9 - Human Development Flashcards
Developmental Learning
the study of changes over the life span in psychology, cognition, emotion, and social behaviour
Synaptic Pruning
the physiological process of preserving synaptic connections that are used, and eliminating those that are not used which allows for adaptation to the developmental environment
What part of brain development can malnourishment affect?
myelination which is the brains way of insulating it’s “wires” that allows for brain circuts to mature
Zygote
created when sperm unites with an egg
What is a developing human called between 2 weeks to 2 months?
an embryo
What is a developing human called after 2 months in the womb?
a fetus
- at the stage where many can survive outside of the womb
How can nutrition affect brain development?
- myelination (basis of brain development, supports cognitive and behavioural functioning)
How can growing up in poverty affect brain development?
- stress, neglect, exposure to violence, etc.
- growing in less enriched learning environments
- less access to learning tools
- research shows that kids growing up in poverty had reductions in the size of brain areas associated with school readiness skills
Teratogens
Agents that harm the embryo or fetus
ex. drugs, bacteria, viruses, chemicals like caffeine, alcohol, some prescription drugs
What is the most common teratogen and what can it lead to?
alcohol, fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs)
Dynamic Systems Theory
Throughout life, every new form of behaviour emerges through consistent interactions between a biological being and cultural and environmental contexts
Prenatal Period
conception -> birth
Infancy
birth -> 18-21 months
Childhood
18-24 months -> 11-14 years
Adolescence
11-14 years -> 18-21 years
Adulthood
18-21 years -> death
Germinal (or Zygota) stage
0-2 weeks
fertilization of ovum - implants in uturus
Embryonic Stage
2-8 weeks
- heartbeat, tiny brain, body structures starting
- major features start to become visible (toes, eyes, etc.)
- time when they are most susceptible to chemicals (but it’s also the time when most women don’t know they’re pregnant)
- sexual development
Fetal Stage
2 months - birth
- development of bone cells
- skeletal, organ, nervous systems
What are the last 2 months of the fetal stage primarily for?
growing - everything else is developed at this point
Visual Aucity
the ability to distinguish differences among shapes, patterns, and colours (seeing like someone who needs glasses)
- newborn’s visual aucity for distant objects is poor but reaches adult levels around 1 year
Habituation Technique
- a way to study how infants categorize a series of objects
- they like new things more than familiar things
- tests visual acuity (poor at birth)
Sigmund Freud
Infantile Amnesia
the inability to remember events from early childhood
- language helps us remember things (inner dialogue)
- self recognition is needed
- hippocampus isn’t fully developed until 4 yrs.
Attachment
a strong, intimate, emotional connection between people persisting across time and across circumstances
Attachment
Bowlby’s Theory
- infants have innate attachment behaviours that motivate adult attention (ex. smiling, crying, looking, cuddling)
Attachment
Imprinting
an instinctual tendency in some animals that produces a strong attachment to an adult
- follows around the first thing they see because they assume it must be their mom
Attachment
Harlow’s classic study
- monkeys raised with artifical mothers
- one was more comfortable than the other
- observed that the relationship with the mother isn’t only about food, it’s also about comfort
Q: According to Bowlby’s attachment theory, how is attachment adaptive?
Attachment motivates infants and caregivers to stay near each other, increasing the security that infants need to survive and thrive
Jean Piaget
Assimilation
The process by which new information is placed into an existing scheme
Ex. a kid sees a great dane for the first time and asks what it is. The parents tell them it’s a dog but the kid sees that it looks nothing like the chihuahua they have at home. The kid now needs to assimilate the great dane into their existing dog scheme
Jean Piaget
Schemes
ways of thinking based on personal experience
Jean Piaget
Accommodation
The process by which a new scheme is created or an existing scheme is drastically altered to include new information that otherwise would not fit into the scheme
Piaget’s stages of cognitive development
Sensorimotor Stage
Birth to 2 years
- children are firmly situated in the present
- motor schemas
- internalize schemes of action = motor control
- object permenance (needs to have an internal representation of an object that is assimilated into schemes)
Piaget’s stages of cognitive development
Preoperational Stage
2 to 7 years
- children can start to think about objects not in their immediate view - begin to think symbolically
- language development
- pretend play
- egocenticism (ex. idea that they’re a voodoo doll)
- need to master conservation of quantity (ex. bigger=more)
Object Permanence
The understanding that an object continues to exist even when it cannot be seen
Piaget’s stages of cognitive development
Concrete Operational Stage
7 to 12 years
- children begin to think about and understand logical operations - no longer fooled by appearances
- ends egocentricism
- understands categorization and classification
Concrete Operational Stage
Operation
- an action that can be undone
- learning that actions can be reversed
Piaget’s stages of cognitive development
Formal Operational Stage
12 years to adulthood
- people can think abstractly (ex. critical thinking)
- can formulate and test hypotheses through deductive logic (hypothetico-deductive method)
How is the brain and spinal cord formed?
the neural tube
- layer of cells containing nervous system folds over
Brain Development
Plasticity
growth of new neurons (neurogenesis) + new connections
- more dendrites
Brain Development
Myelination
- various regions get myelinated at different rates
- if some can wait, priority is given to others
Synaptogenesis
- wiring of the brain
- forming connections - cells that fire together wire together
- connections that work -> strengthen
- connections that don’t work -> get cut (synaptic pruning)
What is the most important environmental influence (outside of toxins) that impacts brain development?
Nutrition
important = fatty acids, vitamins, minerals
Spina Bifida
when the neural tube doesn’t close
Craniorachischisis
when the spine is exposed (death)
Anencephaly
part of the brain + skull missing
What is a side effect of malnutrition?
- underdeveloped prefrontal lobes
- at a higher risk of ADHD, self-control issues
Teratogens
substances that impair the process of development
Theory of Mind
The innate ability to understand that others have minds and that those minds have desires, intentions, beliefs, and mental states.
- recognition that actions can be intentional
Kholberg’s stage theory of moral develoment
Preconventional Level
- earliest stage of moral development
- self-interest or pleasurable outcomes determines what is moral
Kholberg’s stage theory of moral development
Conventional Level
- middle stage of moral development
- strict adherence to societal rules and the approval of others determines what is moral
Kholberg’s stage theory of moral development
Postconventional Level
- last stage of moral development
- abstract principles and the value of all life determines what is moral
Inequity aversion
preference to avoid unfairness when making decisions about the distribution of resources
What is a neuro-developmental reason why teenagers tend to have poor impulse control and make risky decisions?
the frontal cortex and frontal lobes aren’t fully myelinated until about 20 years old. Until then, they have an oversensitive reward system
sex
genetic makeup
23rd chromosome
gender
psychological
What are some things that decline as people age?
- slower working memory (shrinking frontal lobes)
- sound sensitivity
- sensitivity to visual contrast
Does fluid intelligence peak or decline as you age? Crystallized intelligence?
fluid: declines
crystallized: increases throughout life
What memory-related neurotransmitter is very low in people with Alzheimer’s?
acetylcholine
Preferential looking technique
- researchers show an infant two things
- can tell that an infant can distinguish between two things if they look at the more interesting one for longer
- they love faces
What are innate reflexes and what are some examples?
(4)
Innate reflex: set up to help them survive
- rooting reflex - feeding
- moro reflex - prep to fall
- grasping reflex
- stepping reflex
What are two forms of anxiety observed in Ainsworth’s test?
1) stranger anxiety
2) separation anxiety
Romanian Orphan Studied
Disorganized attachment
freezing, repetitive movements, fear, inconsistency
How is oxytocin associated with attachment?
hormone associated with bonding and social acceptance
Methods for investigating developmental psychology
Cross-sectional study
compares groups of people at different ages to see what age something typically develops
disadvantages: only applies to normative development and not individual development. And, possibility of cohort effects
advantages: cheap, fast, easy
Normative development
a pattern that is typical for most people, not all
Individual development
particular pattern for one person
studying developmental psychology
Cohort effects
- people born at different times
- people can be different simply because they were raised in a different time (ex. technology)
Methods for investigating developmental psychology
Longitudinal study
- follow the development of the same individuals over time
advantages: allows the study of normative and individual developmemt. no chance of cohort effects because they’re all part of the same cohort
disadvantages: expensive (ex. takes 40 years) and problem with attrition (losing participants over time)
Jean Piaget
Cognitive Structures
What are the 2 types of sognitive structures?
mental representations/rules to think, understand, and solve problems
Schemata/schemes: define a particular category of behaviour
Concepts: a category of objects or situations
What is the main difference between Piaget and Vygotsky’s understanding of development?
Piaget: focus on interation with the physical world
Vygotsky: focus on interaction with the social world (ex. scaffolding: supporting the learner)
Why did Vygotsky put more emphasis on the role of language in cognitive development?
- he believed cognitive development results from internalization of language
Cognitive development
Critical periods
developmental period in which a particular ability must be acquired (otherwise it never will)
Cognitive development
Sensitive periods
window of time during development in which a particular ability is most easily acquired
Hearing
(4)
- develops earlier than vision
- fully myelinated and functional at birth
- newborns can orient to sound (sound localization)
- babies can cry with an accent
