Chapter 5 Middle Childhood PDF

Preview

Summary

Chapter 5 completely outlined...

Description

Chapter 5 Middle Childhood (6-12 years old) I. Physical Growth  Growth in middle childhood is often considered the least dramatic and slowest of any age in the life span.  Slowed rate of weight gain and height except for growth spurt that occurs between the ages of 6-10.  Prepubertal growth spurt: A rapid increase in height and weight preceding puberty (at about age 10-12  General slimming of the body figure in both boys and girls.  Genetic tendency for girls to have greater proportion of body fat to muscle than boys due to the growth of adipose tissue associated with approaching puberty. A. Bone Development  Bones begin to grow at their epiphysis = change in length of bone and at their outermost edge, periosteum = changes in width  Bone development slows as sex hormone levels increase. B. Muscle Development  Strength and endurance increase due to muscle development.  It is common for children this age to complain of muscular aches and pains around the joints because tendons are stretching to attach muscle to bones.  Physical fitness stimulates bone growth and ossification.  “Little League Elbow”: condition that can occur from the overuse of the connective tissues involved in throwing objects. C. Teeth  Dentition: the shedding of one set of teeth for another to erupt. Complete set by the end of middle childhood, except for third molars/wisdom teeth. D. Motor Development  Bilateral coordination improves.  Improvements in: a) Strength: the ability to exert force b) Flexibility: the freedom to bend/move the body in various directions. c) Impulsion: rate at which body movement begins from a stationary position d) Speed: rate of movement once the body is in action. e) Precision: dexterity and accuracy of movements f) Coordination: ability to use various muscle groups together to accomplish specific actions g) Balance: ability to maintain equilibrium and stability h) Rhythm: regular body movements  Common motor skills that involve the upper body region: printing, writing, playing musical instruments, chores, using tools.  Common motor skills that involve the lower body region: running, skipping, jumping  Common motor skills that involve the whole body: skating, sports, swimming, bike riding.



Optimal development can be conceptualized referred to as 5 C’s:

a) Competence: an individual’s skills, abilities, and proficiency within a specific domain, such as school, relationships, or sports b) Confidence: have certainty in one’s ability c) Connections: an individual’s relationship with other and feelings as though one belongs. d) Character: having a moral compass and integrity e) Caring: having empathy and concern for others. E. Health Issues  Nutrition: eating habits and appetites improve as they take up more demanding physical abilities.  Preventing obesity  Physical illness: developmental changes in understanding of illness (Stage 3: contamination, Stage 4: internalization  Mental Health: Oppositional defiant disorder: a menta disorder characterized by a patter of disobedience, hostility and deviant behavior. (a patter of behavior in which a child is uncooperative and hostile wit authority figures.)  Promoting wellness: o Proper nutrition and exercise o Supervision to prevent accidents o Regular doctor and dental exams II. Cognitive Development during middle childhood  A new stage of thinking emerges as children experiences the formal education.  Piaget refers to this as the period of concrete operations. They now base decisions more on fact and logic as they are learning to reason. o Concrete operations: stage of cognitive development experienced in middle childhood in which thought becomes more logical and based on immediate physical realities and mental imagery abilities become more refined. o 5-7 shift: a transition period in cognitive development between preoperational and concrete operations stages; thinking is based more on intuition than logic. Characteristics of concrete operational thought (Piaget’s theory and concrete operational stage)  Classification- Decentering: the cognitive ability that allows a school-age child to attend to more than one simultaneously in performing classification operations.  Class inclusion: a cognitive ability of middle childhood that allows a child to consider the whole as well as its parts in classification operations.  Reversibility: the cognitive ability of school-age children to understand that certain operations can occur in their reverse order (ex. Subtraction is reverse of addition)  Conservation (horizontal decalage): unevenness in applying and understanding of conservation problems across different contexts.  Cognitive conceit: a characteristic of “all or nothing” type of reasoning.  Seriation: a cognitive ability that allows objects to be scaled according to various dimensions. (ex. Large to small)  Understanding time: Judgement of time spans and knowledge of calendar events improve in middle childhood. The ability to work backward in time and an accurate understanding of the concept of past time are not acquired until late adolescence for most individuals. Information processing theory





   



Attention: a) Better attention determining the relevance of something. b) To perform learning activities, school-age children show improvements in another important cognitive skill, selective attention: ability to tune out distracting stimulation while performing a task. Memory: a) Significant improvements due to increased attention span, brain development, maturation, and using strategies for processing information. b) Memory occurs in three steps: i. Sensory register (sensory memory): first memory storage location where sensory information is stored in the brain before becoming short/long term memory. ii. Short term memory: second memory storage location in the brain where information remains for about one minute before being erased or placed into long term memory; recall of events, information, events, and so on. iii. Long term memory: final memory storage location in the brain where information is stored indefinitely Scripts: an organized series of acts committed to memory (ex. Getting dressed, brushing teeth) Metacognition: the awareness of the extent of one’s knowledge Metamemory: the awareness of the extent of what is in one’s memory Intelligence: ability to solve problems and to adapt and learn from experiences. a) Multiple intelligences: a theory in which there are various domains or abilities in which a person an be intelligent. b) Linguistic intelligence: involves the mental abilities in the semantics, syntax, and overall expression of language. c) Logical mathematical intelligence: involves mental abilities in patter recognition, relationships, reasoning, and mathematical operations. d) Spatial intelligence: involves mental abilities in perception of objects and the ability to mentally transform and manipulate these objects. e) Interpersonal intelligence: the mental ability to understand ones’ own emotional self. f) Musical intelligence: mental ability to understand the components of music, such as tone, melody, pitch, and rhythm. g) Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence: mental ability to control one’s body in a purposeful way. h) Naturalist intelligence: mental ability to recognize plant & animal life in the environment & the relationships in interconnections between these species. i) Codified: Math that is written. j) Existential intelligence: mental ability to contemplate the purpose & meaning of life & issues surrounding death & what comes after death. Mathematical Skills: a) Can drill math facts & store in long-term memory. b) Begin to learn & use algorithms & inventive strategies. c) Understand fractions, decimals, pre-geometry, & pre-algebra, as well as, the conversion between decimal & standard systems measurements.

d) Innovative strategies: making use of one’s own knowledge & current strategies in answering a novel problem.  Language Arts Skills: a) Achieve Metalinguistic-Awareness i. Also known as metalinguistic ability is the capacity to use language to analyze, study & understand language. b) Figurative language: the use of similes, proverbs, metaphors, & idioms. c) Learning about rules regarding double negatives in sentences & parts of speech.  Second Language Acquisition: a) School Bilingualism: the offering of courses in a secondary language in the elementary schools. b) The downward trend in grammar ability in a second language continues as age increases. III. Social & Emotional Development during middle childhood  Begin to understand that how they think affects how they feel.  Begin to understand that the same experience/environment may trigger different emotions in different people. A. Temperament  Four dimensions of temperament: a) Sociability b) Activity level c) Emotionality d) Shyness  Boys are more likely than girls to be classified as confident.  Girls are more likely than boys to be classified as unremarkable  18 Months: Confident profile prevalent  30 Months: Uneasy profile prevalent  4-5 years: Uneasy profile prevalent  8-9 years: unremarkable profile prevalent B. Attachment  Secure attachment in infancy continues to be predictive outcomes of middle childhood.  Children were rated secure vs insecure attachment on the following: o Social skills, ego resiliency, self-esteem, self-confidence, emotional health, social competence, friendship development, and independence C. Understanding Self & Others  Social Cognition: the knowledge of the dynamics of human social interaction. (make sense of bad behavior) D. Self-Understanding  Realize that their personalities are composed of different aspects, both positive & negative.  Becomes increasingly self-critical & say self-derogatory statements “I can’t do anything right.” E. Understanding of Others  Understand that people have different personalities; but cognitive conceit (black/white thinking) makes them assume either all good traits or all negative traits.

  F. 

        G.     H. 

  I.   J. 

 

Learn that facial expressions are not reliable indicators of others’ emotional states. Begin to understand that some people can fake emotions. Play & Leisure Contributions of play to development in middle childhood: a) It enhances & encourages a child’s creativity. b) It assists a child to learn developmental tasks. c) It fosters interpersonal relationships with peers. d) It bolsters a child’s personality & self-concept. Play is a vehicle for modulating stress & tension. Play enhances their physical development & fosters their social skills. Play provides a context for children’s self-exploration as they interact with their environment. (see Table 5-3 on Pg. 217) Increasing ability to tolerate & follow rules, as well as take turns & share. Between 8-12, begin to pursue more specialized interests & activities. Like games that allows them to switch roles, which promotes the ability to take others’ viewpoints. Becomes increasingly competitive. TV/Screen/Games should not be primary recreational activity. Family Influences Parenting increasingly focuses on providing psychological assistance & guiding as opposed to physical caretaking. Begin training children for greater self-control, greater sharing of power between parents & children Co-Regulation: parents exercise general supervision & child practices self-regulation. More time spent outside the home, primarily at school with peers and teachers as well as other families in the community = fosters independence from family. Divorce Impacts Two central factors that influence children’s adjustment to parental divorce: a) The age of the child at the time of the divorce b) Use of available social networks to help children adjust to changes related to their parents’ divorce. Anger is common reaction. Most often directed at one parent in blaming them for causing the divorce/disruption in family life. A common fear is abandonment of one parent by child. Sibling Relationships May provide a context for developing prosocial behavior. Older siblings become “caregiver” like or take on nurturing role. The Outside World Peer group: becomes an additional socialization agent o Children are similar ages & developmental abilities that significantly influences social changes. Group politics: a major source of information children use in constructing their selfconcept. o Those social skills that facilitate a child’s participation in per groups. Social hierarchy: an organizational ranking of peers based on how much a child is liked/disliked by others.

a) Average: neither greatly disliked nor considered popular. b) Popular: liked by many peers. c) Neglected: having no friends d) Rejected: disliked (are at risk for clinical depression) e) Controversial: liked by many peers/disliked by many peers.  A child’s external physical appearance contribute to ratings of likeability by peers.  Children begin to learn what other people expect/think of them, & it affects how they see themselves. K. Friendships  Robert Selman’s developmental changes in friendship perception stages: a) Stage 1: One-Way Assistance (Age 5-9)  Friends must match a child’s personal standards. (Best Friend – both likes same thing, same height, age) b) Stage 2: Fair-Weather Cooperation (Age 7-12)  Ideas of reciprocity & adapting to friends’ likes/dislikes govern the early friendship (No sense of long-term commitment/argument ends friendship sometimes). c) Stage 3: Intimate & Mutually Shared Relationships (Age 10-15)  Children value the continuity & longevity of friendship. (Friendship is valuable & emotional support) IV. Psychosocial Development  Erikson’s Stage 3: Industry/Inferiority (Age 7-11)  Sense of Industry: feeling of pride in one’s abilities to do what is expected. a) A healthy attitude towards work & need to master certain basic skills.  Sense of Inferiority: pervasive attitude of worthlessness “I can’t” a) Is based on a negative assessment of oneself in comparison with others....