"Impressionable Children"
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Submitted by FFE on 07/10/2008 11:53 PM
- Category: Technology
- Words: 652
- Pages: 3
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- Popularity Rank: 1957
"Impressionable Children"
Children of the ages of 4, 5, and 6 are very impressionable. Can you ever think of time that a youngster that you know told you a "tall tale"? Of course you can, that's how children are. They will make up elaborate and sometimes slightly convincing tales about the most outlandish things. This is exactly why the "stories" of children between the ages of 4 and 6 should not be sole evidence needed for a conviction in an abuse case in the United States. This can be proven not only by basic reasoning, but also by basic psychological theory. I intend to prove this by citing Piaget's stages of cognitive development, Erikson's psychosocial stages, and "The Sam Stone Study" by Dr. Stephen Ceci.
Piaget states that children between the ages of 4 and 6 fit into the "Preoperational Stage" of cognitive development. During this stage he believed that children are quite egocentric. He says that children "simply have not developed the ability to take another's viewpoint" (Myers 105). This proves that when a child is punished by their parents he or she only sees his or her own viewpoint, not always realizing that the parent is only trying to teach them good values and morals. The child could then be very angry with his or her parent and make up a story or actually believe that their parent abused them in some way. A prosecutor could then take advantage of this anger or misconception, and convince the child that the parent physically abused them. The same thing could happen with a teacher. A teacher might slap a child on the wrist, right or wrong, the child may then go home and tell his or her parents an elaborate tale of how the teacher physically abused them. A prosecutor may then ask the child leading questions, and make the teacher out to have seriously abused the child.
"Developmental theorist Erik Erickson (1902-1994), in collaboration with his wife, Joan Erickson, said that securely attached children approach life with a sense of basic trust."...
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