Development – How did you develop?

Topic 1: Development – How did you develop?

Welcome to your first topic in Psychology! In this chapter, we are going to explore one of the most exciting questions: How do we grow from a tiny baby into a complex, thinking adult? We will look at how our brains grow, how our thinking changes, and how our beliefs about learning can actually change our intelligence.

Don't worry if some of the names or theories seem a bit long at first—we will break them down step-by-step. Let’s get started!

1. Early Brain Development

Before you were even born, your brain was hard at work growing and connecting. It doesn't all just appear at once; it develops in a specific order, like building a house from the ground up.

The Three Main Sections

When a baby is still in the womb (around 3 to 4 weeks old), the brain starts as a tube which then divides into three main parts:

1. Forebrain: The "top" part. This eventually becomes the part of your brain responsible for high-level thinking and emotions.
2. Midbrain: The "middle" part. This acts like a relay station, passing information between the top and bottom of the brain.
3. Hindbrain: The "bottom" part. This is the first to develop and handles the basics of keeping you alive.

Important Brain Structures

As the brain grows, specific parts become very important:

• Cerebellum: Located at the back of the brain. It is responsible for coordination and movement. Think of a "Cere-bell-um" helping a ballerina balance!
• Medulla: This is in the hindbrain. It controls involuntary (automatic) actions that you don't even have to think about, like your heartbeat and breathing.

Quick Review: The brain grows from the bottom up. The hindbrain handles survival, and the forebrain handles complex thought.

Key Takeaway: Brain development is a structured process that begins very early in pregnancy, moving from basic survival functions to complex thinking functions.

2. Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development

Jean Piaget was a famous psychologist who realized that children don't just know "less" than adults; they actually think differently. He believed we develop in four distinct stages.

How we learn: Schemas

Piaget said we use Schemas to understand the world.
Analogy: Imagine your brain is a filing cabinet. Each "schema" is a folder for a specific thing (e.g., a "dog" folder).

When we learn new things, we do one of two things:

• Assimilation: Fitting new information into an existing folder. Example: Seeing a Poodle and putting it in your "dog" folder.
• Accommodation: Changing an old folder or creating a new one because the new info doesn't fit. Example: Seeing a cow for the first time and realizing it’s NOT a dog, so you make a new "cow" folder.
• Equilibrium: This is the "happy state" where our folders match what we see in the real world.

Piaget’s Four Stages

1. Sensorimotor Stage (Birth to 2 years): Babies learn through their senses (touching, tasting). The big milestone here is Object Permanence—knowing an object still exists even if you can't see it (like when playing peek-a-boo).

2. Pre-operational Stage (2 to 7 years): Children start using symbols and words. However, they are Egocentric, meaning they find it hard to see things from someone else's point of view.

3. Concrete Operational Stage (7 to 11 years): Children can think logically about physical (concrete) things. They master Conservation—knowing that even if the shape of something changes (like pouring water into a taller glass), the amount stays the same.

4. Formal Operational Stage (11+ years): This is the final stage. We can now think about abstract ideas and "what if" situations. We can solve problems in our heads without needing physical objects.

Did you know? Piaget's theory was revolutionary because it suggested that children shouldn't just be sat at desks, but should "learn by doing" and exploring!

Key Takeaway: Piaget believed children move through four fixed stages of thinking, using schemas to organize their knowledge.

3. Dweck’s Mindset Theory

Carol Dweck wanted to know why some students give up when things get hard, while others keep trying. She found it's all about your Mindset.

Fixed vs. Growth

• Fixed Mindset: The belief that intelligence is something you are born with and cannot change. These students might say, "I'm just not a math person." They often give up to avoid looking "stupid."
• Growth Mindset: The belief that intelligence can be developed through hard work and effort. These students see failure as a chance to learn.

Ability vs. Effort

Dweck found that praising effort ("You worked so hard on that!") is much better than praising ability ("You're so smart!"). If you praise a child for being smart, they might become afraid of difficult tasks because they don't want to lose that "smart" label.

Key Takeaway: Having a growth mindset helps you succeed because you value effort and aren't afraid to fail.

4. Willingham’s Learning Theory

Daniel Willingham is a cognitive psychologist who disagrees with some popular ideas about "learning styles." He believes we should use strategies backed by science.

Factual Knowledge Precedes Skill

Willingham argues you can't be "creative" or use "critical thinking" in a subject if you don't know the facts first.
Analogy: You can't be a great chef if you don't first know what ingredients go together. Facts are the building blocks.

The Importance of Practice

To learn something well, it must move from your working memory to your long-term memory. This requires practice and repetition until the skill becomes automatic.

Strategies for Development

• Cognitive: Use "cues" to help remember things and don't rely on "learning styles" (like being a "visual learner"), as there is no evidence they work.
• Physical: Practice movements until they are "muscle memory."
• Social: Encourage children to take the perspective of others to develop social skills.

Key Takeaway: Willingham emphasizes that knowledge, practice, and effort are the keys to effective learning.

5. Core Studies you need to know

In the exam, you need to be able to describe and evaluate these two studies.

Study 1: Piaget and Inhelder (1956) Three Mountains Task

• Aim: To see at what age children stop being egocentric.
• Procedure: Children were shown a 3D model of three mountains. A doll was placed at a different position. The child was asked to pick a picture that showed what the doll could see.
• Findings: Children in the pre-operational stage (4–6 years) picked the picture that showed what they saw. Only older children (7–8 years) could pick the doll's perspective.
• Conclusion: This supports Piaget’s idea that younger children are egocentric.

Study 2: Gunderson et al. (2013) Parent Praise

• Aim: To see if the type of praise parents give to toddlers predicts their mindset five years later.
• Procedure: Researchers watched parents interacting with their children (aged 1–3) at home and coded the type of praise used. Five years later, they tested the children's mindsets.
• Findings: Children who received Process Praise (praising effort, e.g., "Good job working hard") were more likely to have a growth mindset. Children who got "Person Praise" (praising the child, e.g., "Good girl") didn't show this.
• Conclusion: The way parents praise their children has a huge impact on how those children view their own ability later in life.

6. Morality: Right and Wrong

Morality is about the principles we use to decide what is "right" and "wrong." Psychologists believe our sense of morality develops as our thinking (cognition) develops.

Kohlberg’s Stages of Morality

Lawrence Kohlberg suggested three levels of moral development:

1. Pre-conventional: Decisions are based on self-interest. "I won't steal because I don't want to go to jail." (Common in young children).
2. Conventional: Decisions are based on following rules and what society thinks of you. "I won't steal because it's against the law." (Common in teens and adults).
3. Post-conventional: Decisions are based on universal ethical principles and human rights. "I might break a rule to save a life because life is more important than property." (Only some adults reach this).

Common Mistake to Avoid: Don't confuse Morality (the system of values) with Morals (the specific actions or beliefs). Morality is the "big picture" framework.

Key Takeaway: Our moral reasoning becomes more complex and less selfish as we get older and our brains develop.

Final Encouragement: You've finished the first chapter! You've learned about the brain, how we think, how we learn, and how we decide what's right. Keep practicing these terms and you'll be an expert in no time!