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