Take advantage of your holidays to promote reading

Parents urged to read to children 

 
Children in England are not reading enough outside of school

Parents are being urged to make a New Year's resolution to spend more time reading to their children. 

Schools Secretary Ed Balls is spearheading the initiative ahead of the National Year of Reading 2008, which officially starts in April. 

Mr Balls said reading a child a bedtime story every night could have a huge impact on their development. 

"Reading can bring fun to their lives, feed their imagination, and develop their curiosity about the world." 
  Too many children today are not reading for pleasure - and this is harming not just our children's reading skills, but also their imagination and general knowledge 
Ed Balls, Children, Schools and Families Secretary


"As parents we need to make reading a part of everyday life for our children - whether that is reading stories to younger children or talking about books and magazines with older kids," he said. 

A recent survey found the reading performance of children in England had fallen from third to 19th in the world. 

The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study, published in November, highlighted significant increases in the proportion of English 10-year-olds with the "least positive" attitudes to reading and who said they very seldom read stories or novels outside school. 

Mr Balls said it could make "all the difference" if parents set aside 10 minutes a day before bedtime to read with their children. 

Reading tips 

"Too many children today are not reading for pleasure - and this is harming not just our children's reading skills, but also their imagination and general knowledge," he said. 

The National Year of Reading is being run by the National Literacy Trust, which has some ideas to encourage reading in different age groups. 

These include: 

For babies to 3-year-olds - make a scrapbook about your child full of pictures and words. Read the words with your child and get them to say what else should be in their story.

For three to five-year-olds - cut out pictures from catalogues or magazines of objects that all begin with the same letter, plus a few that do not. Write down the names of the objects and get your child to match the picture to the name. 

For five to eight-year-olds. - find your family's top five reads. Ask everyone in your family to name their favourite reads - it could be a book, magazine, comic or newspaper. Involve grandparents, cousins etc. And see if the neighbours agree. 

If you have read the newspaper you will see that on corrientes Avenue in Buenos Aires the bookshops were open at night in an effort to promote reading. 

http://choosers.ivillage.com/parenting/development_tracker/

[ Dictionary of psychoanalytic terms ]

Anxiety: A state of apprehension, uncertainty, and fear resulting from the anticipation of a realistic or fantasized threatening event or situation, often impairing physical and psychological functioning.

Cathexis: points to the libidinal energy that is invested or attached to some representation or object (person) outside the ego.

Collective unconscious: the inherited part of the unconscious that especially in the psychoanalytic theory of C. G. Jung occurs in and is shared by all the members of a people or race.

Death drive: a primitive impulse for destruction, decay, and death, coexisting with and opposing life instinct. Also called Thanatos.

Defense mechanisms: Any of various usually unconscious mental processes, including denial, projection, rationalization, and repression, that protect the ego from shame, anxiety, conflict, loss of self-esteem, or other unacceptable feelings or thoughts.

Dream: product of unconscious psychic primal process, the dream is in the Freud's view the fulfillment of a repressed wish (see also - repression and repressed). Dreams are made by latent thoughts and manifest content (see also -> the latent content and -> the manifest content). Dreams may be interpreted by using a specific method created by Freud and published in his Dream Interpretation [Traumdeutung]. (See also -> dream interpretation).

Dream interpretation: method of exploration of the unconscious, dream interpretation acquired with Freud a scientific shape. It mainly consists in the gathering of associations of the dreamer related to the manifest content. (See also -> the manifest content). In the words of Freud, the dream interpretation is the reversal of the psychic process that leads to the formation of dreams, that is the latent thoughts -> dream's manifest content. The first historical dream interpreted by Freud himself is the the Irma's injection. The psychoanalytic dream interpretation method was published by Freud in his Dream Interpretation [Traumdeutung] (1900).

Drive: the word translates the German "Trieb" because it is closer to "impulse", "urge", than "instinct". A drive, in psychoanalysis, is a psychic tendency which assumes a biological source, an object of discharge, and a specific charge. Generally speaking, drives are linked with the sexual instinct.

Ego: the one of the three divisions of the psyche in psychoanalytic theory that serves as the organized conscious mediator between the person and reality especially by functioning both in the perception of and adaptation to reality.

Erotogenic (zones): any part of the body susceptible of becoming excited, of being a seat of pleasure. Freud used the term to refer primarily to a number of specific areas, notably, the genitals, mouth, and anus.

Faulty acts (see -> slips and mistakes).

First topic: topographic representation of psychic apparatus which consist of 3 systems (agencies): unconscious, conscious, preconscious.

Free association: method of investigation of the unconscious in which the client expresses thoughts exactly as they occur, even though they may seem irrelevant.

Guilt: a term denoting an unpleasant feeling associated with unfulfilled wishes.

Id: the one of the three divisions of the psyche in psychoanalytic theory that is completely unconscious and is the source of psychic energy derived from instinctual needs and drives.

Libido: quantitatively variable which could serve as a measure of processes and transformations occurring in the field of sexual excitation.

Life drive: opposing death drives, points to life building and sustaining drives. It includes the eros, or the sexual drives. It is also called Eros.

Latent content: Applied to the formation of dreams, refers to the thoughts related to the unconscious wishes that made the manifest content of dreams. (see also -> the manifest content)

Manifest content: Applied to the formation of dreams, points to the content of a dream that one remembers upon the waking. This is the facade of dream, the image or idea of it. (see also -> the latent content)

Neurosis: any of various mental or emotional disorders, such as hypochondria or neurasthenia, arising from no apparent organic lesion or change and involving symptoms such as insecurity, anxiety, depression, and irrational fears, but without psychotic symptoms such as delusions or hallucinations.

Object level: in dream interpretation, refers to the object-relation method of interpretation. Images and ideas of dream's manifest content are treated of like real images and ideas taken from the outer, social life, of the dreamer. (see also -> dream content)

Oedipus complex: an unconscious sexual wish in a child for the parent of the opposite sex, usually accompanied by hostility towards the parent of the same sex.

Projection: the attribution of one's own attitudes, feelings, or desires to someone or something as an unconscious defense against anxiety or guilt. (see defense mechanisms).

Psychoanalytic techniques: methods of exploration of the unconscious forged by psychoanalysis. Among them the most important are the free associations method (the golden rule of psychoanalysis) and the dream interpretation. (See also -> the free association method).

Psychic determinism: states that all processes occurring in mind are not spontaneous and free as they seem, but governed by unconscious rules or complexes. For example: when one tries to speak freely about what it comes in his/her mind in relation to a word of his/her free choice, the lines of thoughts are related each other and focus on an unconscious psychic complex. (See also -> unconscious)

Reality (pleasure) principles: the reality principle is one of the two major principles that govern the functioning of the mind. It designates the psyche's necessary awareness of information concerning reality and stands in contradistinction to the pleasure/unpleasure principle, which seeks the discharge or elimination of drive tension at all costs.

Repressed: is constituted by the operation of repression, which rejects and maintains in the unconscious representations deemed incompatible with the ego moral/superego moral values.
The repressed is not directly knowable, since it pertains wholly to the unconscious sphere of the mind. (see also -> the repression)

Repression: the exclusion of distressing memories, thoughts, or feelings from the conscious mind. Often involving sexual or aggressive urges or painful childhood memories, these unwanted mental contents are pushed into the unconscious mind. (see also -> the repressed)

Return of the repressed: process whereby repressed elements, preserved in the unconscious, tend to reappear, in consciousness, in the shape of secondary and more or less unrecognizable "derivatives of the unconscious". Parapraxes, bungled or symptomatic actions, are examples of such derivatives. (see also -> the repression and -> the repressed)

Second topic: topographic representation of psychic apparatus consisting of 3 agencies: id, ego, superego.

Self-analysis: it is the analysis that one is submitted him/herself in order to reach the unconscious and the signification of symptoms. It is usually directed by a trained psychoanalyst (supervisor). It is made with the help of the psychoanalytic techniques such as dream interpretation, free associations etc. Self-analysis is required in the psychoanalysis training. The model of self-analysis is the Freud's one. Learn more about Freud's self-analysis.

Slips and mistakes (Freudian): psychic unintentional acts (also called lapses) such us forgetting of names or objects, error of reading or writing, etc. that were analyzed by Freud and revealed links with unconscious psychic matters (complexes). (See also -> the psychoanalytic techniques)

Superego: the one of the three divisions of the psyche that is only partly conscious, represents internalization of parental interdictions and the rules of society. It is the moralizing and punishing instance in psyche.

Transference: the process whereby emotions are passed on or displaced from one person to another; during psychoanalysis therapy the displacement of feelings toward others (usually the parents) is onto the analyst.

Unconscious: the part of the psychic apparatus that does not ordinarily enter the individual's awareness but may be manifested by slips of the tongue, dreams, or neurotic symptoms.

[More entries will be available soon]

---------------
Online resources: answer.com and webster dictionary.

If you want to be smart, you need to know
All twenty core studies - so here we go …..

Social Psychology was right at the beginning,
Studies that looked at groups and belonging.
Zimbardo studied how guards treated prisoners wearing smocks,
And Milgram looked for men who would follow orders and give shocks.
Piliavin researched helping behaviour on the subway in New York,
Tajfel discovered how prejudice can drive a schoolboy's thoughts.

Cognitive Psychology followed after a while,
Looking at studies about language and the mind.
Gardner & Gardner taught Washoe the Chimp to sign,
Baron-Cohen studied autistic childrens' theory of mind.
Loftus and Palmer asked leading questions about speed,
Whilst Deregowski found out how pictures were perceived.

Developmental psychology was next to be given a turn,
Studies looking at how Children develop and learn.
Samuel and Bryant tried not to ask the same question twice,
Bandura tested what happened when role models were not nice.
Hodges & Tizard studied childrens' attachments over years,
And Freud tried to find out why white horses produced fear.

Next on the list came studies of physiology,
Focusing upon body, brain and psychology.
Sperry was fascinated by patients with split brains,
Whilst PET scans of criminals were studied by Raine.
Dement and Kleitman looked at eye movements and dreaming,
Whilst Schachter & Singer tested emotions and feelings.

Chimpanzee culture 'confirmed' 
By Helen Briggs 
BBC News science reporter 


 
Tool use in wild chimpanzees (Image: David Bygott)

Primate experts say they have proven that chimpanzees, like humans, show social conformity. 

By training captive chimps to use tools in different ways, they have shown experimentally that primates develop cultural traditions through imitation. 

This has long been suspected from observations in the wild, but has not been shown directly. 

It suggests that culture has ancient origins, scientists write in Nature. 

The study was carried out by a team at the University of St Andrews in the UK and the National Primate Research Center of Emory University in Atlanta, US. 

They presented two different groups of chimps with a problem relevant to their wild cousins: how to retrieve an item of food stuck behind a blockage in a system of tubes. 

One chimpanzee from each group was secretly taught a novel way to solve the problem. Ericka was taught how to use a stick to lift the blockage up so that the food fell out. 
 
A chimpanzee watches her mother retrieve food (Drawing by Amy Whiten)


Another female chimp, Georgia, was shown how to poke at the blockage so that the ball of food rolled out of the back of the pipes. 

Each chimp was then reunited with its group, and the scientists watched how they behaved. 

They found that the chimps gathered around Ericka or Georgia and soon copied their behaviour. By the end of two months, the two different groups were still using their own way of getting at the food and two distinct cultural traditions had been established. 

"This is the first time that any scientist has experimentally created two different traditions in any primate," Professor Andrew Whiten of the University of St Andrews told the BBC News website. 

"Moreover, it is the first time anyone has ever done this with tool use in any animal." 

Ancient origins 

The research adds weight to decades of field studies on wild primates suggesting that they have rich cultural traditions unmatched in species other than our own. 

Chimpanzees in West Africa, for example, use stones and pieces of wood to crack open nuts for food; but this has never been observed in chimps living in East Africa. 

It suggests that the common ancestor of chimps and humans, living some four to six million years ago, probably also had a desire to conform - the hallmark of human culture. 

"If both species have elements of culture, it is highly likely the ancient ancestor had too," said co-author Dr Victoria Horner, "so culture probably has a deep-rooted ancient origin." 

The research is published in the online edition of the journal Nature. 

Black and White Dolls by Hraba and Grant

Dr Zimbardo remembering his famous prison experiment

 

This link to cot death may help to explain a very sad thing which some babies can be exposed to.

you might find some good ideas on what to observe in a baby and young children with many ideas on what to observe.  on this page. Let me know if it is useful.

Psychometric tests

These tests are the ones that measure some aspect of a person's
psychological functioning to provide a score which can

* enable comparisons to be made with the scores of other people, some
tests are standarised around a population norm or average, enabling
scores
to be more accurately compared.

* enable predictions to be made concerning future behaviour and
performance.

The key controversial issues become

Is the test fairly conducted_this involves conditions of testing,
experience of testing and motivation and intentions of those tested

Is the test fairly constructed These tests should not be biased in
favour
of one type of population.

Is the test technically sound. Validity and reliability should be
checked

Are the test results properly used and applied which involves
psychologists being aware that you do not assume the results are
perfectly
stable or perfectly predictive.

You do not use the results to label people negatively, nor do you use
the
results to compare if they were not designed for that purpose. Remember
tests need to be standarised on a common scale.

Given these controversial aspects tests are still used because
psychometric testing has various advantages

* it is easy and quick

*if the tests are well constructed they can be objective and fair

* they have been shown to be very useful for employees, employers and
people suffering from problems.

Pregnancy and addictions
This article is from La Nacion, June 22nd,2008
It is also an example of a longitudinal study.

Según estudios de seguimiento durante 20 años
Los efectos del alcohol y el tabaco en el embarazo son de largo plazo
Quienes estuvieron expuestos en la gestación serán más proclives a la adicción
Domingo 22 de junio de 2008 | Publicado en la Edición impresa
Noticias de Ciencia/Salud: <>

Bajo peso al nacer; retardo del crecimiento; síndrome de muerte súbita del lactante; malformaciones congénitas... La lista de trastornos asociados al consumo de drogas lícitas o ilícitas durante el embarazo, que pueden padecer los recién nacidos, es larga. Pero lo peor es que la manifestación de esos trastornos no se agota en el posparto inmediato.

Estudios de seguimiento de largo plazo han demostrado que el consumo de alcohol y tabaco, así como también de sustancias ilícitas, durante la gestación extiende sus efectos a la niñez, la adolescencia e incluso a la vida adulta. Así, los bebes expuestos a esas sustancias tóxicas en el útero materno pueden presentar problemas cognitivos o incluso un mayor riesgo de repetir ellos mismos conductas de abuso de sustancias psicoactivas.

"Hasta hace poco tiempo se pensaba sólo en los efectos inmediatos del consumo de sustancias lícitas o ilícitas durante el embarazo. Pero han estado apareciendo estudios de seguimiento que muestran que bebes que no presentan ninguna malformación o trastornos evidentes al nacer, pueden padecer problemas del desarrollo a mediano o largo plazo", dijo a LA NACION la doctora Ruth Guinsburg, profesora titular de pediatría neonatal de la Universidad Federal de San Pablo, Brasil.

Guinsburg, que disertó sobre el tema en el V Simposio Internacional de Neonatología, que se realizó en la ciudad de Buenos Aires, continuó: "El niño nace; parece normal; no hay grandes malformaciones, pero ¿qué pasa? Después, el niño va a tener más dificultades en la escuela. Estudios hechos con hijos de mujeres que fumaban marihuana durante el embarazo mostraron que a los 15 años tenían más dificultades en tareas complejas como la coordinación visoespacial o la abstracción."

Falta de oxígeno

De las múltiples sustancias psicoactivas, es del tabaco y del alcohol sobre las que más información se dispone con respecto al uso durante el embarazo. "Está asociado con bajo peso la nacer, aborto espontáneo, retardo del crecimiento y síndrome de muerte súbita", resumió el doctor Joaquín Barnoya, experto en tabaquismo de la Universidad Washington en St. Louis, Estados Unidos.

En ese país, precisó Barnoya, "se estima que se producen casi 20.000 abortos espontáneos al año a causa del uso del tabaco durante el embarazo. En Estados Unidos, el 15% de los partos prematuros son causados por la exposición al humo de segunda mano", o tabaquismo pasivo.

"Uno de los principales problemas es que el consumo de tabaco durante el embarazo reduce el aporte de oxígeno, que es crítico para la vida y el desarrollo del feto", explicó el doctor Eduardo Bianco, presidente del Centro de Investigación de la Epidemia de Tabaquismo de Uruguay.

"La nicotina provoca una hipoxemia [falta de oxígeno] aguda, pero transitoria, en la sangre fetal, al reducir el flujo sanguíneo en la placenta, mientras que el monóxido de carbono produce una hipoxia crónica ya que reduce el transporte de oxígeno, lo que puede alterar el desarrollo del feto."

Según Bianco, "eliminar el consumo de tabaco durante el embarazo reduciría 12% las muertes por complicaciones perinatales".

Síndrome alcohólico

En cuanto al alcohol, en el 5% de los casos su consumo elevado da lugar al llamado síndrome alcohólico fetal, que se caracteriza por malformaciones faciales, retardo en el crecimiento y trastornos del sistema nervioso central.

Según la doctora Guinsburg, "esto no sólo ocurre con las mujeres que beben mucho cotidianamente (tres copas de vino o dos de bebidas destiladas diarias), sino también aquellas que no beben diariamente, pero se emborrachan una vez a la semana".

Pero tanto el alcohol como el tabaco, la cocaína, el éxtasis, la marihuana o el crack (cuyo equivalente en la Argentina es el "paco", que se elabora con los residuos de la elaboración de la cocaína) tienen efectos en el largo plazo, agregó Guinsburg.

"Un estudio australiano que siguió desde 1981 a hijos de mujeres que bebían alcohol durante el embarazo, y que los fue evaluando a los 5, a los 14 y a los 21 años, mostró que eran de 3 a 5 veces más propensos a hacer abuso del alcohol que hijos de mujeres que no habían bebido durante el embarazo".

"Algo similar se ha observado con el tabaco", apuntó Bianco. "El contacto precoz [intraútero] modifica los receptores cerebrales de la nicotina y hace que cuando estos niños entren en contacto nuevamente con la droga durante la adolescencia desarrollen grados muy severos de adicción."

"Para mí, lo importante de estos estudios de seguimiento es que muestran que el uso de sustancias lícitas o ilícitas durante el embarazo produce sutiles cambios genéticos y fisiológicos en el bebe que tiene consecuencias en el largo plazo", concluyó Guinsburg.

Por Sebastián A. Ríos
De la Redacción de LA NACION

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/7426869.stm

When we learnt about perception we talked about some African tribes .
Now have a look at a primitive life style in Brazil.I wonder about their perception, don´t you?

This is Washoe the chimp that we talked about in the study about animal language and communication.


Animal language and Communication

I have included this article from La Nacion for you to see how the subject of language in animals keeps cropping up. Read and post a comment if you like.


Estudios del comportamiento: muchos animales son capaces de una comunicación antes impensable
El ser humano es sólo una especie más
Habilidades como el lenguaje, que se consideraban únicas de los hombres, son compartidas por primates, delfines y elefantes
Domingo 1 de junio de 2008 | Publicado en la Edición impresa






LONDRES.- Hubo un tiempo en que pensábamos que los seres humanos éramos especiales en muchas formas. Pero ahora sabemos mejor. No somos la única especie que experimenta emociones, que siente empatía por otros o que se rige por un código moral. Tampoco somos los únicos con personalidades, culturas y con la habilidad de diseñar y usar herramientas.

Hasta ahora nos hemos aferrado con firmeza a la noción de que un atributo, al menos, nos hace únicos: sólo los seres humanos tenemos la capacidad del lenguaje. Desgraciadamente, parece que tampoco somos especiales en eso.

Aunque alguna vez el lenguaje fue visto como una entidad discreta y singular, los científicos de hoy hallan más productivo pensarlo como un repertorio de habilidades. Visto de esta forma, pareciera que las partes que componen el lenguaje -desde la gesticulación y el balbuceo, hasta el significado y la sintaxis- no son únicos como un todo. De hecho, un boom en la investigación de la cognición y la comunicación animal ha tomado la mayoría de esos ítems de la lista.

Tomemos la gesticulación, que se piensa que es el punto de partida del lenguaje. Hasta hace poco, era considerada únicamente humana, aunque ya no lo es. Mike Tomasello, del Instituto de Antropología Evolucionaria Max Planck, de Leipzig, Alemania, ha compilado una lista de gestos observados en monos, gibones, gorilas, chimpancés, bonobos y orangutanes, que revela que la gesticulación desempeña un amplio papel en su comunicación.

La gestos de los simios pueden involucrar el tacto, la vocalización o los movimientos oculares, y los individuos esperan hasta tener la atención del otro antes de realizar gestos visuales o auditivos. Si un gesto no es reconocido, lo repetirá o tocará al destinatario.

El hecho de que podamos interpretar los gestos de los simios también sugiere que existe una base evolutiva para la gesticulación compartida entre los seres humanos y los otros primates. Esas similaridades innatas fueron demostradas por investigadores de la Universidad York de Toronto, Canadá, que examinaron los gestos de bebes humanos de entre 9 y 15 meses, y los de simios de distintas edades, y hallaron que tanto los bebes humanos como los simios usan gestos similares para pedir cosas, como extender la mano para pedir alimento o levantar ambos brazos para ser levantados. Ambos usan toda la mano para señalar, así como también comparten similares gestos de protesta.

Aprender a balbucear

Así como gesticulan, los niños antes de hablar comienzan a balbucear, y parece ser que tampoco estamos solos en esto: los delfines e incluso algunas aves también lo hacen. Alrededor de los 5 meses de vida, los bebes comienzan a emitir sus primeros sonidos vocales, que los científicos creen que contiene una selección al azar de todos los fonemas que los seres humanos somos capaces de producir. A medida que los niños aprenden el lenguaje de sus padres, achican su repertorio de sonidos para adecuarlo al modelo al que son expuestos.

Los delfines bebes también atraviesas una fase de balbuceo. Un grupo de investigadores de la Universidad de California en Davis analizó la complejidad de los sonidos que emiten los bebes delfines y hallaron que tienen un gran parecido con los balbuceos humanos, en que los delfines bebes tienen un repertorio de sonidos mucho más amplio que los adultos.

Esto sugiere que practican los sonidos de su especie del mismo modo en que lo hacen los bebes humanos, antes de comenzar a organizarlos de la forma que es característica de los delfines maduros de su especie.

Claro que el lenguaje es algo más que sonidos: también es significado. Lejos de la visión de que los animales se comunican de forma impredecible o involuntaria, ha quedado claro que varias especies son capaces de otorgar significado a sonidos particulares al conectarlos con ideas específicas.

Los delfines utilizan silbidos personales, llamados así porque parecen ser la forma con la que se identifican ellos mismos. Cada uno desarrolla un único apodo durante su primer año de vida y lo utiliza cada vez que se encuentra con otro delfín. Los elefantes también utilizan sonidos como si fuesen palabras, según afirma Katy Payne, que dirigió el Proyecto de Escucha de Elefantes de la Universidad de Cornell, Estados Unidos.

Payne compiló un diccionario de sonidos producidos por elefantes para diversos propósitos, como saludar a otro miembro del clan. Las ballenas también tienen un repertorio vocal igualmente diverso. Este año, Rebecca Dunlop, de la Universidad de Queensland, Australia, anunció que elaboró un catálogo de 34 sonidos diferentes de uso social, que permanecieron estables durante muchos años y eran diferentes de los cantos de las ballenas.

Uno de los ejemplos más claros de cómo los animales establecen conexiones entre sonidos específicos y significados proviene del zoológico de Edimburgo, donde hallaron que los chimpancés realizaban rudimentarias referencias a los objetos utilizando distintos gritos cuando se les presentaban distintos alimentos. Los más valorados, como el pan, daban lugar a gruñidos más agudos; los menos deseados, como las manzanas, a gruñidos más graves.

Cuando se les hacía escuchar grabaciones del grito asociado a un alimento específico, los chimpancés acudían al lugar donde solía hallarse ese alimento. Y la búsqueda se prolongaba más si el sonido señalaba a un alimento especialmente valorado por los chimpancés.

Por Christine Kenneally
De New Scientist

¿Qué nos distingue?

Arte. Aunque varios primates han hecho aportes al mundo artístico con sus pinturas abstractas, los humanos somos la única especie capaz del dibujo figurativo.


Cocinar. Los animales terrestres tienen un temor innato hacia el fuego, pero nuestro ancestro H. erectus fue el primero en cocinar, hace 1,9 millones de años.


Religión. La creencia en un ser supernatural estaría fuera del alcance de los animales, que carecen de la capacidad de atribuir estados mentales a otros individuos.


Deporte. Todos los animales sociales juegan, pero el deporte es un tipo de juego que requiere reglas complejas y que se basa en habilidades cognitivas avanzadas.



I

 Charla del Autismo: Socorro Cornejo

• Autismo dificultades en todas las áreas de desarrollo.
Pero en distinta intensidad y cualidad

Trastorno generalizado del desarrollo (un tipo)


No consolida etapas (un poco de cada cosa y saltea)

• Comunicación: dificultad para entender el lenguaje

No desarrolla la teoría de la mente: no se pone en el lugar del otro
lo interpreta a su manera
no entienden ironías, ni chistes
no saben mentir

• Síndrome de Asperger: un tipo generalizado del trastorno del desarrollo.

• No se saben bien las causas: hay muchos factores, pero la causa es biológica.

• Autistas regulación del sistema sensorial y motor: alterado
Mirada: recurso de conexión social muy importante
A algunos les cuesta el contacto visual.
Espectro de autismo: todos son distintos en algo.

Dificultades en la planificación: gran deambulador.

• Greenspan (psicólogo) : descripción de la evolución del chico y planificación de las cosas que tienen que lograr o progresar para aprender lo siguiente.

Método: floortime

• El sistema educativo no está preparado para el autismo

Maestra integradora

Adaptaciones curriculares
Van a talleres terapéuticos
• En algunos casos solo, son medicados para algunos síntomas

Dependiendo de la teoría: para mejorar la conducta, tranquilizarlo, etc

• Anne Sulllivan: colegio para chicos autistas en Lima

a una cuadra del colegio Juan 23 para chicos “normales”

trabajan mucho con la integración: un chico “normal” del Juan 23 elige,
a voluntad, tener un amigo tutor del colegio para autistas.

Acompañamiento académico
Programas fuera del colegio
• Tienen la misma posibilidad de muerte y a la misma edad que nosotros.
• Video: Facundo (chico autista de 8 años, conocido por Socorro desde los 2 años)

Le gusta que lo toquen, lo agarren, corran y aplasten con almohadones.

Pero después de un rato, ya no está más atento

No habla bien, pero jerga y repite cosas de películas.
Espera la iniciativa y después se engancha.

No logra mantener la mirada en ella, la atención y el enganche,
Mirada sin expresión.
Tiene lenguaje ecolálico, no espontáneo.

Trabajo mandado por alumnas presentes en la charla. Muchas gracias.

Girls here you have some information for your studies and investigations. This information comes straight from the cie page. This helps you see the set out.

CHILD DEVELOPMENT STUDY

The purpose of the study is that the candidate should:
(a) have first-hand observations of the development of children aged up to 5 years;
(b) over a period of time (which may be flexible) have contact with a child or group of children;
(c) relate his/her observations to current theories of child development.
It is advisable to recognise the confidentiality of the nature of the study and it may be appropriate
to apply a fictitious name to the child or children.
The method of presentation may take a variety of forms:
1. a record of work in the form of a notebook or diary:
or 2. a written report, tabulated or in essay form, where each period of contact with the
child/children is presented as a separate account.
The studies may include relevant original material, illustrative or written material from the child or children,
diagrams, charts, photographs, etc. However, if such material is used, it must be referred to and
interpreted within the text.
Studies should be approximately 3000 words in length.

PRACTICAL INVESTIGATION
The investigations can be related to any areas of the syllabus and each candidate should build up a
written record of his/her investigations undertaken over the two-year course although only one will be
required for assessment purposes.
The Candidate should have a product, such as a booklet or an information sheet for parents as the focus
of the Investigation. The purpose of the assignment is that the candidate should reflect the assessment
objectives outlined and each report should therefore include brief, clear statements of:
• the purpose of the investigation – a description of the end product;
• the information or evidence sought;
• the method used to obtain the information/evidence;
• the results of the enquiry;
• the conclusions drawn as a result of the enquiry – the end product;
• an evaluation in terms of the candidate's end product and its usefulness to the relevant interested
parties. This should show how effective the investigation was and if the product meets the
informational needs of the target audience.
An investigation can be related to any area of the syllabus, but must not overlap any of the subject matter
presented in the Child Development Study.
The purpose of the investigation should reflect the assessment objectives. The investigation should
therefore include the points outlined in the markscheme
MARK SCHEME

Child Development Study Marks

Introduction and Planning 15 marks
(a) Planning of the Study, including the final presentation of the information (either handwritten
or word processed) in an acceptable report format 3
(b) Background information on the child/children 4
(c) Explain, with the relevant theoretical information, the development area chosen with
reasons for choice 8

Application 20 marks
(a) A written record of each observation made 8
(b) Application of knowledge and understanding of accepted child development theories
to the observations 8
(c) Comparison of evidence with the development of the average child or other children of
the same age 4

Analysis and Evaluation 15 marks

(a) Comment on the appropriateness and effectiveness of the methods chosen 6
(b) Identification of the strengths and weaknesses of the study and of how the weaker work
could have been improved 6
(c) Awareness of opportunities for further developments 3
Total 50

Practical Investigation
Introduction 15 marks
(a) Selection of area of study and reasons for choice 5
(b) Suggested methods for acquiring information 5
(c) Planning and organisation (techniques and equipment necessary) 5
Application 20 marks
(a) Evidence of a range of investigative procedures 7
(b) Application of knowledge and understanding of accepted development theories (of the
area chosen) to the observations made 7
(c) Production of a leaflet or a poster etc., suitable for new parents or other interested
parties, based on the findings from the investigation 6
Analysis and Evaluation 15 marks
(a) Comment on the appropriateness and effectiveness of the investigatory procedures
used 6
(b) Comment on the strengths and weaknesses of the investigation, on how the
weaker work could have been improved and on the outcome of the investigation
(the leaflet or other acceptable product) 6
(c) Awareness of opportunities for further developments 3
Total 50

Check this video and it gives you an idea of what Rosenhan´s study was about.
Please post comments.

http://pregnancy.about.com/od/fetus/ss/ninemonths_2.htm

Some students were asking for information on ultra scans. I have found some pictures of scans that should help you get a better idea. There are also more facts of tests and recommendations about keeping healthy during pregnancy.

http://nobelprize.org/educational_games/medicine/landsteiner/readmore.html

Blood types are something you have studied in Biology. However we can revise them here and when you finish revising you can follow the link to the game.

http://nobelprize.org/educational_games/medicine/split-brain/index.html

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/split.html

here you have some information to sift through. You can go into neuroscience for kids, find out about the brain and its functions and even play the split brain game.
have fun and learn.

When we talk about child development theories and try to explain how children learn and children´s  thought processes we come to jean Piaget. In this video you can see something about the conservation tasks.

Here is the link to a great tutorial which will allow you to view certain important facts about the brain.

What do you think?
Read the article and get ready to discuss in class.

Polémica por un examen de ADN a chicos

 
This link will allow you to explore some topics related to memory.
The study on memory deals with the eye witness testimony.

Watch the following videos on the study about aggression by Albert Bandura. Please post your comments.

For all the AS studies in psychology there are certain questions to bear in mind. See the following document and remember these questions apply to all the studies.

Questions that you should ask about the key studies
1
Why was the study or review performed?
On what theory is the study or review based?
Introduce the area.
2
What are the aims of the article, what hypotheses are being tested, what are the independent and dependent variables, how are they operationalised, and were the variables operationalised appropriately?
3
What method was used in the study?
Laboratory Experiment, Natural or Field Experiment, Case Study, Questionnaire, Review.
4
State three advantages and three disadvantages of the method used.
5
Give details of the procedure(s). Include design, setting, subjects, controls, etc.
For case studies, say what happened to the subject. For review, give details of at least three aspects.
6
What were the main findings of the study or review?
What was concluded?
What are the implications of the study?
7
Are there any ethical guidelines broken in this study/area?
Deception, Withdrawal, Harm, Consent, Debriefing, Confidentiality, Protection of participants, Observational Research, Giving advice, Colleagues?
8
Evaluate the following:
Subjects/Sample, Experimenter bias, Demand Characteristics, Implications for theory, Ecological validity, Ethnocentrism, Control
Other evaluation.
9
The perspective is:
Cognitive Psychology, Social Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Comparative Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Physiological Psychology, Culture & Identity.
10
This study relates to the issues of:
Ethics, Children, Animals, Nature & Nurture, Scientific Method.
Say why.
11
What are the key terms?
12
How were the variables operationalised?
13
How was the data collected?
14
How was the study affected by the social and political issues at the time it was conducted?
15
Can we relate the study to everyday life?
16
What if the location was different?
17
What if the measurement was different?
18
What if the procedure was different?

Important Issues
A. Everyday life -ecological validity
B. Nature and Nurture
C. Determinism and freewill
D. Psychometrics
E. Laboratory Vs Field Studies
F. Usefulness
G. Qualitative Vs quantitative
H. Norms v Diversity
I. Ethnocentrism
J. Different types of explanation for the same event - e.g. physiological v developmental v social explanations of aggression

Autism is a very complicated developmental disorder. However a lot can be done to teach and help people with this disorder. A lovely book you might like to read is called The curious incident of the dog in the night time, by Mark Haddon.
The link to the article is showing you how this disorder is being studied to shed light on its origin.

Physiological psychology 3rd polimodal students specially , do read this article.


This area focuses on the relationship between our biological makeup and our behaviour and experiences. As our knowledge increases as regards how our brain works there are many studies which bring up interesting questions.
This article is related to a study in  our syllabus called Brain abnormalities in murderers indicated by positron emission tomography.This sounds very complicated but you can read the article and get ready to discuss it in class.

Developmental Psychology
This area of psychology deals with discovering the psychological processes of development.
The study of aggression was undertaken by a Doctor called Albert Bandura.
Read the article which will be followed by a video on you tube for you to begin to think about the nature nurture debate.

It´s back to work and as you can see i have improved my skills in an area which you excel at.
Let´s use this blog to further our knowledge of both Child Development and the different areas of Psychology. Please feel free to submit articles related to our studies during the school year. good luck and don´t leave things till the last moment.