Child Behavioral Development - Coursework Example

Child’s physical, cognitive and behavioral development The early years of child’s life are crucial for cognitive, social, and emotional developmental. Therefore, it is important that we take every necessary step to ensure that child grows up in the environment where his social, emotional and educational needs are fulfilled. In general, Bowlby said that being alone is one of the greatest fears in human life (Crain, 2010). This paper will demonstrate a child’s observation and counseling implication: • Child’s bond to caregivers and distraction by separation and deprivation. • Society influence, social aspect and social context development. • Contingencies and social behavioral reinforcement system. Child’s background The child I observed was six years old. He is an elementary school student in kindergartens ‘class. For the purpose of confidentiality this student will be referred as Akhil. Akhil spent several years in foreign orphanage. At the age of three, he was adapted by a foreign family for about three months. However the foreign family retuned him to the orphanage because of his bounding behavior. Recently Akhil was adapted by an American family and is now living with them. He loves his current parents and siblings. Naturalistic Observation I observed the child for two days, twenty minutes each day. This observation has two modules. The observation was done in his kindergarten class where Akhil was working with his peers on a table. His class was arranged with four tables over which these students rotate every day for center time. At the time of observation, he was not paying much attention to his work. He was moving around his class; avoiding the task he has been given. The teacher prompted Akhil verbally to go back to his table and finish his task. Akhil then finished half of his work but he overall was not paying attention to his teacher during circle time. In his structure time, the teacher tried to grab his attention through aids but he showed tantrums and ended up jumping over the table and started crying. Teacher’s assistant tried to handle him by saying that if he doesn’t behave properly then they will take away the computer for whole day. To which he responded by breaking the school’s computer, so that he would not have any work to do on it. During his physical education class, at first Akhil did class participation for short time but later he refused to contribute. The second observation I made was in in an uncontrolled environment, which was playground in his recess. At that time Akhil’s parents came to school as a volunteer. He was very happy to see them and hugged them. Akhil played with his father with great joy. The playground was surrounded with fence and had two gates, from which one of them was open to the fields. The playground consisted of monkey bars with tall vertical polls which were sliding down while attached from each end and horizontal bars constructed in a ladder fashion for climbing on. Additionally, the staff had restrictions in order to better supervise the students. Akhil proceeded to jump onto those monkey bars. He climbed them about half away, where he confronted with another student who was crossing the monkey bars in opposite direction. There he jumped off from the bars and went to swings. Akhil swung himself alone there for a while. At one point Akhil in attempt to gain the staff’s attention opened up the field’s gate and ran onto the fields and started walking around the other side of the fence. The teacher blew his up her whistle and called him back inside the playground. Akhil then went over to one of his peers from the class and started jumping there. Then he ran out onto the monkey bars and again climbed them and this time finished them climbing. Over that the staff cheered him by saying “good job Akhil”. This motivated him to repeat this one more time. At the end of the recess time the staff called up all kids to lineup and walked back to their classes. There Akhil took off his jacket and hung in very close to the outlet and attached one of his jacket’s bottom to the outlet. When his teacher investigated his act he replied that he did this to keep his jacket warm. Interpreting the Observation The transmission sequence as it applies in that observations are as fellows. (1) Akhil attempted to withdraw himself from working with his group during the work centers and didn’t finish his task. (2) He refused to join his class during the whole physical education session. (3) Akhil tends to be self-reliant, self-control and inquisitive. In the morning meeting, he jumped over the tables and stumped. (4) Moreover, when the teacher’s assistant tried to stop him by pulling him away from the computer he tried to control his punishment with verbal aggression and said that he will break the school’s computer and then she will get fired. (5) Akhil in the playground attempted to play in the monkey bars but he got distracted when he got into a minor argument with another student who was coming across monkey bars from the opposite directions. (6) Akhil ran outside the playground by crossing fence to get staff’s attention. (7) He later when back to monkey bars to again play there and he mastered his climbing in the monkey bars by his teacher’s reinforces. (8) During that observations Akhil was seeking physical and comfort aid when needed (save haven). This was shown by his overjoyed attitude with his parents. Also, he hung the jacket close to the outlet to make himself feel warm. Counseling Implication From a chronological standpoint there are three important theories to assess the observation which are: Bowlby; Erikson; and Skinner. Stage Basic conflict I important event outcome Attachment and loss Preschool age School age Operating conditioning Insecure(disappear)and develop secure(detachment) respond appropriately, promptly and consistently Initiative vs. Guilt Industry vs. inferiority Insufficient development.Learning how to do something He showed aggressive behavior and incompliance during structure period. He got happy for having his parents with him in the playground and hugged them when they arrived. He hung his jacket close to the outlet seeking warmth from his jacket. Exploration: he ran outside the fence after failure in playing with his peer and so he moved out from the monkey bars. Akhil’s second attempt to finish the monkey bars and reinforced by his teacher. Reinforcement built a belief in his abilities to complete the task. Jumping over the table, staying seated during instruction time and finishing his task Attachment builds the foundation of child emotional and social ability. Needs too begin asserting control power over the environment .success leads to a sense of purpose .child who tries to exert too much power experience disapproval, resulting in a sense of guilt. Child needs to learn that how to cope with new social and academic demands. Success leads to a sense of competence. Supporting the level of activities lead to the improving of skills. (1) Bowlby, The attachment theory is a psychological theory that provides a descriptive framework for the discussion of affectionate relationships between human beings. The theory was first developed by Bowlby who believed that individual’s attachment style is developed in their childhood and is influenced by the child’s relationship with the primary care givers. He also held the belief that the attachment style is durable till adulthood and influences the way individual relates to others throughout their life span. In the observations, I assume Akhil went through the process of insecure attachment and psychosocial stress. According to Cairn, 2010, (Because attachments are vital throughout life, separation and losses can cause personal upheaval as well).The attachment has four defining future that are evident in the behavior of the person directed toward an attachment figure (a) (secure) seeking and maintaining physical proximity. Secure attachment shows the ability to reflect one’s internal emotional experiences, and at the same time reflects the mind of the person (Sonkin, 2005). (2) In my estimate, the quality of attachment relationship between Akhil and staff is not an adequate relationship. This impasse the lack of resolution will precipitate developmental issues (1)-(2)-(4) identified above (his aggressive behavior and resistance in finishing his task or sit appropriately during structure time, and his aggressive behavior while threatening to break the school computer shows he is insecurely attached); (b)Avoidant), seeking comfort or aid when needed with little or no response to distressed and discouraged aggressive behavior will encourage independence (c)Resistant, preoccupation of the care givers availability result into seeking contact but resisting angrily when it is achieved and inconsistent between appropriate and neglectful responses; From Bowlby’s perspective I would characterize Akhil‘s attachment style with school staff as avoiding (anxious) –resistant (ambivalent)as above illustrated in(3). According to carin,2010 (to be helpful, we should give bereaved individuals a chance to talk freely about their feeling and wishes) (d)Disorganized and detachment, withdrawal gives confusion and leads child to strive for autonomy. It also hampers communication. It also influences the acquisition of social skills, intellectual development and the formation of social identity. In addition, John Bowlby and Erick Erikson have referred to the trust and how to develop through individual experiences with others. Trust is hypothesized to develop the attachment bond between individual and primary care givers. Akhil shows good relying on his new attachment figure (His new Parents) which involves physical and verbal contact toward his parents with warm emotions. In other words, his parents encourage him and empower his need for independency and to perceive intimate relationships. Erick Erikson, provided the life span theory of psychosocial development which emphasizes on autonomous of adapting ego. According to craig, (1999)”A distinct part of each of us is based on the culture we grow up in, beginning with our interactions with caregivers during infancy”. Erikson postulates that human beings have been in a need to categorize and integrate their experiences, as well as a need to satisfy their basic biological needs. Erikson introduced concepts that gradually led to an understanding of the most deceives, which is a general encounter between the child and the social world (Carin, 2010, p.283). The building and integrating of personality follows eight stages. These stages are assumed to be independent and are built in cumulative manners. In accordance with Erikson‘s developmental theory, Akhil entered (a) Initiative vs. guilt.The crisis comes when children realize their biggest plan and hopes are doomed for failure (Carin, 2010, p.288). Here child actively begin to explore intrude his environment. If the child’s explorations and activities are generally effective, the child learnsto deal with things in constructive wayand gain sense of initiation. However, child feels guilty and possibly failure and spit the risk of failure by self-initiate.This state of development may be seen in (5) and (6) there was partly participation in Akhil activities in the physical education session. In the playground he didn’t finish the monkey bars after having an argument with his peers who was crossing in the opposite direction. So he had guilt of not initiating and finishing his physical activities and ran outside the playground. Moreover, Akhil can be presented in Erikson’s fourth stage of development of school age which is industry vs. inferiority, in this the child begins to accept formal instructions of some sort; mastery in the tasks and the skills valued by their teacher and the larger society. The child develops knowledge of external world, learn practical skills and remain busy doing them until they succeed to complete the task. The counterpart of industry is inferiority; a sense of individual’s work is insufficient to accomplish one’s goal. This stage of development is seen in (7) second attempt to reinforce his belief in his abilities to complete a task which he got reinforced by his teacher. In this stage, the child becomes able and eager to learn systematically and collaborate with others (coles, 2000, p.354). 3-Skinner, the contingency which improves with skills is the different reinforcement of responses, possessing special properties. It may be supplied automatically by the mechanical exigencies of the environment (skinner, 1953, p.95) contingencies are expected to alter the affective behavior. A contingence is a relation between behavior and its consequences. The reinforcement which develops skills must be immediate. Otherwise, the precision of the differential effect is lost. To illustrate points (6) and (7) Akhil ran outside the fence too when he wasn’t able to finish climbing the monkey bars. However, he mastered his climbing in the monkey bars by his teacher reinforcement, which could be seen as a motivation tool by his teacher in a form of verbal reinforcement. For this reason a model based on operating condition can be more explanatory. Operating conditioning is refined by Skinner in envision of four types of reinforcement situation: (a) Positive reinforcement which is a reward of increasing desirable behavior (b)Extinction, which is removable for a previous giving positive reinforcement, leading the undesirable behavior to go down; (c) Punishment, which is the administration as an aversive, causing undesirable behavior to go down; and negative reinforcement, which is the removable of previously administrated punishment and causing the desirable behavior to go up. Reflection Overall, while observing the child, his background and also by meeting Akhil‘s school teachers showed that Akhil has developed bond with his parents which is important because children depend on others to take care of them. In addition, according to attachment theories, developing as secure and maintaining healthy attachment with parents leads to learning. And he develops capacity for intimacy that extends from his relationship with adults. Chronologically Bowlby’s overlapped with Erikson’s stages. It would be appeared from this observation that Akhil is approximately at a normal developmental level stage. I assume that Akhil attempts to gain mastery of those skills in which he has difficulties with social interactions and motor skills. Though by adapting and setting goals of attachment theory, Akhil will feel secure while interacting with peers and staff during structure and playperiods. Akhil learns how to repertoires the emotional style and to deploy emotions as they occur to achieve real world. The staff, and parents while dealing with such children can do the following things: Developing technique to regulate and manage emotions and express an emotional response that is appropriate to a given social situation with developing satisfactory peer-group interactions and how to be fair to other students. Developing competence in academic subject and showing/ demonstrating enthusiasm so as to maximize the likelihood of successful interactions with teachers and receipt Also, he becomes self indulgent with the staff aid using model to determine the appropriate skills needed to meet his goals and issuing external cues such as staff’s praises as a guide of his abilities. Read More