Developmental Matrix paper for Psyc.
KarruechesTwin
development_in_the_preschool_years_3.pptxThe Preschool Years
Physical, Cognitive, & Psychosocial Development
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The Growing Body
Rapid changes in:
Height
Weight
Physical strength
More prone to injuries
Due to high levels of physical activity, curiosity, and lack of judgment.
Brain Development
Functions become lateralized
Left hemisphere – verbal & reasoning abilities; processes data sequentially (speaking, reading, thinking, and reasoning).
Right hemisphere - nonverbal abilities; processes information globally (comprehension of spatial relationships, recognition of patterns and drawings, music and emotional expression).
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Motor Development
Gross motor skills
Jumping; skipping
Increased muscle control
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Potty training
Signs of readiness: between 18 – 24 months
Staying dry for 2 hours at a time
Waking up dry after a nap
Regular bowel movements
No bedwetting
An indication through facial expressions or words, that urination or a bowel movement is about to occur
The ability to get to the bathroom alone and undress self.
Ask to use the toilet or potty chair
Potty training (cont.)
Signs of readiness: between 18 – 24 months
The desire to wear underwear
Toilet training has begun later over the last few decades. For example, in 1957, 92% of children were toilet trained by 18 months.
In 1999, only25% were toilet trained by 18 months
Signs not ready:
Children should be ready physically and emotionally, if children are not ready at 18 to 24 months, you can wait until they are 30 months or older.
Fine Motor Skills
Fine motor skills
Using a fork and spoon
Cutting with scissors
Tying shoelaces
Drawing
Putting puzzle together
Playing the piano
Piaget’s Preoperational Stage
Increase in symbolic thinking
Improvements in language
The use of concepts increases (seeing mom’s car key may prompt questions).
Pretend play
Egocentric thought emerges
Thinking that does not take into account the viewpoints of others.
Preschoolers do not understand that other have different perspectives than theirs.
Egocentric can take two forms
Lack of awareness that others see things from a different physical perspective .
Failure to realize that others may hold thoughts, feelings, and points of view that differ from their.
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Intuitive thought emerges
Occurs between 4 and 7
Children usually ask why?
They believe that they know answers to all kind of questions.
Information Processing Approach
Increased understanding of numbers
Longer attention span
Autobiographical memory increases
Stable?
Accurate?
Memory organized into scripts & susceptible to suggestion
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Vygotsky’s Perspective
Culture in which we are raised significantly affects cognitive development.
Zone of proximal development
The level at which a child can almost, but not fully, comprehend or perform a task on his or her own; if information falls within the ZPD, children can master it.
Scaffolding – is the support for learning and problem solving that encourages independence and growth.
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Language Development
Sentence length & syntax increases
Vocabulary increases due to fast mapping
Routinely use nouns, past tense, & articles
Acquire grammatical principles
Private speech and social speech increases
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Forming a Sense of Self
Initiative vs. Guilt (3 – 6 years)
Conflict between desire to act independently and guilt from being unsuccessful.
Begin to form self-concept & overestimate skills
View of self often reflects cultural values
Able to distinguish between members of different racial identities
Some preschoolers show preference for majority values or people
Gender (being male or female) manifests through play & develop gender-stereotypes
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Gender Identity
Hormones affect gender-based behaviors
Learn gender–related behaviors through training & observation of others
Media & books contribute to gender-related behaviors
Gender identity based on perceptions of appropriate/inappropriate behaviors
Differences based on appearance & behavior
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The Social Life as A Preschooler
Friendships based on companionship, play, and entertainment.
Social aspects of play
Functional play - (usually around 3)– simple, repetitive activities typical of 3 –year-old, such as pushing cars on the floor, skipping, and jumping.
Constructive play - (usually around 4)– children manipulate objects to produce or build something (a child builds a house out of legos or puts a puzzle together)
Parallel play - is when children play with similar toys, in a similar manner, but do not interact with each other.
The Social Life as A Preschooler (cont.)
Onlooker play - occurs when children simply watch others play but do not actually participate themselves.
Cooperative play - playing with each other, taking turns, playing games.
Associative play - is when two or more children actually interact with one another by sharing or borrowing toys or materials, although they do not do the same thing.
Theory of Mind & Parenting
Able to explain how others think & reasons for their behavior.
Can see others’ perspectives
Difficulty understanding false beliefs until end of preschool years.
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Theory of Mind & Parenting (cont.)
Types of parenting styles:
Authoritarian
controlling, punitive, rigid, and cold;
their word is law;
they value strict, unquestioning obedience from the children and do not tolerate expressions of disagreement.
Authoritative
are firm, setting clear and consistent limits, but are loving and supportive
They try to reason with their children, giving explanations for why they should behave in a particular way
Children tend to fare best: they are independent, friendly with their peers, self-assertive
Theory of Mind & Parenting (cont.)
Permissive
provide lax and inconsistent feedback and require little of their children
are usually involved in their children’s lives
Uninvolved
show virtually no interest in their children, displaying indifferent, rejecting behavior.
Child Abuse and Neglect
Can occur in any home
Reasons of abuse:
Permissible vs. impermissible punishment
Privacy of child care
Unrealistic expectations of child’s abilities
Cycle of Violence Hypothesis
Abuse & neglect in childhood predisposes adults to abuse & neglect their children
Psychological maltreatment – harm to overall well-being
Belittling, humiliating, intimidating, and harassing children .
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Moral Development
Changes in sense of right vs. wrong & behavior
Piaget:
heteronomous morality incipient cooperation autonomous cooperation
Environment influences pro-social behavior
Learned through reinforcement & modeling
Increase of empathy leads to moral behavior
Heteronomous morality – 4- 7 yrs – rules are unchangeable while everyone has their own set of rules (everyone’s a winner)
Incipient cooperation – 7-10 yrs – games are social; learn rules (unchangeable) and play according to shared knowledge
Autonomous cooperation – 10 yrs – fully aware of formal rules of the game but can modify rules if agreed upon
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Aggression in Preschoolers
Intentional injury or harm to another
Often related to attaining some goal
Instrumental vs. Relational
Personality & social development contribute to emotional self-regulation
What causes aggression?
Instinct
Learned behavior through reinforcement & models
Exposure to violence in media
Interpretation of other’s actions & situations
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