Introduction to Psychology

Introduction to Psychology of 97 from which the infant can explore the environment. Secure attachment is associated with better developmental outcomes than is insecure attachment. Cognitive Development: Language- Human language is symbolic and structured, conveys meaning, is generative, and permits displacement. Language facilitates cooperative social systems and knowledge transmission. A language’s surface structure refers to how symbols are combined; the deep structure refers to the underlying meaning of symbols. Language elements are hierarchically arranged: from phonemes (the smallest unit of speech sound in language that can signal a difference in meaning) to morphemes (the smallest units of meaning in language), words, phrases, and sentences. Scientists believe that humans have evolved an innate capacity for acquiring language. Infants can perceive all the phonemes that exist in all the languages of the world. Between 6 and 12 months of age, their speech discrimination narrows to include only the sounds specific to their native tongue. By ages 4-5, most children have learned basic grammatical rules from combining words into meaningful sentences. Language development depends on innate brain mechanisms that permit the learning and production of language; provided the child is exposed to an appropriate linguistic environment during a sensitive period that extends from early childhood to puberty. Language influences what people think and how effectively they think. Expansion of vocabulary allows people to encode and process information in more sophisticated ways. 8.3 Influences of Gender Development Biological- The 23rd chromosome in a mother’s egg cell is always an X chromosome. If the 23rd chromosome in the father’s sperm cell is an X, the child will be genetically female (XX); if it is a Y, the child will be genetically male (XY). Teratogens such as maternal illnesses, environmental toxins, and drugs can cause abnormal prenatal development. Cognitive- The theory proposes the interaction of mental schema and social experience in directing gender role behavior. The cognitive approach focuses upon the child's "understanding". A child's understanding refers to the way he/she perceives and tackles a phenomenon. Information about gender is organized into sets of beliefs about the sexes i.e. gender schema (plural schemata or schemas) is a mental framework that organizes and guides a child’s understanding of information relevant to gender. Example: information about which toys are for girls and which toys are for boys forms schema that guides behavior. Learning- Studies have shown that children's upbringing and social environments also impact their developing gender identities. Children's interests, preferences, behaviors and overall self-concept are strongly influenced by parental and authority figure teachings regarding sexual stereotypes, occurring in or before the early portion of middle childhood. Children who are taught that certain traits or activities are appropriate or inappropriate for them, because they are a girl or a boy, do tend © 2015 Achieve Page 63