What cultural and environmental influences are impacting the child?

1) Choose a child that you would like to study between the ages of 3 months and 6 years. This should be someone outside your immediate family (do not use your own children or sibling as the subject of study). Secure the parent’s written consent. Explain to them that you are doing this research for a course in child and adolescent development, that the child’s name will not be used in the report, and that the main purpose of the report is a learning experience, to help you see the relationship between textbook knowledge of child development and real children.
2) Read the text chapters pertaining to the age group to which your subject belongs prior to actually studying the child, with emphasis on the concepts of Jean Piaget and Erik Erikson.
3) Collect information for your paper by using the following research methods:
Part I.
a. Naturalistic Observation:
• Talk with the parent to determine the best time to observe the child (the period in which they are most likely to be awake and active). Arrange to observe the child during this time.
• Be as unobtrusive as possible while watching the child—you are not there to care for the child or play with them.
o If a child is not old enough to be left alone, then their caregiver should remain present.
o If the child wants to play or interact with you, then you could do your “informal interaction” first and later observe the child.
• Write down, minute by minute, everything the child does and what others do with the child during this time period (as an actual child researcher would do).
o Focus on the actual behaviors that are occurring, rather than your interpretations of the events. For example, instead of writing “Johnny was mad when his mother refused to give him a cookie before dinner,” write “5:00 pm.: Johnny asked his mother for a cookie. She said no. He threw his toy car.”
o Also be sure to note the behavior of others in the environment with relation to the subject (For example, you may write “5:02 p.m.: After Johnny threw the car his mother put him in a time out for 2 minutes. Johnny cried.”).
o Do not try to influence the events in any way or suggest what anyone should do. Simply observe what is happening.
o You should watch the child for at least 1⁄2 hour to 45 minutes.
• Also make a note of any circumstances that might make your observation atypical (if the subject was sick recently, or the subject’s parents have been out of town the past few days and has just returned, etc.)
• You should also note how the subject reacted to you during the observation and whether you believe they acted differently because they were being watched.
b. Informal Interaction:
• Interact with the child for at least 30 minutes. Your goal is to observe the child’s personality and
abilities in a relaxed setting.
• The particular activities you engage in will depend on the child’s age and character. Most
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children enjoy playing games, reading books, drawing, and talking.
• You might want to break the ice by asking the child to show you his or her room and favorite
toys.
• After down the details of this interaction and anything further you learned about the child.
c. Caregiver Interviews:
• Go prepared with some questions you would like to ask the child’s caregiver, but keep the
interviews loose and open-ended.
• Some things you want to determine are:
1) The child’s history, including any illnesses, stresses, or problems that could impact development, and when the child reached certain milestones;
2) The child’s daily routine, including play patterns;
3) Current problems that might affect the child; and
4) A description of the child’s character and personality, including special strengths and challenges (you might consider having the parent also fill out a temperament scale for the child, and maybe compare it to how the parent views their own temperament).
• If possible, try to interview more than one caregiver, and note any differing opinions about the child.
• The parent’s attitudes are just as important as the facts they tell you, so it might be easier to assess these attitudes by concentrating on the conversation during the interview and then writing down all the information afterward (or ask the parent if it would be okay to tape record the interview).
Part II
d. “Testing” the Child Using the Piaget Cognitive Development Tests Learned in Class
• You might consider doing this on a separate occasion.
• Assess the child’s perceptual, motor, language, and cognitive abilities by using specific test items
you have planned in advance.
o The age of the particular child will determine which tests you will use.
o For example, with regards to cognitive development, you would test object
permanence in an infant between 6 and 24 months old; you would test conservation in
a child between 3 and 9 years old, etc.
o You could test language abilities by babbling with an infant, talking with a preschooler
about what they are doing, and asking a school-age child to tell a story.
o In a younger child 6 months to 2 years) you might determine whether they have “self-
awareness” by doing the “rouge test.”
o Inveryyoungbabiesyoumighttest(carefully!!)somereflexbehaviors(suchasthe
grasping reflex); or their tendency to mimic you sticking out your tongue; their ability to
“track” a moving object.
o These are just some ideas. Try to get a well-rounded picture of the child’s
developmental level by using several “tests.” (See last page for additional examples).
o You might want to consult your textbook or lecture notes for further ideas about how to
test the child you are studying (you might get some ideas from class discussions and videos as well). Your goal is to try to determine if the child is developing in the average range of abilities for a child of that age.
4) When writing the report, do not simply rewrite your observations (but please attach the “raw data” the observational period to your paper – the “raw data” does not need to be typed). Your paper should be written in paragraph form, 11- point font, typed and double-spaced.
A) Begin by reporting relevant background information, including the child’s birth date and sex, age
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Paper Logistics:
and sex of siblings, economic and ethnic background of the family, and the educational and marital status of the parents. Do not use the child’s real name in this report (make one up). Attach the parent’s consent to the paper; just keep that for your purposes. Also note where the child spends most of his or her day (home, school, day care, etc.)
B) Describe any other pertinent information you obtained about the child during your observations, interactions, and interview.
• Overall, give a clear and comprehensive view of what this child is like, what their history and
current situation is like, what their family life is like, etc.
• Do their parents say that the child behaves differently in different contexts (for example,
outgoing and aggressive at home, but more mild-tempered at day care)?
• What cultural and environmental influences are impacting the child?
C) Describe the child’s physical, cognitive, and psychosocial development, citing supporting data from your research to substantiate any conclusions you have reached.
• Please separate your findings under distinct headings (“Physical Development,” “Cognitive
Development,” Psychosocial Development”).
• Be sure to state what “testing” methods you used and the results.
• Also note how your observations of the child support or do not support theories you have
encountered in your text (be sure to cite the information you are referring to).
• Is there anything that surprised you in applying text information to a real child?
D) Predict the child’s development in the next year, the next five years, and the next ten years.
• List the strengths in the child, family, and the community that you think will foster optimal
development.
• Also note any potential problems you see (either in the child’s current behavior or in the family
and community support system) that may lead to future difficulties for the child. Include discussion of the reasons, either methodological or theoretical, that your predictions may not be completely accurate.
• Also note whether anything about your relationship to the child could bias your views or impair your objectivity (for example, is this a child you have an extensive history with and know really well already, or have you just met them?).
E) Be sure to include a reference page, and use APA style in citing your sources.
• Your paper should be at least five pages typed, double spaced, not including the cover or works cited
• Section your paper with appropriate sub-headings (Introduction/Parent Interview/Child Testing/Summary)
• Be sure to include a cover page and bibliography page
• Include a minimum of 5 CONCEPTS from LifeSpan Psychology that will appear somewhere within the paper,
which shows you understand the psychology concepts we’ve learned
• The criteria that will be used in grading your papers are clarity, comprehensiveness, logic, accuracy of facts and
ideas presented, and supporting evidence [cited] for your interpretations
• Write your paper as a researcher might present a professional “case study.”
• Include 3 sources that can be cited to show that you researched your subject (1 source can be the textbook)
• Please do not forget to attach the raw data from your child-study observations and consent to observe.
• Please also have a signed CONSENT that is included at the end of this document.
• Your paper will also be graded on its completeness (did you follow the assignment and include all the necessary
information?).
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You may study the same child as a classmate and work on the project together. HOWEVER, if you do this, please write an additional paragraph stating the name of the classmate you worked with, and whether you had any differing interpretations of the child and family you studied. What might account for these differences? Also, you must each write your own paper in your own words. Duplicate papers will not be accepted!!
See next page for testing and major points to include in the paper.
• •
1)
what type of parenting styles used (authoritative, permissive, authoritarian – page 472-473 of text) Growth charts can be found at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/about/major/nhanes/growthcharts/clinical_charts.htm
Infants and Toddlers (ages 0-3)
A) Physical Development
a. Carefully test reflexes see: https://www.chop.edu/conditions-diseases/newborn-reflexes
b. Early sensory abilities (such as their sight, etc.)
c. Physical Growth Development (in terms of height/weight compared to averages)
d. Sleep patterns
e. Motor development see: http://americanpregnancy.org/first-year-of-life/first-year-development/
B) Cognitive Development (pg. 21-22)
a. Sample tasks in the Bayley Scales of Infant Development–can be found at:
https://www.verywellfamily.com/bayley-scales-test-early-development-2162363
b. Object Permanence (pg. 186)
c. Piaget’s stages of Cognitive Development https://www.simplypsychology.org/piaget.html
d. Be sure to describe language development as compared to the milestones described in text (does the
child babble, use gestures, use holophrase or telegraphic speech?
https://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/01/
C) Psychosocial Development
a. Temperament (be sure to note which temperament category they fall in). (pg. 317-319).
b. Attachment and “goodness of fit.”
c. Note how the child is resolving Erikson’s stages of trust vs. mistrust and autonomy vs. shame and doubt
(any behaviors reflect the “terrible 2’s ?)
d. Stranger and separation anxiety, social referencing (pg. 32-323).
e. Self-awareness (using the “rouge test”) http://www.parentingcounts.org/information/timeline/baby-
begins-to-develop-self-awareness-15-24-months/
f. Development of self-regulation, committed and situational compliance.
Testing for the Child Study Project (and major points to include)
With all age groups:
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2) Early Childhood (ages 3-6)
A) Physical Development
a. Physical growth development
b. Toilet training
c. Sleep patterns/problems; any transitional objects used
d. Motor development (gross motor skills described in chapter 3, such as jumping with both feet, going
up and down steps alternating feet, skipping, etc); and fine motor skills such as buttoning, cutting with scissors, and artistic development; have them draw you a picture–what stage of artistic development are they in?) see: http://www.kamloopschildrenstherapy.org/fine-motor-skills- preschool-milestones and http://www.kamloopschildrenstherapy.org/gross-motor-preschool- milestones
e. Make note of hand dominance.
B) Cognitive Development (pg. 191-193)
a. Test for evidence of Piaget’s “Preoperational Stage” for children 2-7 years: symbolic function, transductive reasoning, animism, understanding of number according to the 5 principles of counting, egocentrism. Identify their advancements and limitations, according to http://www.psychologycharts.com/piaget-stages-of-cognitive-development.html
Also, be sure to note:
• Categorization
• Do they have theory of mind? (Test their understanding of false beliefs/deception using the
“candy box” example http://www.education.com/reference/article/theory-of-mind/ ). And see:

• How do they respond to questions like, “Where does the sun go at night?” “Where do dreams come from?” etc.
• Test for conservation of number, length, liquid, mass, etc. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBvG-FG6hCE
• Memory
b. Vocabulary development (grammatical errors, evidence of fast-mapping, use of private speech;
reference http://childdevelopmentinfo.com/child-development/language_development/ c. Memory
C) Psychosocial Development
a. Self concept—ask the child to describe themselves.
b. Self esteem.
c. Resolution of Erikson’s stage of initiative vs. guilt
d. Gender identity
e. Types of play you see them involved in (cognitive, active, rough-and-tumble, pretending, etc.)