Chapter 2 – Developmental Theories and Contexts: Past and Present
SECTION 1: DEVELOPMENTAL THEORIES
2.1 Compare four historical conceptions of development, and summarize their implications
for contemporary theory
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Men have dominated over women in fields such as religion, philosophy, and other fields
that inspired cultures and development
Ancient Hindu Conception: Dharmashastras – oldest known conception of life
o Based on role-related duties in life stages
Ancient Greek conceptions were the oldest in Western societies
o Based on physical development
Ancient Jewish Conceptions come from the Talmud
o Based on cognitive development
Medieval European Conceptions was a revival of interest in life stages
o Based on both physical and cognitive development
o Adolescentia is an ambiguous stage that is similar to present day
2.2 Compare three stage conceptions from traditional cultures, and explain what insights
they hold for current scientific theories
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The Gusii
o Young children perform simple tasks
o 6 y/o begin to take on more responsibilities (girls do household work, boys do
farming)
o Initiation at 9 for girls, 12 for boys, means their duties become like adults’
o Gusii choose partners at adolescence
The Trobriand Islanders
o Fathers have a more vital role
o Children 4 – 5 form a play group, and from 5 to puberty, they mostly play games
o Sex play at 7 or 8
o At adolescence, boys and girls choose their partners, but is a stage of leisure,
freedom, and adventure
The Maya
o Children begin doing errands at young ages
o Children allowed to play, but play related to future work
o At 6 or 7, girls learn household chores; by 9 boys begin helping with farming
o Relationships are elaborate and ritualistic
All have an infant stage of care, an early childhood stage with weaning, a middle stage
with play and responsibilities, and adolescence understood as preparatory for adulthood
2.3 Summarize key features of Erikson’s psychosocial theory, and name the first five stages
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Proposed a theory of development that emphasizes social and cultural influences
Stages characterized by distinctive crises with a healthy and unhealthy resolution
Cumulative stages
2.4 Identify the main ideas that underlie cognitive-developmental theories
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Build on Piaget’s proposal that child development takes plpace through schemes
(cognitive structures for processing)
2.5 Explain how learning theories account for children’s development
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Children are influenced by their environment
Children actively think about their world and have their own motivations on how to
behave
2.6 Describe the different branches of biological theories and how they explain
development
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Biological theories encompass evolutionary theory, behavior genetics, and neuroscience
Take interactions between biology and environmental factors into account
2.7 Name two kinds of contextual theories, and summarize their main features
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Microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem
The theory highlights how people develop in multiple contexts
Developmental system theories emphasize lifelong interactions between people and
different contexts
2.8 Review the three points highlighted by cultural theories
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Cultural theories call for inclusion of diverse samples
They highlight how physical, cognitive, and socioemotional development is shaped by
culture and that they may vary
Cultural theorists want to study psychological factors within cultures
SECTION 2: DEVELOPMENTAL CONTEXTS
2.9 Describe important cultural and historical characteristics of the family context
 Family is the 1st context of child development
o Main context in which children develop
o Children’s first experiences determine their personality and behavior
 Traditional cultures
o Young men stay in their family home, young women move into their new
husband’s home
o Children grow up in extended families
 European and NA countries
o Extended families are rare
o Single-parent households are common
o 1/4th of children spend time in a stepfamily by the time they reach 18
 The functions of the family have been greatly reduced and taken over by other social
institutions
o Families nowadays provide affective functions of love and affection
 3 questions examined by researchers about the family
o Do infants’ first relationships shape future ones?
o What are common features of sibling relationships?
o What are the key roles of grandparents?
2.10 Differentiate friends, peers, and romantic partners, and explain when they become
most salient in development
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Friends and peers are important in adolescence because the emotional center of lives shift
to people outside of the family
Romantic relationships between as friendships
Cultural norms are important in romantic relationships
3 questions examined by researchers about friends, peers, romantic partners:
o How is play among friends shaped by age, gender, and culture?
o What makes some children more popular than others among peers?
o What qualities do people look for in a romantic partner?
2.11 Explain why school is an important context in children’s development
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Children need school to learn skills to prepare for adult work
Schooling begins at 3-5 in developed countries
Secondary education is universal in developed countries
Tertiary education is normative in developed countries
Lack of financial support is a problem for minority groups in the US
3 questions researchers examine about school
o How do cultures vary in their goals for school?
o What are the best approaches to teaching reading skills?
o What key factors make schools effective in engaging students?
2.12 Compare developed and developing countries about children’s and adolescents’ work
participation
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Children in developed countries devote their day to school and leisure
Adolescents in the US countries work part-time jobs, but this is not the case in Europe
and Japan
Poor families in developing countries depend on children’s contributions to income
70% of adolescent employment involves child labor, which is harmful to children
Questions pertaining to work:
o What are the cognitive and emotional changes in children and adolescents that
influence their work?
o What are the effects of working in childhood in developing countries?
o What are the effects of working in developed countries?
2.13 Explain how media have changed children’s daily environments
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Rapid diffusion of TV, even more rapid diffusion of internet and mobile phones
Children of today are part of a new generation of digital natives
Questions being researched about the media:
o What are ways for schools to use media to educate?
o What are the effects of media on development?
o How does social networking affect child relationships?
2.14 Identify features of importance in regard to the influence of civic and religious
institutions on children’s development
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Civic activities include volunteering, writing to political leaders, and take place in
schools, groups, religious institutions
Religious institutions are important for child development
o Feature explanations about the world, gender roles, etc
o Adolescents are more religious in traditional cultures than developed countries
Ethnic background is important in the US
Questions researchers ask about civic and religious institutions:
o Are children becoming less religious?
o How do conceptions of supernatural entities depend on age and religion?
o What are the long-term effects of taking part in civic activities?
SECTION 3: DEVELOPMENTAL QUESTIONS
2.15 Describe the current scientific approach to early experiences
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Early deprivation of fundamental experiences heightens the risk of emotional and
cognitive problems
Sensitive periods when learning in a specific area is pronounced
2.16 Explain ways in which children are active agents in their own development
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Piaget believes children contribute to their own development and toddlerhood is where
curiosity is created
Reciprocal or bidirectional effects to describe parent-child relationships
o Parents take approaches based on their individual differences
Children have an impact on what environment they choose to be in
Children’s choices vary by gender, and varies by culture
2.17 Analyze the usefulness of stage conceptions
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Stages theorists like Piaget believe maturation is the main factor in stage progression, but
research proved that development does not occur in differentiated stages
Sensitive periods can be considered as stage endings
Life stage concepts help organized social life and provide guidelines for people’s roles
Life stages are psychologically meaningful
2.18 Provide a brief history of views on the influences of nature (biology) and nurture
(environment) in the field of child development
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Freud emphasized early experiences, placing a lot of responsibility on mothers, while no
scientific evidence
Early learning theories regard child behavior as based on rewards
John B. Watson wanted to counter theories emphasizing biology
Today, child development focuses on both nature and nurture development
2.19 Describe how a focus on diversity has been added to the focus on universals in child
development
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We alter our environments so natural selection no longer determines how we live but
rather our cultures do
We all share a common development experience
The way children in different cultures grow up vary widely
Chapter 3: Genetics and Prenatal Development
SECTION 1: GENETIC INFLUENCES ON DEVELOPMENT
3.1 Distinguish between genotype and phenotype, and identify the different forms of genetic
inheritance
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Cells in humans contain 46 chromosomes in 23 pairs
Totality of an individual’s genes is the genotype
Characteristics of a person are phenotypes
Dominant-recessive inheritance influences the relation between genotype and phenotype
Incomplete dominance is when phenotype is partly influenced by a recessive gene
Polygenic inheritance is expression of phenotypic characteristics due to interaction of
many genes
3.2 Describe the sex chromosomes, and identify what makes them different from other
chromosomes
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Sex chromosomes determine gender
Mayans and Chinese believe sex can be predicted from the mother’s age and month of
conception
The West believes that if the fetus is high, it’s a girl, and if it’s low, it’s a boy
Some countries base gender of child on breast size
There is a bias for birthing boys in some cultures, but this bias is diminishing
Males are more vulnerable to recessive disorders
3.3 Explain how behavior geneticists use heritability estimates and concordance rates in
their research
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Heritability is the degree to which a characteristic is estimated to be influenced by genes
Concordance rates indicate similarity in samples between pairs of people with different
amounts of genes
3.4 Define the concepts of epigenetics and reaction ranges, and indicate how they illustrate
gene-environment interactions
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Epigenetics is the concept of development results from bidirectional interactions between
genotype and environment
3.5 Explain how the theory of genotype to environment effects casts new light on the old
nature-nurture question
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This theory proposes genes influence environments through passive, evocative, and
active genotypes to environment effects
Operate throughout life span and increase over time
3.6 Outline the process of meiosis in the formation of reproductive cells, and specify how
the process differs for males and females
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Cells replicate through mitosis
Gametes form through meiosis
o Chromosome pairs split (Interphase I)
o Chromosomes replicate (Prophase I)
o Chromosomes cross over (Metaphase I)
o Cell division (Anaphase I)
o Pairs separate and divide again (Telophase I and Cytokinesis)
Meiosis is completed before sperm releases
Outcome of meiosis in males is 4 sperm, while female meiosis only produces one
functional ovum
Crossing over mixes genes together
3.7 Describe the process of fertilization and conception
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Only a few hundred sperm make it to the fallopian tubes to fertilize
Ovum matures into a follicle, which provides nutrients
Cytoplasm provides nutrients for first 2 weeks if the ovum is fertilized
After 24 hours after ovum enters fallopian tube, fertilization happens Final phase of
meiosis triggers once sperm head reaches ovum nucleus
Twins can happen when two ova are released and fertilized (DZ Twins)
Twins can happen when one zygote splits into two separate cell clusters (MZ Twins)
SECTION 2: PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT AND PRENATAL CARE
3.8 Describe the structures that form during the germinal period, and identify when
implantation takes place
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Germinal Period – first two weeks after fertilization when zygote implants in uterine wall
Blastocysts formed 1 week following conception and made up of a trophoblast and
embryonic disk, which becomes the embryo
After 2 weeks, blastocyst embeds into uterus lining and is nourished by a bloody lining
o Trophoblast differentiates into an amnion (to regulate temperature and protect
organism) and a placenta (allows nutrient passage)
o Umbilical cord develops
3.9 Outline the major milestones of the embryonic period, and identify when they take
place
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Trophoblast differentiated faster than embryonic disk during germinal period to protect
the organism
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Over 6 weeks of the embryonic period or 3-8 weeks of gestation, nearly all major organ
systems are formed
Embryonic disk forms 3 layers
o Ectoderm (skin, hair, nails, sensory organs, nervous system)
o Mesoderm (muscles, bones, reproductive system, circulatory system)
o Endoderm (digestive and respiratory system)
Nervous system develops the fastest
Neural tube forms at end of Week 3, which produces neurons
In 4th gestational week, physical features become apparent
Weeks 5-8 is rapid growth
At end of embryonic period, embryo looks like a human
3.10 Specify the major milestones of the fetal period, and identify when viability occurs
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Fetal period is from 9 weeks after conception to birth
Genitals form and heart can be heard through stethoscope
After 3 months, a fetus weights 3 ounces and is 3 inches wrong
Fetus becomes active and responds to environment during 2nd trimester
Fetus becomes more active and responds to stimuli
Vernix covers baby to protect it
6 months after conception (end of 2nd trimester), typical fetus is 14 inches long and
weighs 2 pounds
Babies born before 22 weeks rarely survive, and babies born between 22 and 26 weeks
have disabilities
Lungs are the last major organ to develop
Babies born weighing less than 5.5 pounds risk developmental problems
At 3rd trimester, brain development is similar to those of a newborn, and the fetus
becomes aware of its external environment
Newborns have preferences which were seen when experienced in the womb
3.11 Compare and contrast prenatal care in traditional cultures and developed countries
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Beng people believe women should avoid drinking palm wine during early pregnancy
and avoid eating meat from a bushback antelope because the baby may become striped
like the antelope
People from Bali believe hot foods should be avoided, and food should not be accepted
by spiritually unpure people
In developed countries in the 20th century, women were advised to limit their weight
during pregnancy to no more than 15 pounds
o Proven to be false because women should gain 25-35 pounds during pregnancy
and going below this can result in health defects for the newborn
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Pregnant women in developed countries suggested to receive prenatal care
o Pregnant women in developing countries less likely to receive prenatal care
o 99% of maternal and infant deaths occur in developing countries
3.12 Identify the major teratogens in developing countries and developed countries
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Teratogens – behaviors and environments harmful to a developing organism
o Can have a significant effect because during embryonic period, all major organ
systems are forming at rapid pace
Most common teratogen is malnutrition
o 40% of the world’s population doesn’t get an ideal prenatal diet
o Half the world’s population is rural
China has the highest incidence in anencephaly (abnormal brain) and spina bifada
(distortion of spine)
o Main cause of disorder is folic acid deficiency
To reduce folic acid deficiency, governments provide folic acid supplements and require
folic acid to be present in grain products
Other nutritional deficiencies are iron and iodine
o Iron deficiency may cause low birth weight babies, and half the women
worldwide are deficient in iron
o Iodine deficiency increases changes of miscarriage and abnormalities in fetal
brain development
Rubella is an infectious disease common in prenatal development
o When mothers are exposed to it, infants have a high chance of getting severe
health or birth defects
o Most critical period is embryonic period, but effects of rubella less severe in fetal
period
AIDs is an infection caused by HIV which can be transmitted to a child through blood,
birth, or breast milk
o Damages the brain development prenatally
o Using medicine before birth or infant formula in place of breast milk reduces the
likelihood of infection
Alcohol causes the most widespread damage to prenatal development in developed
countries
o Can cause fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, which includes deformities, heart
problems, cognitive problems
Smoking can increase likelihood of miscarriage and premature birth
o Smoking can create cognitive problems for the child
o Secondhand smoke leads to higher risk of low birth rate and childhood cancer
Drugs, certain kinds of work, stress, and pollution are other kinds of teratogens
SECTION 3: PREGNANCY PROBLEMS
3.13 Explain how chromosomal disorders occur
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Errors in chromosome division
1 out of 200 live births, the child has a chromosomal disorder
o Sex chromosome disorder
o Down Syndrome
Sex chromosome disorders are having extra chromosomes or no second chromosome
o Cognitive deficits
o Abnormal reproductive system at puberty
Down Syndrome (trisomy-21) creates distinct facial features and some cognitive deficits
o Social development of those with this varies widely
o Down Syndrome people age faster
Chromosomal problems occur usually due to maternal age
o Eggs are in ovaries for a long time, increasing the likelihood of abnormal meiosis
Paternal age is linked to multifactorial disorders, like autism
3.14 Identify the four main techniques of prenatal testing and diagnosis, and explain hy
some prospective parents seek genetic counseling
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Prospective parents at risk for genetic disorders seek prenatal genetic counseling
o Some techniques of prenatal monitoring in developed countries include
ultrasound, maternal blood screening, amniocentesis, and chorionic villus
sampling (CVS)
Ultrasound
o Use high frequency sound waves directed towards uterus to generate an image on
a screen
o Used to screen for Down syndrome and to learn the sex of a child before birth
Maternal Blood Screening
o Different substances in blood samples are examined
o Not definitive
Amniocentesis
o Done 15-20 weeks into pregnancy
o Takes amniotic fluid sample
o Only used for women at risk of prenatal problems due to family history or age
o Very accurate
CVS
o Done 5-10 weeks into pregnancy
o Takes sample from cells forming umbilical cord
o Both CVS and Amniocentesis have the risk of miscarriage or fetus damage
Genetic Counseling
o Helps gain medical info for parents at risk for problems
o People who get counseling include those with genetic conditions or those that
have relatives with birth defects
3.15 Describe the psychological and social implications of infertility
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In the individualistic West, infertile couples experience sadness and loss
o Some believe they were unable to live up to their expectations for having a child
Outside the West, it’s more collectivistic, with some cultures deeply stigmatizing
infertility
o Infertility involves the entire family because no one will continue family tradition
o Wife’s status is lowered and can be viewed as a failure
Women seek remedies to overcome infertility provided by a midwife
Infertility is sometimes viewed as a ground for divorce
o Vietnamese men sometimes have a child with another wife
o Husband is encouraged to divorce the wife in Cameroon
3.16 Review major causes of and treatments for infertility
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Infertility regarded as a female problem long ago, but now it’s known that men and
women contribute equally to infertility
o In men, it can be due to amount, quality, or mobility of sperm, which is caused by
genetic or self-inflicted problems
o In women, it is due to problems with ovulation, which is caused by disease or
self-inflicted problems
Assisted Reproductive Technologies help overcome infertility
o IUI
o Fertility drugs
o IVF
Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) is the oldest treatment and involves injecting sperm
directly into woman’s uterus during ovulation
o Chosen when man has problems with sperm
Fertility drugs mimic hormone activity to provoke ovulation
o Carry serious risks such as clotting and ovary damage
o But generates high birth rate
In vitro fertilization (IVF) are used after fertility drugs and involves the extraction of ripe
ova to combine with male sperm
o Has little to no risks for babies
o Basis of thousands of pregnancies
Chapter 4 – Birth and the Newborn Child
SECTION 1: BIRTH AND ITS CULTURAL CONTEXT
4.1 Identify the three stages of the birth process
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Labor
o Longest stage that takes 12 hours for first births and 6 hours for subsequent births
o Contractions happen causing cervix to dilate to prepare for baby exit
o Uterus contractions happen near the end for 60 to 90 seconds at a time, and severe
back pain happens
Delivery of Baby
o Takes 30 minutes but there is variation
o Contractions less frequent
o Episiotomies may be given to make the vaginal opening larger and prevent
vaginal tear
Delivery of Placenta and Umbilical Cord
o Lasts for half an hour, contractions are milder
o The entire placenta must come out to prevent abnormal uterus contractions and
stop bleeding
o Breastfeeding triggers contractions that help expel placenta
o Stitching happens if vaginal opening was torn
4.2 Name two common types of birth complications, and explain how they can be overcome
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Failure to Progress
o When the birth process is taking longer than normal
o Synthetic oxytocin used to generate contractions
o Forceps or vacuums are used to help pull a baby that’s already in the birth canal
Breech Presentation
o When the fetus’s feet or buttocks come out of the birth canal first
o Dangerous for the baby because it can cause umbilical cord constriction and cause
insufficient oxygen to the baby and brain damage
o Massages may help turn the fetus to headfirst to prevent this
Cesarean Delivery
o Also called c-sections
o Done when breech position cannot be turned or if other problems happen in birth
o Involves cutting open mother’s abdomen and retrieving the baby
o Safer for infants, but has longer healing times for mother
o The WHO recommends no country’s C-section rate should exceed 10%-15%
o Countries with lowest C-section rates have lowest rates of birth problems and
developing countries
4.3 Review the costs and benefits of obstetrics to child and mother
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In the 15th century, midwives were suspected of being witches and put to death after a
witch hunting manual called midwives harmful to Catholic faith
o Midwifery revived, but they needed licenses issued by the Catholic Church
In the 18th century, obstetrics (field of medicine focused on childbirth and care for
expectant mothers) became common, and doctors began to replace midwives
o At this time, medicine was inadequate due to societal norms
o Obstetrical care was perilous due to usage of forceps, which have the threat of
damage to baby or mother
o Lack of knowledge of infection at this time caused childbed fever, which is
infections spread by doctors
o 1 in 20 mothers died in 19th century Western hospitals, 75% suffered from
childhood fever, and 20% died from it
In the 19th century, drugs were use to relieve pain in mothers, but these drugs had
dangerous side effects
In the 20th century, Twilight Sleep was created
o Condition caused by getting injected by drugs
o Helped with relaxing during contractions and promoted cervix dilation
o Pain was still felt
In the 1960s, there was backlash against the medicalization of birth
o Critics were against medical procedures as they believed it was to make childbirth
more profitable
o Critics advocated for natural childbirth, which rejects all medical technologies or
interventions
o Involves pain management classes, breathing techniques, and reliance on
emotional support
o Probability of baby dying during home birth was greater than hospital delivery
o Not recommended for high-risk pregnancies
Today, both natural childbirth and medical interventions are popular
o Epidurals help manage pain while maintaining alertness by injecting the drug into
spinal fluid
o Electronic fetal monitoring helps track fetus heartbeat and is useful for high-risk
deliveries
4.4 Describe cultural variations in who may assist with births
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Usually the assistants are older women and men assistants are rare (seen in Mexico or
Philippines)
Fathers can assist by holding up the mother
Midwives are usually older women that have had children
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o Women in Guatemala and Ojibwa tribes, women become midwives through
dreams and visions
o Other cultures view midwives as inheritable from mother to daughter, and others
allow women to volunteer
o Women go through apprenticeship before becoming a midwife
Those in high SES have medically assisted births, while lower SES have home birth
Midwives experienced a revival in developed countries recently
4.5 Describe cultural variations in approaches to diminishing danger and pain during birth
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Some cultures believe birth makes women spiritually unclean
Arapesh believe birth takes place on the outskirts of a village in a place reserved for
contaminating activities
The Catholic Church made mothers purify themselves after birth
The danger in delivering the placenta created beliefs that the placenta itself is dangerous
and must be disposed of properly to prevent bad consequences
o On the other hand, in Indonesia, Ghana, and Malaysia, the placenta is treated as
the baby’s semihuman sibling
Humans developed beliefs to minimize the perilous nature of birth
In some Western countries, placenta is consumed, inspired by how some wild animals eat
their placenta
Some cultures created ways to ease birth pain
o Abdominal massages to reduce discomfort
o In Asia and South America, mothers are forbidden from eating “hot” foods
Midwives are present when women go into labor in traditional culture and medicines are
used to ease the pain
Mothers are held in a variety of upright positions that very between cultures
Some cultures use some kind of imagery to speed up the labor process
o In the Philippines, keys and combs are placed under a laboring woman’s pillow
Some midwives call for shamans
o Cuna Indians believe that Muu, the spirit of the womb, holds onto the fetus, and
shamans help wage combat against Muu
Traditional practices are an example of placebo affect, where something affects someone
just by virtue of the power in their belief
4.6 Summarize the differences in maternal and neonatal mortality both within and between
developed countries and developing countries
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Neonatal period is the first 28 days of life, the most vulnerable time for survival
To reduce neonatal mortality in developing countries, UNICEF recommends hospital care
is available, skilled personnel is present, and there is access to essentials
SECTION 2: THE NEONATE
4.7 Identify the features of the two major scales most often used to assess neonatal health
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Characteristics of a neonate
o Neonates are about 20 inches long and weigh about 7.5 pounds
o Baby’s head may be misshapen due to the skull not being fused into one bone
o Lanugo, a fuzzy hair, and vernix covers the newborn’s skin
o Neonatal jaundice is present
Neonates must receive oxygen at once or they may develop anoxia, which causes
cognitive damage
Apgar Scale
o Rated on Appearance, Pulse, Grimace (reflex irritability), Activity, and
Respiration, and are rated twice
o Score of 7-10 means neonate is in good condition, and 3 or below indicates lifethreatening danger
Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale
o Assesses reflexes, responses to stimulation, and central nervous system instability
o Neonate receives rating of worrisome, normal, or superior
o Most effectively predicts future development
o Promotes development of relationship between parents and infants
o Used to examine differences among neonates across cultures
4.8 Distinguish the neonatal classifications for low birth weight, and describe the
consequences and major treatments
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Weight is one of the most important indicators of neonate survival and development
Low birth weight is when weight is less than 5.8 pounds (some are referred to as preterm,
in which they were born some weeks early)
Small for date means they weigh less than 90% of the average for other neonates born at
the same gestational age
Rate of Low-birth-weight varies widely, with Asia and Africa having the highest and
Europe having the lowest
Cause for low birth weight in developing countries is due to malnourishment, while in
developed countries it’s due to usage of substances
Low birth weight increases chances of death
o Very low birth weight is less than 3.5 pounds
o Extremely low birth weight is less than 2.3 pounds
Low birth weight neonates have immature CNS and not enough fat to insulate, increasing
their chances of death
o Incubators help regulate neonate temperature and reduce exposure to bad particles
o Surfactant coats the lungs of mature neonates to help them breathe
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Kangaroo care, in which newborns are placed skin-to-skin on parents’ chests, helps
stabilize and regulate bodily functions
Infant massage helps treat low-birth-weight babies in Asia and Africa
Incubators are used in the West
Low-birth-weight causes problems in the future, such as development of asthma, poor
cognitive performance, language delays
4.9 Describe neonates’ patterns of waking and sleeping, including how and why these
patterns differ across cultures
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Average sleep time is 16-17 hours of sleep
Sleep-wake patterns governed by their hunger
o Results in parent sleep deprivation
By 4 months, infants sleep longer intervals and sleep for a total of 14 hours
Neonates spend a lot of time in REM sleep, but sleep in about one half the time they are
sleeping
o Unlike adults, neonates enter REM immediately
o Neonates do not dream during REM sleep
o REM sleep stimulates brain development
When not sleeping, infants are alert but drowsy
In traditional cultures, neonates are in contact with mothers constantly
o The Kipsigis of Kenya strap their babies to their backs during work, and these
babies spend more time napping
4.10 Specify the neonatal reflexes, including those that have a functional purpose and those
that do not
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27 reflexes are present at birth
o Sucking helps obtain nourishment
o Rooting helps find the breast by making them turn their heads and open their
mouths when touched on the cheek
o Grasping helps them hang onto something
o Moro causes neonates to prepare themselves for an embrace in response to falling
backward or loud sound
o Reflexes such as stepping are precursors of voluntary movements
o Reflexes like Babkin reflex have no purpose other than entertainment value
4.11 Describe the neonate’s sensory abilities with respect to touch, taste and smell, hearing,
and sight
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Sensation nis the ability to experience stimulation through senses
Perception is how sensations are understood or interpreted
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Touch
o Earliest sense to develop
o Neonates feel pain, shown through their physiological reactions
o Neonates that feel pain release stress hormones
Taste and Smell
o Amniotic fluid helps develop taste
o Neonates prefer the mother’s diet in days before birth
o Neonates prefer sweet tastes over bitter or sour
o Enjoying the sweet taste of breastmilk helps neonates nurse successfully
o Neonates quickly discriminate smells after birth
Hearing
o Fetuses become familiar with their mother’s voice and other sounds
o Neonates have a sensitivity to human speech and prefer their mother’s voice
o Neonates have a sensitivity to small changes in speech and music
o Musical awareness begins prenatally
o Neonates have difficulty with sound localization and hearing soft sounds
Sight
o Neonates have visual preferences
o Neonates prefer patterns and curved lines, as well as human faces
o Least developed of a neonate’s senses due to immature eye structures
o Vision of neonates is 20/200 – 20/600 and their visual acuity is 8-14 inches
o Neonates can perceive size and shape constancy
o Vision improves as eyes mature, and their binocular vision matures quickly
SECTION 3: CARING FOR THE NEONATE
4.12 Describe the cultural customs surrounding breast-feeding across cultures and history
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Wet nursing (hiring a lactating woman) was done to ease the burden of frequent feedings
Animal substitutes such as cow or goat milk were used, but are nutritionally inadequate
Condensed and evaporated milk were developed in the West in the 1800s
Modern infant formula has supplements that make it healthier, but breast milk is still the
best
4.13 Identify the advantages of breast-feeding and where those advantages are largest
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Associated with healthy cognitive development, reduced obesity, protection from disease,
and better overall health
Breastfeeding helps mothers return to normal after pregnancy
4.14 Describe neonates’ crying and how crying patterns and soothing methods vary across
cultures
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Babies cry due to hunger, loneliness, pain, sleepiness, or temperature
Baby crying indicates degree of distress but not the source of it, but parents can usually
tell from the situation what the source is
When babies cry in unusual ways, it can indicate future developmental problems such as
autism
PURPLE Crying helps to remember normal features of crying in first 3 months of life
o Peak pattern (crying peaks at 2 months)
o Unpredictable
o Resistant to soothing
o Pain-like face
o Long lasting
o Evening crying
Crying episodes are longer in cultures where infants are left on their own
Prolonged crying episodes are rarer in cultures where babies are carried frequently
American infants cried for longer periods when compared to South Korean infants
o Korean mothers respond immediately to infant cries while American mothers let
the infant “cry it out”
Breast-feeding and swaddling are common motherly responses to neonate crying in
traditional cultures
Swaddling helps reduce crying and doesn’t inhibit motor development
Lifting and holding a baby, rocking, soothing sounds help relax a baby
Some argue that immediately responding to crying reinforces the behavior, while others
argue that ignoring crying will make the infant cry more
1 in 10 Western babies are colic, which are long crying patterns, and it exists primarily in
Western cultures
4.15 Critique the claim that human mothers must “bond” with their neonates immediately
after birth
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Most recommend that mothers must bond with their newborns
o Physicians based their argument on the behaviors of birds and their offspring
o The claim that contact with the mother is significant for a baby’s future
development is false
Although it’s not necessary for mothers and infants to be in close contact, there is no
reason to allow it, as it has its own good effects
4.16 Explain the reasons for postpartum depression and its consequences for children
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Some parents experience postpartum depression, which is intense feelings of sadness and
anxiety after giving birth which can affect daily life
In the US, PPD peaks at 4 weeks after childbirth, but will suffer symptoms a year later
Prevalence rates in developed countries are around 7%-13%, but are more varied in
developing countries
Women with a history of psychopathology, such as previous PPD episodes, have a higher
risk for PPD
Women more likely to receive PPD if they lack social support or have poor marital
relationships
PPD in fathers related to the demands of being fathers detracting their personal and work
related needs
Poverty and economic adversity are associated with maternal PPD, as well as HIV/AIDs
Psychotherapy helps treat PPD, as well as exercise, antidepressants, and massage
Mother and father PPD is related to child developmental problems
Chapter 5 – Infancy
SECTION 1: PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
5.1 Describe changes in weight and height during the first year, and explain the two basic
principles of physical growth
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Babies grow fastest in their first year
o Weight doubles by 5 months and triples by end of first year,
o Weight gain decreases steeply after the first year
Babies accumulate fat to help insulate themselves
Height increases dramatically in the first year from 20 inches to 30 inches
Cephalocaudal Principle – development begins at the head, then proceeds downward to
the rest of the body
Proximodistal Principle – growth proceeds from the middle of the body outward
5.2 Identify the key parts of the brain, and describe how the brain changes in the first few
years of life
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Brain Growth
o Production of neurons starts by Week 7 of prenatal development
o Toward the end of prenatal development, significant brain development takes
place
 Neonate brain is 25% the size of adult, but by age 2 it will be 70% the size
o Year One is peak time for development of connections among neurons
o Neurons are separated by synapses across which communication takes place
o Neurotransmitters are chemicals that act as messengers to communicate neurons
across synapses
 Axons release neurotransmitters
 Dendrites receive neurotransmitters
o Overproduction of Synaptic Exuberance – the spurt in new connections between
dendrites and axons
o Myelination increases the speed of communication between neurons, and is very
active in the first year of life but continues at a slower rate past 40 years
o “Use it or lose it” enhances precision and efficiency of connections
o Synaptic pruning gets rid of unused synaptic connections
Brain Specialization
o Brain divided into hindbrain, midbrain, and forebrain
 Hindbrain and midbrain mature earliest and perform basic biological
functions
o Forebrain divided into limbic system and cerebral cortex
o Limbic system comprised of hypothalamus, thalamus, and hippocampus
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Hypothalamus is small in size, but monitors basic animal functions such as
hunger and thirst
 Thalmus receives and transfers sensory info from body to brain
 Hippocampus transfers info from short-term to long-term memory
o Cerebral Cortex is the outermost part of the brain and is far larger than other
animals
 This is the basis of distinctively human abilities, such as our ability to
speak and understand concepts
o Cerebral cortex divided into left and right hemispheres
 Lateralization – specialization of two hemispheres
 Left is specialize for language and processing info
 Right is specialized for spatial reasoning and processing info
o Cerebral cortex specialize in 4 lobes
 Occipital lobes at the rear process visual info
 Temporal lobes at lower sides involve in processing auditory info
 Parietal lobes above temporals process info from touch
 Frontal lobes behind forehead are responsible for language and decisions
 Prefrontal cortex, most recently evolved, responsible for planning and
organization of info
Infant brain is high in plasticity (highly responsive to environment)
o Makes the brain adaptable but vulnerable
o Effects of environmental deprivation have permanent effects in infancy
In Romania, children were deprived of physical and emotional needs in orphanages, but
were adopted by Western nations once the orphanages closed
o Adoption age made a difference
o Romanian children adopted less than 6 months old were no different in cognitive
abilities than British children
o Romanian children adopted at 6-24 months had cognitive abilities lower than
British children
5.3 Describe how sleep changes in the course of the first year, and evaluate the risk factors
for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), including the research evidence regarding
cosleeping
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Cultural practice influence how much infants sleep
o American infants sleep 14 hours a day at 6 months
o Kipsigis people sleep 12 hours a day at 6 months because they expended less
energy when strapped to their mothers
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is the leading cause of death for infants 1-12 months old
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Involves the convergence of a critical developmental period, a vulnerable period, and
environmental risks
o Developmental problems include low birth weight, low Apgar scores, and an
abnormal cardiorespiratory system
o Environmental risks include a mother who smokes or uses drugs, sleeping in an
overheated room, and sleeping in a position other than flat on back
Rate of SIDs is higher in the US than other developed countries
There are higher rates of SIDs among African Americans and Native Americans due to
their poorer prenatal care
Cosleeping is when an infant sleeps in the same bed as parents
o Some warn it may lead to dependence by infants
o Many nations outside the West practice cosleeping, as they view nightly isolation
as a form of child neglect
o Western nations believe that independent sleeping allows for the baby to be
independent, while Mayan and Asian mothers justify cosleeping due to their
collectivistic values
Cosleeping makes children more socially independent and self-reliant
SIDS is unknown in cultures where cosleeping is the norm
5.4 Summarize how infants’ nutritional needs change during the first year of life, and
identify the reasons for and consequences of malnutrition in infancy
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4 – 5 months is commonly when solid foods are introduced, but a gag reflex causes them
to spit out solid items
Ability to chew and swallow doesn’t develop until the 2nd half of the first year
Pediatricians in the West recommend introducing solid food by the fourth to sixth month
of life, and this food is gradually thickened over time
Traditional cultures introduce mashed or pureed foods
Developing countries face high malnutrition rates, and malnutrition in infancy is due to
the mother being unable or unwilling to breastfeed due
Marasmus – disease in which body wastes away due to insufficient nutrients, and growth
stops
5.5 List the major causes of infant mortality and name some cultural approaches to
protecting infants.
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First year of life has highest risk of death
Infant mortality rates higher in developing countries
Respiratory infections, malaria, diarrhea are all major causes of infant mortality
Diarrhea can happen due to ingestion of unclean water, and can be cured through oral
rehydration therapy, but this can be unavailable in developing nations
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Vaccines for infants help reduce likelihood of diseases such as smallpox and polio, and
these are brought by immunization programs
90% of the world is vaccinated, but is still lacking in Africa
There is no basis for vaccines causing autism or causing SIDS
Most striking feature of infant’s social environment in traditional cultures is the parents’
awareness of infant vulnerability and a desire to protect against mortality
Historically, parents attempted to devis practices that would prevent harm
o In Medieval Europe, parents believed teething was the cause of fevers and
diarrhea rather than other diseases, so they resort to charms and spiritual practices
to cure the disease
o Today, in cultures lacking medical remedies, magical practices are use to protect
their babies from disease
o People from Bali believe infants should never touch the ground
o Fulani believe a sharp knife should be kept near a baby and compliments to the
baby should be avoided to ward off evil spirits
o Ifaluk believe babies should be covered with clothes to encourage sweating,
which they believe encourages growth
5.6 Summarize the major changes in gross and fine motor development during infancy
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Gross Motor Development – development of motor abilities such as balance, as well as
whole body movements
o Most children achieve these skills in sequence, but these achievements are varied
o Much of GMD is ontogenetic (takes place due to a genetically based timetable),
but some of it is also due to experience and learning
o In traditional cultures, infant GMD is restricted and they are usually swaddled or
strapped onto mothers’ backs
o Kipsigis and mothers from Jamaica promote GMD by helping them practice
walking, massaging their arms and legs
o Western countries recommend tummy time, which encourages them to move
around
o Restriction of GMD matters a little in the short run, but not much in the long run
o However, Ache infants, who are held 93% of the time, are not able to walk until
age 2, showing that cultural practices can speed up or slow down the ontogenetic
timetable for GMD
Fine Motor Development – development of motor abilities such as grasping and
manipulating obejcts
o Opposable thumb makes humans anatomically distinctive among animals and
makes fine motor movements possible
o Prereaching – the act of neonates extending their arms towards an interesting
object
o Reaching happens at 3 months of age and is more coordinated and develops over
the course of the first year
o Grasping is a reflex that is unintentional at first but becomes more intentional
during the first year
o Infants learn to coordinate reaching and grasping, and is the basis of further
development of fine motor skills
o At 4-5 months, infants place objects in their mouth to determine edibility
o At 4-9 months, infants learn pincer grip that allows them to hold small objects
5.7 Specify when and how infants develop depth perception and intermodal perception
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Depth Perception – the ability to discern relative distance of objects
Binocular Vision – ability to combine images of each eye into one image
Depth Perception is important for babies when they are walking
o In an experiment, infants would crawl near the shallow side of a cliff but not the
deep side, showing they learned depth perception
What we perceive influences our movements, but we gain new perceptual knowledge as
we engage in physical activities
Intermodal Perception – integration and coordination of info from various senses
o Ex. Infants look at the direction of a sound they hear
o By 8 months, infants can match an unfamiliar person’s face with the correct voice
SECTION 2: COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
5.8 Describe the sensorimotor stage, and explain how object permanence develops over the
course of the first year
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Piaget devised a theory of cognitive development to describe the stages that children’s
thinking passes through
o The first stage from 0-2 ages is the Sensorimotor Stage
Sensorimotor stage involves learning how to coordinate activities of senses with motor
activities
Development toward intentional behaviors allow us to adapt to the environment
Assimilation – cognitive process of altering new info to fit an existing scheme
o Ex. Sucking on things to soothe themselves
Accommodation – cognitive process of changing a scheme to adapt to new information
o Ex. Changing grasping positions of hands based on what they are grasping
Object Permanence – awareness that objects continue to exist even when not in direct
sensory or contact with them
Piaget concluded that infants have little understanding of object permanence for most of
their first year
At 8-12 months, infants begin to develop awareness of object permanence
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A-not-B Error – a term Piaget uses to model the 8-12 month old’s rudimentary grasp of
object permanence
o After an 8 month old solves the object-under-blanket task several times, Piaget,
introduces a second blanket, shows the infant the object, then places it under the
2nd blanket; the infant looks under the first blanket where they had found it before
Vilation of Expectations Method by Renee Baillargeon – doesn’t require an infant to
engage in fine or gross motor movement and relies on tech to measure an infant’s
viewing pattern
Other cultures support the argument that object permanence develops earlier than Piaget’s
claims
5.9 Summarize information-processing approaches, and describe how attention and
memory change during infancy
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Information-processing approaches to cognitive development view cognitive change as
continuous
Original model for info-processing approaches was the computer
Executive Function – an ability to integrate attention and memory
Study of attention focused on Habituation – gradual decrease in attention to a stimulus
after repeated presentations
Dishabituation – revival of attention when a new stimulus is presented following several
presentations of a previous stimulus
In first year, it takes less time for habituation to occur
Infants who habituate slowly because they get stuck on stimulus and can’t disengage,
while some habituate quickly because they can process info faster
Joint Attention – paying attention to stimuli on which other people are focusing
o Happens in 2nd year, when infant attention becomes more social
Infants and children learn new words by observing the actions of other people
Short-Term Memory – capacity to retain info for a brief time (increases sharply in 2nd
half of first year)
Long-Term Memory – knowledge accumulated and retained over time (improves in the
first year)
Distinction between recognition memory and recall memory
o Recognition comes easier to us than recall memory
5.10 Outline the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID-III), and explain how
habituation assessments are used to predict later intelligence
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Bayley Scales of Infant Development (assess development from age 3 to 3.5 years
o Cognitive Scale
o Language Scale
o Motor Scale
Developmental Quotient – produced by Bayley Scales as an overall measure of
developmental progress
Bayley scales don’t predict later IQ, except for lower extremes
Bayley scales used to identify infants who have serious problems
Efforts to predict later intelligence is on habituation
Longitudinal studies find that short-lookers (quick habituates) have higher IQ scores
compared to long lookers (slow habituates)
Habituation assessments help identify infants with developmental problems and are more
reliable than assessments of DQ using Bayley Scales
5.11 Describe the course of language development over the first year of life
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Cooing begins at about 2 months old
Babbling begins at 4-6 months old
o At 9 months old, babies begin babbling sounds distinctive to their culture
Babbling may initiate turn-taking between infants
Infants begin using gestures to communicate by 8-10 months, and this is a way to evoke
behavior from others
Most infants can speak words by the end of the 1st year
Discrimination of simple sounds becomes more specialized towards the end of the first
year to the language of the infant’s culture
5.12 Compare how cultures vary in their stimulation of language development
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Infant-Directed Speech – Special form of speech that adults direct towards infants,
characterized with a higher pitch and exaggerated intonation
o This is done in many cultures because the infants seem to like it
o Some believe infants prefer it because it is more emotionally charged
o ID speech is common in Western cultures and Japan, as well as some Traditional
cultures such as the Fulani
o Other traditional cultures like The Gusii speak to infants less than Americans
o By the end of the first year, infants laid an important foundation for language and
can comprehend many words
SECTION 3: EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
5.13 Define infant temperament, and name its main dimensions
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Temperament includes activity level, attention span, and emotionality
Thomas and Chess conceptualized temperament by classifying infants as easy, difficult,
and slow-to-warm-up
Mary Rothbart added the dimension of self-regulation (ability to manage emotions and
reactions
In all research infant temperament is difficult to measure due to frequent changes in
infants’ states
5.14 Explain how the idea of goodness-of-fit pertains to temperament on both a family level
and a cultural level
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Goodness-of-fit – children develop the best if there is a “good fit” between temperament
of child and environmental demands
Infants with difficult temperaments benefit when parents respond with tolerance rather
than anger
Goodness-of-fit varies culturally
5.15 Identify the primary emotions, and describe how they develop during infancy
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Primary Emotions – most basic emotions that we share with animals, like happiness,
anger, and sadness
Secondary Emotions – emotions that require social and cultural learning, like
embarrassment, shame, and guilt
o Also called sociomoral emotions
3 primary emotions in the first weeks of life are distress, interest, and pleasure
o Distress develops into anger, sadness, fear
o Interest develops into surprise
o Pleasure develops into happiness
Anger develops over the course of the 1st year
Sadness is rare in the first year of life, except for infants with depressed mothers
Fear develops by 6 months of age and shows facial expressions of fear
Surprise is indicated by open mouth and raised eyebrows, evident in first half of the first
year
Happiness takes place during early months and is evident with smiles and laughter
The first social smile develops in the 2nd or 3rd month of life, which is an expression of
happiness in response to socializing
o Cultural research shows that this depends on their caregivers
5.16 Describe infants’ emotional perceptions and how their emotions become increasingly
social over the first year
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Emotional Contagion – crying in response to other crying
o Shows that they recognize and respond to cry as a distress signal
Infants are better at perceiving emotions by hearing than seeing
By 2-3 months, infants’ eyesight improves significantly
Infants perceive emotions by showing no emotion at all
o Still-face paradigm – when infants respond with distress to their parents showing
no emotion when interacting with them
o Emotions are experienced through relations early on
Infants’ abilities to match auditory and visual emotion is another indicator of
development of emotional perception
Social Referencing – process of becoming more adept at observing others’ emotional
responses and using that info to shape one’s own responses
o Ex. If a mother shows positive emotion toward a toy, the infant will play with it,
and if the mother shows negative emotion, the infant will avoid it
5.17 List the main features of infants’ social worlds across cultures
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Combining what scholars learned from various cultures creates a common picture of the
social world of the infant
o Infants are with their mothers constantly during the early months
o After 6 months, most daily infant care is done by older girls rather than the
mother
o Infants are around many people in the course of a day
o Infants are held or carried constantly
o Fathers are usually remote or absent during the first year
These features are dominant in developing countries, but has become quite different in
developed countries, especially in Western countries
o The Nuclear Family (a mother, father, and one sibling) is the typical social
environment for Western infants
Infants in developed countries always grow up to be capable of functioning well socially
in their culture
5.18 Compare and contrast the two major theories of infants’ social development
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2 most influential theories of infant social development are by Erik Erikson and John
Bowlby
Trust versus Mistrust – the central crisis in Erikson’s theory during the first stage, in
which the central crisis is the need to establish a stable attachment to a guardian
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o If love and care are lacking, infants may come to distrust others, and basic trust or
mistrust lasts long beyond infancy
o Each stage builds on previous stages
Attachment Theory – Bowlby’s theory which focuses on the crucial importance of the
infant’s relationship with primary guardian
o Like Erikson, trust is the key issue in infant’s first attachment
o If primary caregiver is sensitive and responsive, the infant will learn others can be
trusted in social relationships
Erikson’s psychosocial theory is a contrast to Freud’s psychosexual theory
Bowlby’s theory inspired methods for evaluating infant-caregiver relationships
Chapter 6 – Toddlerhood
SECTION 1: PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
6.1 Describe the changes in physical growth that take place in toddlerhood, and explain the
harmful effects of nutritional deficiencies on growth
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Children lose baby fat of infancy in toddlerhood because they no longer need the fat to
regulate temperature r
The head is 1/5th of the 2-year-old’s height and by adulthood the head will be 1/8th the
size of the whole body
At birth and first 6 months, rates of growth are similar in developed and developing
countries because infants in these cultures rely on breast milk
At around 6 months, solid food becomes a part of infant’s diets and children in
developing countries receive less protein
o According to the WHO, 1/4th children worldwide have diets deficient in protein,
nearly all are from developing countries
Kwashiorkor – childhood protein deficiency which leads to lethargy, irritability, thinning
hair, swollen body
Micronutrients – dietary ingredients essential to optimal physical growth for toddlers,
such as iodine, iron, zinc, and vitamins
o 1/3rd of the world’s population has a dietary deficiency of iodine
o Iodine deficiency stunts physical growth and inhibits cognitive development
o In the US, 7% of toddlers are iron deficient, which is prevalent among Latino
toddlers
6.2 Summarize the changes in brain development that take place during toddlerhood, and
identify the two most common methods of measuring brain activity
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Synaptic Density – density of synapses among neurons (there is a steep increase in this in
toddlerhood)
Synaptic Pruning – connections between neurons become fewer but more efficient, with
useful synapses being developed and unused synapses withering away
o Removes 1/3rd of synapses in frontal cortex from early childhood to adolescence
EEG (electroencephalogram) – assesses brain activity by measuring the electrical activity
of the cerebral cortex and its specific parts
o EEG research discovered a sharp increase in overall cortical activity from 18-24
months
fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) – assesses brain activity by using a
machine with a magnetic field to record changes in blood flow and oxygen use in the
brain in response to stimuli
6.3 Specify the advances in motor development that take place during toddlerhood
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Children walk without support at around 11 months old
By 15 months, most toddlers can stand on one leg and can climb
By 18 months most toddlers can run
By 24 months most toddlers can kick a ball or throw a small object
In the 3rd year, gross motor skills continue to develop as they gain more flexibility and
balance
In terms of fine motor development, 12-month-olds develop a preference for right or lefthand feeding, and begin learning how to use utensils over the course of 6 months
At the 2nd year of toddlerhood, there are fewer major advances, but extensions of current
advances
6.4 Distinguish the weaning process early in infancy from weaning later in toddlerhood
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The longer breast-feeding lasts, the more challenging weaning becomes (cessation of
breast feeding)
o This is because the toddler is more socially aware and can make demands and
protest
Most traditional cultures have customary practices for weaning
o In Bali, parents feed babies solid food for first few days of life and attempt
gradual weaning, but if this doesn’t work, mothers coat their breasts with bittertasting herbs
o Some cultures separate mother and toddler during weaning
6.5 Describe the changes in sleeping patterns and sleeping arrangements that take place
during toddlerhood
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Sleep declines from 16-18 hours a day to about 15 hours a day by first birthday, and 1213 hours by 2nd birthday
A study in Australia, England, and Israel found that episode sof waking in the night
increased in frequency as children approach age 2
o Due to emergence of teeth and because they have a more definite sense of
themselves as they grow
In traditional cultures, toddlers stop sleeping next to their mothers and instead sleep by
siblings or a father (sleeping alone is rare in traditional cultures)
SECTION 2: COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
6.6 Outline the cognitive achievements of toddlerhood in Piaget’s theory
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Mental Representations – key accomplishment in Piaget’s stage of sensorimotor
development where toddlers first think about the range of possibilities then select the
action most likely to achieve the desired outcome
o Happens around 18 and 24 months
o This is the basis of the most important human cognitive abilities, such as language
Deferred Imitation – ability to repeat actions observed earlier
o Crucial for learning
o Happens as early as 6 weeks of age
o At 6 months, infants can imitate a simple sequence of events a day later
Mental Representation is the basis of categorization
o This is the categorization of various objects into one, general category
o Infants as young as a few months have a rudimentary understanding of categories
Research confirms Piaget’s insight that categorization becomes more advanced during
toddlerhood
By the time toddlers are 2, they can go beyond appearance of objects to categorize them
based on their functions and qualities
6.7 Explain Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory of cognitive development, and contrast it with
Piaget’s theory
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Sociocultural Theory – cognitive development is always a social and cultural process
o Social because children learn through interactions
o Cultural because what children need to know is determined by their culture
o Vygotsky’s theory is different from Piaget’s because Piaget emphasizes the
child’s solitary interaction with environment and views cognitive development as
the same across cultures
Zone of Proximal Development – difference between skills or tasks children can
accomplish alone and those they are capable of performing with someone else
o Vygotsky believes children learn best if instruction is within zone of proximal
development
Private Speech – when children speak to themselves as they learn in the zone of proximal
development
o Vygotsky believes this is necessary to all higher-order cognitive functioning
o On the other hand, Piaget regarded this as a sign of egocentrism
Scaffolding – degree of assistance provided to children in zone of proximal development,
which decreases as skills develop
Guided Participation – Barbara Rogoff (a proponent of Vygotsky) created this idea
referring to the interaction between two people as they participate in an activity
6.8 Summarize the evidence for the biological and evolutionary bases of language
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Infinite Generativity – most distinctive feature of human language, which is the ability to
take word symbols of a language and combine them in infinite ways
Vocal Apparatus
o Larynx in lower throat, which creates a large sound chamber
o Pharynx above vocal cords
o Small tongue that can push air past larynx to make various sounds
o Lips flexible to affect speech
Brain Specialization
o Broca’s Area – portion of left frontal lobe specialize for language production
o Wernicke’s Area – portion of left temporal lobe specialize for language
comprehension
o Some linguists argue extraordinary size of human brain is due to language
Specific genes for language development have been identified and strengthens our
knowledge of how language is embedded in human development
Earliest Homo sapiens 200k years ago had vocal apparatus similar to modern humans
Language had an evolutionary advantage because of its social function, as it improved
efficiency of group functioning
Noam Chomsky protested that language is too complex to be learned from imitation and
parents’ reinforcement
Language Acquisition Device (LAD) – Chomsky proposed this innate feature of the brain
that enables children to understand grammatical rules in languages
6.9 Specify the milestones in language development that are reached during the toddler
years
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First 6 months of toddlerhood, language develops at a slow, steady pace
12-18 months, toddlers learn to speak 1-3 new words per week
First 50 words learned are part of a toddler’s daily routines
o Important people
o Familiar animals
o Body parts
o Moving objects
o Foods
o Actions
o Household items
o Toys
o Greetings or farewlels
Similarities across cultures can be found (ex. Earliest groups of toddlers learning
Cantonese, Mandarin, and English included “mommy,” “daddy,” “hi,” and “bye”
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Differences in earliest words hint at diversity across toddlers’ daily lives, and can
sometimes speak in partial words based off real words (ex. “Na-na” (banana)
Toddlers learn the words necessary to communicate with people around them
Holophrases – used by toddlers 12-18 months of age, these are single words used to
represent whole sentences (ex. “cup” can mean “fill my cup”)
Overextension – using a single word to represent a variety of objects
Underextension – applying a general word to a specific object
Production (speaking) lags behind comprehension (understanding) in language
development
Word production suddenly takes off around 18-24 months (naming explosion/vocabulary
spurt)
Fast Mapping – learning and remembering a word after just one time of being told what
an object is called
o During this period, most notable words learned are “gone,” representing their
awareness of object permanence, and “no,” representing a sense of self
Telegraphic Speech – two-word phrases spoken at the end of 18-24 month period that
strip away connecting words like “the” and “and” (ex. “see doggie”)
o Demonstrates an early knowledge of syntax
Syntactic Bootstrapping – using knowledge of syntax to figure out word meaning
o By 19 months, toddlers use this to determine the meaning of unfamiliar verbs
Comprehension advances as toddlers become faster in processing words
In the 3rd year, toddlers expand their speaking at the same rapid pace as 18-24 months,
and begin using prepositions like “under” or “over”
By the end of the 3rd year, toddlers become skilled and can communicate with others
more advanced
o By the end of the 3rd year, they have learned the rules of the language without
explicit instruction
Overregularization – applying grammatical rules to words that are exceptions (ex. Saying
“mouses” or “foots)
6.10 Identify how parents’ stimulation of toddlers’ language varies across cultures, and
evaluate how these variations relate to language development
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The first language experiment demonstrating how we learn languages from our
sociocultural environments is shown in an experiment 800 years ago conducted by Holy
Roman Emperor Frederick II
o Caregivers of a group of neonates were instructed not to speak in their presence to
figure out what language would babies speak spontaneously, but they ended up
not speaking at all and eventually died
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In the US, parents read to their infants and toddlers to prepare children for an economic
future
Social class is correlated with how much parents speak to their young children
o Parents in high income families talked the most to their children
o Parents in low-income families talked the least to their children
 However, this experiment is flawed because some passive genotypes
(environment effects) were passed from parent to child
Infant-directed speech can benefit language development for toddlers with small
vocabulary
SECTION 3: EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
6.11 Summarize how emotional development advances during toddlerhood, and identify
the impact of culture on these changes
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In toddlerhood, emotional self-regulation advances in 4 ways:
o Toddlers develop behaviors that help them regulate emotions
o Toddlers use language to promote self-regulation
o External requirements by others extend toddlers’ capacities for emotional selfregulation
o The development of sociomoral emotions promotes emotional self-regulation in
toddlerhood
The ability for emotional self-regulation increases for toddlers but also expectations for
emotional control
In Western countries, toddler tantrums are accepted as normal and inevitable
Outside the West, toddler tantrums are rarely mentioned
New secondary emotions such as guilt, shame, embarrassment appear in toddlerhood
o What evokes secondary emotions depends on what toddlers are taught in social
and cultural environments
Sociomoral Emotions – emotions evoked based on learned, culturally based standards of
right and wrong (another name for secondary emotions)
Empathy is an important sociomoral emotion which is the ability to understand and
respond to others’ distress
o True empathy requires an understanding of the self as separate from others, which
happens in the 2nd and 3rd year
Prosocial Behavior – behavior intended to help others, such as kindness or friendliness
Children everywhere are taught not to hurt people or damage property
Children are praised and encouraged to feel good about themselves for accomplishments
Pride is seen as a greater danger than shame in non-Western cultures, like in Japan and
China
o American mothers view misbehavior as an emotionally positive learning
experience, while Chinese mothers emphasize the negative consequences and
feelings of misbehavior
6.12 Describe the changes in self-development that take place during toddlerhood
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There is evidence that infants in early weeks of life have the beginnings of a sense of self
Self-awareness advances in important ways in toddlerhood
Self-Recognition – ability to recognize one’s image in the mirror as one’s self, which is
demonstrated in the 2nd and 3rd years of life
Self-Reflection – by the 2nd half of their second year, toddlers develop the capacity to
think about one’s self as one would think about others
6.13 Distinguish between sex and gender, and summarize the evidence for the biological
basis of gender development
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Gender-Identity – awareness of one’s self as female or male, first seen at between 18 and
30 months of age
Sex – biological status of being female or male
o Use of the term “sex” is the biological characteristic of female and male, while
use of the term “gender” is the cultural and social belief of being female or male
People communicate gender expectations in all cultures by dressing boys and girls
differently, talking to them differently, and playing with them differently
o Parents are primarily the ones to convey cultural gender messages in the early
years
In evolutionary view, females and males develop differently because different
characteristics promoted survival for the 2 sexes
o Survival promoted by aggressiveness and dominance for males
o Survival promoted by being nurturing, cooperative, and emotionally responsive
for females
o Both characteristics make each desirable to the opposite sex
Ethology – the study of animal behavior that provides evidence of biological basis of
human gender differences
Hormonal evidence supports the biological basis of human differences
In the last century, gender roles have changed dramatically
o Previously, women were excluded from athletics and higher education
o Today, women exceed men in university participation
6.14 Specify the essential features of attachment theory, and differentiate the four
classifications of attachment
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Bowlby observed 3 findings that were inconsistent with the consensus that infants
associate the mother with relief of distress and experience of pleasure
o Institutionalized Infants – psychiatrist Rene Spit reported that infants raised in
institutions suffered in physical and mental development
 Developed Anaclitic Depression, a condition where babies lose weight and
are passive
o Baby Monkeys – Harry Harlow discovered that even when a feeding bottle was
placed in the mother’s wire cage, the babies spent all their time in the mother’s
cloth cage
o Imprinting – most important for Bowlby’s thinking
 Come from the field of ethology
 Ethologist Konrad Lorenz showed that newborn goslings move to the
object they first see after hatching (imprinting)
 Foundation of bond, according to Lorenz, was protection
o Bowlby concluded that the attachment between child and adult is an emotional
bond that promotes protection and survival of the child
o Primary Attachment Figure – persons ought out when a child experiences distress
Strange Situation – lab assessment of attachment meant to evoke children’s attachment
behavior
o Series of introductions, separations, and reunions involving the child, mother, and
a stranger
o Meant for toddlers 12-24 months old
4 Classifications of Attachment developed on the basis of responses to Strange Situation:
o Secure Attachment – healthiest classification in which child uses parent as a
secure base from which to explore, protests when separated, and is happy when
reunited
o Insecure-avoidant Attachment – little interaction between parent and child and the
child shows little response to parent’s absence
o Insecure-resistant Attachment – child shows little exploratory behavior when
parent is present, great distress when parent leaves, and ambivalence when parent
returns
o Disorganized-disoriented Attachment – child is dazed and detached, with bursts of
anger when parent leaves, and fear upon parent’s return
o Toddlers with insecure attachments respond little to return (avoidant), seem
relieved and angry (resistant), or fearful (disorganized-disoriented)
6.15 Identify the key factors influencing the quality of toddlers’ attachment to their
mothers, and explain what effect attachment quality has on development
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2/3rds of toddlers have secure attachments to their mothers, and remaining 1/3rd are either
insecure-avoidant or insecure-resistant
Ainsworth found that the quality of attachment was based on how sensitive and
responsive the mother was
o Sensitive means being good at judging the child’s needs
o Responsive means being quick to assist or soothe the child
According to attachment theory, children develop an internal working model of what to
expect about her availability and supportiveness during times of need
The Strange Situation is first assessed in toddlerhood because only by toddlerhood
children are cognitively mature enough to develop an internal working model of their
primary attachment figure
Attachment to primary caregiver is established in first 2 years, and shapes social
expectations and interactions throughout life
o Securely attached children are able to love and trust others
o Insecurely attached children display hostility, indifference, or overdependence
Attachment quality in infancy and toddlerhood establishes tendencies and expectations
that can be modified by later experiences
Toddlers classified as disorganized-disoriented are at risk for behavior problems and
psychopathy
Critiques of Attachment Theory
o Child Effect Critique – Bowlby’s theory overstates the mother’s influence and
understates the child’s influence on quality of attachment
 Researchers emphasized that parent-child relations are reciprocal or
bidirectional
o Cultural Variation Critique – some researchers concluded children’s attachments
are “recognizably the same” across cultures, while others point to problems with
using Strange Situation across cultures and Western views woven into the theory
In all cultures, infants and toddlers develop attachments to people who provide love.
Many cultures have a common view of what constitutes a securely attached child
o Across cultures, mothers described an “ideally secure” child in similar ways
Some variations have been found too
o In all the 3 countries, majority of toddlers were securely attached
o US and northern European toddlers were more likely to be classified insecureavoidant compared to Japanese
Traditional, non-Western norm of maternal care emphasizes interdependence and
collectivism
6.16 Compare traditional cultures and developed countries on the typical patterns of father
involvement with infants and toddlers
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In China and Latin America, fathers are providers and disciplinarians
Polygny – men have more than one wife (common in Africa, but recently less common)
High paternal involvement is seen among African hunter-gatherer communities, such as
the Aka fathers of Central Africa
Paternal involvement comes after infancy among the Manus of New Guinea
In developed countries, fathers interact less with infants and provide less care, like
bathing and feeding
o 1/3rd of toddlers live with single mothers in the United States
There is a trend towards greater father involvement due to increasingly flexible and
egalitarian gender roles in developed countries
Fathers provide near-equal care and work similar hours to mothers when marital
satisfaction is high
Some Scandinavian countries encourage father involvement through policies
6.17 Describe relationships with siblings, peers, and friends during toddlerhood
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In developing and developed countries, toddlers have attachments to siblings because
they provide emotional comfort
Initially, children react to younger siblings negatively due to insecurity
o To curb this, parents explain the feelings and needs of the baby to the toddler
before birth
Younger siblings often imitate their older siblings and look up to them
However, conflict rises as toddlers become increasing assertive of their own interests and
desires, and have advanced abilities for annoying older siblings
Toddlerhood is a time for forming first social relations, which expand during this time
Solitary Play – play by themselves
Parallel Play – take part in same activity without acknowledging each other
Simple Social Play – talking and interacting with each other
Cooperative Pretend Play – involves a shared fantasy of playing pretend
Toddlers who know each other well engage in more advanced forms of play
Toddlers form friendships, which have the same features of friendships at other ages
6.18 Specify the characteristics of autism spectrum disorder and how it affects prospects
for children as they grow to adulthood
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Autism Spectrum Disorder – involves deficits in social communication and interactions,
and involves repetitive and restricted behavior
o Majority of ASD children are low in intelligence and have some intellectual
disability
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In the US, 1 in 68 fit the diagnostic criteria for ASD
Origins for ASD are unclear
Large amygdala in toddlers with ASD
Risk of ASD rose in parallel with prenatal exposure to pollution
Rates for ASD increased in recent decades
85% of ASD children grow up to live with family members, government-sponsored
group homes, but rarely they can live alone
6.19 Review the typical rates of television use in toddlerhood, and explain some
consequences of toddlers’ TV watching
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89% had watched TV by 9 months, and 85% had watched DVDs by 11 months
In the US, 34% of infants and 73% of toddlers watch TV every day
African American and Latinos watch more TV than White toddlers
In the 2nd year of life, toddlers understand TV images are not real
Research suggests that watching certain TV shows can influence the actions and feelings
of a toddler
Some studies suggest TV helps expand vocabularies while others suggest it is detrimental
to language development, depending on content
Displacement Effect – how media use occupies time that may have been spent on other
activities
American Academic of Pediatrics recommends children younger than 18 months should
not spend time with television
Chapter 7 – Early Childhood
SECTION 1: PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
7.1 Summarize the changes in physical growth that occur during early childhood
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From 3-6, average child in developed countries grow 2-3 inches per year and add 5-7
pounds
Typical 3 year old is 35 inches tall and weighs 30 pounds, while typical 6 year old is 45
inches and weighs 45 pounds
In developing countries, average weights and heights in early childhood are considerably
lower
Stunting – children who are short for their age
o Has long-term physical and cognitive effects
o 23% of children under 5 are stunted globally
Differences in socioeconomic status influence gains in height and weight in early
childhood
7.2 Specify the advances in brain development that take place during early childhood and
the aspects of brain development that explain “infantile amnesia.”
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Brain is 70% of adult weight at age 3
Brain is 90% of adult weight at age 6
Growth of brain outpaces rest of body
o Frontal lobes grow faster than the rest of the cerebral cortex in early childhood
o From age 3-15, cerebral cortex growth occurs in spurts within different lobes
Brain size increase and weight is due to increase in synaptic connections between
neurons and to myelination
Corpus Callosum – band of neural fibers connecting left and right hemisphere
o Myelination peaks during early childhood
Cerebellum – structure at base of brain involved in balance and motor movements, where
substantial myelination takes place
Reticular formation – part of brain involved in attention, where myelination is completed
by age 5
Infantile Amnesia – inability to remember experiences prior to age 4 or 5
o Semantic memory, which consists of language, habits, and general info learned
before age 4, is retained
o Any episodic memory before age 4, which consists of unique events, vanishes
o Autobiographical Memory – type of episodic memory involving recollection of
specific personal experiences
Infantile Amnesia is due to the immature hippocampus at birth, which causes an addition
of new neurons throughout development which interferes with existing memory circuits
7.3 Describe the main changes in gross and fine motor abilities during early childhood,
including the development of handedness
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Both gross moto and fine motor development extend in early childhood
o Some gross motor skills learned are climbing without support and jumping farther
o Some fine motor skills learned are drawing shapes and writing
Handedness – preference for using either right of left hand, which appears long before
early childhood
Mixed evidence on whether handedness is genetic
o Adopted children resemble biological parents handedness, but identical twins are
more likely to differ in handedness
Some cultures view left-handedness as dangerous and evil in the development of children
o Fear and contempt surrounding left-handedness stems from the higher likelihood
of left-handed infants being born prematurely or developing learning disabilities
o However, some evidence suggests the complete opposite
7.4 Identify the primary sources of injury, illness, mortality, and nutritional deficiency
during early childhood in developed and developing countries
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Most common cause of injury in early childhood is falling, followed by being struck by
an object
Boys are more likely to become injured in early childhood
Rates of childhood injury and death are higher in developing countries than developed
countries, primarily accidental injuries
95% of deaths among children 1-5 years old in developing countries are due to illness
and disease
o Common ones include pneumonia, malaria, and diarrhea
Malnutrition is believed to be indirectly responsible for half of early childhood deaths
There is remarkable progress in reducing mortality of children in early childhood due to
improved food production and vaccines
Minor illnesses are common in early childhood in developed countries
2 most common types of nutritional deficiencies involve protein and iron
o Can result in marasmus (infancy) and kwashiorkor (toddlerhood and early
childhood), 2 fatal disaeses
Anemia – iron deficiency which causes fatigue and cognitive problems
A North American belief that kids will only eat a small range of unhealthy foods became
a self-fulfilling prophecy when kids who do this eventually lose their taste for healthy
foods
Calcium deficiencies are the most common nutritional deficiency in the United States
African American and Latino children had lower intake of calcium, and their diets
contained more soft drinks and fast food, and immigrant children have more healthy diets
SECTION 2: COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
7.5 Summarize the features of Piaget’s preoperational stage of cognitive development
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In Piaget’s theory, early childhood is when thinking becomes representation instead of
based on sensorimotor activities
Preoperational Stage – term by Piaget for the period from 2 to 7 in which the child
becomes capable of representing the world symbolically, such as through language
Conservation – mental ability to understand that the quantity of substance or material
stays the same even if its appearance changes
o Children in early childhood lack this, according to Piaget
o Ex. Children can’t identify whether 2 amounts of water are equal if their
containers are different sizes
Piaget interpreted children’s mistakes on conservation tasks as 2 kinds of cognitive
deficiencies:
o Lack of Reversibility (ability to reverse an action mentally)
o Centration – young children’s thinking is focused on one noticeable aspect of a
cognitive problem
Egocentrism – a cognitive limitation of the preoperational stage that is the inability to
distinguish your own perspective and another’s
o To demonstrate this, Piaget and Barbel Inhelder devised the “three mountains
task,” where a child chooses a photo that matches their own POV rather than
something else’s
Animism – aspect of egocentrism which is the tendency to attribute human thoughts and
feelings to inanimate objects and forces
o Children’s play with stuffed animals is an example of animism
Classification – preoperational children lack the capacity to understand that objects can
be part of more than one class
2 critiques of Piaget’s theory of preoperational thought
o It underestimates children’s cognitive capabilities
o It exaggerates the extent to which development is stage-like rather than
continuous
7.6 Explain what “theory of mind” is, and summarize the evidence for when it develops
during early childhood
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Theory of Mind – ability to attribute mental states to self and others and to understand
that others have beliefs, intentions, and perspectives different from one’s own
By 12 months, infants will point to something to draw attention to it
By age 2, they use language more, showing their increasing recognition that others have
thoughts and emotions that can be contrasted with their own
False-belief Task – tests young children’s theory of mind abilities
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By age 6, all children in developed countries solve false-belief tasks easily
Violation-of-expectation Tasks – examines toddlers’ understanding of where a person
with a false belief about the location of an object will search for it
7.7 Describe the ways that cultural learning takes place in early childhood
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Children learn through social process of guided participation
Young children have the capacity for learning culturally specific skills
The end of early childhood (5-6) is when children are given responsibilities in many
cultures
Children in Western countries are encouraged to speak up and hold conversations
In other cultures, listening is valued
How cultural learning in developed countries is different from traditional cultures:
o Children in developed countries are apart from families, and cultural learning
happens in a preschool setting
o Many activities of adults in a complex economy are less accessible to children’s
learning than activities children learn through guided participation in traditional
cultures
7.8 Identify the features that are most important in preschool quality, and explain how they
reflect cultural values
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Children from low-income families benefit cognitively from preschool
Attending preschool creates higher verbal and math skills and builds memory
Children who attend preschool are more independent and socially confident
However, children who attend preschool can be less respectful towards adults and more
aggressive towards other children
Quality of preschool childcare is more important than whether children are in preschool
or not
Factors parents should consider when choosing a preschool:
o Education and training of teachers
o Class size and child-teacher ratio
o Age-appropriate materials and activities
o Teacher-child interactions
Preschool teaching should be based on developmentally appropriate educational practice
Montessori Program is a high-quality preschool program which encourages creative,
active, self-directed learning
o Montessori children score higher on tests and are more advanced in cognitive and
social development
In China and the US, learning basic academic skills is a primary goal of preschool
In Japan and Europe, learning social skills is a primary goal of preschool
7.9 Describe early intervention programs and their outcomes
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Early Intervention Program – program directed at young children who are at risk for later
problems, intended to prevent these problems from happening
Project Head Start – provides 1-2 years of preschool, free meals and healthcare for
children, and healthcare and job-training services for parents
While Head Start children show a boost in IQ and academic achievement, these gains
fade within 2-3 years of entering elementary school
Early Head Start for low-income families was created to see whether greater effects on
cognitive and social development could be obtained by beginning intervention early
o EHS did not affect early school achievement unless it was followed by preschool
programs aged 3-4
High Scope Preschool Project, a small-scale intervention program, generate a gain in IQ,
reduce likelihood of girls becoming pregnant and boys getting arrested, and both boys
and girls were more likely to graduate from high school and attend college
7.10 Specify the advances in vocabulary and grammar that occur in early childhood
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By age 6, average vocabulary increased to over 2500 words
Early childhood is a sensitive period for language development
Fast-mapping – process of adding new words to vocabulary
o Children learning Eastern languages like Chinese and Japanese learn more verbs
than nouns
o Western children learn nouns earlier than verbs
Children learn grammar while growing their vocabulary
According to Chomsky, the readiness which children learn grammar indicates they
possess a Language Acquisition Device, an innate capacity for grasping language rules
7.11 Summarize how children learn pragmatics in early childhood, and explain how these
social rules are culturally based
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Pragmatics – social and cultural context of language that guides people as to what is
appropriate to say and not to say in a given social situation
Children learn pragmatics before speaking through gestures
o At such a young age, they do not grasp pragmatics of sustaining conversation on
one topic
By age 4, children are sensitive to characteristics of their conversational partner
Pragmatics represent social and cultural knowledge, such as rules on what kinds of
speech to use in different situations
Learning what to and what not to say is part of the development of understanding
pragmatics
SECTION 3: EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
7.12 Identify advances in emotional self-regulation and understanding during early
childhood
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Emotional Self-Regulation – ability to exercise control over one’s emotions
o Extremes of emotional expression like tantrums and crying decrease from 2-6
o Development of the frontal cortex reduces these extremes
Children learn strategies for regulating their emotions in early childhood
o Children talk to themselves, redirect attention to different activities, or seek
comfort from an attachment figure
o This behavior is called effortful control
Undercontrol – trait of having inadequate emotional self-regulation
o Children who have this are at risk for Externalizing Problems, problems that
involve others, such as aggression
Overcontrol – excessive degree of self-regulation of emotions
o Children who have this are at risk for Internalizing Problems, like anxiety and
depression
Externalizing more common among males and internalizing more common among males,
and Internalizing more common among females
Initiative versus Guilt – in Erikson’s lifespan theory, this is the early childhood stage in
which alternatives are learning to plan activities in a purposeful way or being afflicted
with excess guilt that undermines initiative
Behavior that looks like overcontrol in one culture could be valued as virtue of humility
in another culture
Young children also become more adept at understanding others’ emotions
7.13 Describe moral development in early childhood, including empathy, modeling, and
morality as cultural learning
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Empathy contributes to moral understanding of principles and promotes prosocial
behavior, which increases as empathy increases
Children gain a more detailed and complex understanding of moral rules and expectations
in early childhood
Young children are more capable than toddlers of anticipating consequences of actions
o Young children learn the rules and expectations by learning them through
violating them and observing the consequences
Socialization – the process by which hchidlren acquire behaviors and beliefs of the
culture they live in
Richard Shweder found that by age 5, children can grasp moral standards of their culture
and their views change little
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Moral rules can be taught explicitly, like through religion
Moral rules can be taught through stories, as seen in some North American tribes
Young children learn morality through custom complexes
o Ex. Indians studied by Shweder believe a woman’s menstrual blood has
dangerous powers, so Indian children learned that it’s wrong for menstruating
woman to cook or sleep with her husband
Children are likely to model behavior after another person if the other person’s behavior
is rewarded
Children conclude that rewards are morally desirable while punishment is forbidden
Children also contribute to the socialization of others
Young children display rudiments of moral reasoning, and by age 3 or 4, children can
make moral judgements involving considerations of justice
7.14 Summarize the roles that parents, peers, and teachers play in gender socialization, and
explain how gender schemas lead to self-socialization
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All cultures distinguish different roles and expectations for females and males
By age of 2, children attain gender identity, the understanding of themselves as being
male or female
Children are adamant and rigid in perceptions of femaleness and maleness
Children age 6 or 7 exhibit gender constancy, belief that femaleness and maleness is
biological
Children are insistent to maintain gender roles because they believe changing external
features could change gender
Children are subject to gender socialization and parents play an active role in delivering
cultural gender messages to their children
Parents give children things and approve actions that are specific to what they believe are
gender appropriate
Parents provide models of how females and males are different in their own cultures
o Fathers are important in gender socialization in early childhood and beyond and
are more insistent about conformity to gender roles
Gender Schema – gender-based cognitive structure for organizing and processing
information
Gender schema theory states that gender is one of our most important schemas from early
childhood onward
Gender schemas influence how we interpret behavior of others and what we expect from
them
Self-socialization – process by which people seek to maintain consistency between
gender schemas and their behavior
7.15 Specify the four types of parenting “styles,” and explain the cultural limitations of this
model
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Parenting Styles – practices that parents exhibit in relation to their children and their
beliefs about those practices
Parenting has two dimensions:
o Demandingness – degree to which parents set rules and expectations
o Responsiveness – degree to which parents are sensitive to children’s needs and
express emotional warmth
Authoritative Parents – high in demandingness and high in responsiveness
o Set clear rules and expectations
o Explain reasons for rules
o Make consequences clear
o Explain reasons for discipline
o Children with authoritative parents are more independent, creative, and socially
skilled
Authoritarian Parents – high in demandingness and low in responsiveness
o Require obedience
o Expect commands to be followed without dispute
o Do not explain reasons for discipline
o Children with authoritarian parents are less self-assured, less creative, and less
socially adept
Permissive Parents – low in demandingness and high in responsiveness
o Have few clear behavioral expectations for children
o Believe children need unconditional love
o Give children a lot of freedom
Disengaged Parents – low in demandingness and responsiveness
o Want to minimize amount of time and emotion devoted to parenting
o Express little in way of love or concern for children
Parents are also affected by their children (reciprocal or bidirectional effects between
parents and children)
Parents’ behavior is affected not only by what they believe but also by how their children
behave toward them and respond to them
Authoritative parenting is rare outside of the West
o Parents in traditional cultures expect authority to be obeyed, such as in Japan and
South Korea
o Filial Piety – belief in Asian cultures that children should respect, obey, and
revere parents throughout life
o Latin Americans believe respeto, which emphasizes respect for obedience to
parents and elders
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o Familismo – cultural belief among Latinos that emphasizes love, closeness, and
mutual obligations among family members
Responsiveness is a distinctly American kind of warmth, emphasizing praise and
expressions of emotional warmth
Demandingness is a distinctly American kind of control, emphasizing explanation and
negotiation rather than assertion of parental authority
Authoritative style is dominant among White, middle-class families in America, while
most minority families are classified as authoritarian
7.16 Describe the main cultural variations in how parents discipline young children, and
explain how cultural context influences children’s responses to discipline
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In the West, approach to discipline emphasizes authoritative style of parenting
o Discipline for misbehavior involves taking away privileges or time outs
o Researchers recommend explaining reason for discipline, being consistent so
consequences are predictable, and exercising discipline at time of misbehavior
In Japan, shame and withdrawal of love is core of discipline in early childhood
o Amae in infancy is a close relationship between mother and baby, but adds shame
and withdrawal of love in toddlerhood and early childhood
o Japanese mothers rarely respond to children’s misbehavior with loud reprimands,
but express disappointment and withdraw love temporarily
o Causes child to feel shame
o Works well in Japan, shown through Japanese adults who have low rates of crime
and social problems
Psychological Control – parenting strategy that uses shame and withdrawal of love to
influence children’s behavior, a term coined by American researchers
o American and European studies found that this results in negative outcomes, such
as anxious and aggressive behavior
Amae fits neatly in Japan’s larger system of cultural beliefs about duty and obligations to
others
In the West, psychological control collides with cultural beliefs about value of thinking
and behaving independently
Most adults remember experiencing physical (corporal) punishment as children
Most countries allow spankings, but all other beatings are outlawed, which was common
for the last 100 years
Research suggests physical punishment causes antisocial behaviors in children
Physical punishment increases likelihood of bullying and delinquency in adolescence
o However, in African American children, physical punishment was related to
becoming less aggressive and antisocial
Physical punishment is disapproved of in European and White American cultures
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Child maltreatment – abuse or neglect of children, including physical, emotional, or
sexual abuse
Young children are at risk for physical abuse if temperamentally difficult or unusually
aggressive or active
Poverty, unemployment, and single motherhood, all of which contribute to stress, may
trigger abuse
Physical abuse impairs emotional self-development, such as empathy and self-concept
Foster Care – adults approved by agency take over the care of an abused child
Children in foster care are at high risk of academic, social, and behavioral problems
7.17 Define Mead’s social stages from infancy through early childhood
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Margaret Mead proposed a scheme of social stages
o Lap Child – children 0-2
o Knee Child – children 3-4
o Yard Child – children 5-6
Margaret Mea’ds scheme was the basis of classic study of young children across cultures
by anthropologists Beatrice Whiting and Carolyn Edwards
o Both studied children in 12 different places globally and wanted to identify
similarities and differences in social worlds of children
As a child moves from lap to knee to yard, there is a gradual lessening of dependence on
the mother
Knee children are expected to be toilet trained
Older children have more dominance over knee children than lap children because eknee
children are better to understand and follow commands
Yard children have more freedom than knee children
7.18 Identify the most common features of sibling relationships worldwide and distinguish
how children with no siblings differ from other children
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In Whiting and Edwards’s study, jealousy was a common response to the birth of a
younger sibling in all 12 cultures
Ambivalence continues with age when there is a younger sibling in early childhood and
an older sibling in middle childhood
o Older siblings care and teach for the younger ones but command dominate them
o Younger siblings admire the older siblings and model their behavior after them
Conflict between siblings can have positive effects
o Arguments can make them understand the thinking of others
In the US, 20% of children have no siblings
Only children have higher self-esteem, social maturity, and intelligence than children
with siblings, but are less successful in social relations with peers
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Only children are common in China
o One-child Policy in 1978 China due to fears of overpopulation
o Chinese only children show no deficits in social skills or peer acceptance
7.19 Explain how the quality of friendships changes from toddlerhood to early childhood,
and describe the role of play and aggression in young children’s friendships
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Friends are people with whom you develop a mutual relationship
Peers are persons who share similar aspects of their status
In the West, mixed-age peer play groups are rare
In traditional cultures, children play in mixed-age groups
Play in childhood serves as exercise, learning, and sharpening skills
Cooperative pretend play becomes more complex in early childhood as imaginations
bloom and they begin using symbols
Children become more sex-segregated in their play
o Children played in same-sex groups 30% to 40% of the time at ages 2 to 3, rising
to over 90% by age 11
Preschool social life rewards the bold, and children temperamentally inhibited spend a lot
of preschool time watching others play
Play is rare in early childhood in Kpelle of Liberia and Maya of Guatemala
As young children move into world of peers, they encounter more competition for
resources like toys and attention
Instrumental aggression – when a child uses aggressive behavior to get something they
want
Hostile aggression – when a child uses aggression meant to inflict pain or harm
Relational aggression – when a child damages another person’s reputation among peers
Physical aggression peaks in toddlerhood and early childhood
Individual differences in physical aggression remain stable, meaning that children who
rarely display it are unlikely to display it in the future, and vice versa
Physical play is common among boys as a way to establish a dominance hierarchy
Verbal aggression rises across early childhood and begins to substitute physical
aggression
Relational aggression increases reflect children’s growing cognitive and social
understanding
7.20 Identify the rates and consequences of media use in early childhood
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Toal daily time devoted to media use is 3.5 hours for American children ages 2-8
Television is popular with people all over the world, and children ages 2-8 spend on
average 2 hours a day watching TV
Witnessing violence on TV can increase aggression of children
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Children ages 3-6 are more vulnerable to the effects of TV violence
TV advertising increase children influencing their parents to buy advertised products
o One influence behind child obesity
Educational programs like Sesame Street is based on knowledge from developmental
psychology
o They have the ability to increase a child’s math skills and language development
Total time playing video games averages 21 minutes a day at 2-4, doubling to 42 minutes
a day by ages 5-8
Over half of American parents report playing music or singing to their children
Children ages 2-8 listen to music 16 minutes per day
Early childhood is when children first connect musical sounds with specific emotions
Chapter 8: Middle Childhood
SECTION 1: PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
8.1 Identify the changes in physical and sensory development that take place during middle
childhood
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Body Mass Index (BMI) – ratio of weight to hight
o 6- to 10-year-olds have lowest BMI
Boys have more muscle than girls in middle childhood, but it doesn’t result in difference
in physical strength
The average 10-year-old can throw a ball twice as far as a 6-year-old
Hearing changes for the better and sight for the worse in middle childhood
Myopia – being nearsighted
o Increases sharply in middle childhood
o Prevalence of myopia is low in developing countries, but varies in developed
countries
o The more children read, write, and use computers, the more they are likely to
develop myopia
8.2 Explain how motor development advances in middle childhood and how these
advancements are related to new skills and participation in games and sports
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Balance improves so they can jump higher and kick farther
Coordination advances so they can perform movements in many activities
They have greater agility for moving quickly
Reaction time becomes faster so they can respond rapidly to changing info
Middle childhood is a time of playing physically active games with siblings and friends
Middle childhood is a time when children get involved in organized sports
o 66% of boys and 52% of girls are involved in organized sports at least once
between ages of 5 and 18
Health advocates state that children don’t get enough gross motor activity because
physically active games compete with TV and electronic devices
Fine motor development advances greatly in middle childhood
o Across cultures, this is evidence in both drawing and writing
o In middle childhood, children can indicate 3D depth in drawings
Culture plays a role in children’s drawing abilities
o Europeans believe children should be left free to draw while Chinese Americans
believe children benefit from being taught drawing skills
o Chinese American drawings are more technically advanced than European
drawings
Middle childhood children can write smaller and more consistent
8.3 Describe the negative effects of both malnutrition and obesity on development, and
identify the causes of obesity
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Malnutrition in middle childhood doesn’t produce severe effects
Children who survive early malnutrition get accumulating damage to physical and
cognitive development in middle childhood
Obesity is a common problem in developed countries such as Europe and North America
and lowest in developing countries like Africa and Southeast Asia
Rates of obesity in the US are higher than most countries
o Most prevalent amongst least affluent ethnic minorities
People are more likely to buy meals away from home, like fast food high in fat and drinks
high in sugar
Parents are less likely to prepare home meals because they were either single parents in
the past or part of a dual-earner couple
Watching television increases body fat in children and exposes them to advertisements
for unhealthy foods
Prenatal exposure to antibiotics during second and third trimesters increases risk of
obesity
Concordance rates for obesity are higher among MZ twins than DZ twins
The FTO gene sharply increases risk for obesity
The Pima of Mexico maintain a traditional diet low in fats and sugars, while the Pima of
Arizona became more like American diets
o Arizonian Pima have 50% higher BMI than Mexican Pima
Being obese increases likelihood of social exclusion in children because children
associate obesity with being lazy or ugly
Obesity can result in diabetes, which can lead to many medical complications like kidney
failure and stroke
In the US, national standards are trying to curb unhealthy school lunches to help reverse
obesity in the US
8.4 Explain why rates of illness and injury are relatively low in middle childhood and why
rates of asthma have risen
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Rates of major and minor illness declined in middle childhood in developed countries due
to vaccines and health policies
However, asthma, a chronic illness of the lungs, is an exception
Rates of asthma in middle childhood are highest and are increasing, with bows at higher
risk than girls
Low birth weight, having a smoking parent, and obesity contribute to risks for asthma
Developed countries have carpets, hairy pets, and airtight windows that contribute to
asthma
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A “hygiene hypothesis” reduces exposure to illnesses that could strengthen immune
systems and make them less susceptible to asthma
People in urban areas in Mongolia have higher rates of asthma compared to children in
rural areas
Rates of asthma are high among African American children due to their poor air quality
Injury rates are low in middle childhood because they are better at anticipating situations
that may cause injury
Most common cause of injury in middle childhood is falling or being struck
SECTION 2: COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
8.5 Explain the major cognitive advances that occur during Piaget’s concrete operations
stage
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Middle childhood is when children develop a better grasp of the physical world
Piaget believes that early childhood is the preoperational stage, and young children are
most notable cognitively for what they can’t do
Piaget regards 7-11 year olds as being in the Concrete Operations Stage (cognitive stage
in which children become capable of using mental operations
Children make mistakes when performing tasks requiring understanding of Conservation
o Conservation is key for cognitive development because it enables a child to
perceive regularities and principles in the world
Classification – the 2nd important cognitive achievement of concrete operations
Seriation – 3rd achievement of concrete operations (ability to arrange things in a logical
order)
o Piaget discovered children developed the ability to seriate mentally
For Piaget, the child had to have complete mastery of tasks associated with Concrete
Operations in order to be in this stage
8.6 Summarize how attention, memory, and executive function change from early
childhood to middle childhood, and identify the characteristics of children who have ADHD
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Increased myelination results in increased processing speed
Advances are made in attention, memory, and executive function in middle childhood
Selective Attention – ability to focus attention on relevant information and disregard what
is irrelevant
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) – diagnosis that includes problems of
inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsiveness
o 8% of American children ages 5-9 are diagnosed with ADHD
o Boys are twice as likely than girls to have ADHD
o Children diagnosed with ADHD receive Ritalin to suppress hyperactivity and
improve concentration
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In other countries, there are higher rates of ADHD among boys, but ratios varied among
countries
Girls with ADHD more likely to have more emotional problems and get bullied
Parents are more stressed due to ADHD behavior
European treatments for ADHD include psychotherapy and medications
Working Memory – the capacity to retain info for a brief time and process it
Mnemonics – memory strategies like rehearsal organization and elaboration
o Rehearsal – repetition of information
o Organization – placing things into meaningful categories
o Elaboration – transforming bits of info in a way that connects them
Apart from mnemonics, memory improves from early childhood to middle childhood
because their knowledge base expands
Metamemory – understanding of how memory works, which advances in middle
childhood
o Ex. Recognizing that it’s easier to remember something that happened yesterday
Executive function refers to problem solving
o Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS) – a common measure of executive
function
Children in middle childhood also use effective strategies as they become better at
selecting strategies that are effective at solving problems
Asian children show an advantage on executive children compared to Western children
8.7 Describe the main features and critiques of intelligence tests, and compare Gardner’s
and Sternberg’s approaches to conceptualizing intelligence
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Psychometric Approach – evaluation of cognitive abilities with intelligence tests
Wechsler Intelligence Tests – most widely used intelligence test
o Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) – used for children ages 6-16
o Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI) – used for
children ages 3-7
o Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) – for people ages 16 and older
WISC-V – assesses child’s cognitive ability on five indexes
o Verbal Comprehension
o Visual Spatial
o Fluid Reasoning
o Processing Speed
o Working Memory
IQ tests were originally developed to test children’s abilities and IQ scores, and school
achievement were highly correlated
o Critics argue IQ tests only assess a narrow range of abilities
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o Critics argue that IQ tests are culturally biased
o IQ tests cannot test raw intellectual abilities unless everyone was exposed to the
same environment
IQ scores for population-based samples fall into normal distribution (bell curve)
People with IQ below 70 have intellectual disability
People with IQ above 130 are gifted
The more two people in a family are alike genetically, the higher correlation in their IQs
o Parents and their biological children are correlated for IQ at about 0.40, slightly
higher if they live together than apart
o Correlation for biological siblings is 0.50 and slightly higher for DZ twins
o Highest IQ correlation of 0.85 is among MZ twins
Both environment and genetics have strong influence on intelligence
Every child has a genetically based reaction range for intelligence with an upper and
lower limit
Two of the most influential alternative theories of intelligence are by Howard Gardner
and Robert Sternberg
Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences – there are nine distinct types of intelligence
o Only linguistic and logical-mathematical intelligences are evaluated by
intelligence tests, according to Gardner
o Spatial, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, existential, inter and intrapersonal
o Gardner argues each involves distinct cognitive skills and each can be destroyed
by damage to a particular part of the brain
o Gardner believes all schools should give more attention to the development of
these intelligences and design programs tailored to each child’s individual profile
of intelligences
o Gardner has not developed reliable and valid methods for analyzing the
intelligences
Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory of Intelligence – there are three distinct but related forms of
intelligence
o Analytical Intelligence – the kind of intelligence that IQ tests measure
o Creative Intelligence – the ability to combine info in original ways to produce
new ideas
o Practical Intelligence – ability to apply info to the kinds of problems faced in
everyday life
8.8 Identify the advances in language use during middle childhood, and describe how
language is related to cultural styles of cognition
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In middle childhood, children learn different forms of words, begin using conditional
sentences, and start using pragmatics (the social context and conventions of language)
o Pragmatics are necessary for understanding jokes
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Pragmatics are culturally grounded, so you need to know the culture of the people using
the language to know the pragmatics of a language
o Ex. Some languages have one form of the word “you” for people you’re close
with and people you’re unfamiliar with
Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis – cognitive development is influenced by language development
Egocentric Frame of Reference – where the location of an object is determined in relation
to yourself
o Ex. The cat is to the left of the house
Allocentric Frame of Reference – where the object is located in relation to another object
o Ex. The cat is by the front door of the house
Languages like Akhoe Haiom of Namibia use allocentric, while other languages like
Dutch and English use egocentric
Language can impact our numerical thinking
8.9 Explain the consequences for cognitive development of growing up multilingual
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The trend for rising multilingualism is due to increased migration between countries and
because schools want to enhance the ability for children to participate in the global
economy in the future
Children usually become adept at using two languages
Children learning two languages from birth become proficient at both languages at the
same pace as monolinguals
Multilingual children in early childhood sometimes mix the syntax of different languages
When children learn their second language after becoming fluent in a first, it takes longer
to master the 2nd one
Metalinguistic Skills – skills that reflect awareness of underlying structure of language
o Multilingual children have better metalinguistic skills
Multilingual children score higher on general measures of cognitive ability
Research shows children exposed to two languages have denser brain tissue in areas
related to language, attention, and memory
Most multilingual children in the US come from immigrant, low-income families
8.10 Summarize the variations worldwide in school enrollment, socialization practices, and
academic achievement during middle childhood
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Attending school has been a typical part of children’s lives in most countries for less than
200 years
In the US prior to 1800, only about half of children attended school
Today, school is a typical part of middle childhood, even in developing countries where
primary school enrollment has risen steeply
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Girls and boys in developing countries like Guatemala are devoting more time to school
rather instead of things learned traditionally, such as weaving for girls and helping care
for younger children for boys
Both boys and girls today envisioned a wider range of future occupations than their
parents
Asian countries like China, Japan, and South Korea have cultural traditions emphasizing
the importance of education
o They believe academic striving is a moral obligation to their families
Americans tend to believe educational success is due to innate ability
o They believe academic achievement is a mark of individual success
Several features in Asian schools reflect collectivistic beliefs
o Requirement to wear uniforms
o Children required to maintain cleanliness and order of the school
o Children work in groups
Asian children spend more time learning in school compared to American children
American children spend more time in art, music, and sports than Asian children
Academic performance in 4th grade is related to countries’ economic development rather
than differences in cultural beliefs and educational practices
Economic background of families makes a great difference in their children’s academic
performance
o Schools in poor areas have fewest resources to provide for children, so children
from these areas score worse than children from high-income families
8.11 Describe how reading and math skills develop from early childhood to middle
childhood and the variations in approaches to teaching these skills, including educational
approaches to students with learning disabilities
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Children must learn a new way of processing language via reading when they reach
middle childhood
Phonics Approach – method of teaching reading that advocates breaking down words into
component sounds (phonics), then putting them together to form words
o Learning how to read in this approach involves more gradual learning
Whole-Language Approach – method of teaching reading that emphasizes meaning of the
written language
o If the material is coherent, children will be motivated to learn and remember the
meanings of unknown words
There is evidence that the phonics approach is more effective at teaching language
Once children have begun to read, they can benefit from supplementing phonics with
whole-language approach
Numeracy – understanding of the meaning of numbers
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The beginning of numeracy appears early, around 6 weeks old
The development of math skills is parallel to the development of language and reading
skills from toddlerhood through middle childhood
Cultures vary in timing and approach to teaching math skills
o China, who scored highest on math skills, teaches math to preschoolers due to an
emphasis on math as an important basis of future success
o English preschools believe preschoolers aren’t ready to learn math
Math skills can be taught in a practical setting
o Brazilian children who sold candy worked complex calculations of prices and
profits
Dyslexia – learning disability including difficulty sounding letters, difficulty in spelling,
and tendency to misperceive order of letters in words
o One of the most common learning disabilities
o Boys 3x as likely as girls to have dyslexia due to a genetic link in Y chromosome
Dyscalculia – people who have a neurologically based problem in processing numbers
Individual Education Plan (IEP) – ensures children with special needs receive adequate
services and support in school
Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) – federal requirement that students with special
needs are educated alongside non-disabled peers to the maximum extent possible
Inclusion Classroom – mixes students who do and don’t need special ed services
Self-Contained Classroom – only special ed students
SECTION 3: EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
8.12 Describe the main features of emotional self-regulation and understanding in middle
childhood and how other life stages compare
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Middle childhood is a time of high well-being and low volatility
Experience Sampling Method (ESM) – research method by Reed Larson involving
beepers that record a variety of characteristics of experiences of people
o Children in middle childhood report being very happy 28% of the time
Middle childhood is a time of moving into new contexts like primary school and civic
organizations
Expressions of emotional extremes are disruptive and discouraged
Children in middle childhood become aware they can experience two contradictory
emotions at once
Children learn how to conceal their emotions intentionally
o Children in Asian cultures learn the concept of face (showing to others the
appropriate and expected emotion regardless of how you really feel
Children come to understand others may display emotions that hide how they feel
8.13 Summarize how self-concept and self-esteem change in middle childhood, and explain
how different ways of thinking about the self are rooted in cultural beliefs
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George Herbert Mead made a distinction between the I-self (how we believe others view
us) and the me-self (how we view ourselves)
Self-Concept – people’s view and evaluation of themselves
o Up to 7 or 8, children describe themselves in physical characteristics
o In middle childhood, children describe themselves with personality-related traits
o Can be influenced by social context (ex. In the multicultural US, views of
majority culture can influence how minorities think about themselves)
Social Comparison – how people compare themselves to others
o Children learn how to rank themselves more accurately in abilities relative to
other children
Self-Esteem – overall sense of worth and well-being
o Becomes more differentiated in middle childhood
Children develop self-concepts for areas like academic and social competence
In other areas, children’s self-concept contributes to overall self-esteem only if they value
that they’re doing well in that area
Independent Self (promoted by individualistic cultures)
o It is a good thing to think about yourself and consider yourself independent
Interdependent Self (promoted by collectivistic cultures)
o Interests of the group are supposed to come before the needs of the individual
Parents in most places worry their children would become too selfish rather than their
low self-esteem
o Parents discourage self-inflation in family socialization
o Works differently if it is part of a cultural norm
o Children in the American majority culture exposed to parenting that’s critical and
negative show negative effects like depression
8.14 Indicate how beliefs and behavior regarding gender change in middle childhood,
including cultural variations
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In traditional cultures, daily activities of men and women are very different, and historical
patterns of gender roles still prevail in many developing countries
Boys and girls are also socialized to develop personality characters that enhance
performance in those tasks
In developed countries, children’s gender attitudes become more stereotyped
Children perceive some subjects as boy or girl areas, and teachers may bring gender bias
into the classroom
Boys describe themselves in terms of masculine traits and don’t want to describe
themselves as having feminine traits
8.15 Specify the distinctive features of family relations in middle childhood, and summarize
the consequences of parental divorce and remarriage
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Coregulation – relationship between parents and children in which parents provide broad
guidelines for behavior but children are capable of a substantial amount of independent,
self-directed behavior
Children spend less time with parents in middle childhood in developed countries
o Parents begin giving children chores
In traditional cultures, parents and children move toward coregulation in middle
childhood
Children are allowed to play and explore further from home in middle childhood
Children with an older sibling benefit from sibling’s help with academic, peer, and parent
issues, but sibling rivalry continues
o Most common source of conflict is personal possessions
63% of children in the US live with two biological and/or adoptive parents, 20% live with
a single mom, and 6% live with a parent and stepparent
Studies show children of gay parents have found they are similar to children with
heterosexual parents
40% of births in the US are to single mothers
o Single motherhood increased amongst African Americans
Children have more responsibility to the functionality of a single-parent household
Poverty rates are high for single-parent households in Canada and the US
Poverty puts kids at risk for negative outcomes, not having a single mom
1/3rd to ½ of children of children in Western countries experience parents’ divorce by
middle childhood
o Children develop externalizing problems (unruly behavior and conflict with
family members) and internalizing problems (depression and anxiety)
o Child school performance declines
o 25% of children in divorce family have severe emotional or behavioral problems
compare to 10% of children in nondivorced families
Family Process – quality of relationships between family members
o Researchers focus on this to study the effects of divorce
o Children show few problems when there is minimal conflict divorce
o Transition from high-conflict to low-conflict improves children’s functioning
o An aspect of family process is relationship to mother after divorce
Coercive Cycle – children’s disobedient behavior evokes harsh responses from parents,
resulting in children to become more disobedient
o Especially seen between boys and divorced mothers
In 90% of cases, mothers retain custody of children
o Contact with father diminishes over time for divorced children
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Divorce Mediation – arrangement where mediators meet with divorcing parents to help
negotiate an agreement that both find acceptable
Most adults who divorce remarry
The entrance of a stepfather usually results in negative development for families and
children
o Children in stepfamilies have lower academic achievement, lower self-esteem,
and greater behavioral problems
o Remarriage is a disruption that requires adjustment
o Stepfathers may be perceive as coming between them and mothers
o Children resent stepfathers’ attempts to exercise authority
8.16 Name the main basis of friendships in middle childhood, and describe the four
categories of peer social status
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Selective Association – principle that people prefer being around others like themselves
o Gender, sociability, aggression, and academic orientation are factors
In a study of children in grades 3-6, the expectation that kids keep a secret rose from 25%
to 72%, indicating the importance of trust in friendships
Friends enjoy playing together in shared activities, like hide-and-seek seen in many
cultures and games drawn from local environments
In middle childhood, play became more complex, with games having more components
Age Graded – social organization based on grouping persons of similar ages
Social Status – within a group, the degree of power, authority, and influence that each
person has in the view of others
4 Categories of Social Status
o Popular children are the ones that are “liked”
o Rejected children are disliked due to factors like aggression or shyness
o Neglected children are those who aren’t remembered by peers
o Controversial children are liked by some and disliked by others
Social Skills are the strongest influence on popularity
o These include friendliness, helpfulness, and considerateness
o Intelligence enhances popularity in middle childhood
Rejected children are more aggressive than others, and usually lead to clnflicts
Social Information Processing (SIP) – in social encounters, evaluations of others’
intentions, motivations, and behavior
Neglected children are well adjusted but have social skills equal to average children
Controversial children have good social skills but have an aggressiveness that makes
them unpopular
Developmental Cascade – when a problem in the past surges into a series of problems
over time
8.17 Describe the kinds of work children do in middle childhood, and explain why work
patterns differ between developed and developing countries
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Industry vs Inferiority – Erikson called the middle childhood stage this, where
alternatives are to learn to work effectively or develop a sense of being incapable of
working effectively
In developed countries, it is illegal to employ children in middle childhood
In many places in the world, middle childhood is when work begins for children
Children who don’t attend school work in industrial settings
o Economic globalization means manufacturing moves to developing countries
International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates 73 million children are employed,
which is 9% of that age group
95% of working children are in developing countries
o Usually in countries like Asia, Latin America, and Middle East/North Africa
Agricultural work is most common form of child employment
Children work in factories and shops where they weave carpets and sew clothes
o Working conditions here are miserable
Parents allow children to work because they need money
There has been a decline in child labor in the past decade
8.18 Summarize the rates of daily TV watching among children worldwide, and describe
the positive and negative effects of television, especially the hazards related to TV violence
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Media Multitasking – simultaneous use of more than one media form, such as playing
electronic games while watching TV
Media research on middle childhood focused on the question of negative effects, but
there are positive effects
o Prosocial TV content improves children’s altruism, positive social interactions,
self-control, and combating negative stereotypes
o Internet is a valuable source for children to learn a wide range of topics for
enjoyment or school
Consequences of media depend on whether children are light, moderate, or heavy media
users
o Heavy media use can cause obesity, anxiety, and social isolation
Boys who watch violent films are more likely than boys who watch nonviolent films to
display physical and verbal aggression
Studies show watching lots of violent television in middle childhood predicts aggressive
behavior in the future
o Studies by Rowell Huesmann showed that high level of exposure to violence at
age 6 predicted violence at age 11
Chapter 9: Early Adolescence
SECTION 1: PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
9.1 Summarize the changes in hormones, height, muscle mass, and body fat that occur
during puberty
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Puberty begins with the threshold of leptin is reached
o Leptin – protein produced by fat cells that signals hypothalamus to begin puberty
once a threshold is reached
Hormonal changes begin with an increase of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) by
hypothalamus
Two classes of sex hormones: estrogen in girls and androgens in males
Sex hormones rise steeply (following two are the most important in both genders)
o Estradiol (type of estrogen) among girls and testosterone (type of androgen)
among boys
Adolescent Growth Spurt – rapid pace of growth in height characteristic of puberty
o Girls grow 3.5 inches per year and boys grow 4.1 inches per year (growth spurt)
Asynchronicity – principle of biological development that growth of different body parts
is uneven
o Extremities are the first to experience growth spurt,t hen arms and legs
o Torso, chest, shoulders last part to reach growth spurt
Girls gain more body fat than boys
Boys gain more muscle mass than girls
9.2 Differentiate primary and secondary sex characteristics, and list them in the order they
typically emerge
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Primary Sex Characteristics – production of ova and sperm and the development of the
sex organs
Menarche – first menstrual period
o When reached, one ovum matures every 28 days
o Females release 400 ova in their reproductive lives
Spermarche – onset of sperm production
o Average male produces millions of sperm every day
Secondary Sex Characteristics – bodily changes of puberty not directly related to
reproduction
o Hairiness increases
o Breast development occurs in females and sometimes males (but this recedes
within a year)
Sweat glands in skin increase production, making skin oiler and prone to acne and more
prone to strong body odor
9.3 Identify influences on the timing of puberty
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There are variations in puberty timing depending on the cultural group
Age at which puberty begins is influenced by availability of nutrition and medical care
Secular Trend – change in the characteristics of a population over time
o Describes the decrease in average age of menarche in Western countries from
mid-19th to late 20th century
First outward signs of puberty appear earlier for girls, so menarche isn’t a good indicator
of initiation of puberty
Menarche is a good indicator of when other events have begun in girls
Scholars believe downward trend in menarche age is due to improvements in nutrition
and medical care
Average age of menarche is lowest in developed countries (12.5 years old)
Reaction Range – genes establish a range of possible times when menarche may begin
and environment determines timing
Individual variation in order and timing of pubertal events is influenced by genetics
Factors in menarche occurring at an early age
o Weight gain by pregnant mothers
o Low birth weight
o Absence of biological father
9.4 Summarize how relatively early or late pubertal timing influences emotional and social
development in boys and girls
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Effects of early maturation are usually negative for girls
o Findings from Western countries show they are at risk for depression, eating
disorders, and behavioral problems
Effects of early maturation for boys are positive and negative
o Make them more attractive and have higher marital satisfaction, but also has the
risk of bringing behavioral problems
o Have lower grades in school and may have elevated levels of substances abuse
9.5 Describe personal responses to menarche and semenarche among adolescents and how
these responses are shaped by their culture
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Menarche is studied a lot because changes are significant and easier for scientists to
measure, and it signifies the beginning of ovulation
More than 600 girls reported in a study that menarche made them feel more grown up
o Some cultures that provide no info to girls about menarche result in shock and
fear when it happens
Girls who mature early are more likely to be unprepared for menarche because they have
not learned about it from peers yet, and mothers are not likely to have prepared them
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In China, menarche is viewed as annoying, embarrassing, and confusing, while only 10%
feel happy and excited
o Expectations are rooted in traditional Chinese beliefs
Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) – combination of behavioral, emotional, and physical
symptoms that some females experience the week before menstruation
o One half of girls experience discomfort related to menstrual cycle, with most
common source being cramps
Lack of sanitary products for menstrual management in developing countries is
associated with school absenteeism
Semenarche – male’s first ejaculation
o Boys who experience this enjoyed it or felt guilty and surprised
o Occurs through masturbation, where there is a history of shame associated with it
in the West
9.6 Identify the main gender differences in puberty rituals worldwide
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Puberty Rituals – customs developed to mark departure from childhood and entrance into
adolescence
o In 186 traditional cultures, Schlegal and Barry found that 68% had a ritual for
boys and 79% for girls
Menarche is the pubertal event marked by ritual for girls
o Beliefs associated with this are usually negative, including it being a danger to
crops, livestock health, and health of others
Traditional puberty rituals for males require young men to display courage, strength, and
endurance
o Daily life demands these capacities for young men
o Rituals let them know what will be required of them as adult men
Traditional cultures are changing due to globalization, and these rituals are becoming
obsolete
African cultures still maintain public circumcision for boys, as well as female
circumcision
o Circumcision for girls has more dire consequences, such as bleeding, infection,
and chronic pain afterwards (Female Genital Mutilation, a term coined by critics)
SECTION 2: COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
9.7 Explain the features of hypothetical-deductive reasoning, and identify critiques of
Piaget’s stage of formal operations
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Formal Operations – cognitive stage beginning at age 11 where people think
systematically
o Allows for abstract thinking and imagination of possible solutions
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Hypothetical-deductive Reasoning – Piaget’s term for the process of applying scientific
thinking to cognitive tasks
o The Pendulum Problem is used to test whether a child has progressed from
concrete to formal operations
Children in concrete operations approach problems with random attempts, while formal
operational thinkers test different possibilities systematically
o Piaget believes explanations for solutions are crucial for differentiating concrete
and formal operations
Formal Operations is the most critiqued staged of Piaget’s theory, which is critiqued on
individual differences in attainment of formal operations and cultural basis of cognitive
development
o The claim that every 9 year old is in concrete operations and every 15 year old is
in formal operations, so 15 year olds should reason in formal operations, is false
o A great range of individual differences exists in the extent to which people use
formal operations
o People who demonstrate the capacity for formal operations use it selectively
o Thinking in formal operations takes different forms across cultures depending on
the kinds of problems encountered
9.8 Summarize the changes in attention, memory, and executive function that take place
from middle childhood to adolescence
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Selective Attention – ability to focus on relevant information and ignore irrelevant
information
Divided Attention – ability to focus on more than one task at a time
o Divided Attention may result in less-efficient learning for adolescents
Mnemonic Devices – memory strategies frequently used by adolescents
The more experience and knowledge adolescents have enhances the effectiveness of
long-term memory
o While the capacity of short-term memory is limited, the capacity of long-term
memory is unlimited
Executive Function – ability to control and manage cognitive processes
o Allows for combination of cognitive abilities such as attention, memory, planning,
and reasoning into coherent thoughts and actions
9.9 Define the imaginary audience and the personal fable, and explain how they reflect
egocentrism in adolescence
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Metacognition – capacity to think about thinking, seen in adolescence
Adolescent Egocentrism – egocentrism where adolescents have difficulty distinguishing
their thinking about their own thoughts from thinking about thoughts of others
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David Elkind believes adolescent egocentrism is composed of imaginary audience and
personal fable
Imaginary Audience – belief that others are acutely aware of and attentive to one’s
appearance and behavior
o Makes adolescents more self-conscious
o Sometimes continues into adulthood, but not as strong
o Influenced by social media
Personal Fable – belief in one’s personal uniqueness, often including a sense of
invulnerability to the consequences of taking risks
o Can be the source of adolescent anguish and the source of high hopes
o Contributes to risky behavior by adolescents whose sense of uniqueness leads
them to believe adverse consequences won’t happen to them
Optimistic Bias – tendency to assume accidents, diseases, and misfortunes are more
likely to happen to others than to oneself
9.10 Produce an example of the zone of proximal development and scaffolding involving
early adolescents
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Vygotsky’s Concepts of Zone of Proximal Development and Scaffolding
o Zone of Proximal Development – difference between asks people can accomplish
alone and more advanced tasks they can do when guided by an experienced
person
o Scaffolding – nature of assistance provided by the experienced person
o These apply to children as they enter adolescence
o Ex. In Dioula Culture, boys observe fathers weave, then begin learning weaving
skills in early adolescence and gets increasing more complex patterns to weave,
increasing the upper boundary of ZPD
In developing countries, the most necessary skills and knowledge are often involved in
making things that are useful or can be sold
9.11 Explain how adolescents’ school achievement is influenced by their relationships with
parents and friends
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Adolescents whose parents expect them to do well live up to those expectations
Adolescents whose parents have lower expectations tend to perform less well
Authoritative parents contribute to adolescent’s school success by being more involved in
their education
o Adolescents in these families are more likely to develop personal qualities like
self-reliance and responsibility
Adolescents with authoritarian, permissive, or neglectful parents perform worse in school
than children with authoritative parents
Parents influence children’s choices of friends
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Friends with little interest in school always influence children to perform worse
Friends with high educational achievements and aspirations give each other support and
encouragement
Big Fish in a little Pond Effect
o If classmates are doing fair or poor in schoolwork, the above average adolescent
feels better about how school is going
o If classmates are high achievers, the same adolescent may feel inferior to others
9.12 Describe how adolescents’ school achievement is related to social class, ethnicity, and
immigrant generation
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There is a positive association between family SES and children’s grades and
achievement test scores
There is a positive association between family SES and highest level of education hat
adolescents or emerging adults attain
Middle-class parents are more likely than lower-class parents to have an authoritative
parenting style
Middle-class parents have higher intelligence than lower class parents, and thye pass this
advantage onto their children through genes and environment
Lower-class families are subject to more stresses than middle-class families, such as job
losses and day-to-day problems
Asian American adolescents have the best academic performance, followed by Whites
Latino, African American, and Native American adolescents have worse academic
performance
o Typically due to ethnic group differences, with those groups being more likely to
experience poverty than Asian Americans or Whites
o Asian groups like Cambodian, Hmong, and Laotian families experience poverty
Emphasis of education is strong in Asian cultures
Asian Americans more likely to have academically oriented friends compared to African
Americans Latinos
Scholars argue other forces related to prejudice and discrimination against ethnic groups
can influence academic achievement
Other studies report African American and Latino students were equal to Whites and
Asians in perceptions of the value of academic achievement in promoting career success,
but their perceptions of consequences of failing were different
o Research indicates that African American and Latino adolescents have less
motivation to strive academically because they are optimistic with their chances
of succeeding without excelling academically
Immigrant Paradox – paradox that immigrant adolescents’ academic achievement
worsens across each successive generation living in the US
SECTION 3: EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
9.13 Summarize the results of the Experience Sampling Method (ESM) studies with respect
to adolescent emotionality
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2000 years ago, Greek philosopher Aristotle observed that the youth “are heated by
Nature as drunken men by wine”
250 years ago, French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau observed that “as the roaring
waves precedes the tempest, so the murmur of rising passion announces tumultuous
change”
“Sturn und Drang” (German for “storm and stress”), stories where young teens
experienced extreme emotions
Experience Sampling Method (ESM) was used to record the validity of adolescent
emotionality
o Results show that adolescence in the US is a time of emotional volatility, in which
they are more likely to feel stronger emotions than parents
o In a study of a sample of 5th-8th graders 4 years later, researchers Larson and
Richards found that a decline in average emotional states with age
When adolescents processed emotional info, brain activity was high in the amygdala
(emotional part) and low in the frontal lobes (reasoning part)
o This is the opposite in adult brains
o Adolescents respond to more emotional stimuli with the heart than the head while
adults respond more rationally
Most scholars see adolescent emotional changes as due to cognitive and environmental
factors
9.14 Describe how self-esteem changes during adolescence, including cultural variations
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Self-esteem declines in early adolescence, then rises through late adolescence and
emerging adulthood
Adolescents in Western cultures value the opinion of peers highly
Peers develop new cognitive capacities for sarcasm and ridicule
Susan Harter’s Eight Domains of Adolescent Self-Concept
o Scholastic Competence
o Social Acceptance
o Athletic Competence
o Physical Appearance
o Job Competence
o Romantic Appeal
o Behavioral Conduct
o Close Friendship
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Harter’s research indicates adolescents don’t need a positive self-image in all domains to
have a high self-esteem
Harter found that physical appearance is most strongly related to global self-esteem,
followed by social acceptance
African Americans have higher self-esteem than adolescent girls in other ethnic groups
because they are less likely to evaluate their physical appearance negatively
Traditional Asian culture views self-criticism as a virtue and an example of high selfesteem
African Americans have the highest self-esteem, but can decline if they experience racial
discrimination directly
Asian Americans have the lowest self-esteem compared to different ethnic groups
because of the interdependent self favored in Asian cultures, which discourages high selfevaluations and encourages a focus on needs and concerns of others
9.15 Define the gender-intensification hypothesis, and indicate the extent of support for it
within the United States and in traditional cultures
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Gender Intensification Hypothesis – hypothesis that psychological and behavioral
differences between females and males become more pronounced at adolescence because
of intensified socialization pressures to conform to culturally prescribed gender roles
o Hill and Lynch believe this intensified socialization is more important than
biological changes of puberty
An American study found adolescent boys and girls respond differently to weight gain,
with girls experiencing more dissatisfaction than boys
Gender intensification is stronger in traditional cultures than in the West
o David Gilmore states that in these cultures, manhood must be achieved, while
womanhood is inevitably reached
o An adolescent boy must demonstrate providing, protecting, and procreating in
order to be a man
9.16 Summarize the cultural variations in adolescents’ relationships with parents, siblings,
and extended family
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Adolescents and parents agree on many beliefs and values and have a great deal of love
for one another
o However, conflict rises between adolescents and parents in Western countries
o Conflict is frequent between mothers and daughters
o Because adolescence means reaching sexual maturity, sexual issues may be a
source of conflict
o Advances in cognitive development make it possible for adolescents to rebut
parents’ reasonings
o There is disagreement with autonomy (quality of being independent)
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For 80% of American adolescents, the family system includes relationships with a sibling
There are five common patterns in relationships with siblings
o Caregiver Relationship – a relationship in which one sibling serves parental
functions for the other
o Buddy Relationship – a relationship in which they treat each other as friends
o Critical relationship – a relationship with high levels of conflict
o Rival relationship – a relationship where siblings compete against each other
o Casual relationship – a relationship that isn’t emotionally intense in which they
have little to do with one another
Critical relationships are common, and sources of conflict include teasing, possessions,
responsibility for chores, invasion of privacy, and perceived unequal treatment by parents
Adolescents have a caregiver relationship with siblings in traditional cultures
Traditional culture adolescents are close to extended family members because they grow
up near them
80% of American adolescents list at least one member of extended family among people
most important to them
9.17 Describe the causes and consequences of physical and sexual abuse
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Physical abuse is more likely to be inflicted on adolescents than on younger children, and
fathers are more likely to be physically abusive
Stress in parents’ lives promotes physical abuse, which is a reason why it’s more
prevalent in poor families
Physical abuse makes adolescents more aggressive and antisocial
Sexual abuse in families is usually inflicted on girls by male family members
o Sexually abusive fathers are not as aggressive and more insecure or socially
awkward
o Sexual abuse is more likely to be committed by stepfathers
Sexual abuse causes a breach of trust between the parent and child
o Adolescents experiencing this develop trust and social issues
One third of sexually abused children demonstrate few to no symptoms as a result
9.18 Explain why friends are the sources of more intense emotions than parents are in early
adolescence, and describe the dynamics between bullies and victims
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Adolescents’ happiest moments take place with friends rather than family
Two reasons for this, according to Larson and Richards:
o Close friends mirror the emotions of each other
o Adolescents feel free to open with their friends in a way that’s rarely done with
parents
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Friends are also the source of negative emotions due to insecurities about whether they
like them and regarding misunderstandings and conflicts
Bullying has three components
o Aggression (physical or verbal)
o Repetition
o Power imbalance (bully has higher peer status)
Boys are more likely than girl to be bullies and victims of bullying
Bully victims experience headaches, anxiety, and unhappiness
Bullies have more psychological problems and problems with parents and peers
compared to non-bullies
Bully-victims – bullied by adolescents who are higher in status, and they in turn look for
lower status victism to bully
Bullies can have high peer status, but are also resented and feared for their bullying
behavior
Victims of bullying are rejected because they have low self-esteem and social skills
11% of victims in grades 6-8 in the US report being victims of cyberbullying
o Half of the victims did not know the bully’s identity
9.19 Explain the function of media use in adolescents’ lives, and apply the Media Practice
model to the playing of electronic games
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88% of American adolescents have access to a digital device
92% of American adolescents connect to the internet daily, 24% say they are connected
almost constantly
American and European adolescents watch 2-3 hours of TV per day
The Media Practice Model by Jane Brown and Jeanne Steele shows that:
o Adolescent identity motivates selection of media
o Paying attention to media leads to interaction with the products in media
o Adolescents apply the media content they’ve chosen
90% of boys and 70% of girls ages 13-17 in the US report playing electronic games
Majority of adolescents’ favorite electronic games that involve violence
o Boys used electronic games to experience fantasies of power and fame and enjoy
the social aspect of gaming, such as playing with friends and talking about with
the games
Violent content rarely provokes aggressive behavior, but it influences social attitudes
Chapter 10: Late Adolescence
SECTION 1: PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
10.1 Identify the surprising changes in brain development that take place during
adolescence
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Overproduction/Synaptic Exuberance – a sharp increase in synaptic connections around
the time puberty begins at ages 10-12
o Occurs mainly in frontal lobes, where higher brain functions take place
o Peaks at age 11-12
o After this, there is a lot of synaptic pruning
Myelination – myelin wraps around neuron and increases speed of brain electrical signals
Cerebellum (site of brain involving higher functions such as math, music, decision
making) grows through late adolescence
10.2 Discuss the extent to which changes in brain development during adolescence explain
delinquency and other types of risk behavior
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Delinquency rates rise in mid-teens and peak at age 18, and most crimes are committed
by young males between ages of 12 and 25
Maturational Gap Model – hypothesis that in adolescence the subcortical regions of the
brain involved in risk behavior mature earlier than prefrontal regions involved in
cognitive control
o Doesn’t account for rising risk behavior and crime rates through early 20s
o Boys and girls are similar in brain development, but boys commit far more crimes
o Adolescent crime is more common in some cultures than others
o Brain development of risk adolescents are more mature than others
10.3 Explain why the rates of overweight and obesity have risen so much among American
adolescents in recent decades
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Rates of overweight and obesity are highest in affluent regions and lowest on poorest
regions
20% of American adolescents ages 12-19 are classified as obese
o Obese adolescents have higher leptin levels, and leptin is the trigger for puberty,
so increased obesity has contributed to earliest onset of puberty among African
American and Latino girls
o 1/3rd of American adolescents eat at least one fast-food meal per day, and portions
of these high calorie and fat meals have increased in recent years
o Increased presence of junk food and soft drink machines
o There is lack of exercise and the automobile-oriented American lifestyle means
less bike or walking
10.4 Describe the prevalence, symptoms, and treatment of eating disorders
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Girls pay more attention to the food they eat in adolescence
60% of American adolescent girls and 30% of boys believe they weigh too much
Eating Disordered Behavior
o Fasting for 24 hours or more
o Using diet products
o Purging
o Using laxatives
o 23% of girls and 10% of boys in the US report doing this behavior
Two main eating disorders
o Anorexia Nervosa – intentional self-starvation
o Bulimia – binge eating combined with purging
Anorexia classified by:
o Eating less to maintain a body weight at or above normal weight
o Intense fear of weight gain
o Distorted body image
Bulimia classified by:
o Bing eating then vomiting the food
o Maintain normal weight
o Unlike Anorexia, they don’t regard their eating patterns as normal and view
themselves as having a problem
Eating disorders are seen all ove the world as media and corporations promoted Western
ideals of female slimness
o Can cause psychological problems like depression and anxiety
In Fiji, after TV was introduced, the incidence of eating disorders rose substantially
because girls admired the Western TV characters
Treatments for anorexia and bulimia are hospitalization, medication, and psychotherapy
10% of those with anorexia die from starvation
SECTION 2: COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
10.5 Describe how adolescents engage in abstract, complex, and metacognitive thinking
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Abstract Thinking – thinking pertaining to concepts and processes that cannot be
experienced directly through senses
o Involves the capacity to think about concepts lie friendship, time, justice,
goodness, and evil
o Capacity for abstract thinking based on growth that strengthens connections
between frontal cortex and other parts of brain
Complex Thinking – thinking that takes into account multiple connections and
interpretations, such as metaphor, satire, and sarcasm
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Metacognition – capacity to hink about thinking
o Applies to learning and problem solving
o Enables adolescents to learn and solve problems more efficiently
10.6 Give an example of how information processing speeds up in adolescence, and explain
how advances in automaticity contribute to faster information processing
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Adolescents are better at electronic games because they are faster at processing information
as changes occur
Automaticity – how much cognitive effort a person needs to devote to process information,
the more automaticity, the less effort
o Develops with age and experience
o Closely related to speed and to working memory capacity
10.7 Compare the secondary education systems and academic performance of developed
countries and developing countries
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The US only has the “comprehensive” school as the source of secondary education
European countries’ primary schools last longer, until age 15, compared to 11 or 12 in the
United States, Canada, and Japan
European adolescents choose three types of secondary schools: university-preparatory
schools, vocational schools, or professional schools
All adolescents in developed countries are enrolled in secondary school, while only 50%
are enrolled in developing countries
o Developing countries have seen rising rates, but schools there are still poorly
funded and overcrowded
Japan and South Korean students excel in math and science
Rote Learning – learning by memorization and repetition, which is focused upon in Eastern
schools
Western schools place more emphasis on critical thinking and creativity
Consequences of school performance in the East are more serious
o Entrance exams for high school and college have great influence on youg people’s
occupational fate for rest of their lives
o Adolescents in the East are pressured to apply themselves and attend cram schools
o As a result, adolescents have less time for after-school leisure and socializing
10.8 Summarize the typical forms of adolescent work in developing countries, and developed
countries, and name the features of apprenticeships in Europe
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Children often contribute to work required in daily life by partaking in household chores
Children in developing countries experience dangerous, poorly paid work from childhood
to late adolescence
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Adolescent sex work is a pervasive problem in Asia, especially in Thailand
o Commercial Sexual Exploitation – practice of coercing or forcing people to engage
in sex work
o Some are kidnapped or sold by parents out of desperation
o Large proportion of customers in Asian brothels are Western tourists
o The World Congress Against the Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents
was formed to coordinate the efforts of governments to stop this practice
50% of adolescents in Canada and the US hold at least one part-time job by the end of high
school
o Money earned usually goes towards purchases for themselves
o Work done by adolescents in developing countries does little to prepare them for
the work they’ll do as adults
o Working part-time in developed countries can result in lower grades and reduced
academic performance
o Working part-time in developed countries can help teens learn responsibility
Apprenticeship – an arrangement in which a novice serves under a master and learns the
skills required for the profession
o Entry age at 16, apprenticeship lasts 2-3 years
o Continued part-time schooling while in apprenticeship
o Training takes place in workplace under real working conditions
o Preparation for a career in a related profession
SECTION 3: EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
10.9 Specify the different types of self that develop during adolescence
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Actual Self – person’s perception of self as it is
Possible Self – person’s conceptions of the self as it potentially may be (includes an ideal
self and a feared self)
o Ideal Self – person one would like to be
o Feared Self – person one imagines it is possible to become but dreads becoming
The discrepancy between actual self and ideal self may cause depression and feelings of
failure and inadequacy
False Self – self a person may present to others while realizing that it does not represent
what he or she is actually thinking and feeling
10.10 Explain why gender nonconformity, transgender self-identification, and
intersectionality are important in understanding gender
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Gender Identity – a person’s self-categorization as female or male
Gender Nonconforming – people who identify as either female or male but whose
behaviors cross gender boundaries to a degree that falls outside convention
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Transgender – people whose self-identification doesn’t match their biological sex
Transsexuals – group most research was done on, who experience a fundamental
mismatch between gender and sex
Most research on transgender identity is focused on the problems and risks that
accompany the experience of being transgender
o Transgender youth are at risk for verbal and physical aggression, as well as dating
violence and rejection from parents
Two studies focus on resilience of transgender youth
o One study has transgender youth reporting being frequently targeted by peers,
while most exhibit resilience in response to attacks
o One study on transgender youth of color reported incidents of discrimination and
their resilience in these situations
Intersectionality – describes how individuals have more than one social identity and that
these various identities overlap
Asian and Latino communities in the US have more traditional gender roles, especially
for girls
10.11 Distinguish between the cognitive-developmental and cultural-developmental theories
of moral reasoning
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Cognitive-Developmental Theory of Moral Reasoning (by Lawrence Kohlberg) –
Kohlberg viewed moral development as based on cognitive development and believed
moral reasoning changes in predictable ways as cognitive abilities develop; to model this,
he created three levels of moral development
o Level 1: Preconventional Reasoning – moral reasoning is based on egocentric
perceptions of the likelihood of external rewards and punishment
o Level 2: Conventional Reasoning – moral reasoning is less egocentric and the
persona advocates the value of conforming to moral expectations of others
o Level 3: Postconventional Reasoning – moral reasoning is based on person’s
independent judgements rather than on what others view as wrong or right
Kohlberg interviewed a group of adolescent boys over the next 20 years, and the results
supported his theory
o Level of moral reasoning increased with age, and when all participants were in
their 30s, few had reached level 3
o Moral development proceeded in the predicted way, in the sense that participants
did not drop from a higher to lower level
Kohlberg believes what matters is the structure of moral reasoning
Research based on Kohlberg’s theory confirms that moral reasoning progresses with age
o Participants have rarely been found to regress in reasoning
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Richard Shweder challenges Kohlberg
o He argues it’s impossible to understand moral reasoning unless you understand its
cultural worldview
o He points out Dharma (duty), an important concept in Hinduism, doesn’t fit in
Kohlberg’s system
Cultural-Developmental Theory of Moral Development – moral development and culture
are interconnected
o Ethic of Autonomy – the individual is the primary moral authority (emerges in
childhood and stays stable through adulthood)
o Ethic of Community – individuals are members of social groups where they have
responsibilities (will rise across life course)
o Ethic of Divinity – the individual is a spiritual entity subject to prescriptions of a
divine authority (not used in childhood but rise in adolescence and adulthood)
The three ethics are proposed as templates (they are described as general patterns of
development bound to be shaped by culture)
10.12 Describe the cultural variations in religious beliefs during adolescence as well as the
sources and outcomes of religiosity within cultures
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Developed countries are highly secular, but religion has gradually faded in influence over
the past two centuries
Americans are more religious than people in any other developed country, but religion
has a lower priority for most adolescents
Family characteristics influence the religiosity of adolescents, as adolescents are more
likely to embrace religion when parents are religious
American adolescents who are more religious report less depression and lower rate of
premarital sex, delinquent behavior, and have better relationships
American research portrays religious development as an individualistic process, while
religious development worldwide involves the whole community
o In cultures with Islamic dominance, adolescents are obliged to take part in
Ramadan
10.13 Describe how relationships with parents change from early to late adolescence, and
distinguish running away from home in developed countries from becoming “street
children” in developing countries
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Rate of conflict with parents decreases in late adolescence because adolescents spend less
time with family
Adolescents in developed countries who leave home before reaching adulthood are said
to be “running away from home”
Adolescents leave home because family life becomes unbearable
o 1.6 to 2.8 million youth run away from home each year in the US
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o Factors that contribute to running away from home are low family income,
parental alcoholism, and parental neglect
Adolescents who run away from home are vulnerable to exploitation
While there are urban shelters for runaways, they lack funding and have difficulty
providing adequate services
Street children can be found in every country in the world, with the main forces causing
this being family dysfunction in the West and poverty in Asia and Latin America
o Most street children work as beggars, vendors, shoe shiners, or car cleaners
o Street children have high rates of disease and are vulnerable to sexual abuse
o Street children can form gangs with others, as this gives them a sense of identiy
and belonging
Street children are numerous in Brazil and Kenya
Street children can develop resilience and cognitive/social skills
10.14 Explain the main functions of crowds, cliques, and friends in late adolescence
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5 major types of crowds found in schools
o Elites – highest social status
o Athletes – sports-oriented students
o Academics – known for having good grades and being socially inept
o Deviants – alienated from social environment and are suspected to be doing
delinquent activities
o Others – students who don’t stand out in any way, mostly ignored by other
students
Crowds serve to help adolescents locate themselves and others within secondary school
In developed countries, the fact that adolescents remain in school at least until their late
teens and the age-graded schools they’re in makes crowd definition important
Crowds are most influential in early adolescence, but are no longer needed in late
adolescence when their identities are better established
Cliques remain important in late adolescence
Intimacy becomes important throughout the course of adolescent friendships
o Girls have more intimate friendships compared to boys
Instrumental Aid – practical help, such as assistance with homework or expenses
o This is deemphasized within American adolescents because friendship is seen
more as about intimacy and friendships
o Low-income adolescents in the US and Chinese boys, however, found that sharing
money and protecting friends are key elements of friendship
10.15 Identify cultural variations in adolescent love and sexuality, and define sexual
harassment and sexual coercion
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Percentage of American adolescents reporting a romantic relationship rises from 17% in
7th grade to 32% in ninth grade to 44% in 11th grade to 80% in 11th grade
o Adolescents with an Asian cultural background have their first romantic
relationship later because early romantic relationships are discouraged in Asian
culture
In early adolescence, boys choose partners based on physical attractiveness while girls
emphasize interpersonal qualities such as support and intimacy
By late adolescence, both boys and girls emphasize interpersonal qualities
Standard Cross-Cultural Sample – a collection of data provided by anthropologists on
186 traditional cultures representing six regions in the world
o Researchers concluded that young people fell passionately in love in all but one of
186 cultures
Patterns of Sexual Behavior, by Clellan Ford and Frank Beach, describe 3 types of
cultural approaches to adolescent sexuality
o Permissive Cultures tolerate and encourage adolescent sexuality
o Semirestrictive Cultures have prohibitions on premarital adolescent sex
o Restrictive Cultures place strong prohibitions on adolescent sexual activity before
marriage
Restrictiveness of the taboo on premarital sex includes the threat of physical punishment
and public shaming
Premarital pregnancy in adolescence is viewed as undesirable almost everywhere
o Northern European countries have low rates of adolescent pregnancy because they
are permissive about adolescent sex by promoting safe-sex campaigns
o Restrictive countries like Japan and South Korea forbid adolescent sex and
violation of the taboo is rare because the shame of being exposed for breaking it is
large
o US has higher rate of teenage pregnancy than other developed countries because
there is no clear cultural message regarding adolescent sexuality
Sexual Orientation – person’s tendencies of sexual attraction
o 2% of American adolescents and emerging adults self—identify as sexual
minorities (bisexuals, gays, lesbians)
Today, coming out as transgender is becoming increasingly common
Sexual minority adolescents are the targets of bullying and their parents may respond
with dismay or anger
o These groups have a higher chance in committing suicide
o In recent years, favorable and tolerant perceptions have grown in Western
attitudes
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Sexual harassment includes behaviors such as mild harassment like name calling to
severe harassment like unwanted sexual contact
o 20% of boys and 25%-75% of girls report they have been harassed
o Early maturing girls are targeted for sexual harassment, and sexual minority
adolescents are targeted at higher rates than others
Sexual assault is usually committed by someone that knows the victim
o Alcohol is a major risk factor in sexual assault among adolescents and emerging
adults
o Intoxication makes women and men less effective in acknowledging a lack of
consent with the victim
Affirmative Consent – unequivocal, verbal agreement to sexual activity, where partners
must stop if one person indicates “no”
10.16 Identify the uses of social media in late adolescence
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According to a national survey of American adolescents, social media has mostly positive
effects on their social lives, and over half say social media helps them in relationships
with friends
Adolescents use social media to keep in touch with friends
Nearly half of adolescents say they wish they could unplug from social media and get
frustrated with friends for texting when they are out together
10.17 Identify the different types and rates of depression, and summarize the most effective
treatments
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Depressed Mood – term for temporary period of sadness
Major Depressive Disorder – a more enduring period of sadness and symptoms like
crying, fatigue, and loneliness
Rates of major depressive disorder in adolescents are the same as adults, while rates of
depressed mood in adolescents are higher than adults
Strongest risk factor for depression in adolescence is being female
o Due to factors like body image, which is important amongst female social groups
o Ruminate – females have a tendency to think persistently about bad feelings and
experiences
Two types of treatment for MDD are antidepressants and psychotherapy
o Use of antidepressants in adolescents may provoke suicidal thoughts and behavior
10.18 Summarize rates and trends in adolescence substance use, and classify adolescent
substance use into four categories
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According to national Monitoring the Future data, 30% of American high schoolers used
alcohol and 18% reported having been drunk at least once in the past month
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Rates of smoking and vapes are rising, from 11% in 2017 to 21% in 2018
Substance use highest among Native Americans, followed by Whites and Latinos
Rates of cigarette smoking are lower among Canadian and American adolescents
compared to Europe
Young people use experimental substances to try a substance out of curiosity and not use
it again
Social substances are used during social activities with friends
Medicinal substances are used to relieve unpleasant emotional states (self-medication)
Addictive substances used when a person becomes dependent on a substance
Substance use is considered “problem behavior”
10.19 Summarize the explanations for why age and crime are so strongly correlated, and
describe the multisystemic approach to reducing delinquency
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Rates of crime increase in mid-teens and peak at age 18
Age and crime relationship is because adolescents and new adults combine independence
from guardians and authorities with increased time with peers
There is a correlation between risk behaviors reported for themselves and the rates
reported for their friends
o This may only exist partly because adolescents select friends based on their
similarities and not because they influenced each other in risk behavior
o 3/4ths of adolescent boys commit at least one crime before the age of 20
o 10% of young men commit 2/3rds of minor and major crimes
o Terrie Moffitt proposed a theory distinguishing between adolescence-limited
delinquency and life-course persistent delinquency
 Life-Course-Persistent Delinquents – someone who shows patterns of
problems from birth onward and whose problems continue into adulthood
 Adolescence-Limited Delinquents – someone who shows no evidence of
problems prior to adolescence and whose delinquent behavior is
temporary
o Multisystemic approach – intervening at several levels, such as home, school, and
neighborhood