Learning Objectives and Study Guide Unit One Chapter 1 Define child development child psychology Child psychology is an area of study devoted to understanding constancy and change from conception through adolescence It is interdisciplinary so it influences different aspects of life dynamic bc it is constantly changing and evolving Describe and give examples of physical cognitive and emotional and social development Physical Perceptual and motor skills milestones kids reach throughout their Cognitive Common sense object permanence attention memory Emotional social Identity achievement socialization learning the rules of life with their body size head becomes more proportional academic skills language creativity problem solving social interaction forming relationships interrelated thinking skills to interact with others How do these three domains overlap and interact with one another They overlap and interact because they all influence each other and are ex Physical cognitive As brain develops allows for more prominent ex Cognitive social ability to talk and develop language skills effects ability Describe the 5 main periods into which development is often divided including the prenatal period infancy and toddlerhood early childhood middle childhood and adolescence Periods of development Prenatal period from conception to birth When the body goes through the Infancy toddlerhood from birth to 2 years Kids start to speak and learn most dramatic change in a short amount of time When a one celled organism is transformed into a human baby adjusting to life in the surrounding world language cognitive walk physical temperament patterns self awareness socio emotional Infancy spans the first year toddlerhood spans the second during which children take their first independent steps marking a shift to greater autonomy The first intimate ties to others motor skills refined kids are in preschool so they learn to share getting along with others friendships make believe play blossoms Morality becomes present Early childhood From 2 6 years old Body becomes longer and leaner Middle childhood From 6 11 years old Children start to master reading math skills may become more independent learn about the wider world and master new responsibilities and resemble those of adults Puberty leads to sexual maturity and an adult sized body Autonomy from family and definition of personal values and goals Adolescence From 11 18 years old Initiates the transition into adulthood Describe the potential 6th period of development emerging adulthood Why have researchers proposed emerging adulthood as a 6th period of development and under what circumstances might it exist Emerging adulthood From 18 25 years old Haven t completely grasped independence adult roles Intensify explorations of love career and personal values before commitments Researchers proposed emerging adulthood as 6th period of development bc the transition to adult roles has become increasingly prolonged Might exist in countries in US because young adults go to college and may assume adult responsibilities but still rely on parents Might not see this in third world countries because of lack of education and being forced to take on full time adult roles What are theories and why are they important What three things should a good theory do Theories are orderly integrated evidence based sets of statements that describe explain predict behavior They are important because they provide organizing frameworks for our observations of children ex guide our observations of children give meaning to what we observe how children learn and adapt to those teaching habits and can provide a good basis for practical action to be taken if verified by research Once a theory helps us understand development we are in a much better position to know how to improve the welfare and treatment of children A good theory should 1 describe the behaviors of babies 2 explain how and why infants develop 3 predict the consequences Describe the debate concerning continuous vs discontinuous development What do theorists of continuous development believe What do theorists of discontinuous development believe Continuous development is a process of gradually adding more of the same types of skills that were there to begin with It is also said that development is a smooth CONTINUOUS process Children development progresses gradually with new skills and knowledge added at a uniform pace understanding and responding to the world emerge at specific times It is also sad that development takes place in DISCONTINUOUS stages Children change rapidly as they step up to a new level of development Discontinuous development is a process in which new ways of and then change very little for a while With each step the child interprets and responds to the world in a qualitatively different way specific to that period Stage Qualitative changes in thinking feeling and behaving that characterize specific periods of development climbing a staircase Each step corresponds to a more mature reorganized way of functioning This theory was believed by Piaget What are stages and how do they fit into the debate about continuous vs discontinuous development Stages are qualitative changes in thinking feeling and behaving that characterize specific periods of development climbing a staircase This fits in with the DISCONTINUOUS development in the sense that each step corresponds to a more mature reorganized way of functioning This stage theory also assumes that children undergo periods of rapid transformation as they step up from one stage to the next alternating with plateaus during which they stand solidly within a stage change is fairly sudden rather than gradual and ongoing Describe the debate concerning one course of development vs many courses of development What do theorists who think there is one course of development believe What do theorists who think there are many courses of development believe What are contexts and how do they fit in to this debate One course of development is the believe that all humans follow the same sequence of development which is believed by Stage Theorists On the other hand theorists also believe that each individual has a unique sequence of development and we have learned that children grow up in distinct contexts unique combinations of person and environmental circumstances that can result in different paths of change unique sequence of development Contexts are believed by theorists who
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