Chapter 10-Human Development

Question 1

Define developmental psychology

Answer 1

The study of how behaviours changes over the lifespan

Question 2

What’s a cross-sectional design and what’s the major problem with it?

Answer 2

A design in which researchers examine people of different ages at a single point in time
Major problem is the Cohort Effect: effects due to the fact that sets of people who lived during one time period, called cohorts, can differ in some systematic way from sets of people who lived during a different time period

Question 3

What is a longitudinal design

Answer 3

Design that examines development in the same group of people on multiple occasions over time

• examines true developmental effects
• avoids cohort effect

Question 4

What are the 3 ways nature and nurture intersect in shaping our development

Answer 4

1. Gene-Environment Interactions-situation in which the effect of genes depend on the environment in which they are expressed
2. Nature via Nurture- tendency of individuals with certain genetic predispositions to seek out and create environments that permit the expression of those predispositions(fearful kids select safe environments)
3. Gene Expression- activation or deactivation of genes by environmental experiences throughout development

Question 5

What are the 3 stages of prenatal physical development

Answer 5

1. Germinal Stage-zygote begins to divide, forming blastocyst, keeps growing and cells begin to take on different roles as organs of the body begin to develop-blastocyst becomes an embryo (conception to 2 weeks)
2. Embryonic Stage- development of major organs& body systems develop. Spontaneous miscarriage may occur
   (2nd week until 8th week)
3. Fetal stage- heart begins to beat, embryo becomes fetus, for rest of pregnancy fetus undergoes physical maturation(baulking up)
   Sex organs and brain, tissues, bones, muscles
   (9th week until delivery)

Question 6

Define teratogen

Answer 6

An environmental factor that can exert a negative impact on prenatal development
Ex. Drugs, alcohol, x-rays

Question 7

What is fetal alcohol spectrum disorder

Answer 7

Condition resulting in high levels of prenatal alcohol exposure , causing learning disabilities, physical growth retardation, facial malformations, and behavioural disorders

Question 8

Define motor behaviour

Answer 8

Bodily motion that occurs as a result of self-initiated force that moves the bones and muscles
Ex. Sitting up, crawling, walking

Question 9

Define menarche and spermarche

Answer 9

Menarche- start of menstruation

Spermarche- boys first ejaculation

Question 10

Define cognitive development

Answer 10

Study of how children acquire the ability to learn, think, reason, communicate and remember

Question 11

Define assimilation and accommodation

Answer 11

Piagetian process of absorbing new experience into current knowledge structures
Accommodation- piagetian process of altering a belief to make it more compatible with experience

Question 12

What are Piaget’s 4 stages of cognitive development

Answer 12

1. Sensorimotor stage- from birth to about 2, characterized by a focus on the here and now without the ability to represent experiences mentally. Kids in this stage lack object permanence(understanding that objects still exist even when out of view)
2. Pre-operational stage - age 2 to 7, ability to construct mental representations of experience but not yet perform operations on them. Inability to see the world from other’s perspectives(egocentrism)
   - conservation tasks
   - symbolic play: pretending the floor is lava
3. Concrete operations Stage- age 7 to 11, ability to perform mental operations on physical events only and struggle with abstract or hypothetical situations
4. Formal operations stage- doesn’t emerge until adolescents, ability to perform hypothetical reasoning beyond the here and now

Question 13

Define scaffolding

Answer 13

Vygotskian learning mechanism in which parents provide initial assistance in children’s learning but gradually remove structure as children become more competent

Question 14

Define zone of proximal development

Answer 14

Phase when children are receptive to learning a new skill but aren’t yet successful at it

Question 15

What is theory of mind

Answer 15

Theory of mind: Ability to reason about what other people know or believe
-milestone for children is the ability to understand others perspectives and different from theirs

Question 16

Define stranger anxiety

Answer 16

We are strangers, eight or nine months of age

Question 17

Define temperament

Answer 17

Basic emotional style that appears early in development and is largely genetic origin

Question 18

Define attachment (with children)

Answer 18

The strong emotional connection we share with those to whom we feel closest (usually parents)

Question 19

Define contact comfort

Answer 19

Positive emotions afforded by touch

Question 20

Describe the four categories infant behaviours fall into during the strange situation experiment

Answer 20

1. Secure attachment- about 60% North American infants. Become upset when mom leaves the greets her return with joy
2. Insecure-avoidant attachment- 15 to 20% of North American infants. reacts to moms departure with indifference and shows little reaction on her return
3. Insecure-anxious attachment-15 to 20% of North America infants. Infant reacts to moms departure with panic, shows mixed emotional reaction on her return. Reaches for her yet squirming to get away from her after she picks him up
4. Disorganized attachment- 5 to 10% of North American infants. Rarest of attachment styles. Reacts to moms departure and return with an inconsistent and confused set of responses

Question 21

Define mono operation bias

Answer 21

Mistake of drawing conclusions on the basis of only a single measure

Question 22

What are the four major parenting styles

Answer 22

1. Permissive- will tend to be lenient with their children allowing them considerable freedom, use discipline sparingly if at all, shower children with affection
2. Authoritarian-tend to be stripped, giving little opportunity for free play, punishing them, little affection
3. Authoritative-combine the best features of both permissive and authoritarian worlds. Supportive of their children but set clear and firm limits
4. Uniinvolved- neglectful parents, ignore their children, paying little attention to either positive or negative behaviours

Question 23

Define average expectable environmental

Answer 23

Environment that provides basic needs for affection and discipline

Question 24

Define gender identity and gender role

Answer 24

Gender identity refers to peoples sense of being male or female. Some people with gender identity issues, sometimes called transsexualism in adulthood, report feelings of being trapped in the body of the opposite sex

Gender role refers to a set of behaviours that tend to be associated with being male or female
Ex. Girls playing football, boys playing Barbies

Question 25

Define psychological crisis

Answer 25

A dilemma concerning our relations to other people or society at large

Question 26

Define emerging adult hood

Answer 26

Period Of life between the ages of 18 and 25 during which many aspects of emotional development, identity, and personality become solidified

Question 27

What are the three levels of morality in Kohlberg’s development of moral reasoning stage theory

Answer 27

1. Preconventional morality-defined in terms of external authority figure
2. Conventional morality-view rules that are necessary for social order
3. Postconventional morality-development of personal code of ethics

Question 28

Define midlife crisis

Answer 28

Supposed phase of adulthood characterized by emotional distress about the ageing process in an attempt to regain youth

Question 29

What are some of the criticisms of Piagets stage theory

Answer 29

-ages at which abilities develop, often earlier than he suggested
- how distinct are the stages
Is the theory universal, differ between cultures?
-didn’t give enough importance to social interactions, less to do with age of the child maybe more to do with their social interactions