Part III: Early Childhood
Chapter 7 
Physical and Cognitive Development in Early Childhood
Focus: Wang Yani, Self-Taught Artist
•	Began painting at age two and a half

•	First exhibit at the age of four

•	Produced 4,000 paintings by the age of six

•	What influenced her success?
Aspects of Physical Development

•	How do children’s bodies change between ages 3 and 6, and what are their nutritional and dental needs?
Aspects of Physical Development
•	Bodily Growth and Change

•	Nutrition and Oral Health

•	Sleep Patterns and Problems

•	Motor skills
Health and Safety
•	Minor Illnesses

•	Accidental Injuries and Deaths

•	Health in Context: Environmental Influences
•	 Checkpoint: Can you…
Discuss several environmental influences that endanger children’s health and development?
Cognitive Development: 
Cognitive Advances During Early Childhood
Piagetian Approach: The Pre-Operational Child
•	Advances of Preoperational Thought

•	The Symbolic Function
•	Symbolic Development and Spatial Thinking
•	Understanding of Identities and Categorization
•	Number
Piagetian Approach: The Pre-Operational Child
•	Immature Aspects of Preoperational Thought

•	Conservation

•	Egocentrism
Piagetian Approach: The Pre-Operational Child
•	Do Young Children Have Theories of Mind?
•	Knowledge about Thinking and Mental States
•	False Beliefs and Deception
•	Distinguishing Between Appearance and Reality
•	Distinguishing Between Fantasy and Reality
•	Influences on Theory-of-Mind Development
Language and Other Cognitive Abilities
•	Language Development
•	Vocabulary
•	Grammar and Syntax
•	Pragmatics and Social Speech
•	Private Speech
•	Delayed Language Development
•	Social Interaction and Preparation for Literacy
Language and Other Cognitive Abilities
•	Information-Processing Approach: Memory Development
•	Recognition and Recall
•	Forming Childhood Memories
•	generic memory
•	episodic memory
•	autobiographical memory
•	Influences on Autobiographical Memory
Language and Other Cognitive Abilities
•	Intelligence: Psychometric and Vygotskian Approaches
•	Traditional Psychometric Measures
•	Influences on Measured Intelligence
•	Testing and Teaching Based on Vygotsky’s Theory
•	 Checkpoint: Can you…
•	Describe two commonly used individual intelligence tests for preschoolers?
•	Discuss several influences on measured intelligence?
•	Explain why dynamic testing may be useful with young children, and give an example?
 Early Childhood Education	
•	Goals and Types of Preschools

•	Compensatory Preschool Programs

•	The Transition to Kindergarten
Digging Deeper
Imaginary Companions
Practically Speaking

How Reliable is Children’s Eyewitness Testimony?