At two year olds children are into social play, although they are not the best at sharing they like to copy parents and imitate things like talking on the phone, cooking, carrying handbags, playing with keys. Their language is very minimal with one or two word sentences and they also repeat words. A two year old shows memory skills by pointing to things when asked.
We all have some knowledge of child development parents compare their children to others for example “ Well my son started walking at 10 months what about yours?” We notice the child that develops quicker than the rest “ She is very clever she can point to all the right colours when I ask her Tom cannot do that and they are the same age.” Which shows that stages vary between children and that the ages given by psychologist are merely an average.
Piaget looks at child development with Cognitive development theory and was struck by the fact that all children seem to go through the same sequence of discoveries(Bee Boyd) “Babies put innate capabilities to work and gain experience in sensormotor development” (Flanagan)
Piaget came up with something called a scheme. What he meant by scheme is that it is an internal cognitive instruction that an individual will follow in a specific circumstance. For example When a child pick something up, they use their picking up scheme. He reckoned that each of us begin life with a small repertoire of sensory and motor skills and these skills become better adapted to the world.(Bee Boyd)The sensory motor scheme is within the first two years of like(Berk) Sensory and motor schemes are thing such as looking, touching, tasting, reaching and hearing. Piaget believed that babies think with their eyes, ears hands and other sensorimotor equipment. They cannot yet carry out many activities in their heads(Berk)
This then went onto something called Assimilation, Assimilation is a process from us using the schemes to make sense of the experience(Bee & Boyd) For example when the baby picks up the toy it is assimilating it to its picking up scheme.
Followed by Accommodation information that has been recognised through Assimilation.(Bee & Boyd) For example when a baby picks up a triangular object for the first time it will accommodate its picking up scheme so that the next time it picks up the triangular shape its hand will automatically shape ready to pick that particular shape up
Piaget’s research suggests logical thinking evolves in stages. Looking between the ages from birth the five years that involves. The sensormotor stage which is from birth to eighteen months. This is babies using their scheme to act on the world around them. Then preoperational stage, from eighteen months up to six years where children acquire symbolic schemes such as language and fantasy and use thinking and communication. For example children will role play using fantasy and imagination.
Bowlbys Attachment theory, his theory suggests that “attachment is as essential for healthy psychological development as vitamins and proteins are for physical health”(Flanagan) “Attachment is the strong, (affectional)? tie we have with special people in our lives”(Berk) Bolwby looks at emotional care other than physical comfort such as food. Evidence for this came from Harllows work(1959) with rhesus monkeys. Harlow separated baby monkeys from their mothers soon after birth and reared them with two different surrogate mothers. One was soft and wrapped in cloth and the other was wire mesh but holding a feeding bottle. The experiment resulted in the monkey being more attached to the soft surrogate other than the one feeding them. Proving Bolwbys theory and showing the importance of attachment and emotional care other than physical comfort such as feeding.
Bowlby believed that there are four distinguishing characteristics of attachment. Firstly Proximity Maintenance which is the desire to be near the people we are attached to Secondly Safe Haven, returning to the attachment figure for comfort and safety in the face of a fear or threat. Then Secure Base where the attachment figure acts as a base of security from which the child can explore the surrounding environment. Lastly Separation Distress which is anxiety that occurs in the absence of the attachment figure. ()
Bowlby felt there was a critical period in the formation of attachment bonds. He believed that children who experienced attachment deprivation below the age of four will suffer permanent damage(Flanagan)
Babies form different attachments with people and even things, which comfort them at times of stress and enable them to feel secure in exploring the world(Flanagan)
So to summaries Piagets looks at child development with Cognitive development theory and the fact that all children seem to go through the same sequence. As Bee describes it the baby understands the world through their senses and motor actions. Or as Flanagan puts it “Babies put innate capabilities to work and gain experience in sensormotor development” (Flanagan) Where as Bowlby looks at attachment at playing a big part of children’s development. The most important aspect of attachment theory is that a young children needs to develop a relationship with at least one primary caregiver for a healthy
emotional development to occur normally.
Reference
H. Schaffer (1992) from Live Company Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, A Alvarez, Routledge, London