Development Study Guide

Blackwell, Trzesniewski, and Dweck (2007) conducted a study investigating the impact of implicit theories of intelligence (mindsets) on academic achievement in adolescents. The core idea was to see if teaching students that intelligence is malleable (a growth mindset) rather than fixed (a fixed mindset) could improve their maths grades. The study involved 373 seventh-grade students from a diverse urban public school in New York. The researchers first measured the students' existing mindsets and then tracked their maths grades over two years. They found that students with a growth mindset, who believed their intelligence could grow with effort, showed an upward trend in their maths grades over time, while those with a fixed mindset showed a downward trend.

To further explore this, Blackwell and colleagues conducted an intervention study with a subsample of 91 students who were struggling in maths. These students were randomly assigned to either a growth mindset workshop or a control group workshop on study skills. The growth mindset group received eight sessions focusing on the brain's ability to grow and the effectiveness of effort in improving intellectual performance. The control group received instruction on memory and study skills without any mindset component. The results showed that students in the growth mindset workshop demonstrated a significant improvement in their maths grades compared to the control group. Furthermore, teachers, who were blind to the students' group assignments, also reported increased motivation and more positive study behaviours in students from the growth mindset group. This study provided strong evidence that teaching a growth mindset can positively impact academic motivation and achievement, particularly in challenging subjects like maths.

Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development proposes that children progress through four distinct stages of intellectual development. These stages are universal and occur in a fixed order. Piaget believed that children actively construct their understanding of the world through interaction with their environment, rather than passively receiving knowledge. Key concepts include 'schemas', which are mental frameworks for understanding and interpreting information. Children adapt these schemas through two processes: 'assimilation', where new information is incorporated into existing schemas, and 'accommodation', where existing schemas are modified or new ones are created to fit new information. 'Equilibration' is the process of seeking balance between assimilation and accommodation. The four stages are: Sensorimotor (birth to 2 years), Preoperational (2 to 7 years), Concrete Operational (7 to 11 years), and Formal Operational (11 years and beyond). Each stage is characterised by specific cognitive abilities and limitations. For example, during the sensorimotor stage, infants learn about the world through their senses and motor actions, developing object permanence. In the preoperational stage, children develop symbolic thought but struggle with egocentrism and conservation. The concrete operational stage brings logical thinking about concrete events and understanding of conservation. Finally, the formal operational stage allows for abstract thought and hypothetical reasoning. Piaget's theory significantly influenced developmental psychology and education, emphasising child-centred learning.