Introduction
Understanding your child is one of the most important things that one should learn as a parent. It is extremely important in becoming effective in the nurturing of the child while growing up. With time, parents understand that every child has a unique trait that stays with them throughout the life. Study of these traits of the children, right from prenatal development through the adolescence is called child psychology. It deals with not just the physical growth of the children, but also their mental, social and emotional development. Over the recent times, child psychology has developed scientifically to encompass “cognitive development, development psychology, language development, social and personality development, life-span psychology, infancy, and adolescent psychology” among many more (Cairns, and Valsiner 553). It also describes why and how every child differs from each other. It goes on to explain the development of children’s mind with time and in response to their environment. Diverse scientists and psychologists have touched upon this area to come up with various theories to understand the child psychology. Melanie Klein, Sigmund Freud and his daughter, Anna Freud dealt with the psychoanalytic aspect of child development. But, it was Jean Piaget who had the direct influence on the modern child psychology. He presented different stages of learning during the childhood and explained how each learning stage is influenced by the child’s perception of himself as well as that of the world.
Contexts of Child Psychology
Development of a child does not merely consist of the factors that influence the growth of a child, such as personal characteristics or genetics. Environment, such as the social structure, relationships and culture, also plays a vital role. The major contexts that are taken into consideration while analyzing the psychology of a child are:
- Social Context: The relationships with the peers and the family members have a significant influence on the way the child learns, thinks and develops. Schools also make up an important part of the social thread where child grows in.
- Cultural Context: The cultural setup where a child lives in contributes a set of customs, values, assumptions and the way of living, which influence the development of the child throughout the lifespan. Khemlani, Lee, and Bucciarelli (“Determinants of cognitive variability” 97) have identified “culture as a major source of cognitive development and variability”. This context defines the way a child relates and connects with its parents, the type of child care he receives and the education he undergoes.
- Socioeconomic Context: Social class of the family, where the child is born, also plays a vital role in the development of a child. The Socio-economic status, aka SES, is defined by a number of factors such as “the level of education the people have, the amount of money they earn, the place where they live and the type of job they hold” (Khemlani, Lee, and Bucciarelli). Children living in families of higher socioeconomic status are bound to be presented with better opportunities at education, health care and nutrition. These factors have a major impact on the psychology of a growing child.
All these three contexts of child development are always in constant interaction with each other. The lack of one factor can be easily made up by the other two. For example, a child may be presented with fewer opportunities because of the low socioeconomic status, maintaining strong intercultural ties and social relationships can help fill in the imbalance.
Cognitive Development
Over the past decades, many cognitive theories have been developed (Mitchell 351). But, the one that is worth discussing is the Piaget’s Cognitive Development Theory. Jean Piaget was the first psychologist to perform a systematic study of cognitive development (McLeod). His major contributions to the field of psychology consist of the cognitive theory of child development, observational study of cognition in children, and series of tests to determine different cognitive abilities in the children. Before his studies, it was a common belief that children are merely less competitive thinkers than adults. Piaget was the one who went to show that the thinking patterns of children are strikingly different than that of the adults.
Piaget’s Cognitive Development theory is a stage theory, dealing with the development of a child at several stages. It states that “at each stage, children are faced with different challenges, which they need to deal with and overcome, in order to enhance their mental abilities”. Once a challenge is met, the child then moves on to the next stage of cognitive development.
According to this theory, a child is born with a basic mental structure, which owes its current form to the genetic makeup as well as the evolution. All the upcoming learnings and knowledge are based on this basic mental structure. The theory revolves around three basic components:
- Schemas: are the building blocks of knowledge. According to Piaget’s theory (1952), a schema is “a cohesive, repeatable action sequence possessing component actions that are tightly interconnected and governed by a core meaning”. In simple words, a schema is an intelligent way of organizing knowledge. One can think of schema as a unit of knowledge, with each schema relating to a different aspect of the world. Wadsworth suggested that schemata can be thought of as index cards in the brain, each one guiding a child how to react to a stimulus. The development of a child’s mental processes implies the increase in number and the complexity of the schemata that a person has acquired. When a child’s existing schemas can explain what it perceives around himself in the world, it is said to be in a state of equilibrium. This state of equilibrium, in child psychology, is known as a state of cognitive balance.
The theory emphasizes the importance of schemas and explains how they are developed and acquired. It is a linked representation of the world through which we understand the world and respond to situations.
- Assimilation and accommodation: The process of intellectual growth of a child is a process of adaption to the world. This happens through three stages:
- Assimilation: Ability to use an existing schema to deal with a new situation.
- Accommodation: Adjustment of the currently existing schema is required when it fails to fit in the present situational purview.
- Equilibration: is the force that moves the development forward. Piaget believed that the development does not progress at a steady rate. It takes place in leaps and bounds. When the existing schemas are sufficient to handle most of the new situations, the brain is said to be in a state of equilibrium (assimilation). However, when the new information fails to fit in the current schematic structure, an unpleasant state of disequilibrium takes place. It is this time when the equilibration initiates the process of new learning and restores the balance by adjusting the existing schema for the new knowledge (accommodation). Once the new knowledge is acquired, the process of assimilation continues, until the next time an adjustment is required.
- Development stages: The cognitive development of a child is all about a child constructing a mental model of the world. It helps the child use the information from its past experience and plan future actions. Piaget’s theory deals with both how a child thought and how a child learnt. According to the theory, development is biological and changes as the child attains maturity. He asserted that the children think differently than the adults and go through four different stages of development, which are universal in nature:
- Sensorimotor: is roughly the period of rapid cognitive development of the child from birth to about 2 years of age. During this stage, a child mostly learns through trial and error. Beginning with a set of reflex movements, a child quickly begins to develop his own image of the world, by relating the actions to the perceived results. Through rapid assimilation and accommodation, these actions quickly adapt to the world and behaviors become goal – oriented.
This is the stage of egocentrism, because the only understanding of the world for the child is its own point of view. A belief is formed that the objects exist and events occur in the world, having no dependency on one’s actions. This knowledge is known as the object concept or the object performance. It conceptualizes that an object, even if it is hidden, still exists and it requires an ability to form a mental representation of the object.
Once a child attains the object concept, it progresses on to the next stage, i.e. preoperational.
- Preoperational: stage ranges from 2 to 7 years of age. The children going through this stage are able to mentally represent objects and events and engage in the symbolic situations. In this stage, a child is unable to understand another’s point of view and becomes the center of his own world, hence making this stage extremely egocentric. It assumes that everyone else in the world thinks, feels, sees and hears exactly as the child.
Another key feature of this stage is the occurrence of animism. Animism is the belief that the inanimate objects, such as toys, around the child also have human intentions and feelings.
- Concrete Operational: The concrete stage is a major turning point in the development of the child. This stage marks the beginning of the logical thought process. The child is now mature enough to apply the rules / operations to the real world. However, the rules can only be applied to the physical objects, making this stage as concrete operational. Child becomes less egocentric and begins to understand that even though the appearance of an object changes, the object itself does not. This understanding that an object stays the same even if it changes in its physical appearance is called conservation.
During the age span of 7 to 11, the thinking of the child becomes more organized. The child is able to solve the problems in a logical fashion, but is unable to think abstractly.
The child attains the capability of inferential reasoning, i.e. the ability to imagine the situations that it has not experienced first-hand and draw conclusions from its thinking. “The child who needs to draw pictures or use objects to imagine the situation is in a concrete operational stage, but the child who can do all these operations in its head is said to have reached the formal operational stage” (Bjorklund 146).
Social and Personality Development
As the children begin to grow, they increasingly interact with other kids, whether in kindergarten or during the play time. They expand their relationships with the world beyond their family and understand more about the world around them. Friendships begin to take more importance in a child’s life. They begin to move towards their friends and form close-knit bonds with them. However, this is also the stage when a child is easily influenced by the people and the situations around them. Hence, parents need to keep a close eye on the playgroups and classrooms.
Another important skill that the children acquire in this stage is learning to be alone. Some kids, more than others, would want some alone time and just be by themselves.
Development of Perception
It is often difficult for the adults to realize that the children perceive the world in a totally different way than them. As per Cloosterman, “they are way too quick to observe and comment on everything they notice going around them”. At the same time, the things they perceive and the way they perceive differs significantly from the way the adults do.
This development of perception in children goes through various stages. Initial stage is that of the inborn reflexes. With time and experience, they alter and modify to fit different stimuli of the environment. It begins as a trial and error and goes on to organize with experience.
The next stage is that of the development of circular reflex. The child initiates an action at impulse. The output of the action is received as a sensory impulse. This sense develops a perception in the child. The child slowly begins to identify which action will be pleasurable and which action will produce discomfort. Knowledge builds up, which tells the child that a certain action will bring a certain pleasure.
Later on, the child begins to coordinate the sensory impulses and links the objects by the way of hearing and seeing. With this, the understanding comes that what he hears is what he sees and he grasps what he sees.
With experience, “the child begins to form the permanent representations of the objects” (Cloosterman). Over the time, he begins to identify the objects and patterns. However, the observation of the object outside its normal form comes later on, when he begins to see the object in its moving form. He begins to build up the reflexes to perceive objects outside its normal context.
The next step is the realization that actions can be undone by some other actions. He begins to see himself separate from the world and the concept of permanent objects start building up. He begins to develop and understand the notions of cause and effect. He begins to see other objects or people as the cause of the situations that are taking place. Once the notion of permanent objects and permanent places is developed, the child also realizes that his actions can be undone if he is able to return to those permanent places or objects.
The notions of space and time also start building up when the child handles objects and moves his body. He learns to coordinate and link changing visual experiences with the perceptions and the bodily movements.
In the next stage, the child begins to develop memory and recall the visual images from the past. With the understanding of the difference between the past and the present, the true memory starts to develop. This is a crucial stage in the development of perception, as it helps child in the formation of images of the absent objects, with the help of pre-conceived perception.
With this, he progresses to the next stage where he is able to distinguish himself from the world. A picture of the world begins to form in space and time, where permanent and non-permanent entities, separate from each other, can act on each other to produce different results. Gradually, they begin to distinguish between the reality and the imagination. They perceive certain ways of the world and begin to form a certain structure of ideas, which makes them believe that the world cannot be otherwise. This influences their ideas and actions when they begin to grow and start getting independent. With this, is developed a certain set of reflexes and with time, they start reacting to new situations before they take time to think. These reflexes go on to become their habits.
Conclusion
Understanding what makes a child tick is a huge task in itself, making the study of child psychology deep. The ultimate goal of this field is to study the various impacts and influences that make the children who they are. It helps us understand the different stages of growth that a child goes through. The knowledge of these stages and what to expect helps us give the child growth a certain desired direction. Knowledge of brain development helps us understand what type of cognition should develop at what times (Bjorklund 149). A child begins with initial reflexes and then learn to identify the right from wrong, develops intelligence of the results of his actions, a coordination between what he hears and what he sees and the perception of relationships during different stages of this development. By having a strong understanding of how children grow, behave and think; professionals, teachers and parents can be better prepared to take a good care of the children and help them grow in the best way possible.
Works Cited
Atherton J S. “Learning and Teaching” Piaget's developmental theory (2013). Web. 11 Nov. 2014.
This is a work on Jean Piaget’s cognitive developmental theory. This work is a peer – reviewed journal available in the college database.
This journal describes the learning processes that take place in a child and asserts that the thought process of the children is strikingly different from that of the adults. It also describes various stages through which the cognitive development of a child takes place. By understanding these stages and the ways in which a child’s brain develops, the parents and the teachers can take better care of the child.
Quotations used:
- A schema is a cohesive, repeatable action sequence possessing component actions that are tightly interconnected and governed by a core meaning.
- At each stage, children are faced with different challenges, which they need to deal with and overcome, in order to enhance their mental abilities.
Bjorklund, David F. "In Search of a Metatheory for Cognitive Development" Child Development 68.1 (1997): 144-48. Web.
This is another work on the cognitive development and has been retrieved as a peer-reviewed journal from the college database.
This journal explains why the understanding of cognitive development is important for the parents and the teachers of a growing child and how can they help in the better growth of the child by understanding the cognitive processes. While Piaget’s work explains about different stages of a child growth, Bjorklund’s work is important to understand and identify different stages.
Quotations used:
- Knowledge of brain development helps us understand what type of cognition should develop at what times.
- The child who needs to draw pictures or use objects to imagine the situation is in a concrete operational stage, but the child who can do all these operations in its head is said to have reached the formal operational stage.
Cairns, Robert B., and Jaan Valsiner. "Child Psychology." Annual Review of Psychology 35.11 (1984): 553-54. Web. 10 Nov. 2014.
This is a peer-reviewed journal that has been fetched from the college database.
The content that has been referred to from this work is about the technological and scientific advances in the field of child psychology and the various sub-streams that it has grown to encompass. This content is used primarily in the introduction of the paper.
Quotations used:
- Over the recent times, child psychology has developed scientifically to encompass “cognitive development, development psychology, language development, social and personality development, life-span psychology, infancy, and adolescent psychology” among many more.
Cloosterman, Annemieke. "Development of Perception." Mindstructures.com. N.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2014.
This is a source fetched from the web. This is a site dedicated to the study of the mind.
The article that has been extracted from this site particularly deals with the development of perception in the children as they grow. It describes and explains different stages of the growing child and what a child perceives at which stage. Understanding different levels of perception can enable the parents to better fulfill the needs of the child.
Quotations used:
- They are way too quick to observe and comment on everything they notice going around them.
- With experience, “the child begins to form the permanent representations of the objects”.
Hinde, Elizabeth R., and Nancy Perry. "Elementary Teachers Application of Jean Piagets Theories of Cognitive Development." The Elementary School Journal [0013-5984] 108.1 (2007): 63-79. Web.
This is another journal that has been used for the research conducted for this paper and has been taken from the college database.
This work explains mainly about the importance of understanding of the cognitive development in the children for the teachers. It describes in detail how different notions of Jean Piaget’s theory of development of cognition in children can help the elementary teachers get better at their work.
Quotations used:
- The ability of being considerate to others and empathetic play an important role in their social development.
Khemlani, Sangeet S, Louis N Y Lee, and Monica Bucciarelli. "Determinants of Cognitive Variability" Behavioral and Brain Sciences 33.2-3: 97-98. Web. 11 Nov. 2014
This is a peer-reviewed journal fetched from the college database. This work mainly deals with the development of the brain and its influence on the behavior.
The particular chapter, which has been used from the journal, explains the various factors that influence the development of cognition in the children at various stages.
Quotations:
- Culture is a major source of cognitive development and variability.
- The Socio-economic status, aka SES, is defined by a number of factors such as “the level of education the people have, the amount of money they earn, the place where they live and the type of job they hold”.
Mitchell, David. "Child Psychology" Psychology Bulletin [0033-2909] 14.10 (1917): 351. Web.
This work is from a bulletin page from the college database and its content has been mainly used for the introduction section of the paper. It tells us about the development of the field of child psychology and cognitive theory over the years. No direct quotation has been used from this work.
