11. Developmental psychology

Question 1

what are the 2 attachment styles?

Answer 1

1. secure

2. insecure

Question 2

what are the 3 different types of insecure attachment?

Answer 2

1. avoidant
2. ambivalent (mixed feelings about something/someone)
3. disorganised

Question 3

describe secure attachment

Answer 3

• the baby’s exploration is supported
• lots of encouragement and support
• challenged to do things and when they cannot they are helped (scaffolding approach)
• baby learns that they can bring their parents joy
• baby is welcomed, protected and comforted

Question 4

describe insecure avoidant attachment

Answer 4

• children ignore and avoid their feelings
• they are angry
• they feel like they don’t need their parents
• they are in low spirits at school

Question 5

describe insecure ambivalent attachment

Answer 5

• children cry and cannot be contained or consoled
• they ask for help constantly
• they look for reassurance constantly
• they are seeking care

Question 6

describe insecure disorganised attachment

Answer 6

• baby doesn’t know what to do
• usually results when the parent is dangerous
• the person that needs to look after them is also the person that causes them damage

Question 7

how is attachment assessed?

Answer 7

Ainsworth’s Strange Situation Test

Question 8

what does Ainsworth’s Strange Situation

Answer 8

it tests how babies or young children respond to the temporary absence of their mothers - researchers are interested in 2 things:

• how much the child explores the room on its own
• how the child responds to the return of his mother

Question 9

what are Piaget’s 4 stages of cognitive development and what ages do each stage span?

Answer 9

• sensorimotor stage: birth - 2yrs
• pre-operational stage: 2-7yrs
• concrete operational stage: 7-11yrs
• formal operational stage: 11+

Question 10

what is the sensorimotor stage?

Answer 10

infants understand their world primarily though sensory experiences and physical interactions with objects

babies don’t have any sense of object permanence - they think the object (or person) ceases to exist when it cannot be seen

they gradually increase use of words to represent objects, needs and actions

Question 11

what is the pre-operational stage?

Answer 11

• instead of using sensorimotor to solve problems they use internal representations of the external world –> imaginary play
• everything that exists has some sort of consciousness

Question 12

what is the concrete operational stage?

Answer 12

• children can perform basic mental operations concerning problems that involve tangible (“concrete”) objects and situations
• understand the concept of reversibility
• display less egocentrism
• trouble with hypothetical and abstract reasoning

Question 13

what is the formal operational stage?

Answer 13

• identity vs role confusion - who am i? do i fit in?
• the opinions of peers seem more important that family
• attachment problems earlier on can be somewhat repaired because synaptic pruning occurs at this stage
• their brains are malleable
• separation vs dependency