Entwicklungspsychologie

• importance of social contexts of learning
• construction of knowledge through social interaction

• zone of proximal development (ZPD; Zone nächster Entwicklung, ZNE) [5.20]
• scaffolding (= adjusting level of support)

• private speech (using language to plan, guide, and monitor one’s behavivor)
• merging of language and thought
• inner speech (internalized private speech = thoughts)

• improvement of strategies to teach children
• learning (only) as a social interaction, neglecting self-discovered learning
• overemphasizing role of language
• comparison of Piaget’s and Vygotski’s theories

• focusing on salient vs. relevant dimensions
• inappropriate regulation of attention

• development of working-memory capacity (memory span) 
• increasing accuracy of long-term memories
• influences on the accuracy (like suggestions)

• theory of mind

(= awareness of one’s own and other’s mental processes) 

• Phonlogyology and morphology
• Syntax and Semantics
• Pragmatics
• Literacy

• phonology (use and combination of phonemes of one’s language)
• morphology (word formation)

• application of (abstracted) rules

• understanding syntax (rules of allowed word orders)

• improved semantics (meaning of words)

• improved pragmatics (appropriate use of language in different contexts)

• individual differences in literacy (Lese- und Schreibfähigkeit)
• related to later cognitive skills

• development of conscious
• Erikson’s stage 3: initiative vs. guilt (Initiative vs. Schuldgefühle)

• self-understanding

• understanding other people’s desires and emotions (cf. theory of mind)

• self-conscious emotions

-  (like pride, shame, embarrassment, guilt; Stolz,  Scham, Verlegenheit, Schuld) [6.1b]

• increased ability to talk about emotions
• understanding causes, reactions, and need for regulation of emotions

• social skills (like empathy and self-control, e.g. in resisting temptations) 
• emotional (positive or negative) consequences
• context dependent

• development of super-ego (Über-Ich; from internalizing one’s parents’ standards)

1. heteronomous morality (4-7 years; heteronome Moral)

Kohlbergs approach (chapter 8

• social and psychological dimensions of being male or female

•  gender identity (with 3 years)
•  gender roles (gender-specific expectations; develop in pre-school years) 
•  preference for same-sex playmates (from 3-12 years) 
•  larger group sizes for boys than girls
•  more rough+tumble play for boys, more collaborative discourse for girls

• physical abuse (Misshandlung)
• child neglect (Vernachlässigung; Missachtung)
• sexual abuse (Missbrauch)
• emotional abuse (mental injury; emotionale Misshandlung)

• source of information and comparison
• feedback on one’s abilities
• increasing frequency of social interactions
• problem of neglected (missachtet), withdrawn (zurückgezogen), or aggressive children

• mastering anxieties and conflicts (Freud, Erikson)
• relieving of tensions and working off physical energy
• advancing cognitive development (Piaget)
• importance of imaginary play (Vygotski)
• exciting and pleasurable activity encouraging exploratory behavior (Berlyne)

• games (Spiele; mostly rule-based and competitive)

• US children spend considerable amount of time watching TV 

discussion of pros and cons 

• pros: learning, motivation, models of prosocial behavior

• cons: passive learning, distracting from other activities, presenting stereotypes, violent models, unrealistic views of the world

• experimental results: TV causes more immediate aggressive behavior
• correlational findings: early aggressive TV consumption relates to adolescent aggressive behavior 
• negative effects of playing violent video games

• continuous body growth, change of body proportions
• increase in muscle mass and strength
• development of prefrontal cortex
• increases in myelination (Myelinisierung)
• changes in brain activity from larger to smaller areas (Synaptogenese und Pruning)
• improving fine motor skills (e.g., drawing and writing) 
• importance of physical exercise

2. cancer (most often leukemia; Leukämie)

• increasing rates of overweight children in the U.S. (more girls than boys)
• risk factor for many medical and psychological problems
• possible causes for overweight

1. a minimum IQ level
2. a significant difficulty in reading or mathematics
3. exclusion of emotional disorders, second-language background, sensory disabilities, and neurological deficits

• prevalence rate of 8% in U.S. (boys : girls = 3 : 1)

• dyslexia (Dislexie)

= severe impairment in ability to read and spell

• genetic influence
• insufficient learning support
• problems in integrating brain activity from different regions