Ch 1 Flashcards
What are the issues in human development?
nature vs nurture, continuity vs. discontinuity, and universal vs context-specific
This is no longer an issue and involves the diathesis stress model
Nature vs Nurture
normal and abnormal developmental changes are gradual and quantative
continuity
implies that such changes are more abrupt and qualitative
discontinuity
When discussing what issues do you have to see if the development follows the same general path in all people or if it is fundamentally different, depending on the sociocultural context
Universal vs Context-Specific
What did Freud do?
Says that development happens in stages and beliefs that behavior is largely governed by motives and drives that are internal and often unconscious
What are the pros of evaluating Psychodynamic perspectives.
The unconscious, the role of internal conflicts, the importance of early childhood expensive, and the use of defense mechanisms
What are the cons for evaluating psychodynamic evaluation?
poor testing, inadequate empirical base, and sexist veiws
The father of behaviorism
John Watson
Who tried to explain Freud’s theory through scientific terms based on classical conditioning?
John Watson
comparing pairs of neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus either an unconditioned stimuli that elicits a certain response
classical conditioning
What are examples of classical condition?
Watsons little albert, palov, drinking coffee, alcohol, or smoking cigarettes
Who created the learning theory?
Skinner
applied behavior analysis, examines the effect that consequences have on behavior
Operant conditioning
What are the ABCs of the learning theory?
Antecedents
B- targeted behavior
Consequences
What is going just prior to the behavior
antecedents
what happens as a result of the behavior
consequences
What part of the ABCs is the classical conditioning?
Antecedents and the targeted behavior
What part of the ABCs is operant conditioning?
Consequences
What argue in the social learning theory and what is it called?
He argued that behavior can be learned through observation called vicarious learning
What are the parts of the social learning theory?
vicarious learning, social cognition, and self-efficacy
how children think about themselves and others, dependent upon experience but is influenced by ones biological predisposition (BOBO doll experiment)
social cognition
refers to people’s belief about their own abilities
self-efficacy
What are the pros when evaluating behavioral perspectives
its based on rigorous research
insights into effects of learning and environmental factors
What are the cons when evaluating behavioral perspectives
over-dependence on animal research
fragmented views of personality
dehumanizing views
Who found the cognitive developmental theory
Piaget
What are the explanations of the cognitive developmental theory
children naturally try to make sense of the world and create little “experiments”
there re critical points in development where fundamental change occurs
strong genetic influence
What are the criticisms when evaluating Piaget’s theory?
he underestimated children’s ability
problems with stage theories
universality
the brain is like a computer, has mental software and hardware, development is continuous as the software improves and the hardware increases
Information-Processing Theory
What are the pros of the information processing theory
stressed the view that infants and toddlers are sophisticated cognitive beings
very testable and practical
What are the cons of information processing
does not capture all of human thought
artificial lab environments
What is Vygotsky’s theory?
children live in rich social and cultural world that affects the way their cognitive world is structured
children’s thinking does not develop in a vacuum but is greatly influenced by the sociocultural context in which they grow up
Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model, emphasis is on family and social influences on a child’s development, argues that you cannot understand or predict behavior by looking at the individual in isolation, the relationship between family members is what is important, there is a basic family structure and when this is disrupted then behavior problems occur
ecological and family systems theory
What are Bronfenbrenner’s four levels of environment?
microsystem
Mesosystem
exosystem
macrosystem
immediate family
microsystem
connected microsystems (family school work)
mesosystem
social systems that are not experienced first hand but have an effect on development (government parents social network)
exosystem
the overall culture (ethnicity historical events)
macrosystem
What are the pros of the ecological systems
rich description of environmental influences
suggested many ways to optimize a Childs development
What are the cons of the ecological systems?
no real discussion of biological environment`
are there any normative development?
aging is a lifelong process, no one age is more important than another, ages build upon ones another, there is an early phase and a later phase, the assumption is that you can alter the neural pathways in very young children, one can also find ways to compensate for losses due to ageing
life-span perspective
What are the three processes of the SOC model
selection
compensation
optimization
What are the two parts of selection in the SOC Model? What do they mean?
Elective selection- occurs when you reduce as a result of new demands
loss-based selection- occurs when losses in resources require you to reduce involvment
What part of the SOC model occurs when skills have decreased and you search for an alternative way to accomplish goal
compensation
What part of the SOC Model involves minimizing losses and maximizing gains
optimization
What is the research process
begins with a hypothesis based on theory
choosing or developing measures
creating the research design
gathering and analyzing design
findings and interpretation can then be used to tweak a theory or to develop a new one
How do you identify the research sample
carefully define the ample
consider possible comorbidities
need to be sensitive to the setting and source of the sample
random selection is rare in studies of disordered children
often studies use samples of convenience
What are the methods of measurement
self report
structured observation
unstructured observations
What are the positives and negatives of self report
positives- large amounts of information in brief time and can be structured or unstructured
negatives- not reliable for children under 7 and susceptible to distortion or bias
What are the positives and negatives of structured observation
positives- more control, can manipulate the variable that you are looking for
negatives- not the natural environment, may not be applicable to the real world
What are the positives and negatives of unstructured observation
positives- can see natural environment, behavior can be recorded with respect to frequency or duration
negatives- reactivity of subject and observer bias
General research approaches what
true experiments, correlational studies, natural experiments, retrospective design, and prospective design
researchers have maximum control
subjects randomly assigned to groups and possible sources of bias are controlled
true experiments
allow researchers to examine relationships among variables
cannot determine causality
correlational studies
comparisons are made between groups that already exist (no random assignment)
natural experiments
sample is identified and asked about information from an earlier time
retrospective design
sample is identified and followed longitudinally over time (primary flaw is attrition)
prospective design
intensive observation and analysis of an individual child
case study
repeated assessment over time with subject serving as his/her own control
used most often to evaluate clinical treatment
single-case experimental
What are the positive and negative parts of the research designs
positives- controlled study that can demonstrate the value or lack of treatment
negatives- ethical issues, interaction of subject characteristics and treatment, limited generality
What is the different between corelating and causation?
correlated variables are associated at a particular point in time with no clear proof that one precedes
causation is actually influencing directly or indirectly the occurrence of an outcome of interest
What is a correlation coefficient
a number that describes the degree of association between two variables
range is +1.00 to -1.00
the size of the correlation indicates the strength
groups of people at different ages studied at same point in time
cross-sectional studies
What are the positives and negatives of cross-sectional studies
positives- overcomes attrition and practice effects
negatives- no inferences about change in the individual and susceptible to cohort effects
same children studied at different ages and stages of time
longitudinal
What are the positives and negatives of longitudinal
positives- track individual changes over time, inferences of causality can be made
negatives- attrition, aging effects, practice effects, theory may change
What are the research designs
cross-sectional studies and longitudinal
What are the ethical issues
informed consent and assent, voluntary participation, confidentiality and anonymity, and no harmful procedures
