Physical and Cognitive Development in Early Childhood
Chapter 7:
In this chapter
Physical ChangesGrowth and Motor Development
In early childhood: Changes in height and weight happen more
slowly during early childhood than infancy Impressive gains in major locomotor skills Manipulative skills improve but less so than
major motor skills
Physical ChangesChildren’s Drawing
Early training can accelerate rate children learn school-related fine-motor skills
Older children benefit more from training more than younger
Learning to write letters aids in letter understanding
Figure 7.1 Stages in Children’s Drawing
The Brain and Nervous SystemLateralization
Lateralization: left and right halves of the brain's cerebral cortex execute different functional specializations
Contributes to important neurological milestones in early childhood
The Brain and the Nervous System
• Basic outline of lateralization is genetically determined
• Genes dictate functions to be lateralized
• Experience shapes pace of lateralization
Figure 7.2 Lateralization of Brain Function
The Brain and Nervous SystemMyelinization
Myelinization: protective, fatty material wraps around nerve cells in the peripheral and central nervous system
Reticular formation
Hippocampus
The Brain and Nervous SystemHandedness
Right or Left…Not right or wrong! 83% right-handed 14% left-handed 3% ambidextrous
Appears very early in life Research suggests genetic link
Health and WellnessEating patterns
Preschoolers: Often eat less than when babies May not consume the majority of daily
calories at mealtime
Challenges: Food aversions may surface Eating behaviors bring on family conflicts
Health and WellnessIllnesses and Accidents
Illness Each year, 4 – 6 bouts of brief sickness
High levels of family stress more likely to produce sick children
Health and WellnessIllnesses and Accidents
Accidents
25% of U.S. children under 5 have one accident in any one year requiring medical attention
Most occur in home
Major cause of death in preschoolers
More common among boys
Abuse and NeglectChild abuse
What is child abuse?
Child Abuse: Physical or psychological injury resulting from adult’s intentional exposure of child to potentially harmful stimuli, sexual acts, or neglect
Abuse and NeglectChild Abuse Prevalence
Prevalence Responsible for about 10% of emergency
room visits Between 1% and 5% of children suffer
physical abuse 2000 infants and children die each year as
result of child abuse
Abuse and NeglectRisk factors
Overview: Sociocultural factors Personal or cultural values that regard
physical abuse as morally acceptable Cultural traditions that view children as
property Communities that support these beliefs
True or False?
Episodes of abuse are typically precipitated by everyday interactions between parent and child.
Abuse and NeglectRisk factors: Child Characteristics
Characteristics of child Physical or mental disabilities Difficult temperaments Age
Abuse and NeglectRisk factors: Abuser Characteristics
Characteristics of abuser Depressed Lacking in parenting skills and knowledge History of abuse themselves Substance abusers Live-in male partners
Abuse and NeglectRisk factors: Family Stress
Family stress Poverty Unemployment Inter-parental conflicts
The presence of several factors in combination increases likelihood of abuse
Abuse and NeglectConsequences of Abuse
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Delays in all developmental domains
Children removed from the abusive situation typically appear to catch up within 1 year.
Abuse and NeglectPrevention
Preventing abuse begins with education!
Inform parents about consequences Parenting classes Identify families at risk Protect children from further injury
Cognitive ChangesPiaget’s Preoperational Stage: Overview
Preoperational Stage
Cognitive ChangesPiaget’s Preoperational Stage: Centration
Centration: tendency to think of world one variable at a time
Use of animism or belief that inanimate objects are alive
Cognitive ChangesPiaget’s Preoperational Stage: Egocentrism
Egocentrism: child’s tendency to view things from own perspective
Guided by object appearance May create frustration in communication
Piaget Three-mountain task (See Figure 7.3)
Figure 7.3 Piaget’s Three Mountain Task
Cognitive ChangesPiaget’s Preoperational Stage: Conservation
Conservation: understanding that change in appearance can occur without change in quantity
Figure 7.4 Piaget’s Conservation Tasks
Cognitive ChangesChildren’s Play and Cognitive Development
Challenges to Piaget’s ViewsDo you agree or disagree?
Children as young as 2 and 3 have at least some ability to understand that another person sees things or experiences things differently than they do.
Challenges to Piaget’s ViewsEmotions
Challenges to Piaget’s ViewsFlavell
Flavell’s perspective-taking ability levels Level One – child knows that other people
experience things differently: begins at 2 – 3 years
Level Two –child develops a series of complex rules to figure out precisely what the other person sees or experiences: begins at 4 – 5 years
Theories of Mind
Theory of Mind: understanding thoughts, desires, and beliefs of others
Theories of Mind
Theories of Mind
Theories of Mind
Influences on Development of a Theory of Mind
Correlated with: Performance on Piaget’s tasks Pretend play Shared pretense with other children Discussion of emotion-provoking events
with parents Language skills and working memory Cross-cultural influences
Neo-Piagetian Theories: Robbie Case Short-term storage space (STSS)
Operational efficiency
Matrix Classification Task
Let’s take a closer look at this task.
Alternative Theories of Early Childhood Thinking
Figure 7.5 Neo-Piagetian Matrix Task
Alternative Theories of Early Childhood Thinking
Information Processing Theories
Metamemory: Knowledge about and control of memory processes
Metacognition: Knowledge about and control of thought processes
Scripts: Cognitive structures underlie behavior and emerge during middle childhood
Alternative Theories of Early Childhood Thinking
Vygotsky’s Socio-Cultural Theory
Overview Emphasis on role of social factors in
cognitive development Problem solutions socially generated and
learned Key principles: Zone of Proximal
Development (ZPD) and scaffolding
Alternative Theories of Early Childhood Thinking
Vygotsky’s Socio-Cultural Theory
Stages of Cognitive Development
Alternative Theories of Early Childhood Thinking
Vygotsky’s Socio-Cultural Theory
How are Vygotsky’s stages related to the eventual development of adult thinking?
Each stage represents a step toward child’s internalization of ways of thinking used by adults around him or her.
Changes in Language
Fast-mapping: Ability to categorically link new words to real word referents Occurs at about age 3 Rapid formation of hypothesis about new
word’s meaning
Remember: Word learning drives process of language development
Grammar Explosion: Period when grammatical features of child speech becomes more adultlike
Inflections Questions and Negatives Overregularizations Complex sentences
Changes in LanguageGrammar Explosion
Changes in LanguagePhonological Awareness
Phonological awareness: Child’s sensitivity to sound patterns that are specific to a language Awareness of sounds represented by
letters Learned in school through formal
instruction Primarily developed through word play Related to invented spelling
Figure 7.6 Invented Spelling
Differences in IntelligenceMeasuring Intelligence
• Alfred Binet
• Lewis Terman: Intelligence Quotient (IQ)
• Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children
Differences in IntelligenceSomething to Consider
An important assumption in studying differences in intelligence is that these differences can be measured.
The Normal Curve
IQ scores form a normal distribution – the famous “bell curve” with which you may be familiar.
Can you explain what this bell curvetells us about IQ?
Differences in Intelligence
Stability and Predictive Value of IQ Scores Correlation between IQ score and future
grades is about .50 – .60.
Consistent relationship are found within social classes and racial groups.
IQ scores are quite stable BUT do not measure underlying competence.
Stop and think!
A high level of predictability masks an interesting fact about children being tested.
Do you know what this is?
Origins of Individual Differences in Intelligence
Evidence of Heredity and Family Influences
Heredity Twin and adoption studies findings
Family Influences Adoption studies findings Family demographics and learning
environments
Origins of Individual Differences in Intelligence
Evidence for Preschool Influences
Short- and long term outcomes from formal education programs
Head Start outcomes
Let’s look at the relationship between some early education programs and IQ scores.
Figure 7.8 Early Education and IQ Scores
Piaget sees the child as the little scientist who works on her own to discover knowledge. Vygotsky suggests children learn from skilled social partners in a social setting. Which theory or combination describes children the best? Why?
What makes Head Start a successful program?
Questions To PonderQuestions To PonderQuestions To PonderQuestions To Ponder
Group Differences in Intelligence Test Scores
Can you hypothesize why these findings occur?
Higher scores than white children
Chinese and Japanese children
Lower scores than white children
African American children
Higher scores in all groups over two centuries
Flynn Effect