CHILD OBSERVATION
Note: For this assignment, you will need to find two children between the ages of 4-8 to whome you will administer short developmental tests.
Background Information and Learning Goals for this Assignment
There are several types of research conducted in the Science of Human Development. Laboratory experiments, case studies, surveys, and naturalistic observation are the most common. This assignment is a combination lab-observation-experiment in a natural setting.
This assignment, Child Observation–Testing Cognitive Development, is designed to reinforce your learning of this very important theory in human development and to introduce you to the protocol for observational research as it is conducted by developmental psychologists in the domain of cognitive development.
Cognitive Development Theories, such as those of Piaget, are reaffirmed whenever anyone replicates the original research. Replication means to conduct the experiment in exactly the same way as Piaget conducted the research the first time. This is important in science because this process guarantees that scales of reliability and validity will be reaffirmed. In Chapter 9 you will find the four tests you are to perform for Conservation and the one test for Theory of Mind.
You will be evaluating the level of “Conservation” for volume, number, matter, and length and then a different test for the understanding children have of other’s beliefs. There are a total of five tests in this assignment.
Before conducting the observation, your task is to study, understand, and grasp the meaning of Conservation and Theory of Mind. Then, to have a concrete example of how children’s minds differ according to their age, you will perform Piaget’s four tests of Conservation: volume, number, matter, length, and the test for the “Theory of Mind”.
The exact tests for conservation are found in Chapter 9 (see pages 238 – 240). You will set the test up in front of the children and ask : “Does this one have more, does that one have more, or are they the same?” then, in front of the child you will transform the material and again ask: “Does this one have more, does that one have more, or are they the same?” You could go back and forth many times in front of a Pre-operational child and their responses would always be the same. Remember–there are no right or wrong answers because cognitive change comes from the maturation of the brain and can’t be “taught”, but will flower from within with time and stimulation. So keep a straight face, do not show displeasure with an answer, and do not try to coax the child to see things differently. You are testing to see where the child is in her or his development. Also found in Chapter 9 is the test for “Theory of Mind” (see pages 245-246). You must have two test subjects: two children between the ages of 4 and 8. Both children will complete all five tests (conservation and theory of mind). The instructions for your adventure in research follow here and will be the standard by which your paper is graded.
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