500 - Human Growth and Development Flashcards
Accommodation
WHO: Derived from Jean Piaget’s Cognitive Theory of Infant Development
WHERE: Taught in Human Growth & Development
WHAT: When people alter/adjust their schemas to take new information and experiences into account. –old schemas may be changed AND/OR new schemas may be formed.
WHY: This is imporant as it’s essential for keeping one’s understanding of the world up-to-date and accurate. Also helps them develop their own sense of the world.
EXAMPLE: A client comes to therapy and reports that she was abused by her father as a child. As a result, she grows up with a strong distrust of adult men. As the client grows up and moves out, she encounters other men who are kind and gentle. The schema that she previously held, that adult men are scary and aggressive changes to accept that not all men are intimidating.
Assimilation
WHO: Jean Piaget
WHERE: Taught in Human Growth & Development
WHAT: Assimilation occurs when children use existing schemes to deal with new information or experiences
- form of adjustment modification
WHY: Helps us to understand how people process new information and learn using already encoded knowledge
EXAMPLE: A client, Sarah, is in her 30s and has been dealing with anxiety and low self-esteem for most of her life. Her core belief is that people are often judgmental or critical of her, which stems from early experiences with an overcritical parent. As a result, Sarah tends to interpret most social situations through a lens of fear of judgment or rejection.
Attachment
Who: Freud
What:
Refers to the emotional bond that develops between a child and their primary caregiver, typically a parent. This bond is crucial for the child’s emotional and social development. The concept was extensively studied by psychologist John Bowlby, who proposed that attachment behaviors are evolutionary mechanisms that enhance the child’s chances of survival by ensuring proximity to the caregiver for safety and care.
- formed in phases beginning at infancy
- based on security, safety, and love needs
- indication of future bonds with other individuals in childhood + adulthood
4 types =
1) secure (confident, accepts support, good boundaries)
2) avoidant (distant, unemotional, avoids closeness, fear of abandonment, lacks boundaries)
3) anxious (clingly, emotional, seeks reassurance)
4) disorganized (craves closeness but rejects/is fearful of it, emotional volatility)
WHY: Important as early attachment may foreshadow later relationship/social behavior. Identifying one’s dysfunctional attachment style could be a target for treatment.
EXAMPLE: A women comes to therapy due to troubles in her marriage. She claims her husband is clingy, very emotional, and often seeks reassurance that she’s not cheating on her. After further conversation, the therapist suspects her husband developed an anxious attachment style as an infant.
Androgyny
WHAT: Having both feminine and masculine attributes (appearance, traits, attitudes, or behavior)
- person does not fit into gender stereotypes
- psychologically healthier to have blended traits (promotes competency, flexibility, and mental well-being)
WHY: Important part of a client’s identity to understand (using correct pronouns, etc.). It hints at the client’s culture and perspective (possibily LGBT aligned).
EXAMPLE: A family brings their teenage child into therapy. The parents are worried as their child does not fit into typical gender stereotypes. This is causing conflict and distress at home. After further investigation, the therapist explains that the child is androgynous.
Child Abuse
WHAT: The physical, emotion, sexual, and/or neglectful maltreatment of a child
- usually by a parent, guardian, or caretaker
WHY: Therapists are mandated to report any suspicion of abuse of minors to the authories. It is important to be aware of any potentional signs of abuse. Additionally, abuse tends to occur withi a cycle that often results in pathology within victims. Breaking the cycle of abuse can be a target of treatment.
EXAMPLE: A therapist noticed bruises on one of their child clients. The child was appeared more withdrawn and fearful. After further investigation, the child admitted that his parents would hit him after minor mistakes. The therapist was required to report this to authorities for the child’s well-being.
Continuity vs. Non-continuity
WHO: Piaget, Erikson
WHAT: Debate of whether development is…
Continuous
- gradual
- cumulative changes
- ex: child developing speech, child growing taller
Discontinuous
- distinct steps or stages
- sudden changes
- produce different changes are different points in life
- ex: Erikson, Piaget
WHY: Important to be aware what stage of development a client may be in. This aids in case conception and treatment planning. Identifying in a theory of development may help to chose a therapeutic perspective.
EXAMPLE: Parents bring their two year old child to therapy because they are worried that the child’s speech is delayed since the books they’ve read say children will begin speaking at 1.5-2 years old. The therapist explains speech acquisition is a continuous process and that it will come gradually, rather that suddely appearing at a specific age
Critical Period
Who: Konrad Lorenz Imprinting theory. (I THINK??)
What: Part of lifespan development; a fixed time period during which certain experiences or events can have a long-lasting effect on development. A maturational stage during which the nervous system is especially sensitive to environmental stimuli
Where: Taught in Human Growth & Development.
Why: If, during this period, the person does not receive the appropriate stimuli required to develop a given function, it may be difficult or even impossible to develop that function later in life Helps with understanding clients who may be lacking certain skills or abilities due to a missed critical period and how it affects their life. Treatment planning could be influenced by what skills need to be learned.
Example: A parent brings their adopted child to therapy because the parent is worried about the child’s development. The child is struggling in kindergarten to engage and learn things the other children are learning. After speaking to the parent, the therapist finds out that the child was born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. The therapist explains to the parent that the child may be struggling to engage and learn things because the child’s birth mother drank alcohol during a critical period of fetal development.
Developmental Level
Who: Piaget, Bandura (learning; bobo doll), Erikson. All examined throughout the development of kids
What: Part of developmental psychology. A stage in human development where one generally achieves certain milestones or growth markers within a certain time frame, indicating normal progression or growth. These markers allow one to know if the individual is progressing at a normal rate or if there might be potential problems that need to be addressed.
Where: Taught in Human Growth & Development.
Why: Gives clinicians a guideline of what should be happening & when. Can indicate lack in cognitive development or potential neurological problems.
Example: Charlie brings his 4-year-old daughter Joan into therapy because she is not yet talking. After a physical examination, her family practitioner was unable to find a physical reason for this. The therapist concluded that speech should have typically occurred at this developmental level and the lack of speech may reflect a developmental delay.
Egocentrism
Who: Part of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development. Preoperational stage is stage 2 of Piaget’s cognitive development theory, consists of children 2 to 7 years of age
What: An inability on the part of a child in the preoperational stage of development to see any point of view other than their own. Egocentric children think their view is the only view, that everyone thinks the same way they do, and that other people see, hear, and feel exactly the same as they do.
Where: Taught in Human Growth & Development.
Why: This helps us determine whether a child has moved into the concrete operational stage or not. It also help us determine whether or not someone is aware of those around them
Example: A mother brings her 5-year-old daughter, Kim, to therapy with concerns about her daughter’s stealing habits. The mother tells the therapist that Kim is always bringing home toys from kindergarten and is refusing to return them. The mother always tells Kim that she needs to return the toys because she is making the other kids sad since they can’t play with the toys anymore. Kim doesn’t understand why the other kids are sad because she is happy when she plays with the toys. The therapist explains to the mother that Kim is displaying egocentrism, which is normal for her age. Kim is not able to understand the feelings of other people because she believes that everyone is feeling the same as her.
Genotype vs. Phenotype
What: Genotype refers to the complete genetic makeup of an individual with contribution of dominant and/or recessive
genes from both parents. The genotype represents the individual’s exact genetic makeup and full hereditary information. Phenotype represents an organism’s actual physical properties. What is outwardly expressed may or may not match
the organism’s genotype or what is expressed in the genetic material
Where: Taught in Human Growth & Development.
Why: Understanding the difference between genotype and phenotype is important to counseling because it helps to understand the interaction between DNA and how it is physically expressed through phenotypes. In counseling it is important to understand how certain disorders get inherited and the physical traits that are expressed either via environment or genetics.
Example: Alex has come to therapy because he is convinced his wife is cheating on him, even though she vehemently denies it. He says he has suspected her ever since their child was born. Fred explains that he and his wife both have brown hair, but their child is now 5 years old and he has blonde hair. The therapist explains that both parents may have the genotype that includes the recessive gene for light hair which is not expressed in the phenotype of either parent but was passed down to their child
Genotype-environment Relationship
Who: Sandra Scarr studied relationship between genes and development
What: The relationship between what one’s genetic material and genetic potential are and how environment factors influence whether one reaches that genetic potential. A rich, encouraging environment will facilitate reaching one’s genetic potential while a poor, discouraging. environment will hinder it.
Where: Taught in Human Growth & Development.
Why: This is useful to understand how the environment may elicit some symptoms/traits in a person with a certain disorder versus only their genetic predispositions.
Example: Emma is a 29-year-old woman who comes to counseling because she is experiencing symptoms of depression, including persistent sadness, lack of energy, and difficulty concentrating. She reports that her mood has been low for several months, and she’s finding it hard to manage stress at work and in her personal life. Emma’s genetic predisposition to depression interacts with her environmental stressors (e.g., emotionally distant upbringing and a stressful work environment) to increase her likelihood of developing depressive symptoms. In other words, while Emma may have a genetic vulnerability to depression, the environmental factors (such as childhood emotional neglect and adult stress) are activating and amplifying this vulnerability.
Habituation
Who: Fantz, infant perception research. Research with infants and novel stimuli = they would stop sucking to look at new stimulus but after it was presented multiple times they stopped looking
What: Part of learning theory; a decrease in responsiveness to a stimulus after repeated presentations; the simplest form of learning. Subject becomes desensitized to stimuli in a sense. Commonly studied in infants because their attention is strongly governed by it.
Where: Taught in Human Growth & Development.
Why: Some therapy approaches rely on habituation such as the treatment of phobias. Can also help in understanding how clients respond to things as it is a form of learning.
Example: Harry and his mother come to therapy, because his mother is having difficulty controlling his behavior. She claims that in the past, she has yelled at Harry quite frequently, which seemed to stop him misbehaving. Lately, however, Harry seems unaffected by his mother’s reprimands. The therapist suspects the Harry has become habituated to his mother’s form of punishment and suggests she try to use healthier and more constructive methods in order to discourage his negative behavior.
Heterozygous vs Homozygous
What: Heterozygous is part of genetics; a type of genotype that includes two different alleles (forms of a gene) for a trait—e.g., Bb, one dominant and one recessive. The dominant trait is expressed as a phenotype. Homozygous is part of genetics; a type of genotype that includes only one type of allele - either both dominant or both recessive. Phenotype depends on which allele is present, recessive trait expressed if recessive alleles present, otherwise dominant.
Where: Taught in Human Growth & Development.
Why: This is important to the study of gene-environment interactions in the etiology of disorders. Specifically schizophrenia and bipolar disorder as they have a heavy genetic component. It helps determine how the genetics of a parent influence and are passed down to children
Example: Heterozygous -> Couple comes to counseling because they discovered that someone in their family has a history of a genetic disorder. The client and her husband were tested and found out that they are both heterozygous (carriers) of the disorder. The couple is having problems coping with there being a chance that their offspring may be affected.
Homozygous -> Couple comes to counseling because they discovered that someone in their family has a Huntington’s disease which is caused by a dominant allele. The client and her husband were tested and found out that they are both homozygous for that disorder meaning they cannot possibly be carriers. You support them throughout the process.
Identity Achievement
Who: a term coined by James Marcia for adolescents who have undergone a crisis and have made a commitment.one of Marcia’s four stages of Identity Development. 3 other phases: identity diffusion, identity foreclosure, and identity moratorium.
What: Identity achievement occurs when an individual has gone through an exploration of different identities and made a commitment to one
Where: Taught in Human Growth & Development.
Why: It shows us what stage in life a client might be in, how that affects their mentality, and potential treatment options
Example: A teenage client is in their last few sessions with their therapist. They originally came to therapy because they were struggling with their parents over their career choice. The client’s family are all doctors and were pressuring the client to become a doctor as well. The client, however, wanted to be an art teacher. Over the course of therapy, the client had come to terms with their parent’s wishes, but they made the final decision to pursue art and were confident in their decision.
Intergenerational Trauma/Abuse
What: The transmission of traumatic events from one generation to another. The descendants of a trauma or abuse can experience unresolved adverse emotional and behavioral reactions to the traumatic event that are similar to those of the victim themselves. It’s impacted by epigenetic factors and parenting styles.
Where: Taught in Human Growth & Development.
Why: Helps us conceptualize the patient, their history, and how they have gotten to where they are today that has brought them to therapy; predict attachment styles and later social behavior. It can help with case conceptualization and help to stop the cycle of trauma/abuse within a family.
Example: Alex is the child of holocaust survivors, and he experiences fear and mistrust just like his parents did. His parents are both diagnosed with PTSD and Alex is showing signs of it as well.
