Chapter Six Off to School: Cognitive and Physical Development in Middle School

Question 1

More Sophisticated Thinking: What is Piaget’s Version?

Answer 1

Concrete-operational period (7-11 years)
– Can perform mental operations – actions
that can be performed on objects or ideas
that yield a consistent result
– Mental operations are limited to concrete
problems in the here and now
* Cannot deal effectively with abstract or
hypothetical problems

Question 2

What is the formal-operational period?

Answer 2

Formal-operational period (11 years to adult)
– Can reason abstractly and hypothetically
* Understand that a hypothetical problem
need not correspond to the real world
– Use deductive reasoning to draw logical
conclusions from the facts
– Engage in combinatorial reasoning —
generating all the different ways a given
number of items can be arranged

Question 3

What is Information-Processing Strategies for learning/remembering?

Answer 3

Working memory (WM): the temporary
storage and use of information that one
needs to perform a task (e.g., looking up and
dialing a new phone number; taking a test)
– Limited in capacity and how long it lasts
* Long-term memory (LTM): the storehouse for
memory that is permanent and of unlimited
capacity
– Information is transferred into LTM, stored
in it, and retrieved from it

Question 4

What are Memory strategies?

Answer 4

Memory Strategies
* 7- to 8-year-olds: use less effective learning
and memory strategies, such as rehearsal
* Older children: use more effective learning
and memory strategies, including
– Taking notes and keeping a calendar
– Organization: structuring new information
into related categories
– Elaboration: making new information
memorable by embellishing it

Question 5

What is metamemory?

Answer 5

Metamemory
– Our intuitive understanding of memory
– Diagnosing memory problems accurately
and monitoring their effectiveness
* Children gradually understand memory
through their theory of mind, including that:
– Memory is fallible
– Some memory tasks are easier than others

Question 6

What is metacognition?

Answer 6

Being aware of how perception, cognition,
intentions, and knowledge work, and
adjusting strategies related to each
– Metacognitive knowledge: understanding
connections among goals, strategies,
monitoring, and outcomes
* Cognitive self-regulation: identifying goals,
selecting effective strategies, and monitoring
accurately

Question 7

What are theories of intelligence?

Answer 7

Psychometricians: specialists trained in
measuring psychological characteristics, such
as intelligence and personality
* Test development
– Administer different tests intended to
measure the same attribute to numerous
people
– Determine whether scores on the different
tests are highly positively correlated

Question 8

What is the Hierarchical View of Intelligence?

Answer 8

John Carroll (1993)
– Theorized that there are three levels of IQ
* Top: the g factor (general IQ)
* Middle: eight broad subcategories of IQ
* Lowest: several specific skills associated
with each of the eight subcategories
– Theory is purely psychometrically driven
– Ignores research and theory on cognitive
development

Question 9

What is Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligence?

Answer 9

Derived from several sources
* Nine types of intelligences
– 1-3: Linguistic, Logical-Mathematical,
Spatial
– 4-9: Musical, Bodily-Kinesthetic,
Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, Naturalistic,
Existential
* Each has own developmental trajectory and
is regulated by distinct brain regions

Question 10

What is emotional intelligence?

Answer 10

Goleman first synthesized relevant research
– Many models, such as Mayer et al.’s multi-
dimensional one
– Perceiving different emotions accurately
– Understanding own and others’ emotions;
regulating one’s emotions
– Higher scores on relevant tests predict
more satisfying interpersonal relationships,
greater self-esteem, and greater workplace
effectiveness

Question 11

What is Sternberg’s Theory of Successful Intelligence?

Answer 11

Sternberg: Theory of Successful
Intelligence
* Successful intelligence is using one’s abilities
skillfully to achieve personal goals
* Some goals may be more or less appropriate
depending on context
* Personal goals are achieved via three
abilities
– Analytic: generating different solutions
– Creative: dealing adaptively with new
situations and problems
– Practical: knowing which solution will work

Question 12

What is Bient and the development of intelligence thinking?

Answer 12

Binet & Simon
– First test to distinguish between “bright” vs.
“dull” children
– Mental age:
* Bright children have an MA of children
older than they were (8-year-olds with
an MA of 10)
* Dull children have an MA of children
younger than they were (6-year-olds
with an MA of 3)

Question 13

Who was Stanford Bient?

Answer 13

Lewis Terman at Stanford University adapted
Binet & Simon’s test
– Terman’s intelligence quotient (IQ)
compares person’s mental age (MA) to
chronological age (CA)
* IQ = MA/CA x 100
* Average IQ score always is 100
* Higher than average is +100
* Lower than average is < 100

Question 14

What is intelligence testing?

Answer 14

Q tests no longer use the MA/CA comparison
for computation of IQ
* Today, children’s performance on IQ tests are
compared to the average IQ scores of
children their own age
* An IQ score
– = 100 denotes average
– > 100 is above average
– < 100 indicates less than average

Question 15

What are contemporary IQ Tests?

Answer 15

The Stanford Binet V: the current (2003)
version of Binet’s test
* The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children,
4th Edition (WISC-IV)
* The Kaufman Assessment Battery for
Children, 2nd Edition (K-ABC-II)

Question 16

Do tests work?

Answer 16

IQ test scores have been shown to predict:
– School grades, achievement test scores,
and years of education
– Occupational success
– Performance or earnings in complex jobs
* The predictions are not perfect
– Correlations range from .5 -.7 for school
grades, achievement tests, and education
* Self-discipline can predict school grades
better than IQ

Question 17

What are some hereditary or environment factors?

Answer 17

Fraternal twins IQ scores are:
– Less similar than those for identical twins
– Similar to siblings with the same biological
parents
– More similar than those of adopted siblings
* Adopted children’s IQ scores are more similar
to their biological than adoptive parents; this
effect is stronger with increasing age

Question 18

What are the impact interventions?

Answer 18

Studies show Head Start is effective in
increasing basic reading readiness and social
skills
* Intervention programs increase students’ IQ
and school achievement scores
* Economic and social consequences of
poverty justify use of these interventions

Question 19

What are some more hereditary and environmental factors?

Answer 19

While ethnic groups differ in IQ scores,
heredity does not adequately explain them
* Most researchers agree that environmental
influences are present
* Differences in IQ
– Between ethnic groups reflect differences
in environments
– Within any one ethnic group are partly
hereditary

Question 20

What is the impact of Ethnicity and Social class?

Answer 20

Studies show differences in IQ scores among
ethnic groups
– Asian Americans > European Americans >
Hispanic Americans > African Americans
* These differences are impacted by
socioeconomic status (SES)
* However, IQ test score differences persist
after accounting for SES differences

Question 21

What happens with the experience with tests contents?

Answer 21

Cultural biases in IQ tests may yield:
– Higher scores for economically advantaged
European Americans
– Lower scores for economically
disadvantaged children from other ethnic
groups
* Culturally-fair IQ tests include items based on
common experiences across cultures

Question 22

What are some test taking skills?

Answer 22

Ethnic groups differ in how much experience
they have taking standardized tests
* These experiences may differentially affect
test-taking skills
* Different ethnic or cultural groups may have
test-taking skills that diverge from those required on IQ tests

Question 23

What goes on with stereotype threat and self affirmation?

Answer 23

Stereotype threat
– Self-fulfilling prophecy
– Anxiety and reduced test performance may
result from knowledge about stereotypes
concerning one’s ability
* Self-affirmation: reminding the self of
important values and why these are important
(e.g., doing well in school)
– Shown to reduce stereotype threat and to
improve performance in African Americans

Question 24

What goes on with interpreting test scores?

Answer 24

Test scores show a child’s adaptation to a
particular cultural context; this may not be the
child’s dominant culture
* Most IQ tests predict success in schools with
middle-class values
– Children scoring poorly may lack the skills
required to succeed in that environment
– Intervention can improve those skills
* Individuals differ in IQ more than ethnic
groups do

Question 25

What are gifted children?

Answer 25

Gifted Children
* Giftedness: traditionally defined as an IQ
score of 130 or higher
* Giftedness today: exceptional talent in areas
such as art, music, writing, or dance
* Exceptional talent’s prerequisites seem to be:
– Child’s love for a subject and
overwhelming desire to master it
– Receiving early instruction from inspiring
and talented teachers
– Parental support, help, and commitment

Question 26

What about children with disabilities?

Answer 26

wo diagnostic criteria for intellectual
disability; both must emerge before 18 years
of age
– Substantial limitations in intellectual ability,
defined as IQ score ≤ 70
– Problems adapting to the environment
* Intellectual disability
– Conveys a poor fit between person’s
capacities and those needed in a particular
context, such as school

Question 27

What about children with intellectual disability?

Answer 27

Four risk factors
– Biomedical (chromosomal, malnutrition,
traumatic brain injury)
– Social (poverty, poor parent-child relations)
– Behavioral (child neglect, domestic
violence)
– Educational (poor parenting, poor services)
* Risk increases as more of these factors are
present

Question 28

What about children with learning disabilities?

Answer 28

A child with a learning disability
– Has difficulty mastering an academic
subject
– Is of normal intelligence
– Must not struggle due to some other
condition (e.g., poor instruction, sensory
deficits)
* Learning disabilities diagnosed in ± 5% of
U.S. school-age children

Question 29

Children with Learning Disabilities:
Common Learning Disabilities

Answer 29

Three common learning disabilities
– Developmental dyslexia (i.e., reading
disability)
– Impaired reading comprehension
– Developmental dyscalculia (i.e.,
mathematical disability)

Question 30

Writing

Answer 30

Knowledge about topics
* Organizing writing
– Knowledge telling strategy
– Knowledge transforming strategy
* The mechanical requirements of writing
* Skill in revising

Question 31

Math

Answer 31

Children with developmental dyscalculia
– Constitute 5-10% of young children
– May also suffer from a reading disability
– Have difficulty learning to count, add, or
subtract
– As 3rd graders, still use fingers to count or
add
– These children may be impaired in one or
more of arithmetic-related memory retrieval
or cognitive processes

Question 32

Effective schools, Effective teachers

Answer 32

School based influences on student
achievement
– Teach actively
– Pay careful attention to pacing
– Value tutoring
– Teach students techniques for monitoring
and managing their own learning

Question 33

Growth

Answer 33

Boys and girls are about the same size during
the elementary-school years
* Girls are more likely to enter puberty toward
the end of the elementary-school years
* At ages 11-12, the average girl is about ½
inch taller than the average boy
* The average 7- to 10-year-old needs a well-
balanced diet of 2,400 calories/day
– Breakfast should comprise ¼ of these

Question 34

Development of Motor Skills

Answer 34

Children at 11 can throw a ball three times
farther than at 3, and jump twice as far
* Fine motor skill improvement is obvious in
handwriting

Question 35

Gender Differences in Motor Skills

Answer 35

Girls are better than boys in fine motor skills (e.g.,
handwriting) and certain gross motor skills
(flexibility, balance)
* Boys do better in other gross motor skills
(strength, throwing, catching, jumping, running)
– Boys’ better strength is due to their bodies
having relatively less fat but more muscle
– Boys’ better remaining skills reflect the
activities in which they are more involved
* Girls may spend less time on sports and fitness-
related activities

Question 36

Physical Fitness

Answer 36

Physical activities promote health
* < 50% of U.S. elementary school children
meet national fitness standards
* Obesity is epidemic in U.S. children and
adolescents
* Multiple risk factors for obesity
– Little physical education class time and its
poor use
– Too much time spent in sedentary activities

Question 37

Participating in Sports

Answer 37

Sports involvement promotes social skills and
self-esteem; helps children learn initiative
* Children playing sports use cognitive skills to
devise new game strategies
* Engaging in well-supervised sports plus other
adult-led activities is beneficial
* Children lose interest in sports if these are
too stressful and when adults overemphasize
competition instead of skill development