Child Psy PDF
Child Psy PDF
Child Psy PDF
ABPD1203
Child Psychology
3.3 Birthing 60
3.3.1 Complications during Birth 61
Summary 62
Key Terms 63
References 63
INTRODUCTION
ABPD1203 Child Psychology is one of the courses offered by Faculty of Applied
Social Sciencess (FASS) at Open University Malaysia (OUM). This course is
worth 3 credit hours and should be covered over 8 to 15 weeks.
COURSE AUDIENCE
This course is offered to all students taking the Bachelor of Psychology with
Honours. This module aims to impart the basic concepts and mechanisms
inherent in the process of human development from conception to adolescence.
This module should be able to form a strong foundation of knowledge in the
field of psychology.
STUDY SCHEDULE
It is a standard OUM practice that learners accumulate 40 study hours for every
credit. As such, for a three-credit hour course, you are expected to spend 120
study hours. Table 1 gives an estimation of how the 120 study hours could be
accumulated.
Study
Study Activities
Hours
Online Participation 12
Revision 15
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this course, you should be able to:
1. Explain the method used in gathering information on child development;
2. Show researches done in the past on heredity-environment influence;
3. Explain changes in physical, cognitive, emotional, intellectual ability, as the
child advances in age; and
4. Explain the effects of family and cultural influence on the behaviours of a
child.
COURSE SYNOPSIS
This course is divided into 10 topics. The synopsis for each topic can be listed as
follows:
Topic 1 introduces you to the concepts and issues in the study of children. We
first look at the history of early ideas, and then at contemporary theories about
children. We then look at the approaches or methods used to study children and
the ethics in conducting research with children.
Topic 2 describes how new lives are formed and the mechanism of heredity. This
topic highlights basic arguments on the influence of heredity and environment. It
also explains how heredity and environment work together.
Topic 5 examines the childÊs growth: brain, body, motor skills and sexual
maturation. It also discusses role of family in development.
Topic 10 focuses on the family factor; the types of family, variation in child
rearing styles, the fatherÊs involvement, divorced families and differences in
treatment of siblings that influence the childÊs socialisation.
Learning Outcomes: This section refers to what you should achieve after you
have completely covered a topic. As you go through each topic, you should
frequently refer to these learning outcomes. By doing this, you can continuously
gauge your understanding of the topic.
understood the sub-section(s). Most of the time, the answers to the questions can
be found directly from the module itself.
Summary: You will find this component at the end of each topic. This component
helps you to recap the whole topic. By going through the summary, you should
be able to gauge your knowledge retention level. Should you find points in the
summary that you do not fully understand, it would be a good idea for you to
revisit the details in the module.
Key Terms: This component can be found at the end of each topic. You should go
through this component to remind yourself of important terms or jargon used
throughout the module. Should you find terms here that you are not able to
explain, you should look for the terms in the module.
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE
Learners of this course are required to pass the module ABPG1103 Introduction
to Psychology.
ASSESSMENT METHOD
Please refer to myINSPIRE.
REFERENCES
Hetherington, E. M., Parke, R. D., Gauvain, M., & Locke, V. O. (2006). Child
psychology: a contemporary viewpoint. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Morris, C. G., & Maisto, A. A. (2002). Psychology: an introduction (11th ed.). New
Jersey: Prentice Hall.
INTRODUCTION
Why do we need to study children? Why are children today different from
children 20, 30 or 40 years ago? How are they alike? What do you think are the
reasons for these similarities and differences?
This topic introduces you to concepts and issues in studying children. We will
first look at the history of early ideas and then at contemporary theories on
children. You will learn how to use these theories and ideas by psychologists to
study children and their interaction with their surroundings. We will then look at
the approaches or methods used to study and gather information on children.
You will learn how to apply the techniques of research methodology. Finally,
you will understand the issues relating to ethics when conducting research with
children.
Have you ever wondered how you developed into who you are today? How
does a child develop? What determines the features that humans have in
common and those that make each of us unique – whether physically, mentally,
or behaviourally? Why do some children thrive while others do not? How do we
explain how a child who faced countless tragedies could pick up the pieces and
triumph later in life while another could not?
These are some of the questions addressed by child psychology, a field devoted
to studying how children develop and grow from the moment of conception
through adolescence, until the emergence of adulthood. It is the study of age-
related changes in the behaviour of children and the application of psychological
techniques to children. It is part of a large field known as developmental
psychology or human development, which studies the processes associated with
those changes. It includes principal topics such as language acquisition and
development, motor skills, personality development, social, emotional and
intellectual growth.
SELF-CHECK 1.1
1. Explain child psychology in your own words.
2. List five questions which are always asked in studying children.
Inspired by DarwinÊs work, G. Stanley Hall (1846–1924) and his student Arnold
Gesell (1880–1961) devised several theories based on evolutionary ideas. They
launched the normative approach, in which measures of behaviour were taken
on large numbers of individuals and age-related averages were computed to
represent typical development (Berk, 2005, p. 14). Both constructed questionnaires
and collected detailed normative information on the motor achievements, social
behaviours and personality characteristics of infants and children.
At the same time, a French psychologist, Alfred Binet (1857–1911), also took a
normative approach to child development. BinetÊs intelligent test of the Stanford-
Binet Intelligence Scale sparked tremendous interest in individual differences in
development besides providing scores that could successfully predict school
achievement. The intelligence tests rose quickly to the forefront of the „nature
versus nurture‰ controversy that has continued to this day (Berk, 2005).
ACTIVITY 1.1
previous one. There are three main theories that we will explore here –
FreudÊs Psychoanalytic Theory, EriksonÊs Psychosocial Theory, and
Piagetian Theory.
Table 1.1 shows how these three parts become integrated during a
sequence of five stages, from birth to adolescence.
Stage Description
Oral BabyÊs chief source of pleasure involves mouth-
(Birth to 12–18 oriented activities (sucking and feeding).
months)
Anal Child derives sensual gratification from
(12–18 months to 3 withholding and expelling faeces. Zone of
years) gratification is anal region and toilet training is an
important activity.
Phallic Child becomes attached to parent of the other sex
(3–6 years) and later identifies with the same-sex parent.
Superego develops. Zone of gratification shifts to
genital region.
Latency Time of relative calm between more turbulent
(6 years to puberty) stages.
Genital Re-emergence of sexual impulses of phallic stage,
(Puberty through channelled into mature adult sexuality.
adulthood)
Table 1.2 shows the six stages of EriksonÊs psychosocial stages from birth
to emerging adulthood. More details will be discussed in later topics.
Stage Criteria
Birth – 1 year Basic trust vs. mistrust
1–3 years Autonomy vs. shame and doubt
3–6 years Initiative vs. guilt
6–11 years Industry vs. inferiority
Adolescence Identity vs. identity confusion
Emerging adulthood Intimacy vs. isolation
Stage Description
Sensorimotor Cognitive development begins with the babyÊs use of the
(birth – 18 months) reflexes, senses and movements to explore the world.
Pre-operational Children form ideas based on their perceptions. They
(18 months–6 years) can only focus on one variable at a time and they tend to
over-generalise based on limited experience.
Concrete operational Children start to transform their thinking based on
(6–12 years) reasoning and evolve into symbolic meanings; but they
still limit their thinking to objects and familiar events
only.
Formal operational They are able to think conceptually and hypothetically.
(12 years and older) However, Piaget warned that many do not reach this
stage of development.
Figure 1.4: SkinnerÊs operant conditioning experiment using a rat to study the
connection of reinforcement and punishment in learning
Source: http://faridatuljamalia.blogspot.com/2010/08/part-5.html
Further reading on the experiment:
http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/skinner.html
It begins with an input or stimulus and ends with an output or response, and
uses the computer as a model for the way humans think (See Figure 1.5). But
in human information processing, output may be in the form of an action, a
decision, an insight, a verbalisation or simply a memory that is stored for
later use (Hetherington et al., 2006). Information processing theorists are
fascinated with the cognitive process that a child uses to operate on
knowledge and the gradual changes over the course of development in
childrenÊs ability to use these processes. You will learn more about this in
detail in Topic 8.
ACTIVITY 1.2
ACTIVITY 1.3
finding food in the jungle etc.) compared to a child who lives in a big city.
The evolutionarists believe that our human cognition is how we adapt to
the types of problems that are important to solve in the environment or
context we are in.
SELF-CHECK 1.2
ACTIVITY 1.4
1. How would you organise these theories other than the way
Hetherington et al. (2006) had organised?
2. In your opinion, which theory of child development had
influenced your development the most? Discuss.
3. If you are a teacher, which are the theories you would adopt in
your work? Discuss with your coursemates.
SELF-CHECK 1.3
To achieve their aims, psychology researchers first need to decide what the
problem or topic is and then how to measure the topic of interest. They must
then design their study, choose a method for studying and decide whether their
plan respects the rights of the individuals who would participate in the research.
We shall now discuss three approaches that are commonly done in studying
children: (a) systematic observation, (b) sampling behaviour with task; and
(c) self report (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2004).
One crucial limitation is that many individuals give answers that they think
are socially acceptable and desirable, rather than say what they truly think or
feel (Santrock, 2001). Also, for young children whose reading and writing
skills are still developing, filling in forms might be a challenge for them.
(i) Experiments
An experiment is a research method used to determine the effectiveness
of a treatment or action on the behaviour being studied. It requires the
researcher to control all other factors that might have an influence on
the occurrence of a particular change. A carefully regulated procedure
needs to be planned in order to control these factors and minimise the
influence on the behaviour being studied. It studies the cause and effect
of a variable or variables being manipulated on the behaviour being
studied. Experimental research is the only truly reliable method of
establishing cause and effect (Santrock, 2001).
SELF-CHECK 1.4
For these reasons, American Psychological Association and Society for Research
in Child Development came out with special ethical guidelines for research on
children.
ChildrenÊs Rights:
(i) Protection from harm – Children have the right to be protected from
physical or psychological harm in research. If in doubt about the
harmful effects of research, investigators should seek the opinion of
others. When harm seems possible, investigators should find other
means for obtaining the desired information or abandon the research.
(ii) Informed consent – All research participants, including children, have
the right to have explained to them (in language appropriate to their
level of understanding) all aspects of the research that may affect their
willingness to participate. When children are participants, informed
consent of parents as well as others who act on the childÊs behalf (such
as school officials) should be obtained, preferably in writing. Children,
and the adults responsible for them, have the right to discontinue
participation in the research at any time.
(iii) Privacy – Children have the right to the concealment of their identity on
all information collected in the course of research. They also have this
right with respect to written reports and any informal discussions about
the research.
(iv) Knowledge of results – Children have the right to be informed of the
results of research in language that is appropriate to their level of
understanding.
(v) Beneficial treatments – If experimental treatments believed to be
beneficial are conducted, children in the control groups have the right to
alternative beneficial treatments if they are available.
ACTIVITY 1.5
In child psychology, we study how children develop and grow from the
moment of conception up to adulthood. This includes language acquisition,
motor skills, personality development, social, emotional and intellectual
growth.
There are many issues and contradicting ideas about children throughout
history such as original sin, tabula rasa and innate goodness.
Ball, Sir C. (1994). Start Right: The Importance of Early Learning. RSA.
Berk, L. E. (2005). Infants and children (5th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education.
Gordon, A. M., & Browne, K. W. (2004). Beginnings & Beyond (6th ed.). NY:
Delmar.
Hetherington, E. M., Parke, R. D., Gauvain, M., & Locke, V. O. (2006). Child
Psychology: A Contemporary Viewpoint. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Langston, A., & Abbott, L. (2005). Birth to three matters: Supporting the
framework of effective practice. NY: Open University Press.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
1. Describe how new lives are formed;
2. Identify the heredity mechanism;
3. Explain the basic arguments of the influence of heredity and
environment; and
4. Explain how heredity and environment work together.
INTRODUCTION
You have probaby noticed that all children are different from one another in the
way they look and the way they act. Even siblings raised in the same family can
be very different (Poole, Warren & Nunez, 2007). These differences are due to the
fact that everyone has a different set of inherited characteristics or what we
call heredity. Also, everyone has different relationships, physical settings and
learning experiences, which we call the „environment„. For many years, people
have been debating on the influences of heredity and the environment on the
development of an individual. It is believed that the optimum development of an
individual depends on the interaction between both heredity and environment.
In this topic, we begin with how the creation of new life takes place, the
mechanism of heredity, the genetic code, how gender is determined, how
heredity operates in transmitting normal and abnormal traits, the relationship
between heredity and environment and how heredity and environment work
together.
ACTIVITY 2.1
1. In your own view, explain how children are alike and how they
are different. Why do these similarities and differences exist?
2. Interview a pair of siblings. Find out:
(a) What they think of each other; and
(b) How they are alike and how they are different. Why is it so?
Sometimes a zygote divides into two identical halves which develop separately –
hence identical twins are created. As they are from one zygote and possess the
same genetic code, these twins will look alike. However, if there are two ova
(eggs) fertilised by two sperms, the result is fraternal twins. These twins do not
share the same genetic code (Black, Puckett & Bell, 1992).
So, letÊs read further on genetic code, patterns of heredity, abnormalities in genes
and chromosomes and also about genetic counselling and testing in the following
sections.
DNA is the basis of heredity (Papalia, Olds & Feldman, 2007). A single
DNA molecule, tightly coiled with protein, is the building block for a
chromosome. Chromosomes are structures in the nucleus of each cell that
define individual species. A unique feature of DNA is that it can duplicate
itself through a process called mitosis (Berk, 2005). This process permits a
single cell, formed at conception, to copy themselves. As a result, each new
body cell contains the same number of chromosomes and the identical
genetic information (Berk, 2005). To understand the structure of DNA, Kail
& Cavanaugh (2004) explains:
„... imagine four different colours of beads placed on two strings. The
strings complement each other precisely: Wherever a red bead appears on
one string, a blue bead appears on the other; wherever a green bead
appears on one string, a yellow one appears on the other. DNA is organised
in this way, except that the four colours of beads are actually four different
chemical compounds – adenine, thymine, guanine and cytosine. The
strings, which are made up of phosphates and sugars, wrap around each
other, creating the double helix shown in the drawing. The order in which
the chemical compound ÂbeadsÊ appear is really a code that causes the cell
to create specific amino acids, proteins and enzymes – important biological
building blocks. For example, three consecutive thymine ÂbeadsÊ make up
the instruction to create the amino acid phenylalanine. Each group of
compounds that provides a specific set of biochemical instructions is a
gene. Thus, genes are the functional units of heredity, because they
determine production of chemical substances that are, ultimately, the basis
for all human characteristics and abilities.‰
(iv) Mutation
Sometimes harmful genes are created due to a sudden but permanent
change in a segment of DNA. A mutation may affect only one or two
genes, or it may involve many genes. Some mutations occur simply by
chance. Others are caused by hazardous environmental agents in our
food supply or the air we breathe (Berk, 2005).
Other disorders associated with abnormal genes include cystic fibrosis, Tay
Sachs disease, thalassemia, dwarfin condition and sickle cell anemia.
According to Black, Pukett and Bell (1993), some common tests are:
(i) Alphafetoprotein Test (AFP) – a blood test that can identify disorders
in the brain or spinal column in the foetus;
(iii) Chorionic Villus Test (CVT) – a test that analyses samples of the hair-
like projections (chorionic villi) of tissue in the placenta for purposes
determining chromosomal disorders.
SELF-CHECK 2.1
1. Explain how sex is determined.
2. What is DNA?
3. What are the three main mechanisms of inheritance?
4. What is mutation? How does it happen?
5. Explain how abnormalities in genes could happen.
6. Explain how DownÊs syndrome is formed.
ACTIVITY 2.2
Heritability research also reveals that genetic factors are important in personality.
For frequently studied traits such as sociability, emotional expressiveness and
activity level, heritability estimates obtained on child, adolescent and emerging
adult twins are moderate at 0.40 to 0.50 (Rothbart & Bates, 1998). Siblings are
found to be more different than alike in intelligence and personality (Papalia,
Olds & Feldman, 2007).
Behaviour geneticists claim that heredity accounts for most of the similarities,
and non-shared environmental effects account for the differences. However,
critics claim that the assumptions and methods did not take into account the role
of parenting and the complexity of developmental systems (Papilia, Olds &
Feldman, 2007).
SELF-CHECK 2.2
In what ways are you like your mother and in what ways like your
father? How are you similar and dissimilar to your siblings? Which
differences would you guess come chiefly from heredity and which
from the environment? Can you see possible effects of both?
So, how do heredity and environment work together? Let us look at several
concepts that will shed light on this question: reaction range; canalisation;
genetic-environmental correlation; and environmental influences on gene
expression (Berk, 2005).
For example, a child who inherits sporting genes from his parents will
actively participate in sporting events at school, while a child who is more
musically inclined will enrol in music lessons or choir practice in school.
ACTIVITY 2.3
2.4 CONCLUSION
The main reason researchers are interested in the nature-nurture issue is that
they want to improve environments so that children can develop as far as
possible. The concept of epigenesist reminds us that development is best
understood as a series of complex exchanges between nature and nurture.
Although children cannot be changed in any way we might desire, environments
can modify genetic influences.
New lives are formed at conception. Development begins when a sperm cell
from the father penetrates an ovum from the mother, forming a zygote.
DNA is the substance in genes that makes the blueprint which codes the
formation of chains of protein that stimulate the development of tissue and
organs and affects other genes and physiological functions.
Black, J. K., Puckett, M. B., & Bell, M. J. (1992). The young child: Development
from prebirth through age eight. NY: McMillan.
Hetherington, E. M., Parke, R. D., Gauvain, M., & Locke, V. O. (2006). Child
Psychology: A contemporary viewpoint. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Papilia, D.E., Olds, S. W., & Feldman, R. D. (2001). Human development (10th
ed.). NY: McGraw Hill.
Plomin, R. (1994). Genetics and experience: The interplay between nature and
nurture. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. In Berk, L. E. (2005). Infants and
Children: Prenatal through middle childhood (5th ed.). MA: Pearson.
Poole, D., Warren, A., & Nunez, N. (2007). The story of human development. NJ:
Pearson Education.
Scarr, S., & McCartney, K. (1983). How people make their own environments: A
theory of genotype-environment effects. In Berk, L. E. (2005). Infants and
children: Prenatal through middle childhood (5th ed.). MA: Pearson.
Sigelman, C. K., & Rider, E. A. (2003). Life-span human development (4th ed.).
CA: Thomson.
Shore, R. (1997). ÂWhat have we learned?Ê in Rethinking the brainÊ. New York:
Families and Work Institute.
INTRODUCTION
Amy, a computer software consultant, was married when she was 31. Now after
four years of marriage, she is anxious to have a baby. She knew that age was
catching up and she had heard so much about the risk of having a baby after
35 years of age. Finally, after many stressful and anxious years, she got pregnant
while turning 35. Before that, she experienced two miscarriages, so this time she
took extra care to ensure that her third pregnancy will be a success. She worked
from home for the first three months of pregnancy in order to make sure she
got enough rest and experienced less stress from travelling to and from work.
When she went for a medical check-up, she had a few questions for her doctor
(See Figure 3.1).
In this topic, we will examine some of the questions that Amy was concerned about.
Have you ever wondered how babies come about? We have learned how an egg
and a sperm unite to produce a baby. What if a different sperm had united with
that egg? If that had happened, then a different baby would have come into being.
SELF-CHECK 3.1
TRUE OR FALSE?
Please tick (√) if the statement is true and cross ( ) if it is false.
1. The womb provides the foetus with a stable, unchanging, silent and
dark environment in which to grow and develop.
2. The course of prenatal development is genetically determined.
3. Foetal movement is random and unimportant to development.
4. The foetus is a passive recipient of sensory stimulation.
5. The foetus is protected from maternal stress.
Would it surprise you to know that all the above statements are false? They
are all common myths about prenatal development, passed on since our
grandmothersÊ time. We will look at these questions in this lesson.
ACTIVITY 3.1
As DNA from mother and father merge, two cells will become one. The resulting
single cell is called a zygote. Conception has taken place. The time from
conception until the baby is born is called the gestational period.
(a) The Germinal Period (the first two weeks after fertilisation)
The Germinal period, which lasts about 10 to 14 days, is from conception
through implantation, when the developing zygote becomes firmly
attached to the wall of the uterus (Shaffer & Kipp, 2007).
As the fertilised ovum, or zygote, travels down the fallopian tube towards
to the uterus, it multiplies rapidly through division. On the third day of
conception, it has developed into a ball-like structure, called blastocyst,
which will contain 60 to 80 cells, with an inner core and an outer shell of
cells (Shaffer & Kipp, 2007).
The inner layer of the blastocyst will become the embryo. At this point, the
endometrium (the lining of the uterus) has grown and is ready to support
the embryo. The outer layer of blastocyst becomes supporting structures for
gestation. An amniotic sac and its outer layer, the chorion, surround the
embryo and fill with fluid to provide a protected environment for growth.
Part of the chorion develops into the placenta, a fleshy disk of tissue that
provides oxygen, delivers nutrients and removes waste products. The
placenta separates the maternal and embryonic bloodstreams, keeping the
two circulatory systems separate but transferring substances back and forth
to sustain the life of the embryo. The umbilical cord is the lifeline that
connects the embryo to the placenta (Poole, Warren & Nunez, 2007).
The blastocyst begins to implant itself in the uterus between the seventh
and ninth day establishing a supply of nourishment from the motherÊs
blood system (Poole, Warren & Nunez, 2007). However, only about
10–20 percent of fertilised eggs completes this crucial task of implantation
and become embryos (Papilia, Olds & Feldman, 2007). Figure 3.3 shows the
development taking place at the germinal period.
Figure 3.3: The zygote goes through several stages of development at the Germinal
Period.
Source: Charlesworth, R. (2000)
During this period, the cells of the embryo keep on multiplying and
the major organ systems are developing. By the end of this stage, the
developing embryo begins to resemble a miniature person. It is during this
critical period that the growing foetus is most susceptible to damage from
external sources or teratogens such as chemical substances, viruses, alcohol,
drugs, rubella, x-rays and other radiation and poor nutrition (Berk, 2005).
For example, if the woman contracts German measles during this time,
her child stands a risk of being born deaf, blind, or with heart disease
(Charlesworth, 2000).
Weeks 3–4: The heart, brain and spinal cord and gastrointestinal tract start
to form, as do the rudimentary structures that will become the eyes, ears,
nose and mouth. By the end of the fourth week, the heart has begun to beat.
At this point, the embryo is only about 1/4th of an inch long (Shaffer &
Kipp, 2007).
Weeks 5–8: The vertebra, the lower jaw, the larynx (voice box) and the
external body features such as eyes, ears and limbs are formed. We also
see the formation of the nose, jaw, palate and lung buds. By the 28th day,
all essential organs have begun to form. The tiny embryo has a peculiar
looking head, body and spinal cord (Poole, Warren & Nunez, 2007).
By the eighth week, the heart is almost fully developed. The facial features
continue to develop and the external ear appears. The embryo now
resembles a human being. Also, we see the beginnings of external genitalia.
By now, the embryo produces its own blood and can move. The long bones
begin to form and the muscles are able to contract. Now, the embryo is
1 inch, 1/15 ounce (Shaffer & Kipp, 2007). Teratogens introduced during
this period may cause heart and lung problems, a cleft palate and
ambiguous genitalia and stunting of the fingers and toes.
Figure 3.4 shows the development of the foetus and the effects of teratogens
from conception to full term.
Stage of
Description
Pregnancy
Week 9 to 12 At this point the foetus begins to look like a human being. All the
organs that developed during the embryonic stage continue to grow
and develop rapidly. The head becomes more proportional to the
rest of the body and the limbs are more clearly differentiated
(Charlesworth, 2000). Male and female external genitalia are visible.
Weeks 13 to 16 These weeks mark the beginning of the second trimester. The skin
of the foetus is almost transparent, fine hair develops on the head
called lanugo. The foetus makes active movements, including
sucking, which leads to some swallowing of the amniotic fluid. A
thin dark substance called meconium is made in the intestinal tract.
The heart beats 120–150 beats per minute and brain waves are
detectable. Foetus size is about six inches.
Weeks 17 to 20 Eyebrows and lashes appear and nails appear on fingers and toes.
This is an exciting time for the parents: The mother can feel the
foetus moving („quickening‰) and the foetal heartbeat can be heard
with a stethoscope. Foetus size is about eight inches.
Weeks 21 to 24 All the eye components are developed, footprints and fingerprints
are forming, and the entire body is covered in cream-cheese-like
vernix caseosa. The foetus now has a startle reflex. The foetus
could survive outside of the uterus. The foetus has eyelashes and
eyebrows and the eyelids are open. It is about 11.2 inches, 1 lb.
10 oz.
Weeks 25 to 28 We are now entering the third trimester. During these weeks, we
see rapid brain development. The nervous system is developed
enough to control some body functions, and the eyelids open and
close. A baby born at this time may survive, but the chances of
complications and death are high. The foetus is about 15 inches,
2 lbs. 11 oz.
Figure 3.4: The prenatal developmental sequence and the periods of greatest danger.
Source: Charlesworth, R. (2000). Understanding Child Development. 5th Ed. Pg. 183
SELF-CHECK 3.2
ACTIVITY 3.2
1. How would you advise a friend who just got pregnant to take care
of herself and the foetus?
2. Discuss this statement with a coursemate: "The environment starts
to influence a childÊs development after he is born." Do you agree?
Give your reasons.
(a) Nutrition
The mother is the developing childÊs sole source of nutrition, so what a
pregnant woman eats is very important. A balanced diet of proteins,
vitamins and minerals is vital and essential for normal prenatal
development. (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2004). The diet should include proteins,
complex carbohydrates, grains, fruits and vegetables and dairy products.
According to Black, Pucket & Bell (1992), under-nutrition can interfere with
the healthy development of the foetal central nervous systems during two
critical periods of development:
(i) Between the 10th and 20th weeks of pregnancy as this is the first
major period of brain growth; and
(ii) From the 20th week of prenatal development to four to six months
after birth as this is the second major period of brain growth (Black,
Pucket & Bell, 1992).
For example, folic acid, one of the B vitamins, is important for the babyÊs
nervous system to develop properly (Shaw et al., 1995). If a mother does
not consume adequate amounts of folic acid, her baby risks getting spina
bifida, a disorder in which the embryoÊs neural tube does not close properly
during the first month of pregnancy. The result is permanent damage to
the spinal cord and the nervous system (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2004; Papilia,
Olds & Feldman, 2007).
Under-nutrition during these times can also impair brain growth, which
ultimately affects intellectual performance and physical development. If
under-nutrition occurs at these critical times, young children will not be
able to catch up with their peers, even if provided with a nutritional diet
later. Dietary deficiencies can also cause anaemia, poorly developed bones
and teeth, physical abnormalities, premature birth, low birth weight,
vulnerability to illness and complications during pregnancy and labour
(Kail & Cavanaugh, 2004).
Stress hormones can also cross the placenta, causing the foetusÊ heart
rate and activity to rise dramatically. Stress also weakens the immune
system, making pregnant mothers more vulnerable to infectious
disease.
Genital herpes. Newborns could contract this virus when they are
delivered through the birth canal of an inffected mother. About
one-third of the babies will die, and one-fourth will incur brain
damage (Santrock, 2001).
In the case of teenage mothers, infants are born with a higher rate of
problems for quite different reasons (Berk, 2005). It could be due to
these adolescents not having access to medical care or being afraid to
seek it. Also, stress, poor nutrition and health problems are common
among these young mothers (Coley & Chase-Lansdale, 1998).
(a) Drugs
Some drugs are common substances that we may find in our daily life but
they would be very harmful on pregnant women. Nicotine, alcohol,
common drugs, caffeine, cocaine, heroin and marijuana are some of these
substances.
(i) Nicotine. Both direct cigerette smoking and second hand smoking are
equally harmful to the developing foetus. The nicotine in cigarette
smoke constricts blood vessels and thus reducing oxygen and
nutrients to reach the foetus over the placenta (Kail & Cavanaugh,
2004). Therefore, pregnant women who smoke are more likely to have
miscarriage or bear babies who are smaller in weight at birth (Ernst,
Moolchan, & Robinson, 2001). Also, as they grow, they are more likely
to show sign of impaired attention, language and cognitive skills,
along with behavioural problems (Brennan et al., 2002).
(ii) Other drugs. Many other drugs also harm developing children. For
example, mothers who are addicted to heroin deliver babies who are
also addicted; and prenatal exposure to marijuana is associated
with delayed growth before birth, attentional problems and behavior
problems. (Poole, Warren & Nunez, 2007). Cocaine is associated with
impaired foetal growth and numerous congenital malformations,
including urinary tract and cardiac malformations (Poole, Warren &
Nunez, 2007).
(iii) Alcohol. Children born with mothers who consumed alcohol during
pregnancy had similar physical deformities such as small heads, low
nasal bridges, thin upper lips and eye folds, which is called foetal
alcohol syndrome (FAS) (Armstrong, 1998). Children with FAS may
have the following characteristics and behaviours (Refer Table 3.2):
Because there is no known level of alcohol use that is totally safe, no safe
time during pregnancy to drink and also no safe kind of alcohol, health
organisations advise women to avoid alcohol altogether during pregnancy
(National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, 2010).
(ii) Heavy metals in fish. Pregnant women should restrict from eating
large predatory fishes – such as shark and swordfish – as mercury can
be found in the waterways these species inhabit. At high doses,
mercury can cause severe brain damage, cerebral palsy and blindness
of the foetus (Harada, 1995).
(iv) Unsafe chemicals. There has been an increase in neo-natal deaths and
congenital abnormalities among the children of mothers and fathers
who have been exposed to certain pesticides, vapors from some
industrial chemicals and lead (Poole, Warren & Nunez, 2007). A
recent study indicated that women in certain occupations such as
biologists, chemical scientists, pharmacists and janitors have an
increased likelihood of giving birth to children with birth defects
(Ashkin, 2010). It was also found that cleaning products such as
disinfectants, floorcare chemicals and glass cleaners can cause health
problems and potentially be the cause for the babies of women
working as janitors to have birth defects.
SELF-CHECK 3.3
ACTIVITY 3.3
1. How would you advise a mother-to-be who drinks alcohol to
relieve emotional stress?
2. What would you suggest to manufacturers and medical facility
administrators to lessen the impact of chemicals on users,
especially pregnant mothers?
3. What sort of prenatal care advice would you give a friend who is
pregnant?
3.3 BIRTHING
Unless the baby is premature, birth occurs approximately after 38 or 40 weeks,
after the last menstrual period. During the seventh month of pregnancy, the foetus
begins to move into position for birth, with its head downward. At this stage, the
mother may begin to experience some discomfort as the babyÊs head presses on her
bladder. During the last month of pregnancy, the baby drops to a lower position in
the uterus, a sign that birth is imminent (Davis & Palladino, 2000).
While child-birth stories may vary widely, all births progress in a sequence of
four stages (Refer Table 3.3).
Stage Description
First Stage Uterine contractions become regular and force the foetus against the
cervix, thinning it and expanding the opening into the birth canal.
First stage labour typically last 12 hours or more for a womanÊs first
delivery The mother is usually relatively comfortable during the early
part of this stage. As labour progresses, contractions become longer,
stronger and occur closer together.
Second Stage The mother bears down on contractions to push the baby through the
birth canal. This process typically lasts about 1½ to 2 hours for a first
delivery, with subsequent babies arriving more quickly. The baby is
usually born over the course of several contractions with the scalp
appearing first, then the entire head, shoulders and body.
Third Stage Uterine contractions expel the placenta.
Fourth Stage Two to four hours immediately after birth, when the mother is
monitored for medical complications, such as excessive bleeding and
fluctuating blood pressure.
Being born involves considerable stress for the baby but the stress hormones
prepare the infant to adapt to the world outside the motherÊs womb. Sometimes,
babies are in distress during delivery or are not in the head-down position.
The physician may perform a caesarean section or surgical removal of the baby
from the uterus through an incision in the motherÊs abdomen. If the caesarean
section is performed before the motherÊs contractions begin, the baby may not
experience a surge of stress hormones which may account for the breathing
problems sometimes faced by babies delivered by caesarean section (Davis &
Palladino, 2000).
SELF-CHECK 3.4
ACTIVITY 3.4
Have a class discussion on:
(a) Effects of anoxia; and
(b) Other risk factors in birthing.
The three stages of prenatal development are: the germinal period, the
embryonic period and the foetal period.
The risk factors during foetus development can be classified as general risk
factors and teratogens.
General risk factors include nutrition and maternal factors that include stress,
fear and anxiety; diseases and conditions; and a motherÊs age.
Anoxia Morula
Blastocyte Placenta
Caesarean section Stress hormones
Critical periods Symptoms of Foetal Alcohol syndrome (FAS)
Endometrium Teratogens
Environmental hazards The foetal period
Gestational periods The germinal period
Maternal factors Zygote
Black, J. K., Puckett, M. B., & Bell, M. J. (1993). The young child: Development
from prebirth through age eight. NY: Merrill.
Cohen, H. J., Grosz, J., Ayooh, K., & Schoen, S. (1996). Early intervention for
children with HIV infections. In Santrock, J. W. (2001). Child development
(9th ed.). NY: McGraw-Hill.
Davis, S. F., & Palladino, J. J. (2000). Psychology (3rd ed.). NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Dulitzki, M., Soriano, D., Schiff, E., Chetrit, A., Mashiach, S., & Seidman, D. S.
(1998). Effect of very advanced maternal age on pregnancy outcome and rate
of cesarean delivery. In Berk, L. (2005). Infants and children (5th ed.). MA:
Pearson.
Lieberman, E. E., Lang, J. M., Frigoletto, F. D., Heffner, L. J., & Cohen, A. (2000)
Intrapartum maternal fever and neonatal outcome. In Santrock, J. W. (2001).
Child development (9th ed.). NY: McGraw-Hill.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd.
Papilia, D. E., Olds, S. W., & Feldman, R. D. (2007). Human development (10th
ed.). NY: McGraw Hill.
Poole, D. A., Warren, A., & Nunez, N. (2007). The story of human development.
NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Shaw, G. M., Schffer, D., Velie, E. M., Morland, K., & Harris, J. A. (1995).
Periconceptional vitamin use, dietary folate, and the occurrence of neural
tube defects. In Kail, R. V., & Cavanaugh, J. C. (2004). Human development:
A life-span view (3rd ed.). CA: Thomson.
INTRODUCTION
During the first two hours of observation after Adam was born, Grandma was
there to accompany him. She held his little hands, sang nursery rhymes to him,
told him what a lovely baby he is and even read him childrenÊs storybooks. Little
Adam opened his eyes, looked around, held on to GrandmaÊs finger with his
little fingers, wiggled his little body and seemed to respond to GrandmaÊs loving
touch. The nurse did some tests on him to check his senses and reflexes. The
neonate seemed alert and was responding to the touch, sound, light and smell of
his surroundings. Two hours later, Adam was put in his mummyÊs arms.
Mummy kissed his cheek, said hello to him and called his name. Adam wiggled
and he rubbed his face on mummyÊs breast, opened his mouth and searched for
the nipple.
In this topic, we shall examine the state of the newborns. We start off by looking
at the behaviour of newborns and their inborn reflexes, the sleeping and
awakening hours and the crying. Then we shall look at the perceptions, learning
and capacities of these capable beings.
ACTIVITY 4.1
SELF-CHECK 4.1
(a) Alert inactivity – the baby is calm with eyes open and attentive; and seems
to be deliberately inspecting the environment;
(b) Waking activity – the babyÊs eyes are open but they seem unfocused; the
arms or legs move in bursts of uncoordinated motion;
(c) Crying – the baby cries vigorously, usually accompanied by agitated but
uncoordinated motion; and
(d) Sleeping – the baby alternates from being still and breathing regularly to
moving gently and breathing irregularly; eyes are closed throughout.
Sleeping habits can vary greatly among infants. Full term infants usually sleep
14–16 hours a day but some may sleep only 9 hours a day in regardless of
whether it is night or day. If you are the parents of the latter, then you might find
it challenging to have good rest yourself!
By 4 weeks old, the infantÊs sleep will be fewer but longer; and by 8 weeks, the
infant will sleep more during the night and less during the day (Ingersoll &
Thoman, 1999). By the end of the first year, most infants will sleep through the
night, much to the relief of the parents, as the infantÊs internal bio-rhythms
become adapted to the demands of the external world (Ikonomov, Stoynev, &
Shisheva, 1998).
Sleep patterns also vary across cultures. Parents in the US prefer to put babies to
sleep alone in their own room; while many other cultures encourage co-sleeping
arrangements, with parents and infant in the same bed (Rogoff, 2003). Co-sleeping
may have specific health benefits such as regulating baby in breathing (McKenna
& Mosko, 1993) and reduce the risk of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome).
Each year in the United States about 10,000 babies die in their sleep from causes
classified as SIDS (Hetherington, Parke, Gauvain, & Locke, 2006). SIDS normally
occurs during sleep and is most common between the ages of 2 and 4 months. The
cause of SIDS is still a mystery and researchers are still trying to find the reason of
it. One possibility may be due to the breathing of babies while in deep sleep.
The latest finding, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association,
reported that babies who die from SIDS generate low amounts of the message-
carrying brain chemical serotonin needed to regulate sleep, breathing and heart
rate. The researchers said the abnormal levels of serotonin may hamper an
infantÊs breathing, especially in challenging situations such as breathing in too
much exhaled carbon dioxide while sleeping face down (Reuters, 2010). Parents
are advised to put infants on their backs to sleep, to avoid keeping rooms too
warm and to keep loose blankets and pillows away from infants.
SELF-CHECK 4.2
ACTIVITY 4.2
4.1.3 Crying
New parents often feel helpless and stressed when faced with a crying baby.
However, experienced parents know that babies typically cry to get their needs
met, such as hunger, discomfort, digestive problems or fright. Crying is the only
way they communicate with the adults.
Colic, which means pain, sometimes make babies cry for hours. Although colic is
usually harmless, in some cases it may indicate an illness, such as a hernia or an
ear infection. Parents will soon learn to differentiate the types of cries that the
infants perform.
The following clues can help you figure out why your little one is unhappy
(Edelman, 2010).
(a) „IÊm hungry.‰ These rhythmic, brief cries get more and more intense until
they result in a full-blown tearfest. Watch for visual cues: your baby may
open his mouth or start sucking on his fingers.
(b) „IÊm tired.‰ A baby who needs sleep can have an irritated, sporadic cry,
may belt out several quick wails, or will look like he wants to cry but canÊt.
In addition, heÊll yawn, rub his eyes, or turn away from you.
(c) „How boring.‰ One minute heÊs cooing with delight, then suddenly heÊs
making throaty noises and whiny moans that sound fake or exaggerated.
Parents can help calm a baby by using techniques such as rocking, swaddling
and massaging. Swaddling is a common cultural practice in Malaysia, where the
nurses in the infant room will wrap the newborn tightly in a diaper or cloth. This
will reduce the movement of the limbs, hence calming down the neonate. Infant
massage has also been found to be an effective way of keeping an infant calm
and ensuring it sleeps better, especially when administered after a bath.
ACTIVITY 4.3
How do newborns make sense of their world? Can they hear and see as we do?
What do they prefer to listen to or see? How do they learn and respond to their
environment? These are a few questions that we shall investigate in this section.
According to Johnson & Morton (1991), there are two stages in the
development of face perception:
(i) The tendency of the babies turning to and looking at face-like patterns
ensures that young babies get maximum exposure to peopleÊs faces
and so have the opportunity to learn to discriminate among them.
(ii) It is also found that infants look at outer boundaries more than the
internal features of the face.
Then after several weeks of such exposure, babies develop the ability to
identify individual faces (Schaffer, 2004). Walton, Bower & Bower (1992)
discovered that newborns prefer their mothersÊ faces over the faces of
strangers. This paves the way towards social bonding (Schaffer, 2004).
not cross the deep side to get to the mothers, even with encouragement
from the mothers, indicating they recognise the drop-off and are scared.
Researchers found that the infants, at two days of age, can produce a
preference for hearing a familiar story; for instance, Dr. SeussÊ classic story
The Cat in the Hat (DeCasper & Spence, 1986) which the mothers had been
reading twice a day over the last 6 weeks of their pregnancy. The infants
suck on a nipple in a different way when the mothers read The Cat in the
Hat, suggesting that the infants recognised its pattern and tone (Santrock,
2001). DeCasper & Spence (1986) also found that the infants will suck more
in response to hearing their motherÊs native language than they will to a
foreign language. This study reveals the remarkable ability of an infantÊs
brain to learn even before birth.
Do infants feel pain? Megan Gunnar and her colleagues (1987) found that
baby boys cry intensely during circumcision, indicating that it was stressed.
However, the crying will stop within a few minutes, and the infant will
nurse and interact in a normal manner with the mother. Also, the infant
will go into a deep sleep which seems to serve as a coping mechanism
(Santrock, 2001).
also seem able to recognise the smell of their mothers within the first
few days of life (MacFarlane, 1977). In MacFarlaneÊs investigation, young
infants who were breast-fed showed a clear preference for smelling their
motherÊs breast pad when they were six days old.
Kaye and Bower (1994) tested newborns that were solely breast-fed and had
no experience with a pacifier. They found that these newborns showed
a visual preference for the pacifier they had been sucking on after only
20 seconds of exposure. This study suggested that infants are probably born
with the capacity for intermodal transfer (Hetherington & et al., 2006).
Sensation and perceptual skills are important to newborns and young babies. For
example, sight, smell and touch help them recognise their mothers; smell and
taste make it much easier to learn to take their food. Early development of touch,
smell and taste and the abilities to see and hear, prepare babies to learn about the
world. Over the first year, with added experience, infants will improve further in
intermodal perception (Mauer, Stagner, & Mondloch, 1999).
SELF-CHECK 4.3
ACTIVITY 4.4
4.2.2 Learning
How babies learn and develop is of great interest to psychology researchers.
Learning refers to behavioural changes (Charlsworth, 2000) that result from the
child interacting with his or her environment in a new way (Shaffer & Kipp,
2007). For example, from birth, when the baby hears sounds from words, songs
and stories, he will imitate the sounds. This in turn will attract responses from
those around him, praising him; and from then onwards, he will make more of
the sounds. That is how he learns to talk.
In this section, we will explore how babies learn through association and
imitation and how this prepared the babies for learning and their memory
capabilities.
Similarly, Tiffany Field and her colleagues (1982) examined the capabilities
of newborns within 36 hours of their birth. They found that most infants
imitate the adultÊs display of surprise by widely opening their mouths; they
frequently widened their lips when observing a happy expression. When
the adultÊs face looked sad, the infantÊs lips moved into a pouting
expression (Santrock, 2001). Refer Figure 4.2.
How do these early imitations help the infants in learning? Meltzoff &
Moore (1999) argued that these imitation capabilities equipped infants with
early mental structures that can be deployed as a discovery mechanism for
understanding persons. At the later state of infancy, we can see that infants
are able to imitate a more expanded range of behaviours. For instance, a
10-month-old may imitate an adult clapping his hands, waving her finger
back and forth or imitate another infant knocking down a tower of blocks
(Kail & Cavanaugh, 2004).
(c) Memory
Do you remember the name of a friend you have not seen for 10 years?
Where did you keep your passport since you last used it? When did you last
renew your driving license? When answering to these questions, you will
search for your memory. How about infants? Do they have memories too?
herself without attaching the ribbon to their foot. Then the baby would kick
to move the mobile again (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2004).
Although babies are capable of some imitation, the ability to imitate and the
amount of such behaviour the child displays change significantly with age
(Hetherington & et al., 2006). Rose, Feldman, & Jankowski (2001) found
that memory improves rapidly in older infants and toddlers. These
improvements in memory could be due to the growth in the brain area that
is critical for storing new facts and support memory (Carver & Bauer, 2001).
These changes also explain why the ability to remember faces and objects
improves around 3 months of age (Poole, Warren & Nunez, 2007).
When brain structures that support memory are increasingly linked to areas
that determine the emotional significance of events, infants become afraid
of strangers. Babies at 7–10 months are more fun to play with because they
more often act on (and emotionally react to) information in working
memory which is what they are thinking about right now. For example, it is
easy to make babies laugh by establishing a pattern of hand motions and
sounds, then changing the pattern suddenly with an expression of delight
(Poole, Warren & Nunez, 2007), such as the game of „peek-a-boo‰. Peek-a-
boo is a game played with babies. In the game, the older player hides their
face, pops back into the babyÊs view and says Peekaboo! Sometimes
followed by I see you! Peekaboo is a thought by developmental
psychologists to demonstrate an infantÊs inability to understand object
permanence. Object permanence is an important stage of cognitive
development for infants. Numerous tests regarding it have been done
usually involving a toy and a crude barrier which is placed in front of the
toy and then removed, repeatedly. In early sensory-motor stages, the infant
is completely unable to comprehend object permanence. Psychologist Jean
Piaget conducted experiments with infants which led him to conclude that
this awareness was typically achieved at eight to nine months of age.
Infants before this age are too young to understand object permanence. A
lack of Object Permanence can lead to A-not-B errors, where children reach
for a thing at a place where it should not be.
SELF-CHECK 4.4
ACTIVITY 4.5
Tell a friend about your experience with a childÊs ability to learn and
recall what he/she has learned before.
Some of the reflexes that babies normally display are the rooting reflex,
sucking reflex, eye-blink reflex, moro reflex, palmer grasp, stepping reflex,
babinski reflex, swimming reflex and tonic neck reflex.
Newborns spend most of their time alternating among four different states:
alert inactivity, waking activity, crying and sleeping.
Among the sensations and perceptions discussed are visual stimuli, depth
perception, auditory ability, touch and pain, smell and taste and also
intermodal perception.
Bornstein, M. H. (1975). Qualities of color vision in infancy. In Poole, D., Warren, A.,
& Nunez, N. (2007). The story of human development. NJ: Pearson
Education.
Campos, J. J., Langer, A., & Krowitz, A. (1970). Cardiac responses on the visual
cliff in prelocomotor human infants. In Poole, D., Warren, A., & Nunez, N.
(2007). The story of human development. NJ: Pearson Education.
Carver, L. J., & Bauer, P. J. (2001). The dawning of a past: the emergence of long-
term explicit memory in infancy. In Kail, R., & Cavanaugh, J. (2004). human
development: A life-span view. CA: Thomson.
De Casper, A., & Fifer, W. (1980). Of human bonding: Newborns prefer their
mothersÊ voices. Science, 12, 305–317. In Hetherington, E. M., Parke, R. D.,
Gauvain, M., & Locke, V. O. (2006). Child psychology: A contemporary
viewpoint. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Gibson, E. J., & Walk, R.D. (1960). The Âvisual cliffÊ Scientific American, 202(4). In
Poole, D., Warren, A., & Nunez, N. (2007). The story of human development.
NJ: Pearson Education.
Gunnar, M. R., Malone, S., & Fisch, R. O. (1987). The psychobiology of stress and
coping in the human neonate. In Santrock, J. W. (2001). Child development
(9th ed.). NY: McGraw-Hill.
Hetherington, E. M., Parke, R. D., Gauvain, M., & Locke, V. O. (2006). Child
psychology: A contemporary viewpoint. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Mauer, D., & Salapatek, P. (1976). Developmental changes in the scaning of faces
by young infants. Child Developmet, 47, 523–527. In Hetherington, E. M.,
Parke, R. D., Gauvain, M., & Locke, V. O. (2006). Child psychology: A
contemporary viewpoint. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Mauer, D., Stagner, C. L., & Mondloch, C. J. (1999). Cross-model transfer of shape
is difficult to demonstrate in one-month-olds. Child Development, 70, 1047–
1057. In Hetherington, E. M., Parke, R. D., Gauvain, M., & Locke, V. O. (2006).
Child psychology: A contemporary viewpoint. New York: McGraw-Hill.
McKenna, J. J., & Mosko, S. (1993). Evolution and infant sleep: An experimental
study of infant-parent co-sleeping and its implications for SIDS. In
Hetherington, E. M., Parke, R. D., Gauvain, M., & Locke, V. O. (2006). Child
Psychology: A contemporary viewpoint. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Meltzoff, A. N., & Moore, M. K. (1999). A new foundation for cognitive development
in infancy: The birth of the representational infant. In Santrock, J. W. (2001).
Child development (9th ed.). NY: McGraw-Hill.
Poole, D., Warren, A., & Nunez, N. (2007). The story of human development. NJ:
Pearson Education.
Reuters (2010). U.S. Researchers find new clue to infant deaths. Retrieved
February 3, 2010, from
http://health.yahoo.com/news/reuters/us_infant_deaths.html.
Rose, S. A., Feldman, J. F., & Jankowski, J. J. (2001). Visual short-term memory in
the first year of life: Capacity and recency effects. Developmental Psychology,
37, 539–549. In Kail, R. & Cavanaugh, J. (2004). Human development: A life-
span view. CA: Thomson.
Rosenstein, D., & Oster, H. (1988). Differential facial responses to four basic tastes
in newborns. Child Development, 59, 1555–1568. In Santrock, J. W. (2001).
Child development (9th ed.). NY: McGraw-Hill.
St. James-Roberts, I., & Plewis, I. (1996). Individual differences, daily functions,
and developmental changes in amounts of infant waking, fussing, crying,
feeding, and sleeping. Child Development, 67, 2527–2450. In Kail, R. V. &
Cavanaugh, J. (2004). Human development: A life-span view (3rd ed.). CA:
Thomson.
INTRODUCTION
Mrs Ling is anxious about her son Hayden, a Year Five student, who is having
trouble with math. She is apologetic and blames herself by saying, „I was
hopeless in math too, though I was good in other subjects during high school.‰
From the previous topics, we have learned that it is the interplay between the
genes and the environment that form the basic structures of our brain network.
In this topic, we will look at the importance of early experiences and how these
experiences complete the brain, making us who we are.
We often heard that todayÊs children are reaching their puberty stage at a
younger age. Are there any differences in the process of puberty between boys
and girls? What factors account for these differences?
In the past, we assumed that the brainÊs development was determined genetically,
and that brain growth followed a biologically predetermined path. Now the
scientists know that early experiences impact the development of the brain and
influence the specific way in which the circuits of the brain become „wired.‰
Toddler Lisa, 18-months old, wants the mother to repeat a storybook that she
has read many times before.
These are the experiences that the child absorbs through his or her senses: smell,
taste, sight, sound and touch. Why are these experiences important? How do
these help in the development of the childÊs brain? Let us explore the human
brain more closely.
(a) The brainstem is at the base of the skull and it controls most basic life
activities, including blood pressure and body temperature;
(b) The midbrain is at the top of the brainstem and it controls motor activity,
appetite and sleep;
(c) The cerebellum is behind the brainstem and it coordinates movement and
balance;
(d) The limbic system is in the central part of the brain and it controls
emotions, attachment and memory; and
(e) The cortex is the top layer of the brain and is about the depth of two dimes
placed on top of each other. The cortex is the „executive branch‰ of the
brain that regulates decision-making and controls thinking, reasoning and
language.
The cerebral cortex contains 80 percent of the neurons in the brain. Because it
is the least developed part of the brain at birth and keeps developing until
adolescence and even beyond, the cortex is more sensitive to experiences than
other parts of the brain (Brothersom, 2005).
Neurons form trillions of connections and the pathways. The number and
organisation of these connections influence everything, from the ability to
recognise letters to the maintenance of relationships. Because the quality of these
message systems depends heavily on environmental input, they provide a map
for parents to help their children develop strong mental equipment for learning
(Healy, 2004).
Neurons, the basic building blocks of the brain, develop rapidly even before
birth. In fact, a foetusÊ brain produces roughly twice as many neurons as it will
eventually need. At birth, an infant has roughly 100 billion brain cells – a safety
margin that gives newborns the best possible chance of coming into the world
with healthy brains. However, connections or wiring between these cells is
incomplete and connections have to be organised into systems for perceiving,
thinking, talking, and remembering. The first two years are a period of dynamic
change for the cortex (Healy, 2004).
Every neuron has an axon (usually only one). The axon is an „output‰ fibre that
sends impulses to other neurons. Each neuron also has many dendrites – short,
hair-like „input‰ fibres that receive impulses from other neurons. (Graham,
2010). In this way, neurons are perfectly constructed to form connections (Shore,
1997).
Between birth and 8 months, synapses form rapidly. One neuron can connect
with 15,000 other neurons. In the first 3 months of life, the synapses multiply
more than 20 times. At 3 months, the baby has more than 1,000 trillion synapses.
A 3-year-old child has twice as many connections as an adult. By 10 years, a child
has nearly 500 trillion synapses, which is the same as the average adult. Synaptic
connections are strengthened by repeated use; if they fail to connect, they die off
(Healy, 2004).
At this time, the brain is most flexible and prepared to learn (plasticity).
Repetition of experiences strengthens them. The number of connections can go
up or down by 25% or more, depending on the enrichment of the environment.
Those synapses that arenÊt used are removed by pruning. In fact, pruning starts
after the first birthday. At about age 10, the brain begins to dramatically prune
extra connections and make order of the tangled circuitry of the brain. Pruning
occurs for about 12 years but the brain maintains flexibility for future learning.
New synapses grow throughout life. The capacity of our learning is greatest
when we are very young, but as we grow older, it diminishes. Adults continue to
learn, but they do not master new skills so quickly (Healy, 2000).
Warm and responsive early care helps babies to thrive and plays a vital role in
healthy development. Touch is also key to brain development. Research on infant
massage suggests that in premature babies, massages cause faster growth and
development (McClure, 2000). The infant needs security in order to grow steadily
because the most fundamental task of an infant is to learn how to meet his needs.
For example, if adults respond predictably to his cries and provide for his needs,
the infant feels secure. He then focuses his attention on exploring, allowing his
brain to develop. However, if his needs are met only sporadically, the infant will
focus his energies on meeting his needs. He will have more and more difficulty
interacting with people and objects in his environment. His brain will shut out
the stimulation it needs to develop healthy cognitive and social skills.
5.1.4 Deprivation
Infants in environmentally-deprived facilities have smaller brains than those of
children who grow up in sensually rich environments. Studies of over 1,000
abused and neglected children found that children who were rarely touched or
spoken to had brains 20–30% smaller than most children their age (Newberger,
1997). These risk factors frequently are associated with or exacerbated by
poverty. For children growing up in poverty, economic deprivation affects their
nutrition, access to medical care, the safety and predictability of their physical
environment, the level of family stress and the quality and continuity of their
day-to-day care (Shore, 1997).
SELF-CHECK 5.1
ACTIVITY 5.1
1. What do you think of HaydenÊs case? Is it genetic or
environmental? Have a debate.
2. How do you think you could help Mrs Ling and Hayden?
Seeing a baby roll over for the first time, seeing him taking his first step, or
watching a preschooler learn to kick a ball are precious and wonderful moments
in the life of a parent or caregiver. Rolling over, holding a bottle or cup, eating
with a spoon, crawling around or under objects and more are examples of
physical development. These are some of the physical abilities that a child must
develop to adjust to the world and they play an important role in a childÊs life.
These are complex physical tasks that require strength, coordination and
perception. They also are developmental moments, those windows of time when
parents or caregivers can see the ways in which a young child is growing and
developing new skills and abilities.
Type of Physical
Description Example
Movement
Locomotor It involves the movement of the Crawling, walking,
Movement body from place to place. hopping, running, leaping,
These movements help in the galloping and skipping.
development of the gross-motor
skills which involve the use of the
leg muscles.
Non-locomotor Physical abilities where the body Pushing, pulling, twisting,
Movement stays in one place when the limbs are turning, wiggling, and
involved in these movement. This rising.
type of movement helps to develop
the childÊs balancing and
coordination skills.
Manipulative Movement that deals with using of Grasping food to put into
Movement the hands and fingers that helps to their mouths, holding a
develop the childÊs fine-motor skills bottle or a spoon, picking
as well as eye-hand coordination. up toys, fixing the puzzle
and writing or drawing
with crayons.
However, the new dynamical systems theory differs from the earlier theory
although they agree with both maturation and experience contribute to the
physical and motor development of young children. They view each new skill
as „a construction that emerges as infants actively reorganise existing motor
capabilities into new and more complex action systems‰ (Shaffer & Kipp, 2007).
The dynamic system theory believes that infants hope to acquire and perfect new
motor skills that will help them to get to interesting objects they hope to explore
or to accomplish other goals they may have in mind (Thelen, 1995). Hence,
though maturation plays a very important role, Shaffer & Kipp (2007) concludes
that „the first 2 years do not simple unfold as part of natureÊs grand plan. Rather,
they emerge largely because goal-driven infants are constantly recoding actions
they can perform into new and more complex action systems that will help them
to achieve their objectives‰.
SELF-CHECK 5.2
ACTIVITY 5.2
Observe two children in the same age group, one boy and one girl,
engaged in physical play in the playground. What are the types of
motor movement are they involved in? Are there any differences
between the boy and the girl? Observe how their physical motor skills
affect other developmental areas. Make a report to the class.
The games parents play with their babies, their carrying practices and the kinds
of toys available can affect physical competence. For example, in a culture where
a sport such as football is played early and very competitively, a parentÊs
assessment of a childÊs physical abilities may be linked to performance on the
football field. Parents who love to play badminton will encourage their children
to play the game at young age. Therefore, culture may be one factor that
influences the pace of motor development. But the basic patterns of physical
development in children are universal.
ACTIVITY 5.3
1. What do you think is the role that Malaysian culture plays in the
physical development of our children's achievements in sports?
2. What are the roles that the family play in the physical
development of young children?
For boys, the average age for first signs of testicle enlargement is 11.5 years. It
followed by the appearance of unpigmented pubic hair. (Pinyerd & Zipf, 2005).
Meanwhile, the penis lengthens and widens. At about age 13 to 14½, sperm
production begins (Pinyerd & Zipf, 2005). The penis will be fully developed at
age 14 to 15. By then, most boys will have reached puberty and are now capable
of fathering a child (Tanner, 1990). Table 5.2 illustrates a timetable of sexual
maturation for boys and girls.
Average
Age of Girls Boys
Onset
10 Breasts (breast buds) begin to develop.
11 Pubic hair appears; it is sparse and Testes and scrotum begin to grow.
slightly pigmented.
12 Pubic hair, lightly pigmented,
begins to appear.
13 Breasts continue to enlarge; areola and Spermache: first ejaculation of
nipple project above contour of breast. semen.
13–14 Menarche: beginning of menstruation.
14 Pubic hair becomes denser, but area Underarm and facial hair begins
covered is smaller than in adult to appear.
woman.
15 Breasts and pubic hair coverage are Penis, testes are fully developed;
fully mature. pubic hair coverage is complete;
moustache and beard hair begin
to grow.
Puberty normally begins as early as age 10 and is usually completed by age 17.
However, just like physical development, there are many individual differences
in the timing of sexual maturation as well. According to Shaffer & Kipp (2007), an
early-maturing girl who develops breast buds at age 8, may start her growth
spurt at age 9½, and reaches menarche at age 10½. She may complete her growth
and pubertal development before the late developing girls in the class have even
begun. For boys, puberty may not begin until age 16 and continue in a random
fashion beyond age 20.
A few factors could have played the role in the timing of puberty: food;
inheritance; environment; and parent-child relationships.
(a) Food
It could be due to the fact that health and nutrition have improved over the
past few generations.
(b) Inheritance
Girls whose mothers matured early tend to mature early themselves
(Hetherington, Parke, Gauvain & Locke, 2006).
(c) Environmental
Environmental factors also could play a role. For example, the choice of a
profession such as gymnasts, figure skaters and ballet dancers who practice
intensively, perform regularly and diet to keep fit may delay the onset of
menstruation by as much as one year (Brooks-Gunn & Warren, 1985).
Experts suggest that parents begin short and casual discussions about the body
changes that occur in puberty with their children by the age of seven or eight.
Providing the child with healthy reading materials about puberty can impart
information to the young person without the awkwardness that may characterise
the parent-child conversations. Parents could offer their children opportunities
to ask questions or to discuss any aspects of puberty and sexuality that may
arise from their reading. This will also prevent children from getting wrong
information from unhealthy sources.
SELF-CHECK 5.3
Early experiences are important because they enable the neurons in the
brain to make all the connections and wiring through the synapses. These
experiences complete the brain in making who we are.
TodayÊs children are reaching their puberty stage at a younger age. It could
be due to the following factors: food, inheritance, environmental and also
parent-child relationship.
Graham, J. (2010). What we know about how children learn. Retrieved March 8,
2010, from http://www.umext.maine.edu/onlinepubs/htmpubs/4356.ht.
Heatherington, E. M., Parke, R. D., Gauvain, M., & Locke, V. O. (2006). Child
Psychology: A contemporary viewpoint (6th ed.). NY: McGraw Hill.
McClure, V. (2000). Infant Massage: A handbook for loving parents. NY: Bantam
Books.
Shirley, M. M. (1933). The first two years: A study of 23 babies. In Shaffer, R. D.,
& Kipp, K. (2007). Developmental Psychology: Childhood & Adolescence
(7th ed.). CA: Thomson.
Shore, R. (1997). Rethinking the Brain: New insights into early development.
New York: Families and Work Institute.
Tanner, J. M. (1990). Foetus into man. In Shaffer, R. D., & Kipp, K. (2007).
Developmental Psychology: Childhood & Adolescence (7th ed.). CA:
Thomson.
INTRODUCTION
Joyce and Ray are anxious about the arrival of their first baby and have started
early to prepare everything for their new infant. They have prepared the babyÊs
room, decorated the baby cot and bought diapers, clothes and outfits in all sizes
and even the baby formula. They have colourful toys, mobiles, storybooks,
classical music, baby songs and rhymes ready. They also attended childbirth
class. But are they truly ready? They seem to have forgotten one very important
aspect of their babyÊs life – his emotional development.
What are emotions? According to Hetherington, Parke, Gauvain & Locke (2006),
emotions, such as joy, anger and fear, have several important aspects:
(a) They are subjective reactions to the environment;
(b) They are usually experienced cognitively as either pleasant or unpleasant;
(c) They generally are accompanied by some form of physiological arousal;
and
(d) They can be communicated to others by some behaviour.
For example, 12-month old Amy was used to being breast-fed by her mother.
When AmyÊs mother decided to stop breast feeding her and started feeding her
with formula, Amy reacted strongly to the taste of the formula, finding it
unpleasant and spitting out the milk. As Amy was not able to use words to
describe her feelings, she cried, refused to drink and pushed the bottle away.
ACTIVITY 6.1
A survey released by the organisation Zero To Three revealed that parents have
relatively little knowledge and information about their childrenÊs emotional
development. Despite knowing that what they do as parents has the greatest
influence on their childrenÊs emotional development, they have the least
information in this area. Joyce and Ray are no exception. The lack of knowledge
is no fault of theirs, as emotional development is not something that is obvious
like physical or language development.
Birth – 1 year Basic trust vs. If well-handled, nurtured and loved, the child develops trust and
mistrust security and optimistic. If badly handled, he becomes insecure and
distrustful.
1–3 years Autonomy vs. The „well-parented‰ child emerges from this stage sure of himself,
shame and elated with his new found control and proud rather than ashamed.
doubt However, autonomy is not entirely synonymous with assured self-
possession, initiative and independence; but at least for children in
the early part of this psychosocial crisis, also includes stormy self-
will, tantrums, stubbornness, and negativism such as the Terrible
Twos.
3–6 years Initiative vs. The healthily developing child learns to imagine; to broaden his
guilt skills through active play of all sorts, including fantasy; to cooperate
with others; to lead as well as to follow. Immobilised by guilt, he is
fearful, hangs on the fringes of groups; continues to depend unduly
on adults; and is restricted both in the development of play skills
and in imagination.
6–11 years Industry vs. The child learns to master the more formal skills of life: relating with
inferiority peers according to rules; progressing from free play to play that may
be elaborately structured by rules and may demand formal
teamwork, such as baseball; mastering social studies, reading,
arithmetic;. and the need for self-discipline increases yearly. The
child with his successive and successful resolutions of earlier
psychosocial crisis is trusting, autonomous, full of initiative and will
learn easily enough to be industrious. However, the mistrusting
child will doubt the future. The shame- and guilt-filled child will
experience defeat and inferiority.
Adolescence Identity vs. The adolescent child learns how to answer satisfactorily and happily
identity the question of „Who am I?‰ The young person acquires self-
confusion certainty as opposed to self-consciousness and self-doubt. He
actually anticipates achievement and achieves, rather than being
„paralysed‰ by feelings of inferiority. In later adolescence, clear
sexual identity – manhood or womanhood – is established. The
adolescent seeks leadership (someone to inspire him) and gradually
develops a set of ideals (socially congruent and desirable, in the case
of the successful adolescent).
Emerging Intimacy vs. The successful young adult, for the first time, can experience true
adulthood isolation intimacy – the sort of intimacy that makes possible good marriage or
a genuine and enduring friendship.
Fear also emerges at about seven months, when infants are able to
compare an unfamiliar event, situation, object with what they know.
Unfamiliar adults will also elicit fear responses in infants. One
example is staying overnight in somewhere else other than their own
home, or the presence of an adult stranger. For example, at eight
months, May, who stays in an apartment in Kuala Lumpur, visited the
wooden house of her grandparents in the village. The unfamiliar
environment and faces kept May crying and staying closed to the
mother for the entire night.
In the second year of life, the caregiverÊs job switches from nurturer to
socialiser. The mother now has to set limits on behaviours that the toddler
loves to do such as fondling his penis. When the toddler does not find the
excitement in the adultÊs face that he has come to expect and be refuelled
by, he experiences a sudden deflation of positive emotions. The child would
generalise this to a feeling of being ashamed of himself (Greenberg, 2000).
With this feeling, you may see childrenÊs bodies curl up, heads and eyes go
down, as if they want to hide and be unseen (Gilkerson, 1998).
Plattner (2003) advised that to grant children their emotions would also
mean letting them feel sorry for themselves (instead of feeling ashamed).
Only if children are allowed to feel sorry for themselves will it help children
to differentiate between what benefits and what causes harm to their well-
being. Pride helps children to become aware of themselves as valuable
persons. Children who are allowed to feel proud of their abilities and
capabilities learn to believe in themselves and develop self-confidence as
well as self-esteem.
For example: Aiden, 18 months old, was throwing his books around and
stepping on them. The father, Paul said: „Elmo (The Sesame Street character
whom Aiden likes to watch) said, youÊre not supposed to throw books and
step on them‰. Aiden stopped, looked at the books, covered his face with
his hands and started to cry. Aiden is feeling guilty and ashamed. Paul then
held him in his arms and said, „Are you feeling sorry that youÊve thrown
the books and stepped on them? LetÊs pick up the books and put them back
on the shelves.‰ Aiden then started to put the books on the shelves with his
fatherÊs help, who then says, „Good job, Aiden, youÊve put all the books
back on the shelves!‰. Aiden smiled and went on to play with other toys.
ACTIVITY 6.2
6.1.4 Empathy
Another emotional capacity that develops during early childhood, empathy, is
also an important component of positive social behaviour. Again, as with other
emotions, the development of empathy depends on cognitive and language
development. Children who cannot engage in abstract thinking or take someone
elseÊs perspective are typically unlikely to respond with empathy. The emotional
understanding of another personÊs perspective is the ability to understand what
theyÊre feeling (Hall, 2008). It was SallyÊs first day in preschool and she was upset
and crying. Samantha, who has been through the same experience as Sally, went
toward her and asked, ÂAre you sad?Ê Samantha has noted the emotions of Sally,
labelled it and responded with caring.
Are very young children able to show empathy too? Here is an observation from
a nursery room: Sarah, 14 months old, was crying because her mother had left
her. Nadal who was the same age as Sarah, looked sympathetically at her but
didnÊt know what to do. She took out her pacifier from her mouth and offered it
to Sarah. This shows that Nadal, despite the lack of language skills, has the
ability to notice and correctly interpret the needs and wants of Sarah.
ACTIVITY 6.3
Observe two children, one who is always happy and one who always
moody, in an early childhood setting. Observe how their emotional
behaviour affects their relationship with other people around them,
such as other children, the teachers or caregivers and their parents.
Describe how you would help the moody child.
SELF-CHECK 6.1
6.2 ATTACHMENT
Joyce and Nick are expecting their first baby. Joyce is a working mother holding
a managerial post in a well established company. Nick was recently retrenched
and unemployed. The couple has learned about the attachment theory and
wanted to use this approach when the baby is born. They read that the theory
emphasises on the relationship between the mother and the baby and stresses the
importance of breast feeding the baby.
Can Nick be the stay-home dad while Joyce returns to work after confinement?
Or should they leave the baby with the grandparents who live out of town?
Should they leave the baby with caregivers in child care centres? Who are the
people looking after their babies in the child care centres and are they trained to
do the job properly? These are the dilemmas that Joyce and Nick are facing.
In the study of young children, the name John Bowlby is considered synonymous
with attachment theory (Karen, 1998). Bowlby (1985) stated that „It is in our first
relationship, usually with our mother, that much of our future well-being is
determined‰. Bowlby (1982) defined attachment as: „The dimension of the infant-
caregiver relationship involving protection and security regulation. Within this
theoretic framework, attachment is conceptualised as an intense and enduring
affectional bond that the infant develops with the mother figure, a bond that is
biologically rooted in the function of protection from danger‰.
Another earliest theorist to study attachment was Mary Ainsworth (1967), who
defined attachment as: „An affectional tie that one person or animal forms
between himself and another specific one – a tie that binds them together in
space and endures over time‰.
Riley, Juan, Klinkner & Ramminger (2008) defined it as: „Attachment means a
long-standing and emotionally strong tie between two people. It is the special
bond between young children and those who care for them‰.
The Bowlby-Ainsworth attachment theory is very specific about the secure base
aspect of close relationships, especially with the mother figure. Later works use the
words mother, father or significant adult (Mooney, 2010). Recent research has
considered fathersÊ contributions to childrenÊs well-being and the influence on early
development of fathersÊ ways of making eye contact, playing with children and
using vocalisation. Although there is some research on fathers who are their young
childrenÊs primary caregivers, more work is needed in this area (Shore, 1997).
they develop specific attachments and will respond to those who care for them
differently from those who are not. They start to have stranger anxiety and
separation anxiety.
Age Range
Stage ChildÊs Behaviour
(Months)
attachments to those who care for them.‰ (p. 29). Hall (2008) stated that the
reciprocal bonds or attachment between caregivers and children are the
foundation of the first learning environment. Those infants and caregivers who
have a healthy psychological bond have interactions that promote a sense of
comfort and readiness for the infant to explore the world. They also are more
compliant with adults and have better peer relationship later on in life.
SELF-CHECK 6.2
Siegel (1999) stated that „attachment can involve a few selected individuals,
including parents, grandparents, other relatives, nannies, child care providers,
and preschool teachers depending on the nature of the specific patterns in
communication and interaction. These 'selective attachments' offer children the
chance to develop an internal model of security about the world and allow their
minds to develop a sense of emotional well-being and psychological resilience.‰
Adults who are sensitive to a childÊs needs and signals, who can offer consistent
and predictable behaviours and who care about the childÊs internal experiences
are those that are likely to foster a secure attachment (Siegel, 1999). For example,
Samuel, 36 months old, has a secure relationship with the mother who breastfed
him until he was two. He also has a close relationship with the stay-home dad
who looked after his needs and played with him. When grandparents came to
visit, he develops a very close relationship with the grandpa who plays with him,
takes him to playground, swimming, gardening and many other outdoor
activities. He also enjoys going to his nursery class and has attached himself to
the nursery teacher.
ACTIVITY 6.4
1. What advice would you give to Joyce and Nick about the
attachment approach that they wish to carry out with their baby?
2. What should we do now that we understand the importance of
attachment relationship of the young child and the adults who are
caring for him/her? What are the implications on early care and
education of our young children?
Young children need to feel safe and secure in order to learn. These are also
the basic ingredients of a healthy personality. The study of emotions is central
to an understanding of child development. Emotional development is
also a critical aspect of the early brain development that has enormous
consequences throughout life.
Young children are able to demonstrate various emotions such as smiles and
interests at birth. Anger, sadness and fear normally appear by the middle of
the first year. Pride, guilt and shame emerge in the second or third year.
Ainsworth, M. (1967). Infancy in Uganda: infant care and the growth of love. In
Mooney, C. G. (2010). Theories of attachment: An introduction to Bowlby,
Ainsworth, Gerber, Brazelton, Kennell, and Klaus. MN: Redleaf.
Bales, S. N., Boyce, W. T., Heckman, J., & Rolnick, A. J. (2007). The Science
of Early Childhood Development. National Scientifc Council on the
Developing Child.
(http://developingchild.net/pubs/persp/pdf/Science_ Early_Childhood_
Development.pdf)
Bowlby, J. (1982). Attachment. Vol. 1 of Attachment and loss. NY: Basic Books.
Davis, D., & Clifton, A. (1995). Psychosocial Theory: Erikson. Retrieved March 4,
2010, from
http://www.haverford.edu/psych/ddavis/p109g/erikson.stages.html.
Hetherington, E. M., Parke, R. D., Gauvain, M., & Locke, V. O. (2006). Child
Psychology: A contemporary viewpoint. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Karen, R. (1998). Becoming attached: First relationships and how they shape our
capacity to love. In Mooney, C. G. (2010). Theories of attachment: An
introduction to Bowlby, Ainsworth, Gerber, Brazelton, Kennell, and Klaus.
MN: Redleaf.
Riley, D., Juan, R. R. S., Klinkner, J., Ramminger, A. (2008). Social and emotional
development: connecting science and practice in early childhood settings.
MN: Redleaf Press.
Shore, R. (2003). Rethinking the Brain: New insights into early development. NY:
Families and Work Institute.
INTRODUCTION
As a start, let us look at the following scenarios:
Scenario 1
As soon as Joan was born, her mother held her in her arms, smiled lovingly at
her, kissed her cheeks and whispered, „Hi Joan, welcome to the world, I love
you‰. Then she took out a book and read it to her.
We might wonder, „What does the newborn know? IsnÊt that too early to be
talking or reading to a newborn baby?‰
Scenario 2
When Sunny was 18 months old, he could understand many things, follow
instructions and figure things out; but he could not talk yet. He could only use
single words like „dada‰, „mama‰, „wiwi‰ and only has about five identifiable
words. His mother, Lynda was concerned because other children of his age or
younger are able to combine words to make two-word phrases like, „Daddy
gone‰, „Mama go away‰, and „all gone‰. She has been talking, reading, singing
and interacting with him since infancy. However, as soon as Sunny turned 19
months old, he suddenly burst out with words and word combinations such as,
„Where is it?‰, „I want...‰, and everyday he came out with new words. Lynda
was amazed.
Imagine the first time a baby looks at you and smiles, or says „mumummum‰ or
„dadada.‰ Then you respond with joy, „oh, youÊre calling mummy, mummy give
you a kiss‰; and she continues saying, „mumumummum...‰ while kicking her
legs and waving her arms excitedly. What is happening at that moment?
How do babies communicate? Babies communicate with you well before they
could talk. When they are born, they cry – that is when they have started
communicating with you. Your babyÊs cries generally tell you about their needs:
that something is wrong, or about an empty belly, a wet bottom, cold feet, being
tired, or a need to be held and cuddled, etc.
When babies are about 6 to 8 months, they started to utter their first sounds such
as cooing and babbling. Those sounds will continue to grow and are the
beginning of their first words, then second words and so on. Most parents will
agree that speaking, communicating and being able to use language are all
important in child development. Language is the integral part of any learning
because we need language to communicate our ideas, thoughts and emotions. It
is the key for life-long learning (Willis 1998).
ACTIVITY 7.1
If you are a parent of a young infant and you could only have one kind
of toy or material, what would you get for him? Explain why you
choose that toy or material. What if you are an early childhood
educator? What would you get for your children?
At first, these sounds may seem random to the newborn, but the more the sounds
of his language are heard, the more maps are formed. By 12 months of age, an
infantÊs auditory map is formed (Begley, 1997). Experiences are vital in helping
the child build vocabulary. The more a child uses his senses to explore the world
around him, the more experiences he has to communicate about. The size of a
childÊs vocabulary is strongly correlated with how much a child is talked to,
cuddled, and interacted with. Recent research shows that at 20 months of age,
children who have mothers who frequently talk to them average 131 more words
than children of less talkative mothers (Begley, 1997).
Having said that, what do you think could be the factors that influence
communication for babies? Consider this: what will happen if a person you are
trying to communicate with does not reply your message, emails or phone calls
even after many attempts? Soon you will stop trying to contact him, wonÊt you?
Young children are no exception. For effective communication, a child needs a
way (form), a reason to communicate (function) and something to communicate
about (content) (Willis, 1998). Willis warned us that even though a child has the
ability to communicate, without the needs or experiences, the child will lack a
reason to communicate and eventually stops trying. That is, if a childÊs attempts
to communicate go unnoticed, he will not have a need to communicate and those
attempts will diminish. A child may try to communicate in a few different ways.
Some of them are non-symbolic (gestures or by pointing) and some are symbolic
(words). A child progresses naturally from non-symbolic communication
(pointing at the window to mean go outside) to symbolic communication, when
the child says „out go‰ or „me go out.‰ Spoken language is by far the most
common form of symbolic language (Willis, 1998).
SELF-CHECK 7.1
However, the behaviourist theory cannot account for the rapid rate of
development in childrenÊs language. By age of 2 or 3, children have
developed almost half of their everyday working vocabulary; by age of 4 or
5, children have learned a language effectively, with almost all the
grammatical and syntactic information required to make meaning in their
native language. The theory also provides insufficient explanations for how
children are able to generate novel sentences they have never heard and
therefore could not have learned by means of copying from someone else.
Hence, the critique is that it is not realistic to theorise that children have
developed so much knowledge and skill about their language through
repeated interactions with enabling adults about every item of a language.
Bruner (1983) uses the term „language acquisition support system‰ (LASS)
in an effective attempt to highlight the importance of the social contribution
to the development of language, especially the importance of the role of
parents and other adults, which provides that environment in which
children learn to talk and to mean. Children learn because they have access
to and get the attention of supportive adults such as parents, teachers, peers
or caregivers.
These various theories help us to understand how language is acquired. Each one
has something to offer; but none contribute to the whole picture by itself. We do
know that children do not learn language in a vacuum. It is through the interplay
of nature and nurture that language is acquire as mentioned by the brain
research. Although language acquisition could be due to maturity, children
need to explore and interact with adults or older children in a social context
as indicated by several theories. In other words, children need to explore,
experiment, interact and make errors in order to learn a language. The brain
research seems to support all the theories in one way or the other.
ACTIVITY 7.2
Children move through a few stages in acquiring a language. In the process, they
learn the rules or different aspects of a language – specifically, the phonology
(sound), syntax (grammar) and semantics (meaning) (Morrow, 2005).
All languages are made of sounds. It is with sounds that we produce oral
language. Children who grow up in a language rich environment will pick up
these sounds of their native language easily. In English language, it is the
phonology. Syntax refers to the rules that govern how words work together in
phrases, clauses and sentences (Morrow, 2005). Children come to understand
these rules by listening to; internalising the rules; and being allowed to make
errors. Semantic is about the meaning that is communicated through language. It
carries the meaning or functions of the language.
When an infant learns that a cry will bring food, comfort, and
companionship during the first few days of life, the signs of communication
have begun to occur. The newborn also begins to recognise important
sounds such as the parentÊs voice in his or her environment. In order for an
infant to make a controlled sound, the speech mechanism such as the jaw,
lips and tongue and the voice must mature. As they grow, infants begin to
sort out the speech sounds (phonemes) or building blocks that compose the
words of their language.
Research has shown that by six months of age, most children recognise the
basic sounds of their native language. The infant usually will babble or
produce repetitive syllable such as „da, da, da‰; or „mumumum‰. By the
end of their first year, most children have mastered the ability to say a few
simple words. They are most likely unaware of the meaning of these words
but as they received positive response from those around them, they soon
learn that these sounds carry meanings. They may use this holophrastic
speech – one-word utterances to mean a sentence. For example, a baby
might say „dada‰, which could mean „Daddy, take me out please‰, or
„daddy, I want to play.‰
However, not all children develop at the same rate. The case of 18-month-
old Sunny who could only say a few identifiable words, worried his mother
Lynda. „But not all children follow this pattern,‰ his paediatrician said.
„ThereÊs wide variability in speech development at this age. Some children
simply acquire words more gradually.‰ According to her paediatrician,
there may be a word explosion anytime between 18–24 months. It is only
when he still cannot speak with clarity when he is three years old that
Lynda needs to seek specialist help.
Parents are always concerned when the first words do not appear as indicated in
the developmental chart. Roiphe & Roiphe (1985) reminded us that „Albert
Einstein did not speak until he was close to four‰ and „Professors of English and
presidents have been among the last on their blocks to begin naming objects and
stringing words into sentences‰. Fowler (1990) reminded us that the course of
Shore (2003) explained that, „This is evident in young children who move to a
new country pick up the language easily, while their adolescent brothers and
sisters can have a harder time shedding their accents and their parents struggle
to make themselves understood at all. This is not news. But now we understand
that a young child does so because the brain cells that process language are in the
process of being wired and are therefore especially responsive to experience‰.
The understanding of sensitive periods implies the importance of early
experiences for young children.
to shape the architecture of the brain. When a mother plays ÂPeekabooÊ with her
baby and the baby responds ÂbeebebbeebebeÊ waving her hands excitedly,
thousands of cells in the childÊs growing brain respond. ÂMany existing
connections among brain cells are strengthened ...... new connections are formedÊ.
Willis (1998) explained that as a child grows and develops, his brain creates
many more synapses than he will possibly use. Which ones become permanent
and which ones are discarded depends on the positive reinforcement a child
receives from his environment. The more synapses are reinforced, the more
permanent they become. If synapses are not reinforced, then the brain eliminates
them through a pruning process designed to maintain efficiency. That is why
experience is not only a key to wiring the brain, but it is also a key to language
development (Willis, 1998). Shore (2003) also stated that brain development is a
Âuse it or lose itÊ process. ÂAs synaptic growth and pruning occur in the second
decade of life, those synapses that have been reinforced by virtue of repeated
experience tend to become permanent; the synapses that were not used often
enough before tend to be eliminated. In this way the experiences – positive or
negative – that children have, shape their brains‰.
Children need rich language experiences (Jones, 1995). Jones suggested that
parents, caregivers and early childhood educators provide plenty of
opportunities to impart valuable language experiences in their settings such as
homes, nurseries, child care centres, preschools or kindergartens. She listed the
activities and experiences as follows:
(a) Adults greet children;
(b) Adults engage children in conversation – genuine questions and warm
responds;
(c) Adults give children information they want or need;
(d) Adults provide experiences worth talking about and many opportunities
for children to talk spontaneously with each other;
(e) Adults model useful language while mediating conflicts;
(f) Adults read stories from books. Books are a source of delight, wisdom and
useful information. Children being read to and looking at books themselves
discover that literacy is a skill worth mastering;
(g) Adults share songs, chants and poems, play games with words and
respond appreciatively to childrenÊs word play. Language is a set of sound
patterns as well as of meanings and spontaneous play with its rhymes and
rhythms is one of the many ways children begin to learn the phonics useful
in reading;
(h) Adults re-tell to children the stories of their lives together, letting them
know that their actions and words are the stuff of stories too;
(i) Adults set the stage for childrenÊs own storytelling;
(j) Adults respect the importance of private speech in early development;
(k) Adults respect childrenÊs home language;
(l) Adults stay alert to naturally occurring opportunities to teach concepts and
vocabulary to children, rather than playing teacher in developmentally
inappropriate group lessons;
(m) Adults acknowledge that face-to-face talk provides better language
experience than TV;
(n) Adults use transitions as teachable moments both smoothed and enriched
by interesting activities; and
(o) Adults reflect on all the things they do, examining their potential for
enriching childrenÊs language.
Source: Jones (1995)
ACTIVITY 7.3
SELF-CHECK 7.2
Babies take in information and communicate with others long before they can
speak. They begin to communicate through crying as soon as they are born.
Adults should be attentive in responding to their cues.
Children develop their language in stages. In the process, they learn the rules
or different aspects of a language such as phonology, syntax and semantics.
Sensitive period is the time when the developing brain is best able to absorb a
language, any language.
Curtiss, S. (1981). Feral children. In Shore, R. (2003). Rethinking the brain: New
insights into early development. NY: Families and Work Institute.
Dickinson, D. K., & Tabors, P. O. (eds.) (2001). Beginning literacy with language:
young children learning at home and school. Maryland: Paul H. Brookes
Publishing Co.
Fowler, W. (1990). Talking from infancy: how to nurture and cultivate early
language. MA: Brookline Books
Jones, E. (1995). Children need rich language experiences. Child Care Information
Exchange. 11/95. p. 61–64.
Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)
136 TOPIC 7 LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION
Liu, M. (2010). Chomsky and Knowledge of Language. Retrieved April 20, 2010,
from www.chomsky.info/onchomsky/199812.
Roiphe, H., & Roiphe, A. (1985). Your childÊs mind: The complete book of infant
and child mental health care. NY: St. MartinÊs/Marek.
Schickedanz, J. A., York, M. E., Steward, I. S., & White, A. (1990). Strategies for
teaching young children. In Morrow, L. M. (1997). Literacy development in
the early years: helping children read and write (3rd ed.). MA: Allyn &
Bacon.
Schiller, P. (2003). A joyful journey to literacy: The great debate. Child Care
Information Exchange. Nov/Dec 2003. p. 6–9.
Shore, R. (2003). Rethinking the brain: New insights into early development. NY:
Families and Work Institute.
INTRODUCTION
Four-year-old Allen, was making sand castles at the beach. Suddenly water
started to appear. „Where did the water come from?‰ asked his mother. Allen
thought for a while and said, „ThereÊs a pipe underneath here‰.
Where does the sun go to during night time? Three-year-old Joey replied, „The
sun has gone home to sleep.‰
Most of us take all these questions for granted, but to young children they may
think and give their naive answers based on the limited knowledge that they
have, much to the amusement of adults.
Why are childrenÊs thoughts so different from adults? When and how would
they come to the same understanding as the adults? These are a few questions
that we seek answers to in this topic: the cognitive development of young
children.
In this topic, we will discuss the theories that explain cognitive development. We
shall explore the most well known PiagetÊs theory of cognitive development
which emphasises on how young children think, how they acquire knowledge
and the stages that they go through when developing their thinking skills.
ACTIVITY 8.1
Children also lack conservation skills and are unable to mentally reverse
actions (Santrock, 2001). For example, three-year-old Adam rolls out his
dough and says, „See, I have more dough now‰.
Between ages five and seven, there is a transition period, during which the
child moves into the next stage (Charlesworth, 2000). The transition period
is very important, as it is during this time that the way the child thinks
changes from pre-operational to concrete operational period. This sub-stage
is called the intuitive thought sub-stage. It is called intuitive because, on
one hand, the child seems so sure of his knowledge, yet, he is unaware of
how he knows what he knows (Charlesworth, 2000). The child starts to use
language to direct his or her own activities and he is able to see anotherÊs
point of view or be less egocentric. However, the children still lack
conservation skills. For example, five-year-old Daniel is presented with two
beakers with equal amount of water. He is asked whether the two beakers
have the same amount of water. He will usually say yes. Then the water of
one of the beakers is poured into a taller and thinner beaker and Daniel is
asked if the two beakers are still having the same amount of water. He will
usually say no, the reason being the second beaker is taller, hence it seems
to have more water.
Children at this stage love pretend play as they cannot separate fantasy
from reality (Rodd, 1996). Piaget believed that the childÊs ability to think or
reason logically is restricted in this stage and it cannot be taught by adults.
Any effort of correcting young children is an inappropriate response. Only
maturity and the opportunity to interact with the environment will enable
the child to learn to reason or think logically (Rodd, 1996).
concrete – present or mentally represented. They deal with „what is‰ rather
than what „could be‰ (Miller, 1989, p. 64). One important skill that
characterises concrete operational children is the ability to classify or divide
things into sets or subsets, and to consider their interrelationships.
SELF-CHECK 8.1
However, PiagetÊs theory has not gone unchallenged (Santrock, 2001). Later
studies question his estimates of childrenÊs competence at different
developmental levels and suggest that young children display a wide array of
understandings earlier than Piaget believed (Berk, 2005). For example, between
six and 12 months, infants will search for objects hidden in more than one
location (Ahmed & Ruffman, 1998) showing that they have some notion of object
permanence.
Piaget also believed that children are not able to reason at higher levels even with
adultsÊ assistance. However, Goswami (1996) argued that children can solve
problems by analogy, imitating and applying relevant strategies across
increasingly dissimilar situations. Piaget did not pay much importance on the
influence of culture and education (Santrock, 2001). Recent research has shown
that with adults teaching and guiding them, children can reach the next stage of
development at an earlier age.
ACTIVITY 8.2
Vygotsky was born in the same year as Piaget in Russia, but died of tuberculosis
in 1934 at the young age of 38. He became interested in children and their
approach to learning new things when he was teaching literature in secondary
school. He found that in a group of children at the same developmental level,
some children were able to learn with a little help, while other children were
not (Mooney, 2000). That prompted his theory on how children learn. Vygotsky
took a socio-cultural perspective that was different from PiagetÊs cognitive
development theory.
Vygotsky believed that young children are able to move to higher developmental
levels if they are stimulated and guided by sensitive adults. When adults provide
guidance and interactional support in the zone of proximal development, young
children exhibit greater competence in their thinking (Gordon & Williams-
Browne, 2004).
The zone of proximal development (ZPD) refers to a range of tasks that the child
cannot yet handle alone but can do with the help of more skilled partners (Berk,
2005). For example, Mimi assists her two-year-old son Mark in stacking up a
tower through gentle physical support and simple words. With MimiÊs help,
Mark was able to build the tower. Vygotsky used the metaphor „scaffolding‰ to
describe the interactional guidance and support that responsive adults offer
young children and their intellectual efforts. „Scaffolding means changing the
level of support. Over the course of a teaching session, a more skilled person,
such as a teacher or more advanced peer, adjusts the amount of guidance to fit
the studentÊs current performance‰ (Santrock, 2001). The more skilled person
could provide a certain amount of guidance through direct instruction if the child
is totally new to the experience; and as the childÊs competence increases, less
guidance could be provided. For example, Mimi stands aside when Mike has
mastered the skills in building the tower. Figure 8.1 illustrate the ZPD.
The socio-cultural theory focuses on how culture – the values, beliefs, customs,
and skills of a social group – is transmitted to the next generation. According
to Vygotsky, social interaction (especially cooperative dialogues with more
knowledgeable members of society) is necessary for children to acquire the ways
of thinking and behaving that make up a communityÊs culture (Berk, 2005). For
example, Ray and May are aware of the importance of using culture tools, such
as literacy. So they involve their children in extensive conversations long before
they go to kindergarten, and they provide their young children with picture
books and read stories to them at bedtime as part of their daily routine.
SELF-CHECK 8.2
The information processing theory also focuses more on how a child solves
problems. For example, when a child is working on the PiagetÊs conservation
task; instead of observing the end solution, information processing researchers
will look at how the child solved the problem. Did he count the coins to see if the
numbers are equal? Did he examine the group that takes up more space has more
objects? Did he use one-to-one correspondence to check if the two groups match?
In other words, how the child arrives at a solution is emphasised, rather than the
solution itself (Charlesworth, 2000).
In this section, we shall first explore the general characteristics of the information
processing approach and then look at Memory and Problem Solving.
8.3.2 Memory
All learning has to do with memory. If we cannot remember from our past
experiences, then we cannot learn anything new (Phillips, 2007). Memory „is the
retention of information over time and involves encoding, storage, and retrieval‰
(Santrock, 2001). The most widely accepted theory is labelled the „stage theory,‰
based on the work of Atkinson and Shriffin (1968) which proposes that
information is processed and stored in three stages: Sensory Memory, Short-term
It begins with an input or stimulus and ends with an output or response. It used
the computer as a model for the way humans think. But, in human information
processing, output may be in the form of an action, a decision, an insight, a
verbalisation, or simply a memory that is stored for later use (Hetherington
et al., 2006).
(a) Find and frame problems – recognise a problem and define it;
(iii) Calling on heuristics: using strategies that may have a solution but do
not guarantee a solution; and
(iv) Means-end analysis: identify things that need to be done.
(c) Evaluate solutions – find out if the solutions really worked; and
(d) Rethink and redefine problems and solutions over time – An important
final step in problem solving is to continually rethink and redefine
problems and solutions over time (Bereiter & Scardamalia, 1993). Evaluate
how the solution can be further improved and fine-tuned.
SELF-CHECK 8.3
1. What are the main characteristics of the Information Processing
approach?
2. Compare the Information Processing approach to cognitive
developmental theories. Explain how each theoretical perspective
regards children as active contributors to their cognitive
development.
ACTIVITY 8.3
1. Now that we have studied cognitive development theories and
the information processing approach, what do you think are the
implications in classroom practices that will encourage young
children to think and solve problems?
2. If you are given a project that requires you to organise a seminar,
how would you go about organising it? Use the problem-solving
strategies to help you.
Piaget believed children are active learners who can construct their own
knowledge through the environment. Piaget described children construct
schemes and modified through the processes of organisation and adaptation
to establish cognitive equilibrium.
The zone of proximal development refers to a range of tasks that the child
cannot yet handle alone but can do with the help of more skilled partners or
adults who scaffold their intervention.
Sensory memory, short-term memory and long-term memory are the three
stages in how we store information, for easy retrieval later on.
Ahmed, A., & Ruffman, T. (1998). Why do infants make A not B errors in a search
task, yet show memory for the location of hidden objects in a nonsearch
task? In Berk, L. E. (2005). Infants and Children (5th ed.). MA: Pearson.
Atkinson, R., & Shiffrin, R. (1968). Human memory: A proposed system and its
control processes. In Phillips, J.A. (2007). Foundation, principles and theory.
KL: OUM.
Berk, L. E. (2008). Infants, children, and adolescents (6th ed.). MA: Pearson.
Gordon, A. M., & Browne, K. W. (2004). Beginnings & Beyond (6th ed.). NY:
Delmar.
Hetherington, E. M., Parke, R. D., Gauvain, M., & Locke, V. O. (2006). Child
Psychology: A contemporary viewpoint. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Miller, G. A. (1956). The magical number seven, plus or minus two: Some
limits on our capacity for processing information. In Huitt, W. (2003). The
information processing approach to cognition. Educational Psychology
Interactive. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University. Retrieved May 11,
2010, from
http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/cogsys/infoproc.html
Rodd, J. (1996). Understanding young childrenÊs behavior. NSW: Allen & Unwin.
Siegler, R. S. (1998). ChildrenÊs thinking (3rd ed.). In Santrock, J.W. (2001). Child
Development (9th ed.). NY: McGraw Hill.
Stevenson, H. W., Hofer, B. K., & Randel, B. (1999). Middle childhood: Education
and schooling. In Santrock, J.W. (2001). Child development (9th ed.). NY:
McGraw Hill.
INTRODUCTION
Before we begin, let us look back in the past at several Malaysian children who
were considered prodigies at the time.
In 1976, a toddler named Mohd Sohkeri Hadafi from Baling, Kedah, made
headlines because by the tender age of four he could read passages from
newspapers and magazines. But today, the former „boy wonder‰, is now a
35-year-old chicken seller in Baling, having worked as labourer for two years
from 1989 to 1991 while selling roti canai.
And do not forget Sufiah Yusuf, the math genius who later chose an unhealthy
path of life though now she regretted it all.
Upon reading news like these, one cannot help but feel sad for these brilliant
children who could have been useful contributing citizens of our nation. What
went wrong? Is there a place for children like them?
Here are the few questions that we will try to find out in this topic:
(a) What exactly is intelligence?
(b) How do we determine whether or not a child is intelligent?
(c) How do we assess intelligence?
(d) Can intelligence be identified at an early stage?
(e) Do children have one intelligence or multiple intelligences?
(f) What are the intelligence theories?
(g) Is intelligence hereditary or environmental?
(h) Can intelligence be learned?
(i) How should intelligent children be taught and learned?
(j) What is achievement?
(k) What are achievement tests?
(l) Do intelligence and achievement mean the same thing?
Intelligence is often equated with a score on an IQ test, with the score of the test
determining how gifted a child is (Plucker, 2001). Plucker also stated that „the
study of giftedness has closely paralleled the study of intelligence. Many scholars
who were concerned with matters of intelligence also focused on manifestations
of talent and genius. The inter-relationship between intelligence and gifted
education continues today. Intelligence theory influences the way we identify
Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)
160 TOPIC 9 INTELLIGENCE AND ACHIEVEMENT
and assess students, our attitudes toward giftedness and gifted students, the
models upon which we base our programs and interventions, and many other
aspects of gifted education.‰
However, what is an IQ test? What does it measure? Recent thinkers have started
to question whether a single test could predict the future of a child. What about
children with other talents, such as physical ability or communicative ability?
Can these talents be measured by the same test? Would a child who scores high
in mathematics do so in literature as well? Before we investigate those questions,
let us find out what is „intelligence‰.
ACTIVITY 9.1
When this happened, Zi Yi was not happy anymore and his mother had to drag
him to school every morning. Eventually, his mother changed him to another
preschool; where the Principal, Ms Loh, put him with the four-year-old group.
She provided him opportunities to read, write and draw as he liked, but also
joined the 4-year-olds in other activities such as singing, dancing, painting and
dramatic play. Zi Yi was happy again and was looking forward to go to school
every day.
IQ = MA 100
CA
(i) The cognitive scale, which includes such items as attention to familiar
and unfamiliar objects, looking for a fallen object and pretend play;
(iii) The motor scale, which includes gross and fine motor skills such as
grasping, sitting, stacking blocks and climbing stairs (Bayley, 2005).
children have learned in school. The achievement test does not give you an
IQ score, but the result is compared to other children in the same grade
across the nation. Examples of these tests are the UPSR, SRP, SPM and
STPM in Malaysia.
In the following section, we will explore these other intelligences that IQ tests do
not measure.
SELF-CHECK 9.1
However, some researchers disagreed with the idea of a general intelligence and
believed that intelligence consists of multiple abilities (Santrock, 2001). One of
them is L. L. ThurstoneÊs (1938) Multiple-factor theory. Thurstone believed that
intelligence consists of seven primary mental abilities: verbal comprehension,
number ability, word fluency, spatial visualisation, associative memory,
reasoning and perceptual speed (Santrock, 2001). The more recent ones are
GardnerÊs (1983, 1993) Multiple Intelligences and SternbergÊs (1986, 1999)
Triarchic Theory.
Garder (1993) believes that there are eight types of intelligence, though it has
grown to nine since then. The eight intelligences are as showed in Figure 9.2.
(a) Linguistic intelligence – the ability to think in words and to use language to
express meaning;
(c) Spatial intelligence – the ability to form a mental model of a spatial world
and to be able to manoeuvre and operate using that model;
According to Gardner (1993), the first two abilities are what intelligence tests
normally test for. If one could not score well in these two areas, „their abilities in
other areas may be obscured‰. He wrote that „once we begin to try to assess
other kinds of intelligences directly, I am confident that particular students will
reveal strengths in quite different areas and the notion of general brightness will
disappear or become greatly attenuated‰. GardnerÊs theory has much to offer to
the psychology and education fields. However, there are critics claiming that
GardnerÊs view has little empirical support or confirmation by experiments;
hence, some questioned whether multiple intelligence is really a „theory‰. Some
questioned the usage of the term „intelligence‰ by Garder as those intelligences
stated are actually skills (Gardner, 1993). All the same, Gardner has provided us
with a multidimensional view of intelligence and enabled us to have a better
understanding of individual differences (Bee & Boyd, 2007).
Based on all these, the Analytical intelligence is similar to the type of skills
measured in an IQ test. Although these skills are important when we consider
oneÊs intelligence, Sternberg reminded us that we have to look beyond the
demands of achievement in schools. We have to consider the variations in
creative or practice intelligence (Bee & Boyd, 2007).
SELF-CHECK 9.2
ACTIVITY 9.2
Researchers have been studying identical twins in search for the answer to that
question. If identical twins who are raised apart show more differences than any
other two human beings, then the environmental viewpoint that environment or
experience, shapes intelligence and behaviour would prevail. If they had more
similarities, the hereditarian viewpoint would prevail.
It is also found that scores of IQ tests have increased so fast that a high
percentage of people regarded as having average intelligence at the turn of the
century would be considered below average in intelligence today (Hall, 1998).
Researchers believe that the increase cannot be due to heredity because it has
taken place in a relatively short period of time, but rather may be due to
environmental factors such as the explosion of information that people are
exposed to (Santrock, 2001).
Recent brain researches showed that environmental influences can actually affect
whether or not and how genes are expressed (National Scientific Council on the
Developing Child, 2010). Scientists have stressed the importance of early
experiences, because the way a brain develops hinges on a complex interplay
between the genes we are born with and the experiences we have (Shore, 2003).
Shore also stated that even identical twins, born with the same genetic
From 1972 to 1985, Craig Ramey and his colleagues carried out the Carolina
Abecedarian Project, which provided sustained services to young children and
their low-income and poorly-educated families (Ramey & Campbell, 1984,
Ramey & Ramey, 1998). The children started as young as the first months of life
and received services through elementary school. Services included high quality,
full-day child care for preschools and regular support and education for the
parents. The day-care programme included game-like learning activities aimed
at enhancing cognitive, language, perceptual-motor and social development
(Santrock, 2001). Follow-up assessments were conducted at ages 8, 12 and 15.
The study found that:
(a) Young childrenÊs involvement in high quality programs had positive effects
on intellectual development and academic achievement;
(b) At age 12, participating children had IQ scores that averaged 5.3 points
higher than a comparison group of non-participants
(c) At age 15, compared to the comparison group, participants showed higher
achievement test scores and had 50 percent fewer special education
placements (Shore, 2003).
Figure 9.3: Piirto five „suns‰ regarding environmental factors that can affect intelligence
We have come across people who had outstanding talent but did not develop that
talent because of circumstances such as represented by these „suns‰. For example,
Janerine, was identified as a bright and intelligent child when she was a
preschooler. However, her home life was disturbed when her parents were going
through a divorce; and from then, she went through a series of traumatising events
such as changing from school to school, moving from place to place, running and
hiding away from one parent and under the care of a single parent. Later, her
school achievement tests showed that she is a below average child.
An example given by Piirto (1999) explained that in a racist society, the genes
that produce oneÊs race are acted upon environmentally; a person of a certain
race may be treated differently in different environments. Piirto stated that
„oneÊs resilience is crucial and oneÊs ability to create an image or metaphor out of
pain is as well.... One grows through pain, not in avoiding pain‰. Piirto stated
that schools should find and help these children who are born with intelligence
and yet not so „lucky‰ to permit them to nurture their potentials.
ACTIVITY 9.3
Now, what about giftedness? In 1971, The Marland Report defined „Gifted and
talented children are those identified by professionally qualified persons who by
virtue of outstanding abilities are capable of high performance. These are
children who require differentiated educational programs and services beyond
those normally provided by regular school programs in order to realise their
potential.‰ (Piirto, 1999).
Schools usually use IQ tests to determine whether a child is gifted or not. They
normally have an IQ of 120 or above and with superior talent for something
(Santrock, 2001). As these tests focus mostly on the intellectual and mathematical
knowledge of students, this may overlook those children who have other talents
such as in visual and performing arts or sports.
Neuro-science and cognitive psychology have given us new insights into what it
means for children and youth to be exceptionally talented and require us to develop a
new definition of this population. The term "gifted" connotes a mature power rather
than a developing ability and, therefore, is antithetic to recent research findings about
children. The following definition, based on the definition used in the federal Javits
Gifted and talented Education Act, reflects the knowledge and thinking of today.
Children and youth with outstanding talent perform or show the potential for
performing at remarkably high levels of accomplishment when compared with others
of their age, experience, or environment.
These children and youth exhibit high performance capability in intellectual, creative,
and/or artistic areas, possess an unusual leadership capacity, or excel in specific academic
fields. They require services or activities not ordinarily provided by the schools.
Outstanding talents are present in children and youth from all cultural groups, across
all economic strata, and in all areas of human endeavour.
To put this definition into practice, schools must develop a system to identify gifted
and talented students that accomplishes the following:
(a) Seeks variety. It must look throughout a range of disciplines for students with
diverse talents.
(b) Uses many assessment measures. It must use a variety of appraisals so that
schools can find students in different talent areas and at different ages.
(c) Is free of bias. It must use assessment procedures that can accommodate students
who develop at different rates and whose interests may change as they mature.
(d) Is fluid. It must discover talents that are not readily apparent in students as
well as those that are obvious.
(e) Assesses motivation. It must take into account the drive and passion that play a
key role in accomplishment. (Piirto, 1999).
This definition proposes that giftedness occurs in all groups across all cultures;
and is not necessarily seen in test scores, but in a personÊs „high performance
capability‰ in the intellectual, in the creative and in the artistic domain. The word
gifted was eliminated and the terms outstanding talent and exceptional talent
were embraced.
There are always some whiz kids in class who are reading novels at a young age,
or doing high school mathematics at primary school level. How do schools cater
to these types of students? Unfortunately, Malaysia has no programme for the
gifted in our school system. In fact, some known cases of prodigies are reported
to have sad endings such as Mohd Sohkeri Hadafi, Chiang Ti Min in the opening
stories; and Sufiah Yusof, the Math genius who won a place at Oxford University
when she was just 13.
The good news is gifted children in the country can now look forward to having
their learning needs addressed in the country as the Government will channel
more effort to meet their educational requirements (The Star, 2009). Prime
Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak recognised there was a need to create
programmes for the exceptionally gifted children as there was currently a
„vacuum‰. He said that educational programmes, which emphasised
„differentiated learning‰, would be created to match the gifted studentsÊ
thinking, learning and reading capabilities. „It is time that Malaysia has such
programmes for gifted students as developed and other developing countries
already possess such programmes,‰ he said. (Star Online, 2009).
SELF-CHECK 9.3
ACTIVITY 9.4
There are hundreds of intelligence tests. The most widely used is the
Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for
Children (WISC-IV).
The Bayley III tests for infants helped in identifying infants and toddlers with
serious developmental delays and also serve as general predictive tool to
forecast later IQ scores or school performance.
The mental retardation and giftedness are the two extremes of intelligence.
Bayley, N. (2005). Bayley Scales of Infant and toddler Development 3rd ed. In
Berk, L. E. (2008). Infants, children and adolecents (6th ed.). MA: Pearson.
Bee, H., & Boyd, D. (2007). The developing child (11th ed.). MA: Pearson.
Berk, L. E. (2008). Infants, children and adolecents (6th ed.). MA: Pearson.
Blair, C., & Ramey, C. (1996). Early intervention with low birth weight infants. In
Santrock, J. W. (2001). Child development (9th ed.). NY: McGraw Hill.
Gardner, H. (1999). Who owns intelligence? The Atlantic Online. Retrieved May
16, 2010, from
http://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/99feb/intel.htm.
Hall, W. (1998). I.Q scores are up, and psychologists wonder why. In
Santrock, J. W. (2001). Child development (9th ed.). NY: McGraw Hill.
Isenberg, J. P., & Jalongo, M. R. (2001). Creative expression and play in early
childhood (3rd ed.). NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall.
Ramey, C. T., & Ramey, S. I. (1998). Early prevention and early experience. In
Santrock, J. W. (2001). Child development (9th ed.). NY: McGraw Hill.
Sarason, S. B., & Doris, J. (1979). Educational handicap, public policy, and social
history. In Ysseldyke, J. E., Algozzine, B., & Thurlow, M.L. (2000). Critical
issues in special education (3rd ed.). MA: Houghton Mifflin Co.
Santrock, J.W. (2001). Child development (9th ed.). NY: McGraw Hill.
Williams, P. E., Weiss, I. G., & Rolfhus, E. (2003). WISC-IV: Theoretical model and
test blueprint. In Berk, L. E. (2005). Infants and Children: Prenatal through
middle childhood (5th ed.). MA: Pearson.
Ysseldyke, J. E., Algozzine, B., & Thurlow, M. L. (2000). Critical issues in special
education (3rd ed.). MA: Houghton Mifflin Co.
INTRODUCTION
What does the word „family‰ mean? Close your eyes and imagine a family. Does
this image fit the concept of a family? Look around at symbols for families and
logos of agencies that serve families. Do they convey the real image of families in
our society today?
Socialisation is seen as the process by which parents and other adults ensure that
a childÊs behaviour is modified to meet or conform closely to those deemed
appropriate in the social or cultural context that the child is in. Generally, we see
parents as the ones who influence the behaviour of their children but their
children also influence them and, in fact, play an active role in their own
socialisation (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2006).
Though the forms of families may vary greatly, virtually all families experience
stress (Mena, 2009). Certainly, this stress will affect children who are living in
those contexts. The question for us is: what can we do to support these children
so they have less stress and more success? Mena (2009) also cautions that family
structure alone does not tell us how well the family functions. „It only tells us
that it is different from what has been regarded as a traditional family‰.
We all agreed that there is no substitute for the influence of family. The family is
the first context for a child entering the physical world. It provides for love, play,
and exploration of objects and the world. It is where bonding and attachments
are formed with parents or siblings, so that relationships for lifetime are
established. Within the family, the child learns language, skills, social and moral
values of their culture (Berk, 2005). What the young children learn, how they
respond to people around them and what they expect for themselves and others
are deeply affected by their relationships with parents, the behaviour of parents
and the environment of the homes in which they live (Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000).
and the caregivers, or with other parents in the playgroup. For example,
eight-month-old Xuan is cared for by a home-care provider. Her mother
will send her to the care provider every morning on the way to work and
pick her up in the evening on the way home. She will tell the care-provider
the routines at home so that Xuan will have a same consistent routine. The
care-provider will tell her about XuanÊs behaviour and progress when she
comes to pick Xuan up. In this way, there is a connection between the home
and the care provider.
For example, after Nurul was born, the mother decided to move nearer to
her office so that she could cut down on travelling time and spend more
time with Nurul. Also, she could come back during lunch time to
breastfeed Nurul. In her workplace, there is a „mummyÊs room‰ which
provides facility for mothers to pump and keep their breast milk. The
family-friendly policies greatly influence the quality time Nurul has with
the mother. When Nurul was two years old, the parents brought her to the
district library, which has storytelling time every week for young children.
It also has a resource centre where parents could borrow toys and
storybooks for the children. ThereÊs also a playground which the parents
could bring their children to play and socialise. Nurul will be joining a
nursery class soon as the parents want her to have friends and socialise
more with other children.
preschool education to all children ages five and six by 2010. It also
commits to improvements in the quality of the teaching and learning in
preschools through enhancing the capacity of teachers and increasing the
number of teachers and teacher assistants. It also calls for the introduction
of public preschool education for children aged zero to four and extend the
current services for children with special needs (MOE, 2008). The policies
and implementation of the government will definitely benefit Malaysian
young childrenÊs development.
SELF-CHECK 10.1
It was reported that nowadays family members do not have time for one another
and there is no close relationship between them anymore. Some parents who are
busy working do not even bother to ask about their childrenÊs daily activities
(Nazri, 1996). Nazri reported that social ills usually occur in urban areas because
some parents are not involved in their childÊs development. Parents and children
are engaged in too many activities to even have time for one another, thus
creating an impersonal environment. These young people do not like to go back
to an empty home or being the „latchkey children‰ and they often feel neglected
by their families.
According to Berk (2009), the family is the childÊs first and longest-lasting,
context for development. „It is within this context that children experience their
first social conflicts. Discipline by parents and arguments with siblings provide
important lessons in compliance and cooperation and opportunities to learn how
to influence the behaviour of others‰.
Boumrid (1972) also identified four types of parenting styles based on how a
family functions:
That leads us to the question: what makes a successful family? We will discuss
further in the next section.
SELF-CHECK 10.2
Shore (2003) reported that „Economic deprivation also affects the motherÊs
and childÊs nutrition, access to medical care, the safety and predictability of
their physical environment, the level of stress experienced by their parents
and other caregivers and the quality and continuity of their day-to day care.
Poverty also affects childrenÊs in-home and out-of-home stimulation and
their exposure to extreme stress and violence. Epidemiological surveys
confirm the impact of these conditions: the risk for poor school readiness
and mental retardation is highest among children from families with the
lowest socioeconomic status‰.
ACTIVITY 10.1
During the economy downturn a few years ago, Simon was forced to close down
his business. The wife was holding an important post in a computer firm. He
decided to stay home to look after their newborn baby instead of putting him
under child care. Today, Simon is a proud father of a healthy, confident and
intelligent preschooler who has developed a very close attachment bond with
him.
Lately, a fatherÊs involvement in bringing up their children has gone beyond the
role of economic contributions to their families. More fathers are taking over the
mothersÊ tasks such as transporting the child to and from child care, monitoring
the childÊs safety and whereabouts and scheduling play and daily activities.
There are more single fathers raising children and more „stay-at-home dads‰
whose wives are in the work force and fathers are spending more time with their
children (Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000). In fact, child care provided by fathers while
mothers work, has crept upward from 15 to 21 percent of all infant and toddler
care arrangements between 1977 and 1994 in the U.S. (U.S. Bureau of the Census,
1997). Fathers provided one in four of the first child care arrangements made for
the infants in the NICHD Study of Early Child Care (NICHD Early Child Care
Research Network, 1997).
Children will develop secure attachments to their fathers that do not depend on
the security they drive from their attachments to mothers. This emotional quality
of the father-child relationship also appears to be extremely important to
childrenÊs well-being. Studies in the United States show that fathers spend more
time playing with a baby, using more physical roughhousing while mothers
spend more time in routine caregiving, and they talk to and smile to their babies
more (Bee & Boyd, 2007). Researchers found that fathers in England and India
have higher levels of physical play than the mothers, but fathers in Sweden,
Israel, Italy, China and Malaysia do not (Parke & Buriel, 1998). This indicates that
patterns of a fatherÊs behaviour are influenced by varying cultural expectations
and training (Bee & Boyd, 2007).
SELF-CHECK 10.3
children (Chavez, 1996). Many divorced parents put their own desires and needs
ahead of those of their children and then rationalise their actions by claiming
their children will be better off if their parents are happy.
When Janice was eight years of age, her parents divorced and her mother left to
Singapore. Janice stayed with her single-parent father. Life was miserable as
Janice was very attached to her mother since young. Her mother visited every
few months and would take her to Singapore during school holidays. She would
take Janice out to eat, play and buy her beautiful dresses and anything she
wanted. She would often paint a bad picture on the father in front of Janice. Back
home, when Janice was with her father, who was struggling with his job and
looking after her, Janice would miss her mother more. She would object to her
father and reject him. Her father blamed the mother, who focused on fun and
took no responsibility for JaniceÊs upbringing.
To make ends meet, JaniceÊs father had to work from morning to night. Janice
was left alone at home after school, eating instant noodles and watching TV. She
felt lazy, found it hard to study and her schoolwork suffered. Her grandpa and
grandma who lived out of town noticed her situation and invited Janice to visit
and stay over during weekends. They listened to Janice, encouraged her and
helped her with schoolwork. Janice spent more and more time with her
grandparents. A few years later when Janice finally finished her Form Five, she
attributed her well-being to her grandparentsÊ warmth, encouragement and
guidance.
When a marriage breaks up, the husband and the wife are not the only parties
whose lives are thrown apart. The children will also be caught in the turmoil and
have a tough time making sense of the situation and coming to terms with the
fact that the two people whom they love most and who are supposed to love
them most cannot live under the same roof. According to psychologist
Kanagasingam, studies have shown children cope better with the death of one
parent rather than a divorce (Chavez, 1996). „When parents get divorced, most
children develop a tendency to blame themselves. They feel they have been too
naughty and as a result their parents are constantly fighting. They feel they are
the ones responsible for driving their parents apart‰ (Chavez, 1996).
Young children who experienced parental divorce display higher rates of early
sexual activity and adolescent parenthood (Wolfinger, 2000). Some will
experience other lasting difficulties such as low educational attainment, troubled
relationships and unsatisfying parent-child relationships (Berk, 2009). Children
need the support of the family. They need the family to give them motivation
and love in order to learn and develop. When children lack a satisfactory,
supportive family like Janice, they find compassion in extended family or
another special adult (Berk, 2009). Janice was lucky to have her grandparents
around to guide her. Luvisa, however, was not as lucky.
When LuvisaÊs parents were separated, she was only 5 years of age. LuvisaÊs
father left the family for another woman and never returned; leaving LuvisaÊs
mother with two other siblings. Being an uneducated single parent and having to
look after three children, LuvisaÊs mother found it hard to make ends meet. She
fell in love with another man but he was not willing to look after her three
children, she was forced to leave the children in a welfare institution run by a
charity organisation. Luvisa and her two brothers were brought up in the home
with about eighty other children from broken families and never saw their
parents again. The three children never did well in their school work. They failed
their public examinations and eventually dropped out of school.
SELF-CHECK 10.4
ACTIVITY 10.2
10.7 SIBLINGS
Relationships with siblings make unique contributions to childrenÊs development
(Bee & Boyd, 2006). Although siblings may be in the same household
experiencing the same parenting style from their parents, no two children have
the same environment and no environment is experienced in exactly the same
way by two different children (Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000). Children growing up
in the same family may end up quite different. Parents may express warmth and
pride toward one child and scorn toward another, may be lenient toward one
and strict with another (Deater-Deckard, Dun & Lussier, 2002). According to
Bee & Boyd (2006), parents treat children different for many reasons which
may include their ages and temperament. Birth order is also associated with
differences and variations in sibling relationship (Santrock, 2001).
Two siblings living in the same home influence each other and are affected by the
other members of the family in unique ways. If one child is active and aggressive
and the other is passive and subdued, each will elicit different responses from
the parents – and each will be influenced differently by the behaviour of the
other (Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000). The childÊs characteristics will also affect
the relationship between mother and child. Babies are born with different
temperaments. Some appear to be more active and adaptable; some tend to be
more withdrawn and slow to warm up. The ways that the mothers, family or the
caregivers relate or respond to the babies will affect their emotions and will
either reinforce or discourage the emotions of the children.
Kai Yee, six, and Kai Ting, four, both girls, go to the same kindergarten. Kai Yee
is a bright and happy child while Kai Ting is more withdrawn and moody. The
teacher noticed that Kai Yee always comes to school neat, clean and well dressed
and well fed. Kai Ting is always in a shabby state with her face not washed,
wearing dirty dresses and she always beats and snatches food from other
children. Sometimes there are cane marks on her hands and feet. After
observation and conversations with their mother, the teacher found out that the
mother actually treated the two daughters differently. The mother loves Kai Yee
as she is the first child, bright and pretty and she showers her love on Kai Yee.
When Kai Ting was born, according to the mother, she was crying most of the
time. At the same time, the father faced bankruptcy and the family was in
financial difficulty. The parents blamed Kai Ting for bringing bad luck to the
family and never treated her like the elder sister.
According to Bee & Boyd (2007), parents treat children differently for many
reasons. Differences in age, behaviours, temperament and gender and to
variations in the childrenÊs skills or talents, will all create a unique pattern of
interaction for each child. Such differences in treatment will affect the internal
model of self and contribute greatly to variations in behaviour among children
growing up in the same family (Feinberg & Hetherington, 2001).
SELF-CHECK 10.5
ACTIVITY 10.3
1. If you were Kai TingÊs teacher, how would you help her? What
would you tell her mother?
2. Discuss with your coursemates whether birth order has affected
how you developed into the person today.
The family is the primary agent of socialisation by which children acquire the
beliefs, attitudes, values and behaviours considered appropriate in their
society.
Parenting styles differ across social economics status, ethnic and culture.
More and more fathers are involved in bringing up young children and the
emotional quality of the father-child relationship also appears to be extremely
important to childrenÊs well-being.
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Bell, L. C., & Bell, D. C. (1982). Family climate and the role of the female
adolescent. In Boyd, D., & Bee, H. (2010). The growing child. MA: Pearson.
Bradley, R. H., & Corwyn, R. F. (2003). Age and ethnic variations in family
process mediators of SES. In Berk, L. E. (2009). Child development (8th ed.).
MA: Pearson.
Deater-Deckard, K., Dunn, J., & Lussier, G. (2002). Sibling relationships and
social-emotional adjustment in different family contexts. In Bee, H. & Boyd,
D. (2006). The developing child. MA: Pearson.
Eisenber, N. (1992). The caring child. In Boyd, D., & Bee, H. (2010). The growing
child. MA: Pearson.
Kausar, Z. (2005). Social ills in Malaysia: Causes and remedies. IIUM. Retrieved
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Divorce-in-Malaysia.
Nazri, F. (1996). Breakdown of the family unit. New Strait Times. Oct. 1.
NICHD Early Child Care Research Network, (1997). Child care in the first
year of life. In Shonkoff, J. P., & Phillips, D. A. (2000). From Neurons to
neighborhood. Washington, D.C. : National Academy Press.
Parke, R. D., & Buriel, R. (1998). Socialization in the family: Ethnic and ecological
perspectives In Boyd, D., & Bee, H. (2010). The growing child. MA: Pearson.
OR
Thank you.