Chapter 4 Flashcards
What is developmental psychology?
The study of continuities and changes that occur within an individual between conception and death.
What are the key issues in developmental psychology?
Nature vs. nurture, change vs. stability, sensitive periods, and continuity vs. stages.
What is a sensitive period?
A timeframe in development when exposure to certain environmental stimuli is necessary for typical development.
What are the three main research designs in developmental psychology?
Longitudinal, cross-sectional, and sequential designs.
What is a longitudinal design?
A research method where the same individuals are studied repeatedly over a subset of their lifespan.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of longitudinal studies?
Advantage: Can assess developmental change. Disadvantages: Expensive, time-consuming, selective attrition, practice effects, and cohort effects.
What is a cross-sectional design?
A research method where individuals from different age groups are studied at the same time.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of cross-sectional studies?
Advantages: Less time-consuming, less expensive. Disadvantages: Cannot distinguish age effects from cohort effects, cannot assess developmental change.
What is a sequential design?
A research method that combines cross-sectional and longitudinal designs by repeatedly testing individuals from different age groups over time.
What are the three stages of prenatal development?
Germinal stage (0-2 weeks), embryonic stage (2-8 weeks), fetal stage (9 weeks-birth).
What occurs during the germinal stage?
Rapid cell division, cell differentiation, implantation.
What occurs during the embryonic stage?
Vital organs form, cell differentiation continues, heart starts beating, brain starts developing.
What occurs during the fetal stage?
Growth and refinement of organs, movements develop, senses develop, viability around 6 months.
What are teratogens?
Environmental agents that can cause harm to a developing embryo or fetus, such as drugs, diseases, and pollutants.
What sensory abilities do newborns have?
Tactile, auditory, and chemical perception are developed; vision is the least developed sense.
What reflexes are present in newborns?
Rooting reflex, Moro reflex, and grasping reflex.
What is the cephalocaudal principle?
Development proceeds from the head downward.
What is the proximodistal principle?
Development proceeds from the center of the body outward.
What are Piaget’s four stages of cognitive development?
Sensorimotor (0-2 years), preoperational (2-7 years), concrete operational (7-11 years), formal operational (11+ years).
What is object permanence?
Understanding that objects continue to exist even when they are not visible; develops around 6-8 months in the sensorimotor stage.
What are the main characteristics of the preoperational stage?
Symbolic thinking, egocentrism, lack of conservation, and scale errors.
What are the main characteristics of the concrete operational stage?
Ability to perform mental operations on tangible objects, understanding conservation, difficulty with abstract thinking.
What are the main characteristics of the formal operational stage?
Ability to think logically about abstract concepts, form hypotheses, and engage in systematic reasoning.
What is Vygotsky’s theory of cognitive development?
Emphasized social interaction, scaffolding, and the zone of proximal development in learning.
What is attachment?
A strong emotional bond between children and primary caregivers that is crucial for development.
What are the stages of attachment development?
Indiscriminate attachment (newborns), discriminate attachment (3 months), specific attachment (7-8 months).
What are the two types of anxiety in attachment?
Stranger anxiety (6-18 months), separation anxiety (1-3 years).
What are the different attachment styles?
Secure attachment, insecure-avoidant, insecure-ambivalent, and disorganized attachment.
What parenting behaviors influence attachment?
Sensitive and responsive parenting promotes secure attachment, while inconsistent or neglectful parenting leads to insecure attachment.
What are the effects of attachment deprivation?
Increased risk of difficulty forming attachments, higher anxiety and depression, increased aggression.
