Chapter 8: Gender Roles

Summary: Gender Roles 

The word gender often gets confused with the word sex. Gender and sex are two completely different terms. Sex is the biological makeup of someone while gender is the viewing one’s self as a man or woman. Social learning theories propose that we learn gender roles through the interaction of our environment. For example, a little girl may want to play with fake food as if she is cooking because she sees her mom doing it every night. Gender identity is also a big focal point, children who can discriminate whether someone is a boy or girl have gender identity. These children are around 3-4 years old. Next, they get gender stability at ages 4 through 6. This is when they know that gender stays stable over time. Lastly, children realize that no matter what, even if someone may dress differently or act differently, gender does not change. This is called gender constancy. This happens around 6-7 years of age.

Sandra Lipsitz Bem proposed the Gender Schema Theory introducing the BSRI or Bem Sex Role Inventory. Basically, this divides up traits according to schemas and identifies them as masculine or feminine. Someone with both high masculine and feminine traits is seen to be androgynous. Someone with low masculine and high feminine is seen as feminine while low feminine and high masculine traits is identified as masculine. There is also low feminine and ow masculine which makes someone undifferentiated.  Freud and Erikson played major parts in the identification for gender as well. Freud believed the phallic stage of ones childhood, either recognizing their genital region or realizing the lack of that region helping them identify what gender they are. Erikson takes it one step further with identity proposing that children develop personalities in stages. This video shows how children believe in all the gender roles and stereotypes by age 10. Gender biases video

Gender Roles and My Development 

Gender roles were never something I thought about as a child. I was a tomboy though, I knew I did not want to be a dainty girl, I saw it as weak. I grew up watching Star-Wars and X-Men rather than princess movies. I was girly to an extent, but I wanted to play sports and dress comfortable. I honestly think my mom was scared I was trying to be a boy, but I wasn’t. I just wanted to be tough. I really don’t know how I would classify my gender roles growing up. I knew I was a girl, I did not want to be a boy, but I did not want to be treated like a girl. I played sports all throughout my years until college, I hung out with guys instead (they were less drama) and I never dressed up unless I was forced to. I still remember the first time I asked my mom to take me shopping for a dress, she was in shock and it embarrassed me. I believe that gender roles vary so much it is hard to put them on a scale.

Gender Roles and My Work

During my profession working with children I will be able to identify them with their genders easily but I will try not to treat them the average way to treat each gender. I know when I was growing up I did not want to be treated girly, I will do my best to stay neutral with how I treat my clients and let them know that I support however they are deciding to go about their gender. Kids should be able to freely choose their own clothes, hair, toys, etc. It would not be fair of me to tell a child that, on top of their disabilities, they have to regard to one gender bias as well.

 

Picture Reference: me

 

Chapter 7: Identity

 

Summary: Identity 

Identity poses the question, “Who am I?” and leads us to find out who we truly are as people. Freud believed that there were five stages of identity that correlate with age. The first being the oral phase. This phase is identified with infants and it is when they are fixated on the mouth, this is when they are being fed or when they are using a pacifier. The second stage is the anal stage and it identifies with toddlers. This is when they are being potty trained. This is when they learn to control their bladder and bowels. The third stage is the phallic stage and this stage effects early childhood. This is when children know the difference between boys and girls because of the genitals. The fourth stage Freud suggested is the latency stage. This stage is when children are more focused on their social skills and are working on developing defense mechanisms. The final stage is the genital stage which correlates with adolescents. This stage is when the embrace in sexual maturity starts. While Freud proposed these stages, he also had a theory of personality. In this theory he introduces ID, ego, and super ego. The ultimate goal of ID is to get what you want when you want it. Ego is related to reality and exists in both the unconscious and the conscious mind. Superego holds the concepts of good and bad. Superego is what tells the conscious that something is right or wrong.

Erikson was another theorist that had ideas relating to Identity. He proposed the 8 stages of man, staring with babies and infancy with Trust vs. Mistrust and ending with the adulthood with Ego integrity vs. Despair. Each stage holds a new virtue. The virtues in order of first to last are: drive and hope, self-control and willpower, purpose and direction, devotion and fidelity, love and affiliation, care and production, and lastly, wisdom. Erikson used Freud’s theory to create his own and these are the stages he proposed. Identity changes and grows throughout life according to both Freud and Erikson.  (Stitt, 2017)

Erikson’s Eight Stages of Man

Identity and My Development

When I was a kid I was very shy. I did not like attention put on me and I never wanted to dance or do anything outgoing. I was struggling with who I really was. I dressed really dark and like a boy for the most part. Although I knew I was a girl and never wanted to be a boy, I was jealous that boys got to dress so comfortably. I had a lot of dilemmas that made it different than a child growing up in a nuclear, loving family. These kids have an easier chance of finding their identity. It was hard to know who I really was when there was no one to talk to and nothing to compare myself to. I feel like I was in Erikson’s Identity vs. Role Confusion for longer than normal. It took me until I was 21 to really become myself and not be worried about anyone else. I did not know my place in the world until then. I know that now I am in Intimacy vs. Isolation. I have a boyfriend who I have been dating for four and a half years and I am starting to realize that we were made to have partners. When you put yourself in Erikson’s eight stages, life seems to make a bit more sense.

Identity and My Work

Although I am on track to have an Early Intervention degree, I am hoping to get my masters in something else, maybe rehabilitation counseling. With this job, I would like to work with people who have psychological problems. This will relate a lot to identity. I may work with someone who has multiple personalities or just cannot figure out their purpose in the world and is struggling to make it out of one of Erikson’s eight stages. When I encounter one of these people I will refer back to what I have learned here and try to help them as best as I can. I believe these problems will be much harder to help because everyone’s thoughts are so unique and different. The most I can do is try to mold their way of thinking so they will be able to be okay without me.

 

Picture Reference: (Who am I picture: me)

Erikson’s eight stages picture:

https://www.psychologynoteshq.com/erikerikson/

Chapter 6: Moral Development

Summary: Moral Development  

Two important names in the moral development field are Piaget and Kohlberg. Starting with Piaget, he developed a theory in moral reasoning. Heteronomous moral reasoning is based on objective consequences to actions. For example, if a child breaks one thing as opposed to seven or eight things, they know they will not get in as much trouble. The children in this stage of reasoning focus on what happened rather than why it happened. Secondly, there is autonomous moral reasoning. Children in this stage tend to be older and they focus on why something happened rather than what did happen. They know that if they accidentally knocked over ten cups because they did not see them they will get in less trouble than if they intentionally threw a cup on the ground to watch it shatter.

Moving on to Kohlberg, he developed six stages of moral development. Here is a video that will explain his theory more in detail —- Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development Video

Kohlberg put the six stages in three different levels. Starting with level one, there is the first stage: Punishment and Obedience. In this stage children believe that parents and authority are the ones who decide what is moral and they know they will get punished if they do wrong. Stage two is Instrumental Purpose and Exchange. Children base what is moral on their needs and can learn other peoples views but not understand and cooperate with them. They know that moral behaviors make them a good person and they may get rewarded. Stage three is Mutual Interpersonal Expectations, Relationships and Conformity. During this stage children can coordinate with groups and know concrete operations. They know that moral behaviors are what a good person would do and if they act morally they will be a good person. Stage four is Social System and Conscious Maintenance. In this stage, one believes that the laws of the land determine what is moral, they believe that if they follow the laws they will be a moral person. Stage four and a half is the transition phase. Someone in this stage considers many perspectives at once and believe that everyone has their own individual values and viewpoints. They believe that each person follows what they know to be moral. Next is stage five, this is the stage where and individual considers group, outsider, and formal operations. They believe that laws are social contracts that can change depending on if they are feasible to human rights and that the laws can be challenged to promote social justice. Finally in stage six, one has come to the understanding that they can define what is right or wrong depending on their own principles. They believe that everyone deserves a chance to be equal and have their own set of moral principles.  (Audley-Piotrowski 2017)

 

Moral Development and My Development 

I was raised going to church and the bible being where we learned our rules. When I was three I played violin for my baptist church and was put in Sunday school classes. I used to love learning verses but thinking on it today, I feel as if I only loved that because I knew I would get a reward. I enjoyed learning how Kohlberg’s theory of moral development impacted my life. I am now at the final stage, stage six, and I can fully understand what it means and how I was during the other stages. I have my own self-ethical principles upon what I base my life, and I believe there should be equality for all. I used to not think that, I used to believe exactly what my parents told me, because the authority was always right. Learning about my own moral development helped me realize that other people may not be in the same stage and some could not ever be. It has allowed me to have better acceptance of people.

Moral Development and My Work

Although I found this tough to relate to my future career, I realized there is a way to relate moral development to everything involving a child. If I am working with a child who can not take others thoughts or ideas into perspective I will be able to tell that he or she is still in stage two. By knowing what stage a child is in can help you relate to their thoughts and feelings. It can also be beneficial with problem solving, I may choose a way to solve a problem differently for child that is in stage four than I would a child who is in stage three.

 

Picture Reference: Myself

 

Chapter 5 Cognitive Development

Summary: Cognitive Development 

Cognitive development plays one of the most important parts in a person’s day to day life. Depending on where they are cognitively, this allows them to complete certain tasks and functions. Piaget idealized the theory that there are different stages of cognitive abilities. The first being Sensorimotor, this should happen between the ages of 0-2 and includes object permanence, language skills, sensory information, and imitation. The next stage is the Preoperational stage. The types of thought here are egocentric, symbolic, representation, and animistic thought. Children also acquire these skills: conservation, reversibility, classification, and decentration. The next stage is where children start playing games with rules, this would be the Concrete Operations stage. During concrete operations, children think concrete and logical thought while possessing skills like operations and centration. The final stage in Piaget’s theory is the Formal Operations stage. Children 11 and older think in abstract thought and engage in social relationships. They develop hypothetico-deductive reasoning.

Bloom’s Taxonomy is also important when it comes to cognitive development. It states that remembering is the most basic task in critical thinking. It is the general ability to retain information. Next is understanding, which simply meaning being able to make sense of the information that has been remembered. Third comes applying, it is the ability to use the information that was remembered and understood. Analyzing comes next, it is the ability to make connections among information. Second to last is evaluating, it is the ability to judge the worth or value of an idea. Lastly, in Blooms taxonomy, comes creating. Creating is the ability to add their wealth of knowledge to new ideas and discoveries.

 

Bloom’s Taxonomy Explained

Zygotsky is another important name in the work of cognitive development. He created what is known as the Zone of Proximal Development. It includes the tasks and skills a child cannot do on their own but can preform with the help of someone who is more knowledgeable. Below is a picture of the Zone of Proximal Development as it is described. (Boles 2017)

Cognitive Development and My Development

Piaget’s four stages of cognitive development are very interesting to me. I miss when I was younger and had a crazy imagination where anything was possible. I was always the kid who had very vivid, made-up games and I would play them by myself or with others if they wanted to join. My preoperational years went on into my concrete operation years, even though I was a little older, I tried to keep my imagination for as long as I could, making up games and silly rules just to have fun. When I started developing abstract thought however, I became intrigued by other games such as word puzzles, and math puzzles. No longer was I the kid with silly games but the kid that would sit there for hours working on a math sheet because it was fun to me.

Cognitive Development to My Work

This area is the most important when being an Early Intervention Specialist. The children I will be working with will not be caught up with their cognitive development and some of them never will be. I will use my knowledge to help each individual child depending on what area they are lacking in. If a child is late on developing their sensorimotor skills, I will make up a plan designed specifically to them in order to ensure they are developing the best they can under my care. Children with different disabilities will be lacking in different areas, therefore all children need to be treated with individual plans.

 

Picture Reference: myself

Picture Reference: https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/blooms-taxonomy/

Picture Reference: (Boles 2017)

Chapter 4: Intelligence

Summary: Intelligence 

Intelligence varies from person to person. There are many ways to gauge a person’s intelligence. Alfred Binet developed the first intelligence test with the help of his student Theodore Simon. They developed the 1905 scale which could calculate the mental age of a person, say a child who is ten gets an average of correct answers a normal ten year old would get, their mental age would be 10. However, in 1916, Lewis Terman revised the scale, renamed it, and it is the basic IQ test that we still take today. Another theorist, Joy Paul Giford came up with the theory for divergent and convergent thinking. Divergent thinkers can find many solutions to one problem while convergent thinkers will see many problems with only one solution. In 1999, Howard Gardner had a theory of eight different intelligences. Here is a video link that will explain his theory more clearly — Gardner’s 8 Intelligences Video . Intelligence across the lifespan varies for everyone, but for the most part, the longitudinal effect of intelligence is the same. As we reach the middle years of our life (25-30) our fluid intelligence reaches its peak and will slowly begin to decline over time. Fluid intelligence is linked to the biological integrity of an individual causing a natural decline as we get older. However, our crystallized intelligence increases more and more with age and never stops. Crystallized intelligence are the abilities linked to one’s prior learning and past experiences. Our intelligence can factor off of how we were raised, what schooling system we went through, and past experiences. (Magun-Jackson 2017)

Intelligence and My Development 

When I was younger I got an IQ score that was slightly above average. Because of this, my mom put me in advanced groups in school, but I slowly began to fall behind. MY interest in the subjects was so minimal it did not matter my intelligence. As a kid, you want to be interested in the things you are doing. I was very good at number facilities, reasoning, and perceptual speed. Standardized tests were always my strong suit. Verbal comprehension and word fluency also came naturally to me. However, I always found it quite difficult to remember things unless I was one hundred percent focused on the subject and interested. My memory has always been sub-par. I could not do well on material unless I actually fully knew it, not from a photographic memory or studying the night before. I do consider myself a divergent thinker though. I have always had multiple ways to solve a problem and it works very well for me.

Intelligence and My Work 

While working with children as an Early Intervention Specialist, if that is what I choose to do, I will go into that field knowing that the children I am working with most likely have a low IQ. This does not mean they are not smart though, this simply means they cannot think like average kids can. I will help them in ways they are not totally confident on like with word remembrance. The children who I will be working with may know they are not like other children so I need to ensure in them that they are just as smart and help them not feel bad about themselves.

 

Picture Reference:

https://tmhome.com/benefits/does-transcendental-meditation-increase-intelligence-research-review/

Chapter 3: Behaviorism

Summary: Behaviorism

In this chapter we were introduced to classical conditioning and operant conditioning, along with the many terms that go along with each. In 1904, Ivan Pavlov developed classical conditioning. He did so by training a dog to salivate every time he heard a bell. The bell at first was just a signal that the dog was going to get food. The bell was the neutral stimulus with the food being the unconditioned stimulus because the dog naturally salivates when it gets fed. The salivation of the dog to the food is the unconditioned response. Pretty soon, the dog started salivating every time it heard the bell, even without the presence of food, making the bell now the conditioned stimulus and the salivation to the bell the conditioned response. This is the way classical conditioning works. The neutral stimulus always becomes the conditioned stimulus. Moving on to operant conditioning, B.F. Skinner developed different types of reinforcements and punishments in 1948. There is positive and negative reinforcement, and although the word ‘negative’ is in there, it does not mean that is it consequence to an action. Positive reinforcement is adding something as a reward for an individual’s behavior. An example would be giving a a two-year-old a fruit snack as a reward for using the potty. Negative reinforcement also is encouraging an individual behavior but this time, something unwanted is taken away to make life more enjoyable. An example would be, not having to take an exam if you make a 100 on all the quizzes. The exam is the unwanted thing in someones life and by taking it away, it is the reward for making 100’s on all the quizzes. Moving on to punishments, there is punishment one and punishment two. Punishment two is the most common among parents and their children. It is taking away something favorable when an undesired behavior is exhibited. For example, if a child makes an F on a test, the parent may take away his or her phone until they make a better grade on the next one. Punishment one is adding something negative when an undesired behavior is exhibited. This could be a child getting a spanking for throwing a tantrum or talking back. (Kibe, 2017)

Behaviorism and My Development

Behaviorism was not something I thought about until this class. Growing up I experienced a lot of punishment one and two. I would get grounded or have my phone taken away for talking back. Although it was understandable it did not really change my behavior. When I was a child, I would get spankings for being mean to my brother. To this day my brother and I still do not get along so I am not sure operant conditioning worked very well for me. The most common negative reinforcement I can remember was I got to leave the table early if I finished all my dinner. I did not want to sit there I wanted to go play games. But this helped me learn that not everything can be that easy. I developed into someone who works for what they want and I know I cannot achieve goals without working. My mom conditioned me to be that person.

Behaviorism and My Work 

Thinking of behaviorism and my intended profession comes naturally. I have been a nanny since my freshman year of college so I have easily used all of operant conditioning on the children I take care of. For my intended profession however, I will use different methods such as positive and negative reinforcement the most. I will never use punishment one but will use punishment two. I will use positive reinforcement to make the children and parents I work with also work when they are alone at home and not just with me. I want to praise them while they are in my care so they feel encouraged to continue while I am not there. Negative reinforcement may be used by allowing a child I am working with to stop the exercise early if they get it done correctly and with no crying or getting upset. By telling them this before they begin this may encourage them to be good and try their best. Punishment two may be used if a child does not want to cooperate.  Depending on what type of reward system I have in place I will tell the child that they do not get a reward or will get something they have achieved taken back if the uncooperativeness does not stop.

 

Picture Reference: https://edu.glogster.com/glog/classical-conditioning-association-theory/2dc3s07uphs

http://www.humanfactors.com/newsletters/playing_to_win.asp

Chapter 2: Physical Development

Summary: Physical Development 

In this chapter, we learned about what makes up a human in their physical development; alleles, and dominant and recessive features. We also learned the stages of development, different body types, and puberty. With alleles, there are dominant and recessive. The allele that is dominant will always show up. The only way the recessive allele will physically show is if it is homozygous (both the alleles are the same). Some examples of dominant traits are: dark hair, freckles, and double-jointedness. Some examples of recessive traits are: blonde hair, thin lips, and attached earlobes. Moving on to the stages of development, there is prenatal, infant and toddler, early and middle childhood, and adolescent. Within all these stages are important factors with how a child develops. In the prenatal stage, it is important for mothers to stay away from teratogens (alcohol, drugs, pollution, etc). It is also important for a mother to bond with her newborn, giving it the ability to start trusting human beings. In the infant and toddler stage, nutrition and parenting is vital to how a child can grow up. This stage can determine whether or not the child grows up obese or even just distrusting. Fine and gross motor skills also develop during this stage so it is very important to get exercise. In early and middle childhood, motor skills such as running, jumping, hopping, and skipping develop. During adolescence, puberty, body image, eating disorders, and more arise. Puberty usually occurs at around 10.5 years of age for females and 11.5 years of age for males. This can also connect to a persons body image. A skinny, tall girl may being menstruation after a heavier set girl. This slim, tall body figure is called ectomorph, while someone with a more muscular body and broud shoulders and hips is a mesomorph. The third body image is an endomorph. Endomorphs are larger than the other two and typically have trouble losing weight while ectomorphs find it hard to gain weight. (Kiersky & Murrell, 2017)

Development from infant to toddler

 

 

Physical Development and My Development

Growing up I was always made fun of for being so skinny and short. Both of my parents are slim and short, my mom is 5’3″ weighing around 120 pounds while my dad is 5’9″ weighing around 150 pounds. I was destined to be small. When I played sports I did have muscle, but it was lean and you could not see it at all. After sports, I lost all my muscle but looked the exact same, only difference being I lost weight. Throughout the years I have tried very hard to gain weight. But, because I am an ectomorph, I have not been able to gain more than 3 pounds in over two years. My metabolism is so high so no matter what I eat or do, it basically cancels out. I started puberty when I was in middle school, which I was prepared for because, lucky me, my mother was the guidance counselor who showed every student in school “the video”. It was around the same age as me that everyone else started puberty as well. Also, I can tell that I possess so many dominant traits that my kids will have them as well. I have dark brown hair, with brown eyes, and I’m double jointed with some freckles.

Physical Development and My Work

This is the most important part of my intended profession. I will be working with children who are disabled, whether that be a speech impediment, a cognitive disability, or physical disability. I will need to know the importance of physical development to help them grow a little more normally than if they did not have me there. For example, if I have a child with a cognitive disability such as autism and the mother of this child is pregnant again, I can use my knowledge to tell her what might have gone wrong during the pregnancy and how to prevent any other disabilities in her next child. I can also use my knowledge to help children develop the way they should be if they are not getting enough exercise help from their parents, or even if they are not getting the proper nutrition. I can help inform the parents on how they can better their child’s development so it does not hurt them in the long run.

Picture Reference:

http://www.activemomsnetwork.com/big-kids/141-physical-development/2810-physical-development-in-early-childhood.html

Chapter 1: Parenting

Summary: Parenting

In this chapter, the four main parenting styles were described. With parenting, there are four main styles that most children experience; authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and neglectful. These parenting styles can be described using the chart below, showing demandingness as an arrow going up and responsiveness as an arrow going to the right. Authoritative is the ideal parenting style, with its responsiveness high and its demandingness or expectations also high. Kids who are raised with this parenting style tend to achieve higher levels of success with grades and their social life. With a neglectful parent, the responsiveness is very low and so is the demandingness. This means a child gets either rare or no attention along with the parents having no expectations in the child at all. These children are the ones who will most likely end up with a criminal record and low grades. Authoritarian parents are often the ones who demand a lot from their children but are not there for moral support. They may expect perfect grades, but are not there to help their children achieve them. Lastly, the permissive parenting style. Permissive parents are more like friends than they are parents. They are there for their children emotionally, but do not expect anything from them are more likely not to care if their children do not achieve high test scores or act out. Most children with permissive parents are free to do as they like and will usually end up in trouble due to the fact that their parents are not there to act as a parent. These are the main four parenting styles that children may or may not grow up with. (Hart, 2017)

 

The parenting styles graph

 

Parenting and My Development 

Growing up I experienced many different parenting styles. My parents were divorce so I got to experience the authoritative parent and also the neglectful parent. But, because of how I was raised, I grew up to be the person I am today and I wouldn’t change that. My dad was neglectful because he did not care to talk to us or not. My brother and I saw him every other weekend but we just sat in our own separate rooms and watched tv. My mom was authoritative and I am lucky to have had that. She always expected me to get good grades and stay out of trouble so that’s what I did and I became resilient and clever. I would not be half the person I am today without the way I was parented.

Parenting and My Work

With my intended profession I will be working with young children and parents daily. The children will have some kind of disability so I need to be observant on how their parents are treating them and be mindful on how that is affecting them and their development. I will be working with children one-on-one so I will also need use these parenting styles to make the child feel as comfortable as they can. For example, I will be observant on how the child is currently parented and if it is adequate and enough to make the child feel safe and content I will mimic that style so they do not feel scared or uncomfortable. These styles are also important to know in my intended profession because if I see a child that is not being treated correctly or physically cared for, I will report it and try to get them in a better situation.

Picture Reference: (Hart, 2017)