Psych

Chapter 5 Study Questions

 

1.            Eliza gets angry with her 5-year-old son, when he doesn't follow her rules for proper behavior. When, at a pizza restaurant, he leaves the table without permission to watch the chef toss the dough, she punishes him for being disobedient. Based on what you know about the developing brain, what might be the reason for this child's rule breaking? What should Eliza really be doing as a parent?

 

 

Eliza’s son is still in his preoperational stage of development, and as such, his frontal lobes have not developed enough to have useful executive functions. At age 5, his inhibition is limited. Eliza ought to, as time goes on, scaffold her son into learning inhibition. She should find the right person-environment fit that will scaffold him into learning inhibition well.

 

 

 

 

2.            Winston, age 6, has recently put on extra weight, and now scores in the 90th percentile of his pediatrician's body mass index chart. Based on the research, what would you suggest Winston's mother do? In general, how is this mom apt to respond to her son's putting on pounds?

 

 

 

According to the text, Winston’s mother ought to feed him well, but give him low calorie foods instead of fast/easy foods. Winston’s mother might nag him and make comments about his weight, perhaps because she is a health nut herself. She also might make excuses for him, telling herself that it is a, “stage” that he will pass through and be free of in adulthood.

 

 

 

3.            Describe several “executive function” differences between younger and older children, and spell out what adults can do.

 

                Rehearsal: Younger children don’t repeat things to themselves to remember, while older children ought to have a beginning mastery of it. Adults can repeat information quickly in their head and embed it in their memory; it is needed for college work, employment, and inter/intrapersonal relationships.

 

                Selective attention: A child cannot focus on specific information; they have no ability, when instructed or when it is needed, to focus on the proper information to get a task done. An older child can do this better; older children learn from the classroom as well as the practical experiences of life. Normal adults do this without much thought, as we are so used to (and need to) do this; it is very important.

 

                Inhibition: A child cannot hold themselves back: they follow every impulse, do anything they feel apt to do, regardless of consequences, be they social or life-threatening. An older child practices this regularly; this is the most “social” of the three executive functions: society, it seems, must teach us to hold ourselves back. The failure of this important skill is witnessed in adults who are addicted to pornography, drugs, and other things. Adults should be able to see the long term consequences of an action and restrain themselves from doing it.

 

               

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4.            Clara is strongly opposed to the current emphasis on diagnosing U.S. children with ADHD, while Carl argues that this category is valid and lifesaving. First, make Clara's case and then make Carl's.

 

Clara: “Diagnosing children with ADHD is wrong, and it is destroying our youth. Not every child who is diagnosed with ADHD has it, and being labeled as a spaz has lifelong consequences, including social stigma, higher suicide rate, and over medication. Being labeled as an ADHD kid effectively ruins many people’s lives before they even have a chance to shine.”

 

Carl: “Diagnosing children with ADHD is extremely helpful to researchers, as we are coming closer and closer to finding out the things that really cause ADHD because we know who is and who isn’t. Knowing when a child has ADHD is important for parents because it allows them to select from the myriad of treatment options available; not knowing is worse than being aware.”