Chapter 4

Question 1

Child development

Answer 1

recognized & studied only at end of 19th century, before… hard work
- infancy - 0-3
- childhood - 3-6
- adulthood - 6->
between 6 & 7 childhood ended & went to work

Question 2

Critical first 3 years

Answer 2

• children develop conscience-consequences/rewards/punishments
• early experiences help determine child’s brain structure
• shaping way one learns, thinks, & behaves for the rest of their lives

Question 3

Hart & Risley study part 1

Answer 3

• children from high income families arrive to K grade & 1st grade w/powerful language edge compared to peers from poor neighborhoods
• studied 42 black & white families (welfare, blue-collar workers, or prof.) w/infants age 7-12 months
• Findings - better educated prof., mothers, spoked to their children the most, welfare mothers the least

Question 4

Hart & Risley part 2

Answer 4

• welfare children heard 600 words/hour, working class child heard 1200 words/hour, prof. child heard 2100 words/hour
• by age 3, talkative, high-income families had higher IQ and vocab scores than 3-year-olds from lower income families

Question 5

Next 10 years

Answer 5

• personality development in family
• told “not what to do” more
• some children are resilient
• some experience self-fulfilling prophecy
• prenatal care continues to show great importance

Question 6

1872 Mary Ellen Wilson

Answer 6

• 1st child abuse case in U.S
• 8-year-old abused & neglected by stepparents
• no laws against abusing children, but animal cruelty laws existed
• laws preventing harm to animals had to be invoked
• Henry Bergh - leader of animal humane movement- she’s a little animal
• focused on that Mary was a member of animal kingdom

Question 7

Children in poverty

Answer 7

• 16.4 million children now living in poverty in U.S
• 22% of all children
• 6 million under age 6
• 7.4 million live in extreme poverty, about $13,740/yr. for family of 4

Question 8

Homelessness

Answer 8

• runaway or throwaways
• 4 characteristics of homeless children:
• continually moving
• changing schools
• overcrowded living spaces
• lack of basic resources

Question 9

Special needs

Answer 9

• emotionally/behaviorally disturbed (EBD) - trouble learning, poor relationships w/peers & teachers, inappropriate behavior, unhappy
• Youths w/ADD or ADHD
• Oppositional Defiant Disorder - begins before age 8, irritable, argumentative & defiant, aggressive, & vindictive
• ASD - challenges w/social skills, repetitive behavior, fixations, speech & nonverbal communication, indifferent to social engagements

Question 10

Teen Sex

Answer 10

• about 1 in 5 teens have had sex before their 15th birthday
• by 12th grade, 46% of teens have had engaged in sexual intercourse
• other studies suggest that 77% of 19yr old females & 85% of 19 yr old males have had sex
• recent studies found fewer teens are having sex. potentially 8% less

Question 11

Reasons teens five for having sex

Answer 11

• peer/social pressure
• feels good
• pressure from partner
• no longer a virgin, so what does it matter?
• lack of understanding about real love
• rebellion
• curiosity
• expression of love & a response to need to be loved

Question 12

Teen pregnancy

Answer 12

• has been declining
• 34% teen girls get pregnant before age 20
• 820,000 teen pregnancies/year
• U.S has highest rates of teen pregnancy in in industrialized world
• teen mothers less likely to complete school & more likely to be single parents
• > 1/3 teens who begin families before 18 earn HS diploma
• only 1.5% earn college degree: age 30.4

Question 13

Spanking?

Answer 13

Gershoff - spanking causes long term harm that outweighs short term benefits
- Larzelere (Neb. Medical center) - mild non abusive spanking can be effective reinforcement, especially in 2-6 yr. olds