Chapter 7 post 1

Throughout chapter seven along with all the other videos and articles that we have been finding and reviewing, one experiment really stuck out to me, which was the Bobo doll experiment. This experiment really showed how adults can be models for younger children. The Bobo doll experiment also explains about observational learning; which is also known as social learning. This is shown through the experiment as the younger children watched how the adults interacted with the doll for a short amount of time. After that the adults would leave and the children would interact with Bobo. Surprisingly, the children acted the same way to the Bobo doll as the adults they observed did, either compassionate or violent. This showed a very good example about how although we are genetically born with certain personalities or traits, outside forces can have a huge molding effect on little children.

 Going off experiments with toys, I also really liked learning about the snoopy experiment. This showed a different side of learning. It surprised me that it was only a year different and the children could comprehend where big snoopy was compared to the little snoopy. It really supports how young children are like sponges and can learn new things such as skills, traits and problem solving techniques so fast. Something I also, just as Piaget, underestimated. 

Chapter 7 Post 1

       This chapter is about tracing an infants emotions as their brains mature and their experiences accumulate over the first two years. This is done while noting temperamental and cultural differences. It goes on to describe each of the five theories introduced in chapter 2 which explains psychological development during infancy. Ethnotheories as well as toilet training are covered in this section.This later leads to the exploration of caregiver-infant interaction, particularly synchrony, attachment, and social referencing. Fathers are considered for care giving just as much as mothers would be. When considering infant day care which is a common experience for babies worldwide, its important to pay special attention to its impact on psycho social development.  Towards the end of the chapter, practical suggestions are offered.

Chapter 7: Attachment

The stages of attachment outlined in chapter 7 were quite interesting to me. Thinking back to my own attachment during each stage (aside from infancy of course, which I can't remember), it's interesting to see how early attachments have effected my current relationships as well as how they have changed with new experiences. Due to my lack of a relationship with my dad, when I was younger I was very distrusting of any man that came into my life, whether it be someone my mother was dating or someone I was dating myself. As I got older and matured more, so did my relationships. Now, there's no one I trust more or am more attached to than my soon to be husband.

Of course, I'm attached to my daughter as well as my unborn son, but it's a different feeling, one which no one can interfere with. Capree went through her phase of freaking out every time I left the room (and still does every now and then), but she is starting to get more comfortable with venturing on her own. She disappears into her room with her kitten to play for a while, comes out to make sure I'm still there, and goes right back into her room. If I leave her while she's playing, her reaction is very much the reaction of a securely attached toddler. She plays on her own while I'm there, gets a little upset when I leave, but still continues to play, and when I return she's happy and goes right back to playing.

The First Two Years: Psychosocial Development

While watching this week's video, I was struck when I heard, "Even Piaget confused physical ability with the ability to understand." This was mentioned in regard to his research involving babies and object permanence. After his study, he claimed that babies only began to understand the concept of object permanence at 12 months of age. Baillargeon later demonstrated that babies already begin to comprehend object permanence as young as 3.5 months through her research. 

I think too often we confuse physical ability with the ability to understand. I currently shadow occupational therapists at a pediatric rehabilitation center. Many of the children who go there have special needs. Over the past few weeks of my observation, I have picked up on some common terms that the OTs use when working with their patients. One of them is apraxia. There are different types of apraxia (most of the cases I have seen were related to speech), but all types involve difficulty with motor planning skills. The children are fully able to comprehend what you want them to do/know what they want to do, but are not able to execute certain purposeful movements. One OT is helping her patient try new foods (he is an EXTREMELY picky eater). She noticed that all of the foods he eats do not require him to chew...therefore he needed to work on chewing. She took him out into the garden where he could pick a cherry tomato, wash it off, and taste it. He took a bite, but soon after it rolled out of his mouth because he had difficulty chewing it. This little boy is very able and willing to learn, though, and hopefully after multiple sessions with the OT he will be able to eat more types of food.

Just because someone (adult, child, or baby) doesn't have the physical ability to accomplish a certain task, doesn't mean they don't have the ability to understand. The power of the human brain is not to be underestimated. We are constant in that we're inconstant. We learn, adapt, and strive to find our place in the world. 

Chapter 7: Post #1.

Chapter 7 goes though the first a second years of a young child's life and how they continue to develop as they grow older. The beginning of the chapter mainly focuses on the emotions of the toddler because by this time, they are becoming more aware of their surroundings a developing their emotions toward different things. It caused me to think about how much parents can effect the emotions of their child, and how teaching the toddler about certain emotions helps them grow. For example, in the text it discusses how a child might hide behind his mother when a dog comes near, but once the mother takes the child and pets the friendly dog, it helps teach the child whether or not to feel fear towards the dog, or have a welcoming emotion. Its shows that if the mother acted a different way toward the dog, such as step away or protect the child, the toddler can learn the difference between that sense of fear, and enthusiasm toward a friendly dog. It is interesting to see how much the child learns from its parents by means of observation. The toddler develops all of its emotions as it grows, but they really begin to learn and understand their emotions by observing how their parents might react to certain circumstances.

Chapter 7

"Toilet Training: How and When?" caught my attention while reading Chapter 7. While reading the text, I liked relating it back to my own childhood. The psychoanalytic theory stated that infants should potty trained during the first stage(oral stage) when the time of trust is crucial. Barry Brazelton was a pediatrician recommended that potty training should not begin until the infant/child is cognitively, emotionally, and biologically ready. This usually takes place around the age of 2.  This theory later got rejected. The next method proposed that children were potty trained whenever the child and parent wished. In today's day and age the second method is definitely what most parents use. This goes the same for my parents while potty training me. I called my mom to see what age and why that age. I started potty training around 1 1/2 years old simply because my mom thought I was up to the challenge to didn't want to wait to long. During the reading, they discussed that some people wait to potty train their child until they are older like 3 years of age. I wouldn't personally start then, but they do make a good point of that it is easier to train when a child is older. On the other hand I wouldn't start 33 days after birth like a mother did in the text.

Hiding Big Snoopy

Although it was a short clip, I really enjoyed the video that we were assigned to watch, particularly the part where the study was conducted with the two young girls and a small and large snoopy. I found it so interesting to see how the two year old child couldn't understand the concept of where little snoopy was hidden in the small model room, so too would big snoopy be hidden in the full size room, but with just a year more under a child's belt, they're able to pick up on that concept. Learning more about the maturation of the human brain, especially in these early years, have been fun. The video just made it so much more clear in regards to how quickly young children's brains are developing and how quickly new information is then learned. Children are ever growing, physically and mentally. I thought I knew this, but so much of this information is giving me a much better perspective on the process. I look forward to moving forward in the class and learning more about the brain throughout the rest of the human life. Hopefully there will be more videos such as this to give more of a visual validation in the way that this video did.