Revision notes

Topic 1- Development
Early Brain Development
 A long tube develops at 3 to 4 weeks old, dividing into three round sections:
the forebrain, midbrain and hindbrain.
 It splits into the anterior and posterior sections by five weeks, with the
midbrain remaining undivided.
 Around six weeks, the cerebellum becomes visible, which plays a role in fear
and muscle activity.
 Around the 20th week, the medulla oblongata connects the upper brain to
the spinal cord and is responsible for automatic responses.
Parts of the Brain
 The forebrain is located in the anterior part of the brain and consists of two
hemispheres.
 The midbrain is situated in the middle section of the central nervous system
(CNS).
 The hindbrain is found in the lower part of the brain and includes the
cerebellum, pons, and medulla.
 The Medulla Oblongata is a structure that connects the upper brain to the
spinal cord and governs automatic responses (e.g., sneezing, heart rate and
breathing)
 Anterior is the section of the brain that’s directed towards the front
 Posterior is the section of the brain that’s directed towards the back
 The Cerebellum controls the motor movements of the body
Piaget’s Stages of Development
 During the Sensorimotor Stage (0-2 years), children rely on their senses and
motor skills to explore the world. They develop the concept of object
permanence, understanding that something exists even if it's out of sight,
and often repeat actions.
 In the Pre-operational stage (2-7 years), children engage in symbolic play,
using one object to represent others. They tend to be egocentric, viewing the
world from their perspective, and may display animism. They have difficulty
understanding conservation, such as the idea that the volume of tall and
small glasses can be the same.
 The Concrete Operational Stage (7-11 years) focuses on concrete thinking
and morality. Children develop skills like seriation (sorting objects by size),
conservation, decentration (considering multiple aspects), and reversibility
(mentally undoing actions).
 In the Formal Operational Stage (11 years and beyond), abstract thinking and
a more complex understanding of morality emerge, allowing individuals to
consider consequences in a broader sense.
Application in Education & Intelligence

Concept Application

Recognising that egocentrism is a part of

development and the ability to provide guidance and
Egocentrism
support to understand other individuals’
perspectives.
 Concept Application

Using mediums like rhythm and singing to stimulate

Sensorimotor
language development and incorporate more hands-
Stage
on experiences.

Pre- Incorporating more hands-on exploration and

operational experiment-based learning, Visual learning
Stage approaches can be highly effective.

Recognizing that children don't think like adults and

Difference in
develop at different rates highlights the importance
Development
of tailored teaching approaches.

Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development

 Piaget proposed that children learn through schemas and mental frameworks
for organizing and interpreting information.
 Schema/Schemata: Mental Representations of the world based on one’s own
experiences.
 Assimilation: fitting new experiences into existing schemas
 Accommodation: when existing schemas are modified to make new
experiences
 Equilibrium: a balanced state of mind reached when schemas can explain all
an individual experiences.
Strengths
 Practical Application: can be integrated into educational settings, supporting
the idea of designing of classroom activities
 Evidence: support from studies such as the Piaget & Inhelder (1956) Three
Mountain Task
Weakness
 Subjective Nature of the theory
 Cultural and Social Considerations: the theory doesn’t consider the other
factors that may affect the child's development.
Dweck’s Mindset Theory
Ability: what we can do
Effort: Doing better using determination
  Dweck introduced the idea of mindsets, which are a set of beliefs
 Two main mindsets are growth and fixed mindset
o Fixed Mindset: the belief that abilities are fixed and are unchangeable

o Growth Mindset: belief that there’s potential for improvement through

practice and effort
 Teachers play a pivotal role in shaping a child’s mindset
 This can affect a child’s performance in several ways, such as refusal to take
on challenges, low self-esteem and ability to improve.

Strengths Weakness

Ecological Validity: most of

the studies that we’ve
Practical Application: Presence in
done were mostly in
educational settings, implementing
artificial settings, which
more growth mindset praise
makes it difficult to apply
in real-life settings

Evidence: Strong evidence to support

their theory such as Yeager & Dweck Shift in focus: the child
(2012): Mindsets that promote resilience may be the focus when
(states that students require a mindset problems arise with their
that allows them to face challenges and progress in place of the
overcome failure); Gunderson et al. teacher’s quality of
(2013) shows the impact of praise on teaching.
effort on mindset

Evidence: Some studies

show that the theory may
be inaccurate, such as
Positive Psychology (helps society as a Bouchard & McGue (1981),
whole) who show that 111 studies
showed a correlation
between genetics and
intelligence.

Willingham’s Learning Theory

 Willingham's Theory emphasises the importance of factual knowledge in
problem-solving and learning.
o factual knowledge precedes skill
 o the importance of practice, and effort

Practice and Effort

 Practice and Effort are essential for mastering knowledge and skills.
o Short-term memory benefits from practice.

o Problem-solving and creativity are crucial for success.

o STM involves practice which must be repeated for information to stick;

with enough practice, the information will be fixed in the LTM (long-
term memory)
Strategies for Cognitive, Physical and Social Development
 Cognitive development can be enhanced by using new problems that align
with a child's stage of development.
 Physical development requires practice, focusing on appropriate movements.
(e.g, using scissors)
 Social development involves building a child's decentration ability, helping
them control impulsive behaviour, and fostering suitable responses and
friendships through delayed rewards for self-control.

Strengths Weaknesses

Individual Considerations: Due to the

Practical Application: Presence in universal strategies proposed in his
education to promote the positive theory, it doesn’t account for the
development of children individual differences in learning for
other children

Evidence: Repacholi & Gopnik (1997) Not one singular theory: His ideas
found that children needed prior come from many areas of
knowledge to perform the task in neuroscience, memory and cognitive
Piaget’s & Inhelder's study (referred development, which means his ideas
to later) aren’t one singular theory.

Piaget & Inhelder (1956): Three Mountain Task

Aims:
To study children's perspectives and investigate relationships between the child’s
viewpoint and their perception of the viewpoint of others.
Sample:
100 children were used:
  21 were aged between 4 and 6 years old
 30 were aged between 6 and 8 years old
 33 were aged between 8 and 9 years old
 16 were aged between 9 and 12 years old.
Procedure
1. Mountain Model Setup:
o A 1-meter square model represents three mountains.

 The model, measuring 1 meter squared, stood at approximately

12 centimetres in height.
 The lowest mountain was adorned in green and featured a house
on its summit, along with a descending path.
 The second mountain, brown in hue, showcased a red cross on
its peak and had a flowing stream.
 The third mountain, the tallest trio, exhibited a grey colour with
a white top representing snow.
o Four viewpoints labelled A, B, C, and D are identified around the model.

o A doll is moved to each of these positions.

o The child is given ten pictures of the mountains taken from various
positions.
 Ten precise pictures were captured from different vantage points
to emphasize the colours and distinctive characteristics.
 Three coloured boards, shaped to match each mountain, are
provided for arrangement.
2. Trial One: Child's Perspective (Arranging Boards):
o The child seated in position A arranges boards to represent the
mountains from that viewpoint.
o With the doll placed in position C, the child arranges boards to
represent the doll's perspective.
o It continues until the child views the model from all four positions.

3. Reconstruction Task:
o The child is asked to reconstruct their board arrangement from a
previous viewpoint.
4. Second Trial: Photograph Selection:
 o The child and doll move around the mountains.

o The child selects the doll's viewpoint from 10 presented photographs.

5. Third Trial: Picture Matching:

o The child selects a picture and places the doll on the model to match
the depicted view.
Results
4 to 6-Year-Olds:
Trial One (Board Rearrangement):
 Children rearrange boards to depict their own viewpoint of the three
mountains. 6-year-olds may attempt to represent the dolls but often revert to
their own perspective.
 Children demonstrate the ability to recollect and reproduce previous
viewpoints from memory.
Trial Two (Picture Selection):
 Children choose a picture representing their own viewpoint of the three
mountains. Some may randomly select any image of the model.
Trial Three (Doll Placement):
 The doll is often placed randomly on the model or in its initial position.
7 to 12-Year-Olds:
7 to 9-Year-Olds:
 Attempt to reflect the viewpoint of the doll, but consistency is lacking.
9 to 12-Year-Olds:
 Consistently replicate the doll's viewpoint during trials.
Conclusions
 Pre-operational Stage (Stage 2):
o Only see their own viewpoint.

o Egocentrism is the cause, according to Piaget and Inhelder.

o Can replicate views but struggle to predict other perspectives due to

reasoning limitations.
 Concrete Operational Stage (Stage 3):
o Start to understand others' viewpoints.
 o Initially, choose pictures based on their perspective and later adjust for
the doll.
o This marks the beginning of realizing the doll's distinct viewpoint.

o By the stage's end, we can modify arrangements and select pictures

reflecting the doll's perspective, showing a decrease in egocentrism.

Strengths Weaknesses

Use of Qualitative and Ecological Validity: lacks mundane

Quantitative Data realism

Standardised Procedure:
each child went through
the same procedure, Control Variables; allowing comparison
increasing reliability and
replicability

Repacholi & Gopnik (1997) said that the

task was innately difficult, replicated the
study and found that younger children
could identify others’ perspectives when
everyday objects were used.

Gunderson et al. (2013)

Aim
Examining the types of praise parents commonly use, focusing on whether personal
or process praise could predict motivational frameworks five years later.
Background
 Children receive two types of praise affecting their motivational framework
(how they understand ideas and facts when deciding).
 Person praise (praising the individual) leads to an entity motivational
framework.
o Entity Framework: Believing behaviour and ability are fixed and based
on a child's nature.
 Process praise (praising the child's behaviour) leads to an incremental
motivational framework.
o Incremental framework: Believing behaviour and ability can be
changed with effort.
Sample
 53 children from Chicago. (29 boys, 24 girls)
 Selected from a larger pool of 63 families involved in a language
development study.
 The sample mirrors the demographics of Chicago, including income, race, and
ethnicity.
Procedure
 Double-blind technique:
o Both the researcher and parent weren’t aware that the recordings
would be studied for praise
 Longitudinal Study:
o Assessment points at 14 months, 26 months, and 38 months.

o Five years later, motivation was reviewed.

o Questionnaires covered motivation, morality, beliefs, and intelligence.

o Participants and data collectors were unaware of the study's proper

focus (they assumed it was about language development).
 Parent-Child Interactions:
o Parents conducted typical day activities during assessments.

o Caregiver-child interactions were videotaped in 90-minute sessions.

 Follow-Up at 7-8 Years Old:

o Children answered questionnaires on intelligence and moral behaviour.

o 18 items covered children's motivational frameworks regarding

intelligence and socio-moral views.
Results
Parental Praise Pattern:
 Only 3% of parental comments to children constituted praise.
Types of Praise:
 Process praise represented 18% of all praise.
 Person praise constituted 16% of all praise.
 Other forms of praise comprised the remaining 66%.
Gender Differences in Process Praise:
  Boys received more process praise (24.4%) than girls (10.3%).
Relationship between Parental Praise and Children's Framework:
 Process praise fostered an incremental framework, where children believed
effort could lead to improvement.
 No clear link was observed between parents giving person praise and children
developing an entity motivational framework.
 Early personal praise did not appear to result in fixed frameworks later in a
child's life.
Conclusions
1. A strong correlation was observed: Parents using process praise align with
children adopting an incremental motivational framework, reflecting a belief
in changeable abilities.
2. No evidence was found: Parental use of personal praise does not lead children
to develop an entity motivational framework, implying that fixed abilities are
not associated with this form of praise.
3. Gender: Males were more likely to receive process praise in comparison to
females

Strengths Weaknesses

Natural Experiment; High

Ethical Concerns: use of deception
Ecological Validity as it is a real-
with parents unaware of the aims
life situation

Potential Parental Bias: Awareness

Double Blind trial; reduce bias of being observed might change
behaviour

Issues & Debate: Morality

 Morality: this is a general term for human conduct which comes about
because of their morals – it is largely concerned with the separation of good
and bad behaviour
 Morals: these are the specific ‘rules’ that govern the behaviour and actions
that a person will take on a daily basis
Piaget’s theory on Moral Development:
Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development:
 Pre-conventional Morality (Age up to 9 years old):
o Obedience and Punishment: Children act to avoid punishment, focusing
on external consequences.
o Individualism: Children prioritize personal gain, considering what
benefits they receive from moral actions.
 Conventional Morality (Most young people and adults):
o Relationships: Individuals act morally to maintain a positive image
among peers, aligning with group norms.
o Law and Order: Moral behavior is driven by upholding societal rules,
viewing it as a duty to maintain social order.
 Post-conventional Morality (Only 10% of the population reach this
stage):
o Social Contract: Individuals see laws as social contracts,
acknowledging moral differences based on agreed-upon laws.
o Universal Principles: Development of personal morals and laws
independent of societal norms.
Damon (1999) on Developing a Moral Self:
 Early Infancy:
o Children exhibit global empathy, with feelings towards others similar to
those towards themselves.
 Ages 1 to 2 years:
o Children recognize others' distress but may not know how to respond
effectively.
 Early Childhood:
o Children overcome egocentrism, understanding different viewpoints
and reacting to someone's distress.
 Ages 10 to 12 years:
o Children grasp societal issues, realizing challenges like poverty and
disabilities in others.