Human Development

Chapter 6 Notes
1. How and when do
emotions develop, and
how do babies show
them?

What are emotions?

 Emotions are subjective
reactions to physiological and
behavioral changes.
2.

How do infants show

temperamental
differences, and how
enduring are those
 differences?

3. What roles do
parents play in early
personality
development?
 Harry Harlow with the mother surrogates he
used to raise infant monkeys.
Given a choice, infant monkeys invariably
preferred surrogate mothers covered with soft
terry cloth, and they spent a great deal of time
cuddling with them just as they would have

with their real mothers

This experiment shows that
feeding is not the most
important thing that infants
get from their mothers…

Mothering includes warm

close body contact and
satisfaction of the need to
cling and be held.

Another interesting
experiment is the one by
Konrad Lorenz involving the
 imprinting by ducklings

Imprinting is an instinctive
form of learning during
which a baby animal forms
an attachment to the first
living moving thing it sees –
usually the mother
 Lorenz thought that the
sensory object met by the newborn
bird is somehow stamped immediately
and irreversibly onto its nervous
system.

In other
experiments, he demonstrated that
ducklings could be imprinted not only
to human beings, but also to inanimate
objects such as a white ball. He
discovered also that there is a very
restricted "window" of time after
hatching that will prove effective for
imprinting taking place. Lorenz's work
provided startling evidence that there
are critical periods in life where a
definite type of stimulus is necessary
for normal development. Since
repeated exposure to an
environmental stimulus (association)
is necessary, we could consider that
imprinting is a kind of learning, albeit
with a very strong innate element.
Read box 6-1on page 209 and note the differences in the
role of father’s in different cultures.

4. How do infants
gain trust in their
world and form
attachments?
Erikson’s theory of
psychosocial
development list
trust v mistrust as
the first crisis that
must be developed.
This stage lasts
until about 18
months and
requires infants to
develop a sense of
 being able to rely
upon their
caregivers. They
need to believe that
their physical and
emotional needs
will be met.
Attachment: Children develop
different styles of attachment based on
experiences and interactions with their
primary caregivers. Four different
attachment styles have been identified
in children: secure, anxious-
ambivalent, anxious-avoidant, and
disorganized.
Disorganized children don’t know what to
expect from their parents. Children with
relationships in the other categories have
organized attachments. This means that
they have all learned ways to get what they
need, even if it is not the best way. This
happens because a child learns to predict
how his parent will react, whether it is
positive or negative. They also learn that
doing certain things will make their parents
do certain things.
• Disorganized children will do things that
seem to make no sense.
• Sometimes these children will speak
really fast and will be hard to understand.
• Most disorganized children have a hard
time understanding the feelings of other
children.
• Disorganized children who are playing
with dolls might act out scenes that are
confusing and scary.
• Disorganized children may be very hard
to understand. They may seem very
different from day to day.

5. How do infants and

caregivers ‘read” each
others non-verbal signals?

Mutual regulation; The

infant and the caregiver
communicate emotional states
to one another and respond

appropriately
 Babies learn to “read” the
emotional states of their
caregivers and begin to
develop expectations- even
very small infants can read
the emotional states of others
and adjust their own
behaviour to try to achieve a
comfortable emotional
balance.
The Still-Face paradigm - In the
basic study, two video cameras were
utilized, one on the baby's face and upper
body, the other on the mother's face and
upper body. The cameras were fed into a
split screen recording, with a second-by-
second digital timer recording the real time
of their interaction.
The baby, after being soothed and
contented, was placed in a reclining infant's
seat on a table in a curtained alcove. The
mother was asked to enter the alcove to
"play with the baby in the chair, as she did
at home." She could do everything but take
the baby out of the chair. We asked her to
play with the baby for three minutes, then to
withdraw briefly. After a minute, the mother
was asked to return for a second 3-minute
period. She was instructed to present a
perfectly still face and not to respond to the
baby. She was thus violating the expectancy
set up in the previous play situation. This
situation would test the extent to which the
baby relied on the expectancy and would
demonstrate the nature of the baby's coping
behaviors.
The consistent pattern of infant behavior in
the still-face situation is repeated attempts
to elicit mother's response, followed by
somber expression, orientation away from
mother, and finally withdrawal. All this
takes place in less than three minutes. The
fact that infants in this situation are so
consistently and demonstrably disappointed
by the failure in their ability to recapture the
mother, and so vulnerable to what they see
as her rejection, is evidence of their
overriding dependence on a mother's
predictable response to them. After initial
efforts and initial protest, they collapse into
a self-protective state. First, they try to
avoid the need they have to look at their
mother. Then they try to "turn off" their
environment completely. Finally, they try
their own techniques for self-comforting.
These sequential behaviors demonstrate
both their vulnerability and their powerful
expectancy for the levels of interaction their
mothers have taught them.
Social Referencing – everyone uses social
referencing at some time – the example
your textbook uses is when you are at a
fancy dinner party and you don’t know
which fork to use – you might check out
what fork other people are using…
Babies do that as well – when they do not
understand a situation they look t their
caregivers to see how to respond.
As adults, we do this all the time to obtain
feedback from the world around us, but it's
fascinating to learn how early this skill
develops. By 12 months, research has
shown that babies use visual information
from the faces of their caregivers to make
sense of situations that are new or unclear.
To see if babies would use social
referencing to make decisions, researchers
had to create a situation that would be new
and unclear to young children. In one
experiment, researchers created a "visual
cliff"—a glass-covered space that had a
"deep end" and seemed unsafe to cross. As
they crawled over the glass to get a toy, the
babies reached the "deep end" and weren't
sure whether they should keep going. At
this point, the babies looked at their
mothers—and the researchers studied what
the babies did (Sorce, Emde, Campos, &

Klinnert, 1985).
The mothers and their babies were divided
into two groups. Mothers in the first group
encouraged their babies to come towards
the toy at the other end. As each child
approached the visual cliff, the mother
smiled, created a happy face and
encouraged her baby to cross the table using
only her facial expressions.
The second group of mothers also placed
the toy at the deep end of the cliff, but as
their babies moved closer to the "edge"
these mothers showed a fearful face, again
without talking or using their hands to add
to the communication.
Here's what happened.
When the mothers posed a fearful
expression not one of the 17 babies
ventured across the deep side. But almost
all the babies who saw their mother's happy
face - 14 out of 19 - crossed to the deep
end. These babies recognized their mother's
expression and decided what to do based on
what they "read" in their mother's face.

6. When does the sense of

self arise?
Self concept is the evaluative
mental picture one has of
one’s own abilities and traits.
1. Physical self-recognition
and self-awareness
This generally occurs by 18-
24 months
Babies could recognize
themselves in a mirror –
your text talks about the red
nose experiment where a dot
of red colour was put on a
baby’s nose. Those younger
than 15 months did not
realize anything was out of
place – ¾ of 18 month old
recognized that they didn’t
generally have a red nose
and all the 24 month olds
did.
By 20-24 mths a baby starts
to use 1st person to describe
him/her self
2.Self –description and self-
evaluation – btw 19-30
months toddlers begin to
apply adjectives to
themselves (I’m good…
I’m pretty…I’m big…)
 3. Emotional response to
wrongdoing – this is the
stage where children
understand when they are
doing something wrong
and they will stop (at least
while they are being
watched). This is the
beginning of moral
understanding (knowing
right from wrong).

7. How do toddlers develop

autonomy and standards for
 socially acceptable
behaviour? Autonomy

Erikson identifies this

period from 18
months to 3 years
where a child solves
the crisis of autonomy
vs. shame. The virtue
is “Will”
Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt.
Between the ages of one and three,
children begin to assert their
independence, by walking away from
their mother, picking which toy to play
with, and making choices about what
they like to wear, to eat, etc.
(negativism) If children in this stage are
encouraged and supported in their
increased independence, they become
more confident and secure in their own
ability to survive in the world. If children
are criticized, overly controlled, or not
given the opportunity to assert
themselves, they begin to feel
inadequate in their ability to survive,
and may then become overly
dependent upon others, lack self-
esteem, and feel a sense of shame or
doubt in their own abilities.
Socialization: Human infants are born
without any culture. They must be
transformed by their parents, teachers,
and others into cultural and socially
adept people. The general process of
acquiring culture is referred to as
socialization. During socialization, we
learn the language of the culture we are
born into as well as the roles we are to
play in life. We also learn and usually
adopt our culture's norms through the
socialization process. (internalization)

Self-regulation- a
child’s independent
control of behaviour
to conform to
 understood social
standards. In other
words when the child
first realizes that she
is about to do
something she is not
supposed to do and
changes her
behaviour (without
being told).

7. How do infants and

toddlers interact with
siblings and other
children?
 Read the
section over – there
are no notes or
important terms in
this section
8. How do parental
employment and
early child care
affect infants’ and
toddlers’
development?
Also see table 6-3 on page 229
Parents selecting care should choose high-
quality settings. In high-quality
environments-whether offered by friends
and relatives, family child-care providers or
center staff-children spend less time
watching TV and more time talking with
adults. Children in high-quality settings are
exposed to caregiver-initiated activities that
stimulate language and cognitive
development and activities that promote
social development.
Caregivers should talk with and encourage
infants to "talk" back by smiling, paying
attention when they talk, and repeating the
sounds infants make. They should play
games with infants, such as peek-a-boo, and
sing to them. They should help infants and
toddlers learn the words they need to
communicate their needs and express their
emotions. Toddlers and preschoolers can
learn early reading and math skills through
everyday events provided by adults, such as
making play dough, playing with blocks
and different size containers (e.g., boxes,
food storage containers) that fit inside one
another, telling stories and reading books.
At all ages, caregivers should help children
learn more acceptable ways to act when
they misbehave. They should teach children
how to trade or share toys, resolve conflicts,
and use words instead of hitting.
High-quality settings also provide time for
less-structured activities that allow children
to run outside to build strong and healthy
bodies, to develop creativity and learn
problem-solving skills as they play, to
recognize and express emotions in
acceptable ways, and to interact with others
in socially appropriate ways.
The indoor and outdoor environments
should be uncluttered and well organized.
These environments should include a
variety of materials that encourage children
to develop their large and small muscles,
engage in creative activities (e.g., music,
art, drama) and provide opportunity to play
with cognitively stimulating materials
appropriate to the child's age.

Human Development
Chapter 7 Notes
1. How much do
children’s’ bodies
change btw ages 3-6,
and what are their
nutritional needs?
No longer a toddler, three-year-olds are less
top-heavy and move with greater sureness.
The head is still somewhat large in
comparison to adults but the body is
catching up. They are more coordinated at
running, climbing, and other large-muscle
activities. They can ride a tricycle or pump
a swing. They can catch a large ball using
two hands and their bodies. Improved finger
dexterity (fine motor) allows them to put
together simple puzzles, use tools, hold
crayons with fingers instead of fists, make
balls and snakes out of clay and undress
without assistance.
 Nutrition: It’s important to allow
preschoolers to regulate their own caloric
intake and not insist that they “clean their
plate”
Children over 2 years should get only about
30% of their calories from fat
Teeth Most children will have all 20 of their
primary teeth by age 3 Most children will
start losing their primary teeth between ages
6 and 8 years. These teeth are replaced by
permanent teeth starting around age 5 or 6.
2. What sleep patterns
and problems tend to
develop during early
childhood?
The average 3-year-old sleeps about 12
hours each day. This usually means 10 or 11
hours at night and a one- to two-hour nap.
Naptimes are more variable for 3-year-olds
than for 2-year-olds. A 3-year-old may need
more or less sleep depending on the day's
events, an illness, changes in her routine, or
any developmental changes s/he's going
through. Whatever amount of time a child
naturally sleeps in a day is the amount s/he
needs.
A 3-year-old leads a very busy life which
can set the stage for vivid dreams and
nightmares. You can't and shouldn't want to
prevent wild dreams; they help the child
deal with the challenges of the day. Bedtime
routines should be calm and simple.
Persistent nightmares may signal excessive
stress or stimulation before bed (eg too
much television). Night terrors are different
than nightmares – a child seems to wake
from a deep sleep directly into a panicked
state. They generally do not remember the
episode in the morning.
Bedwetting (enuresis)
Wetting the bed at night is fairly common at
this age. It seems to have a genetic
component.

3.What are the main

motor achievements of
early childhood?
(also see table 7.1 on page
242)

Handedness
Preference for one hand over
the other is usually evident
before age 3
Most are right-handed since
the left brain controls right
side and left brain is
generally more dominant. In
people whose brains are
more symmetrical the right
hemisphere will generally
dominate making the person
left handed.
Boys are more likely
than girls to be left
handed
Artistic development
Note figure 7-1 on
page 244
The changes in
children’s art reflects
not only the
differences in brain
development but also
 the differences in
small muscle control
a. Shape stage
(approx age 3)
b. Design stage
b-1 combines shapes
b-2 aggregates
c. Pictorial stage (age
4-5)
 4. What are the major
health and safety risks
for children?
Immunizations

Most major diseases of

childhood are fairly rare in
Canada and the US due to
widespread immunizations.
Minor illness
Since the lungs are not fully
developed respiratory
illnesses are common in
small children- these
sometimes frequent illnesses
actually help children build
up lifetime immunity.
Accidents
(read over the section about
preventable injuries)
As well as table 7-2 on page
247 note that children from
poorer economic situations
have a higher associated risk
of death and injury.
 5. What are some of the
typical cognitive
advances and some
immature aspects of
young children’s
thinking?
PreOperational Thought (2 to 6 or 7 years)
At this age, according to Piaget, children
acquire representational skills in the areas
mental imagery, and especially language.
They are very self-oriented, and have an
egocentric view; that is, preoperational
children can use these representational
skills only to view the world from their own
perspective.
 One of the major achievements of the
preoperational child is the use of symbols
and language. (the Symbolic Function) The
achievement of representation can be seen
in deferred imitation, symbolic play and
spoken language. Language helps the
children to internalize their behaviours
through representation which accelerates
experiences as actions do not need to be
physically performed, children can imagine
the outcomes of their actions
An egocentric child cannot stand in another
person’s shoes and see the world as they do,
they are unable to take the view point of
others and believe that everybody else
thinks in the same ways they do. They are
not even aware that other people have
different view points. These beliefs are
reflected in the way they interact with the
world; in their language and their
behaviours. In centration, a child only pays
attention to a small range of aspects when
observing a stimulus. They may only pay
attention to the height of the object rather
than its mass.
Reversibility refers to the fact that
reversible thoughts can follow their line of
reasoning back to its starting point.
Children of this age cannot think back to
the initial stage of an action to answer a
question pertaining to it. They cannot think
in reverse. Finally, a similar characteristic to
reversibility is transformation.
Preoperational children are more focused on
states as opposed to the transformations
between states. When children in this stage
are asked to arrange sticks depicting a
falling motion, most have trouble filling in
the steps between the initial and the final
states.
See the table 7-3 on page 251
All of these above characteristics are
evident in the preoperational childs inability
to solve conservation problems.
Conservation is the realisation that mass
stays the same even if an object changes
form or appearance. Conservation cannot be
taught, it must be learnt through the childs
experiences and interactions (wadsworth,
1989). There are three main tests of
conservation used in experiments,
conservation of number, area and liquid. (see
table 7-5 on page 255)
 This demonstrates one of Piaget's
classic experiments known as the
"Three Mountain Problem." He
designed this experiment to support his
theory that children possess
egocentrism characteristics of thought
during the preoperational period of
cognitive development. Piaget wanted
to show that children have a self-
centered perception of the world at this
age. This flash animation demonstrates
Piaget's theory. The girl is sitting in front
 of a mountain that has a cross visible
only from her side. In addition, there is
a doll on the other side of the mountain.
According to Piaget's work, if
preoperational children are asked to
say what the doll can see, their
response would reflect what can be
seen from their perspective only.
A "Theory of Mind is something that all
people must develop in order to understand
the minds of other people. We call it a
theory because we can never actually
connect with another's mind. There is no
objective way to verify the contents of their
consciousness or to assess their motivations
and desires. Instead, when we interact with
other people we can only guess at these
things, using our TOM to work out what
they know, think or feel.
It seems reasonable to assume that children
cannot comprehend the desires or emotions
of others unless they are aware of their own,
and it certainly seems to be true that TOM
develops alongside self-awareness First,
children learn to recognize themselves
(from around 18 months), then to express
their emotional states (from about two
years). Then, they must make the distinction
between self and other. Here's an example
from a telephone conversation with a three
year-old boy:
(Me) What have you been doing today?
(Him) Playing with this.
(Me) Oh, right. What is it?
(Him) THIS!!!
It is quite common for children at this age
to fail to realize that other people cannot
necessarily see what they can see (and vice
versa: I have often seen children "hide" by
covering their eyes. If they can't see
themselves, neither can you!).
Piaget and other researchers, and can
conclude that the ability to decentre begins
to emerge at around three to four years of
age (somewhat earlier than Piaget himself
believed). Similarly, they need to be able to
tell the difference between the physical and
the mental, recognizing that a mental
representation can differ from the object it
represents. We can see this ability emerging
at quite an early age, when children begin
pretend play in the second year. At first, the
distinction between real and pretend is
rather vague, and one may see a child
pretending that a building block is a cake,
and then actually trying to eat it. By 3-4
years, such overlap is rare.
6. How is language improved
and what happens when
development is delayed?

Preschoolers make rapid

advances in vocab, syntax
and grammar.
At age 3 a child has about
1000 words and by age 6 has
learned about 2600 words.
Fast Mapping
Children may be able to gain at least partial
information about the meaning of a word from
how it is used in a sentence, what words it is
contrasted with, as well as other factors. This
strategy, known as fast mapping, may allow the
child to quickly hypothesize about the meaning
of a word.
This explains how children
increase their vocabularies so
rapidly – in fast mapping a
child absorbs the meaning of
a new word after hearing it
only once or twice.
Grammar and Syntax
At age 3 children can use
plurals, possessives and past
tenses. They understand I Me
and You. They tend to over-
generalize the rules.
Example “I gotted a cookie”
 Most sentences are
declarative.
BY age 4 and 5 they are
adding clauses
Example: :I want a cookie
because I am hungry”
By age 5-7 children are using
conjunctions, prepositions,
and articles. Speech becomes
increasingly sophisticated.
Pragmatics
Pragmatics is the practical
knowledge of how to use
language. Just as you change
your vocabulary and your
 syntax to speak to different
people – children learn to do
this as well. 5 year olds learn
to adapt their language to
speak to parents in one way
and a younger sibling in
another.
This is an aspect of SOCIAL
SPEECH
Which is speech that is
intended to be understood by
a listener.
Private speech ; Talking
aloud to oneself with no
intent to communicate - you
may have noticed that many children talk to
themselves while they are playing alone or
doing a task.
Piaget and Vygotsky disagreed on the role
that private speech played in one’s
cognitive development.
Vygotsky called this private speech while
Piaget called it egocentric speech.
In Piaget’s mind these patterns of speech
showed evidence of egocentrism, a sign of
cognitive immaturity, and an inability to
share the perspective of another individual.
He argued, as the children grow older they
socialize increasingly more with others, and
their speech becomes communicative.
Their speech moves away from being self-
to other-oriented, a sign that they are able to
adopt the perspectives of others. A child
overcomes egocentrism by beginning to
think critically and logically, causing
egocentric speech to fade away.
 Vygotsky –felt that a child’s cognitive
development originates in socialization
activities, and then goes through a process
of increasing individuation. He argued that
self-directed speech did not show any
cognitive immaturity, but did show some
form of development. He claims that
private speech represents a functional
differentiation in the speech of a child, or
that a child begins to differentiate between
speech that is directed towards the others
and speech that is self-directed
Vygotsky also sees that as a child grows
older, this self-directed speech changes into
silent inner speech. He explains that
vocalization becomes unnecessary because
the child “thinks” the words instead of
pronouncing them. He also believes that
older children, when faced with obstacles,
examine the situation in silence and find a
solution. When they describe their
 thoughts, they are similar to those of
preschoolers when thinking aloud.
Vygotsky also sees that private speech is
connected with children’s thinking because
it helps them overcome difficulties.
Emergent Literacy: the
development of Skills, Knowledge and
Attitudes that underlie reading and
writing.

Pre-Literacy Skills –
Realization that words are
composed of distinct sounds
(phonemes) and that certain
alphabet letters represent
certain phonemes.
Children reach the
understanding that thoughts,
 feelings and ideas can be
expressed through the written
language.
Parents can encourage pre-
literacy by ENHANCING the
CHILD’S LANGUAGE
DEVELOPMENT DURING EVERYDAY
ACTIVITIES
Some Ideas….

2 years
1. BIG Legos are an excellent way
to introduce prepositional phrases
such as on top of, under, and in front
of. They are great for teaching
similarities and differences, and for
building creative planning and
executing skills. (also great for fine
motor development)
2. Cooking Sets with Foods, Baby
Dolls and Equipment, Cars Etc.,
provide wonderful opportunities to act
out activities of daily living, develop
abstract thinking skills, and to talk
about feelings.
3. Shopping Trips can be language
learning experiences with little effort
on the part of the caregiver. Before
going, let your child help you decide
what you need. Give him/her a list of
pictures so they can shop along side
you.

3 years
1. Arts and Crafts provide an
opportunity to learn about shapes,
 colors, and sizes. The key is the
process, not the finished product.
2. Representational Toys: Dress-
up, Cooking Sets, and Vehicles are a
way to practice language that is useful
both in play and in the real world.
Providing children with toys that
represent everyday tasks that they
observe their parents engaging in,
creates an opportunity for role-playing.
3. Puppets are a wonderful way to
reduce some of the anxiety in
“reluctant” talkers. They are also a
great way to learn how to take on the
perspective of someone else. This
skill is important for narrative
development as well as peer
interaction.
4. Playdough is a creative material
that allows children to invent anything
 they choose. In addition, you can give
them an opportunity to describe their
creation.

4-5 years
1. Rhyming is an important skill,
which increases phonemic awareness
and is a building block for future
literacy. Try rhyming simple words like
fat cat and then progressing to more
complex rhymes incorporating
rhyming names.
2. Conversation with a 4-year-old is
essential. At this age, your child
should be able to tell you about events
that happened in the past, and events
that occurred when you were not
present.
3. Trains encourage cooperative
play and creative problem solving,
offering multiple solutions for how to
set up the tracks.
4. Musical Instruments are great at
any age. At 4 years, your child can
learn to follow a sequence of musical
beats and instructions.
5. Blocks build creative skills, math
skills and science skills.

7.What memory abilities

expand in early
childhood?
Recognition
The ability to
identify a
 previously
encountered
stimulus. Example:
Recognizing a lost
toy or sock
Recall
The ability to
reproduce from
memory Example:
describing the lost
toy to someone
else.
Forming
Childhood
Memories
3 types of childhood
memories have
been distinguished
a. Generic Memory:
starts at about age
2 – produces a
script(outline) of a
familiar repeated
event. It guides
behaviour and
helps the child
know what to
expect next time
the event occurs.
An example might
 be driving to
grandma’s house –
they know it’s a
long drive and they
usually stop for

lunch at and
then finally they
get to grandmas.
Episodic Memory –
Awareness of
having experienced
a specific event at a
specific time and
place. An exmple
 might be a trip to
the fair in the
summer – it’s a
special event that
doesn’t happen all
the time.
Autobiographical Memory –
This refers to a set of
specific events from
one’s own history. It
generally begins around
age 4 The Social
Interaction Model
states that the
construction of
 autobiographical
memories occurs with
parents and other
adults through re-
telling narratives,
context questions and
reminiscences.

8.How is preschoolers’
intelligence measured,
and what are some of
the influences on it? The
Stanford-Binet intelligence scale
is a standardized test that assesses
intelligence and cognitive abilities
in children The Stanford-Binet
scale tests intelligence across
 four areas: verbal reasoning,
quantitative reasoning,
abstract/visual reasoning, and
short-term memory. The areas
are covered by 15 subtests,
including vocabulary,
comprehension, verbal
absurdities, pattern analysis,
matrices, paper folding and
cutting, copying, quantitative,
number series, equation
building, memory for sentences,
memory for digits, memory for
objects, and bead memory.
The Wechsler
Preschool and
Primary Scale of
Intelligence
 Another
standardized
intelligence test for
children from the
ages of 3-7

9. What purpose
does early child
education serve,
and how do
children make the
transition to
kindergarten?
The best preschools have daily
schedules that include plenty of
time for physical activity, quiet
time (including regular reading
sessions), group and individual
activities, socializing, crafts,
meals, snacks, and lots of free
play.
A well-thought-out curriculum
stimulates a child's development
and makes daily life more fun.

Children learn through

play. An experience must be fun
and exciting for them in order for
it to be of any value. A quality
preschool curriculum should
focus more on the experience of
the child and less on having
projects finished to take home
and hang on the fridge.
Art activities should be open-
ended, giving the preschooler the
freedom to express themselves
and experiment with different art
materials. Science and math
should be hands on. A preschool
that constantly uses worksheets
as part of their lesson plans is
not providing the children in
their care with a quality
learning experience. Preschool
children are not
developmentally ready for
worksheets or lecture-like
teaching. They will not gain as
much from filling out an alphabet
worksheet as they would be from
making letters out of play-dough
or writing them in sidewalk
chalk.
Kindergarten
Generally occurs at age 5
 A transition year for most
children from the freedom of
being at home to an introduction
to more formalized education.
At kindergarten age, children
need a continuation of what they
have been doing in preschool
more than a formal academic
program. Unfortunately, today
many kindergarten classrooms
look more like rooms for older
children. Good Kindergartens
should include blocks, books,
dramatic play props, toys, art,
sand and water tables.
Human Development
Chapter 8 Notes
1. How does the self-
concept develop
 during early
childhood, and how
do children advance
in understanding
their emotions?
Self Concept - The mental image or
perception that one has of oneself.- the
total picture of our traits and abilities. .
In the preschool years self definition is
generally concrete and observable.
They will talk about the colour of their
hair or eyes. They tend to use single
representations in which they describe
themselves in all or nothing terms (no
grey areas!) Example: “I am good.”
Around age 5-6 we see representational
mappings where a child starts making
logical connections between aspects of
his/her self but still sees these
characteristics in all or nothing terms.
In later childhood (age 7+) they start to
more generalized traits such as being
popular, smart etc. They can also start
to be more self-critical and also begin to
realize that they can actually be more
than 1 thing at a time. Example: “I am
usually (generally) good but sometimes
I say bad words.” Or as they become a
little more mature “I am good at math
but bad in spelling”.
Emotions
Simultaneous Emotions
Between ages 4-12 children realize that
they can experience 2 or more emotions
at the same time. See your text book
page 283-4 where different levels of
understanding this concept are
discussed.
 2. How do young
children develop
initiative and self-
esteem?
Erik Erikson: Initiative Versus Guilt
•

• “Children must balance the urge to pursue goals with the moral
reservations that may prevent carrying them out. Children who
learn how to regulate these opposing drives develop the
“virtue” of purpose, the courage to envision and pursue goals
without being unduly inhibited by guilt or fear of punishment.”

Learning Initiative Versus Guilt

(Purpose)
Erikson believes that this third
psychosocial crisis occurs during what
he calls the "play age," or the later
preschool years (from about 3½ to,
entry into formal school). During it,
the healthily developing child learns:
(1) to imagine, to broaden his skills
through active play of all sorts,
including fantasy (2) to cooperate with
others (3) to lead as well as to follow.
Immobilized by guilt, he is: (1) fearful
(2) hangs on the fringes of groups (3)
continues to depend unduly on adults
and (4) is restricted both in the
development of play skills and
imagination.
3. How do boys and girls
become aware of the
meaning of gender and what
explains the differences in
behaviour btw the sexes?
How do boys and girls
become aware of the
meaning of gender and what
explains the differences in
behaviour btw the sexes?
A gender role is a set of perceived
behavioral norms associated particularly
with males or females, in a given social
group or system. Gender roles are not
biologically determined, but vary
acording to culture and era, and even for
individuals during the course of their
lives. Gender roles are consequently
described by social scientists as socially
constructed. Most of the behaviour
associated with gender is learned rather
than innate. People learn what sorts of
behaviour and personality are regarded in
their cultural context as appropriate for
males or females.
 The acquisition
Gender typing –
of the gender role – the
socialization process.
Parents often make
comments like: Big boys don't
"

cry" or "Little girls shouldn't get their

pretty clothes dirty" Gender typing is the
result of all the messages parents and
society in general give children about
their gender.
This is a baby boy (Louis the
th
15 ) This was a customary
outfit in the 1700s for baby
boys but wouldn’t be
considered a proper way to
dress a baby boy today. From
infancy, culture teaches what it means to
be a boy or a girl. From the colour of
clothes to the toys we play with, the
messages begin at a very early age. Young
people are influenced by a barrage of
messages to conform to a variety of
expectations, and to preserve a rigid set of
values that stress the differences between
genders.

Gender Stereotypes –
preconceived generalizations
about male and female
behaviour.
Sugar and spice and everything nice,
That's what little girls are made of.
Snips and snails and puppy dog tails,
That's what little boys are made of.

Table 8-1 on page 288 should also be

examined for different perspectives on
Gender Development
Theory Basic Belief
Biological Gender roles are
Approach biologically influenced
There is a different in
physical brain
 development in the sexes
which may lead to
different behaviours and
different abilities.
Some links to hormonal
influences
Psychoanalytic Freud – Identification
theory – the child will
adopt the characteristics,
beliefs, attitudes and
behaviours of the same
sex parent
Cognitive Children decide whether
Approach they are a boy or a girl
(they do their own gender
typing) based on their
experiences. A child
organizes information
about what is considered
appropriate behaviour for
a boy or a girl and then
acts accordingly For
example a little boy plays
 with toy trucks because he
perceives that (based upon
his experiences) with
being consistent
behaviour for being a boy.
They also develop gender
constancy where they
realize that they will
always be a boy or girl
and adopt the gender
appropriate behaviours.
A second cognitive
approach is the gender-
schema theory in which
children socialize
themselves by building a
mental network of
information about being
male or female in their
culture .
Socialization This theory says that
children learn gender
roles through socialization
 and the influences of
parents, peers, and
cultural influences.

Parents
Boys are played with more
as infants –fathers play
rougher with them – girls
are treated as more
fragile.
Gender-specific toys are
provided.
Girls on the other hand
get more freedom in
clothing choice and are
allowed to express pain
and hurt to a greater
degree.
Peers
Even in early childhood
the peer group is a major
influence on gender-typed
behaviour. Children show
 each other approval for
acting in what they
perceive to be gender-
appropriate ways and
disapproval for what they
consider inappropriate
Cultural Influences
Media is responsible
reinforcing a great many
gender-typing behaviour.
Though not as strongly
as in earlier years, the
portrayal of both men
and women on TV is
largely traditional and
stereotypical. This
serves to promote a
polarization of gender
roles. [With femininity
are associated traits
such as emotionality, ,
co-operation, a
communal sense, and
compliance. Masculinity
tends to be associated
with such traits as
rationality, efficiency,
competition,
individualism and
ruthlessness.] Men tend
to be shown as more
dominant, more violent
and more powerful than
women. Men on TV are
more likely to disparage
women than vice versa.
They drive, drink and
smoke more, do athletic
things, and make more
plans. They are found
more in the world of
things than in
relationships. Women
on TV tend to be
younger than the men,
typically under 30.
Children on TV
In general on TV, boys
tend to be shown as
active, aggressive,
rational and
discontented. They tend
to engage in traditional
male activities such as
sports, travel and
causing trouble. Even
now, girls are often
shown talking on the
phone, reading and
helping with the
housework. This pattern
is even found in
 educational programmes
for children.

4. How do preschoolers play

and how does play
contribute to and reflect
development?
Parten’s Play
• Unoccupied
–Unenga
ged
with
other
children
 or
activitie
s
–Non-
play
–

• Onlooker
–Watches others at play
•Solitary
–Plays alone
–Independent from those
around him or her
 –Materials are different;
children center on own
play
• Parallel
–Plays independently
–Objects and toys are
similar to those of
nearby children
–No attempt to control the
area
–The chose activities tend
to bring children closer
together
• Associative
–Engages in same activity
as others
–No active cooperation
–No clear division of labor
or organization
–No imposition of
individual ideas
–Each child plays as
wishes
–Some interaction occurs
• Cooperative
–Engages in group
activity for some purpose
–One or two children take
role as leaders
 –Leader controls play,
gives directions about
roles and actions
–Play leaders change
frequently

5.What forms of discipline

do parents use, and how do
parenting styles and
practices influence
development?
Children usually learn more
by having good behaviour
reinforced than they do by
 having bad behaviour
punished.
Reinforcements can be
tangible or intangible
But the goal should be
towards removing tangible
and extrinsic motivations to
developing intrinsic
motivations to desirable
behaviours. Children who
are punished harshly do not
learn to effectively manage
their own behaviours.
Power assertion –
Disciplinary strategy
 designed to discourage
unacceptable behaviour
through physical or verbal
enforcement. (hitting,
threatening or yelling)
Inductive techniques – a
type of discipline which
attempts to appeal to a
child’s sense of fairness and
reason – involves logical
consequences – explanations
– discussions
Withdrawal of Love- A
disciplinary strategy that
i8nvolves ignoring, isolating,
 or showing dislike for a
child.
Parenting Styles
Baumrind’s Model
The permissive parent attempts to behave
in a nonpunitive, acceptant and affirmative
manner towards the child's impulses,
desires, and actions. She makes few
demands for household responsibility and
orderly behavior. She presents herself to the
child as a resource for him to use as he
wishes, not as an ideal for him to emulate,
nor as an active agent responsible for
shaping or altering his ongoing or future
behavior. She allows the child to regulate
his own activities as much as possible,
avoids the exercise of control, and does not
encourage him to obey externally defined
standards. She attempts to use reason and
manipulation, but not overt power to
accomplish her ends (p. 889).

Expectations
WARMTH

The authoritarian parent attempts to

shape, control, and evaluate the behavior
and attitudes of the child in accordance with
a set standard of conduct. She [the parent]
values obedience as a virtue and favors
punitive, forceful measures to curb self-will
at points where the child's actions or beliefs
conflict with what she thinks is right
conduct. She believes in keeping the child
in his place, in restricting his autonomy,
and in assigning household responsibilities
in order to inculcate respect for work. She
regards the preservation of order and
traditional structure as a highly valued end
in itself. She does not encourage verbal give
and take, believing that the child should
accept her word for what is right

Warmth

Expectations
1. The authoritative parent attempts to
direct the child's activities but in a
rational, issue-oriented manner. She [the
parent] encourages verbal give and take,
shares with the child the reasoning
behind her policy, and solicits his
objections when he refuses to conform.
Both autonomous self-will and
disciplined conformity are valued.
Therefore she exerts firm control at
points of parent-child divergence, but
does not hem the child in with
restrictions. She enforces her own
perspective as an adult, but recognizes
the child's individual interests and
special ways. The authoritative parent
affirms the child's present qualities, but
also sets standards for future conduct.Expectations
WARMTH
She uses reason, power, and shaping by
regime and reinforcement to achieve her
 objectives, and does not base her
decisions on group consensus or the
individual child's desires

6.Why do young children

help or hurt others, and why
do they develop fears?

Altruism – This is a
prosocial behaviour that
children may develop as
 early as 2 years of age. It
involves some type of
behaviour which is meant to
help others without
receiving any reward for the
behaviour beyond the
feeling of doing something
good (intrinsically
motivated)
Aggression – Types of
aggressive behaviour
Instrumental Aggression –
Aggressive behaviour which
is a means to achieve a goal
such as getting a toy or a
turn – it is not meant to hurt

the other child.

Hostile aggression
Aggressive behaviour meant
to hurt another person
 Overt Aggression
This type of aggression can
be instrumental or hostile
but it is openly directed at a
specific target

Relational Aggression
(sometimes called Covert
because it’s more sneaky
than overt)
Aggressive behaviour that
seeks to damage another
person’s relationships,
reputation, well-being. It
involves name calling
excluding someone from a
group and gossiping.
Sources and Triggers of
Aggression
Factors include
Biology
Low self control (having
parents who use discipline
methods involving too
much extrinsic control
and which lacks the
development of intrinsic
self control)
Exposure to real and TV
violence
Inconsistent and harsh
discipline
 Reinforcement of
undesirable behaviour (eg
hitting/spanking)

7. Why are some children

abused or neglected,
and what are the effects
of maltreatment?

Read over the definitions of

maltreatment (physical
abuse, neglect, sexual abuse
and emotional maltreatment)
– These are important but
this presentation won’t go
into them as the definitions
are common sense and
common knowledge.
Relationships with other
children
Self efficacy –
Self-Efficacy at Work!
 8. How do young children
get along with (or
without) siblings?
There are benefits both to
having siblings and to being
an only child
Siblings Only Children
Increased Maybe more
Socialization mature
opportunities Higher self-
-Learn to esteem
problem solve -More
-May be motivated to
better able to achieve
 form and -More time
maintain and attention
friendships from parent
May show
increased
sensitivity to
the feelings of
others.

• 9. How do young children

choose playmates and
friends, and why are some
 children more popular than
others?
• Parenting styles can affect
popularity
• Popular children have
positive relationships with
parents and the parents
tend to use an authoritative
style (high warmth and
high expectations)
• Children who are parented
using power-assertion
techniques are often either
too fearful to develop
positive relationships or