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Topic 1 
Development – How
did you develop?
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Exploring the topic

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Are you wondering why it is important to know how we develop?

Development underpins everything we do, what we say, our attitudes and
our beliefs throughout our lifetime. It is fundamental to understanding
humans. Most people would agree that it is important for us to know more
about how we become who we are. This is partly determined by what we
are born with and partly influenced by what happens to us.
How much do you know about your own development? You probably
realise that you developed abilities as you got older, such as being able to
do puzzles that you could not do when you were younger.
You probably also know what people have said you are good at and what
you think you are good at; however, psychology suggests that this very
knowledge can hinder your development. When someone challenges us
to improve at something, we generally do better. Or you might have found
that you become better at something, such as a sport or a different skill,
by practising and putting in effort.
Many psychologists have researched these aspects of development and
we will be exploring these in more detail in this topic.

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 Your learning
In this topic you will learn about:
•• Early brain development
•• Piaget’s stages of development and their role in education
•• Piaget’s theory of cognitive development
•• Dweck’s mindset theory and the effects of learning on development
•• Willingham’s learning theory and the effects of learning on development
•• development studies by Piaget and Inhelder (1956) and Gunderson et al. (2013)
•• issues and debates around the development of morality.

Getting started
You can start by investigating your own development, which will help you to understand the theories you will be
learning about. Here are some ideas of how you could do this.

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•• Informally interview someone who knew you when you were young and ask them what you were like as a 2-year-
old compared with when you were 7 years old. What could you do and what could you not do at these ages?
•• Talk to someone of your own age about their development and how it differed or was similar to your own.
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•• Perhaps gather information from other students in your class to see if gender seems to have affected
development and in what way.
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How could your age, upbringing and experiences affect your development?

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Development – How did you develop?

Early brain development The medulla oblongata (also known as the medulla) is
in the hindbrain, in front of the cerebellum. It controls
involuntary responses, such as sneezing and breathing,
What you will learn as well as heart rate and blood pressure. It forms as the
•• How the forebrain, midbrain and hindbrain develop foetus develops, at 20 weeks and connects the rest of
in the foetus. the brain to the spinal cord (Figure 1.1).
•• The development of the cerebellum and medulla. Building neural connections from birth
A key part of a baby’s brain development is the huge
The brain and connections within it are very complex. increase in the number of neural connections from
While not everything about it is known, there is some birth to 3 years old – 700–1000 new connections form
current understanding about how the brain develops. every second. These connections allow for very fast
communication between the many different parts of
Development of the midbrain, forebrain the brain. The brain doubles in size over the first year
and hindbrain and reaches 80 per cent of its size by the age of 3 years.
When the foetus is about 3 or 4 weeks old, a long tube Early connections are said to be of great importance and
develops in the brain, which is divided from the front into are reinforced by use, so it is important that babies get

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three distinct round cavities. In order from the top, these plenty of stimulation.
are the forebrain, midbrain and hindbrain. Below the
hindbrain is the spinal cord. By 5 weeks old, the forebrain Link it up
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and hindbrain have each split into a further two cavities
(giving five in total); the forebrain splits into an anterior
The structure and function of the brain are explained in
more detail in Topic 4 The brain and neuropsychology.
(front) and a posterior (behind) section and the hindbrain
splits through the middle. The midbrain does not divide.

Development of the cerebellum and medulla Key terms

The cerebellum (‘little brain’) can be seen in the foetus Brain: the organ in your head made up of nerves that
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at about 6 weeks and by the end of the first year the processes information and controls behaviour.
cerebellum is three times the size. The cerebellum Forebrain: the anterior part of the brain, including
controls physical skills which develop a lot over this time, the hemispheres and the central brain structures.
possibly accounting for the growth of the cerebellum. The
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Midbrain: the middle section of the brain forming

cerebellum is involved in responses such as fear, and in
part of the central nervous system.
other functions such as processing sense information.
Hindbrain: the lower part of the brain that includes
the cerebellum, pons and medulla oblongata.
Anterior: directed towards the front, when used in
Forebrain relation to our biology.
Posterior: directed towards the back, when used in
relation to our biology.
Cerebellum: an area of the brain near to the brainstem
that controls motor movements (muscle activity).
Medulla oblongata: connects the upper brain to the
Midbrain
Brainstem Cerebellum spinal cord and controls automatic responses.
Medulla
oblongata Involuntary responses: a response to a stimulus
that occurs without someone making a conscious
Spinal cord choice. They are automatic, such as reflexes.
Neural connections: links formed by messages
passing from one nerve cell (neuron) to another.
Figure 1.1 The divisions of the brain
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 Piaget’s stages of development and their role in education

Piaget’s stages of development Try it

and their role in education If you have the opportunity to watch a baby aged 4 to
6 months old, carry out an informal observation. Ask
parents’ permission and make sure the baby remains
What you will learn happy; this can be taken as a sign of their permission.
•• Piaget’s four stages of development. Watch to see if the baby repeats actions. Look too
•• The role of the stages of development in education. to see if they show an understanding of object
permanence. To do this, as a form of play, try showing
the baby a ball (or the parent can do this). Make sure
Piaget’s four stages of development they are looking at it, then deliberately hide it under a
As part of his theory of how thinking develops, blanket, with the baby watching all the time. Does the
called the ‘theory of cognitive development’, Jean baby look for the ball under the blanket? That means
Piaget suggested that we go through distinct stages they know the ball exists even when they cannot
of development. Each stage is fairly long and our see it. If you are unable to observe a baby, you could
thinking abilities do not change much during these watch a YouTube video on object permanence and the
stages. A change in thinking indicates when the sensorimotor stage of development.

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next change is reached. During the transition from
one stage to another, features of the two stages Key terms
are sometimes there in a child, and sometimes not.
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During each stage there is consolidation of developing Cognitive: thinking, including problem-solving,
abilities, in preparation for the next stage. perceiving, remembering, using language
and reasoning.
The name of the first stage relates to the way babies Operations: how we reason and think about things.
use their senses and movements. The other three
Object permanence: knowing something exists even
stages bring in the idea of ‘operations’. Mental
if it is out of sight.
operations refer to how we reason and think about
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things, such as sorting building blocks into size order.
It might help to think of operations as reasoning. Pre-operational stage (2 to 7 years)
There are two stages within the pre-operational stage, the
symbolic function stage and the intuitive thought stage.
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Sensorimotor stage (birth to 2 years)

Infants use their senses and movements to get
information about their world. At first they live in The symbolic function stage (2 to 4 years)
the present rather than understanding time and Children start imitating others and can use objects as
space around them. They learn by linking what symbols. Symbolic play involves using one object to
they see, hear, touch, taste or smell to objects they represent different objects, such as using a box as a
are using, for example by grasping and sucking stool and using role play. Children think in pictures and
objects. They begin with reflex actions and then using symbols. They start to use words as symbols for
learn to control their movements. At around 6 objects, which is the beginning of language development.
months, they develop object permanence, which Children see the word through their own eyes not
means they learn that objects exist even when through someone else’s (this is known as egocentrism).
they cannot see them. By the end of this stage, Animism can be seen, where children believe objects can
the child has a sense of themselves as existing behave as if they are alive.
separately from the world around them. An
interesting part of this stage occurs from around 4 Intuitive thought stage (4 to 7 years)
months old, when children repeat actions, such as This is the start of reasoning. Children ask a lot of
dropping something deliberately that they first did questions as they realise that they know a lot and want
by chance. to know more. They can only consider one thing when

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Development – How did you develop?
something is complex (this is known as centration). There is also the understanding that they and others exist
Conservation is not yet achieved - children do not realise in the real world and separately.
that changing how something looks does not change
its volume, size or weight. There is also irreversibility, Using Piaget’s stages in education
referring to a child not being able to use thought to reverse Piaget’s theory has been applied to classroom practices.
events, such as knowing that if water from a wide glass is His theory suggests that a child’s actions and interactions
poured into a tall glass so it looks as if there is more water, affect their thinking, and they cannot do certain things
when the water is poured back into the wide glass it will until they reach the appropriate stage of development.
look the same as it did. For example:
Concrete operational stage (7 to 12 years) •• A young child is egocentric and cannot understand the
Children begin to apply rules and strategies to help teacher’s viewpoint so might not do as they are told
their thinking and use concrete objects to aid their because of their lack of understanding. They are not
understanding (for example, using counters to find the being naughty.
answer to a sum). They have difficulty with abstract ideas •• Children build their own schemas (representations
such as morality. of the world) from their own experiences and so they
are individuals when it comes to building their own

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Abilities in this stage include:
knowledge, and in what they understand.
•• seriation – sorting objects, such as into size
•• classification – naming and identifying objects Exam-style question
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according to size or appearance Define what is meant by ‘egocentrism’.  (2 marks)
•• reversibility – for example, if they know that two bricks
plus four bricks gives six bricks, they will know that six Exam tip
bricks minus two bricks gives four bricks
When asked to ‘define’ something, provide a
•• conservation – they know that length, quantity or statement showing exactly what it means. Using an
number are not related to how things look. If the
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example can help to illustrate the meaning.
shape is changed, for example, making the quantity
look different, children know that the quantity is still
the same
Key terms
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•• decentration – the ability to take multiple views of a Symbolic play: children play using objects and ideas
situation (conservation relies on this). to represent other objects and ideas
Egocentrism: seeing the world from one’s own
Formal operational stage (12+ years) viewpoint, not others’.
In the concrete operational stage children’s thinking is Animism: believing that objects that are not alive can
about controlling objects and events in the world. In the behave as if they are alive
formal operational stage there is control over thoughts Centration: focusing on one feature of a situation
themselves. Young people can think about more than two and ignoring other relevant features.
things, such as thinking about height, age and gender
Irreversibility: not understanding that an action can
when describing a person. They also have the ability to be reversed so that the original state is returned to
think about how time changes things, such as how as they
Morality: general principles about what is right and
get older they might not still live in the same town. They
wrong, including good and bad behaviour.
can also understand that events have a sequence, such as
Schema/schemata(s) (development): the world
moving from school to college and then to work.
is represented in the mind using experiences and
In this stage a young person can see that actions have a schema is a mental representation. The plural of
consequences, such as how drinking alcohol can lead to schema is ‘schemata’ though ‘schemas’ can also be
dangerous behaviour, such as driving and killing someone. used and is more common.

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 Piaget’s stages of development and their role in education
Paper 1

To help sensorimotor development For example, they can be asked to think about how their
Children are treated as individuals. They are provided different roles might conflict, such as being a son and
with a lot of stimulation and materials to practice skills a friend meaning they have to make a decision about a
and to build schemas. Children are practising their course of action. They realise they belong to different
sensorimotor skills and they get information from their groups which have different norms and they can explore
senses. Smells, tastes, sights, sounds and different such norms to see that different people have different
textures can all be provided as stimulation. Colour is ideas from their own. Children in this stage study
important and often bright colours are use which a different school subjects such as science and arts and
young child can fairly easily distinguish. Human voices these can help them to distinguish the different ways of
are responded to, as is music and other sounds. thinking about the world.

Singing and rhythm can stimulate and can help in Implications for teaching
language development. Having the opportunity to explore Robert Slavin (2005) suggested implications for teaching
with the mouth is valuable for learning about shapes and that come from Piaget’s stages.
about taste. Providing different textures, which can also
mean hearing different sounds, is also useful stimulation. •• There should be a focus on the child’s thinking and
not what they can do. It is the processes they use,

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Stimulation gives an engagement with the world that rather than the right answer, that is important.
is needed for a child to build schemas or ideas, which is
•• Discovery learning is required and children must be
how they learn.
able to engage freely with their environment rather
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To help pre-operational development
than being told facts.

Children must ‘do’ things to learn and to keep •• Teaching should accept and acknowledge that
building schemas, rather than watching someone else children do not think like adults and that they
performing actions. They need a lot of experiences to develop at different rates.
extend their understanding as they focus on just one •• Children are individuals and go through the stages
part of a problem at a time. in different ways, so classrooms must be managed to
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suit all individual children and whole-class teaching is
Children are seen as little scientists, building ideas not advised.
through experimenting with reality and they need
equipment to experiment on. Children are encouraged Apply it
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to learn by discovering for themselves by interacting

Freda and Simon can do different things. Simon can
with their environment, not by being told things. Their
put pens into size order. Freda can work out which is
individual learning must be encouraged and developed,
the slowest and which is the fastest if she knows that
acknowledging that different children are at different
a horse can run faster than a dog and a dog can run
stages in their development. Models and objects can
faster than a hedgehog. Explain which stage each child
help learning as can other visual aids, such as drawings
is in according to Piaget’s stages of development.
and diagrams, and instructions are kept short.

To help concrete operational development Develop it

Teachers can ask children to concentrate on more than Find out how pain management for children can be
one aspect of an issue. They can assume a child can helped by understanding the stages of development.
understand different viewpoints from their own, so For example, how might a 4-year-old child view pain?
tasks can be accordingly. One example is that a young child may associate
‘headache’ with pain anywhere in the body, which
To help formal operational development health professionals might find useful to know. See
Children can discuss abstract concepts and be asked if you can find other examples and relate them to
complex questions involving mental reasoning. Piaget’s stages.

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Development – How did you develop?

Piaget’s theory of cognitive development and the development

of intelligence
What you will learn
•• How children develop mental processes for
learning, so that children develop intelligence.
•• The strengths and weaknesses of Piaget’s cognitive
development theory.

Piaget’s explanation of understanding

the world
Piaget held that children develop through adaptation – How might a child’s ideas about birds and aeroplanes change as
they adjust to the world as they experience new things. they develop?
As they develop, babies have to understand many new
things. They do this by forming ideas about how things Link it up

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are in the world. Their ideas take the form of schemas
(schemata) or plans through which they represent the Bartlett explored how schemas are formed in
world, such as a schema for ‘things dropping when reconstructive memory. Find out more about schemas
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they are let go’. Often they can fit new things into their in Topic 2 Memory.
existing schemas about the world. However, as they
experience more, they need to change their schemas and
create new ones. Key terms
Adaptation: using assimilation and accommodation
Piaget’s theory and the development of intelligence to make sense of the world.
The development of intelligence is about building Assimilation: incorporating new experiences into
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knowledge and skills. Intelligence is acquired through stages existing schemas.
of development, such as developing object permanence and Accommodation: when a schema has to be changed
formal reasoning (see Piaget’s four stages of development to deal with a new experience.
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in the previous section). Intelligence is developed through Equilibrium: when a child’s schemas can explain all
building schemas via adaptation and through the four
that they experience; a state of mental balance.
stages of cognitive development (Table 1.1).

Meaning Example
Schemas Plans and patterns are formed about what A student has a classroom schema. On entering a
/schemata we experience. Mental structures give us classroom, they would expect to see a board for
frameworks to understand the world. writing on, some chairs and tables, a desk at the
front and fire safety instructions.
Assimilation Incorporating new experiences into A young child develops a schema for birds flying
existing schemas. and, seeing an aeroplane, calls it a bird.
Accommodation A schema no longer works and has to be A child will see that birds are alive and aeroplanes
changed to deal with a new experience. are not, and so they will need to change their
‘everything that flies is a bird’ schema.
Equilibrium When a child’s schemas work for them and The ‘bird’ schema is changed. Aeroplanes are
explain all that they experience, the child included, and the child understands that they are
is in equilibrium. They are in a state of metal and carry passengers, thus moving from
mental balance. disequilibrium into a state of equilibrium.
Table 1.1 Explaining Piaget’s theory of cognitive development

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 Piaget’s theory of cognitive development
Paper 1

Try it
This task highlights the importance of using mental representations of
the world to make sense of it. Gather together some participants, sticking
to ethical principles. For information on ethical principles, see Topic 11
Research methods. Ask your participants to read the passage below and
rate how clear it is.
It takes two people because one has to give instructions to the other.
They have to practise beforehand so that they know where to turn and
what might be dangerous. Others also take part but at a different time.
The aim is to go as quickly as possible.
Then tell them that the passage is about rally driving and ask them to rate
its clarity again.

Strengths and weaknesses of Piaget’s theory

Piaget’s work has practical applications, thus strengthening the theory.

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Discovery learning draws on Piaget’s ideas about focusing on the individual
child’s stage of development when helping their learning. When children
are allowed to discover things at their own pace, they are able to build
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knowledge using schemas and can work according to their stage of
development.

Another strength is that Piaget’s work has generated a great deal of

research, including experiments, to show the existence of the stages and
Link it up
how children build knowledge through creating schemas. Research results You need to know about Piaget
often support his ideas (see the ‘Three mountains’ task). However, other and Inhelder’s (1956) ‘Three
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studies have found that children can do things earlier than Piaget thought, mountains’ task. This is described
which challenges his ideas. in more detail later in this topic.

One weakness of Piaget’s theory is that he did not look at the influence of
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social interactions or the cultural setting, which can affect the development
of patterns of thought. Pierre Dasen (1994) found that Aboriginal children
developed the ability to conserve at a later stage than Piaget’s Swiss sample
did. This suggests that culture may affect cognitive development.

When looking at the strengths and weaknesses of a theory, it is useful to

consider the methods used to gather evidence for the theory. A weakness is
that Piaget’s data came from his interviews and observations with children.
As a result, his interpretations of situations and events may have been
subjective, leading to some bias in his findings. Another weakness is a lack
of validity in his studies; other studies using similar methods but with more Key terms
realistic settings produced different findings. Subjective: based on personal
opinion or feelings.
Link it up Validity: when the results of a
The way we see our world is discussed more in Topic 8 Perception. For more study represent the situation
information on validity and subjectivity, see Topic 11 Research methods. they are testing (in real life).

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Development – How did you develop?

Dweck’s mindset theory and Key terms

the effects of learning on Mindset: a set of beliefs someone has that guides
development how someone responds to or interprets a situation.
Ability: what someone can do, such as maths ability or
What you will learn ability to play tennis. Dweck suggests ability can be seen
•• The meaning of mindset. as fixed and innate or can be seen as able to be improved.
•• How mindset affects the development of abilities Effort: when you try to do better using determination.
and whether they are seen as fixed or changeable Fixed mindset: believing your abilities are fixed and
through effort. unchangeable.
•• The strengths and weaknesses of Dweck’s Growth mindset: believing practice and effort can
mindset theory improve your abilities.

Introduction to mindset theory development. A child can be praised for being good at
Mindset is the set of beliefs we all have about our something. According to Dweck, they may then draw
ability to succeed in education and other areas.

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the conclusion that ability is fixed at birth. If a child is
Understanding mindset theory is important because not praised for something, the child may assume they
children’s educational achievements can influence do not have that ability and conclude that it is pointless
their future, and their mindset can be improved to working hard to achieve it. It is better to praise children
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affect achievement in a positive way. Mindset theory for effort, as they then believe they can achieve
suggests that children who think they can improve something and so they carry on trying. Children need to
will continue to put in the effort, whereas those who avoid thinking they have or do not have an ability and
think they do not have a particular ability tend to instead believe they can put in the effort to achieve.
stop trying. Mindset theory tells us that children with This is a more positive way of looking at things.
a fixed mindset can change to a growth mindset
Key points of Dweck’s mindset theory
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(Figure 1.2).
•• Children can develop a fixed mindset about a particular
Fixed and growth mindset: ability and effort ability they think they do not have and give up, fearing
Carol Dweck is an American psychologist who has they will not be successful because the ability is not
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focused on helping students to achieve more, ‘in them’. They stop taking on challenges. With a fixed
specifically by considering how praise affects children’s mindset, a person can become depressed and just stop
trying. A growth mindset
'If I am no good 'I look at allows for the idea of effort
at it I might as well give up' others succeeding and bringing success. Challenges
'It is no good me 'I am a really think I can do the same' become worthwhile and
good reader' 'I listen to feedback, take it on board feedback is taken notice of.
trying because
and adjust my performance accordingly' •• Teachers also have fixed
I don't have
the ability' or growth mindsets, which
affect how they respond to a
child. A teacher with a fixed
mindset can see children as
'I don't take on new 'I do not think that lacking a particular ability,
challenges as I might intelligence is fixed whereas a teacher with a
show myself up' at birth' 'I enjoy a challenge' growth mindset sees that
'I don't listen to feedback as a child can improve with
'I can put in effort and
it won't help me to improve' change my abilities' perseverance.

Figure 1.2 Dweck’s fixed and growth mindset and how they affect a person

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 Dweck’s mindset theory and the effects of learning on development
Paper 1

Exam-style question Exam tip

For each child, state whether they have a fixed or a growth mindset. It is a good idea in an exam to
•• Tom does not do well at school because he does not try anything new. read a question through once and
•• Kani now reads better having asked her mother to help her to practise. then read it again more carefully
•• Fi felt she was not good at Maths because that is what she was told. from the start to check your
(2 marks) understanding before answering.

Experimental evidence
In one of Dweck’s experiments (Mueller and Dweck, 1998), it was found that Link it up
praising students’ ability led them to a fixed mindset and they were vulnerable
Ideas from Dweck’s mindset
to issues such as coping with setbacks. In contrast, praising effort or use of
theory are used in Gunderson et
strategy taught a growth mindset, leading to students persevering more. In
al.’s (2013) ‘Parent Praise’ study
another study by Yeager and Dweck (2012) that used more than 1500 students,
discussed in the Studies section.
it was found that low-achieving students who learned to use a growth mindset
Read ahead to find out more.
did better compared to a control group who did not have that learning.

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Strengths and weaknesses of mindset theory
A strength of Dweck’s theory is that it has practical applications. Teachers
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or parents can focus on praising effort, rather than ability, in order to
encourage children. The theory itself is positive – it shows change is
possible, which helps society. Furthermore, there is evidence to support
mindset theory. For example, Yeager and Dweck’s (2012) study found
that adolescents could deal better with not fitting in if they had a growth
mindset. Believing (or being taught) that people can change led to better
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school performance.

Many of the studies that look into mindset have been experiments and so
have artificial settings. This is a weakness in that results may not represent
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real life. This means that data may lack validity. One exception is Gunderson
et al. (2013), who used a natural environment when gathering their data on
parent praise, giving the findings validity. Apply it
There are several other weaknesses. Studying the mindset of a child may When marking Sanjit’s and
result in the child becoming the focus if there are problems with their Sue’s essays, the teacher writes
progress, rather than the quality of what is being taught and how teaching is comments as well as giving
done. This can affect the usefulness of the theory. Similarly, studies testing marks. Her comments to Sanjit,
mindset theory tend not to look at the effects of giving feedback without whose mark is low, include ‘You
any judgement about the child or their ability. There can be feedback do not write well’. Comments to
without judgement, such as telling a child to ‘add a conclusion’ to an essay. Sue, whose mark is high, include
The way many studies are done leads to ‘type of praise’ being seen as an ‘You are very good at writing
important variable, but there is a need to consider behaviour where praise essays’. Using Dweck’s theory,
does not feature. explain the possible mindset of
the teacher. State one comment
Link it up for Sanjit and one comment for
For more information on the experimental method, see Topic 11 Research Sue to illustrate the opposite
methods. mindset.

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Development – How did you develop?

Willingham’s learning theory and the effects

of learning on development
What you will learn
•• Factual knowledge has to come first before skills can be developed.
•• Learning relies on practice and effort.
•• Strategies to support cognitive, physical and social development.
•• The strengths and weaknesses of Willingham’s learning theory.

Link it up Introduction to Willingham’s learning theory

Criticisms of Piaget’s theory Daniel Willingham is a cognitive scientist who studies thinking and brain
of cognitive development and activity. His work can be applied to the classroom and to other situations.
his ‘Three mountains’ task are In his work, he explains not only his own ideas but also problems with the
discussed in the Studies section. ideas of others, including Piaget and his ‘Three mountains’ task.

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Develop it
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Willingham writes a column
Can teachers
increase a student’s
Does practice What will
improve a
make perfect?
called ‘Ask the Cognitive Scientist’ self-control? student’s memory?
in which he answers questions
about how to improve children’s
learning (Figure 1.3). Research Figure 1.3 Some questions Willingham considers about the effects of learning on
development in his ‘Ask the Cognitive Scientist’ column
some of Willingham’s advice to
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teachers.
Factual knowledge precedes (comes before) skill
Knowing facts helps when building the skills of problem-solving and
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reasoning. An issue with learning and developing skills is that previous

knowledge is often needed. For example, if a child reads ‘she has more
likes than me’, they would need previous knowledge about the idea of
‘likes’ to understand what was being said.

Knowledge can also free up space in our working memory to allow us

Key term to use mental skills such as problem solving. Working memory involves
Working memory: has different different processes, working on information that comes in through our
parts for processing information senses. There is storing and processing of visual information separately
coming in from our senses, from storing and processing sound information. A part of working
including processing vision and memory is for making decisions about the information and working
sound data, and also involves a memory is limited.
decision-making part.
Willingham suggests that what someone already knows leaves them
more processing power to solve a problem and aids understanding. For
example, factual knowledge that priests wear special clothing can help
someone to understand a problem about how a priest might trip on
their robes.

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 Daniel Willingham’s learningPaper
theory
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The importance of practice and effort Key terms

Willingham emphasises that practice and effort enable
Short-term memory: our initial memory store that is
us to master knowledge and skills. It is important to
temporary and limited.
practise enough to be able to do things automatically.
Rehearse: when we repeat information over and over
This is necessary in order to leave enough working
again to make it stick.
memory for learning new things. Practice is not the only
thing that’s important – a skill must be repeated many Long-term memory: a memory store that holds
times and kept up. potentially limitless amounts of information for up to
a lifetime.
Importance for building knowledge Motor skills: an action that involves muscles and
Short-term memory involves practice, which means brain processes, resulting in movement.
rehearsing over and over what is to be remembered.
What is learned then goes into the long-term memory Importance for building skills
where material has to be reviewed and practised in Problem-solving and creative thinking are skills a
order to remember it. There comes a time when there student needs to learn and these skills use working
has been enough practice and effort. The material is memory. Skills need to be developed so that they

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fixed in the long-term memory so well, that it is much become automatic and use little space in working
less likely to be forgotten than if it was not practised memory. For example, reading becomes automatic once
and focused on (Figure 1.4). Ways of practising for there has been enough practice and effort.
AF
building knowledge include doing quizzes, or using
different tasks to help you learn the material. Strategies to support development
Cognitive development

Don’t practise
Willingham proposed teaching strategies to use to help
students learn. He suggested that teachers should:
•• use problems that are new and within a student’s
until you get it
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ability but that also require some effort
•• understand a student’s likely stage of development

right. Practise when planning activities

•• remember that a student’s abilities are variable and
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until you can’t

can change from day to day
•• consider factors other than developmental level. For
example, the student might not understand the task.

get it wrong. Physical development

Willingham also believed that practice and effort
would improve physical development, such as
Figure 1.4 Willingham wants students to practise enough for
a skill to become automatic muscle movements (motor skills). He related muscle
movements to brain processing, suggesting that in
order to improve these skills, you should:
Link it up
•• focus on what movements will be suitable and in
Short-term and long-term memory, including the role what order they need to be carried out
of rehearsal, are discussed in Topic 2 Memory. •• practise the movements in that order and enough
times to make the muscle commands automatic (to
Develop it build on a skill set)
Try the ‘Stroop Effect test’ online to see how •• use conscious effort. For example, make changes in
automatic processing works. order to develop the motor skill, such as raising the
bar when developing jumping skills.

13
Development – How did you develop?

Develop it Social development

Willingham’s focus on practice, effort and development gave rise to ideas
Piaget in the 1920s changed his
that teachers can use to help improve social development. Teachers should:
view of egocentrism. He said that
decentration, which means being •• build on a child’s ability to take the view of someone else. Willingham
able to separate self from the disagrees with Piaget’s view that children cannot see things from someone
world and so ‘see’ other viewpoints, else’s viewpoint until they are about 7 years old; he thinks this can occur
does occur during the first 18 nearer to 18 months. In practice, Piaget himself changed his view of
months (Kesselring and Muller, egocentrism and decentration over the period he was publishing ideas about
2011). A young child, by gathering them. Piaget agreed that during the first 18 months, children can see other
information and changing their viewpoints. Once able to take another’s viewpoint, a child can behave in
ideas to suit what they experience, helpful ways. This is the start of forming social relationships with others.
comes to see themselves as •• demonstrate appropriate social behaviour. The child will use social learning,
separate from the world. In the where children imitate the behaviour of others in certain circumstances.
1950s, Piaget suggested that
•• help a child to stop impulsive behaviour. Impulsive behaviour is behaving
decentration occurs in each of the
without considering consequences and mainly without thought. In
stages, and that egocentrism, which

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educational terms, this uses up energy that could be used more productively,
means not being able to separate
such as helping with paying attention to what is required in a classroom. By
one’s own perspective from that of
stopping impulsive behaviour, a child can develop more suitable responses
others, features, though differently,
in social situations, which can help with building friendships. Impulsive
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in all of the stages.
behaviour can be controlled by using an organised classroom environment
and removing anything that can trigger such behaviours.
•• encourage practice, which requires self-regulation. A child needs
self-regulation because there are often other things they would rather
Link it up do. Willingham refers to both nature and nurture in this respect.
Self-regulation can come from genes. It can also be influenced by the
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The nature and nurture debate is
environment, such as parents giving a child emotional support.
discussed in Topic 3 Psychological
problems. •• delay giving a reward for a task to encourage a child to keep working at it,
which requires them to have self-control.
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Strengths and weaknesses of Willingham’s learning theory

Willingham’s work can be applied to education and other situations to
promote a child’s development in a positive way. These practical applications
of the theory are one of its strengths.

Key terms
Decentration: being able to separate self from the world so not being
egocentric. Taking in different aspects of one situation.
Social learning: a theory that we learn by observing and copying others.
Self-regulation: limiting and controlling yourself without influence
from others.
Nature: the idea that how we develop comes from our genes.
Nurture: the idea that how we develop comes from our experiences
and environment.

14
 Daniel Willingham’s learningPaper
theory1

There are other studies that support Willingham’s work, and his arguments
against Piaget’s view that development is in stages. For example, Betty
Repacholi and Alison Gopnik’s (1997) study provides experimental support,
showing that young children were not as egocentric as Piaget thought.
Experiments control everything that might affect a study’s results, allowing
researchers to make deliberate changes to see the effect these have
on something. Experimental evidence is therefore a strength because
experiments are carried out in a controlled way; however, they might not
reflect reality, so the results may lack validity.

Link it up
Repacholi and Gopnik’s (1997) study is used as part of the discussion on
Piaget and Inhelder’s (1956) ‘Three mountains’ task in the Studies section.
Read ahead to find out more.

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One weakness is that Willingham did not really emphasise the importance of
individual differences for learning, though some features of his theory relate
to genes. For example, he suggested that self-regulation and impulsivity
AF
are, to some extent, inherited. Though the theory gives strategies to help
development, such as children getting emotional and cognitive support
from their parents, what is in someone’s genes cannot be changed easily
using strategies. His theory aims to give universal strategies for change even
though he acknowledges genetic contributions.

Willingham’s ideas come from many areas of cognitive science, including

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neuroscience (the role of the brain in muscle movements), memory theory
(the role of working memory), and cognitive development. Drawing on
evidence from other theories can be a strength. However, it does mean his
ideas are not really one singular theory that can be tested by gathering data.
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This may be considered a weakness.

Link it up
The idea of self-regulation as an inherited type of temperament is
discussed in Topic 7 The self.

15
Development – How did you develop?

Studies
Piaget and Inhelder (1956)
‘Three mountains’ task
What you will learn
•• Background to the study.
•• The main aims, procedure, results and conclusion.
•• The strengths and weaknesses of the study.

Background to the study

According to Piaget’s cognitive development theory, a young child in the pre-
operational stage sees the world from their own viewpoint and cannot see

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someone else’s view of the world. Piaget called this inability ‘egocentrism’
– the child is focused on themselves. The child is likely to change how things
Link it up look in his or her own mind so that the ‘world’ matches how they see it.
AF
Look back at Piaget’s stages of
development, including the issue
The understanding that there are viewpoints other than their own is
something that develops over time. This helps to take the child into the
of egocentrism and the ability to concrete operational stage, where they can ‘decentre’ – they can see from a
decentre. viewpoint other than their own and can consider multiple views of a situation.

Apply it
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Ria, a 5-year-old, argues with
her 8-year-old brother because
he will not play her game, which
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requires him to describe what is

on the table for tea. She can see
the table but he cannot. Using
Piaget’s ideas, explain why her
brother might not play the game
and why Ria is annoyed about this.

What would be the problem for the child who cannot understand what the other child can see?

The ‘three mountains’ task is part of a series of experiments that Jean Piaget
and Bärbel Inhelder carried out to look at children’s ways of looking at the
world. Piaget and Inhelder wanted to look at a child’s understanding of groups
of objects. They set up a study using a model of a group of mountains where
children on different sides would have different views of each mountain.

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 Piaget and Inhelder (1956) ‘Three mountains’ task

Aims
Piaget and Inhelder wanted to look at:

•• the extent to which children of different ages were able to take the view
of another person
•• children’s overall system of putting together a number of different views
of what they see.

Procedure
In total, 100 children were studied (Table 1.2). Children under 4 years old were
not involved in the study as they were considered too young for the task.

Age 4–6.5 years 6.5–8 years 8–9.5 years 9.5–12 years

Number of children 21 30 33 16
Table 1.2 Details of Piaget and Inhelder’s participants

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Four main pieces of equipment
The study involved building a model of three mountains using sheets of
paper pasted together to form card. The model was one metre square and
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ranged from 12 to 30 centimetres high. The lowest mountain was green
and had a house on top, the next highest was brown and had a red cross on
top and the highest, which was grey, had a snow-covered top. The smaller
green mountain had a path winding down it while the middle-sized brown
mountain had a stream coming down it. These were the important features
of the model.
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Ten pictures of the three mountains model were taken from different
positions around it. The pictures were taken so that the features were visible
and the colours were clear.
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There were three pieces of card the same colour as the mountains, which
the child could arrange to represent the mountains according to a
certain viewpoint.
There was a wooden doll, around three centimetres high, with no facial features.

Ways of questioning the child

•• The child was asked to use the cardboard shapes to show how the
mountain scene looked from different viewpoints. They were asked to
place the shapes to show the view they themselves were looking at. They
were also asked to place the shapes to show what the doll, positioned by
the researcher around the model, could ‘see’ (Figure 1.5).
•• The child was shown ten pictures of the model and asked to pick out the
picture that represented what they could see from different positions.
Figure 1.5 The three mountains
They were also asked to choose the picture the doll could ‘see’, again from model had to have specific features
different positions the doll was placed in. the child could use to describe it, such
•• The child chose a picture and then had to position the doll so it could ‘see’ as a mountain blocking the view of
that viewpoint. another mountain

17
Development – How did you develop?

Results
Pre-operational stage
A child aged from 4 to 6.5 years in the pre-operational stage chooses
pictures and places cardboard to show their own view of the three
mountains model, even if asked to show the doll’s view. Children cannot
place the doll in a position where the view matches a picture the child is
shown. Even though the older children in this stage start to see that there
are views other than their own, overall they show egocentrism.

Concrete operational stage

From between about 7 and 9 years old the child starts to understand that
others looking from a different position can see the model differently. By 9
Key term to 10 years old, children can understand that the doll has a different view if
Qualitative data: data that are in a position that is different from their own.
descriptive, not numbers, such as As part of the experiment, Piaget and Inhelder gathered qualitative data

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words or pictures. and included observations about individual children in their report.

Conclusion
Link it up
AF Piaget and Inhelder concluded that children up to about 7 years old were
Qualitative data is discussed in
egocentric – they could not ‘see’ from a viewpoint other than their own.
Topic 11 Research methods.
Towards the end of the pre-operational stage, the children were more able
to think about someone else’s viewpoint. Therefore, children in the pre-
operational stage do not have the understanding of ‘viewpoint’ yet.
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Older children were non-egocentric. They were able to look at the mountains
as objects relating to one another, such as the larger one sometimes
blocking the view of the smaller one. Older children were able to position
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their own viewpoint amongst views of others and construct mental

representations of what others can see. They have the ability to co-ordinate
different perspectives. Younger children cannot do so.

The ‘Three mountains’ task provided evidence for Piaget’s stages of

development. It showed that children in the pre-operational stage were
egocentric whereas those in the concrete operational stage could take a
different view from their own and could co-ordinate different viewpoints.

Strengths and weaknesses of the study

Piaget and Inhelder’s (1956) study had several strengths. They provided
a great deal of detail about what was done and, importantly, the results.
They wrote about individual children, giving qualitative data that was rich
in detail and had depth. In addition to counting the number of errors,
they looked in detail at the errors and what each child did and said. This
meant they could show, for example, that as a child nears the next stage of
development, they can achieve elements of that next stage.

18
 Piaget and Inhelder (1956) ‘Three mountains’
Paper
task1

In addition to observation and gathering qualitative data, Piaget and

Key term
Inhelder used experimental methods – a further strength of the study. The
experimental nature of the study meant careful controls were in place, Reliability: when a study is
such as using the same model and questions for each child. This allowed repeated and the same results
comparisons to be made between the results from different children, thus are found, then there is reliability
adding strength to the findings. Repeating the study with many children, in data.
moving the doll and using different ways of getting the child to show what
they saw or what they thought the doll saw, meant there was reliability in Develop it
the findings. Understanding children’s mental
abilities is important for the
The results suggest that children develop thinking ability progressively
criminal justice system. The ‘age
as they age, rather than the development of thinking being in stages. In
of reason’ is when a child is seen
the study, older children in one ‘stage’ were beginning to show the ability
as able to accept responsibility for
of those in the next ‘stage’. Piaget acknowledged that there was a period their actions and 7 is usually the
of transition between stages when performance of a task tended to be age at which someone is said to
inconsistent. However, evidence showing that stages are not as decisively be able to commit a crime. Use the
‘different’ as the term ‘stage’ might suggest there is a weakness in his use of internet to find the age of criminal

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‘stage’ to explain cognitive development. responsibility in different countries
such as England, Scotland and
A well-known criticism, and therefore a weakness of the ‘Three mountains’
Sweden. Search for examples of
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task, is that other studies, using perhaps more realistic scenarios, did not
give the same findings.
children under 10 who were not
prosecuted for a crime they were
•• Helen Borke (1975) changed Piaget and Inhelder’s task to make it more supposed to have committed.
appropriate for the younger children. Borke used the puppet character Alternatively, find out about any
Grover from Sesame Street and let the children turn the model of 10-year-olds who were considered
mountains that she used, by putting it on a turntable. She found that old enough to be prosecuted. An
example is a case in Norway in
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3-year-olds could give Grover’s viewpoint correctly more than 79 per
cent of the time and 4-year-olds did this 93 per cent of the time. Borke 2010 when two young children
suggested that the ‘Three mountains’ task was too hard for the younger killed another child.
children; it was not that they were egocentric.
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•• Willingham, whose learning theory is explained earlier in this topic, criticises Sum it up
Piaget’s stages of development. He uses Betty Repacholi and Alison It is generally thought now that
Gopnik’s (1997) study to do so. Repacholi and Gopnik, in a study similar to Piaget’s tasks were not realistic
that of the ‘Three mountains’ task, found that children of 18 months could enough for the children to
show non-egocentric behaviour. In their study, children tasted crackers, understand what was being asked.
which they liked, and broccoli, which they did not like. Then they saw the They were not able to understand
experimenter show dislike of the cracker taste and liking of the broccoli. the doll’s viewpoint, for example,
Later, the experimenter placed a bowl of crackers and one of broccoli on the because they did not understand
table and asked the child to pass one of the bowls to the experimenter. The how one mountain could block
14-month-old children passed the experimenter the food they themselves the view of another. Other studies
liked, indicating egocentrism. Children aged 18 months, however, passed have found that more familiar
the experimenter the broccoli because that is what they believed the tasks enable children to decentre
at an earlier age; Piaget’s ‘stage’
experimenter liked. They could appreciate the experimenter’s ‘view’.
theory has been criticised as a
It is generally thought that the situation in Piaget and Inhelder’s study, using result of this. Nevertheless Piaget’s
three mountains, was not sufficiently understood by the children. However, ideas are still used in education
the children were from Switzerland, so would have been familiar with today and help us to understand
mountainous scenery so this may not have been the case. children’s cognitive development.

19
Development – How did you develop?

Gunderson et al. (2013) Parent Praise

to 1- to 3-Year-Olds Predicts Children’s
Motivational Frameworks 5 Years Later

What you will learn

•• Background to the study.
•• Aims, procedure, results and conclusion.
•• Strengths and weaknesses.

Key terms Background to the study

Framework: a basic Research has shown that the way parents praise their young children
understanding of ideas and impacts a child’s later ideas about reasons for behaviour and beliefs. For
facts that is used when making example, it is found that praising a child’s effort rather than their ability

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decisions. leads to the idea (framework) that working hard can change achievements.
Many studies have used experiments to show this. Elizabeth Gunderson et
Person praise: someone praises
al.’s (2013) study set out to see whether looking at parents praising children
the individual rather than what
they are doing.
AF in the home – a natural setting – would support these experimental findings.

Process praise: someone praises

Person and process praise
what is being done, not the
Parents can praise a child personally (person praise), they can praise a
individual.
child’s behaviour (process praise) or they can use a different type of praise.
Entity theory/motivational
framework: a belief that •• Person praise seems to lead the child, though not through conscious
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behaviour or ability is down to processes, to the idea that they are born with or without an ability.
nature. This in turn leads to fixed theory, known as entity theory or entity
Incremental theory/ motivational framework. The result is that the child might not try as
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motivational framework: a hard on a task they think they are not good at.
belief that effort drives behaviour •• Process praise, which involves praising behaviour and effort, appears to
and ability, which can change. lead to the child seeing a link between effort and success. They are likely
Ecological validity: the extent to see (again not consciously) ability as changeable and are more likely
to which the findings still explain to keep trying to do better. This change theory is known as incremental
the behaviour in different theory or incremental motivational framework.
situations.
Building on experimental evidence
These ideas draw on Dweck’s mindset theory (Carol Dweck was involved
Link it up in this study). Mindset theory uses experimental evidence. One issue with
Remind yourself about Dweck’s this is that experiments, being in an artificial environment, can measure
mindset theory, covered earlier unnatural behaviour and give unnatural findings (they can lack ecological
in this topic. Ecological validity validity). Consequently, Gunderson et al. wanted to use a natural setting
is discussed in Topic 11 Research when gathering their data.
methods.

20
 Gunderson et al. (2013) Parent Praise to 1- to 3-Year Olds Predicts Children’s Motivational Frameworks

Praise and gender

Previous studies have showed that boys tend to think of ability and
behaviour as changeable (incremental theory), suggesting they receive
process praise. Praise for girls is more likely to lead to entity theory, meaning
behaviour and ability are seen as fixed, suggesting that girls receive more
person praise. Gender differences regarding praise and reasoning are
therefore of interest to psychologists.

Aims
The researchers wanted to know whether:
•• children are affected by different types of parental praise given in a
natural situation
•• parents give girls less process praise and more person praise than boys
•• parents’ use of process or person praise in early childhood predicts
a child’s reasoning five years later about what motivates and causes
behaviour (whether it is down to ability or effort).

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Method
The study followed a group of children over a long period of time. They
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looked at parents’ use of praise at home when the participant children were How might the type of praise affect a
14 months, 26 months and 38 months old. Five years later, the children’s child’s understanding of their ability?
ideas about behaviour were measured and related to the type of praise they
had received. Researchers looked at a child’s gender and influences of the
type of praise on later ideas.

Participants
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In total, 29 boys and 24 girls, with their caregivers, took part in the study.
Of these children, 64 per cent were white, 17 per cent were African-American,
11 per cent were Hispanic and 8 per cent were from multiracial backgrounds.
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Maths tip
Practise drawing up tables, and using and calculating percentages when you see them in the text. Figures are
usually given to two decimal places, so do the same and show all your working out.
Here is an example for these participants:
Percentage of participants (by gender) Percentage of participants (by ethnicity)
African-
Boys Girls White Hispanic Multiracial
American
29 ÷ 53 × 100 24 ÷ 53 × 100 64% 17% 11% 8%
54.72% 45.28% Note these percentages should add up to 100%.
Table 1.3 Example of how to calculate and show percentages in a table

Procedure
Parental praise patterns
Neither those collecting the data nor the participants knew that praise was being
studied. The participants thought the study was about language development.

21
Development – How did you develop?
At each visit, participants were asked to ‘go about a typical that effort is worthwhile), which was as predicted (the
day’ in the home. The caregiver–child interactions were correlation was 0.35). To test the results, researchers
videotaped in 90-minute sessions. looked for a relationship between older children
who believed effort was worthwhile (an incremental
Children’s later beliefs framework), as was receiving process praise both when
At 7–8 years old, the same children answered two they were answering questions about intelligence and
questionnaires about what they thought led to someone when answering questions about moral thinking.
acting morally (or not) and their intelligence. Questions
By looking at two different measures of motivational
included 18 items covering children’s ideas – their
framework and finding a relationship with parents giving
motivational frameworks – about what underpins
process praise in both, the conclusion that process
intelligence and six items about their beliefs about what
praise leads to a more incremental framework (meaning
underpins ‘good’ and ‘bad’ actions (socio-moral views).
children are likely to see that effort pays off) was
strengthened. The correlations found using these two
Link it up measures were 0.26 and 0.29, which shows how similar
Observations, questionnaires and quantitative data they were. When researchers looked at the three different
are discussed in Topic 11 Research methods. ages to correlate separately with the later motivational

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framework, they found correlations of 0.27, 0.21 and 0.32,
Results again suggesting that the conclusion was robust. There
was no relationship between parents giving a person
Parental praise patterns
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•• On average, 3 per cent of all parental comments to
praise and children later showing an entity motivational
framework (this time, the correlation was -0.05). Early
the child were praise. person praise did not give fixed frameworks later in life.
•• Process praise was 18 per cent of all praise and
person praise was 16 per cent, showing similar Conclusions
proportions. A clear relationship was found between parents’ use of
process praise and a child’s later use of an incremental
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Praise Mean percentage Mean percentage motivational framework (ability being changeable).
type of all parental of parental praise However, the study’s claims were only partly supported
utterances utterances because the study did not find that parental use of
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Process 0.59 18.0 person praise led to an entity motivational framework

Person 0.45 16.0 (ability is fixed). The researchers found that boys received
Other 1.97 66.0 more process praise than girls; boys were praised more
Total 3.01 100 for effort and strategy, so there are gender differences
in the way each gender is praised. Also, boys tended to
Table 1.4 Frequencies of each type of praise (using figures have more of an incremental framework than girls, which
from observations at 14, 26 and 38 months combined)
fits with the findings of other studies: that girls tend to
Gender and parent praise attribute failure to ability more than boys do.
There were gender differences in process praise: 24.4
per cent of praise for boys was process praise compared Exam-style question
with 10.3 per cent for girls. Explain the differences shown between the three
types of praise in Table 1.4.  (3 marks)
Parental praise and child’s frameworks
The more process praise there is in early childhood, the
more likely the child (when older) is to believe putting Exam tip
in effort is worthwhile. There is a relationship between
When asked to use data, be sure to include actual
parents praising what a child does (process praise) and
figures as well as words in your explanation.
the child’s framework when older (the child believing

22
 Gunderson et al. (2013) Parent Praise to 1- to 3-Year Olds Predicts Children’s Motivational Frameworks
Paper 1

Strengths and weaknesses of the study For this study, only 53 parent/child pairs in Chicago were
Gunderson et al.’s (2013) study shows that Dweck’s used. This might mean the sample is not representative
findings in experimental studies, where the setting is of a wider population, which limits the generalisability
artificial, are also found in a naturalistic environment. of the findings. This is a further weakness of the study.
Gunderson et al. represented the natural environment
by recording types of praise in the child’s home, whilst Key terms
they went about their typical day. Findings from the Ethics: principles about how someone should behave
two different methods – experiment and observation – relating to morality in a society.
support one another and the theory itself. Such findings Debrief: an explanation provided to participants
are a strength of both the theory and the study.
after a study about the study itself and its aims,
Another strength is that the researchers who videotaped procedure and results.
and transcribed the data did not know that parental Generalisability: if a study is generalisable the
praise was the point of interest. This helped to avoid results of a study will represent the whole population,
bias in the gathering of the qualitative data. If someone not just the sample used.
knows why they are being watched, and if the person
watching also knows what outcome is expected, that

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knowledge can affect the data gathered. Link it up
The ethics of the study could be criticised, and this is Ethics, validity and generalisability are discussed in
a weakness. The participants were deceived. They were Topic 11 Research methods.
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told the study was about child development, but in
truth it was about types of praise and the effect this has
on a child. For ethical reasons, there must be as little
Sum it up
deceit as possible in a study. If there was a debrief this This study has clear applications regarding children’s
may be seen as ethically acceptable. development. Parents and teachers can work on
praising effort and process rather than praising ability
Another weakness is that the parents may have changed
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of a child. Although this finding came from Dweck’s
their style of praise because they were being observed, other studies, a strength of Gunderson et al.’s study
even though they did not know what aspect of their is that the data came from real-life interactions
behaviour was being observed. The data, therefore, between parents and children using video material to
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might not be natural, and so may lack validity. increase validity by avoiding too much interpretation.

Psychology in action
This study has implications for parents when they
interact with their children.
•• A parent saying ‘you are good at reading’ is
encouraging the child. However, this type of praise
means if a child is not praised for something, they
might think they are not good at it and will stop
trying to do well.
•• A parent who says ‘that was good reading’ is praising
what the child is doing, which suggests actions can
be good or bad. It is not the child that is ‘good at
something’ or ‘bad at something’. If a child believes
actions can be good or bad, rather than their abilities,
Why do children who are praised for effort, rather than ability, they might feel encouraged to try harder and to listen
keep trying? when strategies for success are being suggested.

23
Development – How did you develop?

Issues and debates

The development of morality
What you will learn
•• The meaning of the terms ‘morals’ and ‘morality’.
•• The meaning of pre-conventional, conventional and post-conventional
stages of morality.
•• Theories used to explain the development of morality in humans.

Key terms Morals and morality

Morals refer to what is right and wrong in human behaviour. Something
Morals: standards to follow that
that is moral is what most people agree is right and good. However, what is
can differ between cultures and
considered to be moral can differ between cultures.
can depend on the situation.

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Morality: the separation of good Morality refers to ‘proper’ behaviour. People should behave according to
behaviour from bad behaviour. principles of what is right and wrong. Morality means separating good
Moral development: children’s behaviour from bad behaviour.
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growing understanding about Moral development refers to how children reason about what is right
right and wrong. and wrong, and what their behaviour is regarding making moral decisions.
Heteronomous: rules put into There is an important focus on how their understanding of moral behaviour
place by others. changes over time and into adulthood.
Autonomous: rules can be
decided by the individual person. Development of morality
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Earlier we saw how children develop their thinking/cognitive ability,
including Piaget’s ideas about how children have four stages of
development. Stages also feature in Piaget’s (1932) theory of moral
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development. Another theorist, Kohlberg, had a different view of moral

development, also using stages.

Piaget’s (1932) theory of moral development

Piaget suggests moral understanding develops, as with cognitive
development, through stages.

•• From about aged 5 to 10 years, a child believes rules cannot be changed.

Their ideas of morality come from others around them, such as parents
and teachers. At this age, they tend to focus on an action’s consequences.
For example, breaking the rules leads to punishment, so they obey the
Develop it
rules. This stage is ‘heteronomous’ (directed by others).
Piaget used a story to test a
•• From about 10 years old, a child knows that the intentions of the action
child’s moral development: ‘John
are important. An action with bad consequences can be a good action
accidentally broke 15 cups. Henry
if the intention was good. A child understands that it can be right to
purposely broke one cup. Who is
change rules to benefit others and if everyone agrees. Morals are seen
naughtier, John or Henry?’ Find
as agreed between people and the child knows that following rules is
out more about how Piaget used
more than about the consequences of not following them. This stage is
this story in his work.
‘autonomous’ (the individual decides).

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 The development of morality

Kohlberg’s (1958) theory of moral development Develop it

Lawrence Kohlberg, like Piaget, used stories to find someone’s stage of
Use the internet to find out about
moral development.
Kohlberg’s story of ‘Heinz’s dilemma’,
Kohlberg suggests that there are three levels of moral reasoning, each with which was used to help find
two stages as shown in Table 1.5. someone’s stage of moral reasoning.

Level and ages Stages and explanations

Level 1: pre- Stages 1 and 2: the child believes rules cannot be
conventional changed. It is the consequence of the action – whether
morality (aged up there is punishment or reward – that makes it a good
to about 9 years or bad action. Stage 1 focuses on the child obeying in
old) order to avoid punishment. Stage 2 is about self-interest
and ‘what’s in it for me’, including what benefit can be
gained from moral actions. These two stages are called
‘pre-conventional morality’ because they are found in
children and are a basic view of right and wrong.

T
Level 2: Stages 3 and 4: the young person or adult sees
conventional themselves as a good member of society and that
morality (most is their starting point for what is moral behaviour.
young people and
AF Reasoning comes from group norms. Stage 3 is about Key term
adults) being seen as ‘good’ and conforming to social rules
- wanting to be liked. Stage 4 is about maintaining Norms: society’s values and
social order by obeying authority, which is a duty. customs, which a person in that
These two stages are called ‘conventional morality’. society would be governed by.
Level 3: post- Stages 5 and 6: the individual has their own ideas
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conventional about what is good and bad. They understand that
morality (only there are moral principles that are universal (for
about 10% of everyone) rather than being for one society. Stage 5
people reach this is about laws being social contracts which individuals
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level) enter into, so there can be differences in morality

between individuals according to which laws they
have agreed to. Democracy is an example of Stage
5 reasoning. Stage 6 is the understanding that
moral reasoning is abstract and there are universal
ethical principles that ‘must’ be followed. This stage
emphasises right and wrong actions beyond individual
laws. These two stages are called ‘post-conventional
morality’ as they go beyond social laws to what the
individual has as moral principles.
Table 1.5 Kohlberg’s three levels of moral reasoning

Weaknesses of these theories

•• Both Piaget and Kohlberg used stories that were artificial and might not
represent real thinking (they lack ecological validity). There were no real
consequences in the stories from the decisions that were made.
•• Carol Gilligan (1977) criticised Kohlberg, saying his male-only sample
meant his theory was about male morality (Figure 1.6).

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Development – How did you develop?

focus on caring focus on rights

fair treatment for all
responsibility
for all rules applied
to all equally
emotions justice
real individuals code of
conduct

Figure 1.6 Males and females have a different focus regarding morality, which
might come from learning gendered social rules and norms

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Damon (1999) on developing a moral self
William Damon’s (1999) theory explains how children develop an idea of
AF their moral self, which links to their development of understanding of
morality and morals (Figure 1.7). He discusses how moral development is
explained by some as being in our biology, by others as coming from social
Key term
experiences or developing with a child’s intellectual development (as Piaget
Nativist theories: theories and Kohlberg explain). Nativist theories (theories thinking morality is in our
that think morality is part of nature) hold that emotions are within us, such as babies being able to feel
human nature.
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empathy more or less from birth. Damon gives evidence that such emotions
are found in babies universally, which emphasises the ‘nature’ argument
about moral development. ‘Nurture’ theories show how children are affected
by environment and social influences. For example, Diana Baumrind found
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that the type of parenting affected moral development in children. Damon

Link it up concludes that moral identity (which is someone’s commitment to morals)
comes from the many social influences a child experiences. Therefore,
The nature and nurture debate is children must hear a consistent message about shared standards in order to
discussed in Topic 3 Psychological
develop moral understanding.
problems.
What can help children to develop a moral
understanding?
Children who experience different views and ways of looking at things may
develop more, in a moral sense. Such experiences can get them thinking.
What would also be useful is to give children and young people the chance
to sort out problems with others, again helping them to get experiences of
the thinking of others. Children should be given the chance to develop their
self-control and acceptance of social responsibility.

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 The development of morality

Early infancy: Aged 1 to 2 years: Early childhood: Aged 10 to 12 years:

The child’s feelings Children realise Children learn that Children can start to
towards others are others are upset others have a realise that other
not different from and this distresses different view people may live
their feelings them but they do from their own in poverty and
towards themselves. not understand and might react have difficulties
There is global what to do about it. differently from such as disabilities.
empathy. them in a situation,
so they can be more
responsive to
someone’s distress.

Figure 1.7 Damon’s ideas about developing empathy and how this links to a child’s
level of understanding at different ages

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Apply it
Suki, aged 4, played snap but did not understand that there were rules.
AF
Andi, aged 7, played too, insisting that the rules of the game were obeyed
fully. Bee, aged 11, realised that, if everyone agreed, the rules of the game
of Snap could be changed without negative consequences. Describe the
theory of moral development that can explain these children’s ideas about
the game of snap. Refer to the children in your answer.
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Psychology in action
Understanding development helps parents to know more about what
affects their child, such as types of praise. It can also help them know
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more about what to expect from their child, such as understanding that
a child may not be able to see from the parent’s viewpoint so will not
behave as a parent thinks they should. Understanding development also
helps teachers to understand that each child develops in stages, but also
individually, and their level of understanding should be taken into account
when setting them learning tasks. It is helpful to know a child’s level of
understanding when deciding whether they can be held responsible for
their actions. In some cases, a child may have committed a criminal action
without fully understanding the consequences of what they were doing.
Health care professionals can know more about how to help children with
their pain if they understand how the child is likely to perceive their pain.
Social workers use the idea of stages of development to make judgements
about when children and young people are at risk. For example, they can
understand expected development at a certain age and compare a child’s
abilities and behaviour with that expected development.

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