Chapter 4 Part 1: Developmental Psychology Flashcards
What does developmental psychology study?
Changes in biological, physical, psychological, and behavioural processes over course of lifetime.
Define and describe the difference between critical and sensitive periods.
Critical period: Age where experiences must occur for normal development
Sensitive period: Optimal age range where brain is primed to learn
Difference: Development can still take place outside sensitive period (just more difficult), cannot develop outside of critical period.
Describe cross-sectional research designs and their considerations.
Compares different ages at the same time.
Consideration: cohort effects: Differences in experience between cohorts.
Describe longitudinal research designs and their considerations.
Tests same cohort at different times
Considerations: More reliable results than cross-sectional, however more expensive and time consuming.
Describe sequential research designs and their considerations.
Combination of cross-sectional and longitudinal designs; tests several cohorts as they age.
Considerations: most reliable results, most expensive and time consuming.
What are the three phases of prenatal development?
Germinal, Embryonic, Fetal
Describe the germinal phase of prenatal development (how long and what happens?).
First two weeks following conception. Zygote attaches to uterine wall.
Describe the embryonic phase of prenatal development (how long and what happens?).
2nd to 8th week. Placenta and umbilical cord develop, cells begin to specialize (heart, brain, eyes).
Describe the fetal phase of prenatal development (how long and what happens?).
9th week to birth. Fetus reaches viability around 28th week (likely to survive in case of premature birth).
How does the TDF (testis determining factor) gene work?
Around 6 to 8 weeks after conception, secretes androgens to assign fetus biologically male. Initiates development of testis.
What are teratogens?
Environmental agents that may cause abnormal fetal development.
Describe some symptoms of fetal alcohol syndrome.
Abnormal facial features, underdeveloped brains, intellectual disabilities, attentional/perceptual deficits, impulsivity, poor social skills.
Newborns are very (near/far)sighted at birth.
near; 20/800 at birth, 40 times worse than normal adult 20/20
Describe the preferential looking procedure.
Method to determine what newborns can see by how long they look at stimulus.
Used to determine when ‘detail’ becomes interesting to the infant.
What are examples of significant stimuli babies orient to?
Mother’s face, voice, smell, optimizing access to food, warmth, social stimulation
Sound localization follows a ___-shaped function.
U-shaped; disappears after 4 months, reappears after 6 months.
By what age does universal phoneme discrimination disappear?
1 year.
The __________ Procedure is used to determine what newborns can hear by recording looking time.
Habituation.
Infants can imitate adult facial expressions as soon as ___________ old
one day
What is the Cephalocaudal Principle?
The principle that development is prioritized from the head downwards.
What is the Proximodistal Principle?
Development occurs from innermost point outwards.
At birth, the brain weighs ___% of the adult brain. By 6 months, it weighs ___%.
25, 50.
Which region of the brain is first to develop? Which is last?
Brainstem is first due survival function, associative areas of cortex are last.
What are the four stages in Piaget’s Stage Theory?
Sensorimotor, Pre-operational, Concrete Operational, Formal Operational
In relation to schemas, describe assimilation and accommodation under Piaget’s Stage Theory.
Assimilation: New experiences are incorporated into existing schemas
Accommodation: New experiences cause existing schemas to change
What are two traits acquired during the Sensorimotor Stage?
Language and object permanence.
During the Pre-operational Stage, children do not understand __________.
conservation
During the Concrete Operational Stage, children can easily perform _________, but have difficulty with ________.
basic mental operations, abstract thinking and reasoning
From the Formal Operational Stage onwards, children can form and test _________.
hypotheses
What are some criticisms of Piaget’s Stage Theory?
Development is complex and variable
- Children acquire skills at earlier ages than Piaget believed
- Development within each stage proceeds inconsistently
- Culture influences cognitive development
Vygotsky emphasized the role of ________ in development.
Social context.
What does the zone of proximal development refer to?
The difference between what children can do independently vs with assistance.
Information processing approaches argue that cognitive development is ________ rather than occurring stage by stage.
continuous
What are the six universal human emotions?
Joy, sadness, disgust, anger, interest/surprise, fear
How does Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory define its stages?
By 8 psychological crises that must be resolved.
What are the three attachment styles observed by Ainsworth in the strange situation test?
Secure (type A), insecure avoidant (type B), and insecure resistant (type C).
Match each of the three attachment styles to the following behaviours:
shows few signs of attachment
reacts positively to strangers
not soothed even after mother returns
Insecure avoidant (type B), Secure (type A), insecure resistant (type C)
