Psychology 201 Chapters 7-10 – Flashcards

Handedness: deals more with the more dominant hemisphere, in which language is 90% of the time on the left hemisphere with hand control. The way a baby is positioned in the uterus can also predict control over movements. Handedness is also involved in practice, specifically for training, sports, tasks that will help us in society, etc. Other Advances in Brain Development: -Cerebellum: aids in balance and control of body movements. Connections between the cerebellum and cerebral cortex also support thinking; when this is damaged, usually children will have both motor and cognitive deficits, such as memory, planning, and language problems. -Reticular Formation: a structure in the brain stem that maintains alertness and consciousness. This structure generates synapses and myelinated throughout childhood and into adulthood. -Hippocampus: plays a vital role in memory and in images of space that help us find our way. Over the preschool and elementary school years, it and the surrounding areas of the cerebral cortex continue to develop swiftly, establishing connections with others and the prefrontal cortex. It also helps support the changes in memory and spatial understanding in early childhood. -Corpus Callosum: is a large bundle of fibers connecting the two cerebral hemispheres. Supports smooth coordination of movements on both sides of the body and integration of many aspects of thinking, including perception, attention, memory, language, and problem solving.

The Nature-nurture issue stand on the findings of lateralization. Lateralization is specialization in cognitive functions, dealing with the two hemispheres. So an example is handedness; this will depend on where the fetus is positioned in the mother's uterus. So, if the baby is facing towards the left, then it is believed that it will be promoted to have greater control over movements on the right side of the body.

When a child is not getting enough nutrition, they tend to be small, pale, inattentive, unruly, and have memory difficulties. They tend to be hyperactive and aggressive, as well as behavioral problems, including relationship issues that are taken into account.

Benefits: 1. Play detaches from the real-life conditions associated with it: they begin to use their imagination with different objects 2. Play becomes less self-centered: early in the third year, they begin to to detach participants 3. Play includes more complex combinations of schemes: children are able to display awareness that it is a representational activity. Dual Representation: viewing a symbolic object as both an object in its own right and a symbol. Pre-operational Thought: 1. Egocentrism: this gives them false information that inanimate objects have life like qualities, and that it prevents them from reflecting on their faulty reasonings. 2. Inability to Converse: Conservation refers to the idea that certain physical characteristics of objects remain the same -Centration: they focus on one aspect of a situation, neglecting other important features. -Irreversibility: an ability to mentally go through a series of steps in a problem and then reverse direction, returning to the starting point, 3. Lack of Hierarchical Classification: the organization of objects into classes and subclasses on the basis of similarities and differences.

Characteristics: effective scaffolding, attempting difficult tasks on their own, working with peers or an expert peer to help with planning and problem solving skills. This creates a zone of proximal development, because the child feels like they are in control and that they are able to figure out this solution.

2 Strategies: 1. Recasts: restructuring inaccurate speech into correct form. 2. Expansions: elaborating on children's speech, increasing its complexity.

During this time, children will generally have high self-esteems. Usually by age three, those children whose parents encouraged them patiently while they learn skills are more enthusiastic and highly motivated, whereas children whose parents were criticizing the, have an expression of shame and despondency after they fail.

Children at age 3 tend to be blunt with their emotions, they will talk to themselves, or even change their goals. A strategy that should decline is that adult-child conversations. To a degree these can be good, but these children have such an active imagination that it is hard for them to grasp the distinction between reality and appearance.

Non-Social Activity: unoccupied, onlooker behavior and solitary play. Parallel Play: a child plays near others with similar objects, but does not influence their behavior, or at least try to. Cooperative play: children orient toward a common goal, like make-believe play. Peer Sociability: Each child is different, so each stage will come at a different time of their life, but they will go through non-social activity then to parallel play, and then finally to cooperative play usually.

Induction: an adult helps the child notice feelings by pointing out the effects of the child's misbehavior on others. This can motivate the child to commit to moral standards, so that they can use this in future situations. But, this can also be destructive because the child can become anxious and frightened, so they therefore cannot think clearly to figure out the situation. Positive: This is the most effective form of discipline, because it encourages good conduct in the child, and they are prepped before hand, knowing what they need to be doing. They then are able to show firmer conscience development, and shows a closer relationship with their parents.

Boys: physically aggressive, verbally and relationally aggressive, and inflict harm in more variable ways, Girls: verbally and relationally aggressive, disrupting intimate bonds, or even use other indirect relational tactics.

Gender Typing: refers to any association of objects, activities, roles, or traits with one sex or the other in ways that conform to cultural stereotypes.

Authoritative: most successful approach; involves high acceptance and involvement, adaptive control techniques, and appropriate autonomy granting. The child may behave with self-esteem, self-control, responsible for actions, and even being cooperative, morally mature, and socially mature. This is the best, because it gives children a warm, loving relationship that helps them connect with other people, and also encourages them to express what they are thinking and feeling, as well as giving them guidance, but holding onto the guidelines.

Obesity: children tend to have overweight parents, and identical twins are more likely to share this disorder than fraternal twins. Heredity only counts for a tendency to gain wait, and the environment is apparent in low SES to overweight and obesity in industrialized nations. Many are ignorant of healthy diet, exercise, stress, and even stress. These all can lead to overeating.

Build on children's interest: Permit children to select from among appropriate activities the ones that suit them best. Teach age-appropriate skills: For children under 9, emphasize the basic skills and simplified games that grant all participants adequate playing time. Emphasize enjoyment: Permit children to progress at their own pace and to play for fun. Limit the frequency and length of practice: Adjust practice times to children's attention spans and need for unstructured time with peers, family, and homework. Focus on personal and team improvement: Emphasize effort, skill gains, and teamwork rather than winning. Discourage unhealthy competition: Avoid all-start games and championship ceremonies that recognize individuals. Permit children to contribute to rules and strategies: Involve children in decisions aimed at ensuring fair play and teamwork.

Conservation: the ability to pass conservation tasks provides clear evidence of operations - mental actions that obey logical rules. Classification: children are able to focus on relations between a general category and two specific categories at the same time. Seriation: the ability to order items along a quantitative dimension, such as length or weight. Spatial Reasoning: school-age children's understanding of space is more accurate than that of preschoolers.

A. Working Memory Capacity (2yr old = 2 items, 7 yr old = 5 items, 11 yr old = 7 items (also adult capacity)). Adult is 5-9 items. B. Inhibition-block out distractions. This develops, grow, peaks, then declines. By the end of gradeschool yrs they should be at the adult level of inhibition. Peak level of inhibition should be around Jr High, High School, 20's, and 30's. It declines in 40's and 50's. Inhibition really declines after 65. Elderly include intrusize thought. When you're talking to elderly 20mins later you're in another topic, then another. Between a 2nd and 5th grader we should expect the 5th grader to block out most distractions and focus on task at hand. C. Memory Strategies (note: as you go down the list of 1-3, you're in a deeper level of processing). Younger kids are going to do more rehearsal.If you don't write down information or transfer it to level 2 or 3, it will be gone. 1. Rehearsal-Repeating 2. Organization- Chunking; grouping things together and it maximizes your working memory capacity. 3. Elaboration- create some kind of connection with new or old information; you correlate things together. This is when we are looking for some other kind of connection (e.g., 801-BYU-INFO). Making a word or a phrase is better than chunking for remembering things D. Cognitive self-regulation- Monitor progress towards goal. You set goals to reach those goals. According to how well you perform you will continue your strategy or change what you're doing. Parents monitor what kids are doing and give suggestions. (e.g., of cognitive self-regulation would be the research paper for this class, you identify the steps you need to take, outline, paper, interviews etc.)

Sternberg's Triarchic Theory: 1. Analytic Intelligence: too narrow of a view of intelligent behavior. 2. Creative Intelligence: some people are just more capable of high-level performances, whereas most of the population has some creativity. 3. Practical Intelligence: it is never culture-free; some may misinterpret or reject the testing context. Overall these tests can underestimate or even overlook the intellectual strengths of some children, especially ethnic minorities. Gardener's Theory of Multiple Intelligences: He has weak neurological evidence and many of his mental tests have similar features.

The classrooms that have both languages present, and integrated into the curriculum, help the children to become more involved in their learning and are able to develop a second language more easily. This results in higher academic status for the children.

Foster: with smaller class sizes teachers are able to teach more than to discipline, this also show better concentration, higher-quality class participation, and more favorable attitudes toward school; Constructivist classrooms are more beneficial in critical thinking, greater social and moral maturity. Undermine: "No child left behind" puts pressure on the teacher to improve test scores; Teacher directed instruction undermines academic motivation and achievement.

Self-concept: younger children can compare themselves to one other person, where as those in middle childhood tend to compare themselves to multiple people. They make an "ideal self" that they use to evaluate their real self, which undermines their self-esteem. Self-esteem: preschoolers are generally more happier with themselves, and have extremely high self esteem. By ages 6-7 a child will know their competence in academics, social, physical/athleticism, and physical appearance; this only grows stronger as they get older. As they grow older their self-esteem will decline during the first few years of elementary school as they evaluate themselves in different areas. After fourth grade, they tend to gain more self-esteem.

Provisions of tasks: select tasks that are meaningful, responsive to diversity of student interests, and appropriately matched to current competence so that the child is challenged but not overwhelmed. Parent and teacher encouragement: communicate warmth, confidence in the child's abilities, the value of achievement, and the importance of effort in success Model high effort in overcoming failure. Teachers should communicate often with parents, suggesting ways to foster children's effort and progress. Parents should monitor schoolwork, f=provide scaffolded assistance that promotes knowledge of effective strategies and self-regulation. Performance Evaluations: Make evaluations private, avoid publicizing success or failure through wall posters, struts, privileges for "smart" children, or prizes for "best" performance. Emphasize individual progress and self-improvement. School environment: offer small classes, which permit teachers to provide individualized support for mastery. Provide for cooperative learning and peer tutoring in which children assist one another, avoid ability grouping, which makes evaluations of children's progress public. Accommodate individual and cultural differences in learning styles. Create an atmosphere that sends a clear message that all students can learn.

Preschool children tend to think that everyone is their friend, where as middle childhood children are more selective in whom they hang out with, depending on their age, sex, ethnicity, and SES. Peer Acceptance: Popular children: those who get many positive votes, or are well-liked. Rejected children: those who get many negative votes, or are disliked. Controversial children: who get a large number or positive and negative votes, or are both liked and disliked. Neglected children: who are seldom mentioned, either positively or negatively.

Gender typicality: feeling they need to "fit-in" with their same-sex peers. Gender contentedness: the degree to which the child feels comfortable with his or her gender assignment, which also promotes happiness. Felt pressure to conform to gender roles: the degree to which the child feels parents and peers disapprove of his/her gender-related traits. Because such pressure reduces the likelihood that children will explore options related to their interests and talents, children who feel strong gender-typed pressure are often distressed.

Sibling rivalry continues to increase in middle childhood. Parents often compare siblings' traits and accomplishments, in which the child can get less parental affection, more disapproval, or fewer material resources, tend to be resentful and show poorer adjustment. Those who are close in age with their same sex sibling are more often going to argue and fight. How to reduce this rivalry, siblings often strive to be different than one another.

Boys: tend to adjust quickly to a mother-stepfather arrangement. If father has custody and he gets married, boys will have a hard time adjusting. Girls: have more difficulty when mother remarries. If father has custody and gets remarried, girls have a harder time getting along with the stepmother.

Self-care program: This is where the child will look after themselves for some period of time after school. This depends on the maturity of the child as well as the age. It is easier and safer for a high SES child to look after themselves than a lower SES child. Those who spend more time alone tend to have more emotional and social difficulties. After-care program: This is in short supply for low SES children. But, when it is offered academic assistance and enrichment activities show special benefits. They exceed their self-care counterparts in classroom work habits, academic achievement, and prosocial behavior, and display fewer behavior problems.