Environmental factors
An example of the effects of low self-esteem is that "children who have low self-esteem are less likely to put themselves in challenging and new situations. " (Tassoni, P. 2006 p. 402). This means that children may not accept what adults ask them to do and could result in the child disobeying the adults. Diet and nutrition Nutritional diaries and checklists Food issues An example of food issues is if the child has an allergy or intolerance to certain food types. For example in my last placement there was a child who had intolerance to cheese as it made him hyperactive but as he liked cheese his mum still gave it to him.
Housing Local facilities Geopathic stress Electrical influences Lack of routine An example of a lack of routine is that a child having no routine will have disrupted sleep patterns which could result in tiredness and argumentative or withdrawn behaviour. Children's behaviour usually follows developmental 'norms' depending on factors including the child's culture and if they have special needs. "For example, a two-year-old who crayons on another child's drawing has not yet learned that this is not 'fun'. A four-year-old who does the same (usually) knows that it is not appropriate, but could be doing it for a number of reasons.
" (Green, S. 2006. p. 51). Some people believe children acquire behaviour from what is happening around them, and others believe that a child can be taught behaviour through reinforcement. Bandura (1925-present) is a social learning theorist who recognised that children observe and imitate behaviour, thus acquiring it from their surroundings. He carried out research with a Bobo doll and observed how children aged 3-6 years copied the actions of an adult hitting and shouting at the doll and changed their behaviour according to that of the adult.
"He believes that much of our behaviour, and personality is learned, that is, the result of our nurture. " (Davenport, G. C. 1991. p. 141). Bandura observed that although children will imitate behaviour it is more likely to occur if the child knows the adult or has a connection with the adult and therefore are influential in the child's life. A nature approach to behaviour is that all of a person's first influences are biological as it is believed that behaviour and personality are genetically inherited the same as the colour of a person's eyes.
Maslow's (1908-1970) hierarchy of needs shows that a child will not be able to grasp the understanding of acceptable behaviour if their basic needs are not met. Piaget (1896-1980) was interested in the similarities between children of how they discover things and learn for themselves through mental milestones (schemas) and was therefore a constructivist. He believed that children are pre-programmed to acquire knowledge and therefore to learn, and there is no need for adult intervention. This means that they can acquire behaviour from those around them.
His theory was that "children actively construct their understanding of the world by interacting with it. " (Harding, J. 2000. p. 113). He believed that cognitive development was the result of both nature and nurture. Vygotsky (1896-1935) believed that the child is an active constructor of knowledge and understanding. At the centre of his theory is the zone of proximal development (ZPD), which is the "gap between what the child is currently able to do and what he has the potential to do. " (Tassoni, P. et Al. 2002. p. 197).
His theory suggests that parents/teachers should take into account the context in which the knowledge is to be applied, e. g. real life situations. Unlike Piaget he believed that the role of the adult is crucial to the child's learning. This is scaffolding. Bruner (1915-) also believed that children's cognitive development depends on the way they interpret the world around them. He thought, "that children move through three main stages of thinking: Enactive thinking, where information is recorded mentally and linked to physical activity; this is the stage of most infants under one year old.
Iconic thinking, where the mental images are linked to the senses; this stage is associated with children aged one to seven years. * Symbolic thinking, using a range of representative forms, such as language and number, to demonstrate their learning; this stage is seen mostly from seven years onwards. " (Green, S. 2006. p. 125). Pavlov (1849-1936) was a behaviourist who studied classical conditioning. He experimented with conditioned behaviour, recording that people's behaviour is a response to something. He conducted experiments on dogs and how they salivated in connection to stimulus.
This theory is about expectations and recognition, for example in school children may learn that when a bell is sounded it is the end of a lesson and their behaviour can change to reflect this. Thorndike (1874-1949) and Skinner (1904-1990) both studied operant conditioning. This looks at behaviour being acquired by reinforcement. Thorndike did an experiment with cats in puzzle boxes and rewarded them if they were able to perform, the cats recognised the reward and learnt to perform. Skinner did a similar experiment with mice and rats in a 'Skinner box' and found that the animals learnt to press a lever in order to get the reward.
This theory can be applied to children's acquisition of behaviour and through praise and encouragement children learn what is acceptable, and through punishment they will learn what is unacceptable behaviour. "Freud's (1856-1939) theory suggests that punishment should develop a strong superego in the child. However, children who receive a lot of physical punishment tend to behave badly and experience little guilt or shame. " (Eysenck, M. W. 2002. p. 139). He developed pschyoanalysis which is a set of assumptions that are fixed. Erikson (1902-1994) links to Freud as his is a psychoanalytical theory.
He believed that "behaviour is guided both consciously and unconsciously by our minds. " (Tassoni, P. et Al. 2002. p. 227). Unlike Freud though he called the stages "psychosocial stages because his emphasis was on the child's exploring relationships. " (Tassoni, P. et Al. 2002. p. 227). During my first placement in a nursery there was a boy aged 3 who was constantly tired as he was taken to a nursery at 7:30am and was there until 5pm or 6pm. His home life was believed to be disruptive and he had a lack of routine as he would go to sleep at differing times, and then sleep on and off throughout the day.
This lack of routine is an example of environmental factors affecting his behaviour. As a result of his tiredness he was quite aggressive and 'snappy' when talking to people and would snatch toys from the other children. His lack of social skills seemed to be a result of little interaction with his parents and family and he seemed to think that he had to shout to be heard and get what he wants. This situation links to Maslow's theory of hierarchy of needs. As the child's basic needs were not being met he was not able to grasp the understanding of acceptable behaviour in social settings.
Comments
Post a Comment