Chapter 4 - Development Flashcards
what is development?
continuities and changes that occur within the individual between conception and death
when does the most dramatic changes occur?
early in the life span
what are issues in developmental psychology?
nature and nurture
change and stability
sensitive period
continuity verses stages
what is nature and nurture?
how do our genes and experiences guide development over out lifespan
still debating
what is stability and change?
what ways do we change as we age and in what ways do we stay the same
what is a sensitive period?
how much flexibility we have in the timing of exposures to specific environmental input for a specific ability to develop normally
what is continuity verses stages?
development a gradual change or are there some leaps to a new way of thinking or behaving?
what is a longitudinal design?
same individuals are studied repeatedly over some subset of their lifespan
born in same year
what are the advantages of longitudinal design?
can assess developmental change
what are the disadvantages to longitudinal design?
very expensive
selective attrition
original research question may become obsolete
practice effect
cohort effects
what is cross sectional design?
individuals from different groups are studied at the same point in time
what are the advantages of cross sectional design?
less time consuming and expensive
can uncover age differences
what are the disadvantages of cross sectional design?
can’t distinguish age effects from cohort effect
can’t assess developmental change
what is sequential design?
individuals from different age groups are repeatedly tested over some subset of their life span
what are the advantages to sequential design?
less time consuming and expensive than longitudinal
can assess developmental change
what are the disadvantages to sequential design?
more expensive and time consuming than cross sectional
can’t generalize results to other cohorts
what are the stages of prenatal development?
conception
germinal stage
embryonic stage
fetal stage
what is conception?
sperm and egg unite
genetic material brought together to from an organism
what is a fertilized cell called?
zygote
what is the germinal stage?
first 10-13 days from conception to implantation
cell division occurs at an exponential rate
cells already begin to differentiate into specialized structures and locations
what is the embryonic stage?
weeks 2-8
period when most vital organs are formed
period of vulnerability
cell differentiation continues as cell develop into organ and bones
what is the fetal stage?
weeks9-38(birth)
state of growth and refinement in all existing organs
age if viability
what are things that could go wrong in prenatal development?
genetic problems
environmental problems
what are genetic problems in prenatal development?
chromosomal abnormalities (eg. down’s syndrome)
what are environmental problems in prenatal development?
exposure to teratogens
maternal characteristics
what are teratogens?
any drug, disease, pollutions or other factor that can have detrimental effects in the developing embryo or fetus
what are maternal characteristics?
overall health and self care
age
what are newborns born with?
tactile, auditory and chemical perception systems operating at birth
will orient towards source of significant stimuli (sound, tactile stimulus and odours)
what is the newborns visual system?
least developed
prefer patterned stimuli
prefer mother’s face
some colour vision
size and shape constancy
what is the learning in newborns?
habituation
can learn to associate two stimuli together is one reliably predicts the other
can do simple observational learning (imitate adult facial expressions)
what are the reflexed in a newborn?
rooting reflex
the moro reflex
grasping reflex