Assignment 2 - Grade: 100 PDF

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There were four major assignments due before each test. Students have to answer 5 of the provided questions in 1-2 short paragraphs....

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Human Development, Fall 2017 Assignment 2 Jennifer George 10/13/17 4. Describe how peer relationships change from early to middle childhood. Explain how moving to a new geographic region might have different effects depending on a child’s age. Peer relationships tend to change drastically from early to middle childhood, and children generally go from staying relatively isolated and playing alone to actively engaging with their peers and trying to please others. According to Parten’s Stages of Play, there are 5 major stages to peer relationships from early to middle childhood: solitary, onlooker, parallel, associative, and cooperative play. Children first engage in solitary play during early childhood, and play with objects around them but do not show an interest in other children. Then they engage in onlooker play, where they continue to play mostly by themselves but begin to show an interest in other children. Afterwards is parallel play, where children play alone, but are aware of children playing around them, and try to change their activity to imitate those of the other children’s. Then is associative play, where children begin to try to engage in activities together but are still not cooperative. Finally, children engage in cooperative play by middle childhood, where they coordinate games together with other children. Moving to a new geographic region can have different effects depending on a child’s age. If the child is young enough, moving to a new region or school will not have any effects on their play, because the child still engages in play mostly alone, and has not developed close peer relationships yet. However, if they are in middle childhood (between ages 5-12), moving can create more challenges. At this age, children are aware of their peer environment, and constantly try to act in a way to please others. This is when they form their first close friendships and feel a sense of pride from their own competence. If a child moves during this time, they may feel out of place in their new environment, insecure, or unsure how to make friends again in an environment where everyone already knows each other. In this situation, children may either be resilient to the changes, and adapt well to their new environment and overcome stress. Otherwise, they may become aggressive or withdrawn rejected - either rejected by their peers because of antagonistic, confrontational behavior, or from timid, withdrawn, and anxious behavior. This can result in situations such as social isolation or bullying, both of which are harmful to the child’s wellbeing. Source: Handbook of Social Development- Perspectives in Developmental Psychology: Peer Relations in Early and Middle Childhood

5. Explain how environmental influences shape the course of gender development in childhood. How might adults (caregivers, teachers, etc.) buffer kids against overly restrictive gender roles and expectations? Many environmental influences, including family values, cultural values, and societal norms, can shape the course of gender development in childhood. According to the sociocultural theory, gender difference in behavior vary by context and cultural values, and the only way to break free from gender norms is through both familial support and social progression. According to the behavioral approach on gender development, children are rewarded and punished for exhibiting gender typical behavior (through operant conditioning), and also learn their gender roles through observation and imitation (the social learning theory). This tends to be done to them by adults and peers directly in contact with them, such as family or teachers. According to the cognitive approach, children are guided by internal motivation to conform to gender norms, and use gender schemas (shaped by experiences and observations) to divide the world into “girl” and “boy” activities. It is also more economically advantageous to divide children’s products into blue “boy” and pink “girl” products, since companies can then sell the same product in two different colors and make twice the amount of money (this tends to force children to try and fit themselves into these two rigid categories of pink and non-pink). Adults can buffer kids against overly restrictive gender roles and expectations in multiple ways. For one thing, they can try to live a lifestyle in which they support children in whatever they do, no matter if it is more boy or girl oriented. This can make some children not care whether the toy/activity was meant for boys or girls, because they want to do it themselves. (For example, adults can support a girl who wants to try to start playing basketball or soccer, or a boy who is interested in playing dress-up). If this doesn’t work, adults can also try to find/make toys and activities which appears to conform to the child’s idea of gender role, but actually involves a purpose usually for the opposite gender (for example, a girl can be given pink experimenting games or building blocks, and a boy can be given blue kitchen/cooking sets. The pink is more appealing to girls and blue is more appealing to boys, but cooking sets are usually given to girls, and building blocks are usually given to boys). 9. Explain Erikson’s 3rd and 4th psychosocial stages crises. When does each stage occur? How do children successfully resolve each of these crises? Erikson’s 3rd psychosocial stage, initiative versus guilt, occurs during ages 3-5. This is when children undertake new activities, and feel guilty when they do not succeed at them. Children try to initiate activities with peers and ask lots of questions about the world around them (mostly to their parents). If they are encouraged, they develop a sense of initiative and feel confident in their ability to lead others. If they are punished for being so forthright, they may feel guilt for being a nuisance, which can slow down interaction with others and might inhibit creativity. Successfully resolving this crisis leads to a sense of purpose. Erikson’s 4th psychosocial stage, industry versus inferiority, occurs during ages 5 – 12. This is when children attempt to master new skills, and develop a sense of themselves as either competent or incompetent. Children’s peer group becomes a source of self-esteem. Children need to win approval by demonstrating competence in activities and feeling prideful. If they are

encouraged and successfully resolve their crisis, they feel industrious, but if they are discouraged and fail, they feel inferior, doubting their own abilities. Source: simplypsychology.org/Erik-Erikson.html 10. Consider the following moral dilemma: It is the end of the semester and you have one final term paper to complete. Since you have been extra busy with other finals and assignments, you must start and finish the term paper in a single night. You are very tired. Your friend shows you a website that offers inexpensive term papers on a variety of topics. Select a course of action and provide a justification for your decision using each of Kohlberg’s three levels of moral reasoning (preconventional, conventional, and post conventional). Even though I’m very tired, I would choose to not use the website to write my paper. According to Kohlberg’s preconventional moral reasoning (which emphasizes rewards and punishments), I am not using the website because the teacher will find out I plagiarized my final term paper, and therefore I will be punished for it by getting a failing grade. I would much rather write my own paper and do semi-poorly than be so openly punished for copying. According to Kohlberg’s conventional moral reasoning (which emphasizes social rules), I will not use the website because plagiarizing is bad and goes against school rules, which is why it should never happen. I don’t really care about whether or not I’ll get caught for plagiarizing, but I want to follow school rules and not do it in the first place. According to Kohlberg’s post conventional moral reasoning (which emphasizes personal moral principles), I will not use the website because it is not a reflection of what I learned during the semester, which is what I really want to know in my own paper. I personally believe that it is bad to use another’s work and pretend that it’s my own (rather than focusing on getting caught for plagiarizing, or that plagiarizing is against school rules). I would much rather try and write a term paper on my own, or not hand it in at all, than use someone else’s work....