PSY302: child development MIDTERM 1 Questions And Answers

why do we study children? - ANS - Raising children - Social policies - Understanding human nature Raising children can help us gain...? - ANS knowledge and information that can help parents and teachers teach and educate children. - helping children manage anger and other negative emotions. (e.g., "turtle technique") Choosing Social Policies - ANS Knowledge of child development permits informed decisions about social-policy questions that affect children. (testimonies) Understanding human nature - ANS Child-development research provides important insights into some of the most intriguing questions regarding human nature. what are the 3 historical foundations of developmental psych? - ANS - Early philosophical views - The emergence of a research-based approach - Child development as a field of science early philosophical perspectives 4th century B.C was the beginning of... - ANS ...the nature-nurture debate PLATO: innate knowledge; self-control and discipline ARISTOTLE: knowledge comes from experience; fitting to the need of the individual child The Emergence of a Research-Focused Approach -19th century. this had two converging forces: - ANS - Social reform movements - Charles Darwin's theory of evolution (1877: "A Biographical Sketch of an Infant") Charles Darwin () - ANS Baby biographies. Child development retraces the entire evolutionary history of the species. G. Stanley Hall (): - ANS the founder of developmental psychology. Questionnaire and large-scale scientific investigation child development as a science: influential theorists of development included: - ANS - Sigmund Freud - John Watson - Jean Piaget Sigmund Freud () Psychoanalytic theory - ANS The influence of unconscious desires on development The importance of early years' experience and emotional bond what are Freud: Three Components of Personality? - ANS ID("it", irrational)Gratify biological instincts immediately • EGO("I", rational) Find realistic solutions • SUPEREGO ("Above-me" moral, conscience) Internalize moral values and standards John Watson: () - Behaviouristic theory - ANS - Excluded subjective phenomena (ex. Emotions, thoughts, motives) - Emphasis on nurture: child development is controlled by environmental factors - Classical conditioning John Watsons classical conditioning: - ANS Rat (neutral stimulus) bang (unconditioned stimulus) Cry (UR) Rat (CS) Cry (CR) Jean Piaget () • Theory of cognitive development - ANS • Intelligence: a basic life process • Scheme/cognitive structure• Cognitive developmental stages • Discovery-based education nature - ANS biological endowment genes nurture - ANS environment (physical and social influences) Nature and nurture is the interaction of... - ANS biology and environment (Today: Both contribute to change (middle ground) - Either or debate to how nature and nurture interact) active: children actively contribute to - ANS their own development (today) passive: children are passive recipients of - ANS environmental influences (early) "the active child": children play an active role in their own development - ANS Young children: -Attentional patterns -Use of language -Play Older children and adolescents: Actively seek out their own environment continuous development: - ANS 1) Development is additive and gradual 2) Quantitative changes EX. a treeee discontinuous development - ANS (ex. A butterfly) 1) Development is a series of discrete stages 2) Qualitative changes continuity: how would you look at it? ex. height growth curve - ANS Examining height yearly from birth to 18 years discontinuity: how would you look at it? ex. height growth curve - ANS Examining annual weight changes (gains) in the same boy from birth to 18 years reading and writing is an example of - ANS continuous development motor skills are example of - ANS discontinuous development what are the 4 steps to the scientific method? - ANS -identify the problem/question. -formulate the hypothesis -gather data to test the hypothesis (reliability/validity) -analyse the data/formulate a conclusion what is the scientific method? - ANS refers to a set of procedures that guides research by identifying a problem, gathering data, concluding. First step is to identify a problem/question... EX. Mother's concerns: watching too much TV will affect baby's intelligence. Eating too much junk food will affect children's body build. Shall we all believe these thoughts and take actions? - ANS Not yet. Why? Data! In psychology, we use variables to measure behaviors. E.g., time of TV watching per day, amount of junk food eaten. we need to formulate our Hypothesis: a statement of prediction. - ANS E.g., the longer TV watching, the lower the intelligence. to gather data to test the hypothesis. Scientifically useful measures must have two important qualities which are... - ANS reliability and validity so that the data collected are reliable and valid.