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Developmental Psychology - Physical, Cognitive Development Age 7–11

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    Study Guide Developmental Psychology – Physical, Cognitive Development: Age 7 – 11 1. Cognitive Development: Ages 7 – 11 As children enter the school years, roughly ages 7 to 11, their thinking abilities grow in exciting ways. They can think about many things at once, solve problems more effectively, and develop a better understanding of their own thoughts and feelings. Let’ s break this down step by step. 1.1 Thinking Skills of School - Age Children During these years, children move beyond the magical thinking of preschoolers. They begin to think logically about concrete, real - world situations , though abstract or purely hypothetical thinking is still difficult. For example, a child now knows that they can’t just fly like a bird, no matter how much they wish it were possible. Jean Piaget called this stage the concrete operations stage . In this stage: • Operations are mental actions that can be reversed. For instance, children understand that if you reshape clay, the amount stays the same. • Children can think logically , but only about things they can see, touch, or experience directly. 1.2 Key Cognitive Abilities 1. Conservation School - age children understand conservation , the idea that some properties of objects stay the same even when their appearance changes. • Example: Five golf balls are the same number as five marbles, even though the golf balls are bigger. • Example: Clay reshaped into a new form still has the same amount.

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    Study Guide 2. Classification and Seriation Children can now: • Classify objects by features (like sorting toys by color or type). • Serially order objects in a logical sequence (like lining up books from shortest to tallest). 3. Cause and Effect School - age children begin to understand cause - and - effect relationships , which helps them with math, science, and daily problem solving. 4. Stable Identity Children grasp that certain qualities stay consistent over time, even when appearances change. • Example: A father remains male, no matter what clothes he wears or how he ages. 5. Perspective - Taking Egocentrism, or seeing the world only from one’s own view, fades. Children now understand that other people have different thoughts, feelings, and desires . 1.3 Piaget’s Ideas vs. Modern Research Piaget’s theories were groundbreaking, but research today shows that development may be more gradual and flexible than he suggested: • Cognitive skills develop along a continuum rather than strict stages. • With guidance, younger children can perform tasks once thought to be “for older children only.” • Children’s thinking is influenced by biology, culture, and environment . 1.4 Memory Development Memory improves significantly during these years: • Older children have more experiences to draw upon , which helps with remembering. • They can use mnemonic strategies to make memorization easier, such as: o Acronyms (e.g., PEMDAS for math order of operations)

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    Study Guide o Chunking information (grouping items into smaller sets) o Repetition and rehearsal o Funny or creative associations Metamemory Children develop metamemory , or an awareness of how their memory works. • Example: Knowing how much time to study for an upcoming math test. 1.5 Childhood Intelligence Psychologists define intelligence as a person’s ability to think, learn, reason, and solve problems. Over the years, researchers have developed ways to measure it: IQ Tests • Early tests by Alfred Binet and Théophile Simon measured memory, perception, and vocabulary. • IQ (Intelligence Quotient) = Mental age ÷ Chronological age × 100. • Average IQ is set at 100. • Common tests today: Stanford - Binet Intelligence Scale and Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) . Types of Intelligence Researchers recognize that intelligence is multi - dimensional : • Howard Gardner : Multiple intelligences, like musical, bodily - kinesthetic, and interpersonal skills. • Robert Sternberg : Triarchic theory, combining analytical, practical, and experiential intelligence. Stability and Influences • IQ scores tend to remain relatively stable throughout life. • Differences in scores come from genetics, environment, culture, motivation, nutrition, and education .

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