Two cousins, Arthur and Leo, both aged three, have attended the same high-intensity, full-time day care nursery since they were nine months old. Their family has noticed stark contrasts in their behaviors and development.
When his father comes to collect him, Arthur runs over with a smile, embraces him, and is easily comforted after a minor fall, before happily talking about his day. In contrast, when Leo's mother arrives, Leo actively avoids eye contact, pushes her hand away, and continues playing with his building blocks as if she were not there.
At the nursery, Arthur is described by staff as highly cooperative, often organizing group role-play games and sharing toys willingly. Leo, however, prefers solitary play, frequently grabs toys from other children, and has shown high levels of aggression and peer conflict. Furthermore, Arthur has developed a sophisticated vocabulary and regularly uses complex sentences to describe events, whereas Leo’s language development is significantly delayed, relying mostly on single words and gestures to communicate.
Assess research into the effects of day care on development, making reference to Arthur and Leo in your answer.
Practise Edexcel A Level Psychology Content with exam-style questions for A Level Psychology. 1,059 questions covering Biological explanations of crime, Social explanations of crime, Cognitive and ethical interview techniques, Psychological formulation of offending, Cognitive-behavioural treatment for offenders, Biological treatment for offenders, Factors influencing eye-witness testimony, Factors influencing jury decision-making, Individual differences, and Developmental psychology, matched to the Edexcel A Level Psychology (9PS0) specification and written in Paper 1, Paper 2 and Paper 3 style. Every question includes a full worked solution and mark scheme, so you can see where marks are awarded rather than just whether you got the answer right.
