My GCSE Edexcel Psychology Paper 1 Notes
Development
Development of the midbrain, forebrain and hindbrain
When the foetus is 3-4 weeks old, a long tube develops in the brain, which
is divided from the front into 3 distinct sections: (top to bottom) forebrain,
midbrain, hindbrain.
By 5 weeks old, the forebrain and hindbrain have each split into a further
two cavities. The forebrain splits into an anterior (front) and a posterior
(behind) section and the hindbrain splits through the middle.
Development of the cerebellum and the medulla
The cerebellum can be seen in the foetus at about 6 weeks and a year
after birth, it is three times the size. The cerebellum controls motor
movements and is involved in responses such as fear and in functions
such as processing sense information.
The medulla oblongata is in the hindbrain in front of the cerebellum. It
controls involuntary responses such as sneezing and breathing as well as
heart rate and blood pressure. It has formed by the time the foetus is 20
weeks old and connects the rest of the brain to the spinal cord.
Piaget’s stages of development
Sensorimotor stage: From birth to two years. Infants explore the world
using their senses. They learn by linking their five senses to objects they
are using. At around 6 months, they develop object permanence, which
means they learn that objects exist even when they cannot see them. By
the end of this stage, the child has a sense of themselves as existing
separately from the world around them.
Pre-operational stage: The symbolic function stage is from two to four
years and is when infants imitate others and use objects as symbols in
their play (symbolic play). They begin using words as symbols beginning
their language development. They are egocentric and show animism,
where they believe inanimate objects are alive. The intuitive thought
stage is from four to seven years and is when children begin to reason,
ask lots of questions, focus on one complex thing at a time (centration)
and have not understood conservation yet.
Concrete operational stage: From seven to twelve years. Children apply
rules and strategies with their thinking. They find abstract thinking
difficult such as morality. They can separate objects such as size
(seriation), identify objects based on size or appearance (classification),
reversibility (understanding if 2 + 4 = 6 then 6 - 2 = 4), understand
,length/quantity/number are not related to how things look (conservation)
and understand multiple viewpoints (decentration) which conservation lies
on.
Formal operational stage: From 12+ years. Children can think about more
than two things at a time and how time changes things. They also
understand events have a sequence. Furthermore, they can understand
actions have consequences. They understand that they and others exist in
the real world and separate from each other.
Schema: Mental representations of the world based on one’s own
experiences.
Assimilation: Incorporating new experiences into existing schemas.
Accommodation: A schema no longer works and must be changed to deal
with a new experience.
Equilibrium: When a child’s schemas work for them and explain all that
they experience, the child is in equilibrium. They are in a state of mental
balance. Children ask many questions to reach equilibrium.
Strengths:
Helped educators learn when it’s appropriate to teach children
particular topics and subjects based upon their mental development
Generated lots of research, including experiments, to show the
existence of the stages and how children build knowledge through
creating schemas
Weaknesses:
Didn’t look at the influence of social interactions or the cultural
setting, which can affect the development of patterns of thought
His data came from his interviews and observations with children so
his interpretations may have been subjective, leading to some bias
in his findings
Dweck’s mindset theory
Mindset: a set of beliefs someone has that guides how someone responds
to or interprets a situation.
Fixed mindset: believing your abilities are fixed and unchangeable.
Growth mindset: believing practice and effort can improve your abilities.
Key points of the theory:
Children should be praised for effort rather than ability.
Children can develop a fixed mindset and give up on challenges
because it isn’t ‘in them’ to succeed.
Teachers also have fixed/growth mindsets – a teacher with a fixed
mindset will focus on a child’s ability while a teacher with a growth
mindset sees a child can improve with perseverance.
Strengths:
Has practical applications. Teachers/parents can focus on praising
effort rather than ability to encourage children.
, Theory is positive, it shows that change is possible which helps
society.
Weaknesses:
Many supporting studies are conducted under controlled conditions
in a lab, meaning the results don’t represent real life and lack
validity.
Focus on the child’s mindset may explain problems with progress so
does not focus on the quality of what’s being taught and how it’s
being done which can affect the usefulness of the research.
Willingham’s learning theory
Factual knowledge precedes skill:
To learn and develop skills, you must have previous knowledge.
Knowledge frees up space in our working memory which allows us to
practice skills.
Practice and effort:
Practicing allows knowledge and skills to move from your short-term
memory to your long-term memory.
Enough practice allows you to do things automatically which leaves
space in your working memory to learn new things.
Strategies to support development:
Cognitive development – teachers should give students tasks that
require effort but are within their ability range.
Physical development – children should practice movements in the
same order until they become automatic which builds a skill set.
Social development – demonstrate appropriate social behaviour as
the child will use social learning theory to imitate the behaviour of
others.
Strengths:
Has practical applications, teachers and parents can use it to
positively praise children.
Experimental evidence is carried out in a controlled way which
allows researchers to make deliberate changes to see the effect
these have.
Weaknesses:
Doesn’t emphasize the importance of individual differences for
learning although some features of his theory relate to genes.
The theory suggests some skills such as self-regulation and
impulsivity are inherited, and some of the strategies Willingham
uses are not effective for inherited features.
Piaget and Inhelder (1959)
Aims:
Development
Development of the midbrain, forebrain and hindbrain
When the foetus is 3-4 weeks old, a long tube develops in the brain, which
is divided from the front into 3 distinct sections: (top to bottom) forebrain,
midbrain, hindbrain.
By 5 weeks old, the forebrain and hindbrain have each split into a further
two cavities. The forebrain splits into an anterior (front) and a posterior
(behind) section and the hindbrain splits through the middle.
Development of the cerebellum and the medulla
The cerebellum can be seen in the foetus at about 6 weeks and a year
after birth, it is three times the size. The cerebellum controls motor
movements and is involved in responses such as fear and in functions
such as processing sense information.
The medulla oblongata is in the hindbrain in front of the cerebellum. It
controls involuntary responses such as sneezing and breathing as well as
heart rate and blood pressure. It has formed by the time the foetus is 20
weeks old and connects the rest of the brain to the spinal cord.
Piaget’s stages of development
Sensorimotor stage: From birth to two years. Infants explore the world
using their senses. They learn by linking their five senses to objects they
are using. At around 6 months, they develop object permanence, which
means they learn that objects exist even when they cannot see them. By
the end of this stage, the child has a sense of themselves as existing
separately from the world around them.
Pre-operational stage: The symbolic function stage is from two to four
years and is when infants imitate others and use objects as symbols in
their play (symbolic play). They begin using words as symbols beginning
their language development. They are egocentric and show animism,
where they believe inanimate objects are alive. The intuitive thought
stage is from four to seven years and is when children begin to reason,
ask lots of questions, focus on one complex thing at a time (centration)
and have not understood conservation yet.
Concrete operational stage: From seven to twelve years. Children apply
rules and strategies with their thinking. They find abstract thinking
difficult such as morality. They can separate objects such as size
(seriation), identify objects based on size or appearance (classification),
reversibility (understanding if 2 + 4 = 6 then 6 - 2 = 4), understand
,length/quantity/number are not related to how things look (conservation)
and understand multiple viewpoints (decentration) which conservation lies
on.
Formal operational stage: From 12+ years. Children can think about more
than two things at a time and how time changes things. They also
understand events have a sequence. Furthermore, they can understand
actions have consequences. They understand that they and others exist in
the real world and separate from each other.
Schema: Mental representations of the world based on one’s own
experiences.
Assimilation: Incorporating new experiences into existing schemas.
Accommodation: A schema no longer works and must be changed to deal
with a new experience.
Equilibrium: When a child’s schemas work for them and explain all that
they experience, the child is in equilibrium. They are in a state of mental
balance. Children ask many questions to reach equilibrium.
Strengths:
Helped educators learn when it’s appropriate to teach children
particular topics and subjects based upon their mental development
Generated lots of research, including experiments, to show the
existence of the stages and how children build knowledge through
creating schemas
Weaknesses:
Didn’t look at the influence of social interactions or the cultural
setting, which can affect the development of patterns of thought
His data came from his interviews and observations with children so
his interpretations may have been subjective, leading to some bias
in his findings
Dweck’s mindset theory
Mindset: a set of beliefs someone has that guides how someone responds
to or interprets a situation.
Fixed mindset: believing your abilities are fixed and unchangeable.
Growth mindset: believing practice and effort can improve your abilities.
Key points of the theory:
Children should be praised for effort rather than ability.
Children can develop a fixed mindset and give up on challenges
because it isn’t ‘in them’ to succeed.
Teachers also have fixed/growth mindsets – a teacher with a fixed
mindset will focus on a child’s ability while a teacher with a growth
mindset sees a child can improve with perseverance.
Strengths:
Has practical applications. Teachers/parents can focus on praising
effort rather than ability to encourage children.
, Theory is positive, it shows that change is possible which helps
society.
Weaknesses:
Many supporting studies are conducted under controlled conditions
in a lab, meaning the results don’t represent real life and lack
validity.
Focus on the child’s mindset may explain problems with progress so
does not focus on the quality of what’s being taught and how it’s
being done which can affect the usefulness of the research.
Willingham’s learning theory
Factual knowledge precedes skill:
To learn and develop skills, you must have previous knowledge.
Knowledge frees up space in our working memory which allows us to
practice skills.
Practice and effort:
Practicing allows knowledge and skills to move from your short-term
memory to your long-term memory.
Enough practice allows you to do things automatically which leaves
space in your working memory to learn new things.
Strategies to support development:
Cognitive development – teachers should give students tasks that
require effort but are within their ability range.
Physical development – children should practice movements in the
same order until they become automatic which builds a skill set.
Social development – demonstrate appropriate social behaviour as
the child will use social learning theory to imitate the behaviour of
others.
Strengths:
Has practical applications, teachers and parents can use it to
positively praise children.
Experimental evidence is carried out in a controlled way which
allows researchers to make deliberate changes to see the effect
these have.
Weaknesses:
Doesn’t emphasize the importance of individual differences for
learning although some features of his theory relate to genes.
The theory suggests some skills such as self-regulation and
impulsivity are inherited, and some of the strategies Willingham
uses are not effective for inherited features.
Piaget and Inhelder (1959)
Aims:
