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Janet Belsky’s
Experiencing The Lifespan, 2e
Chapter 5:
Physical and Cognitive Development
Early and Middle Childhood
Meredyth Fellows, West Chester University of PA
Setting the Context: Special
Social Learning Tasks
What sets us apart from other animals?
_____________________________
Learn norms of our culture
Ability to take another person’s perspective
Mind-reading skill (begins with joint attention)
Language
Slow-growing Frontal Lobes
Compared to other parts of the brain,
__________________development is on a delayed
timetable.
As frontal lobes mature throughout childhood and
adolescence, our ability to think through, inhibit, and plan
our actions gradually improves.
Growth and Motor Skills: Basic Facts
Cephalocaudal sequence—bodies elongate and lengthen
Mass-to-specific sequence—physical abilities become more
coordinated and precise
Two types of physical skills
________________: large muscle movement
Gross Motor Video
_______________: small coordinated movement
Fine Motor Video
Obesity
Monitored in U.S. by National Health
and Nutrition Study (NHANES), a
National Poll
Assessed by BMI=ratio weight to height
Obesity: BMI at or above the 95th %
compared to U.S. norms established for
children in the 1970s
CDC DATA VIDEO
% of U.S. Children Aged 6-11
who are classified as Obese
Childhood Obesity
Global Epidemic
Demographics differ in developed and
developing worlds
Obesity in the developed world
Children from low income families
In U.S., highest among
____________________________children
Developing world: disease of the “well-off”
Factors Promoting Obesity
Primary Culprit: lack of physical activity
_________________of food
Internet, TV
Research shows that time spent watching TV predicts
obesity
Restaurant foods, large servings, and caloric content
Negative attitudes toward the obese
Teasing; Stereotyping
Studies show gym teachers display negative attitude
(obese children judged slow and clumsy)
Cognitive Development
Cognitive Development
Piaget’s Preoperational Stage
Spans ages 3 to elementary school (7, 8)
Preoperational Thinking
Type of cognition marked by an inability to step
back from one’s immediate perceptions and to
think conceptually.
Thinking is qualitatively unlike that of an adult.
Cannot reason logically; cannot look beyond
appearance of objects
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
Assessing Preoperational
Thought
Piaget’s Conservation Tasks
____________: our knowledge that the amount of a
given substance remains the same despite changes in
its shape or form. Video
Preoperational children do not understand:
The laws of conservation!
The concept of reversibility!
Children center only on what they can see!
Preoperational children learn through pretend play
Video Pretend Play
Video Stars Wars Revealed
Preoperational Thinking:
Peculiar Perceptions About People
Preoperational children
have an inability to
understand
________________—
a person’s core self stays
the same despite
changes in appearance
Other Peculiarities in Thinking
Animism
Artificialism
Belief that inanimate
objects are alive
Belief that humans make
everything in nature
________________
Inability to understand
another’s perspective
Piaget’s Concrete Operational
Stage: Ages 5-7
Skills develop gradually (57) but by age 8 children are
firmly in this stage.
Understand conservation
tasks-Video
Give up animism
Understand identity
constancy
Look beyond the way
things appear
Begin to understand
principles of basic math
Evaluating Piaget
Should we classify preoperational and concrete
operational thinking as
belonging to different stages?
Skills appear gradually!
Children are less egocentric
than Piaget believed.
Cultural influences on timing
of learning certain tasks
Piaget did not believe in active
teaching; believed children
would automatically grow out
of their preoperational
worldview.
Lev Vygotsky: A Different
View of Cognitive Growth
Human interaction promotes learning
and cognitive growth
Zone of ________________________
Learning is bidirectional
Video
Information Processing:
Helping Children with ADHD
Standard Treatment: psycho-stimulant
medications
Best when used with reinforcement for
appropriate behavior
Foster best person-environment fit
Provide non-distracting environment that
demands selective attention (e.g.
homework)
Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity
Disorder
Characteristics:
Excessive restlessness
Easily distracted
Difficulties focusing
Usually diagnosed in elementary school
Most often diagnosed in boys
More often diagnosed in the U.S.
Interventions for ADHD
Reduce distractions.
Allow special time for exercise.
Give the child special time and help with
activities that demand several steps.
Minimize the need to multitask.
Consider psycho-stimulant medication.
Avoid power-assertion. Do not define your
child as a “bad kid.”
Theory of Mind
The understanding
that people have
different beliefs and
perspectives from
one’s own
About age 4-5
Researchers use
“_______________”
Video