Understanding Child Psychology - Essay Example

Understanding child psychology affiliation Understanding child psychology Interview with children shows different characters and sides of children. Children give responses to question depending on what they recall. These memories are created depending on the psychology of a child. In growth children undergo different stages which dictate the strength in their psychology. In this case, age is usually a great determinant. For instance, a 13 year old child can provide response to more complex questions than a child who is 7 years old. The five year age difference is a lot when it comes to learning how to interpret responses from children. According to Thierry, et.al (2005) this factor should also be considered while generating questionnaires for children. This is done to avoid attaining of null results from interviewing children. Children also shape their thinking and psychological responses depending on their surroundings. In an argument by Thierry, et.al (2005) children exposed in environment where cheating and deceit is allowed they stand at a high probability of providing responses that have deceit. Unlike adults, children do not have the psychological strength to come up with personal made decisions. They require a path that directs their way to response. In an analysis provided by Thierry, et.al (2005) children raised in Christian families are the most truthful children. The author places the percentage results at 89 percent. This is because the environment they are in ensures that their psychology response is based on telling the truth. From these factors one may obviously argue that children may be the best witnesses and the worst witnesses depending on the complexity of the event and their psychological boundaries. Observation of a child’s character may yield different results. This same scenario is similar to the interview on their behavior. When analyzing behavior, children observations and interviews are not the best options that could be used to determine their traits. Unlike adults children react to what they know as right regardless of the truth about it. This is greatly determined by the environment they are in. However, observation of a child behavior yields more accurate data than interviews. Thierry, et.al (2005) argues that children are more accurate in acting what they feel than in saying what they feel. The author further argues that children do not have the psychological power to role play in real situations. However, during interviews a child’s perception could be changed by many factors that may hinder getting the required information. The information acquired from children during interviews and through observations is different in terms of clarity and quality (Thierry, et.al. 2005). In support of these claims, Thierry, et.al (2005) highlights a case where a child witnessed a murder, in which his father was the culprit and his mother the victim. Child X was the only witness in this case and he was the only one who could tell the actual events that happened on that night. He was 5 years old and this was a considerable factor when coming up with ways responses would be obtained from him. Police interviewed the child on the night of the murder and X did not admit to the fact that his father had committed a crime. Although the police did not believe him, he was the only hope that they could find real answers on the night’s events. At his school his behavior drastically changed. He became violent and never listened to any make figure around him. He was also afraid of the male tutors in the institution. On one occasion during a drawing lesson, he deliberately excluded the father figure in the family portrait. This was a clear indication of his dissatisfaction with his father, but he could not have the courage of putting the situation in words. According to Thierry, et.al (2005), the fact that his father remained his only guardian made the situation even more confusing for the child. Regardless of all the factors, the child knew he could not trust his father and his behavior could tell this differently. When asking children questions, the most interesting question usually revolves around their families and happy memories with their families. According to Thierry, et.al (2005), in children family is everything in their lives. Children require the family setting to have a perfect childhood. This is notable for even the institutions where children learn how to draw a family portrait without much help from a tutor. When inquiring about family, children tend to give straight forward and truthful answers. In an argument by Thierry, et.al (2005) children are usually happy when answering questions about their family. The author further argues that regardless of the situation children will always say the truth about their family. All children have their own specific perception of each member of the family. In most cases these perceptions are true depiction of the real character traits of each of the family members (Thierry, et.al, 2005). This is an interesting fact that psychologists work with in determining the impact of the family in the growth of a child. The consent of children in research should be determined by the complexity of the research problem. In most cases children have their way of proving information other than the methods used in most research proposals. For instance, most research cases require informative ways of acquiring data like interviews, filling in questionnaires and recording of events. With children these modes of acquiring information may not yield any results (Thierry, et.al, 2005). This factor makes it difficult for children to be given the consent to participate in research. However, if the research case is based on data collection involving observation, children are in the best position to provide the required information. For instance, one may carry out a research on the reaction people in new environments have, other than what they are used to. In this case, a child is in better position to give accurate results than an adult. The principle of informed consent can be easily fulfilled with children by not influencing the psychology of the child. With a weak psychology, children can be easily influenced to provide false information during a research process (Thierry, et.al, 2005). Reference Thierry, K. et.al. (2005). Source recall enhances children’s discrimination of seen and heard events. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 11, 33 44. Retrieved from http://children.camden.rutgers.edu/profile/thierry.htm. Accessed on 24th February, 2013. Read More