chapter 4 Flashcards
what are the major issues in the field of development?
nature vs nurture
continuity and stages
stability and change
what are gametes?
reproductive cells (sperm, egg)
what are teratogens?
agents that can reach embryo or fetus and can cause harm
- chemicals (drugs, environmental pollutants, caffeine)
- viruses (chicken pox, HIV)
- radiation
- diet, stress
what is temperment?
the biological aspect of personality
- two types
approach= calm
withdraw= anxious
who is jean piaget?
huge in field of development; studied stages of cognitive development
what is a schema?
an organized pattern of thought or behavior that organizes categories of information and the relationships among them
what is assimilation?
modification of new info to make it fit into an existing schema (all men are daddy)
what is accommodation?
creation or modification of schema to make them fit with new experiences (a cognitive category for men other than daddy)
what are the 4 stages of cognitive development?
sensorimotor period: birth - 2 years
preoperational period: 2- 7 years
concrete operational period: 7- 11 years
formal operations: 11- 15 years (into adulthood)
what are characteristics of the sensorimotor period?
- language used for demand and cataloguing
- sensory curiosity about the world
- attempt imitation
- object permanence
- play with two objects together
what are characteristics of the preoperational period?
- egocentrism (cannot take viewpoint of others)
- theory of mind (Ability to take other’s view & make conclusions)
- rigidity of thought
- semi logical reasoning
- limited social cognition
-language
what are characteristics of the concrete operational periods?
- logic reasoning begins
- conservation ( numbers, mass, weight)
- classification of objects according to several features)
- reversibility (can look at objects viewpoints)
what are characteristics of the formal operational period?
- scientific method approach to thinking
- can think logically about abstract concepts
- can consider hypothetical concepts
- if/then situations
what a disorder that affects cognitive development?
autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
- difficulty taking another person’s viewpoint
- brain connections allowing such a function are inefficient
what are experiments done to look at social development?
harlow’s monkeys (importance of comfort contact) Harry Harlow
strange situation ( used to discover how child reacts in unfamiliar situation) Mary Ainsworth
what are the 3 types of attachment? + their characteristics
secure, resistant, avoidant
what are the different child-rearing practices?
permissive: child dictates (gentle parenting)
authoritarian: military (you just obey) good parenting in gang and war-torn countries imposes rules, exact obediance
authoritative: warm/better than authoritarian (explains and gives punishment) affects how kids act
what are the primary sexual characteristics of physical development? + secondary
males: penis + testes enlarge, sperm starts to be produced, secretions released from prostate gland
females: ovulation occurs, menstruation begins, uterus and vagina grow
what are the characteristics of abstract reasoning in adolescence development?
adolescent egocentrism: adolescents are overly concerned with their own thoughts and feelings
- imaginary audience: adolescents believe that others are watching them constantly
- personal fable: adolescents believe that their experiences and feelings are unique
- illusion of invulnerability: adolescents think that misfortune happens only to others
who was lawrence kolhberg?
an american psychologist best known for his theory on moral development
what are the three levels of moral development?
preconventional, conventional, postconventional
what is the preconventional level?
- fear of punishment
- obedience to authority
what is the conventional level?
- follows social rules
- wants to be “good boy” or “good girl”
- driven by social approval
what is the postconventional level:?
- social contract
- universal ethical principles
- behavior driven by balance of social order and individual rights
what are the critiques of kohlberg’s levels?
culture-specific, gender-specific, reasoning vs behavior
what are characteristics of social and emotional development in adolescence?
- conflicts with parents
- mood swings
- risk taking
what are the age ranges of adulthood?
early adulthood: 22-34
middle adulthood: - early middle: 35-44 - late middle 45-64
late adulthood: 65+ years
what are the physical changes in middle adulthood?
- athletes peak around 27
- by 40 physical prowess decline accelerates
- fertility declines
- menopause
what are the stages of prenatal development
zygote ( fertilized egg ), embryo ( 2-8 weeks), fetus (9 weeks until birth)
what are the reflexes present at birth?
stepping
sucking
rooting
palmar grasp
startle
swimming
babinski
eye blink
what do infants see?
8-12 inches away
* Preferences for faces
* Preference for familiar sounds and smells
what are characteristics of infancy and childhood
Physical and motor development (Maturation)
– Milestones: roll over, sit, crawl, walk
* Perceptual development
– Visual perception
* Habituation technique * Visual cliff experiment
* Memory development
– Infantile amnesia
– Babies at 3 months can retain learning for a month
what are characteristics of cognitive development that Piaget didn’t include
naiive physics, underestimating children,
Lev Vygotsky emphasized importance of social self-talk
what guides motor development
genes, nurture can amend what nature intends
what is object permanence
the awareness that objects continue to exist when not perceived
what is conservation
the principle that quantity remains the same despite changes in shape
what is the difference between vygotsky and piagets cognitive development theories
Where Piaget emphasized how the child’s mind grows through interaction with the physical environment, Vygotsky emphasized how the child’s mind grows through interaction with the social environment. If Piaget’s child was a young scientist, Vygotsky’s was a young apprentice. By giving children new words and mentoring them, parents, teachers, and other children provide what we now call a temporary scaffold from which children can step to higher levels of thinking
what is puberty and what happens during it
- period when sexual organs start to mature
- children’s bodies start producing hormones at an adults level
androgens= male hormones
estrogens= female hormones
what are some critiques of kohlbergs levels ?
- Culture-specific
- Gender-specific
- Reasoning versus behavior
what is emerging adulthood
Period from biological maturity to social independence
what is immunosenescence
gradual deterioration of our immune system as we get older.
It involves:
– our capacity to respond to infections
– maintain our long-term immune memory that was acquired (usually in our early life)
* These are done either by infection or vaccination.
what are some things that are affected with aging
perception
processing speed
memory
how does aging affect perception
Vision dims
– Pupil shrinks
– Lens less transparent – Hearing declines
– Taste declines
how does aging affect processing speed
– Slows
– More car accidents after 75
* Focus forward, but hard with side-approaching cars
– Brain reduces in size 5% by age 80
how does aging affect memory
- Terminal decline: memory based more on proximity to death than on age
– Semantic - Names (perform worse than younger
adults)
– Episodic - Events (slower, but can recall as much if meaningful)
– Working memory - Recognition vs recall
- Older adults just as good at recognition, but worse at recall
what are erikson’s psychosocial stages in adulthood
– Intimacy versus isolation
* Forming close relationships
– Generativity versus self-absorption
* Being productive & supporting future generations
death and dying
- Grief
– Death of spouse, child - Bereavement
– Longer for some, others never get over – Discussing loss with others helps - Cultural differences
– Showing grief publicly or not
