Chapter 10.2 + 10.3

Question 1

What is a sensitive period?

Answer 1

A window of time during which exposure to a specific type of environmental stimulation is needed for normal development of a specific ability.

Example: Language fluency during early childhood.

Question 2

What are the two forms of cognitive adaptation according to Piaget?

Answer 2

• Assimilation: Fitting new information into current belief system
• Accommodation: Modifying belief structures based on experience

Question 3

What are the stages of Piaget’s cognitive development in chronological order?

Answer 3

• Sensorimotor
• Preoperational
• Concrete operational
• Formal operations

Question 4

What is the major cognitive milestone in the sensorimotor stage?

Answer 4

Object permanence: Understanding that an object continues to exist even when you cannot see or touch it.

Question 5

What does conservation mean in Piaget’s theory?

Answer 5

Understanding that certain properties of objects (e.g., volume, number) remain the same despite changes in form or arrangement.

Question 6

Define habituation and dishabituation.

Answer 6

• Habituation: Decrease in response to repeated stimuli
• Dishabituation: Renewed interest in a novel stimulus

Question 7

What is the zone of proximal development (ZPD)?

Answer 7

The range between what a learner can do independently and what they can do with guidance.

Question 8

What is scaffolding in education?

Answer 8

Breaking down tasks into manageable steps and providing support as needed.

Question 9

What was the key finding from Harlow’s attachment study?

Answer 9

Monkeys preferred soft cloth surrogate mothers over wire ones, demonstrating the importance of comfort in attachment.

Question 10

What are the three categories of attachment identified in the Strange Situation Test?

Answer 10

Secure Attachment: Babies cry if their parents leaves the room, but welcome her back and play
happily again. Better able to handle conflict with romantic partner
Insecure attachment:
Avoidant: Not caring if mother leaves, little effort to seek contact when she returns
Anxious or Ambivalent: resisting contact with the mother at reunion but protesting loudly when she leaves

Question 11

What is egocentrism?

Answer 11

Difficulty in seeing things from another person’s perspective.

Question 12

What are primary and secondary sex traits?

Answer 12

• Primary: Changes in the body that are part of reproduction (e.g., genitals)
• Secondary: Changes not part of reproduction (e.g., facial hair)

Question 13

What are the stages of moral development according to Kohlberg?

Answer 13

Preconventional morality
Characterized by self-interest “I would not flip the trolley track in seeking reward or avoiding switch because I would get in punishment.
trouble.”
Conventional morality
Regards social conventions and rules as guides for appropriate moral behaviour.
“I would not flip the switch. It is illegal to kill, and if I willfully intervened I would probably violate the law.”
Postconventional morality
Considers rules and laws as relative.
“I would flip the switch. The value of five lives exceeds that of one, so saving them is the right thing to do even if it means I am killing one person who would otherwise

Question 14

What is socioemotional selectivity theory?

Answer 14

Describes how older people prioritize emotionally meaningful goals and relationships.

Question 15

What are the two problems typically found in Alzheimer’s brains?

Answer 15

• Amyloid plaques
• Neurofibrillary tangles

Question 16

What is fluid intelligence and how does it change with age?

Answer 16

Fluid intelligence is the ability to solve new problems and think logically without relying on past knowledge. It peaks in early adulthood and declines with age. Fluid intelligence declines with age.

Question 17

What is crystallized intelligence and how is it affected by aging?

Answer 17

Crystallized intelligence is the knowledge and skills gained through experience and education, such as vocabulary and facts. It tends to improve or remain stable with age.
Crystallized intelligence is less affected by aging.

Question 18

What are the four horsemen of the relationship apocalypse?

Answer 18

• Criticism
• Contempt
• Defensiveness
• Stonewalling The Four Horsemen of the Relationship Apocalypse are:
  
  1. Criticism – Attacking a partner’s character.
  2. Contempt – Showing disrespect or superiority.
  3. Defensiveness – Avoiding responsibility by making excuses.
  4. Stonewalling – Withdrawing or shutting down during conflict.

Question 19

What is cognitive reframing?

Answer 19

Learning to look at experiences through a different ‘frame’.

Question 20

What is the psychosocial stage of intimacy vs isolation?

Answer 20

The Intimacy vs. Isolation stage is one of Erik Erikson’s eight psychosocial stages of development.
• When: It occurs during early adulthood (typically ages 20-40).
• Focus: Building deep, meaningful relationships and forming close bonds.
• Success: Leads to intimacy, love, and strong connections.
• Failure: Results in loneliness, isolation, and difficulty maintaining relationships.

Question 21

What is the psychosocial stage of generativity vs stagnation?

Answer 21

• When: It occurs during middle adulthood (typically ages 40-65).
• Focus: Contributing to society and the next generation through work, family, or community involvement.
• Success: Leads to a sense of purpose and legacy (generativity).
• Failure: Results in feelings of unproductiveness and stagnation.

Question 22

What is the psychosocial stage of ego integrity vs despair?

Answer 22

It occurs at ages 65+, reflecting on life of fulfillment or not.

Question 23

Sensorimotor Stage (birth to age two)

Answer 23

1. Sensorimotor Stage (birth to age two)
   - Learning through concrete actions
   - Major accomplishment is Object permanence
   - The understanding that an object continues to exist even when you cannot see or touch it
   - Universal
   - Peek-a-boo, almost as if you don’t even exi

Question 24

Preoperational Stages (ages 2-7)

Answer 24

Focused on limitations in children’s thinking
- Engage in egocentric thinking
- Cannot grasp concept of conservation

Question 25

. Concrete Operations Stage (ages 7-12)

Answer 25

• Earlier limitations overcome but primarily with concrete information
• Continue to make errors in reasoning about abstract concepts
• Understand principles of conservation, reversibility, cause and effect

Question 26

Formal Operations Stage (age 12-adult)

Answer 26

Teenagers become capable of abstract reasoning
- Are able to reason about situations they have not experienced
- Can search for solutions to problems and draw logical conclusions