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psychology notes 🔮

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Early brain development
The foetal brain and spine starts off (at 3 to 4 weeks old) as a simple and long
extended neural tube, the front then swells out into sections called the forebrain,
midbrain, hindbrain (differentiation). The back of the neural tube forms the spine.

The forebrain, midbrain, hindbrain and spine develop throughout pregnancy, being
almost fully developed at six months, and at birth it is very similar to the mature
brain, with as neurones as an adult.

Cerebrum: is the largest brain structure, located at the top of the brain. The
cerebrum is divided into two cerebral hemispheres, one on the left and on the
right. It’s outer surface is called the cerebral cortex.

Cortex: surface layer of the brain referred to as grey matter (containing mostly
cell bodies), 2-4 mm thick and folded for extra surface area. The cerebral cortex
is where much of the brains processing takes place.

Midbrain (Thalamus): in the centre of the brain, acting as a hub for information.
Such as sending sensory information to the correct areas of the cortex.
Medulla oblongata (Brain stem): connects the brain to the rest of the nervous
system and provides basic automatic functions (things you don’t have to think about
doing) for example, breathing with your lungs and heartbeats.
Cerebellum (little brain): is a smaller brain structure at the base of the brain.
It’s function is to control motor movements (muscle activity).

Nature: Is the idea that development, such as the development of the brain and
associated functions, is influenced by genetic factors.
Research demonstrates that genetically similar people such as twins share similar
cognitive characteristics such as IQ level. This supports the idea that genes
influence the development of the brain.

Nurture: Is the idea that development, such as the development of the brain and its
associated functions, is influenced by environmental factors.
Research demonstrates that there can be problems with brain development if the
mother uses drugs and alcohol during pregnancy, this supports the idea that
environmental factors in the womb influence the development of the brain.

The Interactionalist approach suggests it is both nature and nurture factors, and
they both have complex influences on the development of the human brain.

Piaget - the development of intelligence


Schema/Schemata Mental representations of the world based on one’s own
experiences. The plural of schema is ‘schemata’ though ‘schemas’ can also be used
and is more common
Adaptation Using assimilation and accommodation to make sense of the world
Accommodation When a schema has to be changed to deal with a new experience
Equilibrium When a child’s schemas can explain all that they experience; a state of
mental balance
Exam Style question
Nicole’s grandfather sells his car and buys a motorbike. Which process will Nicole
use to understand the change in her grandfather’s vehicle?
Nicole will go through accommodation - this means her original schema of cars and
her grandfather’s vehicle being a car needs to change to deal with the new
experience.
When Nicole has a new schema and understands that the motorbike is different to a
car she will be in a stage of equilibrium.
Strengths and weaknesses of Piaget’s theory
Strengths Weakness
Piaget’s work has practical applications. For example Discovery learning (the idea
that children learn best through doing and actively exploring). Some studies have
shown that children can do things earlier than Piaget thought, which challenges his
ideas.
A child’s background could influence their development and Piaget ignored this. For
example Dasen (1994) found that Aboriginal children develop the ability to conserve
at a later date than Piaget’s Swiss sample. Piaget’s research has lead to lots
of other research, including experiments (e.g. the three mountains task), to prove
the stages he said exist and that children build knowledge through schemas.
Piaget’s data comes from his interviews and observations with children. His
interpretations of situations may have been subjective, leading to some bias in his
findings. Piaget’s studies may lack validity, other studies using similar methods
but in a more realistic setting have produced different findings.
Piaget’s work has been applied in real life. For example Discovery learning (the
idea that children learn best through doing and actively exploring). Some studies
have shown that children can do things earlier than Piaget thought, which
challenges his ideas.
A child’s background could influence their development and Piaget ignored this. For
example a child from a different culture may do things at a later stage than Piaget
thought. Piaget’s research has lead to lots of other research, including
experiments (e.g. the three mountains task) (should remember and write with Piaget
and Inhelders “1956”), to prove the stages he said exist and that children build
knowledge through schemas.
Piaget’s data comes from his interviews and observations with children. His
interpretations of situations may have been based on his personal feelings.

Sensorimotor stage (birth to 2 years)


Infants use their senses and movements to get
information about their world. At first they live in
the present rather than understanding time and
space around them. They learn by linking what
they see, hear, touch, taste or smell to objects they
are using, for example by grasping and sucking
objects. They begin with reflex actions and then
learn to control their movements. At around
months, they develop object permanence, which
means they learn that objects exist even when
they cannot see them. By the end of this stage,
the child has a sense of themselves as existing
separately from the world around them. An
interesting part of this stage occurs from around
4 months old, when children repeat actions, such
as dropping something deliberately that they first
dropped by chance.

The symbolic function stage (2 to 4 years)


Children start imitating others and can use objects as
symbols. Symbolic play involves using one object to
represent different objects, such as using a box as a
stool and using role play. Children think in pictures and
use symbols. They start to use words as symbols for
objects, which is the beginning of language development.
Children see the world through their own eyes, not
through someone else's (this is known as egocentrism).
Animism can also be seen where children believe objects
can behave as if they are alive.
Intuitive thought stage (4 to 7 years)
This is the start of reasoning. Children ask a lot of
questions as they realise that they know a lot and want
to know more. They can only consider one aspect when something is complex (this is
known as centration).
Conservation is not yet achieved - children do not realise
that changing how something looks does not change
its volume, size or weight. There is also irreversibility,
referring to a child not being able to use thought to reverse
events, such as knowing that if water from a wide glass is
poured into a tall glass so it looks as if there is more water.
when the water is poured back into the wide glass it will
look the same as it did.

Concrete operational stage (7 to 12 years)


Children begin to apply rules and strategies to help
their thinking and use concrete objects to aid their
understanding (for example, using counters to find the
answer to a sum). They have difficulty with abstract ideas
such as morality.

Formal operational stage (12+ years)


In the concrete operational stage children's thinking is
about controlling objects and events in the world. In the
formal operational stage there is control over thoughts
themselves. Young people can think about more than two
things, such as thinking about height, age and gender
when describing a person. They also have the ability to
think about how time changes things, such as how as they
get older they might not still live in the same town. They
can also understand that events have a sequence, such as
moving from school to college and then to work.
In this stage a young person can see that actions have
consequences, such as how drinking alcohol can lead to
dangerous behaviour, such as driving and killing someone.

Implications for teaching


Robert Slavin (2005) suggested implications for teaching
that come from Piaget's stages.
⁃ There should be a focus on the child's thinking and
not what they can do. It is the processes they use,
rather than the right answer, that is important.
⁃ Discovery learning is required and children must be
able to engage freely with their environment rather
than being told facts.

⁃ Teaching should accept and acknowledge that


children do not think like adults and that they
develop at different rates.

⁃ Children are individuals and go through the stages


in different ways, so classrooms must be managed to
suit all individual children and whole-class teaching is
not advised.



The effects of learning on development - Dweck’s Mindset Theory.
Dweck’s Mindset Theory: its a theory about motivation, it aims to explain how
students can be successful in their learning. Students are described as having one
of the two types of mindset, fixed and growth.

Fixed mindset: These students think that their ability (talent) is set at birth
(i.e.genetic) and cannot be changed. When they face a difficult task they assume
they are not capable of overcoming the challenge and give up.

Growth mindset: These students think that their ability (talent) can develop due to
learning and improves with work/practice. When they face a difficult task they
think that they can be successful if they work hard enough and keep trying.

The role of praise:


⁃ Praise according to Dweck
can be unhelpful if it is only used to reward
success. This can make people assume the
successful people being rewarded are
naturally better and they cant imitate.

⁃ Process praise instead should be given for


effort, as it is possible for everyone to
increase effort, this leads to future success.

⁃ In order to be effective praise should also be


deserved to be taken as meaningful.

The role of self-efficacy: People need to have


a belief that they are actually capable of
accomplishing a task (self-efficacy).
This self belief can be developed by teachers
who can create situations in which their
students experience success with tasks.

The effects of learning on development - Willingham’s Learning Theory

⁃ Willingham's criticism of learning styles: suggested that a learning


style approach to teaching does not improve children's learning.
⁃ Learning styles suggest activities should match the child's preferred
style. Willingham argues that is wrong, children who struggle with either visual or
verbal information should be given more opportunities to practice with that type of
information not less.

⁃ Willingham's Learning Theory: Suggested that the most appropriate


method for teaching that particular content should be used (not a child's preferred
learning style). Maps, Graphs and art taught visually, and when teaching subjects
like language, essay structure and music the teacher should use auditory/verbal
tasks.

⁃ It is good when children are asked to used learning styles that are not
preferred as when they are given visual or verbal tasks in the future (e.g. in
work) they are better able to complete them.

⁃ Teaching should apply findings from cognitive psychology and


neuroscience studies

⁃ However the focus should not be on how a student learns information but
that they actually retain the information.
⁃ Some criticise Willingham's theory as encouraging learning that is less
creative, such as traditional "rote" learning and rejecting more modern styles of
learning.

Gunderson et al. (2013) summary conclusion.


The amount of process praise (effort of the child) that parents gave their children
between 14 and 38 months old was a predictor of children’s incremental (cognitive
traits are malleable, effort is important) motivational frameworks at 7 to 8 years
old.
Children whose parents used more process praise were more likely to have beliefs
and behaviours associated with an incremental motivational framework, measured in
the sociomoral and intelligence domains.
Gunderson et al. also found a gender difference in the types of praise children
received. Boys received significantly more process praise than girls, even though,
overall, boys and girls received the same amount of praise. This could explain why
existing research highlights that girls tend to attribute failures to lack of
ability and show decreased persistence and motivation after failure.
Finally, parents with stronger incremental theories were more likely to give person
praise. This could be explained as parents who believe that intelligence is
malleable believe that the way to make their child smarter is to increase the
child’s self-esteem by saying how smart they are using person praise.

Issues and debates.


Morals and morality
Morals refer to what is right and wrong in human behaviour. Something that is moral
is what most people agree is right and good. However what considered to be moral
can differ between cultures.

Morality refers to proper behaviour. People should behave according to principles


of what is right and wrong. Morality means separating good behaviour from bad
behaviour. Moral development refers to how children reason about what is right and
wrong, and how they make moral decisions. There is an important focus on how their
understanding of moral behaviour changes overtime and into adulthood.

Piaget' (1932) theory of moral development


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

• From about age 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 rules. This stage is 'heteronomous'
(directed by others).

• From about 10 years old, a child knows that the intentions of the action are
important. An action with bad consequences can be a good action if the intention
was good. A child understands that it can be right to change rules to benefit
others and if everyone agrees. Morals are seen as agreed between people and the
child knows that following rules is about more than the consequences of not
following them. This stage is 'autonomous'
(the individual decides).

Kolhberg’s (1958) theory of moral development


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