Child Psychology - Assignment Example

Child psychology al affiliation Section Human attachment According to the research conducted by Mary Ainsworth described as the strange situation, attachment is necessary for normal development not just for human beings but also it applies to other primates and by extension all animals. Naturally, there exist that emotional and loving bonding between the mother and the baby, this is so strong such that the baby only learns to trust the mother and enjoy only her company. The association is strengthened by the ability of the infant to derive food, security, comfort, warmth, and satisfaction from the mother making the whole relationship unique. Attachment is a series of experiences gained through various phases that the infant encounter (Ainsworth, 1997). In secure attachment (Priel & Besser, 2000); the baby displays certain behaviours when certain variables are used. In presence of the mother the child feels safe to actively play and explore the environment, maternal proximity brings secure base that enhances the child’s confidence. However, it is different when the mother leaves; the child displays active protest by crying and trying to regain maternal proximity. The baby has trust in her mother and expects her to return soon. Once the mother is back, the child feels safe, pleased, and instantly comforted, in the same way the secure base is reestablished. Another phase of attachment is avoidant attachment considered passive attachment behaviour. The child exhibits minimal or no interest in playful associations, spend most time playing with objects than people and there is a noticeable emotional distance from his or her mother. It is also rare for the child to cry once the mother leaves. Strange enough the child is hardly responsive when the mother returns. There is no discernible difference in the way the child feels in the presence of a stranger and their mother. It is not surprising when the child feels comfortable with a stranger. In Ambient attachment behavior, the child is restless and uncomfortable in strange setting event in the presence of his mother. The child is afraid of separation yet when comfort and closeness is attained, he or she rejects it. The child is often distressed and bitterly protests when the mother leaves, he or she may not regain comfort and security when the mother returns instead refrains from playing activities. The child is never comfortable with strangers. Disorganized attachment, this is the most turbulent attachment behavior noted. Here the baby lacks coherence in dealing with separation or reunion with the mother, the baby looks confuses and very depressed. Attachment is measured using four main elements that include; proximity and contact seeking, level of resistance to contact and comforting, avoidance of proximity and contact as well as contact maintaining. A Score of behavior is assigned an intensity scale of 1-7 then the behaviors recorded in a minimum of fifteen seconds. Attachment has various physiological regulating abilities to the infant, warmth, affection and nourishment is fulfilled through proper attachment. A baby tends to be closer to his or her mother to meet physiological needs. For instance, the young monkey in the video turns to the cold mesh dolly to feed and later returns to the initial one for warmth. Attachment has both cognitive and motor development benefits to the brain of a baby. Conscience development, impulse control, self-concept, and emotional stability are all brain development elements that are directly derived from attachment. These also important factors shape personality and social relations of the baby in his or her future life. Unsuccessful attachment negatively affects the baby by instilling the feeling of insecurity, mistrust, chronic anxiety, withdrawal from social interactions, lack of self-awareness and over-competency as well as developmental problems.it is therefore important that maternal-child bonding is appropriate and healthy. Section 2 Overweight and the importance of exercise of in early childhood Task 1 Overweight ensures when one has more body fat than they actually needs. It is perpetuated by plentiful supply of food coupled with a sedentary lifestyle. The condition has reached epidemic proportions with over 2 billion people in the world suffering from it. Minimum amounts of fats are required in the body to maintain the normal functioning of the body. Fat is necessary for normal reproductive, hormonal and systems as well as thermal insulation. Too much weight, impair flexibility, movement and body appearance. The human BMI index is used to determine whether one is obese or not. Overweight people have a BMI of more than 25 and less than 30. An ideal weight ranges from BMI 18.5 to 25. Being overweight has negative health implications just like obesity, although to a lesser extent. For instance, there have been increasing instances of type two diabetes associated with overweight among children in the United States. Coronary heart disease, is one of the major conditions affecting people with overweight right from childhood, it is likely to cause heart attack and the continuous throbbing chest pains. Overweight also increases the chances of one developing cancer, high blood pressure, stroke, osteoarthritis among others. Exercise among children is beneficial in maintaining their self-esteem and continued healthy growth. Furthermore, exercise has long time health benefits to the children; to begin with, they develop a stronger immunity able to fight a myriad of diseases. Secondly, exercise reduces the ability to develop type two diabetes by increasing metabolism of carbohydrates and insulin sensitivity. Concisely exercise, increase energy expenditure in the child’s body, hence reducing the amount of calories and fat in the system. Task two Piaget’s theory comprehensively covers the development and nature of the human intelligence. The theory, points out that one’s intelligence is greatly predetermined by his/her childhood. The theory emphasizes on how people acquire, use, and construct knowledge. The stages of child development are separated as the children begin to learn new things in life. Pre-operational stage begins when the child starts to speak and lasts up to seven years. The preoperative operational stage is further divided into two sub stages: symbolic function stage where the children gain the ability to understand, remember, represent and visualize objects without necessarily seeing them (Santrock, 2009). Intuitive, which is the second sub stage, begins when children start to pose questions. Children at this stage want to know everything. In symbolic function stage, chidden can think in symbols and images. They also exhibit the ability to communicate and pretend to play. They form symbolic plays and assign themselves roles in plays with friends. Some of the symbolic plays include playing house. Important to not in the theory is that, the kind of games the child engages in have a great effect on their later development. For instance, if the children engage in violent plays, they are likely to be aggressive in the future (Santrock, 2009). Egocentrism is characterized by the child’s inability to distinguish between another person’s perspectives from its own. Children at this point of life have no idea that different viewpoints do exist. For instance, once a child likes something, he or she believes that the person they are with should also like the same. In case one showed dislike of the same, the child is likely to suffer a great deal. On the other hand, animism is characterized by the believe children have that inanimate objectives are responsible for some action and that they display lifelike qualities. For example, children may believe that the strong wind outside is being blown by somebody or that the clouds are being painted. Intuitive thought sub stage ensures once the child is between ages 4 to 7. At this stage, they get very curios hence they want to know why things are the way they are and they exhibit reasoning. Centration and conservation are some of the characteristics of this stage. Centration occurs when the child tends to focus on one dimension and disregards all the other aspects. For instance if water is transferred from a one beaker that looks smaller, to another beaker with the same capacity but looking bigger, the children will have to say that the big looking beaker holds more liquid. While in conservation, children do not agree with the fact once something’s shape is changed, the basic properties remain the same (Huitt & Hummel, 2003). For instance, if water was evaporated, children will not comprehend that the moisture is still water but in a different form. Task 3 Scaffolding can be utilized though a planned understanding, keeping independents goals of the children as primary goals. Secondly, a teacher can ask students to complete task and then do an evaluation on how they achieve the goals. At the same time, the teacher can simplify the tasks to allow gradual study of new skills. Zone of proximal development, is used to measure what a child can learn without help and those that he or she can learn with help. The initials lower limit of problem solving is characterized by the learning that a child makes without necessarily having an instructor by the side. While upper learning limit achieved is by the help of well-trained teachers. They must be having adequate knowledge on the care of children. This is essential for adequate handling and training of children during the learning process since they present with a myriad of differences. Task 4 Young children can be used as eyewitness, at some point depending on their age. More so children who are about 11 to 12 years are among the best eyewitnesses. They are able to testify because they have well developed memory. They can be able to recall, important events and faces too. Thus, they can be able to identify the culprits. At the same time, they are not easily corrupted by other things about the place at the time of the scene, thus their evidence is likely to be more accurate and with distortions. However, they may not be having explicit chronology of events as the adults would. This is because as much they may be having the ability to memories, they can only be able to memories every beat of the occurrence. Thus, this poses as a drawback sometimes, however they can actually be used as eyewitnesses. References Ainsworth, M. S. (1997). The personal origins of attachment theory. An interview with Mary Salter Ainsworth. Interview by Peter L. Rudnytsky. The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child. Huitt, W., & Hummel, J. (2003). Piagets theory of cognitive development.Educational psychology interactive, 3(2). Priel, B., & Besser, A. (2000). Adult attachment styles, early relationships, antenatal attachment, and perceptions of infant temperament: A study of first-time mothers. Personal Relationships, 7, 291–310. doi:10.1111/j.1475-6811.2000.tb00018.x Santrock, J. W. (2009). Life-span development. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill. Read More