child psychology

1. CHILD PSYCHOLOGY

2.  Child psychology is a science that tries to
understand how a child grows and develops,
and how the role of the family and schooling
can impact on this (Gillibrand et al., 2016).
 It looks at how our behavior, our thinking
patterns, our emotions and our personalities
begin and change from birth to adulthood.

3. To gain insight into human nature.
To gain insight into the origins of adult behavior.
To gain insight into the origins of sex differences
and gender roles.
To gain insight the origins , prevention and
treatment of developmental problems.
To optimize conditions of development .

4.  Child psychology theories are broadly
classified into:
 Psychoanalytic Perspective
 Biological Perspective
 Learning Perspective
 Cognitive Perspective
 Integrative Perspective

5. The key assumptions of the psychoanalytic
perspective are:
 There are three levels of consciousness… the
conscious, the pre-conscious and the
unconscious.
 The unconscious mind is key to understanding
human behavior.
 The unconscious mind houses our instinctual
drives, which strive to maximize our ability to
survive.
 The core of our personality is determined by the
age of 5 or 6 years and will not change after this
age, even in adulthood.

6. The key assumptions underlying the biological
perspective are:
 Psychologists should study observable and
measurable behavior only.
 All behaviors are learned; we are not born
with any set of behaviors.
 Mental process cannot be observed or
measured and therefore cannot be studied
scientifically.
 The adult personality can change but only as
a result of exposure to different experiences.

7. The key assumptions of the learning
perspectives on development are:
 Behavior change results from our interactions
with the world about us.
 Anyone can be trained to do anything.
 With the right system of reward, a behavior
can be encouraged, and with the right system
of punishment, a behavior can be inhibited.

8. The key assumptions of the cognitive
perspective on development are:
 Child development occurs through a series of
mental processes such as problem solving,
memory and language.
 These processes have to be learned.
 These processes become more complex with
increasing age and experience.

9.  It integrates the biological, physiological effects
of development with social and environmental
factors.
 For example, a young boy set fire to a car
 Social learning theories (does the child come
from a dysfunctional family?)
 Cognitive theories (is the child unable to
understand consequences of that action?)
 Environmental factor theories (does the child
come from poverty or a home physical
environment that is unpleasant?); and
 Biological development theories (is the child
experiencing strength and conflict from early-
onset puberty?).

12.  Specific learning difficulties (e.g. dyslexia,
dyspraxia)
 Speech and language disorder
 Pervasive developmental disorders (e.g.
autism spectrum disorder)
 Genetic disorders (e.g. Down’s syndrome,
Turner’s syndrome)
 Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD)

14. Diagnostic Term Learning Difficulty Learning Problem
Dyslexia Difficulty processing
language
Problems reading,
writing, spelling,
speaking
Dyscalculia Difficulty with maths Problems doing maths
problems,
understanding time,
using money
Dysgraphia Difficulty with writing Problems with
handwriting, spelling,
organizing ideas

15. Diagnostic Term Learning Difficulty Learning Problem
Dyspraxia (sensory
integration disorder)
Difficulty with fine
motor skills
Problems with hand–eye
coordination, balance,
manual dexterity
Auditory processing
disorder
Difficulty hearing
differences between
sounds
Problems with reading,
comprehension,
language
Visual processing
disorder
Difficulty
interpreting visual
information
Problems with reading,
maths, maps, charts,
symbols, pictures

17.  Receptive language (understanding and
formulating spoken language)
 Expressive language (processing and
producing speech sounds)
 Speech (articulation)
 Dysfluency (repetition of sounds, or words,
sound prolongation )

19. Types
 a. Predominantly inattentive type.
 b. Predominantly hyperactive type.
 c. Combined type
Note: In order to reach diagnosis symptoms
must have onset before the age of 12 &
must be pervasive across settings (e.g. home
and school) with substantial impairment in
functioning (American Psychiatric
Association, 2013).

20.  Conscious refusal to learn
 Overt hostility
 Negative conditioning to learning
 Clinging to dependency
 Quick discouragement
 Extremely distractibility and
 Absorption into private world

22.  Fear of failure
 Test anxiety
 Performance anxiety
 Receiving poor grades
 Participation in classroom activities
 Interactions with teachers
 Peer relationships
 Peer pressure (appearance and dressing)
 Conflicts with peers(being teased, bullied, called
names, or not being invited to parties
 Teachers behavior (scream at children,
favoritism, mock, or make fun of children)

23.  Negative experiences with peers & teachers
 Parental conflicts
 Parental issues (illness, depression, alcohol use)
 Parental rejection
 Parental lack of interest in child’s achievement
 Over demanding parents
 Parental separation or divorce or death
 Sibling rivalry

24.  Hormonal changes
 Sexual identity
 Formal operational thinking skills
 Self enhancement skills (positive & negative
self-image, self-esteem etc)
 Psychosocial issues (like conformity,
dependency, and independence

26.  Psycho-education
 Psycho pharmacotherapy (Challenging behavioral
problems, such as tantrums, aggression and
self-injurious behaviors can be reduced with
Risperidone, an antipsychotic drug (McCracken et
al., 2002). Ritalin to reduce ADHD symptoms.
 Parent training and support
 Recognizing the mental health needs of the child
 Supporting the wider system
 Behavioral intervention

28.  Rapport Building
 Confidence Building
 Self-esteem Building Exercise
 Positive & Negative Reinforcement
 Time out
 Group/Class Rules
 Verbal Reprimand
 Talk of the Day
 Structured/ Appropriate Routine
 Overcoming procrastination & time
management

29.  Affective study method
 Stress management
 Anger Management
 Social Skills Training
 Compliance Building exercise
 Assertive Training
 Puzzle and sort out technique
 Art & Craft Activities
 Physical exercise
 Attention & concentration building exercise

33. Case No. 1
 In a class of small students you encounter
children having Temper Tantrum.
How would you handle them? Enlist few related
strategies.
Case No. 2
 Aliya is an eight-year old girl who was
emotionally stable and had performed well in
school. Her parents have recently divorced. Due
to this, she has become a very anxious child.
What can Aliya’s teacher do to help alleviate her
anxiety in the classroom?

34. Case No. 3
 Hamza is a 12 years old boy. Two boys in
school are calling him names and making fun
of him. Those two boys also hit him in the
stomach and threatened to do it again if he
told anyone.
 What you can do to help Hamza? Outline
some useful strategies.