Body Size, proportions: 2-3 in. in height and 5 lbs in weight
Epiphyses, growth centers in which cartilage hardens into bone
General growth curve: a curve that represents overall changes
In body size. Rapid growth during infancy, slower gains in early
And middle childhood, rapid growth again during adolescence
Synaptic Growth: Brain metabolism reaches peak around 4. By
This time, many cortical regions have overproduced synapses,
Resulting in high energy need. Overabundance of synaptic
Connections supports the plasticity of the young brain.
Synaptic pruning: Neurons seldom stimulated lose their connective
Fibers and the # of synapses is reduced. When changes occur, plasticity
Of the brain is reduced. By 8-10 energy consumption of most cortical
Regions declines to near adult levels. Lateralization: Brain is made up
Of two hemispheres w/ distinct functions. In frontal lobe areas, there
Devoted to planning and organizing behavior. The left hemisphere active
Then levels off. Activity in the right hemisphere increases steadily with
A slight spurt btw. 8-10. Difference in rate of development of the 2
Hemispheres suggest that they are lateralizing. Handedness: At age 5
90% of children prefer one hand over the other. A strong hand preference
reflects the greater capacity of one side of the brain referred to as the
dominant cerebral hemisphere(responsible for skilled motor action)
Cerebellum: a structure that aids in balance and control of body
Movement. Reticular formation: a structure in the brain stem that
Maintains alertness and consciousness. Corpus callosum: a large
Bundle of fibers that connects the 2 hem. So they can communicate
Directly.
Sleep contributes to body growth since GH is released during the child’s
Sleeping hours. 2-3 sleep 12-13 hrs; 4-6 sleep 10-11 hrs; preschoolers
Take a 1-2 hr nap. Nutrition: The decline in the appetite is normal, b/c
Growth has slowed down. Disease: Poor diet depresses the body’s immune
System, making children far more susceptible to disease. Disease is major
Cause in malnutrition and affects physical growth. Childhood injuries: auto
Collisions, pedestrian accidents, drowning, firearm wounds, poisoning,
Swallowing foreign objects are causes of child mortality. Perceptual Dev:
When learning to write children sometimes get b and d, p and q confused.
They see it backwards. Also C and G, E and F, M and W are subtle.
Mental Representation: Piaget acknowledged that lang. is our most flexible
Means of mental representation. Sensorimotor activity makes lang. possible
and it leads to deferred imitation and make-believe play. 1) Overtime, play
increasingly detaches from the real life conditions associated with it. 2) make
believe gradually includes more complex scheme combinations (make-believe
play with others) 3) make believe gradually includes more complex scheme
combinations. Preoperational Thought: most serious deficiency is egocentrism:
The inability to distinguish the symbolic viewpoints of others from one’s own.
Children think that everyone else perceives, thinks, and feels the same way as
They do. Animistic thinking: the clouds are mad at the sun, so they chased them
Away making thunder. The belief that inanimate objects have lifelike qualities,
Such as thoughts, wishes, feelings, intentions. Research: Three mountain prblm.
Piaget and Education: 1)An emphasis on discovery learning 2) Sensitivity
To children’s readiness to learn 3) Acceptance of individual differences.
Piaget’s view: children’s talking is called utterances egocentric speech, they
Reflect the preoperational child’s inability to image the perspectives of others.
Cognitive Devel. And certain social experiences eventually bring an end to
Egocentric speech. Vygotsky’s View: That children speak to themselves for
Self-guidance and self-direction. B/C language helps children think about their
Own behavior and select courses of action, he viewed it as the foundation for
All complex mental activities. Most findings believe Vygotsky is correct.
“Speech to self” is now called private speech: self directed speech that children
use to plan or guide their own behavior
Vygotsky’s & Educational Settings: Vygotskian classroom promotes
Assisted discovery. Teachers guide children’s learning, carefully tailoring
Their efforts to each child’s zone of proximal development. They also
Encourage peer collaboration, grouping together classmates of differing
abilities and encouraging them to help one another. Intelligence Tests:
A person asks questions relating to pictures, objects, numbers, letters, etc.
Vocab. Development: age 2 kids know 200 words and by age 6 they will know
10,000 words. Then child will learn on average 5 words per day. Children
learn new vocab. thru fast mapping: connecting a new word with an
underlying concept only after a brief encounter. Grammatical Dev.: 2-3
children adopt the word order of the adult speech to which they are
exposed. Over Regularization: application of regular grammatical rules to
words that are exceptions. Semantic Bootstrapping: Figuring out grammatical
rules by relying on word meanings. Syntactic Bootstrapping: Figuring out word
meanings by observing how words are used in the structure of sentences
Self Concept: The set of attributes, abilities, attitudes, and the values
That an individual believes defines who he or she is. Self concept is
Very concrete by this age. Self Esteem: The aspect of self-concept
That involves judgments about one’s own worth and the feelings
Associated with those judgments. This is the most important aspect
Of self development. Emotional Self Regulation: language contributes
To preschoolers improved emotional self-regulation, or ability to control
The expression of emotion. When children become aware of this, there
Emotional outbursts become less frequent over time. Temperament affects
The development of self regulation. Types of play: 1) Functional play: simple,
Repetitive motor movements with or without objects. Ex: running around
A room, rolling a car back and forth. 2) Constructive Play: creating or
Constructing something. Ex: making a house out of toy blocks, drawing
3) Make-believe play: acting out everyday and imaginary roles. Ex: playing
house, school, etc. Social Problem Solving: resolving social conflicts in ways
that are both acceptable to others and beneficial to the self. Involves noticing and
accurately interpreting social cues, formulating goals that enhance relationships.
1)notice social cues 2) interpret social cues 3) formulate social goals 4) generate
possible problem solving strategies 5) evaluate probable effectiveness of strategies
6) enact response which leads to peer evaluation and response
Foundations of Morality: At first the child’s morality is controlled by adults,
Gradually it becomes regulated by inner standards. Social learning theory
Focuses on moral behavior and how it is learned through reinforcement
And modeling. The cognitive-developmental perspective emphasizes thinking
And the children’s ability to reason about justice and fairness. Punishment:
The use of sharp reprimands or physical force to restrain or move a child from
One place to another is justified when immediate obedience is necessary.
When parents are interested in fostering long term goals, they tend to rely
On warmth and reasoning. Harsh punishment serves to provide children with
Adult models of aggression. Teaches children to avoid the punishing adult.
Offer immediate relief to adults, who are the reinforced for using
Coercive discipline. Aggression: by early preschool years, two types of
Aggression emerge. Most common one is instrumental aggression: aggression
Aimed at obtaining an object, privilege, or space with no deliberate intent to
Harm another person. Hostile aggression: aggression intended to harm another
Person. Hostile aggression comes in at least two varieties. 1) Overt aggression:
Harms others through physical injury or the threat of such injury. 2) Relational
Aggression: which damages another’s peer relationships as in social exclusion
Gender Typing is the process of developing gender roles, or genderLinked preferences and behaviors valued by the larger society. Ex:
Girls want to do girl things, while boys want to do boy things.
Gender Identity: is the image of oneself as relatively masculine or
Feminine in characteristics. Androgyny is a type of gender-role identity
In which the person scores high on both masculine and feminine personality
Characteristics. Positive Characteristics: Males- outgoing, tough; FemalesGenerous, loving, caring. Styles of Child Rearing: Demandingness: some
Parents establish high standards for their child