Chapter 5, 6, and 7 Early and Middle childhood

Early and middle childhood Early childhood Age 3 to 5 Middle childhood Age 6 to 11

Maslow on self-esteem Maslow’s need levels 1. Survival (birth) 2. Safety (infancy) 3. Support (early childhood) 4. Self-esteem (midchildhood-teens) 5.

Freud and Erikson stages in early-middle childhood FREUD Early childhood (age 2-4) Anal phase Middle childhood (age 6-11) Latency period ERIKSON Early childhood (age 3 to 6) Initiative vs guilt Middle childhood (age 6-puberty) Industry vs inferiority

Cultural Differences and Self-Esteem Collectivist culture emphasizes harmony, modesty, group is more important than the individual. Individualistic culture values individual differences, self-esteem

Jean Piaget Preoperational 3. Concrete operations 4.

Piaget’s concepts Conservation Reversibility Centering Seriation Identity constancy Animism Egocentrism

Conservation tests

Piaget’s Preoperational stage Age 3 to school age (5-7) Inability to go beyond personal perceptions and think conceptually Can’t think qualitatively like an adult. Cannot reason logically, look beyond appearance of objects. They understand only what they can see.

Piaget’s Concrete Operational Stage: Age 5 to 7 Skills develop gradually, by age 8 firmly into concrete operations Understands conservation No more animism Identity constancy understood Begins to understand basic math

Evaluating Piaget Same problem with all stage theories Individual differences are ignored (not everyone goes through stages in the same way at/over the same time) Cultural differences ignored Children are less egocentric than Piaget believed Did not emphasize active teaching, believed children automatically grew out of a preoperational worldview

Lev Vygotsky Zone of proximal development Scaffolding

Maturing frontal lobes Compared to other brain lobes it develops last (to age 25) As it matures the ability to think clearly and critically improves

Information processing theory Brain functions much like a computer (innate hardware; learned software)

Developmental concepts Executive function Rehearsal Inner speech

Language development By age 2 children put words together Phonemes: sound that forms words Morphemes: basic meaning unit “Me want juice” = 3 MLU Semantics: word meanings Syntax: Grammatical rules Overextention: “I eated it” Underextension: bus or train is “car”

Theory of mind Thinking about thinking Aspects of thinking: Self awareness Intrinsic motivation Prosocial behavior Altruism Empathy

Aggression Externalizing behavior Hostile attributional bias Instrumental aggression Reactive aggression Relational aggression Induction

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder Most common childhood learning disorder Mostly in boys Symptoms: excessive restlessness and distractibility

Treating ADHD Reduce distractions Allow special time for exercise Give special time and help with activities involving several steps Minimize need to multitask Consider stimulant medication Avoid power assertion. Don’t put down the child as a “bad kid”

Childhood emotions Shame Guilt Learned helplessness

Divorce Children of divorce are at high risk for social, academic, or mental problems Contributing Factors: Economic strain of single-parent home Difficulties before, during, after divorce

Childhood play Gender schema theory Collaborative pretend play Rough and tumble play

Friendship Similarities, trust, emotional support Stimulates personal development: Friends enhance the developing self Friendships help teach us to manage emotions Friendships help us to handle conflict

Bullying When one or more children (or adults) harass a specific person for systematic abuse Peaks in late middle childhood school and early adolescence Chronic victims feel anxious, rejected, low self worth Cyberbullying

Parenting Authoritarian Permissive Rejecting-neglecting Authoritative Acculturation

Child abuse Parent personality traits Family stress, poverty Vulnerable child Resilient children

Intelligence and IQ Tests Validity and reliability Intelligence Tests Measures scholastic aptitude (“school smarts”) WISC-R (Wechsler series) used in elementary school Tests verbal and performance skills Achievement Tests Tests ability in specific subjects

The Bell Curve of Intelligence 95% score between 70 and % score between 85 and 115 Average: 100 Gifted 130+, top 2% Borderline: 90 Mentally retarded: 70 and below. Mild, moderate, profound, or severe

3-factor intelligence theory: (Robert Sternberg) Intelligence is an interaction of three factors: Analytical Creative Practical

Multiple Intelligences (Howard Gardner) Verbal Logic-math Visual-spatial Body-kinesthetic Interpersonal Intrapersonal Musical Naturalist Existential

Mental retardation (MR) Tested IQ 70 or below confirms it Four levels of severity: Mild Moderate Severe Profound

Learning Disability (LD) When IQ is not significantly low (not MR) Difficulty in one or more school subjects

Childhood Obesity Assessed by BMI: ratio of body weight to height Obesity: BMI at or above 95 th % compared to U.S. norms for children in the 1970s

U.S. Children 6-11 classified as Obese

Obesity factors Lack of physical activity Studies suggest time watching TV correlates with obesity Oversized portions of food Negative attitudes toward the obese Teasing, stereotyping Studies suggest gym teachers have negative attitude (obese seen as slow and clumsy)