CH 5 Psych

Question 1

What do developmental psychologists study?

Answer 1

-the study of physical, social, emotional, and cognitive changes that occur over the lifetime
-nature/nurture
-continuity/stages
-stability/change

Question 2

What factors are involved in the development of voluntarily controlled movement?

Answer 2

-in infancy, behavior is characterized by involuntary reflexes (grasping, sucking, rooting)
-Motor control developments as a result of biological maturation (the growth of synaptic connections among neurons) and experience

Question 3

How do researchers study what infants know, remember, and sense? What is habituation?

Answer 3

-Difficult to study: can’t talk, don’t follow directions, by measuring what babies look at/for how long, we can get an idea of what babies perceive, understand, and remember
-habituation – decreased response to unchanging stimuli, infants only respond to novel and interesting stimuli
-habituation tells us about different stages in a child’s cognitive development

Question 4

First stage of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development

Answer 4

1. Sensorimotor, 0-2
   -out of sight literally means out of mind—if a toy rolls away, they will not look for it, it has ceased to exist
   -develop object permanence between 6-8 months of age
   -separation anxiety—starts around 8 months
   -stranger anxiety
   -learning through senses and actions
   -develop schemas
   -assimilation and accommodation

Question 5

Second stage of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development

Answer 5

2. Preoperational, 2-6/7
   -egocentric because they can’t imagine the world from someone else’s viewpoint
   -theory of mind
   -by the time kids are 4 or 5, kids have a much more developed theory of mind
   -Difficulty with mental operations/mentally manipulating information (CONSERVATION)

Question 6

Third stage of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development

Answer 6

3. Concrete operational, 7-11
   -Able to perform simple mental operations and use simple logic, able to perform the conservation tasks successfully
   -still limited
   -Can only reason logically about concrete things/things that exist in the real world/not good at abstract reasoning
   -Once people reach the formal operational (adolescence - 12-14), better able to consider hypothetical situations, algebra, CONSERVATION

Question 7

Fourth stage of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development

Answer 7

4. formal operational, 12-adulthood
   abstract reasoning and logic, algebra

Question 8

How did Piaget view cognitive development? Know the stages of his theory and the
characteristics of thinking associated with each period (such as object permanence,
egocentrism, theory of mind, conservation, mental representations, mental operations, etc.)

Answer 8

-theory of cognitive development on the foundation that kids are active learners, little scientists
-Development occurred in stages, in each stage, the thinking is qualitatively different than it is in other stages

Question 9

How is theory of mind related to autism?

Answer 9

-Lack theory of mind: being able to take another person’s point of view, being able to imagine the world from someone else’s viewpoint, understanding that other people have minds that are separate from one’s own
-People with autism oftentimes never develop theory of mind

Question 10

What are schemas (text)?

Answer 10

concepts/mental representation that allows organisms to interpret and understand the world around them, assimilation (assimilation occurs when we modify or change new information to fit into our schemas) and accommodation (restructure of modify what we already know so that new information can fit in better)

Question 11

What is temperament? On what is it based? What are the temperament classifications for
babies?

Answer 11

-typical behavioral and emotional state, reflection of an individual’s reactivity, sensitivity, intensity
-believed to be highly genetic because it is how reactive an individual’s nervous system is, parenting style also affects
-easy babies – predictable, easy-going, cheerful, relaxed, good with new situations
-difficult babies – irregular, irritable, new situations overwhelming
-slow-to-warm up babies – in between, less emotional, a little nervous in new situations, slowly come to enjoy them

Question 12

What is attachment?

Answer 12

A close emotional bond between a child and its caregiver’s

Question 13

What did Harlow’s monkeys reveal about attachment and maternal instinct?

Answer 13

-Took baby monkeys away from their mother’s and raised them in isolation
-Provided them with two fake mothers: one covered in a soft cloth, other provided food
-Spent all of their time clinging to the cloth, suggests that contact comfort might be an important part of bonding—mattered more than food
-TOUCH IS IMPORTANT!
-Attempted to have a few monkeys mate, refused
-maternal instinct is learned

Question 14

What is the strange situation test?

Answer 14

-A baby (1-2 years old) and parents are brought into an unfamiliar room together
-There are toys for children to play with—what will they do
-Parents leave for a few minutes
-how do the children react?
-Parents return
-how do the children react?

Question 15

What characterizes secure attachment, insecure avoidant
attachment, and insecure ambivalent/resistant attachment in childhood and adulthood?

Answer 15

-Secure: In strange situations, the child will play with the toys, check in with parents (cycle). distressed when parents leave but are comforted quickly when the parent returns. Responsive/sensitive caregivers
-Insecure avoidant: Don’t care when the parent leaves, don’t care when the parent returns. Show the same amount of interest in strangers—
More likely to have parents that are abusive or neglectful
-Insecure ambivalent/resistant: In strange situations, often cling to parents, do not go play with toys. When the parent leaves the room, they get very upset, and are frustrated when they return. Inconsistent parents.

Question 16

effects of attachment styles in adulthood

Answer 16

-secure: adults feel secure in relationships, high level of trust, look towards their partner for support and comfort
-avoidant: adults are very independent, less able to make emotional connections, commitment
-ambivalent: fear rejection from partner, insecure, try really hard to maintain closeness in relationships

Question 17

How do authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and negligent parents differ?

Answer 17

-authoritative: Parents—firm, demanding, consistent, provide their kids with lots of warmth, affectionate, explain the rules (helps children to self-regulate in unfamiliar situations)
-authoritarian: harsh, punitive, unsympathetic, provide little praise or warmth, demand unquestioning obedience, if the child asks “why?”, parents are likely to respond “because I said so.”
-permissive: give their kids almost complete freedom with very few rules
-negligent: provide for basic needs, but avoid getting emotionally involved with their kids

Question 18

What child characteristics are associated with these different types of parents?

Answer 18

-authoritative: more successful/responsible/higher self-esteem
-authoritarian: unfriendly, distrustful, withdrawn
-permissive: tend to be immature, aggressive, unhappy
-negligent: worst of all, delinquent, low-achievement, low self-esteem

Question 19

What are gender roles? How does gender differ from sex?

Answer 19

-Social roles kids learn is related to gender from
-Kids get messages on what their gender is supposed to be like from parents, peers, media, etc
culture, status, and role differences
-Sex = biological
Gender = socially defined characteristics of males and females, normal and appropriate behavior

Question 20

What messages do boys and girls get regarding the gender roles of males and females in
American culture?

Answer 20

-males: In the media, much more likely to be…main characters, solving problems, giving orders, rescuing
achievement, competition, independence; parents are more likely to encourage boys to achieve, compete, be independent
-females: In the media, less likely to have speaking roles, appearance/sexuality is emphasized, portrayed as submissive; Parents are more likely to encourage girls to be expressive, nurturing, dependent, unselfish

Question 21

What is adolescence?

Answer 21

-Period between childhood and adulthood
-Roughly corresponds to the teen years

Question 22

What major physical changes take place during adolescence? What happens in the brain
during adolescence?

Answer 22

-Puberty – a series of bodily changes that result in a person becoming capable of reproduction
-menarche
-Brain maturation occurring as well
-Pruning: unused synaptic connections cut back (believed to make mental processing more efficient, gets rid of “excess noise)
-frontal lobes developing, greater myelination

Question 23

Is the prefrontal cortex fully mature in adolescence?

Answer 23

-still not fully mature
-poor judgment, decision-making, impulsive, difficulty controlling behaviors, difficulty thinking of long-term consequences

Question 24

Who postulated the existence of an identity crisis? When does it occur? What is it?

Answer 24

-Eric Erikson—neo-Freudian, proposed a theory of psycho-social changes that occur throughout life
-occurs during adolescence
-self of sense
-Very different people depending on who they’re with
-Start to wonder: which is the real me? Who am I?
-Explore different identities to answer this question
-Change the way they dress, the music they listen to, what they read/watch in an effort to develop an integrated identity

Question 25

What is metacognition and how does it relate to formal operations and adolescent
egocentrism?

Answer 25

-Metacognition—awareness and understanding of what one is thinking and why
-Think about their own thoughts, the thoughts of others
-Tend to spend a lot of time thinking about what other people are thinking about them
-Overestimate the extent to which other people are noticing them or thinking about them
-Makes them particularly egocentric

Question 26

What is early adulthood, middle adulthood, and late adulthood?

Answer 26

-Early adulthood (20-39)
-Middle adulthood (40-65)
-Late adulthood (65+)

Question 27

When do people typically reach their physical peak?

Answer 27

-early adulthood, mid-20s
-Cardiac output is highest, healthiest
-comes and goes quickly

Question 28

What helps slow physical and cognitive decline as people age?

Answer 28

Those who stay physically and mentally active are less likely to show physical and cognitive decline

Question 29

What characterizes happy marriages?

Answer 29

-One simple predictor of whether or not marriages will last: if a couple has 5 positive interactions for every 1 negative interaction, more likely to stay together and have a happier marriage
-similarity of interests and values
-sharing of emotional and material support
-intimate self disclosure
-sealing marriage with commitment
-equitable sharing of household burdens
-children leaving home eventually

Question 30

What factors influence whether couples are satisfied with parenting?

Answer 30

-Gay and lesbian parents more happier with their parenting experiences
-child-care is more equal
-if a child moves out around 18 years old
-relationship between 2 parents

Question 31

How do emotions generally change through adulthood?

Answer 31

-happiness is slightly higher in younger and older adults than middle aged adults
-older adults tend to use more positive words and focus less on negative information
-amygdala (stress center) diminishes in activity for older adults
-brain eaves react less to negative images in adults
-early adulthood: emotions tend to even out, less high highs, less low lows
-middle adulthood: Re-evaluate earlier goals and make changes, adjust expectations
-late adulthood: satisfied

Question 32

What predicts depression and mental decline in the elderly and why?

Answer 32

-life satisfaction over 65 group satisfaction does not go down, helps to have at least 3 close relationships
-Exercise, physical activity, healthy diet, positive attitude, independent living all make you live longer