Today, I will make use of our class blog to plea for Platelets donation for a 12 yr old girl Xia YuLin. This is a great opportunity for us to help children in need which is what brought us together in the first place, isnt it?

Due to some complication after a bone marrow transplant, she is now very sick and needs daily transfusion of A+ Platelets. As most of us are already parents, I am sure we are all able to feel the pain of a sick child. So if we are able to help in anyway at all, please do come forward.

All we have to do is go to NUH and tell them the contribution is for Xia YuLin. Blood platelets renews and replaces themselves very quickly in a healthy person, so we are practically helping ourselves as we help others.

For those of you who have received similiar sms messages, I can assure you that it is not a scam or spam mail. I have spoken to her mom on the phone. Besides they are not asking for anything other than some blood from us.

PLEASE HELP IF YOU CAN....

GOD BLESS




Exams over for now, so lets take a little break and have a little laugh..

A dying man smells his favorite oatmeal raisin cookies cooking downstairs. It takes all the strength he has left but he gets up from the bed and crawls down the stairs. He sees the cookies cooling on the counter and staggers over to them. As he reaches for one, his wife's wrinkled hand reaches out, smacks his and she yells:

"No, you can't have those! They're for the funeral!"





I have found alot of interesting and informational videos online and here's one on the Attachment Theory to share with everyone if you have not viewed it on YouTube yet. Hope that you will enjoy it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbV5iDV74rU&feature=related

Cognitive development is defined as development of the ability to think and reason (University of Chicago Comer Children's Hospital, 2006). Jean Piaget and Lev Semionovich Vygotsky were both enormously significant contributors to the cognitive development component of Psychology. The way children learn and mentally grow plays a central role in their learning processes and abilities. By understanding the progression of cognitive development teachers enable themselves to better cater to the unique needs of each child.

Both Piaget and Vygotsky were regarded as constructivists. Constructivism is an approach to teaching and learning based on the premise that cognition is the result of "mental construction". In other words, students learn by fitting new information together with what they already know. Constructivists believe that learning is affected by the context in which an idea is taught as well as by students' beliefs and attitudes (Hawai'i Department of Education E-School, 1996). One other similarity between Piaget and Vygotsky is that they both believe that the boundaries of cognitive growth were established by societal influences. Unfortunately, this is where the similarities between Piaget and Vygotsky end.

The key ideas of Piaget's and Vygotsky's theory differ. Piaget believed that intelligence came from action. He held that children learn through interacting with their surroundings and that learning takes place after development. Alternatively, Vygotsky felt that learning happens before development can occur and that children learn because of history and symbolism (Slavin, 2003, p.30, 43). Vygotsky also believed that children value input from their surroundings and from others. Piaget did not place importance on the input of others. Piaget and Vygotsky's theories on cognitive development also have differing opinions.




1. Learning Basic Trust Versus Basic Mistrust (Hope)
Chronologically, this is the period of infancy through the first one or two years of life. The child, well - handled, nurtured, and loved, develops trust and security and a basic optimism. Badly handled, he becomes insecure and mistrustful.

2. Learning Autonomy Versus Shame (Will)
The second psychosocial crisis, Erikson believes, occurs during early childhood, probably between about 18 months or 2 years and 3½ to 4 years of age. The "well - parented" child emerges from this stage sure of himself, elated with his new found control, and proud rather than ashamed. Autonomy is not, however, entirely synonymous with assured self - possession, initiative, and independence but, at least for children in the early part of this psychosocial crisis, includes stormy self - will, tantrums, stubbornness, and negativism. For example, one sees may 2 year olds resolutely folding their arms to prevent their mothers from holding their hands as they cross the street. Also, the sound of "NO" rings through the house or the grocery store.

3. Learning Initiative Versus Guilt (Purpose)
Erikson believes that this third psychosocial crisis occurs during what he calls the "play age," or the later preschool years (from about 3½ to, in the United States culture, entry into formal school). During it, the healthily developing child learns: (1) to imagine, to broaden his skills through active play of all sorts, including fantasy (2) to cooperate with others (3) to lead as well as to follow. Immobilized by guilt, he is: (1) fearful (2) hangs on the fringes of groups (3) continues to depend unduly on adults and (4) is restricted both in the development of play skills and in imagination.

4. Industry Versus Inferiority (Competence)
Erikson believes that the fourth psychosocial crisis is handled, for better or worse, during what he calls the "school age," presumably up to and possibly including some of junior high school. Here the child learns to master the more formal skills of life: (1) relating with peers according to rules (2) progressing from free play to play that may be elaborately structured by rules and may demand formal teamwork, such as baseball and (3) mastering social studies, reading, arithmetic. Homework is a necessity, and the need for self-discipline increases yearly. The child who, because of his successive and successful resolutions of earlier psychosocial crisis, is trusting, autonomous, and full of initiative will learn easily enough to be industrious. However, the mistrusting child will doubt the future. The shame - and guilt-filled child will experience defeat and inferiority.

5. Learning Identity Versus Identity Diffusion (Fidelity)
During the fifth psychosocial crisis (adolescence, from about 13 or 14 to about 20) the child, now an adolescent, learns how to answer satisfactorily and happily the question of "Who am I?" But even the best - adjusted of adolescents experiences some role identity diffusion: most boys and probably most girls experiment with minor delinquency; rebellion flourishes; self - doubts flood the youngster, and so on.

Erikson believes that during successful early adolescence, mature time perspective is developed; the young person acquires self-certainty as opposed to self-consciousness and self-doubt. He comes to experiment with different - usually constructive - roles rather than adopting a "negative identity" (such as delinquency). He actually anticipates achievement, and achieves, rather than being "paralyzed" by feelings of inferiority or by an inadequate time perspective. In later adolescence, clear sexual identity - manhood or womanhood - is established. The adolescent seeks leadership (someone to inspire him), and gradually develops a set of ideals (socially congruent and desirable, in the case of the successful adolescent). Erikson believes that, in our culture, adolescence affords a "psychosocial moratorium," particularly for middle - and upper-class American children. They do not yet have to "play for keeps," but can experiment, trying various roles, and thus hopefully find the one most suitable for them.

6. Learning Intimacy Versus Isolation (Love)
The successful young adult, for the first time, can experience true intimacy - the sort of intimacy that makes possible good marriage or a genuine and enduring friendship.

7. Learning Generativity Versus Self-Absorption (Care)
In adulthood, the psychosocial crisis demands generativity, both in the sense of marriage and parenthood, and in the sense of working productively and creatively.

8. Integrity Versus Despair (Wisdom)
If the other seven psychosocial crisis have been successfully resolved, the mature adult develops the peak of adjustment; integrity. He trusts, he is independent and dares the new. He works hard, has found a well - defined role in life, and has developed a self-concept with which he is happy. He can be intimate without strain, guilt, regret, or lack of realism; and he is proud of what he creates - his children, his work, or his hobbies. If one or more of the earlier psychosocial crises have not been resolved, he may view himself and his life with disgust and despair.




I am still working with help from a friend on a new layout for our classblog and hope to finalise it soon... Please bear with me for a little while more? You will also notice that I have changed our blog url. This is to reflect our interest rather then the class as I have invited others outside our class and course with similiar interest in Psychology and LDM onboard this blog. When everything is ready, I will be sending out invites to everyone who wishes to blog on this site so that your name will appear at the end of the blog rather then just Class of Monday 10.

In the meantime here is a link for those who want extra material on Sigmund Freud's comparison of our human mind to an ice-burghttp://http//www.cultsock.ndirect.co.uk/MUHome/cshtml/psy/person2.html . Hope that it will be of some help.




Here's a link courtest of Supriya for those who may want more notes on Erikson's psychosocial theory of the 'eight stages of human development' drew from and extending the ideas of Sigmund Freud and Freud's daughter Anna Freud, and particularly the four (or five, depending on interpretation) Freudian stages of development, known as Freud's psychosexual stages or Freud's sexual theory. These concepts are fundamental to Freudian thinking and are outlined below in the link. http://www.businessballs.com/erik_erikson_psychosocial_theory.htm#freud


Posted on behalf of Supriya





Freud’s Stages of Psychosexual Development are, like other stage theories, completed in a predetermined sequence and can result in either successful completion or a healthy personality or can result in failure, leading to an unhealthy personality. This theory is probably the most well known as well as the most controversial, as Freud believed that we develop through stages based upon a particular erogenous zone. During each stage, an unsuccessful completion means that a child becomes fixated on that particular erogenous zone and either over– or under-indulges once he or she becomes an adult.

Oral Stage (Birth to 18 months) During the oral stage, the child if focused on oral pleasures (sucking). Too much or too little gratification can result in an Oral Fixation or Oral Personality which is evidenced by a preoccupation with oral activities. This type of personality may have a stronger tendency to smoke, drink alcohol, over eat, or bite his or her nails. Personality wise, these individuals may become overly dependent upon others, gullible, and perpetual followers. On the other hand, they may also fight these urges and develop pessimism and aggression toward others.

Anal Stage (18 months to three years) The child’s focus of pleasure in this stage is on eliminating and retaining feces. Through society’s pressure, mainly via parents, the child has to learn to control anal stimulation. In terms of personality, after effects of an anal fixation during this stage can result in an obsession with cleanliness, perfection, and control (anal retentive). On the opposite end of the spectrum, they may become messy and disorganized (anal expulsive).

Phallic Stage (ages three to six) The pleasure zone switches to the genitals. Freud believed that during this stage boy develop unconscious sexual desires for their mother. Because of this, he becomes rivals with his father and sees him as competition for the mother’s affection. During this time, boys also develop a fear that their father will punish them for these feelings, such as by castrating them. This group of feelings is known as Oedipus Complex ( after the Greek Mythology figure who accidentally killed his father and married his mother).

Later it was added that girls go through a similar situation, developing unconscious sexual attraction to their father. Although Freud Strongly disagreed with this, it has been termed the Electra Complex by more recent psychoanalysts.

According to Freud, out of fear of castration and due to the strong competition of his father, boys eventually decide to identify with him rather than fight him. By identifying with his father, the boy develops masculine characteristics and identifies himself as a male, and represses his sexual feelings toward his mother. A fixation at this stage could result in sexual deviancies (both overindulging and avoidance) and weak or confused sexual identity according to psychoanalysts.

Latency Stage (age six to puberty) It’s during this stage that sexual urges remain repressed and children interact and play mostly with same sex peers.

Genital Stage (puberty on) The final stage of psychosexual development begins at the start of puberty when sexual urges are once again awakened. Through the lessons learned during the previous stages, adolescents direct their sexual urges onto opposite sex peers, with the primary focus of pleasure is the genitals.