Psychology Activity

John Bowlby looked at stage of development, which come under emotional social and personal development. Bowlby theory of attachment, separation, grief and loss. Bowbly stressed how important of the primary bond between mother and baby as the need to form attachments in biological (innate).  Bowlby found from his research that the first five years are the most important for later personality development. He believed from this that children without warm continuous relationship with the mother suffer from maternal deprivation as partial deprivations is the result of a mother substitute Bowlby thought that complete deprivation is the result of no attachment being formed and being separated for a length of time could have significant effect of the future development of a child.

         John Bowlby has influenced current early education and childcare practise greatly through things such as parents getting the opportunity to develop relationship with those involved in the care of their children share their unique knowledge of their children. As parents benefit from sharing knowledge of the setting and its activities and routines with their children which contributes to their on going relationships. Bowlby has helped parents that may feel anxious about their children starting nursery as now parents can develop a strong bond with their children’s key worker. Children also benefit from their key worker as they meet their key worker before starting nursery. So Bowlby’s theory has helped to put key workers and open days in which parents and their children can come and get to know staff and the nursery environment.

Jean Piaget looked at that stage of development, which is cognitive development.  Piaget found that babies are born with reflexes which are involuntary responses to the environment. Piaget found that their as such things called schemata that are patterns of behaviour which we use to guide and direct our behaviour schemata are adapted through the assimilation and accommodation.  Piaget found that there are four stages to cognitive development sensory motor stage, pre- operational stage, and concrete operations stage and then formal operation stage, which he believed not everyone could reach. Piaget thought that it was impossible for children to understand unless they were operating at that stage of cognitive development. Piaget learnt that cognitive development occurs as a result of active exploration and discovery of the world by children.

         Piaget has effected practise as he has now early education workers can plan activities to their stage of cognitive development as they understand the child's cognitive development more.  Also through schemata as patterns of behaviour will asset early educations workers to recognise the learning processes of individual children and provide a range of meaningful activities.