Dusti Sisk-Fandrich, Psy.D. PS355 Developmental Psychology Kaplan University

 This week's seminar is about the importance of attachment and social relationships in early childhood. We will discuss Erikson's theory of psychosocial stages and how the crisis of trust vs. mistrust can set the stage for a multitude of social and emotional problems later in life.

 Basic Principles of Cognitive Development  Children make sense of the world through schemes  Children adapt to their environment as they develop by adding and refining their schemes  Schemes change from physical, to functional, conceptual, and abstract as the child develops

 Assimilation and Accommodation  When new experiences fit into existing schemes it is called assimilation  When schemes have to be modified as a consequence of new experiences, it is called accommodation  Assimilation is required to benefit from experience. Accommodation allows for dealing with completely new data or experience

 Equilibration  Equilibrium: balance between assimilation and accommodation  Disequilibrium: more accommodation than assimilation  Equilibration: inadequate schemes are replaced with more advanced and mature schemes Equilibration occurs three times during development, resulting in 4 stages of cognitive development

 Periods of cognitive development:  Sensorimotor Period (0-2 years)  Preoperational Period (2-7 years)  Concrete Operational Period (7-11 years)  Formal Operations Period (11 years & up)

 Major contributions  Zone of proximal development The difference between what children can do with and without help from a more experienced guide Teachers should attempt to keep students in this zone in order to achieve maximum achievement  Scaffolding Giving just enough assistance Studies show that students do not learn as well when told everything to do, nor when left alone to discover on their own

 Major contributions (con’t.)  Private speech Children talk to themselves as they go about difficult tasks This speech is not intended for others, but for self- guidance and regulation Eventually this private speech becomes internalized and becomes inner speech….which was Vygotsky’s term for thought

 Basic Trust vs. Mistrust (infancy)  Infants are dependent on caregivers to meet their needs and provide comfort  The responsiveness and consistency with which caregivers meet these needs helps to develop a basic sense of trust and openness in the child  If these needs are not met, the child develops wariness and a lack of comfort

 Evolutionary Psychology views many human behaviors as successful adaptations to the environment  Security in the presence of another, along with need for physical closeness is attachment  Bowlby noticed that children who form attachments to an adult are more likely to survive

 This week's seminar is about the importance of attachment and social relationships in early childhood. We will discuss Erikson's theory of psychosocial stages and how the crisis of trust vs. mistrust can set the stage for a multitude of social and emotional problems later in life.