Day Care & Social Development - created from Mind Map

PEER RELATIONS Field (1991) 56 American 11 Year Olds - Population Validity All started full time daycare before age of 2 - Good quality but why in daycare? Videotaped to assess for assertiveness, affection & playfulness - Subjective/Demand Characteristics/Ethics/Extraneous Variables Teachers given questionnaire - Don't know children well enough/Ethics/Self-fulfilling prophecy/Validity? FINDINGS Going to daycare - Higher self-esteem/More attractive & popular/Less aggressive/Better leadership & assertiveness skills More experience with other children in good quality daycare leads to development of greater social skills Vandell (1988) Studied children at 4 & 8 years old Covert Observation - Subjective/Ethics FINDINGS Compared to children from poor quality daycare, children in high quality daycare showed consistently more friendly interactions & fewer unfriendly interactions Suggests, if quality of daycare is good, then peer relations can be good

AGRESSION NICHD Study Longitudinal study in America of over 1000 children - Population Validity Assessed for aggressive behaviour - First by parents then by teachers & carers - bias/subjective More time spent in daycare = more aggression Belsky Teachers & Mothers asked to rate how aggressive children were More time spent in daycare = more aggression

EVALUATION STRENGTHS Practical Applications Correlational - Ethical way of collecting data - No manipulation LIMITATIONS Relies on ratings & observations by parents - subjective/objective/bias Correlational - Variables impacting on child -> Hock et al Reported that aggressive & difficult children are more likely to be placed in daycare, as their parents require a break Poor home environment / Low maternal sensitivity Cannot draw cause & effect conclusions Difficult to operationalise variables -> Field & Dilallo Field measured sociability in terms of number of friends a child has Dilallo measured how co-operative & helpful children were Studies often reach contradictory conclusions Field - More time in daycare = more friends Dilallo - More time in daycare = less co-operative & helpful in relations with other children

Good Daycare? 1. Low staff turnover- Children form relationships with staff 2. High ratio of caregivers to children - Allow interaction 3. Child form relationships with more than one caregiver in case of staff illness 4. Stimulating language & play 5. Nursery routines good & consistent 6.Qualified staff - Sensitive & Responsive to child's needs

Day Care & Social Development