Ch 13: Development over the Lifespan

Question 1

Socialization

Answer 1

The process by which children learn the behaviours, attitudes, and expectations required of them by their society or culture

Question 2

List the harmful influences that can affect a women’s pregnancy, because they can cross the placental barrier

Answer 2

1. German measles
2. X-rays or other radiation, pollutants, and toxic substances
3. Sexually transmitted diseases
4. Cigarette smoking
5. Maternal stress
6. Drugs

Question 3

Contact comfort

Answer 3

In primates, the innate pleasure derived from close physical contact; it is the basis of the infant’s first attachment

Question 4

Separation anxiety

Answer 4

The distress that most children develop, at about 6-8 months of age, when their primary caregivers temporarily leave them with strangers

Question 5

Secure attachment

Answer 5

When an infant cries or protests when the parent leaves the room, then welcome the parent back and play happily together

Question 6

Insecure attachment

Answer 6

When a child is avoidant, doesn’t care if the parent leaves the room, makes little effort to interact with the parent when they return to the room, and treats the stranger in a similar way

OR

When a child protests loudly when a parent leaves t he room, and resists contact with the parent when reunited

Question 7

List the causes of insecure attachment

Answer 7

1. Abandonment and deprivation in the first 1-2 years of life
2. Parenting that is abusive, neglectful, or erratic because the parent is chronically irresponsible or clinically depressed
3. The child’s own genetically influenced temperament
4. Stressful circumstances in the child’s family

Question 8

Language

Answer 8

A system that combines meaningless elements such as sounds or gestures to form structured utterances that convey meaning

Question 9

Telegraphic speech

Answer 9

A child’s fist word combinations, which omit (as a telegram did) unnecessary words

Question 10

Object permanence

Answer 10

The understanding, which develops throughout the first year, that an object continues to exist even when you cannot see it or touch it

According to Piaget, the ability to grasp this concept occurs in the sensorimotor stage

Question 11

Conservation

Answer 11

The understanding that the physical properties of objects, such as the number of items in a cluster or the amount of liquid in a glass, can remain the same even when their form or appearance changes

According to Piaget, the ability to grasp this concept occurs in the concrete operations stage

Question 12

What are the current views of cognitive development?

How do they differ from Jean Piaget’s theory?

Answer 12

1. Cognitive abilities develop in continuous, overlapping waves rather than discrete steps or stages
2. Preschoolers are not as egocentric as Piaget thought

Ex: Most 3-4 year olds can take another person’s perspective, and will ask why other people behave the way they do; they are developing a theory of mind

3. Children, even infants, reveal cognitive abilities much earlier than Piaget believed possible

Ex: A 4-month old baby will look longer at a ball that defies laws of physics, indicating it is a novel, surprising thing for them

4. Cognitive development is influenced by a child’s culture

Ex: Nomadic hunters develop better spatial abilities more quickly than Agriculturalists, who develop ability to quantify more quickly than Nomadic hunters.

Question 13

Power assertion

Answer 13

A method of child rearing in which the parent uses punishment and authority to correct the child’s misbehaviour

Associated with a child’s aggressiveness and lack of empathy

Question 14

Induction

Answer 14

A method of child rearing in which the parent appeals to the child’s own abilities, sense of responsibility, and feelings for others in correcting the child’s misbehaviour

Associated with children who develop empathy, internalize moral standards, and can resist temptation

Question 15

Gender identity

Answer 15

The fundamental sense of being male or female; it is independent of whether the person conforms to the social and cultural rules of gender

Question 16

Gender typing

Answer 16

The process by which children learn the abilities, interests, and behaviours associated with being masculine or feminine in their culture

Question 17

Intersex conditions (intersexuality)

Answer 17

Conditions in which chromosomal or hormonal anomalies cause a child to be born with ambiguous genitals, or genitals that conflict with the infant’s chromosomes

Question 18

Gender schema

Answer 18

A cognitive schema (mental network) of knowledge, beliefs, metaphors, and expectations about what it means to be male or female

Question 19

Adrenarche

Answer 19

A time in middle childhood (age 6-12) when the adrenal glands begin producing the adrenal hormone DHEA and other hormones that affect cognition and social development

Question 20

Puberty

Answer 20

The age at which a persona becomes capable of sexual reproduction

Question 21

Menarche

Answer 21

The onset of menstruation during puberty

Question 22

Menopause

Answer 22

The cessation of menstruation and of the production of ova; it is usually a gradual process lasting up to several years

Question 23

Fluid intelligence

Answer 23

The capacity to reason and use information to solve problems; it is relatively independent of education

Growth and decline parallels other biological capacities, so it slows down in old age

Question 24

Crystallized intelligence

Answer 24

Cognitive skills and specific knowledge acquired over a lifetime; it is heavily dependent on education and tends to remain stable over time

Allows people to continue working in their profession well into old age

Question 25

List Piaget’s stages of cognitive development

Answer 25

1. Sensorimotor stage; birth to 2 years
2. Preoperational stage; 2-7 years
3. Concrete operations stage; 7-12 years
4. Formal operations stage; 12-13 years

Question 26

Sensorimotor stage

Answer 26

According to Piaget, a cognitive stage from birth to 2 years

Learn through concrete actions; looking, touching, putting things in mouth, grasping

Learn object permanence by 1 year

Question 27

Preoperational stage

Answer 27

According to Piaget, a cognitive stage from 2-7 years

Lack the ability to understand abstract principles and mental operations (a train of thought that can be run backwards and forwards)

Ex: A child will know that “Jessie is my sister”, but will not grasp that “I am Jessie’s brother”

Lack the ability to grasp the concept of conservation

Are egocentric; see the world from their own perspective and can’t imagine that others would see it differently

Question 28

Concrete operations stage

Answer 28

According to Piaget, a cognitive stage from 7-12 years

Understand the concept of mental operations and conservation

Understand cause and effect, and can categorize things

Question 29

Formal operations stage

Answer 29

According to Piaget, a cognitive stage from 12-13 years

Capable of abstract thinking. Can think of future possibilities, reason about situations they have not experienced first hand, and draw logical conclusions

Question 30

Mental operations

Answer 30

A train of thought that can be run backwards and forwards

Ex: 2 x 6 = 12, therefore 12 / 6 = 2

According to Piaget, the ability to grasp this concept occurs in the concrete operations stage

Question 31

Theory of mind

Answer 31

A system of beliefs about the way one’s own mind and the minds of others work, and of how individuals are affected by their beliefs and feelings

According to current theories of cognition, children begin to develop this at age 3-4

Question 32

Erik Erikson’s stages of psychological development

Answer 32

1. Trust vs mistrust; birth to age 1

Trust may not develop if needs are not met

2. Autonomy (independence) vs shame and doubt; toddler

Learning to be independent without feeling ashamed or uncertain about their actions

3. Initiative vs guilt; preschoolers

Learning new skills and how to control impulses without too much guilt about wishes/fantasies

4. Competence vs inferiority; school-age

Learning to make things, use tools; can feel inadequate or inferior if they fail at competence

5. Identity vs role confusion; adolescence

Deciding who they are, what they are going to do with their lives; can feel confused and indecisive if they fail

6. Intimacy vs isolation; adulthood

Learn to share yourself with another to feel complete

7. Generativity vs stagnation; middle years

Experience creativity and renewal, or be complacent and selfish

8. Ego integrity vs despair

Spiritual tranquility or fear of death

Question 33

Emerging adulthood

Answer 33

Age 18-25, for those adults who have not yet started their career, could be going to school, and rely at least partially on parents/family for financial support

Moved past adolescence in terms of emotional maturity and confidence, but engage in more risky behaviour than adolescents

Question 34

What characteristics promote resiliency?

Answer 34

1. Easy-going temperaments, the ability to believe in oneself, and have self-control
2. A secure attachment style with parents
3. Finding a secure attachment with other family members, when it is lacking with parents
4. Finding support from outside the family (school, place of worship)