Topic 1:
DEVELOPMENT ACROSS THE LIFESPAN

Development is lifelong, multidimensional, and dynamic

Occurs across physical, cognitive, emotional, and social domains

Involves gains and losses across the lifespan

Shaped by interactions between individuals and their contexts
Domains of development

Physical: Growth, brain development, health aging

Cognitive: Attention, memory, learning, executive function

Emotional: Regulation, identity, resilience

Social: Relationships, roles belonging
Nature Vs Nuture Transactional Model

Genes provide biological potential

Environments shapes how potential expressed

Individuals actively shape their environments

Development reflects continuous bidirectional interactions
Normative Age-Graded Influences

Biological and social changes shared by most people at similar ages

Create shared developmental tasks

Timing varies, but experiences are largely universal
Normative History-Graded Influences

Generational similarities/differences due to historical period of birth

Cohort studies
Non-Normative life Events

Unique experiences not shared by everyone

Can be positive or negative

Impact depends on timing, accumulation and available support

E.g. parental divorce, migration
Cultural Influences

Culture shapes interpretation of life events

Influences values, coping, support

Same event may have different meanings across cultures
KEY TAKEAWAYS
1. Development is contextual and lifelong
2. No single factor explains human development
3. Understanding context helps to prevent pathologising individuals
DEVELOPMENTAL THEORIES
Why do they matter?

Provide frameworks for understanding change overtime

Each theory highlights different drivers of development

No single theory explains development in full

Theories guide research, assessment, and clinical practice
Psychoanalytic Foundations

Freud emphasised early childhood experience

Focus on parent-child relationships

Early conflict resolution shapes later personality

Foundation for later developmental thinking
Erikson's Psychosocial Theory

Development unfolds across entire lifespan

Each Stage involves a psychosocial conflict

Emphasis on emotional and social development

Still widely used in contemporary psychology
Behaviourist Approaches

Development shaped by environmental reinforcement

Classical conditioning (Pavlov, Watson)

Operant conditioning (Skinner)

Foundation for behavioural and parenting interventions
Social Learning Theory

Learning occurs through observation

Modelling shapes expectations and norms

Focus on beliefs and cognitions

Environment informs social behaviour
Cognitive Developmental Theories

Children actively construct knowledge

Development driven by exploration

Qualitative changes in thinking

Child-led development
Information Processing Theory

Mind conceptualised as a processing system

Attention determines what is learned

Encoding into short and long-term memory

Useful for understanding learning difficulties
Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory

Cognitive development through social interaction

Cultural tools support higher mental functions

Development of self-regulation and attention

Learning is socially mediated
Ethological and Evolutionary Theories

Focus on adaptive value of behaviour

Lorenz and imprinting (baby geese/ducklings)

Early attachment promotes survival

Biological preparedness for relationships
Attachment Theory (Bowlby)

Attachment as an evolutionary system

Infant behaviours signal caregivers

Early attachment has long-term outcomes

Central to clinical and developmental psychology
Ecological Systems Theory

Development occurs within nested systems

Microsystem to macrosystem influences

Culture, policy, and context matter

Individual development is embedded in environment
KEY TAKEAWAYS

No single theory explains development fully

Theories inform research and clinical practice

Understanding theory improves applied work
GENETICS, ENVIRONMENT AND KINSHIP STUDIES
Moving beyond Nature Vs Nurture

No longer genes versus environment

Genes influence sensitivity to environments

Environments shape how genetic potential is expressed

Development is probabilistic, not deterministic
Environment is More Than Parenting
Environment includes:

Family process

Inter-parental relationships

Socioeconomic conditions

Neighbourhoods, schools, and culture
-Children develop within systems, not in isolation
Development is Bidirectional

Children and environments influence each other overtime

Caregiving shapes child behaviour

Child characteristics shape caregiving responses

Development emerges through ongoing transactions
Behaviour Genetics & Kinship Studies

Behaviour genetics examine population-level variation

Twin and adoption studies compare genetic similarity

Identical twins are more similar than fraternal twins, but never identical environment always matters
Understanding Heritability

Heritability estimates how much variation in a trait is associated with
genetics

It does not describe individuals

It does not imply inevitability

Heritability depends on context
Socioeconomic Context Matters

Genetic potential requires opportunity

In high-stress or low-resources environments, expression may be constrained

Heritability reflects access, not destiny
Epigenesis & Reaction Range

Genes respond to environments across development

Genes set ranges; environments shape outcomes

Development remains plastic within biological limits

Examples: Growth, puberty timing, stress responsivity
Genotype -> Environment Effects

Passive: parents provide genes and environments

Evocative: traits elicit responses from others

Active: individuals select fitting environments

People shape their own developmental contexts
Clinical Implications

Genetic vulnerability ≠ destiny

Risk often emerges through gene X environment interaction

Intervention modifies conditions of expression, not genes
KEY TAKEAWAYS
1. Genes and environments are intertwined
2. Heritability is context-dependent and does not imply fixed outcomes
3. A cultural approach emphasises biology within lived context
TOPIC 2
PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT AND BIRTH
The Germinal Period: first two weeks

During the travel from the fallopian tube to the uterus, cell division is taking
place
The Embryonic Period: weeks 3-8

Embryonic layers

Ectoderm - becomes skin, hair, nails, sensory organs and the nervous system

Mesoderm - becomes muscles, bones, reproductive system and the
circulatory system

Endoderm - becomes the digestive system and respiratory system

Neural tube develops by week 3

Eyes, nose, mouth and a heartbeat by week 4

Buds that will be arms/legs in week 5

Liver, digestive system and heart's chambers week 8
Fetal Period: Week 9 - birth

Genitals by month 3

Movement felt by month 4

Breath, hiccups and responses to sound by month 6

Main impediment to viability is lung development
Prenatal Care

Varies across culture and SES
Exercise:

Encouraged during pregnancy

Aerobic exercise encouraged

Strenuous exercise discouraged
TERATOGENS

Harmful environmental and bodily conditions

Tobacco, alcohol, prescription medication and other drugs

Physical environment due to malnutrition or exposure to chemicals
Infectious diseases

Rubella (German measles)

Exposure during embryonic stage can lead to heart abnormalities and mental
retardation

Exposure during fetal stage can lead to hearing problems and low birth weight
Vaccination can help but rubella remains widespread in less developed countries
AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome)
Three strategies can help prevent transmission
1. Effective medicines
2. Caesarean sections for AIDS-infected mothers
3. Infant formula in place of breastfeeding
Alcohol

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD)

Facial deformities, heart problems, misshapen limbs, cognitive problems

Increased effects as child develops
Tobacco

Increases risk of miscarriages, premature birth and low birthweight

Infants: difficulty breathing, impaired heart function

Childhood: poorer language skills, attention and memory problems and
behaviour problems
PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT AND BIRTH
Three stages of birth delivery:
1. Labour: Contractions, cervix dilation
2. Delivery: Baby comes out
3. Expelling of placenta and umbilical cord: Contractions continue
Two common birth complications

Failure to progress

Breech presentation
Caesarean delivery can be done to deal with birth complications
Breech presentation - positioning of the fetus so that feet or buttocks, rather than
head are positioned to come out first

Caesarean delivery - retrieving baby directly from uterus

High rates of caesarean due to extreme caution

Vaginal birth after caesarean is possible
Historical/Cultural Variations
History of birth in the West

Pre-15th cent. - midwives respected

18 cent. Medical schools and physician delivery

20th cent. Doctors not properly trained which lead to misuse of drugs, late
20th = advocating natural childbirth
Indigenous Australians

'birth on country' or 'borning' intimately tied to the land
NEONATAL CARE
Neonate: newborn infant in first 28 days of life (4 weeks)

Fuzzy hair called lanugo

Misshapen head with soft spots called fontanels

About 50cm and 3.4kg

Yellowish skin
Measuring neonatal health

Neonatal assessment is critical in first few minutes

Apgar scale

Bravelton Neonatal Behavioural Assessment Scale (NBAS)

Low birth weight = consequences
Low Birth Weight
- Treatments for LBW include:

Kangaroo care: skin-to-skin contact for 2-3 hours a day

Infant massage

Even with assistance LBW babies are at risk developmentally
Neonatal Sleeping Patterns

Sleep-wake cycles more governed by hunger than day/night

REM sleep dominates
It is believed for neonates, REM sleep stimulates brain activity

Traditional cultures keep close physical contact: neonates spend more day
hours sleeping
Neonatal Reflexes

Moro reflex: extend/retract arms, disappears at 3 months

Palmer grasp reflex: very strong at first week
Physical Functioning
Senses

Touch - earliest sense to develop, neonates can experience pain

Taste/smell - show smell preferences for mother's diet, prefer sweet taste,
preference for mother's breast smell

Hearing - sensitive to speech, preference for mother's voice, problems
locating sound

Vision - least developed, binocular/colour vision limited, prefer patterns, prefer
faces
Breastfeeding
Historical Evidence

Mother/infant reflex actions at birth

Breastfeeding is common
Benefits of breastfeeding are extremely important in developing countries
Issues with breastfeeding in developing countries:

Infectious diseases

Formula + non-purified water
Social and Emotional Aspects
Crying/soothing, three distinct signals

Fussing: soft volume, unsteady whimper

Anger cry: large volume of air

Pain cry: sudden onset
Duration and intensity of crying differ between cultures

Swaddling babies shown to reduce crying

10% of Western babies colicky with no known cause
Soothing a crying neonate includes:

Lifting baby to shoulder

Soothing repetitive movements

Soothing sounds and distraction

Common theme = new source of stimulation
Bonding: Myth & Truth

No support that first hour is critical for bonding in mother and neonate

Hospitals still encourage close contact immediately after birth
Postnatal depression

Can be caused by birth in some cases

Combination of hormonal changes and deep feelings of anxiety, sadness and
difficulty sleeping

Increased risk if previous episodes of depression

May impact child development
Reasons to Breastfeed
MODULE 3 INFANT COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
PIAGET'S COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENTAL THEORY
The sensorimotor stage

Birth - 2years

Understand and act on the world using sensorimotor or behavioural schemes
Object Permanence

Under 6 months = no object permanence

Emerges substage 4

8-12 months: search A-not-B errors (child searches where last found an
object, not where we moved it
Criticisms of Piaget
Underestimated infant abilities

But correct general trend

Development not so stage-like
Correct that sensorimotor skill assists some aspects of cognitive development

e.g. crawling assists depth perception and retrieving hidden objects
But evidence of some conceptual understanding before motor skills
Infant cognitive Development/other key theories of cognitive and language
development
Core Knowledge Perspective

Innate knowledge systems predispose us to understand the world and new
information

But require experience to extend this innate knowledge

Suggested domains: physical, linguistic, psychological, numerical, morality?
Information Processing Perspective
Cognitive Gains in Infancy and Toddlerhood
Attention

Improved efficiency, ability to shift focus

Less attraction to novelty, improved sustained attention
Memory

Longer retention intervals

Development of recall by second half of first year
Categorisation

Gradual shift from perceptual to conceptual categorisation in toddlerhood
Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory

Like Paiget, constructivist, but emphasised social mediation of cognitive
construction
Knowledge constructed via:

Collective dialogues

Collaborative learning

Guided participation, scaffolding

Imitation
Language Development
Nativist Approach

Chomsky (1957) Language Acquisition Device (LAD)

Universal grammar hard-wired

Maturational unfolding

Fine-tuned by experience
Evidence

Universal aspects of early language

Uniquely human

Specialised area left hemisphere

Sensitive Period 6-12 years
Critique of Nativist Approach

Hard to identify universal grammar

Slower and more error-prone language acquisition than innate ability would
predict

Learning is more important in language

Brain plasticity shows other areas of brain capable of supporting language
Social Interactionist View

Children cue caregivers to provide necessary language experiences

Language acquired via social interaction: debate over whether there is also
innate or specialised language abilities

Social competence and language experience affect language progress
Infant Speech and Communication
Recall…Social Interactionist View

Children cue caregivers to provide necessary language experiences

Language acquired via social interaction: debate over whether there is also
innate or specialised language abilities

Social competence and language experience affect language progress
Infant Directed Speech (IDS)
Characteristics:

Higher pitch

Simple vocabulary

Sound substitution

Short Sentences

Fluctuating Intonation

Exaggerated Expression & Gestures
IDS not essential but interaction is

e.g. Kaluli people of Papua New Guinea do not use "baby talk"
IDS plays a role in gaining attention, maintains communication

Provides opportunities for learning
Babies who are talked to/with more show greater language development
Early Vocalisations

Newborn: Reflex cries

2 months: Cooing (vowel sounds)

6 months: Babbling
Infant Communication Development

4 months: Interest in turn-taking games, gaze in direction adults looking

6 months: babbling initially universal sounds

6-9months: developing understanding of single words

10-11months: joint attention

12 months: universality of babbling lost

10-15 months: first words
Telegraphic Speech

Single word conveys whole idea or whole sentence
First words and Two-word Utterances

Over-extension

Under-extension

18-24 months telegraphic speech, correct word order associated with
improved compliance
Also related to language Development
Child Temperament

e.g. emotional reactivity diverts children from processing language

Quantity and richness and caregiver conversations

Referential vs. expressive style-What is language for?
PERSONALITY EMERGENCE
Erikson's Psychosocial Theory
Trust Vs Mistrust (0-1 year)

Successfully resolved by experiencing sympathetic, loving care

Trust -> Prime adaptive ego quality: hope

Minimal fear or apprehension about future -> confidence to explore wider
world

Implications for cognitive and social development

Mistrust -> Core pathology: withdrawal
Autonomy Vs Shame and Doubt (1-3 years)

Importance of parental handling of emerging desire for autonomy

Over-controlling and under-controlling by parents both problematic

Criticism and punishment for failed attempts at autonomy -> shame & doubt
Emotional Development
Happiness

Social smile around 6-10 weeks

Think about evocative gene-environment correlations

Relation to language and cognitive development

Relation to parent-child relationship
Anger

Distress shown from birth

Crying: mothers generally recognise different cries

As intentional behaviour increases, frustration and anger more frequent (the
terrible twos!)
Fear

Intense stranger anxiety @ 9 months

More likely or intense if: in unfamiliar environment, away from mother,
stranger is adult, stranger is passive and unsmiling, stranger is bearded male

Separation anxiety: from 8-9 months, peaks around 15 months
Self-conscious emotion
Higher-order feelings including:

Shame

Guilt

Embarrassment

Envy

Pride

Appears between 18-24 months
Self-Development

Visual self-recognition emerges around 20 months (rouge test)

Recognise Self in photographs by around 2 years

Early foundation in cause-and-effect experiences

Cultural differences: acquired earlier with distal parenting styles
Outcomes developing self-awareness

Emergence of self-conscious emotions

Improvements in effortful control, compliance, delay of gratification

Combined with advancing cognitive, language and social skills supports
developing empathy
Emergence of self-regulation

Strategies to self-adjust emotional state to a comfortable level in order to be
able to meet goals

Important for autonomy, cognitive development and social skills
Relies of EFFORTFUL Control

Capacity to voluntarily suppress a dominant response in order to plan &
execute a more adaptive response

Utilises executive functions: inhibitory control, focusing & shifting attention

Important aspect of temperament
Emotional self-regulation & effortful control are fostered by:
1. Parenting: Appropriate stimulation, sensitivity and responsiveness, shaping
socially approved ways of expressing emotions, effective tantrum
management
2. Cognitive development
3. Motor development
TEMPERAMENT

Constitutionally based individual differences in emotional, motor and
attentional reactivity and self-regulation

Foundation of later personality
New York Longitudinal Study (Thomas & Chess, 1977)
Nine temperamental aspects identifiable at birth
1. Activity level
2. Intensity of reaction
3. Rhythmicity
4. Attention span/persistence
5. Distractibility
6. Threshold responsiveness
7. Quality of mood
8. Adaptability
9. Approach/withdrawal
TEMPERAMENT TYPES x3
1. Easy: (40%) adjust easily to new situations, generally cheerful and easy to
calm
2. Slow-to-warm up: (15%) inactive, initially unwilling to approach
3. Difficult: (10%) irregular, reactive, unhappy, hard to distract, slow to adapt
Temperament Stability

Relatively stable over time, very few children change radically BUT parenting
can change it

More "difficult" infant temperament -> behavioural and emotional adjustment
problems in early childhood and beyond

Temperament is a better predictor of later functioning after effortful control
emerges

Longer-term: childhood and adolescent predictors of better functioning in
young adulthood - better emotional control
"Goodness of Fit"

The degree to which an individual's temperament is compatible with the
demands and expectations of their social environment

Parents can modulate children's temperament by their influences on their
environment
ATTACHMENT
The first relationship

Psychoanalytic theories: emphasis on feeding

Behaviourism: emphasis on classical conditioning (with feeding

Harlow & Harlow's work with rhesus monkeys
Attachment Theory

John Bowlby influenced by psychoanalytic background and Lorenz's
imprinting work

Ethological Theory: human attachment is an evolved response that promotes
survival

Attachment: active, reciprocal tie that endures across time and space; leads
to desire for contact, distress at separation

Development of internal working model regarding availability of attachment
figures
Still Face Experiment

Parents under stress/emotionally absent are not mutually responsive with
baby
Development of attachment (Ainsworth)

0-6 weeks : Pre-attachment; general sociability, indiscriminant

6wks-6/8months: Attachment-in-the-making

6/8months-18months: Clear-cut attachment to primary caregiver
Attachment Classification: Ainsworth's Strange Situation

All children have developed an attachment relationship by 12 months

Measured using the Strange situation test (parent leaves, stranger arrives,
parent comes back)
Attachment Types
Type A: Insecure Avoidant (15%)

Minimal interest in caregiver

Minimal distress at separation

Minimal stranger anxiety

Does not seek out caregiver at reunion
Type B: Secure (approx 60%, fewer lower SES)

Seeks caregiver if distressed

Separation anxiety

Joy upon reunion

Caregiver provides secure base for exploration
Type C: Anxious-Ambivalent or Insecure Resistant (about 10%)

Minimal exploration

Preoccupied with caregiver

Resists separation, resists reunion
Type D: Disorganised/disoriented (15%)

Fright without solution

Associated with maltreatment, residential care, maternal mental illness

Bizarre behaviours - contradictory, incomplete, freezing/stilling, disoriented or
apprehensive in presence of parent
Important factors
Opportunity

Risks from early institutional care where no opportunity to form relationship
with one or a few caregivers

Up to 6 years, late adoptees can securely attach to parents, but some
difficulties for late adoptees
Caregiving quality

Sensitivity: accurate identification of infant communication and needs, positive
emotions, interest and pleasure in infant

Interactional Synchrony; Awareness of appropriate level of stimulation
PARENTING AND ATTACHMENT
Secure:

Responsive

Positive emotions

Tender handling

Sensitivity and synchrony
Avoidant:

Over-stimulating

Intrusive
Resistant:

Minimal Interaction

Inconsistent care
Disorganised:

Dysfunctional caregiving
Infant Characteristics
Temperament

Difficult infants: insecure attachments more likely
Heritability virtually 0

Experiences of parent-child interactions important
Family Factors

Stress: financial and/or marital difficulties
Long Term Correlates of Infant Attachment

Bowbly (1973): Both early attachment quality and continuity of caregiving
quality important
Minnesota Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (Sroufe, 2005)

267 relatively at-risk pregnant women in 1975

Attachment measured in infancy

Study conducted its own school, school camps so detailed measurement and
direct observation of children possible

Avoidant and resistant attachments associated with greater dependency
in school-age
Secure attachment consistently associated with:

Higher self-esteem

More self-confidence

More ego-resilience

Higher popularity

Better cognitive skills

Better coping skills

Greater enthusiasm & persistence for learning

Higher curiosity

Higher independence from parents

Fewer behavioural problems
MODULE 4
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY CHILDHOOD

Between age 3-5 children typically grow 7cm, gain 2kg

There are global differences in growth, influenced by SES, nutrition and health
GROWTH FROM 3-6yrs
Teeth Development

By age 3, most children have a full set of "baby" teeth

@ 6 years, teeth gradually replaced
Brain Development

Brain grows faster at young age 3yrs=70%, 6yrs=90%

Frontal Lobes: grows faster than many other parts (emotional regulation,
planning/foresight, self-control and decision making)
Myelination and Neural Connections
Brain development during early childhood is largely driven by two processes:

Myelination - process where nerve fibres become coated in myelin, allowing
signals to travel faster in the brain

Increased dendritic connections - which strengthen communication
between neurons
Important brain structures experience significant myelination, largely completed by
age 5:

Corpus callosum: connects two hemispheres of the brain and improves
communication between them

Cerebellum: supports balance and coordination, contributing to
improvements in motor skills

Reticular formation: involved in attention and alertness, helping explain why
children's attention span increases during early childhood

Hippocampus: involved in memory formation
Memory Development and Infantile Amnesia

Hippocampus (plays role in transferring information from short-term memory
to long-term memory) is still developing and therefore we cannot remember
early childhood experiences

Just specific personal events
Health and Safety

Children less vulnerable to health threats compared to earlier years

Children in developing countries remain vulnerable to some illness and
diseases

Slowing physical growth corresponds with diminishing food consumption

Appetites vary day-to-day
Nutrition And Malnutrition

Children in developed countries eat too much unhealthy food (calcium most
common deficiency)

Children in developing countries: malnutrition as a norm, lack of protein (25%
of children), iron deficiency (anaemia)
Illness and Disease

Developed countries have vaccinations, adequate food and medical care

Developing countries' causes of death are illness, disease, malaria, measles
and pneumonia

Malnutrition responsible for many deaths

Early childhood is a time of high activity = higher injury rates
Physical Development

Gross motor development extend abilities that emerged earlier (some gender
differences)

Fine motor development extend, and refine abilities that emerged earlier
Handedness

Preferences for handedness can be seen prenatally

Genetics (adopted children resemble biological parents more than adoptive) identical twins likely to differ
Culture

Historically, left-handedness is considered negative
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY CHILDHOOD
Piaget's Preoperational Stage
Transition from sensorimotor to pre-operational stage:

Child begins to internalise images and use symbols -> beginning of
representational thought

However, still unable to perform mental operations such as:
1. Conservation
2. Classification
3. Egocentrism
Cannot perform conservation and classification due to centration and lack of
reversability
Egocentrism - Including animism
Evaluating Piaget's Theory
Underestimated children's abilities

Studies have shown young children can do conservation tasks

Can perform modified egocentrism task

Less animistic than Piaget suggested
Development is more continuous and less stage-like
THEORY OF MIND

Theory of Mind (ToM) is the ability to understand that others have beliefs,
thoughts and perspectives that are independent from one's own

Pretend play, joint attention and deception as a milestones in ToM

Commonly assessed via false-belief tasks

Research supports ToM development cross-culturally
VYGOTSKY'S SOCIOCULTURAL THEORY OF LEARNING
Vygotsky viewed development as a social and cultural process

Piaget viewed development from a constructionist perspective
Coined the idea of Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)
Cultural Learning

Two factors impact differences in cultural learning
1. Time apart from families in developed countries
2. Complexity of adult activity in the economy
Language Development

Early childhood is a sensitive period for language development

Language continues to progress at a rapid pace through fast mapping
There are cultural variations in fast mapping

Eastern languages learn verbs first

Western languages learn nouns first
Grammar continues to develop organically, such that by age 4, 90% of children use
correct grammar

How do we know children actually are learning the rules of language, and
simply not repeating words?
Social and Cultural Rules of language
Pragmatics

Refers to the social and contextual rules of language

E.g. what to/not to say

Understanding begins through gestures

By age 2, some basic understanding of conversation

By age 4, more sensitive to partners in conversation
EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
Emotional self-regulation improves

A major developmental task

Extreme emotional expressions decline with age
Emotional Regulation
Effortful control allow children to focus attention on managing emotions

Undercontrol can increase risk of externalising problems

Overcontrol can increase risk of internalising problems

Gender and cultural differences exist
Moral Development

Sociomoral emotions develop due to awareness of expected behaviour for the
child's culture

Empathy is important for moral development

Better at perspective taking

Promotes prosocial behaviour
Expectations of culture increase
Moral reasoning develops

Cultural similarities and differences exist

When children grasp moral standards as universal

What children view as moral can be different
How does it develop?

Custom complexes

Cultural practices embedded within broader belief systems

Modelling as variation (American Research)

Children learn by watching others who are rewarded and punished for
behaviours
Moral reasoning has some rudimentary beginnings in early childhood

Moral judgements - 3-4 years of age

Rigid
Gender Development

Age 3-4: gender identity intensifies

Age 5-7: gender constancy is attained

Parents and peers play important role in gender socialisation

Father more insistent about gender roles

Peers reinforce gender-appropriate behaviours
Gender Socialisation
Gender socialisation -> gender schemas

Behaviours and activities categorised as male or female

Tendency to confirm schemas and ignore inconsistency

Self-socialisation is maintaining consistency between behaviour and schemas
Parenting: Parenting Styles
Two dimensions to classify parenting styles

Demandingness - degree to which parents set down rule and expectations for
behaviour

Responsiveness - degree to which parents are sensitive to their children's
needs and express warmth
Cultural differences in traditional cultures

Asian cultures - filial piety

Cultures have different forms of warmth and control
Discipline and Punishment

Cultures differ

Western culture may emphasise authoritative approach

Japanese may emphasise withdrawal of love and shame
Culture influences consequences of discipline
Physical Punishment

Common in most parts of the world

Many studies (Western) have found detrimental effects of physical
punishment

African Americans and traditional cultures, the use of physical punishment in
early childhood is widespread
THE CHILD'S EXPANDING SOCIAL WORLD
Siblings and 'only children'

Sibling relationships include jealousy and ambivalence

Being an only child has shown mixed results: higher self-esteem, social
maturity and intelligence, less successful social relationships
Peers And Friends

Children are allotted more freedom to explore the social world from
toddlerhood to early childhood

Tend to see increased gender segregation in early childhood

Cultural differences in age groups in early childhood peer groups
-Western: tend to be of same age
-Developing countries: mixed age
Play in Early Childhood

Solitary and parallel play decline while cooperative and social play begin to
increase

Increased experience in preschool can lead to increased success in social
play
Aggression

Instrumental aggression: wants something and uses aggression to get it

Hostile aggression: signs of anger and harm

Relational aggression: involves damaging another person's reputation

Physical aggression tends to decline

Verbal and relational aggression tend to increase
Media use in Early Childhoo

The average 4 year-old has 2.1 hours of screen time per day

Effects include increased aggressive behaviour and susceptibility to
advertising

Positive effects include higher language and math skills

Electronic gaming is increasing with boys playing more than girls

More research on music may need to be done
Early Childhood Education

Traditionally started by age 6

Consistently beginning earlier in developed countries

Developing countries slightly later but changing
Preschool Quality
Has important role in outcomes

Education and training of teachers

Class size and child-teacher ratio

Age-appropriate materials and activities

Teacher-child interactions
Focus for high quality is developmentally appropriate educational practice
Great preschool quality associated with:

Higher verbal skills, stronger performance on memory and listening
comprehension

Children from low-income families who attend preschool score higher on
school-readiness

Social children are more independent and confident
Cross-culture Variation in Preschool

e.g. Japanese student score high in math, reading and science in middle and
high school

Early childhood education doesn't focus on academics

Culture stresses group involvement and not academics