Category: Jean Piaget

Introduction

Cognitive development is that the construction of thought processes, together with memory, drawback determination, and decision-making, from childhood through adolescence to adulthood. Among the specifics of Cognitive Development are, information processing, intelligence, reasoning, language development and memory.

Learning Objectives are;

1. Be able to establish and describe the most areas of psychological feature development.
2. Be able to describe major theories of psychological feature development and what distinguishes them.
3. Understand however nature and nurture work along to provide psychological feature development.
4. Understand why psychological feature development is usually viewed as discontinuous and sometimes as continuous.
5. Know some ways that within which analysis on psychological feature development is being employed to enhance education.

By the time you reach adulthood you have got learned a number of things concerning however the globe works. You know, as an example, that you simply can’t practice walls or leap into the tiptop of trees. you recognize that though you can’t see your automotive keys they’ve ought to be around here somewhere. What’s additional, you recognize that if you wish to speak advanced ideas like ordering a triple-shot soy vanilla café’ latte with chocolate sprinkles it’s higher to use words with meanings connected to them instead of merely gesturing and inarticulate . individuals accumulate all this handy information through the method of psychological feature development, that involves a large number of things, each inherent and learned.

Literature Review

As the name suggests, psychological feature development is regarding amendment. Children’s thinking changes in dramatic and shocking ways that. think about DeVries’s (1969) study of whether or not young youngsters perceive the distinction between look and reality. to search out, she brought an extraordinarily placid cat named Maynard to a science facility and let the 3 to 6-year-old child participants within the study to touch and mingle with him. Then scientists placed a mask of a fierce dog on Maynard’s head, and asked the kids what Maynard was. Despite all of the kids having known Maynard antecedently as a cat, currently most 3-year-olds same that he was a dog and claimed that he had a dog’s bones and a dog’s abdomen. In distinction, the 6-year-olds weren’t fooled; that they had little doubt that Maynard remained a cat. Understanding however children’s thinking changes thus dramatically in only a couple of years is one in all the fascinating challenges in learning psychological feature development.

There are many main varieties of theories of kid development. Stage theories, like Piaget’s stage theory, specialize in whether or not youngsters progress through qualitatively completely different stages of development. social group theories, like that of Bulgarian monetary unit Vygotsky, emphasize however people and therefore the attitudes, values, and beliefs of the encircling culture, influence children’s development. informatics theories, like that of David Klahr, examine the mental processes that turn out thinking at anyone time and therefore the transition processes that result in growth in this thinking (Siegler, R. 2020).

Body

Nature vs. Nurture

The most fundamental question regarding child development is how nature and nurture together form development. Nature refers to our organic endowment, the genes we acquire from our parents. Nurture refers back to the environments, social in addition to physical, that have an effect on our development, everything from the womb wherein we develop earlier than beginning to the houses wherein we grow-up, the schools we attend, and the many people with whom we interact.

• Nature and nurture move to supply psychological feature development.
• Nature: maturation of brain and body; ability to understand, learn, act; motivation
• Nurture: – Adaptation: kids reply to the strain of the setting in ways in which meet their own goals. – Organization: kids integrate explicit observations into a body of coherent data

Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget

Sensorimotor stage – birth to 2 years, Preoperational Reasoning Stage – 2 to 7 years of age, Concrete Operational Reasoning Stage – 6 to 12 years of age, Formal Operational Stage – 11 years old through out the remainder of one’s life. The last stage has to do with the mastery of thought (Evans, 1973).

Jean Piaget’s Theory

• The first “cognitive” concept, developed by means of Jean Piaget starting in 1920.
• Piaget determined and delineated kids at completely distinctive ages.
• His idea is exceedingly broad, from birth through adolescence, and includes thoughts of language, clinical reasoning, ethical development, and memory.

Piaget’s Assumption About Children

• Children construct their very own know-how in reaction to their experiences.
• Children examine many stuff on their personal with out the intervention of older youngsters or adults.
• Children are intrinsically encouraged to examine and do not need rewards from adults to inspire learning.

Jean Piaget believed in both nature and nurture. He also believed that we would not be here if it were only one or the other because nature and nurture are both of what makes us who we are not one or the other.

Benefits of Studying Cognitive Learning

The benefits of cognitive learning is that it is a form of learning that may be quite active, constructive, and lasting. It engages students within the finding out processes, teaching them to use their brains additional with efficiency to form connections once finding out new things.

This variety of finding out may be an effective chance to the standard classroom approach. rather than that specialize in committal to memory, psychological feature mastering builds on past data. Students find out how to form connections and replicate at the material—abilities that assist them find yourself higher learners.

Nature likewise as nurture will have an effect on the kids’ development. There are numerous elements that confirm the event of a toddler. numerous theories which are projected by using men of technological know-how are wont to justify the technique of kid development. Berndt (1992) said due to the impact of the biological makeup of a person for the duration of development. Supported Kail’s (2010, p. 135) study, “research shows that constant biology has an effect on one’s mental areas, all with temperament, capacity, psychological disorders, and perspective and interests”, inside which these characteristics are allotted by having maximum human beings near the center and a tiny low range at the tip of the time. Kail (2010) highlighted that the dispersion of the characteristics indicates similarities, which can be a pattern shown as a result of the combined hobby of diverse genes. this means that the genotypes are every now and then related to 2 (or normally three) well-describe.

Conclusion

Jean Piaget (1896–1980) is every other degree theorist who studied childhood improvement ([link]). Going in the other direction of improvement from a psychoanalytical or psychosocial perspective, Piaget focused on kids’ cognitive growth. He believed that the thought process is a central difficulty of development and that little ones are simply inquisitive. However, he stated that children do not reason the same as adults (Piaget, 1930, 1932). His idea of cognitive improvement holds that our cognitive skills increase through precise stages, which exemplifies the discontinuity method to improvement. As we develop to a new degree, there is a top-notch shift in how we think and cause.

After a few years of observation, Piaget concluded that intellectual development is the end result of the interplay of hereditary and environmental factors. As the kid develops and constantly interacts with the world round him, understanding is invented and reinvented. According to psychologist, the best level of psychological feature development is formal operational thought, that develops between eleven and twenty years previous. However, several biological process psychologists trouble psychologist, suggesting a fifth stage of psychological feature development, referred to as the postformal stage (Basseches, 1984; Commons & Bresette, 2006; Sinnott, 1998). In postformal thinking, selections are created supported things and circumstances, and logic is integrated with feeling as adults develop principles that rely upon contexts. a technique used to show the distinction between an adult in postformal thought and a teenager in formal operations is in terms of however they handle showing emotion charged problems.

It looks that when we tend to reach adulthood our downside determination skills change: As we commit to solve issues, we tend to tend to suppose additional deeply concerning several areas of our lives, like relationships, work, and politics (Labouvie-Vief & Diehl, 1999). along with this, postformal thinkers are able to conclude that past experiences to assist them solve new issues. Problem-solving methods mistreatment postformal thought vary, counting on things. What will this mean? Adults will acknowledge, as an example, that what looks to be a perfect resolution to a haul at work involving a disagreement with a colleague might not be the most effective solution to a disagreement with a big alternative.

References

1. Cognitive Development – stages, meaning, average, Definition, Description, Common problems
2. Cognitive Development – stages, meaning, average, Definition, Description, Common problems. (2020). Healthofchildren.com. Retrieved 9 February 2020, from http://www.healthofchildren.com/C/Cognitive-Development.html
3. Early Brain Development and Health | CDC
4. Early Brain Development and Health | CDC. (2019). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved 9 February 2020, from https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/childdevelopment/early-brain-development.html
5. Siegler, R. (2020). Cognitive Development in Childhood. Noba. Retrieved 10 February 2020, from https://nobaproject.com/modules/cognitive-development-in-childhood
6. Jean Piaget – Intellectual Development
7. Jean Piaget – Intellectual Development. (2020). Sk.com.br. Retrieved 10 February 2020, from https://www.sk.com.br/sk-piage.html
8. Jean Piaget – Intellectual Development
9. Jean Piaget – Intellectual Development. (2020). Sk.com.br. Retrieved 10 February 2020, from https://www.sk.com.br/sk-piage.html
10. Lifespan Theories: Cognitive Development | Introduction to Psychology
11. Lifespan Theories: Cognitive Development | Introduction to Psychology. (2020). Courses.lumenlearning.com. Retrieved 10 February 2020, from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wsu-sandbox/chapter/lifespan-theories-cognitive-development/
12. http://psych.colorado.edu/~colunga/p4684/piaget4.pdf
13. University, N.
14. University, N. (2018). Nature vs nurture and cognitive development – Data Science Initiative. Datascience.northwestern.edu. Retrieved 12 February 2020, from https://datascience.northwestern.edu/2018/02/23/socioeconomic-status-and-genetic-influences-on-cognitive-development/
15. The Benefits Of Cognitive Learning. (n.d.). Retrieved February 15, 2020, from https://gradepowerlearning.com/benefits-of-cognitive-learning/
16. Influence of Nature Versus Nurture on Child Development | Bartleby
17. Influence of Nature Versus Nurture on Child Development | Bartleby. (2020). Bartleby.com. Retrieved 15 February 2020, from https://www.bartleby.com/essay/Influence-of-Nature-Versus-Nurture-on-Child-F3DFPJEEC8BRA

Jean Piaget was an influential Swiss psychologist and author who was able to prove something no one thought was true: he discovered that the way children think is unique and completely different from the way adults think. He carefully studied his own three children and created four stages of mental development based on his findings (‘Jean Piaget.’ DISCovering Authors, Gale, 2003.) He published many books over his long career and was able to greatly influence education at the elementary level in Europe and the United States (‘Piaget’s Influence On Educational Practices – Minds Of Wonder’). He spent most of his career trying to answer the question; “how do children learn?” He earned many awards over his successful career and was first published at eleven years old. (‘Jean Piaget.’ Encyclopedia of World Biography, Gale, 1998.) Through his research on cognitive development and his influence on education, Jean Piaget became one of the most influential people of the twentieth century.

Jean Piaget was born August 9th 1896 in Neuchatel Switzerland. He was the son of a historian and professor in natural sciences. When Piaget was just eleven years old, his notes were published on a rare albino sparrow. At age fifteen he got a job offer from Geneva’s natural-history museum because of an article he wrote but he turned it down in order to finish his education (‘Jean Piaget.’ Encyclopedia of World Biography, Gale, 1998). He received a PhD. from the University of Neuchatel in 1918 in zoology. He later became interested in psychoanalysis when he worked in a boys institution for a year and helped score IQ tests. He realized how rigid these tests were and became interested in the thinking behind their answers, not just if they were correct . He married a woman named Valentine Chatenay, a psychologist, in 1923. He became even more interested in psychology after studying his own three children. He then created his four stages of mental development based on these studies. (‘Jean Piaget’s Life And Contributions To Psychology”). Throughout his long career he published many books on his findings. He was also the founder and director of the International Center of Genetic epistemology, Geneva, 1955-80 (‘Jean Piaget.’ DISCovering Authors, Gale, 2003).

Through his extensive research on children’s cognitive development, Jean Piaget was able to split mental growth into four distinct stages. When he studied his own children and interviewed others, he saw that cognitive development was seen in four distinct stages where certain skills were obtained. The first stage is called the sensorimotor stage, you are in this stage from birth to two years old. In this stage babies figure out the world through their senses and motor movement. Babies in this stage develop stranger anxiety and object permanence. This means that they fear people who are not usually around them, and are able to understand that hiding an object does not make it disappear. His next stage is preoperational, children ages two to six. This stage is characterized by pretend play, egocentrism and language development. Piaget’s third stage is the concrete operational stage. Kids in this stage are between seven and eleven years old. In this stage, kids are able start thinking logically and are able to grasp concrete analogies. They are also able to perform more complicated math operations. His last stage is the formal operational stage. This stage is age twelve and up. In this stage, children develop abstract reasoning, and potential for higher moral reasoning. His extensive research and interviews with children were the basis for these stages. He was able to see these skills develop at each stage. Piaget was able to split children’s cognitive growth into four distinct stages with certain skills and characterizations for each one.

By taking thorough observations and administering many tests, Jean Piaget was able to prove that the way children think is unique and different from the way adults think. When working with Theodor Simon in the Benit Laboratory on developing standardized reasoning tests, he noticed how they were too rigid and number based and not about thought process. He continued to study children and noticed they approached problems more creatively. He saw this in his own children and in the boys in the boys home (‘Jean Piaget.’ Encyclopedia of World Biography, Gale, 1998). He once said “If you want to be creative, stay in part a child, with the creativity and invention that characterizes children before they are deformed by society.” (‘Jean Piaget Quotes – Brainyquote’). This quote shows how children are creative by nature but lose this as they grow up in society. This was a breakthrough in the field of psychology because before Piaget it was believed that children were like mini adults (‘Piaget’s Influence On Educational Practices – Minds Of Wonder’).

Piaget published many books on cognitive development that led to changes in teaching styles at the elementary level in the United States and the United Kingdom. He was an author who was able to help reform elementary education in the UK based on his teachings. He taught that children learn best by doing and exploring, not just sitting and memorizing. He also taught to focus on the child’s thinking processes not just their answers. In the UK, the government did a thorough review of primary education. This review led to the publication of the Plowden Report which advocates Piaget’s teachings. This shows how his research and books directly affected elementary education (‘Piaget’s Influence On Educational Practices – Minds Of Wonder’).

Piaget also believed that children should not be pushed to learn new concepts before they are ready mentally(‘The Enduring Influence Of Jean Piaget’).He said that children will not understand complex ideas, they will just memorize them. This is not good because it creates a false idea of understanding. This shows why it is not a good idea to push children to learn complex ideals before they are cognitively ready (‘Piaget’s Influence On Educational Practices – Minds Of Wonder’). His books became popular in the United Kingdom and the United States and still have an impact over fourty years later (“Jean Piaget.’ Encyclopedia of World Biography, Gale, 1998.)

Jean Piaget was one of the most influential people in the twentieth century due due his breakdown of children’s mental growth into stages and his impact on elementary education.

Piaget was an extremely influential psychologist and author, who still has a lasting influence forty years later (‘Jean Piaget.’ Encyclopedia of World Biography, Gale, 1998). He was able to split cognitive development of children into four distinct stages with specific skills gained in each stage. He was also able to prove that the way children think is fundamentally different from the way adults think, which was a new concept created by Piaget. (‘Jean Piaget.’ DISCovering Authors, Gale, 2003.) His books also heavily influenced education in the United States and Europe.(‘Piaget’s Influence On Educational Practices – Minds Of Wonder’) He had a very successful and long career with many accomplishments and discoveries about children’s mental growth and development.

What is attachment?

Two theories of Child/Adolescent development are Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development and Freud’s Psychoanalytic theory. Piaget was a strong proponent of constructivism which viewed learning as a search for meaning and described elements that helped predict what students understand at different stages of development. Freud emphasises the importance of the unconscious mind. Sigmund Freud alleged that we are forced to act in a way or another due to the unconscious process. These unconscious processes make us feel remorseful or nervous or otherwise comfortable. Our character was formed by attempting to prevent uneasiness which is provoked by these unconscious feelings and behaviours. (Rummel, 2008)

Piaget’s theory of cognitive development.

Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development implies that children move through four unique phases of mental development. His theory centres around seeing how children obtain information, as well as on understanding the nature of intelligence. Piaget stated that children play a functioning part in the learning process, acting much like little researchers as they perform tests, mention objective facts, and find out about the world.

Quite a bit of Piaget’s attentiveness in the cognitive development of children was inspired by monitoring his own children. Piaget implies that intelligence is something that develops through a progression of stages. He specified that older children don’t simply think more rapidly than younger kids. Considering his perceptions, he reasoned that kids were not less clever than grown-ups, they basically think in an unexpected way (Fancher, 2012).

Piaget’s stage theory illustrates the intellectual development of children. Intellectual development includes changes in cognitive process and capabilities. During his children observations, Piaget created a stage theory of cognitive development that comprised of four different stages:

• Stage 1 – Sensorimotor Stage (0 to 2 years) – This stage is divided in six different sub-stages. Kids start to use the reflex aspect. According to Piaget this is the difference between human and animal.
• Stage 2 – Preoperational Stage (2 to 7 years) – At this stage, kids start to take part in representative play and figure out how to manipulate figures. In any case, Piaget noticed that they don’t yet comprehend concrete logic.
• Stage 3 – Concrete Operational Stage (7 to 11 years) – At this stage, kids would have gained the reasoning aspect. Reasoning is more organised and logic.
• Stage 4 – Formal Operational Stage (12 to 15 years) – The last phase of Piaget’s theory includes a rise in logic thinking, the capacity to utilize deductive thinking, and a comprehension of dynamic thoughts. Now, teens can anticipate what works and what does not work.

To have a better understanding of some of the things that occur during cognitive development, it is imperative initially to look at several thoughts and ideas presented by Piaget. These are some of the elements that impact how youngsters learn and develop.

• Schema: A schema illustrates both the psychological and physical activities engaged with understanding and knowing. Schemas are classifications of learning that assist us to translate and comprehend the world.
• Assimilation: Human also learns by assimilation. A person can use current experience, skills and behaviour to understand the world around him. The way a person takes in new data into our existing schema is known as assimilation.
• Accommodation: It involves adjusting current schemas, or thoughts, due to new data or new encounters.
• Organisation: As youngsters advance through the phases of cognitive development, it is imperative to keep up a harmony between applying past learning (assimilation) and changing conduct to represent new information (accommodation).

Each child pass through each phase in the same sequence, and child development is determined by genetic growth and interaction with the surroundings.

Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalytic theory

Sigmund Freud believed that children are well brought up as adults depending how their parents dealt with their basic sexual and aggressive desires when they were young. He said that children must go through multiple stages of sexual development. Each stage focuses on sexual activity and the pleasure received from a particular area. He named the stages: Oral, Anal, Phallic, Latency, and Genital.

• Stage 1: Oral Stage: This stage starts from birth to one year old. Freud believes that at this point the erogenous zone is the mouth. An infant satisfies himself through eating and sucking and the mouth becomes a pleasurable source. Here an infant, only rely on others cares, therefore he learns to trust others. Behavioural problems such as smoking, and nail biting may develop if too much dependency on others was not resolved.
• Stage 2: Anal Stage: This stage happens between 1 to 3 years old. The anus is the erogenous zone of this stage. In this stage the child satisfies himself by controlling and releasing the bladder and bowel movements. The child will develop a sense of accomplishment if he learns to control his bodily needs. Here Freud believes that when reinforcement parenting strategy is used by the parents, the child will develop positive outcomes. Positive environment helps children to grow healthier and become competent, productive and creative, while unhealthy environment distorts the child’s personality development.
• Stage 3: Phallic Stage: This stage happens between 3 to 6 years old. The genitals are very important in this stage. In this stage the child realize the biological difference male and female. Freud believed that children may develop sexual attraction with their opposite sex parent.
• Stage 4: Latency Stage: This stage happens from 6 years to adolescence. This stage is characterised by the temporary cessation of sexual energy. Here the children learn to channel their sexual fantasies to socially productive activities. They start forming a friendship and be more social. The ego and superego develop making an adolescent capable of dismissing sexual urge.
• Stage 5: Genital Stage: This is the final stage that happens during puberty to death. Here is the sexual interest in the opposite sex. The libido becomes active once again and result of this is the sexual interest in the opposite sex. Different from the earlier stage, the person will be guided by the ego and superego. The person will be able to form his/her own belief as he/she will be more mature and not just to conform what others are doing.

Another part of Freud’s theory focused on identifying the parts of consciousness. Freud proposed this theory and stated that our childhood experiences shape up our personality.. Freud developed the Structural Model, which explains our mind divided in three sections the Id, Ego and Super Ego.

• We are born with the Id, the pleasure- seeking, the Id that cares only about self-satisfaction. When we are born we cry to be fed, we only care about our basic needs to fulfil us.
• In our first 3 years we start to develop the Ego, it depends of one’s personality. Its purpose is to satisfy the Id but we start to think before we act. The ego is in the middle balancing the Id and superego.
• Superego is developed at around the age of 5, at this age we begin to learn rules imposed on us society. This development is based on the moral principles; we start to distinguish what is right and what is wrong.

Freud believes that a healthy person has a strong ego as a part of his personality. He generated the idea that these 3 parts may conflict with each other and create a repression. He believed that mental illness is caused by tensions created by repressions and can be cured by digging down into the unconscious to make the conscious aware. For example, a person that may had a bad relationship with his father may be angry to most man without knowing why. By psychotherapy the patient will start to be aware of his feelings.

Similarities between Freud and Piaget

1. Both Freud and Piaget shared an interest in development. Both believe that understanding childhood is a key to understanding adulthood.
2. Both recognized the similarities between children and adults. Freud suggested that even infants are sexual beings while Piaget found that young children reason.
3. They see that infants and young children seek pleasure and avoid pain, seek rewards and try to avoid punishment.
4. Both Freud and Piaget were concerned with universal process of moral development. Freud was interested in the process by which The Superego functions appears, while Piaget was interested in changes in the reasoning for moral judgments.
5. Freud and Piaget believe that the child is the principal agent for his own moral development. the young child is affected by his parents’ standards, but he is not simply the passive recipient of those standards.

Difference between Freud and Piaget

1. Freud was interested in expressions of aggression while Piaget was not.
2. Freud emphasizes what might be called moral feelings, while Piaget was more interested in moral judgment.
3. Freud gathered data on childhood through free associations whereas Piaget observed children.
4. Freud argues that the parents are an influence on their kids, while Piaget says that peers are more important than parents are.
5. Freud felt it necessary to construct the concept of the “Id”; Piaget was not, but he did feel it necessary to construct the concept of egocentrism.

Personal experience using Piaget’s and Freud’s theories

• Being an LSE, I put Piaget’s theory into practice on daily basis. Piaget believed that “mastery” happens at different steps for the different students in the class. All lessons are adapted according to the students’ level of understanding. To accommodate different learning styles diversity of classroom activities are planed such as auditory and visual. Piaget affirmed that students develop understanding by trial and error. I also allow students to learn from their own mistakes. Although sometimes certain mistakes can be prevented, I patiently guide the learner to the right direction. As an Lse, I also do my best to try to comprehend the students’ reasoning from their perspective so that I can understand better their point of view. To promote learning, I as an educator is responsible to apply learning theories in classroom as these are essential for effective learning.
• A real example of Freud’s psychoanalysis theory in my life is my fear from diving. This can possibly be connected to a bad experience I had when I was young. I still can remember myself swimming and diving with my sister. I used to close my eyes under the water. I was under the water when suddenly, I was hurt badly by a jellyfish on my face. Till now I still have an abnormal fear from diving. For me this is an example of psychoanalysis as it shows that my behaviour today is affected by a childhood experience.

Relevance to today’s Educational System

• Jean Piaget’s cognitive development theory is well renowned within the psychology and education section. Piaget’s cognitive theory has a huge influence on child’s development understanding. Piaget’s observation that children really think uniquely in contrast to grown-ups, helped introduce another period of research on the cognitive development of kids. Piaget’s theories centred on kids’ development in stages. These stages help to clarify a child’ point of view and how they see the world. This enables educators and guardians to have a better understanding of kid’s developmental level. Hence, in an educational setting, youngsters will profit by working and learning at their own particular level. (Nicola, 2016)
• Freud’

What is attachment?

The attachment theory was developed by John Bowlby by Mary Ainsworth, a psychoanalyst who investigated the impacts of separation among babies and their guardians (Fraley, 2010). Bowlby assumed that the extreme behaviours new-born children would take part in to maintain separation or while reconnecting with a physically separated parent, behaviours like crying, shouting, and clinging, were transformative systems – practices that were strengthened through regular determination and improved the kid’s odds of survival.

These attachment behaviours are intuitive reactions to the apparent danger of losing the survival point of interest that go with being thought about and took care of by the main caregiver(s). Since the babies involved in this behaviour will probably survive, the instincts were normally chosen and fortified over ages. (Ackerman,2018)

Bowlby named these behaviours “attachment behavioural system”, the framework that aides us in our examples and tendencies for shaping and looking after relationships (Fraley, 2010).

Research on Bowlby’s theory of attachment demonstrates that babies put in a new circumstance and isolated from their guardian(s) will generally respond in one of three different ways upon reunion with the guardian(s) (Fraley,2010):

1. Secure attachment – these babies were upset upon detachment yet looked for comfort and were effortlessly consoled when the guardian(s) returned. (Ackerman,2018)
2. Anxious – resistant attachment – some of the babies experienced a greater level of distress and, after re-uniting with the guardian(s), appeared to both look for consolation and endeavour to “punish” the guardian(s) for going away. (Ackerman,2018)
3. Avoidant attachment -babies in the third class of attachment style demonstrated no stress or minimal stress upon partition from the guardian(s) and either disregarded the guardian(s) after re-uniting, or effectively maintained a strategic distance from the guardian(s). (Ackerman,2018)

In later years, analysis would add a fourth attachment style to this listing: the disoriented attachment style, which alludes to kids that have no foreseeable pattern of attachment practices (Kennedy and Kennedy,2004)

It bodes well that a youngster’s attachment style is generally an element of the providing care the kid gets in his or her initial years; the individuals who got support and love from their guardians are probably going to be secure, while the individuals who experienced irregularity or carelessness from their guardians are probably going to feel more anxiety encompassing their relationship with their guardians. (Ackerman,2018)

How can young children be better supported for transition from home to school?

A child might find it easier to start school if she/he had opportunities to spend some time with other children and adults before. Therefore, children who attend child care centres or nurseries tend to get into school routine very easy. Good exposure to story telling and use of items like scissors, crayons, markers, paint and papers will also help the kid in transition as they will find familiar things when they go to school. Sometimes the children will be invited to visit the school with the parent before the day arrives; this is also a good idea as they will be familiar with the new class and teacher.

• https://www.simplypsychology.org/Sigmund-Freud.html (05/05/19)

1. From https://www.verywellmind.com/piagets-stages-of-cognitive-development-2795457 (04/05/19) :

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1. From https://www.theclassroom.com/apply-piagets-theory-classroom-7741298.html (05/05/19):

• Jean Piaget Society: A Brief Biography of Jean Piaget
• Learning and Teaching: Piaget
• Schutz & Kanomata, ESL: Jean Piaget — Intellectual Development

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• Thinley Kalsang Bhutia (2018)

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• Robinson Lumontod III

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2. From http://mindsofwonder.com/2016/11/24/piagets-influence-educational-practices/ (10/05/19)
3. From http://www.child-encyclopedia.com/attachment (10/05/19)
4. From https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/attachment-theory/ ( 14/05/19)
5. From http://education.ohio.gov/Topics/Early-Learning/Early-Learning-Family-Resources/Helping-Your-Child-Make-Successful-Transitions-Hom (15/05/19)

Abigail is a 6-year-old girl who lives in a quiet area within Kilwinning, North Ayrshire. She lives at home with her mum Wendy and pet dog named Sacha. Wendy is currently a student, therefore has a low income. Abigail attends Pennyburn Primary School and is in primary 2. Most days she attends breakfast club and after school care while her mum is at college. Abigail likes swimming, football, dancing, karate, reading, drawing, painting & unicorns.

The past year has been a particularly hard year for Abigail as her Great-grandmother passed away. Around the same time Wendy had her own health issues which lead to hospital admissions, where Abigail’s Great-grandmother had passed away. Abigail struggled with the grief of her Great-grandmother alongside the worry for her mum. Before this happened, Abigail would regularly stay with her grandparents for Wendy to have time with friends or time to herself. However, after the death of her Great grandmother and her mother’s health issues she became insecure and struggled to leave Wendy. She still maintained a close relationship with her grandparents and seen them regularly but would no longer stay overnight. During this time Abigail began to isolate herself, she is a very friendly and talkative child but struggles to trust anyone enough to develop and maintain any lasting friendships.

Since birth Abigail has had ongoing issues with her legs and feet as she was born with femoral anteversion. This means there is an inwards twist to the top of her femur (thigh bone) at the hip causing her knees and feet to point in the way. Wendy also suspects that Abigail has flat feet and is awaiting confirmation from the doctor. Due to these issues Abigail struggles to run and keep up with her friends as she keeps tripping over. When at school the children are asked to sit with their legs crossed, it hurts Abigail to sit this way. Her class teacher is aware of this and allows Abigail to sit in a place where she can have space to sit with her legs in front or at the side of her, the way that she is comfortable. However, when Abigail’s teacher is absent, or she is in another class the other teachers do not make the same allowances as they do not understand the situation. This causes Abigail to get upset leading to her resenting school.

John Bowlby

The first theorist is John Bowlby. Bowlby believes that the need for attachment is instinctive and the behaviour that comes as a result of an apparent threat to the attachment is natural. Things that can cause an apparent threat include separation, insecurity and fear. According to Bowlby children need to attach to one main caregiver, although other attachments are also required this first attachment is the most important in the child’s development. Bowlby believes that the main attachment figure in a child’s life should provide continuous care for at least the first two years of life. Part of Bowlby’s theory states that if the attachment between the child and the primary care giver is stopped or unsettled during the first two years the child will experience continuous, permanent consequences of this, which is known as maternal deprivation. The risk of this outcome continues until the age of five. (McLeod, 2007)

To test his theory, Bowlby studied 44 teenaged criminals in a child guidance clinic. The aim of this was to examine the lasting effects caused by maternal deprivation on people to investigate if the criminals had in fact suffered deprivation. From 1936 until 1939, 88 teenagers were carefully chosen from the clinic where Bowlby worked. From the 88, 44 were criminals and had been referred to him because of their stealing. Bowlby selected another group of 44 teenagers with emotional problems, but not committed any crimes as a control group. (McLeod, 2007)

When the teenagers arrived at the clinic they had their IQ tested by a psychologist who also evaluated the teenager’s emotional attitudes towards the tests. A social worker interviewed the parents to note details of the child’s early life like periods of separation etc. The psychologist and social worker made separate reports. Bowlby would then interview the teenager and accompanying parent to complete the study. At least half of the teenage criminals had been separated from their mothers for longer than six months during their first five years. In the control group only two had had a similar separation (McLeod, 2007).

However, not everyone agreed with Bowlby, Schaffer & Emerson (1964) stated that definitive attachments started at around 8 months and then very soon afterwards the infants became attached to other caregivers and peers. By 18 months only 13% were attached to only one person; some had at least five attachments. Rutter (1991) points out that numerous pointers of attachment, such as protest or distress when attached person leaves, have been shown for various attachment figures – fathers, siblings, peers and even inanimate objects (McLeod, 2007).

This theory benefits Abigail as it highlights the importance of maintaining the bond with her mum. Abigail’s great grandmother passed away when Abigail was 5, shortly after this Abigail’s mum was admitted to hospital and although, realistically, her mum was not going to die Abigail still thought this was a possibility due to recent events with her great grandmother. This has then caused a bit of separation anxiety in Abigail. Bowlby’s theory helps those involved with Abigail understand some of Abigail’s emotions and helps to ensure she as much contact with mum as possible whilst mum is in hospital and then once mum is home support is in place to allow them to get back to normal routines.

In modern practice, support of Bowlby’s theory is evident in several ways. When a child is admitted to hospital there are provisions for the main carer to stay with the child. Social workers are more likely to try and repair families and educate parents to ensure the child is safe, it is only in worst case scenario that social work will remove a child from their mother. Within the nursery and school systems there are induction days, days for parents to go in, transition days and half days at the beginning. All of which helps the child to have a smooth transition and minimal impact on attachment with primary care giver.

Jean Piaget

Jean Piaget was a theorist who studied cognitive development. Piaget believes that children instinctively take part in their learning process as they experiment, observe and absorb the world around them. As children interact with objects and people around them, they continually build on their knowledge (Cherry, 2018). According to Piaget there are 4 stages of cognitive development that everyone goes through. The first stage is the sensorimotor stage, the norm of this stage is birth to 2 years. This stage is where the child develops, discover and explores there 5 senses (sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste). At this stage the child also develops and starts to strengthen both fine and gross motor skills (Study.com, 2019). The second stage of cognitive development is explained as the Preoperational stage which is expected to last from 2 years until 7 years. This is the stage where the child will start to participate in symbolic play and discover how to operate most objects. Nevertheless, Piaget stated that the child will not yet comprehend realistic logic (Cherry, 2018). According to Piaget’s theory age 7 to 11 is known as the concrete operational stage, during this stage the child comes to terms with reality, develops logic and shows an understanding of timescales, quantity etc, (McLeod, 2010). When the child reaches the age of 12 they are expected to be in or approaching the formal operational stage, this is the stage where personal opinions can be formed through facts, knowledge and emotions with a general understanding of the possible outcome or answer (WebMD, 2017)

Piaget started his studies using the known method of his time by collecting data, however he was not confident in his findings which inspired him to transform the way research is carried out. He used a combination of information which was obtained from observations in a natural environment, examining how the thought process works and observations performed in a clinical environment with further examination. Piaget believed that this would give a more realistic result as it was not structured. The key aim was to perceive how children reacted under certain circumstances with their own perceptions, in order to study how a child’s mind works (Mayer, 2005). Piaget performed a study on 15 boys between the ages of 10 – 14 years. He asked the boys to explain the connection between 2 bouquets of flowers, one was mixed colours and the other was all the same colours. This study was to examine the way the boys were thinking and to find information on the reasoning behind their judgement. This is classed as a psychometric technique of research (Mayer, 2005).

In relation to Abigail Piaget’s theory and research methods could be beneficial as it will help all professionals involved to measure Abigail’s cognitive ability in ways that are age and stage appropriate to give a realistic measurement. Abigail’s teacher, her mum and any agencies involved would work together in finding how Abigail’s thought process works and how best to support her on the level that she is at academically and emotionally.

Piaget’s theory and research methods are evident in modern day practice through the way that schools assess the pupils and record their progress. In primary children are tested weekly on their spelling and reading to ensure their cognitive development continues to grow. In later childhood through to adulthood it is an I.Q test that is used to measure your cognitive potential.

Reference List

1. Saul Mcleod. 2007. Simply Psychology. (ONLINE) Available at: https://www.simplypsychology.org/bowlby.html. (Accessed 21 November 2018)
2. Rutter, R., 1991. Maternal Deprivation Reassessed. Penguin Books Ltd.
3. Schaffer, H. R. & Emerson, P. E. (1964). The development of social attachments in infancy. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 29 (3), serial number 94.
4. Kendra Cherry. 2018. Very Well Mind. (ONLINE) Available at: https://www.verywellmind.com/jean-piaget-biography-1896-1980-2795549. (Accessed 16 December 2018).
5. Jean Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development | Simply Psychology. 2018. Jean Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development | Simply Psychology. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.simplypsychology.org/piaget.html. [Accessed 09 January 2019].
6. Verywell Mind. 2018. Jean Piaget: Life and Theory of Cognitive Development. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.verywellmind.com/jean-piaget-biography-1896-1980-2795549. [Accessed 09 January 2019].
7. Verywell Mind. 2018. Piaget’s 4 Stages of Cognitive Development Explained. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.verywellmind.com/piagets-stages-of-cognitive-development-2795457. [Accessed 09 January 2019]
8. Study.com. 2019. Piaget’s Sensorimotor Stage of Development: Definition & Examples – Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com. [ONLINE] Available at: https://study.com/academy/lesson/piagets-sensorimotor-stage-of-development-definition-examples-quiz.html. [Accessed 02 January 2019].
9. WebMD. 2019. What is the formal operational stage in Piaget’s stages of development?. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.webmd.com/children/qa/what-is-the-formal-operational-stage-in-piagets-stages-of-development. [Accessed 09 January 2019].
10. Verywell Mind. 2019. Preoperational Stage of Cognitive Development. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.verywellmind.com/preoperational-stage-of-cognitive-development-2795461. [Accessed 02 January 2019].
11. Mayer, S. (2005). A Brief Biography of Jean Piaget. [ebook] Available at: http://gseacademic.harvard.edu/~hgsebio/presentations/A%20Brief%20Biography%20of%20Jean%20Piaget.pdf [Accessed 9 Jan. 2019].
12. Bibliography
13. Saul Mcleod. 2007. Simply Psychology. (ONLINE) Available at: https://www.simplypsychology.org/bowlby.html. [Accessed 21 November 2018]
14. Rutter, R., 1991. Maternal Deprivation Reassessed. Penguin Books Ltd.
15. Schaffer, H. R. & Emerson, P. E. (1964). The development of social attachments in infancy. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 29 (3), serial number 94.
16. Kendra Cherry. 2018. Very Well Mind. (ONLINE) Available at: https://www.verywellmind.com/jean-piaget-biography-1896-1980-2795549. (Accessed 16 December 2018).
17. Jean Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development | Simply Psychology. 2018. Jean Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development | Simply Psychology. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.simplypsychology.org/piaget.html. [Accessed 09 January 2019].
18. Verywell Mind. 2018. Jean Piaget: Life and Theory of Cognitive Development. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.verywellmind.com/jean-piaget-biography-1896-1980-2795549. [Accessed 09 January 2019].
19. Verywell Mind. 2018. Piaget’s 4 Stages of Cognitive Development Explained. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.verywellmind.com/piagets-stages-of-cognitive-development-2795457. [Accessed 09 January 2019]
20. Study.com. 2019. Piaget’s Sensorimotor Stage of Development: Definition & Examples – Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com. [ONLINE] Available at: https://study.com/academy/lesson/piagets-sensorimotor-stage-of-development-definition-examples-quiz.html. [Accessed 02 January 2019].
21. WebMD. 2019. What is the formal operational stage in Piaget’s stages of development?. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.webmd.com/children/qa/what-is-the-formal-operational-stage-in-piagets-stages-of-development. [Accessed 09 January 2019].
22. Verywell Mind. 2019. Preoperational Stage of Cognitive Development. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.verywellmind.com/preoperational-stage-of-cognitive-development-2795461. [Accessed 02 January 2019].
23. Mayer, S. (2005). A Brief Biography of Jean Piaget. [ebook] Available at: http://gseacademic.harvard.edu/~hgsebio/presentations/A%20Brief%20Biography%20of%20Jean%20Piaget.pdf [Accessed 9 Jan. 2019].

The purpose of this assignment is to discuss the work completed by Jean Piaget (1896-1980). Piaget has been credited for the theory of cognitive development. The theory of cognitive development states how children develop intellectually during childhood (Comer, 2013). Piaget’s work will be evaluated, and how his theory has impacted on modern-day psychology.

The second psychologist that will be discussed is Sigmund Freud (1985-1939). Freud is also known as ‘the father of psychoanalysis’. Freud has been credited with developing a method to understand the mind (Cash, 2013). Fraud’s work will be evaluated, and how his theory has impacted on modern-day psychology.

Jean Piaget

Jean Piaget was a psychologist and a genetic epistemologist from Switzerland. Piaget’s most credited work was due to his theory of cognitive development. Piaget’s theory of cognitive development looked at how children progress intellectually throughout their childhood. Piaget’s theory advises that the way children think is essentially different from the way adults would think. Piaget began to consider this theory whilst working for Alfred Binet. Piaget was working on Binet’s revolutionary new method called intelligence testing, it was during this time that Piaget began to question how children learn (Biography, 2019).

Piaget’s cognitive development theory suggests that children class information that they assemble through the experiences that they encounter and the exchanges they have with others into a grouping system known as schemas (Eysenck, Keane, 2015).

The theory consists of four stages of a child’s intellectual development through to adulthood. The four stages are called sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational and formal operational (Huitt & Hummel, 2003):

1. Stage one of cognitive development is sensorimotor. Stage one of the process applies to children from birth through to the age of two. Piaget stated in stage one that children think by using sensory and motor skills. Children at this stage are considered not to have any thought process beyond the instantaneous experience they encounter (Mc Shane, 1991).
2. Stage two of the theory is preoperational. This stage of the process applies to children from the age of two to seven years old. Piaget stated that this stage, children can clutch ideas in their brain of what’s objects are and that children start to use their imagination (Mc Shane, 1991).
3. Stage three of the theory considers children from the age of seven to eleven. This stage is called concrete operational. Stage three states that a child begins to be able to develop the skills and ability to think rationally and hypothetically (Mc Shane, 1991).
4. The final stage of the theory considers children from eleven years of age until they reach adulthood. The final stage is referred to as formal operational. The final stage states that children begin the process of being able to think with abstract reasoning.

Mc Shane (1991) states that all four stages are classified by a specific type of cognitive structure. These structures are fundamental to Piaget’s theory.

Piaget’s theory has influenced education, genetics and sociology in modern times. Piaget opened an international genetic epistemology center in 1955 in Switzerland. Piaget’s theory is still studied in Switzerland to date (Pascual-Leone, 1976).

Piaget has had a huge influence on education in modern times. Today Piaget’s theory focuses on language, morals, memory and reasoning. Pre-primary and primary schools include Piaget’s findings to help them form the teaching practice they follow. Education establishments curriculum ensure that they include play-based learning programmes. Play-based learning programmes allow children to learn using visual aids, props. They also allow children to learn through trial and error (Coltman, 1970)

Curriculums have the four stages of Piaget’s theory considered when the children reach a higher stage of cognitive development. The sensorimotor stage allows children to play with new objects and implements routine into the structure in which they are taught. Preoperational stage considers that children at this stage learn best by doing. Books, games and other objects are introduced at this stage (Mc Shane, 1991). Children at this stage are encouraged to ask questions about the new materials they have encountered. The concrete operational stage starts to introduce the use of brainteasers, timelines and science experiments to get children’s minds working. The formal operational stage introduces the use of visual aids, descriptions into how things work, and for the children to explore theoretical situations (McShane, 1991).

Piaget’s work inspired Howard Gardiner a developmental psychologist. Although Howard began his career inspired and citing Piaget’s theory, he soon began to realise that Piaget had not considered critical components when considering cognitive development. Howard stated that Piaget did not consider individual differences for intelligence. Howard on the other hand with years of research concluded that there are multiple intelligences to be considered (Bresler, Cooper, Palmer, 2002).

A study completed by Morton on variation theory in the late 1990s considers teaching practice with implications due to teaching. Variation theory states that children learn at different stages. It also states that children develop different understandings to objects, this is due to children interrupting and observing different features that add to the appearances of an object. Variation theory was introduced into the education system in Hong Kong in 2000 and Sweden in 2014. Whilst the United Kingdom still use Piaget’s theory of cognitive development (Hansfstingl, Benke, Zhang,2019).

Sigmund Freud

The second psychologist that is being discussed in this assignment is Sigmund Freud. Freud has been credited in the method of psychoanalysis, which describes the treatment for mental health illnesses and it also explains why humans behave in the way that they do. Freud’s theory believes that events such as trauma in an individual’s childhood have a great impact on that’s person personality in later years, with the likes of them developing anxiety or other mental health illnesses (Ferris, 1998).

Freud’s began his pursuit into the discovery into mental illness and behaviour was with the case of Anna O whose real name was Bertha Pappenheim. Freud came across the case of Anna O whilst working for his then teacher Joseph Breuer (Appignasei, R & Zarate, 1979). Anna presented with speech problems, hallucinations and some paralysis, known as hysteria. Freud co-wrote a book with Breuer called Studies on Hysteria (2009). Freud stated that the cause of hysteria was due to childhood sexual abuse, a theory Breuer did not agree with. Richard Webster (1995) stated that the main problem with the theory of hysteria and the studies on hysteria was that how deceptive many of the critical ideas stated were.

Freud followed on to treat hysteria patients with hypnotism. Freud did not continue this method of an experimental treatment for long. Freud began to treat his neurotic and hysteric patients with a treatment named free association. This treatment consisted of patients laying on a sofa and Freud encouraging them to speak about whatever they wished. Free association is still used today by psychoanalysts (Sandler, Holder, Dare & Dreher, 1997).

One of Freud’s key contributions to psychology was his theory on the unconscious mind. Freud believed that the unconscious mind is built like an iceberg consisting of three sections the conscious, the preconscious and the unconscious. The conscious section is responsible for a person’s senses and feeling in that exact moment in time. The preconscious section is responsible for the part of the memory that holds information like dates and significant memories like how to drive a car. The unconscious section of the mind Freud explained is the part a person is unaware of. Freud stated that this section is very hard to access and if someone experiences a traumatic experience the memories may be stored in this section if they repress them (Sandler, et al, 1997). Modern psychology believes that Freud’s beliefs on the unconscious mind were too limited as he believed that the unconscious mind was a single entity and today psychology is aware that the unconscious part of the mind is a lot more complex (Wilson, 2004).

Freud stated that psychoanalytic theory of a human’s personality or psyche consists of three components ID, Ego and Superego. Freud stated that these 3 components are inspired by the minds unconscious thoughts. These thoughts influence behaviour and a person’s decision making. Freud’s theory stated that the ID section is responsible to ensure a person avoids pain and the section that allows a person to seek pleasure in their life. The ID wants and gets instant gratification. The superego section tries to ensure that a person follows the rules of life. It is responsible for a person following rules. The final part of the three sections is the ego. The ego is trying to act as a balancer for the other two sections (Widsom, 1992).

One of Freud’s most controversial theories was the theory on psychosexual stages of development. Freud believed that there are five stages of psychosexual of development between birth to adulthood, oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital. Freud stated that these stages. Freud stated that tension and pleasure were the main aspects of human life. Freud believed that the libido was the reasoning for tension. In modern psychology, Freud’s theory is considered as unscientific as the theory focuses on the libido, which psychologists today know is not able to be scientifically tested. In contrast to this theory, Fisher and Greenberg (1996) suggested that Freud’s psychosexual theory should be tested as a hypothesis on small sections rather than the libido as one part. Their findings concluded that the oral and anal stages of development had scientific evidence to support these two parts of Freud’s theory.

Freud was responsible for the term psychoanalysis coming to life. Freud term psychanalysis was made up of his belief that the mind could resolve problems by bringing unconscious thoughts that are stored in the mind to the conscious part of the mind. Psychoanalysis treatment consisted of patients lying on a sofa and talking to Freud about their childhood memories and dreams that they remember. Freud believed that this method of treatment would cure patients of mental health issues. Peter Fonagy, (2015) advocates Freud’s theory that this method of treatment may help patients suffering from anxiety, depression or some other types of mental illness. However, in contrast to this theory, a study published in 2008 stated that psychoanalysis is still taught in universities across America. However, it’s only used in textbooks for reference use as historical information in psychology classes. It is not used as a modern-day scientific approach (Redmond & Shulman, 2008).

One thing that Freud has achieved from his finding is controversy. Freud has more critics than supporters for his theories. However, in 2002 a review was completed on the most significant psychologist of all times and Freud ranked at number three. Which only shows that yes, his theories may not have been as scientific as modern-day psychology. However, his ideas and theories are still thought highly of (Haggbloom, Warnick, Warnick, Jones, Yarbrough, Russell & Monte 2002).

Both Piaget and Freud have influenced the world of psychology in modern times. Piaget’s contributions to cognitive psychology have ensured that his theories will live on and influence psychology and education. Piaget’s theory on cognitive development will continue to expand and adapt to help the needs of children for many years to come. Piaget’s work on genetic epistemology in Geneva will continue to inspire new research and ideas to be able to experiment and grow which will have an invaluable impact in the field of psychology in years to come. Freud’s theories will continue to cause conflict and discussion in the world of psychology for many years to come. Freud’s theories have set the foundations for more investigation and development. One thing can be said about both Piaget and Freud, that is that their findings and theories have molded the way psychology research, methods, and teaching has evolved.

References

1. Appignanesi, R., & Zarate, O. (1979). Freud for beginners Pantheon Books New York, NY.
2. Biography.comEditors. (July 10, 2019). Jean Piaget. Retrieved from https://www.biography.com/scientist/jean-piaget
3. Bjorklund, D. F. (2018). A metatheory for cognitive development (or “Piaget is dead” revisited). Child Development, 89(6), 2288-2302.
4. Bresler, L., Cooper, D., Palmer, J. (2002). In Bresler, L., Cooper, D., Palmer, J. (Ed.), Fifty modern thinkers on education (1st ed.). London: Routledge. Doi: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203464694
5. Breuer, J., & Freud, S. (2009). Studies on hysteria. New York: Basic Books.
6. Cash, A. (2013). In Lefevere, L., Brown, J., Reinhardt, N., Rees., K. (Ed.), Psychology for dummies. (2nd ed.). Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
7. Coltman, D. (1971). Science of education and the psychology of the child (3nd ed.). London: Longman Group Ltd.
8. Comer, R.J., Gould, E., Furnham, A. (Ed.). (2013). Psychology (1st ed.). Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
9. Eysenck, M. W., & Keane, M. T. (2015). Cognitive psychology: A student’s handbook. London: Taylor & Francis Group.
10. Ferris, P. (1998). Dr. Freud a life (1st ed.). Berkeley: Counterpoint.
11. Fisher, S., & Greenberg, R. P. (1996). Freud scientifically reappraised: Testing the theories and therapy. New York,
12. Fonagy, P. (2015). The effectiveness of psychodynamic psychotherapies: An update. World Psychiatry, 14(2), 137-150.
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19. Tutter, A. (1,2 ). (2019). Mind as text: Freud’s “typographical” model of the mind. International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 100(2), 287-310. doi:10.1080/00207578.2019.1570217
20. Webster, W. (1995). Why was Freud wrong. London: HarperCollinsPublishers.
21. Wilson, T. D. (2004). Strangers to ourselves Harvard University Press.
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Introduction

In the context of theories on child language development, the behaviourist theory of operant conditioning proposed by B.F. Skinner in Verbal Behaviour (1957), is one of the earliest, and arguably considered the most outmoded by many in the field. The basic principle of operant conditioning is that behaviour which is rewarded or reinforced will be strengthened (Jayasundara, 2018, p.247). Conversely, behaviour that is not reinforced will fade out in a manner akin to natural selection. In Skinner’s view, parents and other caregivers provide external input to teach children language through operant conditioning, by rewarding their early linguistic endeavours, and this selective reinforcement gradually structures the child’s linguistic behaviour (Harris, 1992).

The reinforcement in the experiments that preceded Skinner’s human analogy were largely conducted on animals, and often had food as the reinforcer. However, with humans, the reward for correct behaviour can range from an edible treat or a favourite activity, to vocalised praise or a social signal like a smile. In the infant nursery setting, we reward babies for example, verbally, by affectionate touching, with movement, with vocal intonation or with facial expressions, and reinforce positive behaviour specifically vocalisation. (2.2, 2.3, 2.5, 5.2, 5.3).

While other academics such as Chomsky, Piaget and Vygotsky have put forward their own theories of early language acquisition and development, Skinner’s theory by comparison remains relatively undervalued. In this essay, I would propose that Skinner’s theory of acquiring language through operant conditioning is not only a viable technique, but indeed the most appropriate technique that has any considerable effect at the pre-linguistic development stage. (3.1, 3.2, 3.3) With reference to other studies, in conjunction with my own work involving vocalised positive reinforcement, I would submit that while the other myriad theories have a place in language acquisition and development, they come at a later stage, (after the holophrase stage) and that until the child has engaged their language acquisition device (Chomsky, 1965, 1972, 1982), a strategy of applying operant conditioning encourages both increased vocalisation, the correct syllabic phrasing and, sets the baby on the right path towards their next developmental stage.

Literature Review

The pre-linguistic stage

Infants quickly learn how to communicate with their carers, long before they can speak or use any form of language. At this pre-linguistic stage (0-12 months) infants undergo a range of developments in their ability to communicate. From as early as 3 months old, infants recognise their carer’s voice and some facial expressions such as smiling. They are stimulated by different tones of voice and begin to vocalise themselves by cooing and gurgling when content. By the time they are 12 months old, most infants understand what is being said to them and are starting to communicate their needs by pointing or showing their carers objects. At this age, babies have an increasing awareness that words are associated with people and objects. They may understand simple phrases such as “bye bye” and can imitate simple words. They also begin to respond to simple instructions such as “come here” or “clap your hands” and they can string together vowels and consonants to make repetitive sounds.

Researchers looking into the social function of babies’ babbling determined that “an important function of pre-linguistic vocalisation may be to elicit parental behaviour in ways that facilitate the infant’s own learning about speech and language” (Albert, Schwade, & Goldstein 2018, p.1). In this way, infants use parental feedback to their babbling to learn new vocal forms. When mothers exhibit vocal imitation and sensitive speech in response to the babies’ babbling, the babies are actually prompting a social interaction that enables their own language development (Albert, Schwade, & Goldstein, 2018, p.1).

Evidence also suggests that caregivers’ response to infants’ babbling significantly boosts the development of their pre-linguistic vocalisations. A study conducted on how babbling facilitates rapid phonological learning concluded that “infants given contingent feedback rapidly restructured their babbling, incorporating phonological patterns from caregivers’ speech, but infants given non contingent feedback did not” (Goldstein & Schwade, 2008, p.515). This indicates that proactive linguistic intervention through means of response, particularly contingent or linked response, stimulates the linguistic development of infants even at this pre-linguistic stage, where complete sentence structure is still far in their futures.

Operant conditioning

The behaviourist perspective of learning is primed by two major theories: classical conditioning (see Pavlov) and operant conditioning (see Skinner 1957). Classical conditioning explains how we learn behaviours through association, and operant conditioning explains how we learn how the consequences (reinforcers) of behaviours shape future behaviour. Skinner’s contention (1957) was that language acquisition could be explained by operant conditioning, a technique described by (Domjan, 2010) as a method that “can be used to target and increase a behaviour by pairing performance of the target behaviour with a positive or rewarding outcome.”

Behaviourist academic B.F. Skinner, first experimented with operant conditioning in an investigation involving rats and pigeons in a box with food-dispensing levers (Skinner 1935). Skinner was able to teach the rats and pigeons which lever to deliberately press in order to dispense food. Thus Skinner was able to infer that based on the presentation of express stimuli, certain behaviours would be shaped by its consequence (Harris 1992). The same stimulus-response interaction is also observable in humans and the behaviourist theory considers all learning to be the establishment of habits as a result of reinforcement and reward (Rivers 1968).

In infants, babbling is a natural habit at the 3-month stage. Since certain “recognisable” babblings are rewarded through vocal or visual stimulus (praise or a smile from the caregiver), this reward reinforces further articulation of the same sort of grouping of syllables. Thus good habits, in this sense words, are built up over time by reinforcing the “good” sounds while the “bad” sounds go unrewarded and are eliminated from the practice.

However, Skinner’s theory did not go unchallenged. His claim was that children “learn language through operant conditioning, merely involve[ing] the attachment of a response to a stimulus, through the use of carefully controlled reinforcement” (Harris 1992, p.4). His intellectual opponent, Noam Chomsky, argued that the set of rules that a child would have to learn to acquire a language are far too complex and manifold for a child to learn them all through operant conditioning (Chomsky, 1965). Chomsky instead posited that there exists a naturally occurring (innate) device, which he termed as the Language Acquisition Device (LAD) that is present only in the human brain, providing human children with a unique ability to acquire language (Chomsky, 1986). He considered language learning to be like physical growth and that only when a child hits a certain age, would he be able to learn language when his LAD “activates”.

Since this debate in the 1950s, when Chomsky argued that Skinner’s theories could not explain syntactic acquisition, psychologists and child development academics have generally avoided explicitly invoking operant or instrumental conditioning as a learning mechanism for language among human children as if Chomsky “won” the debate (Sturdy & Nicoladis 2017), and the field moved on into other areas (see Vygotsky and Piaget). However, this was never the case and the concept that the two theories are not diametrically opposed and can coexist is largely academically undervalued. Indeed, operant conditioning influences language long after language acquisition has developed – consider adult adoption of differing syntax and lexicons for different occupations or social circles. Correct language attracts approval, which encourages the habit of speaking in a certain way throughout one’s lifetime.

Whitehurst & Valdez-Menchaca (1988) posited that it might also be possible that children are able to learn at least some level of language through observation, claiming that general cognitive and congenital linguistic mechanisms would ensure that learning occurred. They also however contend that it is also possible, as Skinner insinuates, that language is in fact operant behaviour and if so, children should not be able to acquire language unless parents and others reinforce it. They conclude however, that some characteristics of language acquisition might depend on reinforcement, while some may not (Whitehurst & Valdez-Menchaca 1988).

A further study on the role of reinforcement in grammatical development by Brown and Hanlon (1970) suggested that parents in fact only give corrective feedback on the dimension of truth value, rather than grammar, which led them to argue that reinforcement is not as important in grammatical development.

Despite these studies, there is a body of work that still supports behavioural learning through operant conditioning and an amount of which expressly covers language acquisition with a focus on the pre-linguistic stage. It seems based on evidence, that this largely academically neglected concept could be intrinsic to learning at the pre-linguistic development stage and could in fact be the exclusive methodology in early infant language acquisition.

Evidence that operant conditioning works at pre-linguistic stage

The use of operant conditioning on infants at the pre-linguistic stage is not a new phenomenon and indeed there exists a body of work that corroborates the benefits of operant conditioning on the 0–12-month age group. The studies have investigated general behavioural conditioning such as infant head-turning (Siqueland & Lipsitt 1966) which was inspired and cites a classic study by Rheingold & Ross (1959) which first found that an adult’s responses contingent on the vocalising of 3-month-old infants, could bring about an increase in that behaviour. This finding was further corroborated in Weisberg (1963).

Beyond Rheingold & Ross (1959) and Weisberg (1963), there have been numerous studies, focusing on operant conditioning in relation to language development and acquisition and several specifically at the pre-linguistic stage. Goldstein et al., (2003) in an attempt to demonstrate similarities between songbird vocal learning and human speech learning, designed an experiment testing the impact of social reinforcement on vocal production of human infants. This was based on previous work with songbirds and other works exploring the mating behaviour of female cowbirds (West and King 1988) where positive reinforcement of a particular song was a natural occurrence. In the human experiment, Goldstein et al., (2003) found that when the mothers socially reinforced the infant’s vocalisations, through smiling and moving towards the infant, after just 10 minutes, the infants produced more and higher quality vocalisations than those in the control group. Thus clearly exemplifying contingent social feedback acting as a reinforcer with infants.

A study by Poulson (1983) and another by Pelaez et al. (2011a) further evaluated the reinforcing effect of maternal vocal imitation of infant vocalisations. In Poulson (1983), it was found that consistent reinforcement in 2.5 – 3-month old infants significantly enhanced vocalisation. Pelaez et al. (2011a) found almost unanimously increased babbling when the mother’s vocal imitation was used as a reinforcer.

It is clear from the evidence gathered in the previous studies that there is some merit in reinforcing vocalisation in infants using verbal, tactile and audial techniques. This would suggest that Skinner’s theory – that external input combined with positive reinforcement of good behaviours – has much applicability to the pre-linguistic age-group. Furthermore, the evidence suggests that Skinner’s theory enhances infants’ early linguistic endeavours and enables setting them up for the holophrase stage where Chomsky’s (1965, 1972 ,1982) language acquisition device, Vygotsky’s (1978) social interactionism and Piaget’s language assimilation and accommodation (1952) would take better effect.

Practice and Analysis

In my setting, we practice vocalised positive reinforcement with the 0 – 12-month age group. It is at this point in their development that they start babbling and vocalising and to encourage this, we ensure that they have a stimulating environment (tactile toys, colours, auditory experiences) as well as provide auditory stimulation. (1.1, 1.2, 2.2, 2.3, 2.5, 7.2) We believe in positive reinforcement when a baby achieves even the smallest of milestones. (2.1) Whether it is working towards crawling, standing and taking their first steps, or whether it is transitioning from babbling into finally being able to say “da da” or “ma ma”, we vocally praise them; “converse” with them; and socially engage with them as much as possible. (2.2, 2.3, 2.5, 2.6, 3.1, 3.2)

This external input of interaction takes many forms, including verbal praise (where we say things like ‘well-done’, ‘good-boy’, ‘good-girl’, ‘clever boy’ and “whooping”) which are accompanied by positive facial expressions such as smiling; physical gestures such as clapping and high fives; eye contact; higher register intonation; motherese / caregiverese phrasing and; affectionate touching. We do this to stimulate and encourage the babies to vocalise more – the more they vocalise, the more we administer the social reward, hence positively reinforcing their behaviour. (5.2, 5.3)

We find that through the constant praising (reinforcing) of their positive achievements, big or small, or conversing with the babies and stimulating them through smiling or touch, the babies respond by increasing the activity. (4.1, 4.5, 8.5) In terms of language and vocalisation, the babies in our care have repeatedly responded to our praises by vocalising even more, and we in turn respond by praising them in an ever positive cycle. A study by Albert, Schwade & Goldstein (2018) showed that an increased rate of response from the caregiver meant more language-learning opportunities for the baby, and the hope here is that they keep vocalising exponentially. We also focus on contextualising the infant’s babbling so that they build a frame of reference for the things that they are “talking” about. For example, when they point at a toy and make a noise, we reinforce the language by naming the toy, allowing the baby to experience the syntactical framing and sentence structure surrounding the interaction. (1.3) Though we are obviously not expecting this to generate full sentences, it has been found that the infant’s own vocalisations serve to structure social interactions in ways that facilitate learning (Albert, Schwade & Goldstein 2018).

While other language development theories are indeed vital, operant conditioning seems to be an effective tool at this stage. We know that responding to babies’ babbling triggers and enhances their brain development, (reference) and this can only put the child in a better position for when he approaches his LAD (see Chomsky), and when he is confronted by a widening environment and social sphere. There is research to suggest that there is a correlation between early babbling and later language, with babies with more advanced syllables in their babbling having more advanced speech and vocabulary when they’re older. In the holophrase stage, the child’s environment is more suitable to his form of development, (see Vygotsky) both in other learning areas as well as in language development, as they are more mobile and can interact more socially and with their environment (see Piaget).

Currently, UK Government interest in bolstering language acquisition at the pre-linguistic stage has been minimal however, Education Secretary Damian Hinds announced 30th April 2018, that new support to help parents improve their children’s early language and literacy skills at home before they start school to close the so-called ‘word-gap’. By investing in projects run by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) the government hopes to provide practical advice to parents so they can help their children learn new words through simple steps like reading and singing nursery rhymes. They have also opened an £8.5m programme for local authorities to fund projects to improve early language and literacy development for disadvantaged children. Though this support aims to target children who are already speaking, it is evident that the Department for Education is looking to target and invest in Early Years initiatives and upon further evidence, they may find a need to bolster learning even at the per-linguistic stage. REF https://www.gov.uk/government/news/multi-million-fund-to-boost-childrens-early-language-skills

Conclusion

Having witnessed a degree of success first-hand in my setting of positively reinforcing early vocalisation in infants, and based on the research by a host of academics, I believe that there is a compelling case for using operant conditioning as a language acquisition tool on infants at the pre-linguistic stage. By socially rewarding babies who are babbling, we are reinforcing the “good” set of consonants and diminishing the nonsensical. By interacting with infants in a conversational way, (2.4, 2.5) we are providing the external input necessary for them to learn basic sentence structure and syntax, if only phonetically, to assist their understanding of social interaction. Finally, by using the context of the environment and naming the objects that the infants may be holding or pointing at, through repetition, we are reinforcing the phonetic syllables needed when the children advance to the holophrase.

Based on the research reviewed, I would contend that operant conditioning is especially vital for language development in pre-linguistic infants, and may in fact be the only appropriate learning theory for this development stage. In this regard, I believe the work of B.F. Skinner is undervalued as a tool. This is not to say that the other theories don’t apply, as they all have merits and degrees of value, but I believe that the theories of Chomsky, Vygotsky and Piaget become more applicable immediately following the pre-linguistic stage, and that until the child has engaged their language acquisition device (Chomsky), a strategy of applying operant conditioning encourages vocalisation, encourages the correct syllabic phrasing and, sets the baby on the right path towards their next developmental stage, and at the very least, the practice can do nothing but enhance the infant’s learning experience.