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PSY206/Fall 2007/DeGiorgio
Children and Their Development, 4/e by Robert Kail,
Chapter 1 Objectives
Chapter 1: The Science of Child Development
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
· Explain some of the general themes in development
· Name and explain each of the major theories of child development
· Describe how the major theories account for change across infancy, childhood, and adolescence
· Describe how development is always influenced by both heredity and environment
· Explain how children influence their own development
· Describe how development in different domains is connected
· Explain the three general approaches that scientists use to measure topics or behaviors of interest and the corresponding strengths and weaknesses
· Determine whether a measurement is both reliable and valid
· Explain the difference between populations and samples
· Define the independent variable and the dependent variable in an experiment
· Explain the difference between laboratory and field experiments
· Explain the different types of designs for studying development
· Select the most appropriate research design to study a given topic in child development
· Understand the strengths and weaknesses of developmental designs
· Interpret correlation coefficients
· Define meta-analysis
· Explain the ethical responsibilities of conducting research
· Describe how researchers communicate research results and discuss why this is important
Chapter 2 ObjectivesChapter 2: Genetic Bases of Child Development
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
· Explain what are chromosomes and genes
· Explain what dominant and recessive traits are and how they are inherited
· Describe polygenic inheritance and explain how is it studied in children and adults
· Discuss how heredity influences behavioral and psychological development
· Explain those disorders that are inherited
· Discuss those disorders that are caused by too many or too few chromosomes
· Explain how genes affect behavior
· Explain how twin studies provide important clues about the influence of heredity
· Discuss the common disorders associated with sex chromosomes
· Explain why phenylketonuria (PKU) is dangerous when ingested by pregnant women and the treatment offered for babies born with the disease
· Describe how family environments influence children's development
Chapter 3 ObjectivesChapter 3: Prenatal Development, Birth, and the Newborn
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
· Define prenatal development and its stages
· Understand the major developments of the period of the zygote
· Explain the major developments of the period of the embryo
· Describe the major developments of the period of the fetus
· Understand what a woman should do to provide the best foundation for prenatal development
· Understand the general risk factors to prenatal development
· Define teratogens and understand their affects on prenatal development
· Understand the five general principles of how teratogens usually work
· Learn how doctors can assess if prenatal development is progressing normally
· Describe fetal medicine and what can be done to treat prenatal problems before birth
· Understand the stages of labor and delivery
· Explain approaches to childbirth
· Understand how parents have to adjust to parenthood
· Learn some common birth complications
· Understand infant mortality
· Describe how it is determined if a baby is healthy and adjusting to life outside the uterus
· Understand reflexes commonly found in newborn babies
· Learn the newborn states
· Identify the three distinctive types of cries
· Describe patterns of sleep in infancy
· Understand sudden infant death syndrome
· Understand how well infants experience their world
Chapter 4 Objectives
Chapter 4: Growth and Health
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
· Describe the important features of physical growth during childhood
· Explain how these features of physical growth vary from child to child
· Discuss how sleep and nutrition contribute to physical growth
· Explain the physical changes associated with puberty and describe their consequences
· Describe the psychological impact of puberty in both boys and girls.
· Explain malnutrition, its consequences, and some possible solutions to malnutrition
· Discuss how nature and nurture lead some adolescent girls to diet excessively
· Explain why some children become obese and how they can lose weight permanently
· Describe the parts of a nerve cell and explain how the brain is organized
· Explain how the brain is formed during prenatal development and when the different regions of the brain begin to function
· Describe brain plasticity and explain why the brain is not completely plastic
Chapter 5 Objectives
Chapter 5: Perceptual and Motor Development
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
· Define sensory and perceptual processes and their relation to motor skills
· Describe how researchers study infant sensory abilities
· Discuss smell, taste, and touch in infancy
· Discuss hearing in infancy and impairments in hearing
· Describe visual perception in infancy
· Explain how infants integrate sensory information
· Describe how infants perceive objects
· Describe depth perception in infancy and how researchers have studied it
· Explain how infants perceive faces
· Understand attention and how it improves
· Define attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
· Recognize what motor skills infants must master
· Describe milestones in locomotion
· Explain how locomotion develops
· Describe the component skills of walking and the milestones beyond walking
· Describe fine motor skills
· Explain how handedness develops
· Discuss the benefits of physical fitness
· Explain whether children benefit from participation in sports
Chapter 6 ObjectivesChapter 6: Theories of Cognitive Development
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
· Describe schemes
· Explain how assimilation and accommodation help children understand an experience
· Describe what equilibration is and explain how it changes the ways children think
· Describe the distinguishing features of thinking during the preoperational stage
· Explain the strengths and weaknesses of concrete operational thinking
· Describe the types of reasoning skills that define formal operational thinking
· Discuss the ways in which parents and teachers have applied Piaget's theory
· Describe some of the criticisms of Piaget's theory
· Describe how neo-Piagetian theories differ from Piaget's original theory
· Discuss the naïve theories children hold about physics, psychology, and biology
· Explain why Vygotsky viewed development as an apprenticeship
· Describe the basic characteristics of the information processing approach
· Explain how information processing changes with development
· Contrast the information processing approach with Piaget's theory
Chapter 7 ObjectivesChapter 7: Cognitive Processes and Academic Skills
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
· Describe the origins of memory
· Explain strategies children can use to enhance memory
· Understand how knowledge influences memory
· Describe autobiographical memory
· Understand children's effectiveness as eyewitnesses
· Explain the components of skilled reading
· Describe factors that contribute to improved comprehension
· Understand the factors that contribute to improved writing as children develop
· Describe children's knowledge and use of numbers
· Understand children's use of addition and subtraction
· Describe cultural differences in mathematical competence
· Explain ways in which American schools could be improved
Chapter 8 Objectives
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
· Explain the psychometric view of the nature of intelligence
· Describe how Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences differs from the psychometric approach
· Discuss the three components of Sternberg's triarchic theory of intelligence
· Explain the reasons why intelligence tests were devised initially
· Explain how modern intelligence tests differ from the initially developed tests
· Describe how modern intelligence tests work and if they work well at assessing intelligence
· Describe the roles of heredity and environment in determining intelligence
· Explain how ethnicity and social class influence intelligence test scores
· Discuss the characteristics of gifted and creative children
· Explain the different forms of mental retardation
· Describe what learning disabilities are and the most common type of learning disability
Chapter 9 ObjectivesChapter 9: Language and Communication
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
· Describe the basic elements of language and how infants perceive them
· Explain how infant directed speech helps children learn about language
· Discuss the issues related to the impact of cochlear implants for deaf children
· Describe first steps to speech
· Explain how infants make the transition from babbling to talking
· Describe different styles of learning language
· Explain the process by which children learn new words
· Explain how parents and other adults can encourage work learning
· Discuss the effects of growing up bilingual
· Describe how children progress from two-word sentences to complex sentences
· Discuss the different approaches to understanding how children acquire grammar
· Describe ways in which language development can be promoted
· Learn the guidelines for effective communication
· Explain the process by which children learn to take turns
· Describe how children become effective speakers
· Explain what is necessary to be a good listener
Chapter 10 Objectives
Chapter 10: Emotional Development
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
· Discuss how and at what age children begin to express basic emotions
· Explain complex emotions and at what age they develop
· Describe when and how children begin to understand other people's emotions and how they use this information to guide their own behavior
· Explain when children show evidence of regulating emotion and discuss why this is an important skill
· Discuss the different features of temperament
· Explain how heredity and environment influence temperament
· Describe how stable a child's temperament is across childhood
· Discuss the consequences of differing temperaments in children
· Explain how an attachment relationship develops between an infant and primary caregiver
· Describe the different types of attachment relationships
· Explain the consequences of different types of attachment relationships
Chapter 11 Objectives
Chapter 11: Understanding Self and Others
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
· Describe the origins of self-concept
· Describe children's evolving self-concept
· Explain the search for identity
· Discuss the limitations in adolescents' thinking that accompany the search for identity
· Describe the different phases or statuses of achieving identity
· Discuss how adolescents choose a career
· Describe ethnic identity and its development
· Describe storm and stress in adolescence
· Discuss depression in adolescence
· Describe how to measure self-esteem
· Describe change and stability in self-esteem
· Describe the sources of self-esteem
· Explain how self-esteem may change when children are in gifted classes
· Describe the consequences of low self-esteem
· Discuss how children describe others
· Describe the progression in understanding what others think
· Explain what parents, teachers, and other adults can do to rid children of prejudice
Chapter 12 Objectives
Chapter 12: Moral Understanding and Behavior
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
· Describe when self-control begins and how it changes as children develop
· Explain how parents influence their children's ability to maintain self-control
· Describe the strategies children can use to improve their self-control
· Explain how children reason about moral issues and how this changes during childhood and adolescence
· Describe how concern for justice and caring for other people contributes to moral reasoning
· Discuss the factors that assist in promoting more sophisticated reasoning about moral issues
· Explain how prosocial behavior changes with age
· Describe the skills that children need to behave prosocially
· Explain the types of situations that influence children's prosocial behavior
· Discuss briefly how parents can foster prosocial behavior in their children
· Explain when aggressive behavior first emerges in children and explain how aggression changes across childhood, adolescence, and adulthood
· Discuss how families, television, and the child's own thoughts contribute to aggression
· Explain why some children are victims of aggression
Chapter 13 ObjectivesChapter 13: Gender and Development
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
· Define the basic terminology related to gender and development
· Describe gender stereotypes and how they differ for males and females
· Explain how children learn gender stereotypes
· Describe gender differences in physical development and behavior
· Describe gender differences in intellectual abilities and achievement
· Describe gender differences in personality and social behavior
· Discuss the implications of gender differences on development
· Discuss the socializing influences of people and the media on gender role learning
· Explain cognitive theories of gender identity
· Explain androgyny and how it is related to traditional conceptions of masculinity and femininity
· Discuss if parents can raise gender neutral children
· Discuss how to encourage valuable traits, not gender traits
Chapter 14 Objectives
Chapter 14: Family Relationships
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
· Describe the family as a system
· Demonstrate an understanding of the dimensions of parenting
· Describe the different parenting styles
· Explain the three specific behaviors parents can use to influence their children: direct instruction, modeling, and feedback
· Describe the conditions under which punishment works best
· Demonstrate an understanding of how children affect their parents' behavior
· Explain cultural influences and family configuration
· Describe the role of grandparents in families including the important role of grandmothers in African American family life
· Demonstrate an understanding of children of gay and lesbian parents
· Explain differences between firstborn, later born, and only children