Chapter 4 Flashcards
Lifespan Development
Human development from conception to death. Blend of genetics, culture, environment, relationships, and more. Focus on how people change
Physical Development
Changes in body, brain, skills, etc
Cognitive Development
Changes in learning, attention, memory, language, etc
Psychosocial Development
Changes in emotions, personality, relationships, etc
Research Methods
Naturalistic, case studies, surveys, experiments, correlational studies
Cross-Sectional Design
Recruits people of different ages to collect data on the same outcome. Convenient, quick, and easy, but results are subject to cohort effects (are differences real or related to differential exposure?)
Longitudinal Design
Recruits the same people at different points in time (e.g., different ages). Reduces cohort effect and can support causal inferences, but costs time and money and is subject to attrition
Longitudinal Sequential
The most comprehensive design (combination of Cross-sectional and longitudinal designs). Recruits people of different ages and follows these same people at different points in time (different ages across the same timeframe)
Continuous Development
View that development is a cumulative process: gradually improving on existing skills
Discontinuous Development
View that development happens in unique stages, which happen at specific times or ages
Nature
Genes and biology. What you’re born with (genes for freckles and dimples)
Nurture
Environment and culture. How you’re raised (attitudes, beliefs, values)
Nature vs. Nurture
Inseparable. Evidence suggests that the two interact (gene-environment interactions). Experiences can turn genes on or off. The debate now focuses on relative contribution rather than which best explains behaviour
Psychosexual Theory
Developed by Freud. Personality develops and is shaped by early childhood experiences. Children are pleasure-seeking. Discontinuous (stage-like) development. Stages are oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital.
Psychosocial Stages
8 developmental stages developed by Erik Erikson. Each stage associated with a different drive and a problem or crisis to resolve. Occurs through to adulthood. Conflict/task in stages drives development via mastery. Failure = inadequacy
Stage 1
Birth - 1 year
Stage 2
1-3 years
Stage 3
3-5 years
Stage 4
5-12 years
Stage 5
Adolescence
Stage 6
Young adulthood
Stage 7
Middle adulthood
Stage 8
Late adulthood - death
Trust vs. Mistrust
Stage 1. Infants must rely on others for care. Consistent and dependable caregiving and meeting infant needs leads to a sense of trust, Infants who are not well cared for develop a sense of mistrust
Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt
Stage 2. Babies discovering their own independence. Those given the opportunity to experience independence will develop a sense of autonomy. Children who are overly restrained or punished harshly will develop shame and doubt.
Initiative vs. Guilt
Stage 3. Children are exposed to the wider social world and given greater responsibility. Sense of accomplishment lead to initiative, whereas feelings of guilt can emerge if the child is made to feel too anxious or irresponsible
Industry vs. Inferiority
Stage 4. Mastery of knowledge and intellectual skills. Sense of competence and achievement leads to industry. Feeling incompetent and unproductive leads to inferiority
Identity vs. Confusion
Stage 5. Developing a sense of who one is and where they are going in life. Successful resolution leads to positive identity. Unsuccessful resolution leads to identity confusion and a negative identity
Intimacy vs. Isolation
Stage 6. Time for sharing oneself with another person. Capacity to hold commitments with others leads to intimacy. Failure to establish commitments leads to feelings of isolation
Generativity vs. Stagnation
Stage 7. Caring for others in family, friends, and work leads to sense of contribution to later generations. Stagnation comes from a sense of boredom and meaninglessness
Integrity vs. Despair
Stage 8. Successful resolution of all previous crises leads to integrity and the ability to see broad truths and advise those in earlier stages. Despair arises from feelings of helplessness in the sense that life has been incomplete
Schema
Jean Piaget’s stages. Networks of associations, beliefs, and expectations about categories of things and people. Mental molds in which we pour our experiences.
Assimilation
Adjustment of a schema by adding information similar to what is already known.
Accomodation
Adjustment of a schema by changing a scheme to accommodate new information different from what was already known.
Equilibrium
Engaging in assimilation and accommodation to achieve equilibrium
Piaget’s Stage 1
Sensorimotor. 0-2 years. Constructs understanding of world. Sensory experiences and physical actions. Reflexes to beginning of symbolic thought
Piaget’s Stage 2
Preoperational. 2-7 years. Begins to represent world with words and images. Symbolic thinking. Conservation task failed.
Piaget’s Stage 3
Concrete Operational. 8-11 years. Children acquire logical thinking skills. Mathematical transformations. Conservation developed. Can classify objects into different sets.
Piaget’s Stage 4
Formal Operation. 11 years - adulthood. Adolescents reason in more abstract, idealistic, and logical ways.
Object Permanence
Objects still exist even when out of view. Develops at 8 months, in the sensorimotor stage of development. Under 6 months, when an object is not visible, it no longer exists.
Conservation
Idea that even if you change the appearance of something, it is still equal in size, volume, or number as long as nothing is added or removed.
Egocentrism
Preoperational Stage. Children do not have the ability to take another’s viewpoint.
Theory of Mind
Preschoolers eventually start to realize that people have minds.
Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)
Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)
Kohlberg’s Moral Ladder
As moral development progresses, the focus of concern moves from the self to the wider social world.
Preconventional Level
First level of Moral Ladder.
Morality of Self Interest
To avoid punishment or gain concrete rewards
Conventional Level
Conventional Level
Morality of Law and Social Rules
To gain approval or avoid social disapproval
Postconventional Level
Third level of Kohlberg’s moral ladder
Morality of Abstract Principles
To affirm agreed-upon rights and personal ethical principles
Prenatal Development
Pregnancy (~40 weeks). Fetus protected by the placental barrier and the blood-brain barrier (not fully developed as a fetus).
Zygote
Up to 2 weeks
Embryo
2-8 weeks
Fetus
8 weeks - birth
Organogenesis
Begins in 1st trimester. Organs begin to form. Responds to sound at end of 2nd trimester.
Teratogens
Chemicals or viruses that can harm the physical, behavioural, and cognitive development of an embryo or a fetus
Smoking During Pregnancy
Can cause birth defects, lower birth weight, spontaneous abortion, and premature births
Caffeine Consumption During Pregnancy
Can cause lower birth weight and an increased risk of SIDS. Higher consumption linked to miscarriage
Intersex
When genetic sex and gonadal sex don’t match or are ambiguous. Typically affect the person’s reproductive likelihood
Habituation
Babies will attend to new stimuli when presented. The more often it gets presented, the weaker the response
Secure Attachment
Predicts social competence
Imprinting
The processes by which certain animals form attachments during a critical period very early in life. Genetically predetermined response
Basic trust
A sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy. Said to be formed during infancy by appropriate experiences with responsive caregivers
Strange-Situation Test
An experiment with a parent, child, and a stranger. Stranger should cause anxiety in the child. Securely or insecurely attached.
Self-Concept
A sense of one’s identity and personal worth
Self Concept in Humans
Starts at 6 months. Fully developed at 18 months
Authoritarian Parenting
Parents impose rules and expect obedience. Children have low self esteem, anxious, have angry and violent tendencies
Permissive Parenting
Submits to children’s desires, makes few demands, and uses little punishment. Children
Authoritative Parenting
Both demanding and responsive, sets rules, explains reasons and encourages open discussions. Children are cooperative and have high self esteem, self-control, and social maturity
Uninvolved Parenting
Parents are emotionally detached, depressed, and have little time or energy for their children. Children are anxious, have poor communication skills, and exhibit anti-social behaviours
Puberty
The period of sexual maturation. When a person becomes capable of reproduction. Age 11-13 for females. Age 13 for males
Menopause
The cessation of menstruation. Refers to the biological changes a woman experiences as her ability to reproduce declines. Roughly 48-55 years
