PSYC140 / PSYC 140 Module 4 Exam Questions and Answers | Latest 2026–2027 Update | Developmental (Lifespan) Psychology | Portage Learning | Verified Solutions | Grade A

PSYC140 / PSYC 140 Module 4 Exam Questions and Answers | Latest 2026–2027 Update | Developmental (Lifespan) Psychology | Portage Learning | Verified Solutions | Grade A Q: This researcher emphasized the role of the teacher and expert in learning. Answer Vygotsky Q: This researcher was pessimistic about a child's abilities to learn by himself. Answer Vygotsky Q: According to Vygotsky, in an ideal learning situation, adults give much assistance to young children early on. As the children become more competent, the adult begins to withdraw direct assistance. This illustrates the zone of _______________. proximal Answer development Q: Which Piagetian substage occurs during the Preoperational stage: Secondary Circular Reactions, Symbolic Function, or Answer Metacognition. Symbolic Function Q: Why do young children fail conservation tasks, according to Piaget? Answer Centration Q: ____________ according to Piaget, is the ability to understand that altering physical appearance does not necessarily change the amount of that substance. Answer Conservation Q: Which theorist, Piaget or Vygotsky, thought that collaborative work with teachers or older peers is the key to cognitive development? Answer Vygotsky Q: True or false? Gender constancy is similar to Piaget's idea of conservation. Answer True Q: According to Piaget, ____________ are mental activities. Answer Operations Q: Which theorist, Piaget or Vygotsky, thought that self-discovery was key to cognitive development? Answer Piaget Q: Which of the following accurately describes Discovery Learning? Answer Children learn by actively exploring—emphasis on hands- on learning. Q: Which of the following accurately describes Piaget's views on assimilation and accommodation? Answer Problem-solving skills must be discovered; they cannot be taught. Q: This researcher focused on how young children experiment on their world in order to learn about it. Answer Piaget Q: True or false? Myelination can impact the way that children think. Answer True Q: Synaptic ____________ occurs when under-utilized synaptic connections die away. Answer Pruning Q: The process by which neurons become insulated with a layer of fat cells is known as ____________. Answer Myelination Q: True or false? Myelination can impact the way that children think. Answer True Q: Gender ____________ theory states that children learn what society thinks about male- and female-appropriate behaviors and that they organize new information according to these models. Answer Schema Q: True or false? Children in early childhood as well as elementary school tend to associate with children of the same gender. Answer True Q: Which of Baumrind's parenting styles is associated with the most negative long term outcomes? Answer Neglectful Q: True or false? It is common for young children to engage in gender stereotyping. Answer True Q: True or false? Neglect is not a form of child abuse. Answer False Q: True or false? Researchers on gender and early childhood indicate that it's rare for children of this age group to behave in very genderstereotypical ways. Answer False Q: True or false? Children are not born with the ability to take another's perspective. Answer True Q: Gender ____________ theory states that children learn what society thinks about male- and female-appropriate behaviors and that they organize new information according to these models. Answer Schema Q: True or false? When children play pretend games with one another, they are showing a reduction in egocentrism. Answer True Q: Why is parallel play an example of egocentrism? Answer Egocentrism refers to a problem with taking another person's perspective or point of view, they are focused on their own play rather than others. When they talk, its more so them talking at people versus with them. Q: Short essay questions should be answered in full sentences. Answer Why do modern researchers often find that young children are able to overcome some aspects of egocentrism at younger ages than Piaget had thought? Mordern researchers often found that young children where able to overcome some aspects of egocentrisim because they believed that Piagets theory of the Mountain Task was hard, the children did not understand the logical context and intent of the experimenter, the materials piaget used where not unfamiliar, and the language was complicated. Hence, the researchers used easier models like the Policeman Doll Study and Turn Table Model that the children understood easily. Also, the materials used were familiar like in the turn table model where "Grover" the cartoon character from "Seasame Street" was introduced. Finally, the experiment was properly explained to the children and even when they did not get it right it was explained further and they were allowed to try again. [teachers response] Understanding the task is key. Other methods than the Three Mountains Task are perhaps more understandable to young children and can result in decentered (less egocentric) responses. Give an example of a child exhibiting animism, as defined by Piaget. Answer The child stating that their doll is sad if the doll do not sleep with him. Answers need to show a child giving human qualities to inanimate objects Q: According to Piaget, what is centration? Answer Centration is the ability to focus on one aspect of an object, situation or event thereby missing out on the "big picture". It is one of the limitations of the preoerational child. Focusing all attention on one feature of an object. Q: Describe an example of a parent or teacher using scaffolding in order to teach a child a particular concept or task. Be sure to describe beginning, middle, and later steps. Answer When a child first starts school, a teacher will normally have a pre test for the child to take to see where they will need help for the school year. During the school year the teacher will then test the child for each thing that they go over to ensure they are keeping up. Once the school year is almost over the teacher will then give them a comprehensive test to ensure that they learned everything they needed to know from their class before they continue to a higher level. [teachers note] for articulating at least three step-by-step progressions from completely assisting the child to the child's independence on a specific task What is the age range for Piaget's Preoperational stage? Answer 2-7 years old What purpose does myelination in the brains of young children serve? Answer Myelination serves as lubrication to speed up messages/synaptic transmission being relayed among neurons. What are 2 biological reasons for why young children think inefficiently? Answer myelination and pruning not complete. Compare and contrast Gross Motor and Fine Motor skills. What are Answer the differences between the two types of skills? Also, give an example of a Gross Motor skill and a Fine Motor skill that occurs in early childhood. Gross Motor skills refer to large muscle development; it requires arm and leg strength. An example of Gross Motor skill would be kicking or running. Fine Motor are skills require dexerity; these movements are to be made with the hands. An example of Fine Motor skills would be writing or coloring. [teachers note] Answers need to focus on large body movements for gross motor vs greater precision and small movements for fine motor. Examples need to accurately reflect each type. What purpose does synaptic pruning serve in the brains of young children? Answer Snaptic pruning helps to eliminate underutilized synaptic connections between the neurons and strenghten the ones that are used often thereby resulting to a more efficient adult brain where their experiences facilitates their growth and development of their thinking process. Clear out underused synaptic connections. Answer the following essay question. Answers should be written in clear, complete sentences. Answer Describe each of Baumrind's parenting styles. In your description, summarize the key features, indicating what responsiveness and demandingness look like in each parenting style. Just listing "low" and "high" levels of each feature for each parenting style is not a sufficient description. Be sure to also define "responsiveness" and "demandingness" in your answer. Then, give a detailed illustration of parents displaying each style. Be sure that your illustration showcases specific parents (you can even give pseudonyms if you'd like!) behaving according to each type of parenting style in everyday life. These illustrations should be distinct (separate) from your descriptions of the parenting styles. Authoritarian is low responsiveness and high demandingness. Authoritative is high responsiveness and high demandingness. Permissive is high responsiveness and low demandingness. Neglectful is low responsiveness and low demandingness. Responsiveness mean appropriately affectionate, communicative and responsive to children and demandingnessmean setting a limits and discipline the parents are. Authoritarian paretns are more removed from their children, the parent set a firm boundary between them and children. They expected their children to follow the rules without any questions. Authoritative parents is the ideal type of parents. This kind of parent balance high levels of communication and affection with apporpriate limits on their children's behavior. Their children will develop a strong social skills. Permissive parents are very indulgent and do not set any limits on their children. Most of the children cannot control themselves. Neglectful parents are fails to supervise the child or fails to provide the essentials of life. 4 pts for accurately describing each parenting style. Descriptions need to flesh out the following key features: low responsiveness, high demandingness for Authoritarian, high responsiveness and demandingness for Authoritative, high responsiveness and low demandingness for Permissive, low responsiveness and demandingness for Neglectful. 4 points for accurate and sufficiently detailed parent illustrations. 2 pts for correct definitions of demandingness and responsiveness. Answer the following essay question. Answers should be written in clear, complete sentences. Answer Describe Piaget's Three Mountains task. Be sure to describe the purpose, procedure, and results of the study. Then, describe Hughes' Policeman Doll study—its purpose, procedure, and results. Then, answer why the studies obtained different results. Piaget's Three Mountains Task; Piaget carried out this task to confirm what age children stop being egocentric. Also he used this task to determine egocentricm in children. The children where made to sit infront of a model that comprised of three mountains of which the tops had a snow, hut and redcross. Then, the children were made to walk around the model soaking it in before seating down. Next, dolls where placed at different point of views and the children where given 10 different photographs of the mountain that showed different views and the children where asked to pick out the dolls view per time from the photographs. He noticed that the 4 year olds always picked the view that was theirs and did not realize the dolls had a different view. Next, the 6 year olds always picked a different view from their own view but still picked the wrong view of the dolls, and finally the 7 year olds always picked the right view. Hence piaget settled that children are no longer egocentric at 7 years. Hughes Policeman Doll Study: Hughes decided that piagets task was hard and he decided to use this method where he had two intersecting walls, a policeman doll and a boy doll. He made sure the chldren understood the intent of the task and explained it to them if they made a mistake. He placed the police man doll at one end of the wall and asked the children to hide the boy doll from the policeman. He also found out that the children rarely made a mistake. He realized that the 3 year olds where able to get this 90% of the time and when more dolls where place, that is two to three police man dolls at diffent end of the walls, the 4year olds where able to hide the boy dolls correctly 90% of the time. Hence, Hughes confirmed that children at the age of 4 years would have lost their egocentrism and that Piaget must have underestimated t What is the difference between gross motor and fine motor skills? Give two examples of each. Important gross motor skills that are normally accomplished in early childhood include throwing a ball, hopping, catching a ball, running, and kicking a ball. It refers to large muscle development.Examples of fine motor skills usually accomplished at this time include cutting paper, pasting, pouring, building blocks, lacing, cutting along a line, printing a name, tracing, and coloring. Fine motor skills require dexterity.[Teachers note] Gross motor refers to large muscle development, while fine motor skills require dexterity. Therefore, skills that require arm and leg strength, such as throwing, kicking, and running are gross motor skills. However, skills requiring minute movements to be made with the hands are fine motor skills. For example, writing, coloring, and cutting paper. Describe myelination. How does it affect the way that young children think? Fatty sheet covering cells, its acts as lubrication. Were not born with all this myelination, it is forming during this time period. Thinking speeds up, these connections are being lubricated for quick processing. This is when some neurons become insulated with a layer of fat. This fat layer essentially serves as lubrication to speed up messages being relayed among neurons. This process takes many years, and it has a direct impact on the thinking process of young children.[Teachers note] Myelination is when some neurons become insulated with a layer of fat. This fat layer speeds messages being relayed among neurons and therefore enhances processing speed. Describe synaptic pruning. What does this imply for the differences between how children think versus how adults think? This occurs when under-utilized synaptic connections between neurons die away while important ones become strengthened. This process continues throughout childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood, resulting in a more efficient adult brain. [Teachers note] Synaptic pruning is when under-utilized synaptic connections between neurons die away while important ones become strengthened. Adult brains that have gone through much of this process are essentially more efficient than children's brains. However, they may also be less plastic, or changeable. For example, it may be harder to learn new things and do adapt quickly. Type out the two substages of Piaget's Preoperational stage, and describe in detail key features of each substage Symbolic Function Substage-Ages 2-4-Animistic thinking (Sometimes as adults we encourage this a little bit for the kids too where they may think that inanimate objects have lifelike or even human qualities. If a kid at 2 years old falls, they may say that sidewalk jumped up and bit me or they might say the clouds look sad today and is crying. So they're attributing these kind of animal or human like qualities to things that aren't animals or human. Its kind of them understanding that creatures have feelings and what they're imagining in their minds.) -Egocentrism (Their frame of reference is themselves. Part of becoming a more mature person is to realize that there are other people and they matter. This is a big role that parents/teachers/etc have in a child's life to help them with understanding that and basically early on in the world, we do not understand that. Whether morally or emotionally, us not really understanding other perspectives, Piaget is talking about actually visually and cognitively us not understanding that and so not understanding my particular point of view physically. Someone is standing next to me and if they were literally going to try to put themselves in my shoes and say what am I seeing? What am I actually looking at right now? That's actually a very cognitively difficult task that you have to be able to reverse things. Intuitive Thought Substage-Ages 4-7-Centration (having to do with them locking in visually to one feature or something rather than understanding that there's more going on. Ex. Magazines that have hidden pictures or lots of things where you have to find something that's very difficult for kids, especially at the younger end of this stage and can be visually confusing.) Also understanding matter -Problems with hierarchical classification and conservation Conservation - sensation Compare and contrast Piaget's and Vygotsky's approaches to cognitive development. While Piaget approached development from a biological/maturational perspective, Vygotsky instead emphasized that cognitive development always occurs in a social context.The zone of proximal development (ZPD) is the gap between what children can accomplish alone and what they can do if guided by an expert. Unlike Piaget, Vygotsky did not focus on independent learning and instead considered what learning could be accomplished collaboratively with others.[Teachers note] Piaget approached cognitive development from a biological/maturational standpoint. That is, he believed that abilities naturally unfolded at certain ages. Vygotsky, on the other hand, approached cognitive development from a sociocultural standpoint and emphasized collaborative learning. Define "zone of proximal development" and "scaffolding." The zone of proximal development (ZPD) is the gap between what children can accomplish alone and what they can do if guided by an expert. Scaffolding involves the teacher/expert offering changing levels of support as the child's competence increases. This means that early on the adult may guide a student every step of the way. Later on, however, the teacher doesn't need to offer much support since the student can now do much of the task on her own.[Teachers note] The Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) is the gap between what children can accomplish alone and what they can do if guided by an expert. Scaffolding involves the teacher/expert to offer changing levels of support as the child's competence increases. Define gender schema theory, gender constancy, and gender stereotype. Gender schema theory states that children have a desire to conform to societal standards and therefore may tune their attention and behavior to act in ways in keeping with their respective gender.Gender constancy which is the knowledge that one's sex remains the same even if outward appearance changes.Gender Stereotyping is assuming the child loves the color pink or blue just because of their sex. It is a set belief about the expected behaviors of boys and girls[Teachers note] Gender Schema Theory states that children have a desire to conform to societal standards and therefore may tune their attention and behavior to act in ways in keeping with their respective gender. Gender Constancy is the knowledge that one's sex remains the same even if outward appearance changes. A Gender Stereotype is a set belief about the expected behaviors of males and females. Identify and describe each of the parenting styles. Try to use your own words as much as possible. In addition, come up with an example of each. Authoritarian are high on demandingness and low on responsiveness. Parents create a firm boundary between the role of the parent and role of the child. These parents have set rules and "because I said so" mentalityAuthoritative are high on both demandingness and responsiveness. "Ideal" parents that try to connect with their children but have limits. These parents have rules, but will reason and listen to their children.Permissive are high on responsiveness but low on demandingness. Parents let their children do whatever they want. These parents are often friends with their child.Neglectful are low on both demandingness and responsiveness. Parents have little to no part in their child's life. These parents are often abusive.[Teachers note] Authoritarian parents are high on demandingness and low on responsiveness, while authoritative parents are high on both demandingness and responsiveness. Permissive parents are high on responsiveness but low on demandingness, and neglectful parents are low on both demandingness and responsiveness. Good descriptions of each style will explain what demandingness and responsiveness looks like in everyday life thsi researcher emphasized the role of the teacher and expert in learning Vygotsky this researcher was pessimistic about a child's abilities to learn by himself Vygotsky according to Vygotsky, in an ideal learning situation, adults give much assistance to young children early on. As the children become more competent, the adult begins to withdraw direct assistance. this illustrates the zone of_______ proximal development which Piagetian substage occurs during the preoperational stage: A. secondary circular reactions B. symbolic function C. metacognition B. symbolic function Why do young children fail conservation tasks, according to Piaget? centration _______ according to Piaget, is the ability to understand that altering physical appearance does not necessarily change the amount of that substance conservation which theorist, Piaget or Vygotsky, thought that collaborative work with teachers or older peers is the key to cognitive development? Vygotsky T/F gender constancy is similar to Piaget's idea of conservation true according to Piaget, _______ are mental activities operations Which theorist, Piaget or Vygotsky, thought that self-discovery was the key to cognitive development Piaget which of the following accurately describes Discovery Learning? A. children learn by actively exploring - emphasis on hands on learning B. children learn by reading about experiments - emphasis on critical reading C. children learn by traveling to different countries - emphasis on a global perspective D. none of the above A. children learn by actively exploring - emphasis on hands on learning which of the following accurately describes Piaget's views on assimilation and accommodation? A. problem-solving skills must be discovered; they cannot be taught B. problem-solving skills must be taught; they cannot be discovered C. the process of learning is not important; only the end product is important D. none of the above A. problem-solving skills must be discovered; they cannot be taught this researcher focused on how young children experiment on their world in order to learn about it Piaget T/F myelination can impact the way children think true Synaptic _______ occurs when under-utilized synaptic connection die pruning the process by which neurons become insulation with a layer of fat cells is known as _______ myelination Gender ____________ theory states that children learn what society thinks about male- and female-appropriate behaviors and that they organize new information according to these models. schema T/F children in early childhood as well as elementary school tend to associate with children of the same gender true Which of Baumrind's parenting styles is associated with the most negative long-term outcomes A. authoritarian B. authoritative C. permissive D. neglectful D. neglectful T/F it is common for young children to engage in gender stereotyping true T/F neglect is not a form of child abuse false T/F researchers on gender and early childhood indicate that it's rare for children of this age group to behave in very gender stereotypical ways false T/F children are not born with the ability to take another's perspective true T/F when children play pretend games with one another, they are showing a reduction in egocentrism true what is the age range for Piaget's pre-operational stage? 2-7 years old what are 2 biological reason for why young children think inefficiently? myelination and pruning not complete which researcher described the zone of proximal development A. piaget B. vygotsky B. vygotsky this researcher underestimated how early children attain object permanence A. piaget B. vygotsky A. piaget this researcher viewed "nurture" over "nature" as the primary contributor to child cognitive development A. piaget B. vygotsky B. vygotsky T/F early childhood experiences are a key mechanism for brain development true Zane tells his mother that the flowers are sad and crying. According to Piaget, how could this behavior best be described? animism what age group of children is most likely to experience child abuse under age 7 Little Amy sees a women with short hair and thinks that she is looking at a boy. Am may not have developed _______ gender constancy which of the following accurately describes Piaget's view on children's readiness A. children should not be taught certain concepts until they are developmentally ready to receive that information B. children should be introduced to academic concepts as early as possible to maximize C. both A and B D. neither A nor B A. children should not be taught certain concepts until they are developmentally ready to receive that information Which of Baumrind's parenting styles is associated with the best long-term outcomes A. authoritarian B. authoritative C. permissive D. neglectful B. authoritative In the Vygotskian model of learning, _____ is when teachers adjust the level of support they give to students scaffolding _________ are tree-like branches of neursons dendrites T/F there are wide ranges of what is typical motor development. Each child develops differently, and there is usually no cause for concern unless a child is substantially behind the recommended ranges true the overlap in the age guidelines, which points to the ________ _______ of motor development continuous nature a primary type of neural growth during early childhood is the future development of connections between neurons. These connections take place where? at the synapse additional brain development occurs early in childhood. first, ________ begins myelination what process has a direct impact on the thinking process of young children myelination what begins to occur simultaneously as myelination takes place synaptic pruning what process continues throughout childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood, resulting in a more efficient adult brain? synaptic pruning what are the two substages in the preoperational stage symbolic function and intuitive thought who was a theorist who had greatly impacted both eastern and western early childhood educational models? Vygotsky what can be used to achieve more skill and competence? scaffolding gender is another prime example of what kind of interaction? genotype-environment interaction who developed an extremely influential categorization of parenting styles? diana baumrind what does "operations" mean? mental activities, like adding and subtracting At the beginning of the preoperational stage, how do children often play? parallel play T/F lines between reality, and imagination are blurred in early childhood true when a child can focus on more than one aspect of a situation at the same time, they have the ability to ________ decenter Early childhood toddler/preschool through 6 or 7 2-3 Years Gross Motor: Can jump, throw, catch although the body remains rigid Fine: Can zip, unzip and use a spoon 3-4 Years Gross Motor: walk upstairs alternating each step. Can walk downstairs leading with one foot. Can through an catch a ball (through trapping against chest) Fine Motor: Can use scissors and fasten and unfasten large buttons 4-5 Years Gross: Can walk up and down stairs alternating feet and catch ball with hands Fine: Can use fork well, and can cut on line with scissors 5-6 Years Gross: Can skip and ride a bike with training wheels Fine: Can tie shoes, and copy some numbers and words Myelination When some neurons become insulated with a layer of fat to speed up messaging Synaptic pruning Underutlized synaptic connections between neurons die away while important ones become strenghtened. Preoperational stage in Piaget's theory, the stage (from about 2 to 6 or 7 years of age) during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic Symbolic Function the ability to use a mental symbol, a word, or an object to stand for or represent something that is not physically present What are the two substages of the Preoperational stage? Symbolic function and intuitive thought Egocentrism A problem with taking another person's perspective or point of view. Centration The tendency to focus on only one aspect of a situation at one time. Decenter When a child can focus on more than one aspect of a situation. Parallel Play activity in which children play side by side without interacting symbolic play play in which children make believe that objects and toys are other than what they are. Also called pretend play. Animism The belief that inanimate objects have human feelings and intentions. Piaget's four stages of animism 1. Up to 4-5 the child believes almost everything is alive and has a purpose 2. 5-7 only objects that move have a purpose 3. 7-9 only objects that move spontaneously are thought to be alive 4. 9-12 the child understands that only plants and animals are alive Artificialism The belief that certain aspect of the environment are manufactured by people Irreversibility The inability to reverse the direction of a sequence of events to their starting point According to Piaget, at what age is thinking no longer egocentric? 7 Who devised the Policeman Doll Study? Martin Hughes Who devised the "Turntable Task"? Borke's Seriation The ability to understand that objects can be organized into a logical series or order Conservation The understanding that something stays the same in quantity even though its appearance changes What are some educational strategies for children in the proportional stage? 1. Use hands-on activities and materials 2. Encourage pretend play for problem solving 3. Utilize visual aids like pictures and charts 4. Break tasks into smaller steps 5. Foster language development through conversation and storytelling Intuitive Thought Ages 4-7 when children start to believe reasoning ability. conservation The understanding that physical properties of substances or objects do not change if merely the appearance is altered. Who are 2 theorist who greatly impacted both eastern and western early childhood educational models? Piaget and Lev Vygotsky What was Vygotsky's main belief of childhood education? That cognitive development always occurs in a social context Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) The gap between what children can accomplish alone and what they can do if guided by an expert Scaffolding The teacher/expert offering changing levels of support as the chid's competence increases. Gender The social dimensions of being male or female Sex The biological distinction between male or female biological influence of gender The 23rd pair of chromosomes determines how our sex and sex hormones influence in our sex characteristics. Social influence of gender If treated like a gender, will act more like that gender over time Cognitive influence of gender Observation, imitation, reward and punishment Gender constancy knowledge that one's sex remains the same even if outward appearance changes. What theorist created an extremely influential categorization of parenting styles? Diana Baumrind What are the 4 parenting styles? authoritarian, authoritative, permissive, neglectful Authoritarian parenting parents are removed from their children and set a firm boundary between parenting and child roles. Low responsiveness, high demandingness Authoritative parenting Considered to be the ideal type of parents, balance high levels of communication and affection with appropriate limits on children behavior. High responsiveness, high demandingness What parenting style indicates that a child growing up in that household type would have the best likelihood of developing strong social skills? Authoritative Permissive parenting parents are very indulgent and do not set limits on their children, which may develop children lacking self-control. High responsiveness, low demandingness Neglectful parenting largely removed from children's lives. low responsiveness and low demandingness gross motor skills physical abilities involving large body movements, such as walking and jumping fine motor skills physical abilities involving small body movements, especially of the hands and fingers, such as drawing and picking up a coin True or false? Gender constancy is similar to Piaget's idea of conservation? True Which theorist, Piaget or Vygotsky, thought that self discovery was key to cognitive development? Piaget Which Piagetian substage occurs during the Preoperational stage? Symbolic function This researcher underestimated how early children attain object permenance Piaget What does the piagetian term "Preparations" mean? Before mental activites Important gross motor skills that are normally accomplished in early childhood include throwing a ball, hopping, catching a ball, running, and kicking a ball fine motor skills usually accomplished at this time include cutting paper, pasting, pouring, building blocks, lacing, cutting along a line, printing a name, tracing, and coloring True or False: there are wide ranges of what is typical motor development. Each child develops differently, and there is usually no cause for concern unless a child is substantially behind the recommended ranges. True the overlap in the age guidelines, which points to the _____________ ___________________ of motor development. continuous nature Age: 2-3 years Gross Motor Fine Motor Can jump. Can throw and catch a ball, although the upper body remains rigid. Can zip and unzip. Can use a spoon. Age: 3-4 years Gross Motor Fine Motor Can walk upstairs, alternating feet on each step.Can walk downstairs leading with one foot.Can throw and catch a ball (although catching usually involves trapping the ball against the chest) Can use child scissors. Can fasten and unfasten large buttons. Age: 4-5 years Gross Motor Fine Motor Can walk upstairs and downstairs, alternating feet.Can catch a ball with hands Can use a fork well. Can cut on a line using scissors Age: 5-6 years Gross Motor Fine Motor Can skip. Can ride a bicycle with training wheels Can tie shoes. Can copy some numbers and basic words. Other physical changes include the types of brain development mentioned in Module 3 A primary type of neural growth during early childhood is the further development of connections between neurons. These connections take place where? at the synapse or space between neurons. Additional brain development occurs in early childhood. First, _______________ begins. myelination myelination some neurons become insulated with a layer of fat. This fat layer essentially serves as lubrication to speed up messages being relayed among neurons. This process takes many years, and it has a direct impact on the thinking process of young children What process has a direct impact on the thinking process of young children? myelination What begins to occur simultaneously as myelination takes place? synaptic pruning synaptic pruning occurs when under-utilized synaptic connections between neurons die away while important ones become strengthened. What process continues throughout childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood, resulting in a more efficient adult brain? synaptic pruning Cognitive development in early children The Preoperational Stage second stage of Piaget's cognitive developmental theory "Operations" are mental activities, such as adding and subtracting. According to Piaget, the Preoperational Stage takes place between the ages of what? 2 and 7 Why is it termed "pre-operational"? because children at this age aren’t fully internalizing their actions, according to Piaget. stage as being very flawed and yet crucial to future development. What are the two substages in the Preoperational Stage? symbolic function and intuitive thought. symbolic function (ages 2 to 4) continues skills begun with the establishment of object permanence. children continue to develop in their abilities to mentally represent objects that are not right in front of them. are working toward abstract thought, but they are not quite there yet, according to Piaget. Egocentrism young children can be rather selfish "egocentrism" as Piaget uses the term does not refer to selfishness. It instead refers to a problem with taking another person's perspective or point of view. Piaget classically illustrated this through the Three Mountains Task three mountain task created to study egocentrism; a child sits facing a table that holds three large mounds of sand, a doll is placed at the opposite side of the table and the investigator asks the child how the mountains would look to the doll True of False: it is evident that children are not born with the ability to take another's perspective. true Animism. refers to a child's belief that inanimate objects can have human-like qualities, such as feelings. lines between reality and imagination are blurred in early childhood. Children at this age are prone to believe in magical thoughts intuitive thought. second substage (ages 4 and 7) children start to develop reasoning ability process includes the desire to know answers to many questions! However, young children are prevented from engaging in highly rational thought because of this feature: centration. centration involves focusing all attention on one feature of an object. In doing so, the young child may miss the "big picture" as well as any other feature of the object. What is an example of centration in a young child? a young child’s difficulty with conservation conservation refers to what? the understanding that the physical properties of substances or objects do not change if merely the appearance is altered. Just because an object looks different doesn't mean it's substantially changed. using beakers filled with liquid (to test conservation of liquid). how did Piaget famously test conservation? using beakers filled with liquid (to test conservation of liquid). What is an example of how Conservation of matter can be tested? by forming two balls with equal amounts of clay one of the balls of clay was flattened no clay was taken away from the first ball researcher asks a Preoperational child, "Which ball has more?" Often, the child says, "The first one has more because it is longer." Thus, the child did not conserve matter; he fails to understand that there cannot possibly be more matter in the first ball because nothing was added to it or removed from the second one. Piaget concluded that the reason why young children have difficulty conserving matter is because they are too focused on one feature: the height of the ball, for example. Thus, centration prevents conservation. How do we know piaget's theory has greatly influenced early childhood education; although, these features are not universally accepted in education? Because three features of Piaget's theory now influence how teachers are trained to work with young children. What are the three features of Piaget's theory that now influence how teachers are trained to work with young children? 1. Since children's abilities naturally unfold, teachers should be aware of a child's readiness to learn. It may be detrimental for teachers to try to rush acquisition of a skill if the child is not ready. 2. Learning through exploring the environment, or discovery learning, is an ideal learning model. 3. It is important to recognize individual differences in learning. Rather than comparing a child's progress to national norms, a Piagetian model would instead compare a child's current progress to previous development. educational implications of Piaget's Preoperational Stage Who was another theorist who has greatly impacted both eastern and western early childhood educational models? Lev Vygotsky How did Lev Vygotsky differ from Jean Piaget with regard to his theory of cognitive development? Piaget: -approached development from a biological/ maturational perspective -did focus on independent learning Vygotsky: -instead emphasized that cognitive development always occurs in a social context. -his concepts incorporate social interaction. -did not focus on independent learning and instead considered what learning could be accomplished collaboratively with others. Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) Vygotsky's concept of the difference between what a child can do alone and what that child can do with the help of a teacher or guided by an expert. What can be used to achieve more skill and competence? scaffolding can be used scaffolding involves the teacher/expert offering changing levels of support as the child's competence increases. -- means that early on the adult may guide a student every step of the way. Later on, however, the teacher doesn't need to offer much support since the student can now do much of the task on her own. Socioemotional development in early children involves a) gender b) parenting styles Gender refers to the social dimensions of being male or female (one's sex refers to biological dimensions). During early childhood, young children accumulate information about what girls are like and boys are like both biological and social influences play integral roles in gender development key influences in gender 1. Biological influences. 2. Social Influences. 3. Cognitive influences. 1. Biological influences The 23rd pair of chromosomes determines how our sex and sex hormones (such as estrogens and androgens) influence the development of sex characteristics. Differences in brain structure and function are being noted in neuroscience research. 2. Social Influences From birth, others may treat girls and boys differently. This can occur accidentally, such as by being more protective of toddler girls and more accepting and even encouraging of rough behavior from boys. 3. Cognitive influences Children obtain knowledge from the world about gender and incorporate this into their own understanding. They may choose to imitate stereotypical gender behaviors. Gender schema theory states that children have a desire to conform to societal standards and therefore may tune their attention and behavior to act in ways in keeping with their respective gender. gender is another prime example of what kid of interaction? genotype-environment interaction gender constancy children develop the knowledge that one's sex remains the same even if outward appearance changes (that is, excepting sexual reassignment surgery). Prior to developing gender constancy, a toddler might think that a woman can turn into a man if she cuts her hair short! What is the one thing that parents and teachers often agree upon involving gender socialization in early childhood? how to find ways to help promote children's optimal cognitive development, and the issue of what toys are accessible (and permissible) for children to play with has a direct impact on this type of development. Authoritarian Level of Responsiveness: low Level of Demandingness: high Parenting styles Authoritarian Authoritative Permissive Neglectful Authoritative Level of Responsiveness: high Level of Demandingness: high Permissive Level of Responsiveness: high Level of Demandingness: low Neglectful Level of Responsiveness: low Level of Demandingness: low Important dimensions to be considered while categorizing parenting styles include how responsive (appropriately affectionate, communicative, and responsive to children) and demanding (setting limits, discipline) the parents are. Who developed an extremely influential categorization of parenting styles? Diana Baumrind (1971) how do authoritarian and authoritative parenting differ? Authoritarian parents: are more removed from their children; they set a firm boundary between the parenting and child roles. set the rules and expect them to be followed without question. Authoritative parents: considered to be the ideal type of parents according to Baumrind and subsequent researchers. balance high levels of communication and affection with appropriate limits on children’s behavior. **Much research indicates that children growing up in these types of household have the best likelihood of developing strong social skills. permissive parents are very indulgent and do not set limits on their children. This may result in children who do not develop self-control. Neglectful parents are largely removed from their children's lives. Parenting in this category can cross the line into child maltreatment since neglect is a form of child abuse. That line is crossed if the parent repeatedly fails to supervise the child or fails to provide the essentials of life. Child abuse, incidentally, typically occurs with children under the age of _____________, and the majority of children who die from child abuse are under the age of ____________. seven three What is the difference between gross motor and fine motor skills? Give two examples of each. Gross motor: refers to large muscle development, while fine motor skills require dexterity Example: skills that require arm and leg strength, such as throwing, kicking, and running are gross motor skills. Fine motor: skills requiring minute movements to be made with the hands. Example: writing, coloring, and cutting paper. Describe myelination. How does it affect the way that young children think? Myelination is when some neurons become insulated with a layer of fat. This fat layer speeds messages being relayed among neurons and therefore enhances processing speed. Describe synaptic pruning. What does this imply for the differences between how children think versus how adults think? Synaptic pruning is when under-utilized synaptic connections between neurons die away while important ones become strengthened. Adult brains that have gone through much of this process are essentially more efficient than children's brains. However, they may also be less plastic, or changeable. For example, it may be harder to learn new things and do adapt quickly. Type out the two substages of Piaget's Preoperational stage, and describe in detail key features of each substage. Symbolic Function substage (ages 2-4) children continue to develop in their abilities to mentally represent objects that are not right in front of them. Limitations or errors in thinking that occur in this substage include Egocentrism and Animism. Egocentrism refers to a problem with taking another person’s perspective or point of view. Animism refers to a child’s belief that inanimate objects can have lifelike qualities. Intuitive Thought substage, children start to develop reasoning ability. However, young children are prevented from engaging in highly rational thought because of centration. Centration involves focusing all attention on one feature of an object. In doing so, the young child may miss the “big picture” as well as any other feature of the object. Centration may also result in a child’s difficulty with conservation. Conservation involves understanding that the physical properties of substances or objects do not change if merely the appearance is altered. Compare and contrast Piaget's and Vygotsky's approaches to cognitive development. Piaget approached cognitive development from a biological/maturational standpoint. That is, he believed that abilities naturally unfolded at certain ages. Vygotsky, on the other hand, approached cognitive development from a sociocultural standpoint and emphasized collaborative learning. Define "zone of proximal development" and "scaffolding." The Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) is the gap between what children can accomplish alone and what they can do if guided by an expert. Scaffolding involves the teacher/expert to offer changing levels of support as the child's competence increases. Define gender schema theory, gender constancy, and gender stereotype Gender Schema Theory states that children have a desire to conform to societal standards and therefore may tune their attention and behavior to act in ways in keeping with their respective gender. Gender Constancy is the knowledge that one’s sex remains the same even if outward appearance changes. Gender Stereotype is a set belief about the expected behaviors of males and females. Gross motor refers to large muscles Fine motor refers to small muscles (requires dexterity) gross motor skills accomplished in early childhood throwing a ball, hopping, catching a ball, running, and kicking a ball fine motor skills accomplished in early childhood cutting paper, pasting, pouring, building blocks, lacing, cutting along a line, writing a name, tracing, coloring 2-3 years gross & fine motor skills gross: jump, throw/catch ball (upper body remains rigid) fine: zip/unzip, use a spoon 3-4 years gross & fine motor skills gross: walk upstairs alternating both feet, walk downstairs one foot leading, throw/catch ball (involves trapping ball against chest) fine: use scissors, fasten/unfasten large buttons 4-5 years gross & fine motor skills gross: walk upstairs and downstairs alternating feet, catch ball with hands fine: use a fork, cut on a line with scissors 5-6 years gross & fine motor skills gross: skip, ride a bike with training wheels fine: tie shoes, write numbers & basic words A primary type of neural growth during early childhood is further development of connections between neurons These connections take place at the synapse (space between neurons) What additional brain development begins in early childhood? myelination & synaptic pruning Myelination a fat layer that serves as lubrication to speed up messages being relayed among neurons; takes many years to form; direct impact on the thinking process of young children synaptic pruning occurs when under-utilized synaptic connections are discarded while important ones become strengthened synaptic pruning continues throughout childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood, resulting in... a more efficient adult brain The preoperational stage takes place between what ages? ages 2 to 7 What does "operations" mean? Are mental activities, such as adding and subtracting Why is the preoperational stage termed "pre-operational"? Because children at this age aren't fully internalizing their actions according to Piaget. Piaget saw this stage as being flawed, and yet crucial to future development substages of preoperational stage symbolic function and intuitive thought symbolic function (substage) (ages 2-4) - continues the skills begun with the establishment of object permanence - continues to develop the ability to mentally represent an object that is not present, working towards abstract thought but not there yet At the beginning of the preoperational stage, how do children often play? parallel play (child is in the same room as other children but plays next to them rather than with them) What is the main function of a child's speech during the preoperational stage? to externalize their thinking rather than to communicate with others. egocentrism refers to the child's difficulty of taking another's point of view Piaget illustrated egocentrism through the Three Mountains Task Piaget's Three Mountain Task The three mountains task was meant to determine at what age do children lose egocentrism It involved a diorama of three mountains and a doll was placed facing the diorama. The child was asked to select a picture of that matched what the doll would see. Piaget found that children four and under almost always chose wrong. children 5-6 selected the correct picture more frequently and children 7 and above almost always chose the correct picture. Piaget concluded that by age 7 children are no longer egocentric. True or False: children are not born with the ability to take another's perspective True Hughes' Policeman Doll Study Hughes argued that the three Mountain task was difficult and did not make sense to children. He approached the same question (as Piaget) but in a different way. Hughes set up a diaroma with several walls and placed a policeman doll in the scene. He then asked the child to place their doll so that the policeman could not see them. Hugh's found that children had this ability by the age of 4. Piaget study vs Hughes study Both studies obtain different results because the children were able to understand the task presented by Hughes' easier animism refers to a child's belief that inanimate objects can have human-like qualities such as feelings True or False: lines between reality, and imagination are blurred in early childhood True intuitive thought (ages 4-7) children start to develop reasoning ability to help fulfill the desire to answer questions Why are young children prevented from engaging in highly rational thought? due to centration centration involves the tendency of a young child to focus only on one feature of an object while ignoring other relevant features conservation refers to the understanding that physical properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in appearance How did Piaget test conservation? He famously tested conservation, using beakers filled with liquid. Centration prevents _______. conservation What features of Piaget's theory have been influential in how teachers are trained to work with young children? • Teachers should be aware of a child's readiness to learn (don't rush) • Learning through exploring the environment (discovery learning) • Recognize individual differences in learning, don't compare to national norms but rather compare current progress to previous development What is a downside to Piaget's theory? He failed to consider cultural and social contexts; he did not realize the strong effect these contexts can have on cognition Lev Vygotsky emphasized that cognitive development always occurs in a social context and with collaborative learning zone of proximal development the gap between what children can do with assistance and what they can do alone scaffolding Involves the teacher/expert offering changing levels of support as a child's competence increases Gender vs. Sex gender refers to the social dimensions of being male or female. One's sex refers to biological dimensions. Key Influences on gender 1) Biological Influences 2) Social Influences 3) Cognitive Influences biological influences on gender 23rd pair of chromosomes determines how our sex and sex hormones influence the development of sex characteristics social influences on gender How adults treat individuals differently based on gender cognitive influences on gender Children obtain knowledge from the world about gender and incorporate this into their own understanding gender schema theory states that children have a desire to conform to societal standards, and therefore may tune their attention and behavior to act in ways in keeping with their respective gender Gender is another prime example of... Genotype-environment interaction gender constancy Is the knowledge that one's sex remains the same even if outward appearance changes Gender constancy is similar to the Piagetian idea of... conservation True or False: it is common for young children to engage in gender stereotyping True gender stereotype is a set belief about the expected behaviors of males and females Diana Baumrind developed the different types of parenting styles Responsiveness refers to how affectionate, communicative, and responsive the parents are Demandingness refers to setting limits and discipline level of responsiveness and level of demandingness chart. authoritarian parents removed from their children; they set firm boundary between the parenting and child roles, expect their rules to be followed without question authoritative parents ideal type of parents, balance high levels of communication and affection with appropriate limits on children's behavior Children growing up in an authoritative household have the best likelihood of developing... strong social skills permissive parents indulgent, don't set limits on their children which may result in children not developing self-control neglectful parents largely removed from their children's lives; can cross line into child maltreatment; not warm, no rules of guidance Neglect is a form of... child abuse Child abuse typically occurs under the age of ____ and the majority of children who die from child abuse are under the age of ____. 7 and 3 Why do modern researchers often find that young children are able to overcome some aspects of egocentrism at younger ages than Piaget had thought? Understanding the task is key. Other methods than the Three Mountains Task are perhaps more understandable to young children and can result in decentered (less egocentric) responses. This researcher emphasized the role of the teacher and expert in learning A. Piaget B. Vygotsky B. Vygotsky According to Vygotsky, in an ideal learning situation, adults give much assistance to young children early on. As the children become more competent, the adult begins to withdraw assistance. This illustrates the zone of __________ proximal development _______ according to Piaget, is the ability to understand that altering physical appearance does not necessarily change the amount of that substance Conservation According to Piaget, _____ are mental activities Operations Which of the following accurately describes Discovery Learning? A. children learn by actively exploring: emphasis on hands-on learning B. children learn by reading about experiments: emphasis on critical reading C. children learn by traveling to different countries: emphasis on global perspective D. None of the above A. children learn by actively exploring: emphasis on hands-on learning True or false: Myelination can impact the way that children think True The process by which neurons become insulated with a layer of fat cells is known as ________ myelination True or false: it is common for young children to engage in gender stereotyping true True or false: children are not born with the ability to take another's perspective True Why is parallel play an example of egocentrism? Parallel play is an example of egocentrism because young children are more focused on what they are doing rather than playing with other kids. This is because they have a hard time taking other's perspectives into consideration, which makes mutual play more difficult. Give an example of a child exhibiting animism, as defined by Piaget. A child claiming that her stuffed animals miss her when she's gone is an example of animism. What is the age range for Piaget's Preoperational stage? 2-7 years old What purpose does myelination in the brains of young children serve? Myelination insulates and lubricates neurons to speed up the transmission of messages between neurons. This helps improve efficiency of cognitive functions. What are two biological reasons for why young children think inefficiently Young children are still undergoing myelination and synaptic pruning Which Piagetian substage occurs during the Preoperational stage: A. Secondary circular reactions B. Symbolic function C. Metacognition B. Symbolic function Why do young children fail conservation tasks? because of centration, which is the tendency for children to focus on only one aspect of an object. Therefore, they miss the big picture and conservation is difficult. _____ are tree-like branches of neurons dendrites Which of Baumrind's parenting styles is associated with the best long-term outcomes? Authoritative parenting True or False: neglect is not a form of child abuse false What does the Piagetian term, "Preoperations" mean? Why did Piaget