Thursday, January 7, 2010

Chapter 5: Physical and Cognitive Development (Childhood)

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  1. Janet BelskyMarch 3, 2012 at 2:26 PM

    Physical development

    1)Explores variations in fine motor development in different cultures (bringing home the point that training-within limits--can improve motor skills.)

    2) TOTALLY UPDATED, CUTTING EDGE DISCUSSION
    OF OBESITY, showcasing updated stats suggesting slowing obesity rates,possible prenatal reasons for the obesity epidemic now in its second generation (ie low birth weight AND high birth weight)spelling out the target weight gain ages that predict later obesity; explaining why parents (naturally) are reluctant to make their kids' intake their main priority-and so many contemporary interventions forobesity may be missing the boat; offering data showing young adults are reacting to the "new normal" size of our population by seeing themselves as normal at higher weights

    ADHD:
    Again I've totally rewritten this discussion; focusing on ADHD's bewildering array of risk factors and possible neural causes.I've also touched on emerging behavioral stratgies such as gaming for treating ADHD,explored the minuses of medications and looked critically at issues relating to the explosion of this diagnosis in the U.S.

    Autobiographical memory: More thoroughly traces the development of this reflecting on the past skill throughout elementary school
    and how it coalesces into a coherent identity in the teens.

    Theory of mind: Expandsthe theory of mind discussion to elaborate on why under certain conditions, we all can fail false belief tasks (thereby firmly anchoring theory of mind abilities as a special example of needing reasonable working memory capacities).

    MOST IMPORTANT: Adds a whole new
    brain busting table full of fascinating Fmri findings relating to culture, autobiographical memory and theory of mind (an example: in collectivist cultures reflecting on the self and close others activates identical brain regions; for us, slightly separate areas light up when we are asked to think about our own and family members mental states)

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