Development Part 2
Development Part 2
Development Part 2
Development
Adulthood
Developmental Issues
The debate continues about the relative importance of factors that influence the developmental
processes and about how the periods of development are related. The most important issues in
the study of children’s development include
Nature and nurture
In reality, we are both the creatures and creators of our worlds. We are . . . the products of our genes and environments.
Nevertheless, . . . the stream of causation that shapes the future runs through our present choices. . . . Mind matters. . . .
Our hopes, goals, and expectations influence our future. (Myers, 2010, p. 168)
While working in Binet’s test lab in Paris, Piaget became interested in how
children think.
This suggested to him that the younger children were not less knowledgeable
but, instead, answered the questions differently than their older peers
because they thought differently.
To make sense of the world, children develop schemas.
Schema:
A concept or framework that organizes and interprets
information.
Conceptual models of how the world works
Schemas and stages build on one another through
learning by:
Assimilation
Accommodation
COGNITIVE
DEVELOPMENT
What processes do children use as they construct
their knowledge of the world?
Cognitive Processes
A baby’s
schema
about cats
tail 2 ears
2 eyes
Assimilation and Accommodation
To explain how children use and adapt their schemas, Piaget offered two concepts:
assimilation and accommodation
Drive car I can drive a semi tractor because it has a Driving stick shift (manual) is different
clutch and gear shift, just like my old from driving automatic. I have to learn to
Toyota car use the clutch and gear shift.
Cooking If I know how to cook one type of pasta, I You can’t make a cake in a microwave
can apply that knowledge to other types
Play music Once you know one brass instrument, you Brass instruments—you have to learn how
can play the others using the same the harmonic overtone series works in
knowledge order to play a horn
Organization
To make sense out of their world children cognitively organize their
experiences.
Organization in Piaget’s theory is the grouping of isolated behaviours
and thoughts into a higher-order system.
Continual refinement of this organization is an inherent part of
development.
Example: A boy with only a vague idea about how to use a hammer also
may have a vague idea about how to use other tools. After learning how
to use each one, he relates these uses, organizing his knowledge.
Equilibrium
A state of cognitive balance between
individuals’ understanding of the world and
their experiences.
Understanding and
Building on students
thinking:
New knowledge
Problem of the match: develops when the
Help children learn, Work should not be student realizes that
how to learn boring or too difficult they don’t know
everything
Take a constructivist approach
• Children learn best when they are active and seek solutions for themselves
• Piaget opposed teaching methods that treat children as passive
receptacles(Accepting material as it is and not questions or argue)
• Students learn best by making discoveries, reflecting on them, and
discussing them, rather than blindly imitating the teacher or doing things
by rote.
Criticisms on Piaget’s Theory
Whether Piaget’s stages really hang together as coherent and general modes of thinking
that can be applied universally.
Piaget underestimated the cognitive abilities of young children; recent studies suggest that
children master some Piagetian concepts earlier than Piaget believed they did.
Culture and education exert a stronger influence than Piaget envisioned. E.g. conservation
skills are very much related to the practice provided by the culture or by teachers help.
Vygotsky’s Socio-
cultural
Perspective
Vygotsky’s Socio-cultural Perspective
Scaffolding
They are the range of tasks that are too difficult for the
child to master alone but that can be learned with
guidance and assistance of adults or more-skilled
children.
Asking probing questions is an excellent way to scaffold students’ learning and help them
to develop more sophisticated thinking skills.
Vygotsky argued that children who use private speech are more
socially competent than those who don’t.
• The skilled helper presents the child with tasks of varying difficulty to determine the best level
at which to begin instruction.
• This is the area where instruction can succeed, because real learning is possible.
• Teaching should begin toward the zone’s upper limit, so that the child can reach the goal with
help and move to a higher level of skill and knowledge.
• In contrast to in-class work, homework should be aimed at the zone’s lower limit so that the
child will be capable of completing it
Strategies for Applying Vygotsky’s Theory to Children’s
Education
Further, some children might become lazy and expect help when
they might have done something on their own.
Erickson’s Theory of Psychosocial
Development
Psychosocial Development Theory
Psychosocial development theory is based on eight stages of
development
Erikson’s theory is based on the idea that development through life
is a series of stages which are each defined by a crisis or
challenge
The early stages provide the foundations for later stages so if a
child does not resolve a crisis in a particular stage, they will have
problems in later stages
Stage 1: Trust vs. Mistrust
Infancy (birth to 12 -18 months)
Caregiver meets needs: child develops trust
Caregiver does not meet needs: child develops mistrust
If the proper balance is achieved, the child will develop the virtue of
hope.
Mama? Papa?
Stage 2: Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt
Toddler (ages 1-3)
Child able to exercise some degree of choice
Child’s independence is thwarted: child develops feelings of
self-doubt, shame in dealing with others
Basic Strength: Will
Determination to exercise freedom of choice in face of society’s demands
Scared of school?
Stages 1-4
Largely determined by others (parents, teachers)
Stages 5-8
Individual has more control over environment
Individual responsibility for crisis resolution in each stage
Stage 5: Identity vs. Role Confusion
Adolescence (teens to 20's)
A common question adolescents ask is a straight-forward question of identity: "Who
am I?"
During adolescence, children are exploring their independence and developing a
sense of self. They form their identity based upon the outcome of their explorations
Those who receive proper encouragement and reinforcement will emerge from this
stage with a strong sense of self and a feeling of independence and control.
Those who remain unsure of their beliefs and desires will insecure and confused
about themselves and the future.
Basic strength: Fidelity - means loyalty, the ability to live by society’s standards
despite their imperfections and incompleteness and inconsistencies.
Stage 6: Intimacy vs. Isolation
Young adulthood (20's to 35-40 years)
Undertake productive work and establish
intimate relationships
Inability to establish intimacy leads to social
isolation
Basic strength: Love
Mutual devotion in a shared identity
Fusing of oneself with another person
Stage 7: Generativity vs. Stagnation
Middle adulthood (40 to 60 years)
Generativity: Interest in guiding the next generation
Stagnation: When one is only concerned with one’s own needs and
comforts
Basic strength: Care
Broad concern for others
Need to teach others
Stage 8: Integrity vs. Despair
Late adulthood (from 60 years)
This stage is focused on reflecting back on life.
Those who feel proud of their accomplishments will feel a
sense of integrity. Success at this stage leads to feelings of
wisdom.
While failure results in regret, bitterness, and despair.
Basic strength: Wisdom
Detached concern with the whole of life
Moral Development
What is morality?
Where do our morals come from?
How do they develop throughout life?
Are we born good?
If your friend came up to you with a copy of this semester’s Psychology examination would you take
a peak? Why or why not?
Let's say you are guaranteed not to get caught; would you cheat? Why or why not?
You are an eyewitness to a crime: A man has robbed a bank, but instead of keeping the money for
himself, he donates it to a poor orphanage that can now afford to feed, clothe, and care for its children.
You know who committed the crime. If you go to the authorities with the information, there's a good
chance the money will be returned to the bank, leaving a lot of kids in need. What do you do?
Turn the robbers in to the authorities, right is right
Say nothing since the money went to what you deem a good cause
Here’s a simple one: Grandma asked me if I like the sweater, she gave me. It’s ugly. Should I tell her
the truth (and hurt her feelings) or lie to her (and deceive her). Both options seem wrong, ethically.
Would you kill one person in order to save 5 other people? (Killing is wrong…but isn’t it better for 1
person to die rather than 5?)
Moral Development
SEE NOTES
Kohlberg’s stages of moral
development
Conventional
Pre-conventional (approval from Post-conventional
(personal needs) others, (individualism)
expectations)
KOHLBERG’S MORAL DEVELOPMENT THEORY
A key concept in understanding progression through the levels
and stages is that their morality becomes more internal or
mature.
That is, their reasons for children's moral decisions or values
begin to go beyond the external or superficial reasons they
gave when they were younger.
By studying the answers from children of different ages to these questions,
Kohlberg hoped to discover how moral reasoning changed as people grew
older. The sample comprised 72 Chicago boys aged 10–16 years, 58 of
whom were followed up at three-yearly intervals for 20 years (Kohlberg,
1984).
Each boy was given a 2-hour interview based on the ten dilemmas. What
Kohlberg was mainly interested in was not whether the boys judged the
action right or wrong, but the reasons given for the decision. He found that
these reasons tended to change as the children got older.
Kohlberg’s Level 1: Preconventional Reasoning
Pre-conventional reasoning is the lowest level of reasoning in Kohlberg's theory and
consists of two stages:
For example, children and adolescents obey adults because adults tell them to obey.
Stage 2. Self-interest and exchange driven is the second Stage of Kohlberg’s theory.
At this stage, individuals pursue their own Interests but also let others do the same.
Thus, what is right involves an equal exchange. People are nice to others so that
others will be nice to them in return. ‘you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.’
Kohlberg’s Level 2: Conventional Reasoning
Conventional reasoning is the second, or intermediate, level in Kohlberg’s theory of moral
development. Individuals abide by certain standards (internal), but they are the standards of
others (external), such as parents or the laws of society. The conventional reasoning level
consists of two stages:
Stage 4. Authority and Social order obedience driven is the fourth stage in Kohlberg’s theory
of moral development. At this stage, moral judgments are based on understanding the social
order, law, justice, and duty. For example, adolescents may say that, for a community to work
effectively, it needs to be protected by laws that are adhered to by its members.
Kohlberg’s Level 3: Postconventional Reasoning
Stage 5. Social contract and individual rights. At this stage, individuals reason
that values, rights, and principles undergird or transcend the law. A person
evaluates the validity of actual laws and examines social systems in terms of the
degree to which they preserve and protect fundamental human rights and values.
Stage 6. Universal ethical principles. At this stage, the person has developed a
moral standard based on universal human rights. When faced with a conflict
between law and conscience, the person will follow conscience, even though the
decision might involve personal risk.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bounwXLkme4
Implications
Cheating
Prosocial Behaviour
Moral Education
Character Education
Values Clarification
Cognitive Moral Education
Service Learning
Criticism
As logical as they sound, Kohlberg's stages of moral justice are not sufficient for understanding the
development of moral beliefs. To see why, suppose that you have a student who asks for an
extension of the deadline for an assignment. The justice orientation of Kohlberg's theory would
prompt you to consider issues of whether granting the request is fair. Would the late student be able
to put more effort into the assignment than other students? Would the extension place a difficult
demand on you, since you would have less time to mark the assignments? These are important
considerations related to the rights of students and the teacher.
In addition to these, however, are considerations having to do with the responsibilities that you and
the requesting student have for each other and for others. Does the student have a valid personal
reason (illness, death in the family, etc.) for the assignment being late? Will the assignment lose its
educational value if the student has to turn it in prematurely? These latter questions have less to do
with fairness and rights, and more to do with taking care of and responsibility for students. They
require a framework different from Kohlberg's to be understood fully.