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Life Span Development
The School Years:
Cognitive Development – Chapter 12
Psychosocial Development – Chapter 13
July 15, 2004
Class #11
Building on Piaget and Vygotsky

Concrete Operational Thought
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Piaget’s 3rd stage
children reason logically about the things and
events that they perceive
Vygotsky did not believe the child was a
socially isolated learner

instruction by others is crucial
Logical Principles
Classification
 Identity
 Reversibility
 Reciprocity

Logical Principles

Classifying Objects, Ideas, and People

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Classification—process of organizing things into
groups according to some shared property
Children have an understanding categories can be
any of the following:
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hierarchical
overlapping
separate
Children that can categorize can analyze problems,
derive correct solutions, and ask follow-up
questions
Logical Principles

Identity, Reversibility, and Reciprocity
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identity—the idea that certain characteristics
of an object remain the same even if other
characteristics change
reversibility—the idea that sometimes an
object that has been changed can be returned
to its original state by reversing the process by
which it was changed
Reciprocity occurs when 2 things change in
opposite ways in order to balance each other
out; e.g., conservation experiment with liquid
Logical Principles

Identity, Reversibility, and Reciprocity

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all three concepts are relevant to mathematical
processes
these concepts can be (but are not always) applied to
everyday social encounters
Logic and Culture
Piaget’s ideas still remain logical

research shows that sometimes older children may
make mistakes when applying new logic
Vygotsky’s premise is that, added to Piaget’s
ideas, the social cultural context of learning is
important
Most research in U.S. and England

but in Brazil, research has shown that street children
who do not attend school can still think in complex
ways, and that a special relationship exists between
thinking and experience
Moral Development

Focus is on Kohlberg’s theory

built on Piaget’s theory and research, theory
describes moral developmental stages
Lawrence Kohlberg
(1927-1987)
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Lawrence Kohlberg was, for many years, a professor
at Harvard University
He became famous for his work there beginning in
the early 1970s
He started as a developmental psychologist and then
moved to the field of moral education
Adolescents and Morality:
Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Reasoning

Kohlberg believed...and was able to
demonstrate through studies...that people
progressed in their moral reasoning (ethical
behavior) through a series of stages

He believed that there were six identifiable stages
which could be more generally classified into
three levels
Level I:
Preconventional Morality

Level I:

Typical of most children under the age of nine – behavior tends
to be selfish in nature

Stage 1:
 Moral values reside in external events (bad acts)
 The child is responsive to rules and evaluative labels, but
views them in terms of pleasant or unpleasant
consequences of actions, or in terms of the physical
power of those who impose the rules
 Very selfish – may do things just to stay out of trouble
 Obedience and punishment orientation or to gain concrete
rewards

Stage 2:
 Basically the same as in stage one as bottom line is to
satisfy one’s own needs but occasionally others as well
Level II: Conventional Morality

Level II:

By early adolescence, moral values reside in performing the right
role, in maintaining the conventional order and expectancies of
others as a value in its own right – uphold laws and social order

Stage 3: Good-boy/good-girl orientation
 Orientation to approval, to pleasing and helping others
 Conformity to stereotypical images of majority or natural
role behavior
 Action is evaluated in terms of intentions

Stage 4: Authority and social-order-maintaining
orientation
 Orientation to "doing duty" and to showing respect for
authority and maintaining the given social order for its
own sake
Level III:
Postconventional Morality

Level III:

Abstract reasoning that not everyone develops…
 Stage
5:
 Morality is defined in terms of institutionalized rules that
have a rational basis
 Society vs. Individual (any conflict favors society)
 Stage
6:
 The standards conformed to are internal, and actiondecisions are based on an inner process of thought and
judgment concerning right and wrong
 Social laws are very important but conscience is what
dictates behavior – not what others might think
 Society vs. Individual (any conflict favors individual)
The Heinz Dilemma:
Scenario 1
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
A woman was near death from a unique kind of cancer. There
is a drug that might save her. The drug costs $4,000 per
dosage. The sick woman's husband, Heinz, went to everyone
he knew to borrow the money and tried every legal means, but
he could only get together about $2,000. He asked the doctor
scientist who discovered the drug for a discount or let him pay
later. But the doctor scientist refused.
Should Heinz break into the laboratory to steal
the drug for his wife? Why or why not?
The Heinz Dilemma:
Scenario 2

Heinz broke into the laboratory and stole the drug.
The next day, the newspapers reported the breakin and theft. Brown, a police officer and a friend of
Heinz remembered seeing Heinz last evening,
behaving suspiciously near the laboratory. Later
that night, he saw Heinz running away from the
laboratory.

Should Brown report what he saw? Why or
why not?
The Heinz Dilemma:
Scenario 3

Officer Brown reported what he saw. Heinz
was arrested and brought to court. If
convicted, he faces up to two years in
prison. Heinz was found guilty.

Should the judge sentence Heinz to
prison? Why or why not?
Dilemma II:
The case of the promised rock concert…

Scene 1:
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Judy is a 16-year-old girl. Her mother promised her that she could go to a
special rock concert coming to their town if she saved up from baby-sitting
and lunch money to buy a ticket to the concert.
Judy managed to save up the fifteen dollars (the ticket cost) plus another
twenty dollars and proudly told her mother she had enough saved to have
a “good time at the concert”. Her mother said great, this shows what you
can do when you put your mind to it.
But later that same evening her mother read a front page article on the
dangers of the upcoming concert…how there would be a “bad element”
present doing drugs. It was also mentioned that tattoos and piercings
would be taking place as well.
She called Judy and Judy’s 17 year-old sister in for a “family meeting” and
for nearly an hour lectured on the evils of drugs, sex, and rock and roll.
She told Judy that she had to spend the money on new clothes for school
instead.
What Kohlberg stage is Judy’s mother at??? Why??
Dilemma II:
The case of the promised rock concert…
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Scene 2:
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The next day Judy screamed at her mother calling her a liar that
should never be trusted
The strong-willed Judy later decided to go to the concert anyway.
That Saturday she told her mother she was forgiven that she was
spending the day with a friend going shopping.
In reality, Judy and her friend went to the performance and had a
great time
A week passed without her mother finding out.
In confidence, Judy then told her older sister, Louise, that she had
gone to the concert and had lied to her mother about it. Louise
wonders whether to tell their mother what Judy did.
What Kohlberg stage is Judy at??? Why???
If Judy’s sister was at the top level what would her actions
be??? Why???
Portions of previous slides taken from:
http://www.haverford.edu/psych/ddavis/p109g/kohlberg.dilemmas.html
Kolhberg’s Critics


Kohlberg’s basic scheme has been replicated,
but his ideas have been widely criticized
Three Major Criticisms

flawed research methods

hierarchy biased in favor of Western elite

moral development of women ignored
Kolhberg’s Critics

Criticism 1: Methodology: To avoid
Kohlberg’s cumbersome methodology,
James Rest devised Defining Issues Test
(DTI)— a questionnaire that measures
moral thinking by asking people to read
various dilemmas and then rank 12
statements as possible resolutions for each
statement
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DIT confirms validity of Kohlberg’s three levels
Kolhberg’s Critics

Criticism 2: Cultural Differences
-
research suggests that in non-Western cultures,
preeminent values are different from western
ones, making it harder for non-Westerners to score
at Kolberg’s preconventional level
-
research suggests that Kohlberg’s hierarchy may
underestimate reasoning capacity of some schoolage children in some cultures
Kolhberg’s Critics
Criticism 3: Gender Issues
 Carol Gilligan (1982)
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females develop more of a morality of care—a
reluctance to judge right and wrong in absolute
terms because they are socialized to be
nurturant, compassionate, nonjudgmental
males develop more of a morality of justice—a
tendency to emphasize justice over compassion,
judging right and wrong in absolute terms
Overall Limitations to Kohlberg’s Theory

Cross-Cultural Studies
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Levels 1 and 2 appear universal; Level 3 does
not
Moral judgments in some cultures do not fit into
Kohlberg’s stages
Gender and Morality
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Men concerned with the abstract, impersonal
concept of justice
Females concerned with protecting enduring
caring relationships and fulfilling human needs
Information Processing

Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s theories in relation to
moral development
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both recognize ages 7 to 11 are time for moral
growth
children eager to develop moral values in stages
(Kohlberg, inspired by Piaget)
or in response to cultural norms (Vygotsky and
Gilligan)
Information Processing
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Information Processing Theory
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processes by which the mind
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analyses
stores
retrieves
Mind is like a computer
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capacity can be upgraded with development
Memory
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Sensory memory aka sensory register—
stores incoming stimulus for split second
then sends it on

sensations become perceptions
Working (short-term) memory—where your
current, conscious mental activity occurs
 Long-term memory—stores information for
minutes, hours, days, months, years

Speed of Processing
Older children are quicker thinkers than
younger children
 Thinking speed continues to increase
throughout adolescence
 Automatization helps free up thoughts for
speed of processing

Knowledge Base
Knowledge base—broad body of knowledge in a
particular subject area that makes it easier to
master new learning in that area
 Connections between bits of information
improve as the knowledge base expands

Control Processes

Control processes—regulate the analysis and
flow of information within the system

helped by maturation of prefrontal cortex
Selective Attention
Selective attention—ability to concentrate on
relevant information and disregard
distractions
 Memory and thought depend on this ability

-
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focusing on what needs to be remembered
Improved control

emotional regulation shows it
Metacognition

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“Thinking about one’s thoughts”
Older children approach cognitive tasks more
strategically and analytically
The Pragmatics of Language
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Pragmatics—using language fluently in many
types of situations; from play through school
years, distinguished by
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logic
memory
ability to make connections between one bit of
knowledge and another
Teaching and Learning

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Worldwide, many ideological debates swirl
around the content and practice of elementary
education
A review of practices in 5 cultures found
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discrepancy between “expressed claim and observed
reality”
Which Curriculum?
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Intended curriculum—content political and
educational leaders decide to endorse
Implemented curriculum—what teachers and
school administrators actually offer
Attained curriculum—what students actually
learn
Which Curriculum?

Hidden curriculum—unspoken and often
unrecognized lessons children learn in school

organization and schedule arise from hidden
curriculum

e.g., classroom size
The Reading Wars
Phonics
 Whole language
 “Reading Wars”—clashes over these two
methods of teaching children to read

Phonics Versus Whole
Language
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Phonics approach—teaching reading by
requiring children to learn the sounds of
each letter before they begin to decipher
simple words
Phonics Versus Whole Language

Whole-language approach—teaching reading
by encouraging children to develop all their
language skills— talking and listening, reading
and writing—all with the goal of
communication
The Socioeconomic Divide

Language development, reading attainment
correlate with socioeconomic status

the lower the family income, the less developed a
child’s vocabulary and grammar
 Crucial
factor seems to be actual exposure to
language (children exposed to language at home
will have larger vocabularies)
 vocabulary
size the best predictor of school
achievement and overall intelligence
The Math Wars

Math and science are key areas in which
children should be ready for the challenges
of the future

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gains in U.S. have faded
Traditionally taught through rote learning

children came to hate math taught this way
The Math Wars

New curriculum developed that teaches

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concepts, problem solving, estimating, and
probability
this approach may be working

proportion of 4th graders who were “proficient” doubled
(26%)
The Math Wars

Technology is another area of controversy
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Specifically, computers
digital divide—gap between rich and poor in
computer access
students in U. S. twice as likely to use computers in
math and science than students in other nations . . .
but our math and science scores relatively low
Bilingual Education

Learning a 2nd language

best time to be taught it is in middle childhood
Various Approaches

Total immersion—approach that teaches a
second language in which instruction occurs
entirely in that language and the learner’s
language is not used at all
Attitudes and Achievement

Success or failure in 2nd language learning
seems to lie in the attitude of
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teachers
parents
the larger community
Additive bilingualism—both languages valued
and used
 Semilingual—neither language learned well
