Analysis and Application of Developmental Psychology:
Legal Policies for Children Aged Two to Six Years
Kelsie L. Arrington
Liberty University
Analysis and Application of Developmental Psychology:
Legal Policies for Children Aged Two to Six Years
Human development is a complex process influenced by many forces throughout childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood. The two primary influencers on development are nature—the effects of human biology and genetics—and nurture—the effects of environment and socialization. Any student of psychology knows well the dichotomy between nature and nurture, and the innumerable ways it can determine the trajectory of a child’s development. Unfortunately, development in some children is impacted by harmful …show more content…
Preoperational intelligence bears its name because while children’s cognitive functions are certainly developing and they can understand symbolic concepts, they are yet unable to think with the logic and reason of older children and adults—they cannot carry out logical operations in their thinking patterns (Berger, 2014). There are five qualities of preoperational intelligence present in children aged two to six: centration, egocentrism, focus on appearance, static reasoning, and irreversibility. The presence of these five cognitive trends explains why it would be unfair to declare a child in the preoperational stage guilty of a criminal act. Centration is the child’s tendency to concentrate on one individual concept and disregard potential exceptions. Egocentrism is the well-known character trait more commonly referred to as self-centeredness; focus on appearance describes children’s tendency to allow how something looks to define what it is, and static reasoning describes the belief that everything in the world is fixed, and nothing changes from what it presently is. Lastly, irreversibility is the child’s belief that once something has been done, nothing can cause it to be changed back to its original state (Berger, 2014). …show more content…
As this happens, children learn how to identify and control their emotions, one of the most important skills to sharpen as adulthood approaches (Berger, 2014). Erik Erikson groups children between two and six into a stage known as “initiative vs. guilt.” In this, children discover that their accomplishments, goals, and expressions will illicit responses from others of either praise and pride or dismissal and apathy. If they are met with positive regard, children learn a positive self-image and more easily regulate their emotions. If met with negative regard, though, children experience guilt and shame that, if persistent, can lead to self-doubt and self-loathing (Berger,
Legal Policies for Children Aged Two to Six Years
Kelsie L. Arrington
Liberty University
Analysis and Application of Developmental Psychology:
Legal Policies for Children Aged Two to Six Years
Human development is a complex process influenced by many forces throughout childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood. The two primary influencers on development are nature—the effects of human biology and genetics—and nurture—the effects of environment and socialization. Any student of psychology knows well the dichotomy between nature and nurture, and the innumerable ways it can determine the trajectory of a child’s development. Unfortunately, development in some children is impacted by harmful …show more content…
Preoperational intelligence bears its name because while children’s cognitive functions are certainly developing and they can understand symbolic concepts, they are yet unable to think with the logic and reason of older children and adults—they cannot carry out logical operations in their thinking patterns (Berger, 2014). There are five qualities of preoperational intelligence present in children aged two to six: centration, egocentrism, focus on appearance, static reasoning, and irreversibility. The presence of these five cognitive trends explains why it would be unfair to declare a child in the preoperational stage guilty of a criminal act. Centration is the child’s tendency to concentrate on one individual concept and disregard potential exceptions. Egocentrism is the well-known character trait more commonly referred to as self-centeredness; focus on appearance describes children’s tendency to allow how something looks to define what it is, and static reasoning describes the belief that everything in the world is fixed, and nothing changes from what it presently is. Lastly, irreversibility is the child’s belief that once something has been done, nothing can cause it to be changed back to its original state (Berger, 2014). …show more content…
As this happens, children learn how to identify and control their emotions, one of the most important skills to sharpen as adulthood approaches (Berger, 2014). Erik Erikson groups children between two and six into a stage known as “initiative vs. guilt.” In this, children discover that their accomplishments, goals, and expressions will illicit responses from others of either praise and pride or dismissal and apathy. If they are met with positive regard, children learn a positive self-image and more easily regulate their emotions. If met with negative regard, though, children experience guilt and shame that, if persistent, can lead to self-doubt and self-loathing (Berger,