Chapter 7: Growing and Developing

Activities

Exercises: Watch & Learn

Exercises: Watch & Learn

What do Babies Think? A Ted Talk providing an entertaining look at child development research.

Video 7.1: What do Babies Think  (https://www.ted.com/talks/alison_gopnik_ what_do_babies_thinkutm_ campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare) uploaded by Alison Gopnik, TEDGlobal.

Exercise: Watch & Learn

Harlow’s Monkeys: This short video includes some original footage of Harlow’s work with baby monkeys plus some discussion of his work. WARNING – it is pretty harrowing at times.

Video 7.2: Harlow’s Monkeys (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_O60TYAIgC4) uploaded by TheSasss1

Exercises: Think & Do

1. Age is a crucial factor in whether someone can vote, drive, get married etc.  Having studied this chapter, at what age do you think people should:

  • be able to vote?

  • be allowed to learn how to drive?

  • be able to get married?

If you think something(s) other than age should be taken into account, then what else do you think is important and how could you assess it? Imagine you’re a parent (of course you may not need to imagine this) – how would you decide whether your child is ready to:
a) take transit on their own?
b) look after a younger sibling?
c) sleepover at a friend’s house?
d) have a social media account?

Discuss this with friends to see if they share your ideas.

Canada Father Prepares Lawsuit After Pvoince Bars Kids from Riding Bus Alone: This article looks at the plight of a parent trying to make such a decision (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/01/canada-father-bus-children-adrian-crook)

2. If you have access to a child (i.e. you can get parental permission to test them AND the child is willing) why not see how they perform on a Piagetian task or two? The video Piaget’s Stages of Development below will give you some ideas.

Video 7.3: Piaget’s Stages of Development (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRF27F2bn-A) uploaded by misssmith891.

3.  At the other end of the age-spectrum, do you know any “old” people (over 80)?  If so, interview them about their life.  See if you can get a sense of whether the challenges they faced at various ages were the ones Erikson would have expected.

4.  SITE REQUIRES A SIGN IN Work through this activity exploring Marcia’s theory of Identity Development, then think about some adolescents you know – can you categorize them according to Marcia’s model?  Can you think of some questions to ask adolescents which would help a researcher identify which “stage” of identity development they are at? https://oli.cmu.edu/jcourse/workbook/activity/page?context=df3e73260a0001dc3ec3aef76b2e77e8


References

BBC iPlayer Radio. (2008, September 1). The Heinz Dilemma. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b008drfq

BBC iPlayer Radio. (2003, December 16). Jean Piaget: The three mountains. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00f8n1g

BBC iPlayer Radio. (2005, October 19). Mary Ainsworth. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00f8n6q

Carnegie Mellon University. Open Learning Initiative. Retrieved from https://oli.cmu.edu/jcourse/workbook/activity/page?context=df3e73260a0001dc3ec3aef76b2e77e8

CBC News. (2016). What is Canada’s ‘age of consent’ and what are the Liberals changing? Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/faq-age-of-consent-law-canada-1.3851507

The Guardian. (2017). Canada father prepares lawsuit after province bars kids from riding bus alone. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/01/canada-father-bus-children-adrian-crook

The Guardian. (2016). Are gendered toys harming childhood development? Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/may/28/toys-kids-girls-boys-childhood-development-gender-research

The Guardian. (2017). Forget-me-nots in Purley: how the town became ‘dementia friendly’. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/feb/02/purley-uk-latest-dementia-friendly-community

The Guardian. (2014). Wild teenage behaviour linked to rapid cognitive change in the brain. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/sep/05/teenage-brain-behaviour-prefrontal-cortex

Misssmith891. (2011, April 26). Piaget’s stages of development [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRF27F2bn-A

The Sassss1. (2012, September 17). Harlow’s Monkey’s [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_O60TYAIgC4

TED. TedGlobal. (2011). What do babies think. Retrieved from  https://www.ted.com/talks/alison_gopnik_what_do_babies_think

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