Opinion Topic
Stages of moral development by Kohlbegs are an extension of Piaget’s work. He wanted to understand the relationship between ages and the charges on moral reasoning, that is how reasoning charges as people get old. The theory explains that that individual moral development obeys and follows given stages. To make this conclusion, he poses and asks dilemma questions to kids, teenagers, and adults. Stage one is the pre-conventional morality. Punishment is the main basis of this concept; the kid believes if punishment is the result of an action, then the action is not right. In stage two, it is based on personal interest and rewards; hence it is a self-centered approach to moral decision making as it concentrates on self –interest.
The second stage is conventional morality: It is mainly based on what other people will think about the actions. In the case of the husband with the sick wife, if he breaks in the chemist for the wife’s medication, some people will see him as a responsible husband, while others will see it as unlawful, and he should not do it stage three concentrates on pleasing others. At level four, one understands the importance of social norms and, therefore, to be a good member of society. Post conventional morality: what is right or wrong is established on social contract for the benefit of everyone. It is based on the ethical standards of others and society as a whole rather than legal standards. In stage five, laws are viewed as contracts while in stage six, ethical principles are evaluated by an individual in making moral decisions. Kohlberg’s model is very appropriate and can apply in society that has organized and with established social norms that are understood by all members. With this theory, it is hard to understand the score on the moral stage and the people’s behavior in the community.
Between the ages of two and six years, children tend to grow three inches taller and weigh 4.5 pounds. Before a child gets to 6 yrs, the body is not proportionate in age. The head and the stomach are still large, while the limbs are shorter. The growth rate for children between 2 to 6 years slows down because of a decrease in eating habits. During this period, children are normally poor eaters with less appetite. The change in eating habits affects their growth rate because the children are very active and thus need a lot of calories in their body.
By the time a child gets to 3 years, the brain is 75% developed. The brain gets 95% developed by the age of 6. The change in brain weight for the child is evident by what the child does as he continues to grow. The area of the brain behind the forehead is called the prefrontal cortex. It is responsible for helping individuals think, control emotion, attention, and strategize. The left side of the brain grows and develops dramatically between ages 3 and 6. As this side of the brain continues to develop the child, language skills also grow. The development of the right hemisphere continues throughout childhood and is responsible for the identification of shapes and patterns in children.
The period between middle and late childhood is marked by a period of slow growth rate. Muscle strength and lung capacity tend to grow, thus making them possible to engage in strenuous activities such as sports. During this time, there is a spurt in the growth of the brain.
The mental capacity of logic, good memory, and planning become evident during this period. The child’s ability to process information and their reaction to it also increase. Myelination is the factor responsible for this brain improvement. I found these two topics interesting because they explain the formation of the brain as well as the evident behavior seen amongst teenagers.
Puberty is a period in adolescence. It is a period of sexual maturity for both boys and girls. Girls generally tend to get at this stage for around ten years while boys start puberty two years later. At this stage, there is a growth spurt amongst adolescence with an increase in weight and height. The growth spurt is very different and apparent between the two genders. While in childhood, boys and girls looked almost similar, adolescents bring the difference in height and weight.
Sexual maturity happens during adolescence. In males, there is a growth in testes, scrotum, and penis. The first ejaculation of the semen happens between ages 11 and 15. In females, the uterus grows, and they get their first menstruation. Young girls may get their menstruation earlier because of fat and stress. These two topics were interesting because I could relate to them in my adolescence.
Opinion prompt #1
Marshmallow test, the study involves children of ages between the ages of 4-6 years old. The test was first executed and experimented in the 60s and was led by Walter Mitchel from Stanford University. The test examinees to see if children of this age can postpone and delay satisfaction at the moment and present for the exchange for a good and better reward shortly. In the study, the child is offered to prefer between one small marshmallow at the moment with an immediate award at present or wait for a short time and, in return, get two little marshmallows. In this test researcher, gives the child a small piece of marshmallow in a room and leaves the room for some time and returns after 15 minutes. The child who waited for the time is rewarded with a second marshmallow (Falk et al. 2019).
Some of the kids can wait longer and avoided eating the reward while others can overcome the temptation of eating the marshmallow as they are unable to wait. The kind rapped and covered their eyes using their hands; some placed their head on the table; others avoided the temptation by the diversion of their minds by talking to themselves, playing games by using their feet and hands. In contrast, others went to the extent of trying to sleep and forget about the promised reward. All the children were doing things aimed at distracting them from the leading award that is restraining themselves from the temptation of eating them.
The reward, in other words, did not work as a motivator that was to keep the children focused on the main goal, but it worked against them as the primary cause of frustration to them. It increased the temptation and disappointment to them as it accelerated the decease of gratification. Not thinking of the expected and promised reward seemed to lag and reduce the child gratification and the temptation of eating the marshmallow. It is exciting that the result can, therefore, be interpreted as; the active avoidance and delay of the attraction largely and heavily depends on the child’s ability to suppression and cognitive avoidance of the reward. The test, therefore, brings out and demonstrates that active avoidance and delay are achieved, and it depends on the ability of the child to suppress and reduce frustration rather than thinking of something we want or need.
Opinion prompt #2:
Self-concept is an opinion of oneself often. It is contributed by the individual’s beliefs that they hold about oneself and from other people’s responses.it is how an individual thinks about, feels, or evaluates themselves. The description of a person is mostly influenced by the external and internal qualities of the individual. Self-esteem, on the other hand, is a subjective and evaluative judgment about an individual worth it is also known as self-regard or self-respect. A child’s or individual’s improved and positive perception is highly dependent on the development of cognitive skills. If an individual is asked about oneself, they tend to describe what they are, that is, their height, what is their like, give a physical description, the group of individuals they associate with, their values perceptions, and even personal behaviors. Using open-ended questions as a yardstick to quantify the personality of a child is limited to language hence can’t describe themselves well. Using statements with children where they answer true or false provides better answers and descriptions as their solutions are consistent in many ways. The environment and the exposure of kinds to social comparison have an effect on the child’s self-perception that is the kind that is not exposed tend to have positive image towards themselves compared to the ones who are more exposed. The self-esteem of children mainly and is directly proportionate to the attachment they have to the caregivers (Davis et al. 2018).
Imaginary companions are the unseen, an invisible character that kinds converse and relate. Different studies and research have generated exciting results and views as the child refers to invisible characters. In the study, the child relates to the hidden and unseen aspects of dulling plays and conversations. In other cases, the child includes physical objects that they can identify with, such as dolls and toys. The child’s environment dramatically determines what they imaginary compassionate with, some associate with real individuals, the names that they have heard, and even different characters in different stories that they have studied or read. It is also true that children’s imaginary compassion changes as the child develops with age. Children from all social classes and backgrounds have imaginary companions regardless of their family situation and settings; the only thing is that they will associate with different companions. The most exciting part is that a child will see and regard the imaginary companion the same as their real friends; that is, they know that they can depend and get support from either and in the same magnitude.
Opinion prompt #3:
It is my opinion that organized sports are not only essential for the children’s development at the middle age, but it should be made part of their education. Children at this age are more receptive to new activities and ideas hence marking it a perfect stage to introduce them to organized sports. Parents should make every effort to actively present children to it as they bear the primary responsibility to care and nature their young ones in the right and correct path in life.
Organized sports as so many benefits and should not be left to children to decide whether to engage in them or not, (Field and Temple 2017). Children actively participating in sports acquire strong social skills; they understand the importance and essence of competition and even better them athletically. Research and some study have shown that some children ware out and even hate sports; it is essential to note that adults should actively engage with the kids in organized sports to motivate them as they may not understand the importance of games at the moment. Adults should as well educate the children on the importance of this sport; explanations of the benefits of sports to them should be provided as some will drop out of games stating that they want to concentrate on other activities such as bettering their grades. It is, therefore, incumbent on the grow-ups to explain to them how sports better their classes, improves their health, and even overall growth. The kids from the disadvantaged should be encouraged to engage in games in schools; hence the curriculum developers should ensure that physical educations classes are taken seriously and enough time is allocated. Parents should also discourage the excessive involvement of kinds in the e-sports as they have adverse effects on them, such as for overweight.
Reference
Davis, P. E., Simon, H., Meins, E., & Robins, D. L. (2018). Imaginary companions in children with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 48(8), 2790-2799.
Falk, A., Kosse, F., &Pinger, P. (2019). Re-revisiting the marshmallow test: A direct comparison of studies by Shoda, Mischel, and Peake (1990) and Watts, Duncan, and Quan (2018). Psychological Science.
Field, S. C., & Temple, V. A. (2017). The relationship between fundamental motor skill proficiency and participation in organized sports and active recreation in middle childhood. Sports, 5(2), 43.
Watts, T. W., Duncan, G. J., &Quan, H. (2018). Revisiting the marshmallow test: A conceptual replication investigating links between early delay of gratification and later outcomes. Psychological science, 29(7), 1159-1177.