Friday, March 31, 2006

Developmental Psychology and V

V for Vendetta is AWESOME. I've decided that I liked it so much it got upgraded to AWESOME (because I refuse to spell it with a u). On the flipside, the trailer for The Da Vinci Code managed to make the movie look so monumentally dull I'm pretty much decided that it is worth missing. Not to mention that Tom Hanks is possibly the WORST choice of lead for such a film.

Right now I'm trying to recall details about Piaget, Vygotsky, Core Knowledge theory, and the like. So bear with me here...

Piaget argued that there are four stages of development - Sensimotor (Birth - 2 years old), Preoperational (2-7 years), Concrete Operational (7-11 years) and Formal Operational (11+).

His argument was that children went through these stages in order of development.

Vygotsky argues for a more sociocultural development - where children are more aware and can develop based on scaffolding (where parents help them overcome challenges that exceed their personal ability to learn.) This deals with the Zone of Proximal Development.

Core Knowledge theory states that children are born with basic core knowledges - sort of naive theories where they test what they fundamentally know and alter it when it fails - thus building more sophisticated knowledges in their place.

Information Processing theory likens the human mind to a computer. The base theory involves our working memory (short term) and long term memory. This is all processed by the Central Exectutive - the conscious part of the mind. Then there is Connectionist theory - where our mind creates connections between information to resolve problems. When something is proven wrong, the connections weaken, if they are reinforced - the connections strengthen.

*whew*

In cognition, children often develop two views of self - the I-self and the Me-Self. The I-self involves how the child is inside - it is a sort of self-awareness of the child as a continuous being with self-agency.

The Me-Self is about the child's characteristics - what they have, who they know, what beliefs and attitudes the child carries.

That all sounds impressive - but I'm still nervous that it hasn't really sunk in. :/

Then I have to get on to Statistics and Research Methods - which I have woefully been slack in.

Oh, so much to do!

Love and Huggles

Conan

Currently Reading: Child Development
Currently Playing: Fireborn - Rememberance; Unknown Armies - To Go; Mage: The Awakening - Threshold
Mood:Nervous about test


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