PYC 4805
Developmental
Psychology
CHAPTER SIX
Chapter six – Off to school: Cognitive and physical
development in middle school
Theme 1 – Cognitive development in middle school
Theme 2 – Intelligence in middle childhood - entering
the social world: Socioemotional development
in infancy and early childhood
• Departmental instructions
• Summaries of themes
• Exam style essays
• Multiple choice questions for studying
• Memorandum explaining correct answers
• Comparison of intelligence theories
QUEEN KATHERINE’S HONOURS PSYCHOLOGY NOTES
, PYC4805–Developmental Psychology All rights reserved. P a g e |1
The Following Notes are Available in This Series –
only purchase the chapters you need!
✓ Chapter one – The study of human development
Theme 1 – Issues in human development
Theme 2 – Developmental theories
✓ Chapter two – Biological foundations: Heredity, prenatal
development and birth
Theme 1 – Evaluation of threats during a sensitive period and how development can be
harmed and possibly corrected
✓ Chapter Three – Tools for exploring the world: Physical,
perceptual and motor development
Theme 1 – Competency of newborns and infants
Theme 2 – Locomotor development and the toddler’s emerging sense of self
✓ Chapter four – The emergence of thought and language:
Cognitive development in infancy and early childhood
Theme 1 – Critical comparison of Piaget and Vygotsky’s views on the promotion of
cognitive development
Theme 2 – Information processing during infancy and early childhood and the
connections between emotional, cognitive and social development
✓ Chapter five – Entering the social world: Socioemotional
development in infancy and early childhood
Theme 1 – Erikson’s early stages of psychosocial development
Theme 2 – Development pf attachment from infancy to preschool
Theme 3 – Gender roles and gender identity
✓ Chapter six – Off to school: Cognitive and physical
development in middle school
Theme 1 – Cognitive development in middle school
Theme 2 – Intelligence in middle childhood
✓ Chapter seven – Expanding social horizons: Socioemotional
development in middle school
Theme 1 – The need for popularity and the advent of social media influence during
adolescence
Theme 2 – Dimensions and styles of parenting and its influence on adolescent
development
✓ Chapter eight – Rites of passage: Physical and cognitive
development in adolescence
Theme 1 – Physical and cognitive development in adolescence
Prepared by QUEEN KATHERINE for Psychology Honours Developmental Psychology
, PYC4805–Developmental Psychology All rights reserved. P a g e |2
✓ Chapter nine – Moving into the adult social world:
Socioecmotional development in adolescence
Theme 1 – Identity and self-esteem
✓ Chapter ten – Becoming an adult: Physical, cognitive and
personality development in young adulthood
Theme 1 – Evaluation of emerging adulthood
Theme 2 – Cognitive development: Intelligence in adults
Theme 3 – Personality in young adulthood
✓ Chapter Eleven – Being with others: Relationships in young
and middle childhood
Theme 1 – Relationships in young and middle adulthood
Theme 2 – Life styles and relationships
✓ Chapter twelve – Working and relaxing
Theme 1 – Work and family
Theme 2 – Leisure activities adulthood
✓ Chapter thirteen – Making it in midlife: The biopshological
challenges of middle adulthood
Theme 1 – Stress and coping in adulthood according to Richard Lazarus and Susan
Folkman’s paradigm
Theme 2 – Cognitive development
Theme 3 – Personality development
✓ Chapter fourteen – The personal context of later life:
Physical, cognitive, and mental health issues
Theme 1 – Genetic and environmental factors in average longevity
Theme 2 – Biological theories of ageing
Theme 3 – Changes in cognitive processes
✓ Chapter fifteen – Social aspects of later life: Psychosocial,
retirement, relationship, and societal issues
Theme 1 – Evaluation of emerging adulthood
Theme 2 – Integrity and well-being in late life
Theme 3 - Retirement
✓ Chapter Sixteen – Dying and bereavement
Theme 1 – Thinking about death
Theme 2 – The grieving process
Theme 3 – Dying and bereavement experiences across the life span
Prepared by QUEEN KATHERINE for Psychology Honours Developmental Psychology
, PYC4805–Developmental Psychology All rights reserved. P a g e |3
Chapter six
Off to school: Cognitive and physical
development in middle school
Theme 1
Cognitive development in middle school
Guidelines
Compare Piaget’s concrete operational period versus the formal
operational period. Also pay attention to how information processing
impacts memory and learning.
Hint: Your discussion must be substantiated by references to research
findings.
Piaget’s concrete operational period
Consider the following three important limits to pre-operational thinking.
✓ Preschoolers are egocentric, believing that others see the world as they do.
✓ Preschoolers sometimes confuse appearances with reality.
✓ Preschoolers are unable to reverse their thinking.
None of these limits apply to children in the concrete-operational
stage, which extends from approximately 7 to 11 years.
• Egocentrism wanes gradually as youngsters have more experiences with other
people who assert their own perspectives on the world.
• Understanding that events can be interpreted in different ways leads to the
realisation that appearances can be deceiving.
• Also, thought can be reversed because school-age children have acquired
mental operations, actions that can be performed on objects or ideas and that
consistently yield a result.
Prepared by QUEEN KATHERINE for Psychology Honours Developmental Psychology
Developmental
Psychology
CHAPTER SIX
Chapter six – Off to school: Cognitive and physical
development in middle school
Theme 1 – Cognitive development in middle school
Theme 2 – Intelligence in middle childhood - entering
the social world: Socioemotional development
in infancy and early childhood
• Departmental instructions
• Summaries of themes
• Exam style essays
• Multiple choice questions for studying
• Memorandum explaining correct answers
• Comparison of intelligence theories
QUEEN KATHERINE’S HONOURS PSYCHOLOGY NOTES
, PYC4805–Developmental Psychology All rights reserved. P a g e |1
The Following Notes are Available in This Series –
only purchase the chapters you need!
✓ Chapter one – The study of human development
Theme 1 – Issues in human development
Theme 2 – Developmental theories
✓ Chapter two – Biological foundations: Heredity, prenatal
development and birth
Theme 1 – Evaluation of threats during a sensitive period and how development can be
harmed and possibly corrected
✓ Chapter Three – Tools for exploring the world: Physical,
perceptual and motor development
Theme 1 – Competency of newborns and infants
Theme 2 – Locomotor development and the toddler’s emerging sense of self
✓ Chapter four – The emergence of thought and language:
Cognitive development in infancy and early childhood
Theme 1 – Critical comparison of Piaget and Vygotsky’s views on the promotion of
cognitive development
Theme 2 – Information processing during infancy and early childhood and the
connections between emotional, cognitive and social development
✓ Chapter five – Entering the social world: Socioemotional
development in infancy and early childhood
Theme 1 – Erikson’s early stages of psychosocial development
Theme 2 – Development pf attachment from infancy to preschool
Theme 3 – Gender roles and gender identity
✓ Chapter six – Off to school: Cognitive and physical
development in middle school
Theme 1 – Cognitive development in middle school
Theme 2 – Intelligence in middle childhood
✓ Chapter seven – Expanding social horizons: Socioemotional
development in middle school
Theme 1 – The need for popularity and the advent of social media influence during
adolescence
Theme 2 – Dimensions and styles of parenting and its influence on adolescent
development
✓ Chapter eight – Rites of passage: Physical and cognitive
development in adolescence
Theme 1 – Physical and cognitive development in adolescence
Prepared by QUEEN KATHERINE for Psychology Honours Developmental Psychology
, PYC4805–Developmental Psychology All rights reserved. P a g e |2
✓ Chapter nine – Moving into the adult social world:
Socioecmotional development in adolescence
Theme 1 – Identity and self-esteem
✓ Chapter ten – Becoming an adult: Physical, cognitive and
personality development in young adulthood
Theme 1 – Evaluation of emerging adulthood
Theme 2 – Cognitive development: Intelligence in adults
Theme 3 – Personality in young adulthood
✓ Chapter Eleven – Being with others: Relationships in young
and middle childhood
Theme 1 – Relationships in young and middle adulthood
Theme 2 – Life styles and relationships
✓ Chapter twelve – Working and relaxing
Theme 1 – Work and family
Theme 2 – Leisure activities adulthood
✓ Chapter thirteen – Making it in midlife: The biopshological
challenges of middle adulthood
Theme 1 – Stress and coping in adulthood according to Richard Lazarus and Susan
Folkman’s paradigm
Theme 2 – Cognitive development
Theme 3 – Personality development
✓ Chapter fourteen – The personal context of later life:
Physical, cognitive, and mental health issues
Theme 1 – Genetic and environmental factors in average longevity
Theme 2 – Biological theories of ageing
Theme 3 – Changes in cognitive processes
✓ Chapter fifteen – Social aspects of later life: Psychosocial,
retirement, relationship, and societal issues
Theme 1 – Evaluation of emerging adulthood
Theme 2 – Integrity and well-being in late life
Theme 3 - Retirement
✓ Chapter Sixteen – Dying and bereavement
Theme 1 – Thinking about death
Theme 2 – The grieving process
Theme 3 – Dying and bereavement experiences across the life span
Prepared by QUEEN KATHERINE for Psychology Honours Developmental Psychology
, PYC4805–Developmental Psychology All rights reserved. P a g e |3
Chapter six
Off to school: Cognitive and physical
development in middle school
Theme 1
Cognitive development in middle school
Guidelines
Compare Piaget’s concrete operational period versus the formal
operational period. Also pay attention to how information processing
impacts memory and learning.
Hint: Your discussion must be substantiated by references to research
findings.
Piaget’s concrete operational period
Consider the following three important limits to pre-operational thinking.
✓ Preschoolers are egocentric, believing that others see the world as they do.
✓ Preschoolers sometimes confuse appearances with reality.
✓ Preschoolers are unable to reverse their thinking.
None of these limits apply to children in the concrete-operational
stage, which extends from approximately 7 to 11 years.
• Egocentrism wanes gradually as youngsters have more experiences with other
people who assert their own perspectives on the world.
• Understanding that events can be interpreted in different ways leads to the
realisation that appearances can be deceiving.
• Also, thought can be reversed because school-age children have acquired
mental operations, actions that can be performed on objects or ideas and that
consistently yield a result.
Prepared by QUEEN KATHERINE for Psychology Honours Developmental Psychology
