Biology of Development Psychology Flashcards
What is the three-way interaction in psychological development?
interaction between psychology, experience, and brain development.
What are the two main periods of synapse changes during development?
Birth to 2 years (synapse formation) and 4-6 years (synapse pruning).
What were Piaget’s two assumptions about brain development?
1) Pre-natal brain is ‘turned off’, and 2) Neonatal brain looks adult-like, just smaller.
Why was Piaget wrong about his assumptions?
Brain is not switched off before birth, prenatal effects are just limited
Post natal brain develops more than people think superficially.
E.g Synapse density increases, -Longer range connectivity
All change brain development.
According to Mark Johnson, what are the three ways development may lead to cognitive development?
1) Maturation
2) Interactive socialisation
3) Skills learning (executive function).
What is maturation?
- Implies static relationship between brain structure and function.
- More traditional view.
- Different brain areas develop independently.
What is interactive socialisation?
- Coordination of brain networks
What is skills learning?
- Learning through repeated exposure and practice in relevant contexts
- Executive function from frontal lobes.
What is a monogenic trait?
A trait determined by a single gene.
What is a polygenic trait?
A trait that is the product of many genes, each having a small effect.
What are the four letters in the DNA code?
A,T,G,C
How many types of amino acids are there?
20 types of amino acids.
What does heritability measure?
influence of genes on a trait in a population.
Why are psychological traits very polygenic?
Because being psychologically-able was under the strongest selection pressure for evolving humans.
