1. Module 17 Part II
Infancy & Childhood

2. Cognition and Intelligence
Pioneered by Jean Piaget
Studied how children solve problems in natural settings
Assumes that cognitive development is influenced by maturation, experience, and social learning
Proposes 4 major stages

3. Constructivist View Intelligence is a form of adaptation—a matter of
appropriate fit
Individuals use schemata to understand features of the world: these are the vehicle of adaptation
These are developed via
• Assimilation: use old methods (schema) to deal with new situations
• Accommodation: changes old methods to adjust to new situations
This happens when experience fails to conform to
existing schemata

4. Methods Observational and interview studies of development
Observed and recorded young children in their play
Questioned them to elicit how they understood the world
Piaget: What makes the wind?
Julia: The trees.
Piaget: How do you know?
Julia: I saw them waving their arms.
Piaget: How does that make the wind?
Julia (waving her hand in front of his face): Like this. Only they
are bigger. And there are lots of trees.
Piaget: What makes the wind on the ocean?
Julia: It blows there from the land. No. It's the waves...
Are Julia’s explanations intelligible?

6. Sensorimotor stage (birth - 2 years old)
The child, through physical interaction with his or her
environment, develops a set of schema for interacting with objects.
Initially tied directly to what the child can interact with (out of sight, gone)-object permanence
~9 mos, develop object permanence

7. Preoperational stage (ages 2-7)
The child recognizes that objects continue to exist when out of sight; talks about & draws them; can pretend
Uses words & images in speech & play
Represents world from an egocentric point of view
Not able to conceptualize abstract &needs concrete, physical situations
• Fails conservation tasks; conservation (v): when shape of object/substance is changed, total amount remains same

8. Do they both weigh the same, or does one weigh more than the other?
Original Setup
Alter as Shown
Ask Child
Usual Answer
Which has more liquid?
Conservation of liquid
Has more
Do they both weigh the same, or does one weigh more than the other?
Conservation of mass
Weighs more
Are there still as many pennies as nickels, or more of one than the other?
Conservation of number
More
Are they the same length, or is one longer?
Conservation of length
Is longer
Is one pencil as long as the other, or is one longer?
Conservation of length

9. Cognitive Development Preoperational Stage
“Cut it up into A LOT of slices, Mom. I’m really hungry!!”

10. Concrete operations (ages 7-11)
Begins to be able to take other points of view. As physical experience accumulates, the child starts to represent things allocentrically.
Can classify according to more than one category
Some abstract problem solving is also possible at this stage. For example, arithmetic equations can be solved with numbers, not just with objects.

11. Formal operations (12-adulthood)
Child's cognitive structures are like those of an adult and include theorizing and abstract reasoning; can think logically

13. Cognitive Development
“Thinking in a New Key”
Concrete to abstract
If…then
Alternatives
Future perspective
Gray areas
Empathy & Perspective

14. Evaluation of Piaget’s Theory
Impact:
Far more comprehensive than any other theory at the time
Triggered a lot of research & development of additional theories of cognitive development
Many of his ideas have been correct & replicated
●Criticisms:
-4 stages not as rigid or orderly as he proposed
-Theory does not explain how or why thinking occurs
-children failed some of tasks because they did not understand directions

15. New Information Genetic factors:
Now identify genetic factors that influence memory, learning & cognitive abilities
Recent studies have shown how genetic factors interact with a child’s environmental & learning experiences in the development of cognitive abilities.
●Brain development:
-New knowledge of how the brain develops; not known when Piaget proposed his theory

16. Social Development
Social development: how a person develops a sense of self-identity, develops relationships with others, and develops the kinds of social skills important in social interactions.
Three theories

17. Freud’s Psychosexual Stage
Five developmental periods during which -individual seeks pleasure from different areas of the body that are associated with sexual feelings
-emphasizes first five years as most important to social & personality development.
Focuses on conflicts between child’s desires & parents’ wishes.

18. Stage 1 Oral stage; early infancy-first 18 months
-Potential conflict: infant’s pleasure is centered around the mouth; pleasure-seeking activities: sucking, chewing, biting
-Fixation at this stage: oral wishes gratified too much or little, continue to seek oral gratification as an adult

19. Stage 2 Anal stage; late infancy-1 ½-3 years
Potential conflict: infant’s pleasure seeking is centered on the anus & its functions of elimination
Fixation at this stage: continue to engage in activities related to retention or elimination, such as being stingy or being rigid; for elimination, being generous or messy

20. Stage 3 Phallic stage; early childhood-3-6 years
Potential conflict: when the infant’s pleasure seeking is centered on the genitals.
Competes with parent of the same sex for the affections & pleasure of the parent of the opposite sex
Problems in resolving: Electra complex-feelings of inferiority for women & something to prove for men

21. Stages 4 & 5 Latency stage; 6 years-puberty
Potential conflict: child represses sexual thoughts & engages in nonsexual activities, developing social & intellectual skills
Genital stage; puberty through adulthood
Potential conflict: individual has renewed sexual desires he/she seeks to fulfill through relationships with members of the opposite sex
If conflicts resolved in first 3 stages, develops loving relationships & healthy & mature personality

22. Erickson’s Psychosocial Stages
Psychosocial stages: 8 developmental periods during which an individual’s primary goal is to satisfy desires associated with social needs
Stage 1: Trust vs. mistrust; birth-first year
Problem: needs care & attention
met not met
develops world is uncaring;
basic trust mistrustful

23. Stage 2 Autonomy vs. shame & doubt; 1-3 years
Problem: battles of wills between hers & parents’ wishes
met not met
develop autonomy feels independence
is bad; feels shame & doubt

24. Stage 3 Initiative vs. guilt; 3-5 years
Problem: child needs to assume responsibility & make plans
met not met
ability to plan feels guilty; feels
& initiate new things unable to plan for
future

25. Stage 4 Industry vs. inferiority; 5-12 years
Problem: child needs to direct her energy into working at & completing tasks
met not met
Develops industry difficulty applying oneself; feeling or inferiority
●Identity vs. role confusion; adolescence
Problem: needs to be responsible & plan
met not met
sense of confidence role confusion; low
& positive identity self- esteem & socially withdrawn

27. Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory
Social cognitive theory: emphasizes the importance of learning through observation, imitation, and self-reward in development of social skills, interactions & behaviors; behaviors are self-motivated, or intrinsic.

28. Overcoming Childhood Difficulties
Vulnerability: psychological or environmental difficulties that make children more at risk for developing later personality, behavioral, or social problems.
Resiliency: various personality, family, or environmental factors that compensate for increased life stresses so that expected problems do not develop.
-Factors that contribute to resiliency: positive temperaments, substitute caregiver, social support, care & trust from their peers & caregivers

29. Overcoming Childhood Difficulties cont.
Studies on resilient children show:
Traumatic events do not necessarily lead to later social-emotional problems
Loving, supporting caregiver can substitute for a disinterested parent
Children observe & imitate normal; social behaviors modeled by caregivers
Ex: study of children from Kauai

30. Gender Differences
Gender identity: individual’s subjective experience & feelings of being a female or male
Gender roles: traditional or stereotypic behaviors, attitudes & personality traits that parents, peers & society expect us to have because we are male or female.

31. Question
What was your favorite toy when you were a child? What made it the best?

32. Gender Differences cont.
Social role theory: emphasizes influence of social & cognitive processes on how we interpret, organize, and use information; authority figures reward different behaviors in boys than in girls; learn gender roles
-possibly arise from different divisions of labor
Cognitive developmental theory: as children develop mental skills & interact with their environments, they learn one set of rules for male behaviors & another set of rules for female behaviors.

33. Gender Differences cont.
Gender schema: sets of information & rules that say how either a male or female should think or behave.

34. Gender Roles New theory:
Evolutionary theory: emphasizes genetic/biological forces; gender differences due to evolution

35. Social Development Gender roles still influence career choices
For males, encourage aggressive behavior
● Different brains
-Women’s brains are more effectively wired for processing, coding, and remembering emotional experiences
-Women-higher rate of clinical depression than men
-Women process language using both sides of the brains; men use only left side

36. Freud’s Psychosexual Stages
SUMMARY OF FREUD'S STAGES OF PSYCHOSEXUAL DEVELOPMENT
STAGE
APPROXIMATE AGES
EROTIC FOCUS
KEY TASKS AND EXPERIENCES
Oral
0-1
Mouth (sucking, biting)
Weaning (from breast or bottle)
Anal
1-3
Anus (expelling or retaining feces)
Toilet training
Phallic
3-6
Genitals (masturbating)
Identifying with adult role models; coping with Oedipal crisis/electra complex
latency
6-12
None (sexually repressed)
Expanding social contacts
Genital
Adulthood
Genitals (Adult sexuality)
Establishing family; Generation of new life

37. Additions to Piaget’s theory
Stages of cognitive development:
Sensorimotor:
Stranger anxiety
-formal operational
Potential for mature reasoning