figure 2.7). Seriation requires understanding how to order objects in terms of an attribute. To demonstrate seriation, Piaget presented children with a series of different-size dolls and asked them to arrange these dolls in order. Preoperational children find this task very difficult. Typically, they compare only two dolls at a time and fail to make an inference that is important for solving the problem: If A is greater than B, and B is greater than C, A must also be greater than C. Preoperational children don't hesitate to put B before A if they have just been comparing B and C (see Figure 2.8). Figure 2.7: Simple classification "If there are orange balls and green balls, and some are large and others are small, how many different kinds of balls are there?" This demonstration illustrates the classification abilities of children during the period of concrete operations. Figure showing an activity that demonstrates the classification abilities of children during the period of concrete operations. Figure 2.8: A test of children’s understanding of seriation The elements of the series are presented in random order and children are asked to arrange them in sequence by height. The top row was arranged by a 3 ½-year-old; the bottom, by an 8-year-old. Illustration of dolls arranged in a pile, in a row of varying heights, and in a row of increasing heights. Children at the stage of concrete operations can apply rules of logic to classes, to relations (series), and to numbers. However, they find it difficult to apply rules of logic to objects or events that are not concrete. They deal mainly with what is real or what they are capable of imagining. Their ready answer to the question "what if Pinocchio had a short nose?" is "Pinocchio does not have a short nose!" Formal Operations: 11 or 12 to 14 or 15 Years The final stage, formal operations, brings with it the ability to deal with completely hypothetical situations using rules of logic. Piaget illustrates this with an item from Binet's reasoning test (the forerunner to the well-known Stanford-Binet test): Edith is fairer than Susan; Edith is darker than Lilly. Who is the darkest of the three? This problem is difficult not because it involves seriation (seriation has already been mastered in the stage of concrete operations) but because of the abstract nature of the characteristics to be ordered. If Edith, Susan, and Lilly were all standing in front of a 10-year-old subject, the subject could easily say, "Oh! Edith is fairer than Susan, and she is darker than Lilly—and Susan is the darkest." But when the problem is verbal rather than concrete, it requires thinking that is more formal (abstract). Clearly the thinking of adolescents is a far more powerful logic than the concrete thinking of younger children. Among other things, it allows children to begin to understand abstract concepts such as proportion and heat, and it allows them to deal with the hypothetical world rather than merely what is immediately real. As a result, one important feature of formal operations thinking is an increasing concern with the ideal. Once children are able to reason from the hypothetical to the real or from the actual to the hypothetical, they can conceive of worlds and societies that, hypothetically, have no ills. Moral Development: Piaget and Kohlberg Even as intellectual development can be understood in terms of sequential stages, claimed Piaget, so too can the development of morality—notions of right and wrong. Piaget investigated morality in children by telling them stories and asking them to judge how good or bad the characters in the stories were. For example, in one story child A deliberately breaks a cup, whereas child B accidentally breaks a whole raft of cups. We, who operate with adult-like moralities, know that child B, although perhaps clumsy and careless, is not nearly the scoundrel that is child A. Younger children, notes Piaget, judge these two children quite differently. They insist that child A is not nearly as bad as child B. "Look," they reason, "she broke a whole bunch of cups and he only broke one." Theirs is the reality-based morality of the preschooler: Consequences, rather than intentions, are all-important. Based on children's responses to stories such as these, Piaget describes two stages in the development of morality: The first, which lasts until around ages 8 to 10, is dominated by the immediate consequences of the action. As a result, behaviors that have pleasant consequences tend to be viewed as good; those that have negative consequences are judged as bad. Accordingly, children in this stage respond primarily to outside authority because it is the main source of reward and punishment. Piaget's label for this stage is heteronomy. The term heteronomy refers to forces outside the individual. As DeVries (1997) notes, this stage is typified by a morality of obedience to outside authority. In the second stage, beginning around ages 11 or 12, moral judgments are increasingly influenced by internalized standards and values—hence Piaget's label for this stage: autonomy. As a result, with advancing age and maturity, the teacher–child, relationship changes from one that is authoritarian and obedience-based to one that reflects increasing mutual respect. Strongly influenced by Piaget, Lawrence Kohlberg (1980) studied moral development by describing situations that pose moral dilemmas. One of these stories is paraphrased in Table 2.6. Responses to these stories suggest three broad levels in the development of morality, each of which reflects two distinct stages of moral orientation. The six resulting stages of moral orientation are summarized and illustrated in Table 2.5. Note that, in general, these stages describe 3 broad phases of moral development: A stage of heteronomy where the child believes that behaviors are good or bad based on their objective consequences and on the likelihood of being punished or rewarded. Kohlberg labels this phase the preconventional level. An intermediate stage where the child is concerned with maintaining peace and harmony, upholding the law, and getting along well with parents and peers—in short, adhering to social convention. This is what Kohlberg labels the conventional level. A final stage, Kohlberg's postconventional level, is marked by a morality that reflects values that are more universal and more independent. These values are often based on ideals or principles that are seen as valuable guides for rules and laws. But even among adults, moral judgments that reflect this higher level of morality, which is based on fundamental ethical principles, are rare, claims Kohlberg. Table 2.5: Kohlberg's levels of morality Kohlberg identified levels of moral judgment in children and adults by telling them stories involving a moral dilemma. One example is the story of Heinz, paraphrased as follows: Heinz's wife is dying of cancer. One special drug, recently discovered by a local pharmacist, might save her. The pharmacist can make the drug for about $200 but is selling it for 10 times that amount. So Heinz goes to everyone he knows to try to borrow the $2,000 he needs, but he can only scrape together $1,000. "My wife's dying," he tells the pharmacist, asking him to sell the drug at a lower price or let him pay later. But the pharmacist refuses. Desperate, Heinz breaks into the drug store to steal the drug for his wife. Should Heinz have done that? Why? (Kohlberg, 1969, p. 379) Level Stage Possible reasoning I Preconventional Stage 1: Punishment and obedience orientation "If he steals the drug, he might go to jail." (Punishment.) Stage 2: Naïve instrumental hedonism "He can steal the drug and save his wife, and he'll be with her when he gets out of jail." (Act motivated by its hedonistic consequences for the actor.) II Conventional Stage 3: "Good-boy, nice-girl" morality "People will understand if you steal the drug to save your wife, but they'll think you're cruel and a coward if you don't." (Reactions of others and the effects of the act on social relationships become important.) Stage 4: Law-and-order orientation "It is the husband's duty to save his wife even if he feels guilty afterwards for stealing the drug." (Institutions, law, duty, honor, and guilt motivate behavior.) III Postconventional Stage 5: Morality of social contract "The husband has a right to the drug even if he can't pay now. If the druggist won't charge it, the government should look after it." (Democratic laws guarantee individual rights; contracts are mutually beneficial.) Stage 6: Universal ethical* "Although it is legally wrong to steal, the husband would be morally wrong not to steal to save his wife. A life is more precious than financial gain. Imprisonment is not too high a price to pay." (Conscience is individual. Laws are socially useful but not sacrosanct.) *None of Kohlberg's subjects ever reached stage 6. However, it is still described as a "potential" stage. Kohlberg suggests that moral martyrs such as Jesus or Martin Luther King Jr. exemplify this level. Source: Based on Kohlberg, L. A. (1969). Stage and sequence: The cognitive-developmental approach to socialization. In D. A. Gosselin (Ed.), Handbook of socialization theory and research, (pp. 347–380). Chicago: Rand McNally.; Kohlberg, L. A. (1980). The meaning and measurement of moral development. Worcester, Mass.: Clark University Press. Educational Implications of Piaget's Theory Piaget's cognitive theory is monumental in child development and has had (and continues to have) a profound impact on educational practices. Among other things, the theory directs the teacher's attention to the child's developmental level: It seems clear that children will gain most from instruction when they have the concepts and understandings to do so. Piaget's theory emphasizes that learning is far more than a simple process of moving items of information from out there (perhaps in a teacher's head or in a computer or book) into the child (what is termed direct instruction). Instead, it suggests that meaningful learning and development result from a highly active process in which learners construct knowledge (constructivism). Constructivism does not mean that teachers need do nothing to facilitate and guide learning—that the learner should assume complete responsibility for acquiring and organizing information. But it does imply that teachers need to be keenly aware of the learner's capabilities, and of what the learner already knows, of what is likely to be meaningful and interesting. Several more specific instructional implications flow from the theory. Provide Opportunities for Physical and Mental Activity Activity, says Piaget, is fundamental to building concepts and understanding the world. For example, children's ability to deal with classes, relations, and numbers results from the activities of combining, separating, and setting up correspondences among real objects during the preoperational stage. It follows, then, that teachers should provide children with many opportunities to engage in meaningful activities with real objects, as well as opportunities for mental activity (thinking). As an illustration, consider the case entitled "The B Store." In many ways, this little classroom store mirrors real life, thus giving the learning of mathematics a degree of realism, practicality, and meaningfulness not often found in cold numbers on a worksheet. Not only does it provide for actual activity in a meaningful setting, but it also gives the teacher a simple way of administering or withholding reinforcement. And it provides ways to teach an extremely wide range of mathematical concepts besides simple addition and subtraction. For example, multiplication concepts can be introduced easily by doubling (or tripling) all prices; division might involve selling a fraction of something and then calculating what the price of the fraction should be, and so on. Cases from the Classroom: The B Store The Place: Miss Moskal's third-grade classroom The Mathematics Learning Center: In the corner of the room, the children have set up a small store. Items for sale vary from week to week. These are sometimes made by the students, donated by parents, or purchased through school funds. Among the various items for sale this week are a number of tiny potted plants Miss Moskal has started from seeds. Also, there are "privilege" cards. Some of these cards allow children to erase the whiteboards; others provide access to special books; still others allow their purchaser to be captain of one of the play teams, leader of one of the cooperative learning teams, storekeeper for a day, bank teller, or payroll clerk. Price tags, attached to each item, are printed in bold, colorful numbers. In this class, each student receives a basic weekly "salary," with the possibility of bonuses for various behaviors—and sometimes fines as well. The payroll clerk is responsible for keeping track of everybody's salary, adding in bonuses and subtracting fines, and writing "paychecks." Student auditors are charged with verifying the pay clerk's calculations. Checks are "cashed" at a bank adjoining the store, or are sometimes used at the store when making large purchases (like lunch with Miss Moskal). During specified periods, sales clerks sell items from the store, taking responsibility for making change. Students were responsible for naming the store. The name was Sandra's idea. "Let's call it the B store," she said. "Why?" "Because that's a little better than a C store." Provide Optimal Difficulty Cognitive growth, says Piaget, arises from a tendency toward equilibration—that is, maintaining a balance between assimilation (reacting to new objects or events largely in terms of previous learning) and accommodation (changing in response to new demands). If schools are to encourage equilibration, an optimal discrepancy between new material and old learning is required. Learners need to be provided with experiences that are familiar enough that they can understand them (assimilate them); they also need to be challenged so that they will be forced to accommodate. The result, ideally, will be the construction of new understanding (accommodation) on the back of old learning (assimilation). Understand How Children Think Providing learners with an optimal level of difficulty presupposes that teachers know their level of functioning, their interests, and their capabilities—hence, the fundamental importance of understanding how children think. When a child says there is more water in a tall container than in a short, flat one, the teacher should not be shocked or surprised. When a second-grade student becomes completely confused by a verbal seriation problem—for example, "Juan González has a shorter nose than Johnny West, and Johnny West has a longer nose than John George. Who has the longest nose?"—she is not trying to be difficult. Teachers need to know, for example, that concepts of proportion cannot easily be taught to 7-year-olds, nor can conservation of volume be taught to 5-year-olds. Provide for Social Interaction One of the chief factors in making thought more objective, claims Piaget, is social interaction. The egocentric point of view of the young child is essentially one that does not recognize the views of others. Children become aware of the ideas and opinions of peers and adults largely through social interaction. One implication for teaching is that instructional methods should provide for learner–learner as well as teacher–learner interaction. 2.4 Vygotsky and Bronfenbrenner: Emphasis on Culture The emphasis in Piaget's theory is on development as a sort of unfolding guided by internal tendencies, with some attention to the importance of the environment and social interaction. In contrast, the main emphasis in the theories of Lev Vygotsky and Urie Bronfenbrenner is on the importance of culture and of social influences in human development. A quick look at current writings in education and psychology might make one think that Lev Vygotsky is a contemporary theorist. Almost all major psychology textbooks have at least one or two references to him. But Vygotsky is not contemporary in a literal sense; he has been dead for many decades (he died of tuberculosis in 1934 at the age of 38). Vygotsky has been described as "the Mozart of Psychology," its child genius. By age 28, he had assimilated all of the major theories and findings of the psychology of the day, and he had begun to map out a new theory with ideas that still seem fresh even today. Imagine what Vygotsky's contributions and stature might have been had his work not been repressed, as it was in the Soviet Union of his day, and had he lived as long as Piaget. Two underlying themes unify Vygotsky's complex and far-reaching theory. The first theme is the importance of culture, a theme later championed by American psychologist Urie Bronfenbrenner; the second has to do with the central role of language. Human development, says Vygotsky, is fundamentally different from that of other animals. Why? Because humans use tools and symbols and, as a result, create cultures. And cultures are powerful things; they have a life of their own. They grow and change, and they exert tremendously powerful influences on each of us. Cultures specify what the end product of successful development is. They determine what we have to learn and the sorts of competencies we need to develop. Bronfenbrenner's Bioecological Model Vygotsky's emphasis on the importance of culture had a profound influence on other psychologists. That influence is especially apparent in the bioecological model of human development proposed by Urie Bronfenbrenner (Bronfenbrenner & Ceci, 1994; Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2006). Simply put, the bioecological model argues that we are not only culture producing, but also culture produced (Bronfenbrenner, 1989). One of the main ideas underlying the bioecological model is that development is the result of interactions between the person and the environment. The model attempts to describe not only how the environment affects a person's development but also how the environment itself changes as a function of the person. A mother with a toddler on her shoulders while her husband carries their young son on his back. Monkeybusinessimages/iStock/Thinkstock Family is part of a child's microsystem, which, according to Bronfenbrenner, influences development. For example, many important person–environment interactions occur at an immediate, face-to-face level. These define what Bronfenbrenner calls the microsystem. The microsystem is the child's immediate environment. It includes aspects of culture such as those exemplified by parents, siblings, friends, teachers, playgrounds, local stores, and so on. Everybody in a person's microsystem affects the individual, says Bronfenbrenner. But the effect is reciprocal; individuals also affect their own microsystems. For example, if Lavinia is characteristically rude to those with whom she interacts, but Ronald is warm and friendly, important aspects of their microsystems might change in very different ways. Whereas Lavinia might eventually find herself in microsystems that seem cold and unaccepting, Ronald's microsystems might be dramatically different. In turn, microsystems might also affect each other. For example, a teacher who has just had a confrontation with a spouse might inadvertently interact more abruptly with a student. Thus, teacher–spouse face-to-face (microsystem interactions) can affect interactions within another microsystem (teacher–learner). Interactions among microsystems define what Bronfenbrenner labels the mesosystem. Microsystems and mesosystems describe aspects of the culture that affect individuals directly. There are other features of the environment that have an indirect rather than a direct effect. These define the exosystem. For example, family finances may not involve young children directly, but can nevertheless have a profound effect on their development. The macrosystem includes all the interactive systems (micro-, meso-, and exo-) that characterize a culture. The macrosystem is defined by the beliefs, values, social roles, lifestyles, religions, and other trappings of a person's culture. All of these systems change over time, explains Bronfenbrenner. He labels this concept the chronosystem. For example, a child's microsystem can change dramatically with events such as the birth of a sibling, parental divorce, death in the family, or a move to another city or country. Similarly, over time there are often significant changes in macrosystems. During the last handful of decades there have been enormous changes in things such as family structure (from dual- to single-parent families), employment and educational patterns (increased female employment and post-secondary enrollment), child-rearing styles (more varied childcare options), the average age of marriage (older), and the average child-bearing age (also older). Clearly, many of these macrosystem changes can have profound effects on children's microsystems. (See Table 2.6. for a summary of Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model.) Table 2.6: Systems that affect the child's development in Bronfenbrenner's bioecological theory System Definition Examples Microsystem Child in face-to-face interaction Teacher tutoring child Mesosystem Relationships among two or more microsystems that involve the child Parent involved in parent-teacher conference Exosystem Relationships and interactions among two or more settings, one of which does not include the child Mother's strained interactions with parents of child's playmate Macrosystem The totality of cultural systems evident in the lifestyles, values, mores, and other defining features of the culture State-legislated curriculum requirements; culturally-defined social expectations Chronosystem Time-related changes in the systems that affect the child Changing societal values; evolving technologies; emerging environmental preoccupations Vygotsky's View of the Importance of Language Like Bronfenbrenner, Vygotsky's emphasis on culture underlines the importance of social and environmental interactions in shaping the course of development. Not surprisingly, language plays a central role in these models. Language makes thought possible and regulates behavior, explains Vygotsky. Language, which is the basis of human culture, is also the basis of consciousness, and consciousness was one of Vygotsky's central concerns. Without language, we would be limited to elementary mental functions—animalistic activities such as sensing and perceiving. But with language, we become capable of higher mental functions and of social interaction. And with social interaction comes what Vygotsky describes as "upbringing and teaching," which is essential for development. Vygotsky (1962) describes three stages in the development of the functions of speech: social, egocentric, and inner speech. Social speech (or external speech) emerges first. Its function is largely to control the behavior of others (as in "I want juice!") or to express simple and sometimes poorly understood concepts. Egocentric speech predominates from ages 3 to 7. It serves as a bridge between the primitive and the highly public social speech of the first stage and the more sophisticated and highly private inner speech of the third stage. During this stage, children often talk to themselves in an apparent attempt to guide their own behavior. For example, they might speak about what they are doing as they do it. Unlike older children, however, they are likely to say things out loud (externalize) rather than silently, as though they believe that if language is to direct behavior, it must be spoken. Inner speech is silent self-talk. It is characteristic of older children as well as adults. It is what William James (1890) called the "stream of consciousness." Our self-talk—our inner speech—is what tells us that we are alive and conscious. It permits us to direct our thinking and our behavior. More than this, it makes all higher mental functioning possible (see Table 2.7). Table 2.7: Vygotsky's stages and functions of language Stage Function Social (external) (up to age 3) Controls the behavior of others; expresses simple thoughts and emotions Egocentric (ages 3 to 7) Bridge between external and inner speech; serves to control own behavior but spoken out loud Inner (age 7 onward) Self-talk; makes possible the direction of our thinking and our behavior; involved in all higher mental functioning Educational Implications of Vygotsky and Bronfenbrenner Although Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model is not as clearly directed toward education as is Vygotsky's theory, it has an important place in teacher training. Its greatest value lies in the fact that it underlines the importance of the child's social systems. Teachers need to be aware that they play a crucial role in the systems that are most directly involved with children: their microsystems. Teachers' interactions with individual learners can have a profound impact on their academic as well as their social well-being both in the long and short term. A bioecological view focuses on encouraging warm and supportive teacher–learner interactions. Vygotsky had a strong interest in maximizing intellectual development. In this connection, he introduced two concepts that have tremendous implications for educational practice: the idea of the zone of proximal development, and the notion of scaffolding. The Zone of Proximal Development Every child, explained Vygotsky, has a sphere or a zone of potential for further developing—in his words, a zone of proximal development. Take, for example, two 5-year-olds who both, under normal circumstances, can answer questions that other average 5-year-olds can also answer. Their mental ages might be said to correspond to their chronological ages, and their intelligence would be described as average. But if, when prompted, one of these children could successfully answer questions corresponding to a mental age of 6 but the other could not, it would then be accurate to say that the first child's zone of proximal development is greater than the other's (that is, it spans a wider range of higher functions). Davydov (1995) explains what is meant by zone of proximal development as follows: "What the child is initially able to do only together with adults and peers, and then can do independently, lies exactly in the zone of proximal psychological development" (p. 18). One of the tasks of parents and educators is to arrange for children to engage in activities that lie within this zone—activities that, by definition, are neither too difficult nor too simple and that therefore lead to continued growth. Scaffolding Scaffolding is one way of providing students with the support they need as they learn. Scaffolding in education works much like a scaffold erected by a pair of workers building an especially tall, multilevel summer cottage. In the early stages of construction, the scaffold has to be very close to the ground and very sturdy because there is nothing else to stand on or lean against. As the construction progresses, the scaffold must also rise or it would soon become useless. But now the scaffold might be less important because the workers can hang onto the wall studs of the new construction or stand on the beams and rafters of lower levels. Eventually, the cottage will have been built, and they can stand on the highest roof without any scaffolding at all. Learning, too, requires scaffolding, claims Vygotsky. In the early stages, scaffolding—that is, guidance and support—is especially important. A preschooler who knows nothing about the meaning of the letters of the alphabet can hardly be expected to discover the various sounds they represent. By telling, demonstrating, pointing, and correcting, the teacher/upbringer builds scaffolds for the child. And as the child begins to learn, the nature of the scaffolding changes. With time, there is often less need for scaffolding as the learner begins to build on previous learning by gradually learning how to learn. Scaffolding is a metaphor that translates into a model of learning through gradual increments as a result of an interactive process. In essence, it implies a process of collaboration between a teacher and learners—ideally, between a single learner and a teacher in a one-on-one tutoring relationship. There are a tremendous variety of specific types of scaffolding—in other words, support—that teachers and parents can build for children. These include: Demonstrating how to do things Explaining procedures Providing written or actual models Systematically developing prerequisite skills required for more demanding tasks Asking questions that lead to important realizations Correcting on-task errors Identifying and correcting misconceptions Motivating students Providing clear and realistic objectives "Hey," you say, "so what's new? Seems to me that most of what good teachers do involves what you're calling scaffolding." Yes, but what is new is the relationship between Vygotsky's concept of scaffolding and his notion of the zone of proximal development. Recall that the zone of proximal development is defined in terms of tasks learners are capable of with the help of adults or peers. In other words, the zone of proximal development describes tasks that require support (that is, they require scaffolding). The implication for teachers (and other upbringers) is very clear: Scaffolding requires that teachers arrange for children to engage in activities that lie within this zone. Vygotsky suggests that the level at which instructions and questions are phrased is extremely important. These, he argues, should be sufficiently ahead of the student's developmental level that they present a genuine intellectual challenge—but they must not be so far ahead of the child's current biological maturation and developmental level that they present too great a challenge: Hence the importance of understanding the basic principles of human development. Perspectives in Teaching: Using Scaffolding 00:00 00:00 High school teacher, Sheila Krotz, describes how she uses scaffolding in her classroom. To be successful, scaffolding must be used within each student's zone of proximal development (ZPD). What kinds of adjustments must a teacher make when students are at a variety of ability levels? Revisit the video for ideas. 2.5 Principles of Human Development Each of us is unique. There is no normal, average child; the average child is a myth invented by grandmothers and investigated by psychologists. Still, the following principles describe something of what can be expected of "normal," "average" development. Nature and Nurture Interact It is clear that development is influenced by both heredity (nature) and environment (nurture or experience). We know, for example, that our genes are responsible for many of our physical characteristics, such as hair and eye color, facial features, and to some extent height and weight. We know too, that experience affects not only what we learn (to speak Spanish rather than English, for example), but that it can also affect physical growth. Thus, although some physical characteristics (for instance, hair and eye color) appear to be entirely under the control of our genes, other characteristics (for instance, height and weight) clearly are also influenced by environmental factors (such as what and how much we eat). Environmental and Genetic Influences on Intelligence Intelligence represents an interaction between genes and environment. After watching the video, how much of a role do you think genes and environment play in intellectual performance? Efforts to separate the effects of genes and the environment have led to a long-standing controversy in psychology: the nature-nurture controversy. In effect, this controversy, which is discussed in more detail in Chapter 3, pits two camps against each other: On the one hand are those who believe that experience (nurture) is the most significant influence in determining important human characteristics such as intelligence; in the other camp are those who think genes (nature) are more important. Science does not clearly support either camp. In fact, the clearest thinking regarding this controversy readily admits that neither genes nor the environment produce anything by themselves. The current emphasis in genetic research, is on finding out how genes and contexts work together to bring about human development. Growth Occurs at Varying Rates Over time, development occurs at different rates for the various parts of an organism. This does not mean that the left foot grows rapidly for a short while, then the right foot, and then one arm. What it means is that various parts of the body and some aspects of personality and intellectual and perceptual ability might grow at different average rates, experience different growth spurts, and reach their maximum development at different times. For example, Bloom (1964) reports that by the age of 2 ½, humans have reached half of their future maximum height. In fact, if a male infant grew at the same rate during years 2 through 6 as he does during the first year of life, he would enter his seventh year weighing close to 4 tons and measuring some 18 feet in height! The Brain Is Malleable: Implications for Brain-Based Education For many years most of what science knew about the brain had been discovered by looking at the brains of dead people or by studying the behavior of people who had suffered brain injuries. But now we can look at the functioning of intact brains of living people. Imaging techniques like functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) allow scientists to pinpoint areas of electrical activity in the brain. Investigations of brain activity and development reveal several important facts. We know, for example, that most of the neurons (nerve cells) that make up the human brain are formed during the prenatal period. In fact, during the first four months of gestation, more than 200 billion neurons are formed. It's during this very early period of brain growth that factors such as poor maternal nutrition and alcohol consumption can have profoundly negative effects on the development of the brain (Guerrini, Thomson, & Gurling, 2007). At birth, the infant's brain weighs approximately one-fourth of what it will weigh at its maximum, which is reached at about age 25. Most of the increase in brain weight between birth and adulthood seems to be caused by the growth of axons and dendrites (the elongated portions of the nerve cell that permit neural transmission) and by myelination (the growth of a protective covering around the axon) and not by the appearance of new cells. Nutrition is highly important to the development of the brain, especially during periods of rapid growth such as during the later stages of fetal development. This time of rapid brain development appears to be a critical period during which the effects of maternal malnutrition can be especially severe. In the majority of the world's underdeveloped nations, where malnutrition is most prevalent, scientists have observed smaller than average head circumferences among children. Another phenomenon related to brain development is that of brain specialization. Investigations of brain activity reveal that specific mental activities do not generally involve the entire brain uniformly. Rather, certain areas of the brain seem to be somewhat specialized for certain functions. Thus, a part of the brain is more involved with spoken language than are other parts; the same is true for other functions such as hearing sounds, rehearsing, and remembering (Holland et al., 2007). When these specialized functions occur primarily in one hemisphere, the phenomenon is referred to as lateralization. Lateralization refers to the fact that the two hemispheres of the brain do not exactly duplicate each other's functions. In newborns, the hemispheres do not seem to be highly specialized, but in early infancy the principle of opposite control becomes evident (Leask & Crow, 1997). This principle is manifested in the observation that the right hemisphere is typically involved in sensations and movements of the left side of the body, and vice versa. Some of the specialized functions of the brain become more apparent as children age. For example, in most individuals (95 percent of right-handed people and 70 percent of left-handed) language production and planning for motor activity become increasingly a function of the left hemisphere (Janssen, Meulenbroek, & Steenbergen, 2011; Oleksiak et al., 2010). Similarly, by age 10 or 11, recognizing emotions seems to be more a right than a left hemisphere function (Workman et al., 2006). However, this does not mean that the right hemisphere is not involved in language and the left is not involved in emotions. In fact, when the left hemisphere suffers damage early in life, the right hemisphere frequently takes over language functions with little apparent subsequent difficulty. When damage is suffered later, however, recovery may not occur at all or may be more limited (Uswatte & Taub, 2010). Research in this area has led some to speculate that the functions of the two hemispheres are distinct—that the right hemisphere is more concerned with emotions and with the spatial and the temporal (for example, art and music) and that the left hemisphere is concerned more with logic, math, science, and language. Thus, individuals who are logical are sometimes described as "left-brain oriented;" those who are more intuitive and artistic, as "right brained.'' Some believe that hemisphericity—that is, a predominance of one hemisphere over the other—may be one of the important contributors to individual differences. Findings such as these have led some to argue that we now know enough about the brain that we can begin to modify our educational offerings and instructional procedures to take advantage of what we know (for example, Sousa, 2006; Jensen, 2006). This is the reasoning that underlies brain-based education—the attempt to base educational applications on scientific knowledge about the brain. The same reasoning has also led to the recent proliferation of brain training companies—companies that offer a variety of approaches for improving memory, learning, and even intelligence. Brain-training companies tend to market widely to educational systems as well as to individuals. Many of them are highly profit-oriented, offering to restore older people's memories, to sharpen attention, and to revolutionize brain power. Many use an assortment of brain games that might include various puzzles or problems; others are designed to improve senses such as olfaction, vision, or hearing; still others use computer-based exercises that are similar to video games. Advocates of brain-based education base their educational recommendations on findings such as the following (Jensen, 2008): The brain continues to grow new neurons, a function that can be enhanced by exercise, reduction of stress, and nutrition. Social conditions influence brain functioning in ways that might be strengthened by arranging social groupings rather than allowing them to occur randomly. The brain is highly plastic. Its ability to rewire itself can be assisted though reading, meditation, the arts, career and technical education, and the development of cognitive skills. Thus, the main instructional recommendations that flow from these observations include the advisability of teaching cognitive skills as well as a variety of other subjects; of providing time for recreation, stress reduction, and physical activity; and of arranging for optimal social groupings, the nature of which is not entirely clear. Other recommendations that stem from brain-based research relate to research on the cerebral hemispheres. For example, some educators point out that our current educational practices emphasize left-brain functions, as reflected in our preoccupation with verbal learning, mathematics, science, and logic. Our schools neglect right-brain functions—like art, music, drama, and other creative endeavors—they claim. Hence, we should change our educational fare and philosophy to educate both halves of our students' brains (see, for example, Sonnier, 1995). Children running on grass. bowdenimages/iStock/Thinkstock Brain-based research suggests that providing time for recreation, stress reduction, and physical activity improves cognitive functioning. Unfortunately, investigating the functions of the brain's hemispheres has proven difficult, and much of what passes for information is speculation rather than fact. For example, that hemispheric preference determines handedness is a widely believed myth. As Sousa (2006) explains, in spite of all the sophisticated brain research we've done, we still don't know what causes approximately 10 percent of the population to be left handed when the remaining 90 percent is right handed. Another widely believed myth is that creativity is linked with the right hemisphere. In fact, there is little evidence to support this (Edelman, 2006; Kenett, Anaki, & Faust, 2015). One of the most remarkable characteristics of the human brain, explains Sousa (2006), is how it is able to integrate all the activities that occur simultaneously in its different specialized areas. The brain does not function in terms of isolated parts or totally separate halves. It is simplistic and misleading to insist that the left hemisphere is logical and analytical whereas the right hemisphere is "artistic." The dichotomy is more a matter of degree: The right and left hemispheres might be relatively better for some tasks than for others, in the same way as certain areas of the brain are highly specialized for certain functions, but there is considerable overlap in their functions (Yang & Van Lancker Sidtis, 2015). Still, this does not lessen the importance of emphasizing some of the often-neglected aspects of education—specifically, those concerned with the more affective and artistic aspects of the human experience. Critics of brain-based education have been quick to point out that none of the recommendations based on brain research are different from those based on good research in education (for example, Bruer, 2006). And many of the recommendations, especially those that have to do with left-brain right-brain differences, have gone considerably beyond the facts that science has so far provided. It sounds impressive to say, as does Lombardi (2008), "The brain is a marvelous organ that can be tapped into, taught, stimulated, and grown" (p. 222). Or, again, "Using innovative, cutting-edge approaches helps teachers recognize that teaching and learning addresses the needs of diverse learners . . ." (p. 222). But do brain-based approaches work? The jury is still out. What does seem clear is that brain-based approaches can be highly effective when they reflect sound pedagogical principles. For instance, we know that repetition improves learning. Similarly, we know that under many circumstances, active involvement in learning activities is effective. Advocates of brain-based learning argue that repetition is effective because it increases and strengthens neural connections in the brain. They argue that this activity increases blood flow and causes other biological changes that contribute to more effective brain activity. Studies also show that we tend to remember images better than printed or spoken words, that novel experiences tend to be highly memorable, and that memories are often linked to odors, emotions, and behaviors. These are all pedagogically important findings. The important point is that good teachers tend to know and use many of these observations. Their learning strategies can be said to be brain-based not because they have adopted a set of specific brain-training strategies, but simply because they are good teaching strategies that affect the learner's brain. There is as yet little credible support for the claim that commercial brain-training programs improve brain functioning, memory, and even measured intelligence. A meta-analysis summarizing the results of 23 studies concluded that there is no evidence that brain-training improves intelligence (Melby-Lervag & Hulme, 2013). (A meta-analysis is a research technique for synthesizing the results of large numbers of studies that have looked at the same questions.) The point is clear in the subtitle of Hambrick's (2014) review of brain-training: "Scientists doubt claims from brain training companies." He concluded, following a review of the literature, that "there is no solid evidence that commercial brain games improve general cognitive abilities." Nevertheless, there is convincing evidence that exercise, particularly in older people, improves cognitive functioning—as does learning new information or acquiring new skills (for example, Kramer & Erickson, 2007). This is one finding that we should try not to forget as we age. We all want to be cutting edge and innovative and effective. And it may well be that brain research will soon provide educators with possibilities that actually are both new and astonishingly effective. Although that does not yet appear to have happened, brain-based research does provide educators with added incentive to offer learners rich and varied learning environments. And it underlines the importance of actively engaging students in the learning process and of challenging and stimulating them. Timing of Environmental Influences Is Important Girl studying with headphones on. Marie Lefrançois/Marie's Photography Some environments appear to be more conducive than others to optimal intellectual, social, and physical development. This child's exposure to three languages may have an immensely enriching effect on her development. The observation that growth and development occur at different times and at different rates for various human features leads directly to another, important developmental principle described by Bloom (1964, p. vii): Variations in environment have the greatest quantitative effect on a characteristic at its period of most rapid change and the least effect on the characteristic at its period of least rapid change. Twenty-four-year-old Rudolph, who was malnourished through much of his childhood and who is now 5 feet tall, is not likely to grow an additional foot as a result of a sudden change in his diet. In contrast, the eventual height of 24-week-old Chrissie is clearly more susceptible to the effects of dietary changes. This principle also holds true for intellectual development. Brain growth is highly vulnerable to malnutrition during growth spurts, especially during prenatal and early postnatal development. A number of studies with Romanian children who were severely deprived as infants but who were adopted into relatively privileged homes after the age of 6 months indicate that the effects of early deprivation on intellectual functioning can be serious and long-lasting (Beckett et al., 2006; Beckett et al., 2007). Additional evidence suggesting that the timing of environmental influences can be very important is found in language acquisition: Infants and young preschoolers can easily learn two or more languages simultaneously and well, whereas adults experience more difficulty and more interference from their dominant language (Proverbio, Adorni, & Zani, 2007). Positive Correlation Not Compensation Positive correlation, the tendency of two or more characteristics to vary together, not compensation, the tendency for a deficit in one characteristic to be compensated for by superior endowment in another, is the rule in development. This contradicts the stereotype that those who are gifted in one area must not be nearly as well endowed in others. This stereotype informs us that the person with exceptional intellectual gifts must be socially awkward, unattractive and frail, weak-sighted, and completely useless at any kind of task requiring even the smallest degree of dexterity. The same stereotype insists that an athlete may be stunningly attractive but must also be unintelligent, spell with difficulty, be unable to write a check without an accountant to correct it, read only simple comic books, and laugh uproariously at unfunny events. Not so. In fact, as we see in Chapter 3, a person who excels in one area is more likely to excel in others. Less optimistically, it's also true that people who are below average in one area tend to be below average in other areas as well. Although there are clearly many exceptions to this principle, it nevertheless serves as a useful guide for understanding the overall development of children. There Are Predictable Differences between the Sexes There are systematic, predictable differences in the development of boys and girls. As we saw earlier, there are culturally influenced gender differences in interests; and there may be some small and diminishing differences in apparent abilities as well. But, as we cautioned earlier, teachers need to guard against overly simplistic, often inaccurate, and unfair gender stereotypes. And they need to keep in mind that the average child of which developmental psychology speaks is a myth, a convenient but often misleading invention. Chapter 2 Summary and Resources Key Points Gender roles are patterns of culturally approved and expected masculine and feminine behaviors; they are a combined function of genetic, family-based, and cultural forces. Gender differences are sometimes evident in the greater aggressiveness of males. There is also a declining tendency for males to score slightly higher on tests of mathematics and science, and females to score higher in measures of verbal ability. Erik Erikson's theory of personality development through childhood and adolescence describes a series of psychosocial stages, each involving a major conflict, the resolution of which leads to greater social competence: trust versus mistrust, autonomy versus shame and doubt, initiative versus guilt, industry versus inferiority, and identity versus identity diffusion. Marcia describes four types of identity status: identity diffusion (no crisis, no commitment); foreclosure (no crisis, early commitment); moratorium (crisis pending commitment); and identity achieved (commitment post crisis). The stages of adulthood are intimacy versus isolation, generativity versus self-absorption, and integrity versus despair. Piaget's stage theory focuses on cognitive (intellectual) development as it results from maturation, active experience, social interaction, and equilibration—the tendency to balance assimilation (using previous responses) and accommodation (changing behavior). Achievements of the sensorimotor period (birth to 2 years) are the learning of language and the acquisition of the object concept. The preoperational stage (ages 2 to 7) is marked by thinking that is intuitive, dominated by perception, and egocentric. The stage of concrete operations (ages 7 to 11 or 12) sees the appearance of thought processes that are subject to some logical rules, labeled operations—evident in concepts of conservation and in new skills relating to classifying, ordering, and dealing with numbers. During the formal operations stage (ages 11 or 12 to 14 or 15), the child's thinking is less tied to concrete objects and events and can now deal more with the hypothetical. Piaget and Kohlberg describe moral development as a progression from the obedience-oriented stage of heteronomy, where outside authority and consequences are all important, to moral beliefs and actions that become progressively more autonomous. Morality that is based on the most selfless and highest levels of ethical principles is rare even among adults. Vygotsky's social/cognitive theory stresses the importance of culture and of its principal invention and main tool, language. Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model describes the influence of the social systems that define the individual's ecology: the microsystem (face-to-face interaction); the mesosystem (interactions among microsystems, one of which involves the person directly); the exosystem (wider cultural systems that affect the individual indirectly); the macrosystem (the totality of cultural systems); and the chronosystem (time-related changes in systems that directly or indirectly affect the individual). Important educational implications are found in Vygotsky's notions of the zone of proximal development (the child's potential for development; what the child can do with the help of adults and competent peers) and in the concept of scaffolding (where teachers provide various forms of support for students as they learn). Some developmental principles are: nature and nurture interact to determine development; different characteristics grow at different rates; the brain is highly malleable and teachable; timing of environmental influences is important; correlation, not compensation, is the rule; and gender differences are sometimes important. Brain-based education refers to deliberate attempts to base instructional strategies on the latest scientific knowledge about brain functioning and age-related neurological changes. In spite of the generality of our developmental principles, individuals vary considerably. We are each unique. Critical Thinking Exercises What are examples of gender stereotyping in your world? Give an example of each of the following: development, growth, learning, and maturation. Describe Piaget's answers for the primary biological questions he asked: How do children adapt? How can development be classified? Give an example of what is meant by the zone of proximal development. What are the educational implications of this concept? Use the concept of scaffolding in your answer. Generate ideas for teacher–learner interaction. How would you apply Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model to improve teacher–learner interactions? Explain at least one developmental principle relating to genetics and environment, differential growth rates for different aspects of development, the malleability of the brain, or why timing of experiences may be important. Why is this information important and relevant for teachers to understand? Web Resources For more information on Jean Piaget and his research, visit: http://www.piaget.org/aboutPiaget.html Are we products of nature or nurture? Science answers age-old question, visit: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/may/19/are-we-products-of-nature -or-nuture-science-answers-age-old-question Key Terms Click on each key term to see the definition. accommodation In Piaget's description of development, modification of an activity or ability in the face of environmental demands. See also adaptation, assimilation. adaptation Changes in an organism in response to the environment. Adaptation plays a central role in Piaget's theory. See also accommodation, assimilation. aggression The conscious and willful inflicting of harm or pain on others. animism Attributing lifelike qualities to inanimate objects—as young children are wont to do. assimilation The act of incorporating objects or aspects of objects into previously learned activities. See also accommodation, adaptation. autonomy Piaget's label for the second stage of moral development, characterized by increasing reliance on internalized standards to judge the morality of behavior. See also heteronomy. basic gender identity The individual's implicit understanding of the fundamental characteristics of masculinity and femininity. bioecological model A developmental model that looks at the role of gene–environment interactions in human development. Concerned with the reciprocal influences of person–culture interactions over time. brain-based education The application of instructional strategies based on information and principles derived from scientific knowledge about the brain and how it functions. brain specialization Refers to the fact that different areas of the brain are responsible for different kinds of activity. chronosystem Bronfenbrenner's term for his recognition that developmentally important aspects of ecological systems change over time. See also microsystem, mesosystem, macrosystem, exosystem. classification The act of abstracting the properties of objects or events and making judgments concerning their similarities to or differences from other objects or events. compensation The act of making up for. In psychology, the often-mistaken belief that superior skills and abilities typically counterbalance deficits and difficulties. concrete operations The third of Piaget's four major stages, lasting from age 7 or 8 to approximately age 11 or 12, and characterized largely by the child's ability to deal with concrete problems and objects or objects and problems that are easily imagined. conservation Piagetian term for the realization that certain quantitative attributes of objects, like mass, remain unchanged unless something is added to or taken away from them. constructivism A general term for student-centered approaches to teaching such as discovery-oriented approaches, reciprocal learning, or cooperative instruction—so called because of their assumption that learners should build (construct) knowledge for themselves. conventional level A stage of moral development marked by concern with adhering to rules, laws, customs, and other social conventions that allow individuals to get along well. egocentric speech Vygotsky's intermediate stage of language development, common between ages 3 and 7. During this stage children often talk to themselves in an apparent effort to control their own behavior. See also inner speech, social speech. egocentrism A way of functioning characterized by an inability to assume the point of view of others. equilibration A Piagetian term for the process by which we maintain a balance between assimilation (using old learning) and accommodation (changing behavior, learning new things). exosystem Defined by Bronfenbrenner as interactions between a system in which the child is directly involved (microsystem) and another in which the child is not ordinarily involved. See also microsystem, mesosystem, macrosystem, chronosystem. foreclosure Marcia's term for the adoption of a ready-made identity. formal operations The last of Piaget's four major stages beginning around age 11 or 12 and lasting until age 14 or 15, characterized by the child's increasing ability to use logical thought processes. functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) A non-invasive imaging technique that uses highly sensitive magnetic sensors to detect changes in blood flow in the brain that accompany neural activity. gender roles Attitudes, personality characteristics, behavior, and other qualities associated with being male or female. Gender roles (sex roles) define masculinity and femininity. gender schema theory A cognitive gender typing theory that recognizes the usefulness of elements of both cognitive explanations (the child's growing understanding of the nature and meaning of gender) and social learning explanations (the influence of models and reinforcements) to account for the shaping of gender roles. gender schemas Notions about the characteristics associated with being male or female. gender typing Learning culturally expected sex-linked behaviors. gestation The period between conception and birth (typically 266 days for humans). gray matter The tough, thin, outer covering of the brain, made up of cell bodies. Its main function is to transmit messages relating to sensory and motor stimulation. hemisphere Literally, half a sphere. The cerebral hemispheres are the two halves of the cerebrum, the wrinkled mass of brain tissue that includes the structures associated with higher mental processes. heteronomy Linked to external rather than internal forces. Piaget's label for the first stage of moral development, marked by a focus on the consequences of behavior and reliance on outside authority. See also autonomy. identification A general term popularized by Freud referring to the process of assuming the goals, ambitions, mannerisms, interests, and so on of another person. Identification goes beyond mere imitation in that it implies a desire not only to do what the other person does, but to be like the other person. identity In Erikson's theory, the individual's self-definition, a sort of personal sense of who and what one is. One of the important tasks of adolescence is to select and develop a strong sense of identity. identity-achieved Marcia's term for individuals who have experienced a crisis and made a commitment, thus achieving a sense of identity. identity diffusion An expression for a stage in early adolescence when the adolescent has a vague and changing sense of identity with no firm vocational commitment and an ambiguous belief system. inner speech Vygotsky's final stage in the development of speech (around age 7), characterized by silent "self-talk," that gives direction and substance to our thinking and behavior. See also egocentric speech, social speech. intuitive thinking One of the substages of Piaget's preoperational thought, beginning around age 4 and lasting until age 7 or 8, marked by the child's ability to solve many problems intuitively and also by the child's inability to respond correctly in the face of misleading perceptual features of problems. See also preconceptual thinking. lateralization A term that refers to the division of functions and capabilities between the two hemispheres of the brain. macrosystem In Bronfenbrenner's view, the totality of all environmental systems that define a culture (values, mores, beliefs, language, etc.). See also microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, chronosystem. mesosystem In Bronfenbrenner's developmental theory, interactions among two or more microsystems (for example, the school and the family). See also microsystem, exosystem, macrosystem, chronosystem. meta-analysis Research that involves the careful, systematic analysis of a large group of studies that have looked at the same research question with the goal of summarizing and synthesizing research results to arrive at a more valid and generalizable conclusion than that which might be gained through the analysis of a single study. microsystem Defined by immediate, face-to-face interactions in which everybody affects everybody (for example, child and parent). morality The ethical aspect of human behavior, intimately linked with the individual's notion of right and wrong, of good and evil. moratorium Erikson's term for the social function of the hiatus between childhood and adulthood. In Marcia's description, moratorium individuals are those who have not yet made a commitment and who are in a state of crisis (conflict) as they examine and experiment with various identities. Ordinarily occurs during adolescence but may extend beyond. nature Genetic influences; heredity. See also nurture, nature–nurture controversy. nature–nurture controversy A long-standing argument over whether genetics (nature) or environment (nurture) is more responsible for determining human development. See also nature, nurture. neonate A newborn infant. The neonatal period terminates when an infant regains birth weight (about two weeks after birth). nurture The effects of experience, as opposed to the effects of heredity (nature). See also nature, nature–nurture controversy. object concept Piaget's expression for children's understanding that the world is composed of objects that continue to exist apart from their perception of them. operation In Piaget's system, a term that essentially refers to a thought process. An operation is an action that has been internalized in the sense that it can be "thought" and is reversible in the sense that it can be "unthought." perception The translation of physical energies into neurological impulses that can be interpreted by the individual. Awareness of the meaning of sensation. In Piaget's system, perception refers to the physical appearance of objects—that is, to what the child sees, feels, hears, tastes, or smells. personality The set of characteristics, including abilities, predispositions, habits, and other qualities, that make each of us different. postconventional level Kohlberg's third level of moral judgments reflecting an understanding of social relationships and highly individualistic principles of morality. See also preconventional level, conventional level. preconceptual thinking The first substage in the period of preoperational thought, beginning around age 2 and lasting until age 4, so called because the child has not yet developed the ability to classify. See also intuitive thinking. preconventional level The first of Kohlberg's three levels of moral development, based on hedonistic or obedience-oriented judgments. See also conventional level, postconventional level. principle of opposite control Describes the tendency for sensations and movements on either side of the body to be controlled by the opposite cerebral hemisphere. psychosexual Associated with Freud, a term used to describe psychological phenomena based on sexuality. psychosocial Associated with Erikson, a term that describes development in terms of the need to resolve social crises and develop social competencies (independence or identity, for example). pubescence Changes of adolescence leading to sexual maturity. reflexive behaviors Simple, unlearned behaviors in response to specific stimulation, usually present at birth or shortly thereafter. For example, the ability to suck. scaffolding Vygotsky's concept to describe the various types of support (directions, suggestions, and other forms of verbal assistance) that teachers/upbringers should provide children to help them learn. See also zone of proximal development. self-concept The concept that an individual has of him- or herself, often closely allied with individuals' beliefs about how others perceive them. sensation The physical effect of a stimulus; a physiological process dependent on activity of the senses. See also perception. sensorimotor intelligence Piaget's first developmental stage, from birth to about age 2, so called because sensorimotor children understand their world primarily in terms of their activities in it and sensations of it. seriation The ordering of objects in terms of one or more properties. social role theory The theory that the main determinants of gender roles are the distinct social roles that are ascribed to men and women in different societies. social speech In Vygotsky's theorizing, the most primitive stage of language develop-ment, evident before age 3, when the child expresses simple thoughts and emotions out loud. See also egocentric speech, inner speech. stereotypes Strong, relatively unexamined beliefs typically generalized to a class of superficially similar situations or individuals. white matter The supporting brain tissue that is covered by a thin layer of "gray" matter. It is made up primarily of neuronal axons. Its main function is to interconnect the cell bodies that make up gray matter. zone of proximal development Vygotsky's phrase for the individual's current potential for further intellectual development. Defined by what the learner can accomplish only with the help of others to begin with, but can later accomplish alone. Bear on a pogo stick making tracks backward. Folklore has it that many years ago in Switzerland, bears were worshipped because the faithful believed that human beings were descended not from Adam and Eve, but from the bear (Engel, 1976).