Ch. 4 - Developmental Psychology (PART 1) Flashcards
Longitudinal Research Design
Testing the same cohort at different times. eg. Studying one person as they age
Cross-Sectional Research Design
Comparing people in different cohorts (usually by age) at the same time.
Sequential Research Design
Combination of cross-sectional and longitudinal design. Test several.cohorts as they age
Which research design is the most comprehensive?
Sequential Design
Developmental Psychology
Changes in biological, physical, psychological, & behavioural processes
Critical Period
Age where experiences must occur (for a person to develop normally)
Sensitive Period
Optimal age range for an experience to occur. Example: Can learn a 2nd language after age 12, but it will be more difficult
What are some issues with cross-sectional research designs?
Each cohort has different experiences, cultural changes, and environmental changes
What are some issues with longitudinal research designs?
-Expensive & Time Consuming
-People drop out of research studies (no other cohorts)
-Results are not very generalizable
Do babies have normal vision at birth?
No, the visual system is poorly developed at birth (very nearsighted). It gets progressively better as babies age
Preferential Looking Procedure
Measure how long an infant looks at a stimulus (infants look longer at stimuli they find interesting)
Habituation Procedure
Present a stimulus over and over again until infants become “habituated” (response to stimulus declines). Used for auditory cues where we cannot test using the preferential looking procedure
Imitation
Infants imitate adult facial expressions. This helps infants recognize people & engage with them
True or False: Babies are passive, disorganized, and have an empty mind.
False
Given our knowledge of prenatal sensory-motor development; the tactile, auditory, and chemical perceptual systems have been stimulated and are operating at birth (i.e. babies can interpret the world around them).
What are some environmental influences on fetal development?
Teratogens
Maternal malnutrition
Maternal stress (stress hormones)
Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)
Nicotine
Drugs
Teratogens
Environmental agents that may cause abnormal fetal development