Chapter 10 - Developmental Psychology Flashcards
Developmental psychology
study of how behaviour changes over the lifespan
post-hoc fallacy
false assumption that because 1 event occurred before another event, it must have caused that affect
Cross-sectional design
research design that examines people at different ages at a single point of time
Cohort effect
effect observed in a sample of participants that results from individuals in the sample growing up at the same time
Longitudinal design
research design that examines development in the same group of people on multiple occasions over time
Gene-environment interactions
situation in which the effects of genes depend on the environment in which they are expressed
Nature via nurture
tendency of individuals with certain genetic predispositions to seek out and create environments that permit the expression of these pre-dispositions
Gene expression
activation of deactivation of genes by environmental experiences throughout development
Teratogen
an environmental factor that can exert a negative impact in prenatal development
Sensorimotor
No thought beyond immediate physical experiences (Birth-2 years)
Preoperational
Able to think beyond the here and now, but ego centric and unable to perform mental transformations (2-7 years old)
Concrete Operations
Able to perform mental transformations but only on concrete physical objects (7-11 years)
Formal Operations
Able to perform hypothetical and abstract reasoning (11 years +)
Assimilation
Piagetian process of absorbing new experience into current knowledge structures
Accommodation
Piagetian process of altering a belief to make it more compatible with experience
Conservation
Piagetian task requiring children to understand that despite a transformation in the physical presentation of an amount, the amount remains the same
Scaffolding
Vygotskian learning mechanism in which parents provide initial assistance in children’s learning, but gradually remove structure as children become more competent
Zone of proximal development
Phase of learning during which children can benefit from instruction
Theory of mind
ability to reason about what other people know or believe
Contact comfort
positive emotions afforded by touch
Mono-operation bias
drawing conclusions on the basis of only a single measure
Psychosocial crisis
dilemma concerning an individual’s relations to other people
Secure attachment
(60%) infant reacts to mom’s departure by being upset, but greets her return with joy
Insecure-avoidant attachment
(15-20%) infant reacts to mom’s departure with indifference and shows little reaction on her return
Insecure-anxious attachment
(15-20%) infant reacts to mom’s departure with panic, then shows mixed emotional reaction to her return
Disorganized attachment
(5-10%) infant reacts to mom’s departure and return with an inconsistent and confused set of responses
