HOME ENVIRONMENT ON CHILDREN'S DEVELOPMENT Flashcards
What is SES
A measure of a person’s economic and social position in relation to others.
Resources - money, education, connections etc.
The association between SES and cognitive development
There are lots of mechanisms + ways that the link might be there.
The effects of SES on children’s cognition are indirect and accrue over time.
ALTHOUGH, must remember that the results we look at to do with the relationship between SES and cognitive development are TRENDS
- these trends are not robust/universal BUT they do exist
How SES is measured
SES is measured in a number of ways which are then combined to create a single score (a composite score)
^ this is because the effects of SES on child’s cognition are indirect and accrue over time.
The best way to look at SES is to combine:
> Parent education
> Family Income
> Parent occupation
Combine into a composite score
Looking at all 3 of these things gives a much more comprehensive measure.
The 3 factors to look at when measuring SES
Parent Education
Family Income
Parent Occupation
Another possible measure of SES (in the UK)
Getting a measure of SES from a postcode
> using a government data tool - the INDES OF MULTIPLE DEPRIVATION
> it considers neighbourhood characteristics e.g. income and employment level of an area
How might SES exerts its’ effects on a person’s development?
SES affects:
Access to opportunities: money enables opportunities
Human capital: the skills or knowledge of an individual
Social capital: beneficial connections in social networks e.g. family friends
Links between SES and children’s cognitive development
Cumulative experience of risk factors during a sensitive period of brain expansion and growth can compromise neuro-cognitive development
The more risk factors they experience and the longer they go on for, the more impact this will have on a child’s development.
What is the ‘sensitive period’ of a child’s cognitive development?
for EXECUTIVE FUNCTION - sensitive between the ages of 2 and 5 - risk factors at this age are likely to affect executive function.
Are SES effects on cognitive development universal? Research
FARRAH et al (2006) - NO, the effects are not across the board.
- Seems to be differences between different SES children on specific things > Language > Memory > Executive Functions (cognitive control)
No effect on reward processing or spatial and visual cognition.
What has research on reward processing (marshmallow task) shown about the differences between children of low and high SES?
There are differences in how children perform on this task.
Children from low SES homes are more likely to take the small reward now over waiting for a bigger reward/they are more impulsive with rewards.
(also saw differences in age).
Links between SES and children’s maths skills
Seems to be maths skills that are particularly affected by SES - there are pre-existing differences at school entry because of this.
Maths learning is incremental/a cumulative subject.
The relationship is a gradient/a linear relationship - as SES increases, so does maths and reading skill.
Long term effects of SES effects on children’s maths skills
SES children arrive at school less well prepared to learn therefore placing them at long-term academic risk
The effect of SES on maths skills over time…
The gap widens with time + achievement gap actually becomes more pronounced with development.
Links back to maths as a cumulative subject.
It may not be a direct link between SES and maths skills…
Executive functions influence maths skills.
- i.e. executive functions may mediate the relation between SES and a child’s maths skills.
Why are the links there?
There might be differences in priorities according to SES
- i.e. prioritising feeding your children over educating them/giving them experiences.
