Theories of child development

Theories of child development Describe and evaluate two stage theories of child development Developmental psychologists use theories to formulate hypotheses. There are three main, very broad families of theories related to child development. These are Psychoanalytical Theory, Learning Theory and Cognitive-Developmental Theory. Theories within each of these families attempt to provide developmentalists with comprehensive explanations of just about every facet of human development. Psychoanalytic Theories (e.g. Freud and Erikson) propose that developmental change happens because of the influence of internal drives and emotions on behaviour. Learning Theories (e.g. Pavlov, Bandura etc.) propose that development results from an accumulation of experiences. Cognitive-Developmental Theories (e.g. Piaget and Vygotsky) emphasise the mental processes in development. Freuds Psychosexual Theory is an example of a Psychoanalytical Theory. Freud mainly worked with adults who were suffering from severe mental illnesses and he used his findings to base his work on development. He concluded that behaviour is governed by both conscious and unconscious thought processes and he believed that the libido is the motivating force behind most of our behaviour. One of the main parts of Freuds theory is his idea that a persons personality is divided into 3 parts called the id, the ego and the superego. The id is a persons basic sexual and aggressive impulses. The id contains the libido and motivates a person to seek pleasure and avoid pain. The ego is the conscious, thinking part of a persons personality. One of its main jobs is to keep the needs of the id satisfied. It is also responsible for keeping the three components of personality in balance. Finally, the superego is the part of our personality that acts as a moral judge. When the superego has developed, t he egos task becomes much more difficult. It must satisfy the id without violating the superegos rules. According to Freud, a person experiences tension when any of the three components is in conflict with another. He believed that sexual feelings are vital to personality development however he only believed this because many of his patients had memories of sexual feelings and behaviour in childhood. Freuds most controversial idea was regarding childrens experiences of sexual attraction towards the opposite-sex parent during the phallic stage. He termed these ‘The Oedipus Conflict for a male child and ‘The Electra Complex if the child was female. For example, The Oedipus Conflict states that a male child has sexual feelings for his mother but fears that his father will find out and castrate him. Freud proposed a series of psychosexual stages. He believed that a child passes through each one of these stages. These stages are oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital. He believed that during each stage the libido is fixed around a certain area of the body and a major developmental task takes place. For example, in the oral stage, which Freud believed occurred from birth and lasted until the child was one year old, libido is said to be focussed on the mouth, lips and tongue. Freud believed that during this stage the major developmental task that took place was weaning. In the anal stage, libido is focussed on the anus and toilet training takes place. This usually occurs at ages 1 to 3 years old. In the phallic stage, focus is on the genitals (as it is in the genital stage) and this is where the child tries to resolve the Oedipus/Electra complex. Freud thought that the latency period is not really a psychosexual stage as the libido is not focussed on the body during this period a nd therefore, fixation is impossible. Freud went on to state that if an adult is fixated at one of these stages, they will have certain recognisable characteristics. For example, if an adult is fixated at the oral stage they will develop characteristics such as smoking, overeating, passivity and gullibility. According to Freud, optimum development requires an environment that will satisfy the unique needs of each period. Freuds Psychosexual Theory has been praised because it provides a psychological explanation for mental illness and it emphasises the importance of experiences in infancy and early childhood. It also highlights the importance of the childs earliest relationships with their caregivers. It suggests that a childs needs change with age, so parents and caregivers must continually adapt to the changing child. Eriksons Psychosocial Theory supports Freuds Theory. Erikson (1963) was a neo-Freudian which means that his ideas were built on the strengths of Freuds Theory but he attempted to avoid the weaknesses. Erikson proposed that personality develops in eight psychosocial stages over the course of the lifespan. He believed that personality develops through eight life crises across the entire lifespan. A person finishes each crisis with either a good or poor resolution. The theory also provided psychologists with a number of helpful concepts (e.g. id, ego, superego, unconscious etc) and many o f these terms are not used in everyday language and not just in psychological theory. Freud is often credited with the invention of psychotherapy, which is still practiced today. However, there are many theorists that disagree with Freuds ideas. For example, Baldwin (1967) states that one of the main criticisms of Freuds work is that it focus upon our thoughts and feelings, which presents many methodological problems. Baldwin goes on to comment on the fact that many of the terms that Freud uses (e.g. id, ego etc.) have not been operationalised. Operational definitions of the key terms are vital to a scientific theory as we need precise definitions in order to test the theories properly. This therefore means that the theory is not falsifiable. Freuds theory has also been criticised because of the evidence it presents. As stated earlier, much of the support for Freuds theory came from his own patients, who he used as case studies. He mainly chose to study women as he saw them as being inferior and this meant that his theory displays some very patriarchal issues and can be viewed as being very negative to women, something which feminists have argued for years. Piagets Cognitive-Developmental Theory is used to emphasise the mental processes in development. Piaget (1974) believed that all children seem to go through the same sequence of discoveries about their world, making the same mistakes and arriving at the same solutions. A scheme is an internal cognitive structure that provides an individual with a procedure to use in a specific circumstance. This is a main idea in Piagets model. Piaget believed that each of us starts life with a small repertoire of sensory and motor schemes, such as looking, tasting, touching, hearing, and reaching. As we use each scheme it starts to work better. Piaget proposed 3 processes in order to explain how children get from built-in schemes, such as looking and touching, to the complex mental schemes used in childhood, adolescence and adulthood. Assimilation is the process by which we use a scheme to make sense of an event or situation. The complementary process is accommodation, which involves changing the sc heme as a result of some new information acquired through assimilation. Through accommodation we improve our skills and reorganise our ways of thinking. Equilibration is the process of balancing assimilation and accommodation to create schemes that fit the environment. Piagets research suggested to him that logical thinking evolves in four stages. During the sensorimotor stage, from birth to 18 months, infants use their sensory and motor schemes to act on the world around them. In the preoperational stage, from 18 months to 6 years, children acquire symbolic schemes, such as language and fantasy, which they use in thinking and communicating. Next, is the concrete operational stage, 6-12 year olds begin to think logically and become capable of solving problems. The final stage is the formal operational stage. Here, adolescents learn to think logically about abstract ideas and hypothetical situations. Piaget believed that each stage comes from the one before it, and each involves major restructuring of the childs way of thinking. Research has confirmed that the sequence of stages is fixed and that children progress through them at different rates. Conservation studies, such as those carried out by Ciancio et al (1999) and Sophian (1995), have generally confirmed Piagets observations. Although it does seem as though younger children can demonstrate some understanding of conservation if the task is made very simple, most children cannot consistently solve conservation and other kinds of logical problems until at least the age of 5. However, Boyd and Bee (2008) state that preschoolers are a great deal more cognitively sophisticated than Piaget thought. Boyd and Bee believe that children, as young as 2 and 3, do appear to understand that another person sees and experiences things differently than they do. This therefore suggests that Piaget may have been wrong about some of the ages at which children develop certain skills. However, Bringuier (1980) counter-criticises this by recognising that the age ranges of each of the stages were always meant to be approximate. Piaget may also be wrong about the generality of the stages. For e xample, Boyd and Bee (2008) suggest that most 8 year olds show concrete operational thinking on some tasks but not on others, and they are more likely to show complex thinking on familiar rather than unfamiliar tasks. This therefore suggests that the process of child development may be a lot less stage-like than Piaget first suggested. Piatelli-Palmarini (1980) and Turiel (1996) go on to further argue this point by suggesting that it is very difficult to provide evidence for Piagets theory if the behaviour he suggests is very rarely, if ever, consistent with actually happens. This theory helps to explain how children of different ages think about and act on the world. Piagets research findings have been replicated in nearly every culture since his work was first published in the 1920s. Therefore, not only did he formulate a new theory which forced psychologists to think about child development in a new way, he also provided a set of findings that were impossible to ignore and difficult to explain. He also developed innovative methods of studying childrens thinking that continue to be important today. Feldman (2004) states that the question of how a child moves from one stage to another has been discussed between many critics of Piagets theory. For example, Gruber and Voneche (1977) and Karmiloff-Smith (1992) believe that Piagets stages should not longer be considered by theorists because they are unnecessary. However, Piaget knew that the stages he proposed would have to be modified. Feldman (2004) attempted to present a contemporary version of Piagets stages that he hoped would work better to express Piagets vision of what the stages are intended to represent. Feldman went on to state that a child may not actually behave in ways consistent with the principles of the operating system or overall set of cognitive structures of his or her stage. Feldman (2004) suggests that Piagets idea of equilibration has caused much controversy between theorists with many making efforts to interpret, clarify, critique and revise the concept. Feldman goes on to say that Piaget himself was not satisfied with the way that equilibration explains in detail how the transitions between the stages take place. Piaget (1975) tried to discover an elaborated version of equilibration so as to better capture movement from stage to stage within his theory. The main problem with equilibration is that it lacks a lot of detail. Most critics seem to agree that it is correct, but it leaves many unanswered questions. When equilibration processes are contrasted with structures as a whole, lots of problems arise for the theory. According to Siegler and Munakato (1993) the equilibration model forces us to choose to accept unrealistic transitions that occur from stage to stage or to abandon the idea of structures as a whole. However, if this was to happen, some o f the theorys major claims would be abandoned. Feldman (1995) went on to adapt Piagets theory. In doing so, he adapted it in such a way that the equilibration process would continue to play a central role in cognitive structures, but it no longer has to carry the burden of stage transition alone. The Information Processing Theory supports Piagets Theory. This uses the computer as a model to explain intellectual processes such as memory and problem-solving. It suggests that there are both age differences and individual differences in the efficiency with which humans use their information-processing systems. This theory can be used to explain Piagets Theory. Case (1985) states that this is a neo-Piagetian theory which expands on Piagets Theory rather than contradicting it. However, Boyd and Bee (2008) state that Vygotskys Sociocultural Theory goes against what Piaget proposed. Vygotsky stated that complex forms of thinking have their origins in social interactions rather than in the childs private explorations, as Piaget thought.

Icarus and the Myth of Deconstruction :: Essays Papers

Icarus and the Myth of Deconstruction In all three texts, it is the act of analysis which seems to occupy the center of the discursive stage, and the act of analysis of the act of analysis which in some way disrupts that centrality. In the resulting asymmetrical, abyssal structure, no analysis -- including this one -- can intervene without transforming and repeating other elements in the sequence, which is not a stable sequence. Barbara Johnson "The Frame of Reference" The Critical Difference 1. Introduction Among its detractors, literary theory has a reputation for sinful ignorance of both literature and the outside world; literary critics either overemphasize the word at the expense of context (as in formalistic criticisms) or overemphasize context at the expense of the word (as in political and historical criticisms). However, deconstruction holds a particularly tenuous position among literary theories as a school that apparently commits both sins; while formalistically focusing on the words on the page, deconstruction subjects those words to unnatural abuse. Thus, deconstruction seems locked in the ivory tower, in the company of resentful New-Critical neighbors. Such charges have received insufficient response from deconstruction's top theorists who, though they define and redefine the basic tenets of their approach, fail to justify such an approach in the world. They have explained their purpose, but not their motivation. With this desperate need in mind, then, embarking on any new piece of deconstruction poses a twofold demand: to not only seek to unfold new facets of a text (or texts) through a deconstructive lens, but to aim that lens outside of literature and show its implications in society, away from any ivory tower. Ovid, Pieter Brueghel and W. H. Auden have (inadvertently) created a lineage convenient to these demands. In Ovid's myth "Concerning the Fall of Icarus" from Metamorphoses[i], he created a character that has become an icon, several millennia later. Pieter Brueghel adopted the icon in the sixteenth century for his painting Landscape with the Fall of Icarus, which then received famous treatment in the twentieth century by W. H. Auden in his poem "Musà ©e Des Beaux Arts." These three works provide a beautiful, laboratory-quality arena in which to apply various deconstructive ideas: Jacques Derrida's theories of translation and the "dangerous supplement" and Roland Barthes' conception of the myth as language. However, such an inheritance necessarily extends to include the critical work that draws it together.

How Did Life Change for the Blacks After the Civil War? Essay

Life for Southern blacks did improve somewhat as a result of the Civil War and Reconstruction, but it was not perfect. There were still many inequalities between the two races, white and black. This essay will discuss life of blacks prior to the Civil War (1861-1865), how the blacks were involved in the war and Reconstruction (1865-1877), and how the war and Reconstruction changed the blacks’ way of life. Before the Civil War, most slaves lived on small cotton plantations. Here, the owner worked alongside them. The bigger the plantation, the more the slaves, and thus the weaker human relationship would be between master and slaves. They received, in general, harsh treatment because they were considered property. There were many social inequalities. Black Codes were passed to limit blacks’ freedom even more than it was already. They were not allowed to marry legally or learn to be literate. Slaves could be â€Å"sold down the river†, and had no privacy from their masters. They were not allowed to go outdoors after dark, get together in groups of three or more, exit their owner’s property without a written pass, or own weapons. This changed somewhat after the Civil War. The blacks played a major role in the victory of the North in the Civil War. There were many black soldiers in the war who worked behind the scenes for armies of the North. During Reconstruction, blacks exercised political power for the first time in the South. They were included as authors of new state constitutions, along with military governments, scalawags, and carpetbaggers. On January 1st 1863, the Emancipation came into effect. It was a proclamation issued by President Abraham Lincoln that declared freedom for all slaves in states still in rebellion against the federal government. This meant that more slaves could live a free life again, but only until the Black Codes were passed. Without the blacks’ contributions to the Civil War and Reconstruction, things could have turned out a lot different. As for life after the Civil War and Reconstruction, there were many social changes. These were mostly in support of the blacks, until the start of the 20th century. Thanks to the protection of the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments to the Constitution and the Civil Rights Act of 1866, blacks relished a period of time during which they could vote, have a say in politics, acquire land, find a job, and make use of public accommodations. They were able to legally marry, worship how they wanted, and could form private clubs, along with other rights. This was until the 1890s, which is when the southern states began coming up with ways to exclude blacks once again. In response to this, many blacks moved into the Northern states, and some even went back to Africa. One of the parts of their lives that didn’t change much was that the majority of southern blacks remained in poverty because sharecropping didn’t earn them enough money to improve their conditions. Despite this progress socially, there were many more rights the blacks didn’t have, but the whites did. These hard times for African Americans continued into the 20th century, which is when the Civil Rights Movement and other efforts came into play in an attempt to equalize rights between races. As I said before, life for blacks after the Civil War and Reconstruction was somewhat better than life before. Their life still wasn’t impeccable, and it was a long road to equality.

Diabetes Essay - 2269 Words

Diabetes Diabetes is a disorder of metabolism-the way in which your body converts the food you eat into energy. Most of the food you eat is broken down by digestive juices into chemicals, including a simple sugar called glucose. Glucose is your bodys main source of energy. After digestion, glucose passes into your bloodstream, where it is available for cells to take in and use or store for later use. In order for your cells to take in glucose, a hormone called insulin must be present in your blood. Insulin acts as a quot;keyquot; that unlocks quot;doorsquot; on cell surfaces to allow glucose to enter the cells. Insulin is produced by special cells (called islet cells) in an organ called the pancreas, which is about 6†¦show more content†¦Impaired glucose tolerance occurs when your pancreas becomes exhausted and can no longer produce enough insulin to get glucose out of your bloodstream into cells. Glucose begins to build up in your blood. If it is not diagnosed and not treated, this gradual rise in glucose often leads to type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease-in any order and in any combination. While all these harmful activities are going on inside your body, you feel perfectly fine. Type 2 diabetes is considered a silent disease because it works its destruction over many years without causing any noticeable symptoms. Thats why half of the people who have type 2 diabetes dont know it. You or someone you love could have diabetes. The good news is that you may be able to avoid type 2 diabetes altogether. This article will help you understand the disease, learn about your chances of developing it, and tell you what you can do to try to prevent it. Many people are able to avoid diabetes by making changes in their lifestyle such as eating less and exercising more. Diabetes Statistics http://www.diabetesroadmap.com/ Over 15.7 million people (5.9% of the population) have diabetes and almost half of them do not know it. And, each day more than 2,200 people are diagnosed with diabetes. Diabetes is responsible for more than 180,000 deaths each year in the USA. Diabetes is one of the most costly health care problems in America. HealthShow MoreRelatedDiabetes : Diabetes And Diabetes3153 Words   |  13 PagesPeople all around the world might know someone with diabetes, but might have never realized how did they get diabetes, what will happen with them, what do they go through, what makes them change their lives, or what is there everyday basis when someone has diabetes? It may not be your problem, but to show respect and care for the one who may have diabetes can help them and benefit yourself to know more about it and have a better understanding of it. It can impact a person s personal life to knowRead MoreDiabetes : The Growth Of Knowledge On Diabetes1018 Words   |  5 PagesDiabetes The research focused on explaining the meaning of diabetes and how literary some concepts can be used to control the situation. Diabetes is a defect in the body that results from the inability to convert glucose to energy. In the medical terms, glucose is the primary source of energy that enables the body to execute its functions effectively. The types of foods that affect the blood sugars are called carbohydrates. We can find carbohydrates in foods such as potatoes, corn, fruit, rice andRead MoreDiabetes And Its Effects On Diabetes1408 Words   |  6 Pagesgo hand in hand with diabetes. Everyone who has diabetes goes through different events or problems each and every day. However, there is more than just one type of diabetes that corresponds with these things; there are two distinct types. It is unsure how Diabetes was discovered but now there are much simpler ways to detect if someone is diabetic. As time has gone on, it is greatly apparent that the technology and all that scien tists know about diabetes has changed. Diabetes is a disease in whichRead MoreDiabetes : Diabetes And Diabetes1433 Words   |  6 Pages Diabetes mellitus (sometimes called sugar diabetes) is a condition that occurs when the body can t use glucose (a type of sugar) normally. Glucose is the main source of energy for the body s cells. The levels of glucose in the blood are controlled by a hormone called insulin, which is made by the pancreas. Insulin helps glucose enter the cells. In diabetes, the pancreas does not make enough insulin (type 1 diabetes) or the body can t respond normally to the insulin that is made (type 2 diabetes)Read MoreDiabetes : Diabetes And Diabetes Essay1172 Words   |  5 Pages Diabetes refers to clinically and heterogenous group of disorders described by abnormal high levels blood glucose. Diabetes is ranked as 6th leading cause of death. It direct annual medical costs is approximately over $ 92 billion, and another $ 40 billion indirect cost. It affects approximately 18.2 million people in the USA (Arcangelo Peterson, 2013). Explain the differences between types of diabetes including type 1, type 2, gestational, and juvenile diabetes. There are three major classificationRead MoreDiabetes : Diabetes And Diabetes1193 Words   |  5 Pagesthe family has diabetes. Her husband, your grandfather, is at risk for diabetes. Your father has diabetes. Your mother is at risk for diabetes. Your half-sister on your father’s side of the family was recently tested for diabetes. What kind of future regarding diabetes does that leave you with? This may not be you, but this is me. This is my diabetic and at risk family. What is the difference between the types of diabetes? What are the possible problems I can have because of diabetes? How can I treatRead MoreDiabetes : Diabetes And Diabetes1371 Words   |  6 PagesDiabetes For my health project topic I chose Diabetes. One of my aunts has type one diabetes, and that is partially why I chose to do this topic. Diabetes is a group of metabolic diseases in which the person has high blood glucose (blood sugar) because of varying reasons. Some of these reasons include insulin production is inadequate or because the body’s cells don’t respond properly to insulin, or both. Insulin is a hormone produced in the pancreas that regulates the amount of glucose in theRead MoreDiabetes : Diabetes And Diabetes851 Words   |  4 Pages Diabetes comes in multiple forms: type 1, or diabetes insipidus; type 2, or diabetes mellitus; or gestational, which occurs during pregnancy and may be either type 1 or type 2. Diabetes is a metabolic disease where the person has high blood glucose. (Blood glucose is also know was blood sugar.) When the person has high blood sugar it’s either because the insulin result is insufficient, or the body’s cells don’t respond to the insulin like it should, or both can happen. There are different typesRead MoreDiabetes : Diabetes And Diabetes919 Words   |  4 PagesResistance: Diabetes Diabetes mellitus is most commonly known as diabetes. Diabetes is formally a Greek word that translates to, â€Å"the making of lots of urine with sugar in it or making sweet urine† Brawley. This disease is due to a metabolic dysfunction. 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