CHAPTER 4.

1 Theory of Cognitive Development (Piaget) Piagets theory of cognitive development is a comprehensive theory about the nature and development of human intelligence first developed by Piaget. It is primarily known as a developmental stage theory, but in fact, it deals with the nature of knowledge itself and how humans come gradually to acquire it, construct it, and use it. Moreover, Pi...aget claims the idea that cognitive development is at the centre of human organism and language is contingent on cognitive development. Piaget described two processes used by the individual in its attempt to adapt: assimilation and accommodation. Both of these processes are used throughout life as the person increasingly adapts to the environment in a more complex manner. Assimilation is the process of using or transforming the environment so that it can be placed in preexisting cognitive structures. Accommodation is the process of changing cognitive structures in order to accept something from the environment. Both processes are used simultaneously and alternately throughout life. Piaget was among other things, a psychologist who was interested in cognitive development. After observation of many children, he posited that children progress through 4 stages and that they all do so in the same order. These four stages are described below: The Sensorimotor Period (from birth to 2 years) During this time, Piaget said that a childs cognitive system is limited to motor reflexes at birth, but the child builds on these reflexes to develop more sophisticated procedures. They learn to generalize their activities to a wider range of situations and coordinate them into increasingly lengthy chains of behavior.

Sub-Stage Age Description Simple Reflexes Birth to 6 weeks

Coordination of sensation and action through reflexive behaviors.

First habits and primary circular reactions phase

6 weeks to 4 months Coordination of sensation and two types of schemes: habits (reflex) and primary circular reactions (reproduction of an event that initially occurred by chance). Main focus is still on the infants body.

Secondary circular reactions phase

4 to 8 months Infants become more object-oriented, moving beyond self-preoccupation; repeat actions that bring interesting or pleasurable results.

Coordination of secondary circular reactions stages 8 to 12 months Coordination of vision and touch-hand-eye coordination; coordination of schemes and intentionality

Tertiary circular reactions, novelty, and curiosity

12 to 18 months Infants become intrigues by the many properties of objects and by the many things they can make happen to objects; they experiment with new behavior.

Internalization of Schemes 18 to 24 months Infants develop the ability to use primitive symbols and form enduring mental representations.

By the end of the sensorimotor period, objects are both separate from the self and permanent. Object permanence is the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen, heard, or touched. Acquiring the sense of object permanence is one of the infants most important accomplishments, according to Piaget.

Preoperational Thought (2 to 6/7 years) At this stage, according to Piaget, children acquire representational skills in the areas mental imagery, and especially language. They are very self-oriented, and have an egocentric view, that is, preoperational children can use these representational skills only to view the world from their own perspective. Two sub stages can be formed from preoperative thought: The Symbolic Function Sub-stage (2 to 4 years) kids cannot manipulate and transform information in now can think in images and symbols. The intuitive Thought Sub-stage (4 to 7 years) very curious and ask many questions; begin the reasoning. During this sub stage, logical ways, but they Children tend to become use of primitive

Concrete Operations (6/7 to 11/12 years) As opposed to Preoperational children, children in this stage are able to take anothers point of view and take into account more than one perspective simultaneously. They can also represent transformations as well as situations. Although they can understand concrete problems, Piaget would argue that they cannot yet perform on abstract problems,

and that they do not consider all of the logically possible outcomes. Important processes during this stage are: Seriation the ability to sort objects in an order according to size, shape, or any other characteristics. Transivity the ability to recognize logical relationships among elements in a serial order, and perform transitive inferences. Classification the ability to name and identify sets of objects according to appearance, size or other characteristics, including that one set of objects can include another. Decentering where the child takes into account multiple aspects of a problem to solve for it. Reversibility the child understands that numbers or objects can be changed, then returned to their original state. Conservation understanding that quantity, length or number of items is unrelated to the arrangement or appearance of the object or items. Elimination of Egocentrism the ability to view things from anothers perspective (even if they think incorrectly).

Formal Operations (11/12 to adult) Children who attain the formal operation stage are capable of thinking logically and abstractly. They can also reason theoretically. Piaget considered this the ultimate stage of development, and stated that although the children would still have to revise their knowledge base, their way of thinking was as powerful as it would get. LEV VYGOTSKYS INFORMATION PROCESSING THEORY Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky (November 17 1896 June 11, 1934) was a Soviet psychologist, the founder of cultural-historical psychology, and the leader of the Vygotsky Circle. Psychologist Lev Vygotsky proposed that children learn through interactions with their surrounding culture. This theory, known as the socio-cultural perspective, states that the cognitive development of children and adolescents is enhanced when they work in their Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD for short). To reach the ZPD, children need the help of adults or more competent individuals to support or scaffold them as they are learning new things. According to Vygotsky's theory, children can do more with the help and guidance of an

adult or other person more experienced person than they can do by themselves. The Zone of Proximal Development defines skills and abilities that are in the process of developing. The ZPD is the range of tasks that one cannot yet perform independently, but can accomplish with the help of a more competent individual. For example, a child might not be able to walk across a balance beam on her own, but she can do so while holding her mother's hand. Since children are always learning new things, the ZPD changes as new skills are acquired. In the example above, the child's mother provided assistance to the child. The mother acted as a scaffold in that situation. Scaffolding is the structure or guidance of a more experienced person. There are many different ways of scaffolding, including breaking the task down into smaller steps, providing motivation, and providing feedback about progress as the person progresses. As time goes by, the adult will continually adjust the amount of support they give in response to the child's level of performance. For example, as the child becomes more confident in her balance, her mother can go from holding both hands, to eventually holding one hand, and eventually she can stop holding her hand. The child will soon be able to walk unassisted. Therefore, scaffolding instills the skills necessary for independent problem solving in the future. In conclusion, Vygotsky's theory of cognitive development states that interactions with other people are essential for maximum cognitive development to occur. BIOCULTURAL THEORIES One of the most current trends in developmental psychology is the established link between physiological processes and developmental explained through universal changes and individual deifferences. THEORIES OF NATIVISM, ETHOLOGY, AND SOCIOBIOLOGY NATIVISM views human as endowed with genetic traits seen in all members of the species, regardless of differences in their environments. Developmentalists who adhere to the nativist theory hold that peculiarities in behavior can be identified early in life, developed in all individuals in every culture but do not exist in other species. Example: a child learns to speak the language in the absence of formal instruction from adults at home, he learns by imitating and by hearing. Actually, no evidence has been found of grammatical language in non-human species. ETHOLOGY points to genetically survival behaviors assumed to have evolved through natural selection. Ethologists say that nature has equipped birds with nest-building genes which is imperative for survival. Likewise, as claimed by exponents of ethology even emotional relationships are important for infants survival. Emotional bonding is archieved between the infant and the mother everytime she attends to the needs of the infant. As ethologists say, even infants crying is genetically programmed to a babys crying needs. The interaction between the infant and the adult increases the prospect of infants survival. SOCIOBIOLOGY focuses on the study of society using the methods and concepts of

biological science. Like the ethologist, sociobiology emphasizes genes that aid group survival. Living in groups affords human better chances of survival. As claimed by the exponentsof sociobiology even the concept of cooperation is genetically programmed. To support their views, sociobiologists look for social rules and behaviors that exist in all cultures. For example, any society has to put up a set of rules to regulate conduct of human behavior.Respect for other peoples right is deemed an imperative to an orderly society. Where laws/rules are wantonly disregarded, conflicts arise and people cannot live in peace and in harmony with others. Sociobiologists claim that respect for peoples lives is genetically programmed. CHAPTER 4.2 INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES A theory of mass communication that proposes that individuals respond differently to the mass media according to their psychological needs, and that individuals consume the mass media to satisfy those needs. The need may be for information (e.g. providing statistics about players and teams), integrative (offering a sense of belonging to a group of similarly interested people), affective (e.g. by providing excitement), or escapist (helping to release pent-up emotions). Compare social categories theory. That people differ from each other is obvious. How and why they differ is less clear and is the subject of the study of Individual differences (IDs). Although to study individual differences seems to be to study variance, how are people different, it is also to study central tendency, how well can a person be described in terms of an overall within-person average. Indeed, perhaps the most important question of individual differences is whether people are more similar to themselves over time and across situations than they are to others, and whether the variation within a single person across time and situation is less than the variation between people. A related question is that of similarity, for people differ in their similarities to each other. Questions of whether particular groups (e.g., groupings by sex, culture, age, or ethnicity) are more similar within than between groups are also questions of individual differences. Personality psychology addresses the questions of shared human nature, dimensions of individual differences and unique patterns of individuals. Research in IDs ranges from analyses of genetic codes to the study of sexual, social, ethnic, and cultural differences and includes research on cognitive abilities, interpersonal styles, and emotional reactivity. Methods range from laboratory experiments to longitudinal field studies and include data reduction techniques such as Factor Analysis and Principal Components Analysis, as well as Structural Modeling and Multi-Level Modeling procedures. Measurement issues of most importance are those of reliability and stability of Individual Differences. Research in Individual Differences addresses three broad questions: 1) developing an adequate descriptive taxonomy of how people differ; 2) applying differences in one situation to predict differences in other situations; and 3) testing theoretical explanations of the structure and dynamics of individual differences. Taxonomies of individual differences: Taxonomic work has focused on categorizing the infinite ways in which individuals

differ in terms of a limited number of latent or unobservable constructs. This is a multistep, cyclical process of intuition, observation, deduction, induction, and verification that has gradually converged on a consensual descriptive organization of broad classes of variables as well as on methods for analyzing them. Most of the measurement and taxonomic techniques used throughout the field have been developed in response to the demand for selection for schooling, training, and business applications. Test Theory Consider the case of differences in vocabulary in a particular language (e.g., English). Although it is logically possible to organize people in terms of the specific words they know in English, the more than 2^(500,000) possible response patterns that could be found by quizzing people on each of the more than 500,000 words in English introduces more complexity rather than less. Classical Test Theory (CTT) ignores individual response patterns and estimates an individual's total vocabulary size by measuring performance on small samples of words. Words are seen as random replicates of each other and thus individual differences in total vocabulary size are estimated from observed differences on these smaller samples. The Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (r) compares the degree of covariance between these samples with the variance within samples. As the number of words sampled increases, the correlation of the individual differences within each sample and with those in the total domain increases accordingly. Estimates of ability based upon Item Response Theory (IRT) take into account parameters of the words themselves (i.e., the difficulty and discriminability of each word) and estimate a single ability parameter for each individual. Although CTT and IRT estimates are highly correlated, CTT statistics are based on decomposing the sources of variance within and between individuals while IRT statistics focus on the precision of an individual estimate without requiring differences between individuals. CTT estimates of reliability of ability measures are assessed across similar items (internal consistency), across alternate forms, and across different forms of assessment as well as over time (stability). Tests are reliable to the extent that differences within individuals are small compared to those between individuals when generalizing across items, forms, or occasions. CTT reliability thus requires between subject variability. IRT estimates, on the other hand, are concerned with the precision of measurement for a particular person in terms of a metric defined by item difficulty. The test theory developed to account for sampling differences within domains can be generalized to account for differences between domains. Just as different samples of words will yield somewhat different estimates of vocabulary, different cognitive tasks (e.g., vocabulary and arithmetic performance) will yield different estimates of performance. Using multivariate procedures such as Principal Components Analysis or Factor Analysis, it is possible to decompose the total variation into between domain covariance, within domain covariance, and within domain variance. One of the most replicable observations in the study of individual differences is that almost all tests thought to assess cognitive ability have a general factor (g) that is shared with other tests of ability. That is, although each test has specific variance associated with content (e.g., linguistic, spatial), form of administration (e.g., auditory, visual), or operations involved (e.g., perceptual speed, memory storage, memory retrieval, abstract reasoning), there is general variance that is common to all tests of cognitive ability.

Personality and Ability Although to some the term personality refers to all aspects of a person's individuality, typical usage divides the field into studies of ability and personality. Tests of ability are viewed as maximal performance measures. Ability is construed as the best one can do on a particular measure in a limited time (speed test) or with unlimited time (power test). Personality measures are estimates of average performance and typically include reports of preferences and estimates of what one normally does and how one perceives oneself and is perceived by others. The same procedures used to clarify the structure of cognitive abilities have been applied to the question of identifying the domains of personality. Many of the early and current personality inventories use self-descriptive questions (e.g., do you like to go to lively parties; are you sometimes nervous) that are rationally or theoretically relevant to some domain of interest for a particular investigator. Although there is substantial consistency across inventories developed this way, some of this agreement could be due to conceptually overlapping item pools. Other researchers have advocated a lexical approach to the taxonomic problem, following the basic assumption that words in the natural language describe all important individual differences. This shifts the taxonomic question from how are individuals similar and different from each other to how are the words used to describe individuals (e.g., lively, talkative, nervous, anxious) similar and different from each other. Dimensional analyses of tests developed based on lexical, rational, or theoretical bases suggest that a limited number (between three and seven) of higher order trait domains adequately organize the thousands of words that describe individual differences and the logically infinite way that these words can be combined into self or peer report items. The broadest domains are those of introversion-extraversion and emotional stabilityneuroticism, with the domains of agreeableness, conscientiousness and intellectual openness or culture close behind. These domains can be seen as asking the questions that one wants to know about a stranger or a potential mate: are they energetic and dominant (extraverted), emotionally stable (low neurotic), trustworthy (conscientious), loveable (agreeable), and interesting (intelligent and open). Measures of ability and personality reflect observations aggregated across time and occasion and require inferences about stable latent traits thought to account for the variety of observed behaviors. However there are other individual differences that are readily apparent to outside observers and require little or no inference about latent traits. The most obvious of such variables include sex, age, height, and weight. Differences that require some knowledge and inference are differences in ethnicity and social economic status. These obvious group differences are sometimes analyzed in terms of the more subtle measures of personality and ability or of real life outcomes (e.g, sex differences in neuroticism, mathematics ability, or income). Predictive Validity Individual differences are important only to the extent that they make a difference. Does knowing that people differ on a trait X help in predicting the likelihood of their doing behavior Y? For many important outcome variables the answer is a resounding yes. In their review of 85 years of selection in personnel psychology, Frank Schmidt and John Hunter (Psychological Bulletin, 1998, 124, 262-274) show how differences in cognitive ability predict differences in job performance with correlations averaging about .50 for

mid complexity jobs. These correlations are moderated by job complexity and are much higher for professional-managerial positions than they are for completely unskilled jobs. In terms of applications to personnel psychology, a superior manager (one standard deviation above the mean ability for managers) produces almost 50% more than an average manager. These relationships diminish as a function of years of experience and degree of training. General mental ability (g) also has substantial predictive powers in predicting non-job related outcomes, such as likelihood of completing college, risk for divorce and even risk for criminality. The non-cognitive measures of individual differences also predict important real life criteria. Extraversion is highly correlated with total sales in dollars among salespeople. Similarly, impulsivity can be used to predict traffic violations. Conscientiousness, when added to g substantially increases the predictability of job performance. Although the size of the correlation is much lower, conscientiousness measured in adolescence predicts premature mortality over the next fifty years. Sources of individual differences The taxonomic and predictive studies of individual differences are descriptive organizations of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that go together and how they relate to other outcomes. But this categorization is descriptive rather than causal and is analogous to grouping rocks in terms of density and hardness rather than atomic or molecular structure. Causal theories of individual differences are being developed but are in a much earlier stage than are the descriptive taxonomies. Descriptive taxonomies are used to organize the results of studies that examine genetic bases of individual differences. By applying structural modeling techniques to the variances and covariances associated with various family constellations it is possible to decompose phenotypic trait variance into separate sources of genetic and environmental variance. The most common family configurations that are used are comparisons of identical (monozygotic) with fraternal (dizygotic) twins. Additional designs include twins reared together or apart, and biological versus adoptive parents, children and siblings. Conclusions from behavioral genetics for most personality traits tend to be similar: Across different designs, with different samples from different countries, roughly 40-60% of the phenotypic variance seems to be under genetic control with only a very small part of the remaining environmental variance associated with shared family environmental effects. Additional results suggest that genetic sources of individual differences remain important across the lifespan. However, this should not be taken to mean that people do not change as they mature but rather that the paths one takes through life are similar to those taken by genetically similar individuals. Genes do not code for thoughts, feelings or behavior but rather code for proteins that regulate and modulate biological systems. Although promising work has been done searching for the biological bases of individual differences it is possible to sketch out these bases only in the broadest of terms. Specific neurotransmitters and brain structures can be associated with a broad class of approach behaviors and positive affects while other neurotransmitters and structures can be associated with a similarly broad class of avoidance behaviors and negative affects. Reports relating specific alleles to specific personality traits emphasize that the broad personality traits are most likely under polygenic influence and are moderated by environmental experience. Subtle differences in neurotransmitter availability and re-uptake vary the sensitivity of

individuals to cues about their environment that predict future resource availability and external rewards and punishments. It is the way these cues are detected, atttended to, stored, and integrated with previous experiences that makes each individual unique. Current work on the bases of individual differences is concerned with understanding this delicate interplay of biological propensities with environmental opportunities and constraints as they are ultimately represented in an individual's information processing system. With time we can expect to increase our taxonomic and predictive power by using these causal bio-social theories of individual differences. THEORIES OF INTELLIGENCES AND LEARNING STYLES Most educators use some particular theory of intelligence or learning styles to inform their teaching. These theories are based on the idea that students have different strengths and learning preferences; thus teachers must adjust their instruction according to the students in their classroom. The Theory of Multiple Intelligences is the most well know of these theories, but there are many other competing theories of intelligence and learning styles. 1. Theory of Multiple Intelligences Harvard Psychologist Howard Gardner came up with his "Theory of Multiple Intelligences" in 1983. He said that there are seven major types of intelligence: linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, spatial-visual, bodilykinesthetic, interpersonal and intrapersonal. Gardner believed that each person had different levels of each intelligence, with one or two core strengths. His Theory of Multiple Intelligences has been very influential in the field of education. Conversation Theory Gordon Pask developed Conversation Theory from a foundation in cybernetics. His theory states that learning takes place through conversations about subject matter that occur on various levels. Pask differentiated two major learning styles: serialists and holists. Serialist learners are more incremental, learning one building block at a time; holists prefer to look for relationships between each aspect of the subject matter. Emotional Intelligence The theory of Emotional Intelligence places emphasis on the ability to control and manipulate one's emotions rather than on academic abilities. According to Six Seconds, a nonprofit that teaches emotional intelligence to educators, learners are more successful when they are better at handling emotion. Emotional intelligence places great importance on learning skills such as motivation, responsibility and self-awareness. Daniel Goleman makes the bold claim that emotional intelligence matters twice as much as intelligence quotient and technical skills combined. Conditions of Learning Robert Gagne's theory of Conditions of Learning states that there are five major categories of learning: verbal information, cognitive strategies, attitudes, motor skills and intellectual skills. Each of these learning categories requires its own methodologies. For example, new attitudes can be learned by watching role models displaying the desired attitudes. Gagne emphasized the fact that different kinds of instruction are needed for different learning outcomes. Some students may need to learn motor skills, some must improve their intellectual skills, and others may need work on attitudes. PROCESS THEORIES OF INTELLIGENCE A creative person is usually very intelligent in the ordinary sense of the term and can meet the problems of life as rationally as anyone can, but often he refuses to let intellect rule; he relies strongly on intuition, and he respects the irrational in himself and others.

Above a certain level, intelligence seems to have little correlation with creativity--i.e., a highly intelligent person may not be as highly creative. A distinction is sometimes made between convergent thinking, the analytic reasoning measured by intelligence tests, and divergent thinking, a richness of ideas and originality of thinking. Both seem necessary to creative performance, although in different degrees according to the task or occupation (a mathematician may exhibit more convergent than divergent thinking and an artist the reverse). Theories of intelligence Theories of intelligence, as is the case with most scientific theories, have evolved through a succession of paradigms that have been put forward to clarify our understanding of the idea. The major paradigms have been those of psychological measurement (often called psychometrics); cognitive psychology, which concerns itself with the mental processes by which the mind functions; the merger of cognitive psychology with contextualism (the interaction of the environment and processes of the mind); and biologic science, which considers the neural bases of intelligence. THEORIES OF COGNITIVE STYLES Cognitive style or "thinking style" is a term used in cognitive psychology to describe the way individuals think, perceive and remember information. Cognitive style differs from cognitive ability (or level), the latter being measured by aptitude tests or so-called intelligence tests. Controversy exists over the exact meaning of the term cognitive style and also as to whether it is a single or multiple dimension of human personality. However, it remains a key concept in the areas of education and management. If a pupil has a cognitive style that is similar to that of his/her teacher, the chances that the pupil will have a more positive learning experience are improved. Likewise, team members with similar cognitive styles likely feel more positive about their participation with the team. While matching cognitive styles may make participants feel more comfortable when working with one another, this alone cannot guarantee the success of the outcome. Multi-dimensional models and measures A popular, multi-dimensional instrument for the measure of cognitive style is the MyersBriggs Type Indicator or MBTI. Riding (1991) developed a two-dimensional cognitive style instrument, his Cognitive Style Analysis (CSA), which is a compiled computerpresented test that measures individuals' position on two orthogonal dimensions Wholist-Analytic (W-A) and Verbal-Imagery (V-I). The W-A dimension reflects how individuals organise and structure information. Individuals described as Analytics will deconstruct information into its component parts, whereas individuals described as Wholists will retain a global or overall view of information. The V-I dimension describes individuals' mode of information representation in memory during thinking Verbalisers represent information in words or verbal associations, and Imagers represent information in mental pictures. The CSA test is broken down into three sub-tests, all of which are based on a comparison between response times to different types of stimulus items. Some scholars argue that this instrument, being at least in part reliant on the ability of the respondent to answer at speed, really measures a mix of cognitive style and cognitive ability (Kirton, 2003). This is said to contribute to the unreliability of this instrument.

Bipolar, one-dimensional models and measures The Field dependence-independence model, invented by H. Witkin, identifies an individual's perceptive behaviour while distinguishing object figures from the content field in which they are set. Two similar instruments to do this were produced, the Embedded Figures Test (EFT) and the Group Embedded Figures Test] (GEFT) (1971). In both cases, the content field is a distracting or confusing background. These instruments are designed to distinguish field-independent from field-dependent cognitive types; a rating which is claimed to be value-neutral. Field-independent people tend to be more autonomous when it comes to the development of restructuring skills; that is, those skills required during technical tasks with which the individual is not necessarily familiar. They are, however, less autonomous in the development of interpersonal skills. The EFT and GEFT continue to enjoy support and usage in research and practice. However, they, too, are criticised by scholars as containing an element of ability and so may not measure cognitive style alone. Hudson (Carey, 1991) identified two cognitive styles: convergent thinkers, good at accumulating material from a variety of sources relevant to a problem's solution, and divergent thinkers who proceed more creatively and subjectively in their approach to problem-solving. Hudson's Converger-diverger construct attempts to measure the processing rather than the acquisition of information by an individual. It aims to differentiate convergent from divergent thinkers; the former being persons who think rationally and logically while the latter tend to be more flexible and to base reasoning more on heuristic evidence. In contrast, cognitive complexity theories as proposed by Beiri (1961), attempt to identify individuals who are more complex in their approach to problem-solving against those who are simpler. The instruments used to measure this concept of "cognitive style" are either Driver's Decision Style Exercise (DDSE) (Carey, 1991) or the Complexity SelfTest Description Instrument, which are somewhat ad hoc and so are little used at present. Pask (Carey, 1991)extended these notions in a discussion of strategies and styles of learning. In this, he classifies learning strategies as either holist or serialist. When confronted with an unfamiliar type of problem, holists gather information randomly within a framework, while serialists approach problem-solving step-wise, proceeding from the known to the unknown. Ornstein's Hemispherical lateralisation concept (Carey, 1991), commonly called leftbrain/right-brain theory, posits that the left hemisphere of the brain controls logical and analytical operations while the right hemisphere controls holistic, intuitive and pictorial activities. Cognitive style is thus claimed to be a single dimension on a scale from extreme left-brain to extreme right-brain types, depending on which associated behaviour dominates in the individual, and by how much. Taggart's (1988) "Whole-brain human information processing theory" classifies the brain as having six divisions, three per hemisphere, which in a sense is a refined model of the hemispherical lateralisation theory discussed above. The Allinson]-Hayes (1996) Cognitive Style Index (CSI) has features of Ornstein's leftbrain/right-brain theory. The CSI contains 38 items, each rated using a 3-point scale (true; uncertain; false). Some scholars have questioned the CSI's construct validity on the grounds of theoretical and methodological limitations associated with its development. It is also noteworthy that this measure of cognitive style is both gender-sensitive and

culture-sensitive. While it is entirely plausible that cognitive style is related to these social factors, it does complicate some educational and management issues. It suggests, for instance, that a given student is best taught by a person of a certain sex or culture; or that only persons of certain cultures can work harmoniously together in teams. Kirton's model of cognitive style One of the most popular models of cognitive style was devised by Michael Kirton (1976, 2003). His model, called Adaption-Innovation theory, claims that an individual's preferred approach to problem solving, can be placed on a continuum ranging from high adaptation to high innovation. He suggests that some human beings, called adaptors tend to prefer the adaptive approach to problem-solving, while others (innovators), of course, prefer the reverse. Adaptors use what is given to solve problems by time-honoured techniques. Alternatively, innovators look beyond what is given to solve problems with the aid of innovative technologies. Kirton suggests that while adaptors prefer to do well within a given paradigm, innovators would rather do differently, thereby striving to transcend existing paradigms. Kirton also invented an instrument to measure cognitive style (at least in accordance with this model) known as the Kirton Adaption-innovation Inventory (KAI). This requires the respondent to rate themselves against thirty-two personality traits. A drawback of all the other efforts to measure cognitive style discussed above is their failure to separate out cognitive style and cognitive level. As the items on the KAI are expressed in clear and simple language, cognitive level plays no significant role. Scores on the A-I continuum are normally distributed between the extreme cognitive styles of high innovation and high adaptation. Another important concept associated with A-I theory is that of bridging in teams. Kirton (2003) defines bridging as "reaching out to people in the team and helping them be part of it so that they may contribute even if their contribution is outside the main-stream". Bridging is thus a task and a role, which has to be learnt. It is not a cognitive style. Bridging is also not leading, although the skilled leader may make use of persons they recognise as good bridgers to maintain group cohesion. Group cohesion means, to keep the group aware of the importance of its members working well together. Kirton (2003) suggests that it is easier for a person to learn and assume a bridging role if their cognitive style is an intermediate one. If person B assumes a bridging role which assists persons A and C to work well together in a team, then B's KAI score is recommended to be between those of A and C. Of course, it is only recommended that B's score lies between the scores of A and C, not that B's score lies near the KAI mean. All of A, B and C could be high-scoring innovators or, for that matter, high-scoring adaptors. Cognitive Styles Analysis (CSA) was developed by Richard J. Riding and is the most frequently used computerized measure of cognitive styles. Although CSA is not well known in North American institutions, it is quite popular among European universities and organizations. A number of different labels have been given to cognitive styles and, according to Riding, many of these are but different conceptions of the same dimensions (Riding & Sadler-Smith 1992). Riding and Cheema (Riding & Cheema 1991) surveyed the various (about 30) labels and, after reviewing the descriptions, correlations, methods of assessment, and effect on behavior, concluded that the styles may be grouped into two principal groups: the Wholist-Analytic and the Verbal-Imagery dimensions. It is argued

that these dimensions of cognitive style are very fundamental because they develop early in life and are pervasive given their affect on social behavior, decision making, and learning. Unlike many other measures of cognitive style inventories, CSA has been under substantial empirical investigation. Three experiments reported by (Rezaei 2005) showed the reliability of CSA to be low. Considering the profound theoretical background of CSA, also regarding unsuccessful earlier attempts to create a more reliable parallel form of it (Paterson 2003) some crucial changes are being made in a revised version to improve the validity and reliability of CSA. CHAPTER 4.3 Factors Affecting Development; early stimulation genetic and biological factors Early Stimulation It is stimulus, which is being done to infant everyday. The best time is when baby is a 6 months old fetus. This stimulus is for practicing the entire sense system such as hearing, vision, smell and tasting. This is including the stimulus against the motorist movement that hard and smooth of their legs and fingers, communication, and stimulus their feeling that joy and mind of baby and kid. The Genes & The Environment Chromosomes- the "carries of heredity". There are 23 pairs or 46 chromosomes. They are the "carriers" of heredity only in the "transportation" sense. Genes- a separate complex molecules bears by chromosomes. the "determiners" of inherited bodily traits. Crossing over- refers to the fact that occasionally one segment of a chromosome will break off and be exchanged with a corresponding segment from a parallel chromosome. Mitosis- process of cell division. Identical Twins- developed from the same zygote. Fraternal twins- developed from separate zygote. v How to distinguish between a fraternal and Identical twins, Krech and Crutchfuield (1958) 1. The two children must have the same blood type; 2. They must have the same eye coloring; 3. They must have the same hair color and 4. They must have similar fingerprints v Identical twins reared apart Newman, Freeman, and Holzinger from their study, difference in educational opportunity even among genetically identical people, can make for differences in IQ v Hereditary factors very important determinants of individual differences in abilities of man Mutation- used to account for evolutionary changes in organisms. Heredity- passing of traits to offspring (from its parent or ancestors). Environment- the surroundings of a physical system that may interact with the system by exchanging mass, energy, or other properties

Experimental Behavior Genetics Selective Breeding- initiated by Tyron Thus Rundquist (1933) Hall(1937) Fuller&Scott(1954) Burt- English Psychologist and statistician attempted to take the account of both kinds of hereditary influences and on the basis of his analysis his estimates that as much 77 percent of individual variance is due to genetic influences. INSTRUCTION; SOCIAL INTERACTIONS (e.g. ADULT-CHILD; CHILD-CHILD) Social interaction is a dynamic, changing sequence of social actions between individuals (or groups) who modify their actions and reactions due to the actions by their interaction partner(s). In other words they are events in which people attach meaning to a situation, interpret what others are meaning, and respond accordingly. In social science, a social relation reflected in social interaction refers to a relationship between two (i.e. a dyad), three (i.e. a triad) or more individuals (e.g. a social group). Social relations, derived from individual agency, form the basis of the social structure. Social interactions can be differentiated into: accidental (also known as social contact) - not planned and likely not repeated. For example, asking a stranger for directions or shopkeeper for product availability. repeated - not planned, bound to happen from time to time. For example, accidentally meeting a neighbour from time to time when walking on your street; regular - not planned, but very common, likely to raise questions when missed. Meeting a doorman or a security guard every workday in your workplace, dining every day in the same restaurant, etc. regulated - planned and regulated by customs or law, will definitely raise questions when missed. Interaction in a workplace (coming to work, staff meetings, etc.), family, etc. In sociological hierarchy, social interaction is more advanced than behavior, action, social behavior, social action and social contact, and is in turn followed by more advanced concept of social relation. In other words, social interactions, which consist of social actions, form the basis for social relations. Infants and toddlers are explorers. Their interactions with trusted adults provide the emotional fuel these very young children need to puzzle out the mysteries of the social and physical world. HighScope provides a range of strategies caregivers can use to create supportive interactions with infants and toddlers. Because trusting relationships are so important, caregivers strive to ensure that each infant or toddler in a child care center or home has the same primary caregiver throughout enrollment, whether that be for 6 months or 3 years; in settings with multiple caregivers, each one is the "primary" for only a small group of children, and the caregivers form a stable team that provides long-term continuity of care for children and families. Caregivers strive to form positive, reciprocal relationships with children relationships in which encouragement is the key. They cuddle, hold, play, and talk with children in a warm, unhurried, give-and-take manner. They establish a psychologically safe environment, where children's initiatives are regarded as purposeful rather than

naughty or bothersome for adults. Guided by practical theories of child development, caregivers attempt to see things from the child's point of view, encourage rather than thwart children's efforts and communications, take cues from children rather than impose their own ideas, and assume a problem-solving approach to children's interpersonal conflicts rather than punish children or solve their problems for them. Very young children are just formulating a sense of themselves and an understanding of what the rest of the world is all about. Their interactions with parents and caregivers significantly influence the life-long conclusions children draw from their experiences. If parents' and caregivers' interactions are supportive, this shapes children's perceptions of themselves as capable, trusted, and trustworthy human beings. Adult-child interactions can affect the child's vocabulary development, enjoyment of reading, comprehension, phonemic awareness, and expressive language.. children : Characteristics of children's social interaction with younger, older, and sameage peers are explored in this review in an attempt to discover those behaviours that are more likely than others to occur in different relative-age partnerships. It is hypothesized that symmetric behaviour functions (e.g., friendship) are most commonly seen in the interaction of children of similar ages, whilst asymmetric functions (e.g., leadership) are most frequent in interactions between individuals of different ages. It is, indeed, apparent that friendships most commonly occur between individuals of similar ages. Aggression occurs primarily with age-mates, but is also frequently directed toward younger peers. Some types of prosocial behaviour (e.g., nurturance, prosocial dominance, helping) are more frequently displayed with younger peers than with age-mates, while behaviours associated with fairness and morality may be more prevalent in the interaction of agemates. Instruction and leadership behaviours are most frequently displayed by older children interacting with younger peers. The interactions of children who differ in developmental status thus differ from those between age-mates, and may have different implications for child socialization CHAPTER 4.4 EXCEPTIONAL DEVELOPMENT Language Development of Exceptional Children Exceptional children are those who show below average capability in everything they do. They can be quite intelligent and greater absorption of details and facts however due to the lack of development of cognitive or language skills they may seem lacking in some areas. Exceptional children are those who are mentally or physically handicapped. Mentally handicapped children are also behaviorally handicapped in most cases and they need to be dealt with in a very different way. Some children also have both the disabilities. Children who are mentally handicapped show delayed development in

language skills and they do not understand everyone. The primary caregiver can speak to them by continuously reinforcing the same levels of speech. It is possible to educate exceptional children to speak and develop language skills however the approach is much different compared to a normal child. Exceptional children have top be sent to exceptional schools where the get better attention and also specially trained teachers to teach them. Children here are taught to handle their daily tasks, and also to deal with basic communication. It takes several years to form the fundamental concepts for these children and is a much long drawn process. Children who are exceptional also need constant speech therapy and today there are many qualified speech therapists that produce amazing results. Exceptional children benefit to a great extent through speech therapy lessons because it helps them to develop in several other aspects. Speech therapy also helps cognitive development in exceptional children as they are trying to connect the words to memory. GIFTEDNESS Developmental theory Gifted children may develop asynchronously: their minds are often ahead of their physical growth, and specific cognitive and emotional functions are often developed differently (or to differing extents) at different stages of development. One frequently cited example of asynchronicity in early cognitive development is Albert Einstein, who did not speak until the age of four, but whose later fluency and accomplishments belied this initial delay. Psychologist and cognitive scientist Steven Pinker theorized that, rather than viewing Einstein's (and other famously gifted late-talking individuals) adult accomplishments as existing distinct from, or in spite of, his early language deficits, and rather than viewing Einstein's lingual delay itself as a "disorder", it may be that Einstein's genius and his delay in speaking were developmentally intrinsic to one another. It has been said that gifted children may advance more quickly through stages established by post-Freudian developmentalists such as Jean Piaget. Gifted individuals also experience the world differently, resulting in certain social and emotional issues. The work of Kazimierz Dabrowski suggests that gifted children have greater psychomotor, sensual, imaginative, intellectual, andemotional "overexcitabilities". Francoy Gagne's (2000) Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent (DMGT) is a developmental theory that distinguishes giftedness from talent, offering explanation on how outstanding natural abilities (gifts) develop into specific expert skills (talents). According to DMGT theory, "one cannot become talented without first being gifted, or almost so".There are six components that can interact in countless and unique ways that fosters the process of moving from having natural abilities (giftedness) to systematically developed skills. These components consist of the gift (G) itself, chance (C), environmental catalyst (EC), intrapersonal catalyst (IC),learning/practice (LP) and the outcome of talent (T). It is important to know that (C), (IC), and (EC) can facilitate but, can also hinder the learning and training of becoming talented. The learning/practice is the moderator. It is through the interactions, both environmental and intrapersonal that influence the process of learning and practice along with/without chance that natural abilities are transformed into talents.

What Does Giftedness Mean? Many parents say, "I know what giftedness is, but I can't put it into words." This generally is followed by reference to a particular child who seems to manifest gifted behaviors. Unfortunately, there are many misconceptions of the term, all of which become deterrents to understanding and catering to the needs of children identified as gifted. Let's study the following statement: "Giftedness is that precious endowment of potentially outstanding abilities which allows a person to interact with the environment with remarkably high levels of achievement and creativity." This statement is the product of a small neighborhood group of parents who took a comprehensive view of the concept of giftedness before focusing on any attempt to define the gifted child. They thought, first, that within giftedness is a quality of innateness (or, as they said, "a gift conferred by nature"), and second, that one's environment is the arena in which the gifts come into play and develop. Therefore, they reasoned that the "remarkably high levels of achievement and creativity" result from a continuous and functional interaction between a person's inherent and acquired abilities and characteristics. We often hear statements such as "She's a born artist," or "He's a natural athlete," or conversely, "Success never came easy for me; I had to learn the hard way," or "He's a self-made man." Those who manifest giftedness obviously have some inherent or inborn factors plus the motivation and stamina to learn from and cope with the rigors of living. We suggest that you wrestle with the term in your own way, looking at giftedness as a concept that demands the investment of time, money, and energy. This will help you discuss giftedness more meaningfully with other parents, school administrators, school board members, or anyone who needs to understand the dynamics of the term. Who Are Gifted Children? Former U. S. Commissioner of Education Sidney P. Marland, Jr., in his August 1971 report to Congress, stated, "Gifted and talented children are those identified by professionally qualified persons who by virtue of outstanding abilities are capable of high performance. These are children who require differentiated educational programs and/or services beyond those normally provided by the regular school program in order to realize their contribution to self and society" (Marland, 1972). The same report continued: "Children capable of high performance include those with demonstrated achievement and/or potential ability in any of the following areas, singly or in combination: general intellectual ability specific academic aptitude creative or productive thinking leadership ability visual or performing arts psychomotor ability." Using a broad definition of giftedness, a school system could expect to identify 10% to 15% or more of its student population as gifted and talented. A brief description of each area of giftedness or talent as defined by the Office of Gifted and Talented will help you understand this definition. General intellectual ability or talent. Laypersons and educators alike usually define this in terms of a high intelligence test score--usually two standard deviations above the mean-on individual or group measures. Parents and teachers often recognize students with

general intellectual talent by their wide-ranging fund of general information and high levels of vocabulary, memory, abstract word knowledge, and abstract reasoning. Specific academic aptitude or talent. Students with specific academic aptitudes are identified by their outstanding performance on an achievement or aptitude test in one area such as mathematics or language arts. The organizers of talent searches sponsored by a number of universities and colleges identify students with specific academic aptitude who score at the 97th percentile or higher on standard achievement tests and then give these students the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). Remarkably large numbers of students score at these high levels. Creative and productive thinking. This is the ability to produce new ideas by bringing together elements usually thought of as independent or dissimilar and the aptitude for developing new meanings that have social value. Characteristics of creative and productive students include openness to experience, setting personal standards for evaluation, ability to play with ideas, willingness to take risks, preference for complexity, tolerance for ambiguity, positive self-image, and the ability to become submerged in a task. Creative and productive students are identified through the use of tests such as the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking or through demonstrated creative performance. Leadership ability. Leadership can be defined as the ability to direct individuals or groups to a common decision or action. Students who demonstrate giftedness in leadership ability use group skills and negotiate in difficult situations. Many teachers recognize leadership through a student's keen interest and skill in problem solving. Leadership characteristics include self-confidence, responsibility, cooperation, a tendency to dominate, and the ability to adapt readily to new situations. These students can be identified through instruments such as the Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation Behavior (FIRO-B). Visual and performing arts. Gifted students with talent in the arts demonstrate special talents in visual art, music, dance, drama, or other related studies. These students can be identified by using task descriptions such as the Creative Products Scales, which were developed for the Detroit Public Schools by Patrick Byrons and Beverly Ness Parke of Wayne State University. Psychomotor ability. This involves kinesthetic motor abilities such as practical, spatial, mechanical, and physical skills. It is seldom used as a criterion in gifted programs Some General Characteristics (These are typical factors stressed by educational authorities as being indicative of giftedness. Obviously, no child is outstanding in all characteristics.) Shows superior reasoning powers and marked ability to handle ideas; can generalize readily from specific facts and can see subtle relationships; has outstanding problemsolving ability. Shows persistent intellectual curiosity; asks searching questions; shows exceptional interest in the nature of man and the universe. Has a wide range of interests, often of an intellectual kind; develops one or more interests to considerable depth. Is markedly superior in quality and quantity of written and/or spoken vocabulary; is interested in the subtleties of words and their uses. Reads avidly and absorbs books well beyond his or her years. Learns quickly and easily and retains what is learned; recalls important details, concepts and principles; comprehends readily. Shows insight into arithmetical problems that require careful reasoning and grasps mathematical concepts

readily. Shows creative ability or imaginative expression in such things as music, art, dance, drama; shows sensitivity and finesse in rhythm, movement, and bodily control. Sustains concentration for lengthy periods and shows outstanding responsibility and independence in classroom work. Sets realistically high standards for self; is self-critical in evaluating and correcting his or her own efforts. Shows initiative and originality in intellectual work; shows flexibility in thinking and considers problems from a number of viewpoints. Observes keenly and is responsive to new ideas. Shows social poise and an ability to communicate with adults in a mature way. Gets excitement and pleasure from intellectual challenge; shows an alert and subtle sense of humor. MENTAL RETARDATION Mental retardation (MR) is a generalized disorder appearing before adulthood, characterized by significantly impaired cognitive functioning and deficits in two or more adaptive behaviors. It has historically been defined as an Intelligence Quotient score under 70.Once focused almost entirely on cognition, the definition now includes both a component relating to mental functioning and one relating to individuals' functional skills in their environment. As a result, a person with a below-average intelligence quotient (BAIQ) may not be considered mentally retarded. Syndromic mental retardation is intellectual deficits associated with other medical and behavioral signs and symptoms. Non-syndromic mental retardation refers to intellectual deficits that appear without other abnormalities. Mental retardation is a subtype of intellectual disability, although that term is now preferred by most advocates in most English-speaking countries as aeuphemism for MR. However, intellectual disability is a broader concept and includes intellectual deficits that are too mild to properly qualify as mental retardation, too specific (as in specific learning disability), or acquired later in life, through acquired brain injuries or neurodegenerative diseases likedementia. Intellectual disabilities may appear at any age. Developmental disability is any disability that is due to problems with growth and development. This term encompasses many congenital medical conditions that have no mental or intellectual components, although it, too, is sometimes used as a euphemism for MR. Signs and symptoms The signs and symptoms of mental retardation are all behavioral. Most people with mental retardation do not look like they have any type of intellectual disability, especially if the disability is caused by environmental factors such as malnutrition or lead poisoning. The so-called "typical appearance" ascribed to people with mental retardation is only present in a minority of cases, all of which involve syndromic mental retardation. Children with mental retardation may learn to sit up, to crawl, or to walk later than other children, or they may learn to talk later. Both adults and children with mental retardation may also exhibit some or all of the following characteristics: Delays in oral language development Deficits in memory skills Difficulty learning social rules Difficulty with problem solving skills Delays in the development of adaptive behaviors such as self-help or self-care skills Lack of social inhibitors Children with mental retardation learn more slowly than a typical child. Children may take longer to learn language, develop social skills, and take care of their personal needs, such as dressing or eating. Learning will take them longer, require more repetition, and skills may need to be adapted to their learning level. Nevertheless, virtually every child is able to learn, develop and become a participating member of the community.

In early childhood, mild mental retardation (IQ 5069, a cognitive ability about half to two-thirds of standard) may not be obvious, and may not be identified until children begin school. Even when poor academic performance is recognized, it may take expert assessment to distinguish mild mental retardation from learning disability or emotional/behavioral disorders. People with mild MR are capable of learning reading and mathematics skills to approximately the level of a typical child aged 9 to 12. They can learn self-care and practical skills, such as cooking or using the local mass transitsystem. As individuals with mild mental retardation reach adulthood, many learn to live independently and maintain gainful employment. Moderate mental retardation (IQ 3549) is nearly always apparent within the first years of life. Speech delays are particularly common signs of moderate MR. People with moderate mental retardation need considerable supports in school, at home, and in the community in order to participate fully. While their academic potential is limited, they can learn simple health and safety skills and to participate in simple activities. As adults they may live with their parents, in a supportive group home, or even semi-independently with significant supportive services to help them, for example, manage their finances. As adults, they may work in a sheltered workshop. A person with severe or profound mental retardation will need more intensive support and supervision his or her entire life. They may learn some activities of daily living. Some will require full-time care by an attendant. Cause Among children, the cause is unknown for one-third to one-half of cases. Down syndrome, velocariofacial syndrome, and fetal alcohol syndrome are the three most common inborn causes. However, doctors have found many other causes. The most common are: Genetic conditions. Sometimes disability is caused by abnormal genes inherited from parents, errors when genes combine, or other reasons. The most prevalent genetic conditions include Down syndrome, Klinefelter's syndrome, Fragile X syndrome, Neurofibromatosis, congenital hypothyroidism, Williams syndrome, Phenylketonuria (PKU), and Prader-Willi syndrome. Other genetic conditions include Phelan-McDermid syndrome (22q13del), Mowat-Wilson syndrome, genetic ciliopathy, and Siderius type X-linked mental retardation (OMIM 300263) as caused by mutations in the PHF8 gene (OMIM 300560). In the rarest of cases, abnormalities with the X or Y chromosome may also cause disability. 48, XXXX and 49, XXXXX syndrome affect a small number of girls worldwide, while boys may be affected by 47, XYY, 49, XXXXY, or 49, XYYYY. Problems during pregnancy. Mental disability can result when the fetus does not develop properly. For example, there may be a problem with the way the fetus' cells divide as it grows. A woman who drinks alcohol (see fetal alcohol syndrome) or gets an infection like rubella during pregnancy may also have a baby with mental disability. Problems at birth. If a baby has problems during labor and birth, such as not getting enough oxygen, he or she may have developmental disability due to brain damage. Exposure t o certain types of disease or toxins. Diseases like whooping cough, measles, or meningitis can cause mental disability if medical care is delayed or inadequate. Exposure to poisonslike lead or mercury may also affect mental ability. Iodine

deficiency, affecting approximately 2 billion people worldwide, is the leading preventable cause of mental disability in areas of the developing world where iodine deficiency is endemic. Iodine deficiency also causes goiter, an enlargement of the thyroid gland. More common than full-fledged cretinism, as retardation caused by severe iodine deficiency is called, is mild impairment of intelligence. Certain areas of the world due to natural deficiency and governmental inaction are severely affected. India is the most outstanding, with 500 million suffering from deficiency, 54 million from goiter, and 2 million from cretinism. Among other nations affected by iodine deficiency, China and Kazakhstan have instituted widespread iodization programs, whereas, as of 2006, Russia had not. Malnutrition is a common cause of reduced intelligence in parts of the world affected by famine, such as Ethiopia. Absence of the arcuate fasciculus. DIAGNOSIS According to the latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV), three criteria must be met for a diagnosis of mental retardation: an IQ below 70, significant limitations in two or more areas of adaptive behavior (as measured by an adaptive behavior rating scale, i.e. communication, self-help skills, interpersonal skills, and more), and evidence that the limitations became apparent before the age of 18. It is formally diagnosed by professional assessment of intelligence and adaptive behavior. IQ below 70 The first English-language IQ test, the Terman-Binet, was adapted from an instrument used to measure potential to achieve developed by Binet in France. Terman translated the test and employed it as a means to measure intellectual capacity based on oral language, vocabulary, numerical reasoning, memory, motor speed and analysis skills. The mean score on the currently available IQ tests is 100, with a standard deviation of 15 (WAIS/WISC-IV) or 16 (Stanford-Binet). Sub-average intelligence is generally considered to be present when an individual scores two standard deviations below the test mean. Factors other than cognitive ability (depression, anxiety, etc.) can contribute to low IQ scores; it is important for the evaluator to rule them out prior to concluding that measured IQ is "significantly below average". The following ranges, based on Standard Scores of intelligence tests, reflect the categories of the American Association of Mental Retardation, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV-TR, and the International Classification of Diseases-10[citation needed]: Class IQ Profound mental retardation Below 20 Severe mental retardation 2034 Moderate mental retardation 3549 Mild mental retardation 5069 Borderline intellectual functioning

7084 Since the diagnosis is not based only on IQ scores, but must also take into consideration a person's adaptive functioning, the diagnosis is not made rigidly. It encompasses intellectual scores, adaptive functioning scores from an adaptive behavior rating scale based on descriptions of known abilities provided by someone familiar with the person, and also the observations of the assessment examiner who is able to find out directly from the person what he or she can understand, communicate, and the like. Significant limitations in two or more areas of adaptive behavior Adaptive behavior, or adaptive functioning, refers to the skills needed to live independently (or at the minimally acceptable level for age). To assess adaptive behavior, professionals compare the functional abilities of a child to those of other children of similar age. To measure adaptive behavior, professionals use structured interviews, with which they systematically elicit information about persons' functioning in the community from people who know them well. There are many adaptive behavior scales, and accurate assessment of the quality of someone's adaptive behavior requires clinical judgment as well. Certain skills are important to adaptive behavior, such as: Daily living skills, such as getting dressed, using the bathroom, and feeding oneself Communication skills, such as understanding what is said and being able to answer Social skills with peers, family members, spouses, adults, and others Evidence that the limitations became apparent in childhood This third condition is used to distinguish mental retardation from dementing conditions such as Alzheimer's disease or due to traumatic injuries with attendant brain damage. DEVELOPMENTAL PERVASIVE DISORDERS The diagnostic category pervasive developmental disorders (PDD) refers to delays in the development of multiple basic functions including socialization and communication. Parents may note symptoms of PDD in children as early as infancy, and typically onset is prior to three years of age. PDD itself does not affect life expectancy. The term for this group of five disorders was introduced by the American Psychiatric Association in 1980. A related category is "specific developmental disorders" (SDD). Classification The pervasive developmental disorders are: Pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS), which includes atypical autism (or is also called atypical autism), and is the most common; Autism, the best-known; Asperger syndrome; Rett syndrome; and Childhood disintegrative disorder (CDD). The first three of these disorders are commonly called the autism spectrum disorders; the last two disorders are much rarer, and are sometimes placed in the autism spectrum and sometimes not. Symptoms Symptoms of PDD may include communication problems such as: Difficulty using and understanding language Difficulty relating to people, objects, and events; for example, lack of eye contact,

pointing behavior, and lack of facial responses Unusual play with toys and other objects Difficulty with changes in routine or familiar surroundings Repetitive body movements or behavior patterns, such as hand flapping, hair twirling, foot tapping, or more complex movements Unable to cuddle or be comforted Cure and care There is no known cure for PDD. Medications are used to address certain behavioral problems; therapy for children with PDD should be specialized according to the child's specific needs. Some children with PDD benefit from specialized classrooms in which the class size is small and instruction is given on a one-to-one basis. Others function well in standard special education classes or regular classes with support. Early intervention, including appropriate and specialized educational programs and support services play a critical role in improving the outcome of individuals with PDD. Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their synapses connect and organize; how this occurs is not well understood. It is one of three recognized disorders in the autism spectrum (ASDs), the other two being Asperger syndrome, which lacks delays in cognitive development and language, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (commonly abbreviated as PDD-NOS), which is diagnosed when the full set of criteria for autism or Asperger syndrome are not met. Autism has a strong genetic basis, although the genetics of autism are complex and it is unclear whether ASD is explained more by rare mutations, or by rare combinations of common genetic variants. In rare cases, autism is strongly associated with agents that cause birth defects. Controversies surround other proposed environmental causes, such as heavy metals, pesticides or childhood vaccines; the vaccine hypotheses are biologically implausible and lack convincing scientific evidence. The prevalence of autism is about 1 2 per 1,000 people worldwide; however, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports approximately 9 per 1,000 children in the United States are diagnosed with ASD. The number of people diagnosed with autism has increased dramatically since the 1980s, partly due to changes in diagnostic practice; the question of whether actual prevalence has increased is unresolved. Characteristics Autism is a highly variable neurodevelopmental disorder that first appears during infancy or childhood, and generally follows a steady course without remission. Overt symptoms gradually begin after the age of six months, become established by age two or three years, and tend to continue through adulthood, although often in more muted form. It is distinguished not by a single symptom, but by a characteristic triad of symptoms: impairments in social interaction; impairments in communication; and restricted interests and repetitive behavior. Other aspects, such as atypical eating, are also common but are not essential for diagnosis. Autism's individual symptoms occur in the general population and appear not to associate highly, without a sharp line separating pathologically severe from common traits.

Classification Autism is one of the five pervasive developmental disorders (PDD), which are characterized by widespread abnormalities of social interactions and communication, and severely restricted interests and highly repetitive behavior. These symptoms do not imply sickness, fragility, or emotional disturbance. Of the five PDD forms, Asperger syndrome is closest to autism in signs and likely causes; Rett syndrome and childhood disintegrative disordershare several signs with autism, but may have unrelated causes; PDD not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS; also called atypical autism) is diagnosed when the criteria are not met for a more specific disorder. Unlike with autism, people with Asperger syndrome have no substantial delay in language development. The terminology of autism can be bewildering, with autism, Asperger syndrome and PDD-NOS often called the autism spectrum disorders (ASD) or sometimes the autistic disorders, whereas autism itself is often called autistic disorder,childhood autism, or infantile autism. In this article, autism refers to the classic autistic disorder; in clinical practice, though, autism, ASD, andPDD are often used interchangeably. ASD, in turn, is a subset of the broader autism phenotype, which describes individuals who may not have ASD but do have autistic-like traits, such as avoiding eye contact. Research into causes has been hampered by the inability to identify biologically meaningful subpopulations and by the traditional boundaries between the disciplines of psychiatry, psychology, neurology and pediatrics. Newer technologies such as fMRI and diffusion tensor imagingcan help identify biologically relevant phenotypes (observable traits) that can be viewed on brain scans, to help further neurogenetic studies of autism; one example is lowered activity in the fusiform face area of the brain, which is associated with impaired perception of people versus objects. It has been proposed to classify autism using genetics as well as behavior. Causes It has long been presumed that there is a common cause at the genetic, cognitive, and neural levels for autism's characteristic triad of symptoms. However, there is increasing suspicion that autism is instead a complex disorder whose core aspects have distinct causes that often co-occur. Autism has a strong genetic basis, although the genetics of autism are complex and it is unclear whether ASD is explained more by rare mutations with major effects, or by rare multigene interactions of common genetic variants. Complexity arises due to interactions among multiple genes, the environment, and epigenetic factors which do not change DNA but are heritable and influence gene expression. Studies of twins suggest that heritability is 0.7 for autism and as high as 0.9 for ASD, and siblings of those with autism are about 25 times more likely to be autistic than the general population. However, most of the mutations that increase autism risk have not been identified. Typically, autism cannot be traced to a Mendelian (single-gene) mutation or to a singlechromosome abnormality like fragile X syndrome, and none of the genetic syndromes associated with ASDs have been shown to selectively cause ASD. Numerous candidate genes have been located, with only small effects attributable to any particular gene. The large number of autistic individuals with unaffected family members may result from copy number

variationsspontaneousdeletions or duplications in genetic material during meiosis. Hence, a substantial fraction of autism cases may be traceable to genetic causes that are highly heritable but not inherited: that is, the mutation that causes the autism is not present in the parental genome. Although evidence for other environmental causes is anecdotal and has not been confirmed by reliable studies, extensive searches are underway. Environmental factors that have been claimed to contribute to or exacerbate autism, or may be important in future research, include certain foods, infectious disease, heavy metals, solvents, diesel exhaust, PCBs, phthalates and phenols used in plastic products,pesticides, brominated flame retardants, alcohol, smoking, illicit drugs, vaccines, and prenatal stress, although no links have been found, and some have been completely dis-proven. DOWN SYNDROME Down syndrome is characterized by a distinct physical appearance, and physical and mental retardation. Most Individuals with Down syndrome often have distinct physical characteristics, unique health issues, and variability in cognitive development. Physical characteristics include: Eyes that have an upward slant, oblique fissures, epicanthic skin folds on the inner corner, and white spots on the iris Low muscle tone Small stature and short neck Flat nasal bridge Single, deep creases across the center of the palm Protruding tongue Large space between large and second toe A single flexion furrow of the fifth finger Children with Down syndrome are susceptible to respiratorial infections, heart disorders, leukemia and pneumonia. Mental retardation can be moderate to severe. They are also at risk to develop Alzheimers disease later in life. However, with the advancement of the treatment for physical disorders afflicting these children, their life span has greatly increased. Some are able to reach age 60. Down syndrome is caused by a person having three copies of chromosome 21 instead of two copies. This is why Down syndrome is also referred to by the name Trisomy 21. The extra 21st chromosome most often comes from the mothers egg, when her homologous pair of 21st chromosome fails to separate during meiosis. Male sperm carry the extra chromosome in only about 5 percent of cases. And for reasons that are not yet fully understood, this error occurs more often as woman age. The fathers age matters too; the rates of Down syndrome births are higher for men over 50. Scientists have recently identified a gene that may play a role in the mental retardation associated with Down syndrome, but other genes likely play a role as well. Infants with Down Syndrome may developed fairly normally for their first 6 months, but unless they receive special therapy their rate of intellectual growth begins to decline after about a year. These children are generally slow to learn to speak and often have difficulty articulating words. They also have trouble attending to, discriminating, and interpreting complex or subtle information in their environments. ASPERGERS SYNDROME Aspergers syndrome was first identified by an Austrain physician Hans Aspergers in 1944 calling it a developmental disorder which has many symptoms similar to autism.

However, it is considered a mild from form of autism since people with this syndrome manifest with higher mental functioning. DSM-IV, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders classifies Aspergers as a separate disorder although a controversy existed as to whether it is a distinct syndrome or a form or autism. Some professionals believe that the definition of autism should include Aspergers because no biological test have been yet identified foe either disorder. Although Aspergers Syndrome and autism have many similarities, there are important differences. Both are classified as pervasive developmental disorder which impairments exist in social interaction, communication and other range of activities and interest. The differences lie in the degree of impairment. For example, an autistic may have a delayed speech but an individual with Aspergers does not suffer from it, although he may have difficulty with understanding the abstract forms of spoken language such as humor or irony. Cognitive ability is another distinction between the two disorders. Children with Aspergers do not suffer from cognitive delay. In case of autistics, some are likely to have mental retardation. A person with Aspergers usually has an average to above average intelligence. Other characteristics of Aspergers which are not present in autistics are the need for high stimulation, overdeveloped use of imagination, have fewer language deficits, are more social and willful in their behavior. These differences from autistic children are not noticeable at the early elementary years, the reason why they go undiagnosed. Children with autism seem to have world of their own. They prefer inanimate object to human interaction, avoid looking at others in the eye and fail to regulate social interaction. Very often, they are not even aware of themselves. Echolalia is a form of autism where autistic repeats what is said by another rather than responds to a question. It is usually a word repetition. If you are to ask an echolalia Where do you live? he will answer by saying where do you live. Moreover, they suffer from language problem called pronoun reversals. Autistics refer to themselves by you and to others as I. even after acquiring speech. Still it is not used for effective social communication. They do not respond to verbal comments. Professionals working with these disorders add that, compared to people with autism, those with Aspergers syndrome have need for high stimulation, have an overdeveloped use of imagination, tend to be more social, have a fewer language deficits, and are more willful in their behavior. As a result of these differences, young children with Aspergers syndrome often go undiagnosed through their elementary years because their strengths mask their deficits. Aspergers syndrome was first recognized in 1980 and sometimes was confused with autism. Though both share same manifestation in terms of social deficits, children with Aspergers syndrome are able to progress school at a rate farther than those who suffer autism. Although Aspergers disorder shares some of the social and effective deficits associated with autism, children with Aspergers symptomatology do not show significant language delays and are often able to progress in school at satisfactory rate.