Topic:Child psychology
From Wikiversity
Contents |
[edit] Child Psychology/Child Development
Field of study in which researchers work to understand and describe changes that take place as children grow.
[edit] Kinds of development:
- Physical development
- growth in size
- Cognitive development
- perception, thought process, memories, language
- Socioemotional development
- Communication and emotional skills.
[edit] Nature/nurture components
- Nature: Biologoical conditions influencing development
- Genetics
- Nurture: Environmental conditions influencing development
- economic
- cultural environment
- nutrition
[edit] Child Development Theories
- Psychoanalytic Theories - Focuses on how conscious and unconscious aspects influence behavior and on the structure of personality.
- Sigmund Freud - psychosexual theory
- Oral and anal
- Id desires pleasure from erogenous zones. The ego is emerging and keeping the id in check as children learn to delay gratification
- Phallic
- As a result of unconscious sexual desires for opposite-sex parent, children learn to identify with same-sex parents. It is through this identification that the child acquires the superego.
- Latency
- emergence of superego produces shame because of sexual desires. Sexual feelings are repressed.
- Genital
- Children mature into adolescents. Sexual identities are formed.
- Oral and anal
- Erik Erikson - psychosocial theory & crisis stages
- trust vs mistrust 0-1 years
- +infant learns to trust world, people are trustworthy, self-confidence.
- -infant is neglected, mistrust.
- autonomy vs shame 2-3 years
- +child gains independence
- -child doubts self and abilities
- initiative vs guilt 4-5 years
- +
- -
- industry vs inferiority 6-12 years
- +
- -
- identity vs role confusion adolescence
- +
- -
- intimacy vs isolation early adulthood
- +
- -
- generativity vs stagnation middle adulthood
- +
- -
- integrity vesus despair later adulthood
- +
- -
- trust vs mistrust 0-1 years
- Sigmund Freud - psychosexual theory
- Behavioral and Social Learning Theories - Intended to be more quantifiable.
- Watson - stimulus-response connections by classical conditioning
- Skinner - learning through consequnce (aka operant conditioning)
- Albert Bandura - social learning, modeling, gives way into cognitive theories
- Cognitive Theories
- Piaget - cognitive development theory, mental schemes. objects in environment are assimilated and adapted into schemes.
- sensor motor
- preoperational
- concrete operational
-
- formal operational
- Vygotsky - sociocultural theory, culture and language influence thought and perception
- Piaget - cognitive development theory, mental schemes. objects in environment are assimilated and adapted into schemes.
- Biological Theories
- ethology - evolutionary adapability of behaviors - Konrad Lorenz and Niko Tinbergen
- neuropsychology
- Systems Theories
- Urie Bronfenbrenner - ecological systems theory, layers of influential systems
- Microsystem- direct interactions with people in immediate environment
- Mesosystem- elements in larger social environment (school, neighborhood, day care).
- Exosystem- larger social networks (extended family, government).
- Macrosystem- cultural customs, values, and laws.
- Chronosystem- how all of these systems can change over time, shifting all systems
- Dynamic Systems Theories - integrating systems used to understand complex elements of the variables influencing behavior.
[edit] Ethical Considerations
[edit] Genes
[edit] Conception
- Alternative techniques for conception
- Artificial insemination
- In vitro festilization
- Cryopreservation
- Assisted in vivo fertilization
- Surrogate mothers
[edit] Prenatal Environment
Prenatal devlopment is the development of an organism before its birth. Fertilization normally occurs in the fallopian tube.
[edit] Stages of Prenatal Development
- Germinal stage - conception to 2 weeks
- Begins at conception and ends when the zygote implants itself in the mother's uterine lining.
- Between 8 and 12 days after conception, implantation occurs. this is when the zygote embeds itself in the inner lining of the mother's uterus
- Embryonic stage - 3 to 8 weeks after conception
- blastocyst differentiates to form three cell layers in the embryo: the ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm.
- The extoderm is the outer layer of the cell mall, and during the embryonic stage it gives rise ot then ervous sytem, sensory receptors, and out skin layers.
- The mesoderm becomes the circulatorty system, skeleton, muscles, excretory system, reproducticve system, the outer layer of the digestive tract, and the inner layer of the skin.
- The endoderm will eventually become the respiratory system and the remainder of the digestive system.
- chronological development following conception
- 3rd week - vulnerable brain cells and spinal cord form from the neural tube
- 3rd and 4th week - placenta and umbilical cord form
- by 4 weeks - eyes begin to form, torso continues to form, heart tissue begins to beat, arm buds appear
- by 5 weeks - arms are developed and legs buds begin to form
- during 8th week - organogenesis is complete, signaling the end of the embryonic stage and beginning of the fetal stage
- blastocyst differentiates to form three cell layers in the embryo: the ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm.
- Fetal stage - week 9 to birth (38-40 weeks)
- chronological development following conception
- 9 through 12 weeks - first arm and leg movements begin, reflexes appear, dex organs develop.
- 17 through 20 weeks - mother begins to feel movement, heartbeat can be heard with a stethoscope.
- by 24 weeks - fat forms and rapid weight gain begins
- 26 through 28 weeks - lungs are mature enough to allow breathing
- 28 though 40 weeks - major organ systems are functional and brain developes rapidly.
- chronological development following conception
[edit] teratogens
- preterm births occur before 37 weeks of gestation
- low birth weight is less than five and half pounds (two pounds lighter than average)
- Fetal Alcohol Syndrom (FAS)
- overall growth deficiency, head and facial malformations, and dysfunction of the central nervous sytem
- effects of alcohol use
- effects of cocaine use
- effects of cigarette smoking
- sexually transmitted diseases
[edit] Birth
[edit] stages of labor
- dilation
- This stage of labor is the longest, lasting 6 to 14 hours.
- This stage begins when the uterus starts regular contractions, which cause dilation.
- delivery
- During this second stage of labor, the baby actually moves through the birth canal and is delivered. Lasting an average of 30 minutes to 2 hours. This stage ends with the delivery of the baby
- after birth
- During the third and final stage, the placenta and other membranes emerge through the birth canal.
- This stage usually lasts and hour, and the mother continues to experience weaker contractions.
- Types of delivery
- Drugs during delivery
[edit] Infants and Toddlers (0-2 years)
[edit] Physical Devlopments
- Prematurity
- occurs before 37 weeks of gestation or about 3 weeks earlier than the normal due date
- Low birth weight is weight less than 5 ½ pounds at birth (2 pounds lighter than average); indicates potential for health risks
- Very low birth weight is weight less than 3 ½ pounds at birth (4 pounds lighter than average); indicates greater potential for health risks
- Small for gestational age (SGA) is born below the tenth percentile of birth weight for gestational age; indicates serious health risks
- Prevention includes childbirth classes, healthy lifestyles and especially good prenatal care, but sometimes there is nothing you can do
- Infant Mortality
- Refers to deaths that occur before the age of 1 year
- Having a Healthy Baby
- Prenatal care is important
- Growth of the Body and Brain
- Physical Growth
- Average birth weight is 7 ½ pounds, with males bout ½ pound heavier than females
- Baby's weight doubles in first 5 months
- About 20 inches at birth and half of adult height by age 2
- Feeding and Nutrition (Breastfeeding)
- Sterile, cheap, “specially formulated”
- Colostrums are a thick, yellowish substance in breast milk containing important antibodies (only for the first few days of breastfeeding)
- Breastfed babies are at less risk of SIDS, asthma, and other illnesses
- Breastfeeding helps mom lose weight faster, and lowers risk of breast and ovarian cancer
- Infectious diseases can be spread via breast milk, so some mothers can’t (iron enriched formula)
- Exclusively for 6 months, slowly introduce iron-rich foods from 6-12 months, judgment call after
- More likely if mom married, higher income, and supported to breastfeed, but only ¼ by 6 mnths
- Physical Growth
- Structure of the Brain and Nervous System
- Spinal cord is the “information superhighway”
- Brain stem controls automatic functions
- Cerebellum is on the back of the brain and controls posture, body orientation, and complex muscle movements
- Neurons are specialized cells that process information and allow communication in the nervous system (form by 7 weeks)
- Cerebral cortex is the “gray matter” that forms the top portion of brain and is divided into the 4 lobes (10 wks)
- Forming the Brain and Nervous System
- Neural tube at about 4 weeks, which later develops into central nervous system
- Synaptogenesis is one form of neuron maturation in which dendrites and axons branch out to form an enormously large number of connections with neighboring neurons (by 23 weeks)
- Most neural connections (synapses) form AFTER birth, as a result of maturation and experiences
- Myelination is a form of neuron maturation in which the fatty insulation (myelin sheath) grows around the axons; occurs in different parts of the brain at different times
- Programmed cell death is a process by which many neurons die during periods of migration and heavy Synaptogenesis (we lose half before even born!)
- Sensory Capabilities
- Vision
- Visual acuity is the ability to see fine detail
- Infants prefer faces
- Newborns vision is somewhere between 20/150 and 20/600, reaches 20/20 by bout 6 months
- Normal color vision by 3 months
- Prefer to look at green, yellow, or red over gray
- Depth perception by just under two months, but afraid of cliff by time can crawl
- Binocular disparity is the difference between the images projected on the two eyes
- Pictorial cues are relative size and density of the pattern elements shown beneath the glass
- Hearing
- Hearing is functional before birth
- Recognize own names by 5 months
- Smell and Taste
- Facial expressions show that newborn babies react to certain odors and tastes similar to adults
- The fetal system is well enough developed sometime near the end of gestation to sense and store information about odors encountered before birth
- Vision
- Motor Development
- Reflexes
- Reflexes are involuntary movements elicited by environmental stimuli
- Important early indicators of nervous system function
- Primitive reflexes disappear around 4 months; help the infant to find nourishment or might have served protective functions during earlier periods of evolution
- Postural reflexes disappear by 12 months; help infants to keep their heads upright, maintain balance, and roll their heads in the direction of their body motion
- Locomotor reflexes disappear by 4 months; mimic locomotor movements such as crawling, stepping, and swimming
- Voluntary Movements
- Gross motor development is the process of coordinating movements with the large muscles in the body (first step around 1 year)
- Fine motor development is the process of coordinating intricate movements with smaller muscles
- Influences on Motor Development
- Maturation of the muscles and brain
- Opportunities for practice
- culture differences in early experience
- Reflexes
