Developmental Psychology

Achieve Test Prep: Developmental Psychology

d. These students tend to be divergent thinkers who respond in unusual ways to questions or problems, while their peers tend to be convergent thinkers who respond in typical ways. e. Occasionally, gifted and talented students are placed in accelerated courses. f. More often than not, gifted students are simply given ‘enrichment’ courses or more challenging work

Social and Emotional Development: During middle childhood, children explore their environments with more independence. The most critical goal to accomplish is the improvement in social cognition or the increased understanding of people and groups. Below are the two influential theories of social and emotional development. • Freud o Psychosexual Development Stage: latency o Duration: approximately seven to eleven years of age o Children focus on the outside world and acquire the cognitive skills needed for adulthood. • Erikson o Psychosocial Development Stage: industry versus inferiority o Duration: approximately age six to age eleven o Children begin to produce things such as school work, artwork, and more. They begin to feel industrious. o If this feeling is encouraged by caregivers, the child will continue to be and feel industrious.

o If the caregivers dismiss, reject, or even punish a child’s industriousness, the child will grow to feel inferior. o Inferiority complexes may result during this stage.

Self-esteem continues to develop during middle childhood as children tend to become more introspective. One aspect of the development of self-esteem is that children learn to control their reactions and become more self-regulated. There are many external factors which affect the development of self-esteem, such as SES, country of origin, immigrant status, family dynamics, to

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