Theorists Flashcards
(136 cards)
1
Q
Who are the 4 attachment theorists?
A
Bowlby, Ainsworth, Rutter and Schaffer and Emerson
2
Q
What was Bowlby’s theory?
A
The importance of attachment of children’s later lives. He suggested that babies were born primed to develop an attachment to 1 key person.
3
Q
Who did Bowlby focus the child’s attachment to be with?
A
Mother
4
Q
Why do babies need that one attachment? - Bowlby.
A
Suggested it was a survival instinct because of attaching to one person, the baby could be protected and have their needs met.
5
Q
What happens if a child is deprived of a mother in the early years of their life? - Bowlby.
A
would affect their later social and emotional development
6
Q
Definition of maternal deprivation? - Bowlby.
A
Being deprived of a mother in the early years affecting their social and emotional development.
7
Q
What are the 3 clear stages of separation anxiety? - Bowlby.
A
- protest
- Despair
- Detachment
8
Q
What’s the protest stage in Bowlby’s theory?
A
In the early stages of not being with their mothers, children cry and are very distressed.
9
Q
What’s the Despair stage in Bowlby’s theory?
A
Children become withdrawn and very quiet - they’ve given up hope.
10
Q
What’s the detachment stage in Bowlby’s theory?
A
After a period of separation children “give up” on their attachment and when reunited will avoid contact with their parent.
11
Q
What’s Bowlby’s internal working model?
A
He was one of the 1st to recognise that the quality of the 1st bond a child makes will be a template for later relationships + for the child’s views of others
12
Q
Criticisms of Bowlby’s work =
A
- Only focused on the mother providing the attachment
- He suggested that babies would make a bond only with one person - monotropy
- That mothers should stay with their babies for the first 2 years of their lives.
13
Q
How has Bowlby’s work changed many practices?
A
Policies in hospitals and early years settings: parents can now stay over and / visit the children when they are in hospital.
In early years: They now have settling in policies to ensure babies do not become distressed due to missing their parents.
Continued contact for absent parents - shows the importance of children having continued contact with absent parents. Eg: Family breakdown - explains why when contact between absent parent and child breaks down because children are reluctant to spend time with them because of detachment.
14
Q
What’s Ainsworth’s theory? Compared to Bowlby’s.
A
Quality of attachment to the mother, she considered how sensitive mothers were to their babies’ needs while Bowlby focused on the physical presence of the mother.
15
Q
What was the experiment that Ainsworth did to test the quality of attachment that babies had with their mothers?
A
The strange situation
16
Q
How old were the babies in the strange situation experiment? - between __ and ___ months
A
between 9 and 18 months.
17
Q
What happened in part 1 of the strange situation? - Ainsworth
A
- Child and mother put in a room + mother is asked to not participate as baby explores.
- Stranger enters + talks to parent. + parent leaves the room
- Stranger engages with the child, following their cues
- The parent comes back in and stranger leaves.
18
Q
What happened in part 2 of the strange situation? - Ainsworth
A
- Parent leaves the room and child is alone
- Stranger comes in and engages with child and follows their cues
- Parent enters and stranger leaves.
19
Q
What did Ainsworth look at during this experiment?
A
Many aspects of the child’s reactions - when parent left then came back in
Ainsworth also considered how much the child explored and interacted with the stranger
20
Q
What are the 4 types of attachment? - Ainsworth.
A
- Secure attachment
- Insecure avoidant attachment
-Insecure ambivalent / resistant attachment - Disorganised disorientated attachment
21
Q
Features of the secure attachment =
A
- Parents are sensitive to their child’s needs
- Babies are able to explore when their parent is present as they can use them as a safe base
- They are relaxed when the stranger is present alongside parent
- Shows distress when parent leaves
- Pleased to see parent return and quick to calm down.
22
Q
Features of the Insecure avoidant attachment =
A
- Babies tend to ignore parent + doesn’t react when parent leaves
- Don’t explore much
- Show no fear of stranger
- Parent’s who routinely ignore child’s needs
23
Q
Features of the insecure ambivalent / resistant attachment =
A
- Clingy to parent even before experiment started
- Very fearful of stranger
- When parent returned baby was hard to comfort + settle down.
- Babies shows anger + helplessness
- Parents who are inconsistent - needs are sometimes met.
24
Q
Features of the disorganised - disorientated attachment =
A
- Added after it was noted that some children didn’t fit into the other 3.
- Babies showed a range of emotions eg: fear, freezing
Some wanted to be close with parent and others didn’t. - Babies don’t show a pattern in this category.
25
What has Ainsworth's theory influenced?
- Advice to parents - now understood that tuning into children and being sensitive to their needs can affect later development.
- Classes eg: baby massage are used to increase the amount of responsiveness between parent + child.
Research identified that parents who had experienced trauma eg: bereavement + depression = more likely to have children with disorganised disorientated attachment.
- Link between attachment and depression is now increasingly recognised and more support provided to parents.
26
Criticisms of Ainsworth's experiment =
- Babies' experiences of being left with others may affect their responses.
- Parents may be responding to their babies' temperament eg: some babies at birth are easier to settle than others.
- Not considered to be reliable when carried out in other cultures.
27
What was Rutter's theory?
He used Bowlby's work as a starting point for his own research. Concluded that he failed to see the difference between a baby who has never formed a relationship with a mother and one who did and then experienced separation.
-Used the terms privation and deprivation.
28
What does privation mean?
Babies' who have never formed an attachment
29
What does deprivation mean?
Babies' who had been separated from their mothers.
30
What are the different effects of privation and deprivation? - Rutter.
He saw that children who had never formed an attachment fared worse than those who had started off with an attachment.
They were more likely to show attention - seeking behaviours and to be dependent, as well as being ready to form relationships + friendships with anyone. The effects in later life included: antisocial behaviour + lack of empathy.
31
How does cognitive and language development link to attachment according to Rutter?
He saw that as well as providing an emotional template attachment has a role in supporting cognitions of attachment.
32
Influence in the world - Rutter's theory
His work has helped:
- Early years settings to recognise the role of attachment in children's education, emotional and social development - helped professionals to work on the quality of attachments.
Also meant that young babies who are removed into care are usually put with a foster family so they can develop an attachment. - because the experience of having an attachment is recognised as being protective.
33
Criticisms of Rutter's theory =
- Based on his choice of case histories - as number involved are relatively small.
34
What is Schaffer and Emerson's theory
They were looking and understanding how babies form and develop attachments. They looked at the babies for the first 18 months of their lives. They visited them monthly in their homes + asked parents to keep a diary. When visiting the parents, researchers noted the adults' sensitivity to the children as well as their interactions.
35
True or false: They observed that the quality of responses mattered more than the length of time that an adult spends with them. - Schaffer and Emerson.
True
36
What are the 4 stages - how babies developed attachments. - Schaffer and Emerson.
- Asocial stage
- Indiscriminate attachment
- Specific attachment
- Multiple attachments
37
What's the Asocial stage? - 0-6 weeks.
Infants behaviour is directed at anyone / anything positive reaction (smiling). - They stare at human faces / representations of faces (smiling sun).
38
What's the indiscriminate attachment stage? - 6 weeks - 7 months.
Children are happy to be with anyone but from around 3 months they start to smile more at familiar faces + likely to be soothed easily by a familiar adult. They have no fear of strangers + can be left without showing separation anxiety.
39
What's the specific attachment stage? - 7 months +
Babies develop 1 special person - clear preference to.
They show separation anxiety when this adult is not available.
Show stranger anxiety.
40
What's the multiple attachments stage? - 10 months.
Babies regularly see other adults (grandparents, childminders, early years practitioners - can develop attachments to them. The quality of these attachments will depend on the responsiveness of the adult - not the amount of time spent with them.
41
Meaning of stranger anxiety - Schaffer and Emerson
When babies start to be fearful of unfamiliar adults even when they are with their parents.
42
Where has the work of Schaffer and Emerson about the sequence of attachment been used?
Some settings to influence their settling in policies.
43
Influence of Schaffer's and Emerson's work =
- Able to show that Bowlby's theory that babies attach to one caregiver was not accurate.
- They were able to show that quality of adult response mattered more than time.
-Proved reassuring for working parents - who now know that provided they spend "quality time" with their baby an attachment can still be formed.
44
Criticisms of Schaffer and Emerson's theory.
- Sample size too small
- Reliant on parent observation
- Study wasn't carried out in several different geographical areas - may be cultural bias.
45
What did Noam Chomsky suggest?
He suggested that babies were born with the potential to learn language. He proposed that this was innate or instinctive.
He also looked at the way in which children and babies appear to follow a pattern in terms of how they learn language + are able to detect grammar.
46
What does language acquisition device refer to (LAD)?
To talk about the structures in the brain that made this possible.
47
What's universal grammar? - Chomsky
That all human languages share a deep structure rooted in a set of grammatical rules and categories.
Universal grammar is understood intuitively by all humans.
48
What does poverty of the stimulus mean? - Chomsky.
He argued that the linguistic input received by children is often insufficient for them to learn the complexities of their native language solely through imitation / reinforcement. - yet children rapidly + consistently master native langs - pointing to inherent cognitive structures.
49
What does critical period mean? - Chomsky.
He put forward a critical period for language acquisition, during where the brain is particularly receptive to linguistic input, making language learning more efficient.
50
Strengths of Chomsky's theory:
- Emphasises on the innate nature of language acquisition.
- His theory influenced the field of linguistics, leading to advancements in our understanding of language structure and syntax.
51
What are criticisms of Chomsky's theory?
- Lack of concrete evidence for the existence of universal grammar.
- Challenging to empirically prove the existence of a universal grammar shared by all languages.
- Oversimplify the complexity of language acquisition + overlook the environmental factors in shaping language development.
52
What did Piaget suggest?
That there were 4 stages in the development of children's thinking.
53
What was Piaget's view of language?
Was that it's a tool to support thinking and so it reflects their level of understanding at the time.
54
Egocentric speech =
To describe when talk is not aimed at anyone else - children talk out loud to themselves when they play.
55
Other form of language use is socialised - which is where:
Children use language as a tool for communication.
56
What did Piaget's work focus on?
Children being active in their learning and using their experiences as a basis for their thinking.
57
Criticisms of Piaget's theory:
- Underestimating children's thinking and language.
- Not being able to observe the supposed causes of behaviour
- Doesn't sufficiently explain individual differences in cognitive development.
58
Strengths of Piaget's theory:
- Teacher develops a better understanding of their student's thinking.
- Provides a general guide to cognitive development and constraints on the developing mind.
59
An example of how this can be used in practice =
Educators should challenge children's knowledge by exposing them to new experiences and information.
60
What are the 4 stages of cognitive development?
Sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operations, formal operations.
61
What are the features of the sensorimotor stage?
0 - 2 yrs
- Language use is egocentric
- Crying is to meet babies' own needs
- Knows the world through movements and sensations
- Learn about the world through basic actions (grasping, sucking)
- Infants learn that things can continue to exist even though their can't be seen.
62
What are the features of the preoperational stage?
2-7 yrs
- Children continue to use egocentric language.
- Animism and their use of language to reflect this - eg: giving a cuddly toy a voice / drawing a smile on a mood.
- Children start to use language symbolically and talk about things that aren't present
- Begin to think symbolically + learn to use words + pictures to represent objects.
63
What are the features of the concrete operations stage?
7-11 yrs
- Children think logically about concrete events
- Begin to understand the concepts of conservation eg: amount of liquid in a short wide cup = to a tall skinny glass.
- More logical thinking + organised but still very concrete
- Using inductive logic / reasoning from specific information to a general principle.
64
What are the features of the Formal operations stage?
12+ yrs
- Begin to think abstractly + reason about hypothetical issues
- Teens begin to think more about moral, philosophical, ethical, social and political issues that require theoretical + abstract reasoning.
- Start to use deductive logic / reasoning from a general principle to specific information.
65
What did Piaget believe?
Children develop patterns + actions and through their thinking they arrive at a conclusion.
66
Meaning of assimilation =
What a child already knows
67
Meaning of Equilibrium =
A state of balance between individuals' mental schemata and their environment. It helps to explain how children can move from 1 stage of thought to the next.
68
Meaning of Disequilibrium =
When individuals encounter new discrepant information
69
Meaning of Accommodation =
In order to return to a state of equilibrium, child can ignore information / attempt to manage it + accept it.
70
Meaning of a Schema =
Helps us organise + interpret the information. It's a cognitive structure that represents our knowledge about a concept / category. It influences how we perceive new information + how we interpret the world around us based on our existing beliefs and experiences.
71
What was Bruner's theory?
His work suggested that adults also have a role in helping babies develop language.
He used the term Language acquisition support system (LASS) suggesting that adults have the ability to step by step support their language through eg: every day routines.
72
What does Bruner's theory explain?
Why there can be significant differences between the language learning of children of the same age - some may be better supported by adults then others.
73
Bruner's 3 stages =
Enactive - Learning through actions + hands on
Symbolic - Learner has the ability to think abstractly.
Iconic - learning through models and pictures
74
Example of Bruner's theory used in practice =
- Teachers should encourage student learning through guided inquiry + open ended questions.
This approach empowers learners to seek answers + make connections + develop their cognitive abilities.
75
What did Vygotsky view language as?
Central to learning
76
What do interactions that children have with their parents, family members and others help them to develop?
Their cognition
77
What did Vygotsky believe drove thought?
Language
78
What did Vygotsky suggest about language and thought?
That they begun by being 2 different activities.
79
What's external speech? - how do we use it?
Use to communicate with other.
80
What's inner speech?
It helps us to think
81
Until what age did Vygotsky believe that children aren't able to use these types of speech in distinct ways = speech is often blend of the 2. + with younger children they often provide a running commentary on themselves as they play.
7 yrs.
82
Why is Vygotsky's theory significant?
Because it suggests that without interactions children's ability to think will be limited. His approach is why adults may pose questions to children as a way of extending their learning
83
3 main concepts of cognitive development that Vygotsky posed were:
- Culture is significant in learning
- Language is the root of culture
- Individuals learn and develop within their role in the community.
84
What did Vygotsky's theory emphasise?
The role of social interaction in learning and development
85
Zone of proximal development (ZPD) -
A concept that describes the gap between what a learner can do without help and what they can achieve with guidance and encouragement from a more skilled person.
86
Zone of actual development (ZAD) -
What the learner can do right now. Their current ability.
87
Strengths of Vygotsky's theory =
- It could influence education, schools and parenting.
- Encourages collaborative and cooperative learning between children and teachers / peers.
88
Weaknesses of Vygotsky's theory =
- It doesn't describe specific stages of development as Piaget did
- Doesn't seem to apply to all social and cultural groups.
- Some critics suggest that learning is not always a result of active construction - rather learning can occur passively / osmotically.
89
Example of Vygotsky's theory in practice =
- Teachers can use as a tool for growth. It focuses on the learner's ability to grow through guidance of a more informed individual.
90
Skinners theory for language:
He thought that the responses of adults following vocalisations eg: babbling were responsible for the development of language.
Yes it was true that babies don't need adults to respond to them, operant conditioning theory doesn't explain the steps behind how children learn language.
If children were learning only through imitation and praise they wouldn't be making grammatical mistakes.
91
True / false = Skinner's theory of language development is not seen as being helpful.
True.
92
What's Tajfel's + Turner's social identity theory?
In - group vs. out - group. At break time in schools we will often see distinct of older children. We see the division of people into groups throughout life eg: football fans, political parties.
Sometimes these divisions cause conflict + violence
93
What did Tajfel and Turner suggest about being part of a group?
(The in group) and feeling in some way superior to another group (the out group) raises an individual's self - esteem. Being part of the in - group can provide a sense of purpose and belonging + can become part of someone's identity.
94
What are the 3 stages of social identity?
- Categorisation
- Social identification
- Social comparision
95
Features of the categorisation stage =
- Early in childhood we learn to categorise things - it's a normal part of cognitive development
- It allows for short cuts in our thinking.
- We categorise people too eg: size, age, jobs.
- The process of categorisation helps us to understand our own identity by recognising what we are like in comparison to others.
96
Features of the Social identification stage =
- Once a child has identified with a group their reactions + behaviours increasingly reflect those of a group.
- At this stage children as well as adults will identify with and be a member of several groups.
97
Social comparison =
- Once children have identified themselves with a group, they draw favourable comparisons with other groups
- This is how they maintain high self - esteem.
-Eg: an individual in the brainy group will notice that the test scores in others groups are lower.
98
What did Tajfel and Turner suggest that being part of a friendship group is linked to?
Identity.
Positive self concept = more likely if a friendship is supportive.
99
What did Parten look at and suggest?
Looked at how babies + children play together.
Suggested there were stages in social play, with toddlers playing next to each other + 3 yrs able to play cooperatively.
100
Robert Selman's theory =
He proposed a framework that outlined the different developmental stages of friendship.
101
What was Selman's work based on? + what did he note?
Interviews with children.
He noted that there are significant differences between children's understanding of friendship.
102
What are the 5 stages of friendship?
- Momentary physical interaction
- One-way assistance
- 2 way fair - weather cooperation
- Intimate mutual sharing
- Mature friendship (interdependence).
102
Features of the Level 0 - Momentary physical interaction
3-6 yrs.
Children will play with others according to circumstance and convenience rather than because of deeper feelings.
103
Features of the Level 1 - One way assistance
5-9 yrs.
An understanding that a friendship does nice things for you but not understanding hat friendship works 2 ways.
The desire to have friends at this age can mean that some children will stay friends with another child who is not particularly kind to them.
104
Features of the Level 2 - Two way fair weather cooperation
7-12 yrs
- Expectations that friends will repay a favour, gift / action.
- Friendship may end if one child feels that they are not getting anything in return.
105
Features of the Level 3 - Intimate mutual sharing
8-15 yrs
- Acts of kindness and generosity occur without an expectation of a reciprocal action.
- High level of trust + loyalty
- May feel like another is betraying them if they have separate friendships / take part in activities in which they are not included.
106
Features of the Level 4 - Mature friendship (Interdependence)
12+ yrs - adult hood
- Ability to accept others + be accepted
- Ability to recognise the differences between their friends
- Understanding that their friends will have other friends they do not have in common
107
Kolb's experiential learning cycle:
Learning from experience + is based on the learner having some form of reflection in the process.
He assumes that learning involves 4 different stages and that we learn effectively only when we have passed through each of these.
108
What are the 4 stages of Kolb's theory?
- Concrete experience
- Reflective observation
- Abstract conceptualisation
- Active experimentation
109
Meaning of Experiential learning theory?
The theory that knowledge is created through experience.
110
Meaning of Concrete experience?
When the learner encounters an activity / experience for themselves
110
Meaning of Reflective observation?
When the learner thinks back / reflects on their experience.
111
Meaning of Abstract conceptualisation?
When the learner has a new idea/ has changed their thinking due to their experience.
112
Meaning of Active experimentation?
Learner applies their new way of thinking to a future experience.
113
Why is it important for the learner to be supported effectively at each stage in the cycle?
They need to be shown how to think critically as they pass through the different stages.
114
Who would support the leaner?
Teacher, trainer, mentor
115
What is Gibb's reflective cycle?
This model is said to be iterative - meaning you learn through repetition and improve each time.
116
What are the 6 stages of Gibb's reflective cycle?
- Description
- Feelings
- Evaluation
- Analysis
- Conclusion
- Action plan
117
Features of Gibb's description stage =
What happened? Who was there? What you did? What were the results?
118
Features of Gibb's feelings stage =
What was everyone thinking before, during, after situation. How do you + others feel now?
118
Features of Gibb's Evaluation stage =
What was good / bad? What did others do that made these positive + negatives happen?
119
Features of Gibb's Analysis stage =
What sense can you make of the situation?
120
Features of Gibb's Conclusion stage =
What could you have done differently? What did you learn?
121
Features of Gibb's Action plan stage =
Need to develop any new skills so you could handle this type of situation better? Can you plan to make some changes?
Include a date for review.
122
What is Boud Keogh + Walker's model? + what does it focus on?
This model has a focus on feelings, emotions and encourages the individual to separate them into those that are positive and negative.
123
What are the 3 stages of Boud, Keogh and Walker's model?
Experience, Reflective process and Outcomes
124
Features of the experience stage =
The experience takes place and the learner will have feelings, ideas and behaviour related to this.
125
Features of the reflective process stage =
Involves thinking about what happened, using posititve feelings and removing those that might be obstructive (get in the way) then re-evaluating.
126
Features of the Outcomes stage =
Looking at the experience again in light of what has been learned and using this new perspective to change behaviour.
127
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989 =
Achknowledges the rights and freedoms that all children under the age of 18 should be given through a series of 54 articles.
128
The UNCRC has 4 general principles - which helps up to:
Interpret the other remaining articles and are key to ensuring the rights for all children.
129
What are the 4 UNCRC general principles?
- Non - discrimination
- Best interest of the child
- Right to life, survival and development
- Right to be heard
130
Article 2 - Features of the Non discrimination =
- UNCRC applies to every child without discrimination - whatever their ethnicty, sex, religion, language, abilities / any other status, their family backgrounds
131
Article 3 - Features of Best interest of the child =
Must be the top priority in all decisions and actions that affect children
132
Article 6 - Features of right to life, survival and development =
Every child has the right to life; governements must do all they can to ensure that children survive and develop to their full potential.
133
Article 12 - Features of Right to be heard =
Every child has the right to express their views, feelings and wishes in all matters affecting them and to have their views consdered and taken seriously - this right applies at all times!
Eg: during immigration proceedings, housing decisions / the child's day to day home life.
