Chapter 9 Flashcards
Pregnancy
Sperm unites with egg to create a zygote. 2 weeks after, the zygote becomes implanted in the uterine wall. 2 weeks - 2 months embryo stage. Organs and internal systems form. Heart begins to beat after 2 months and becomes fetus. Birth at 40 weeks
Myelination
Brains way of insulating it’s wires. Nerve fibers wrapped in a fatty sheath. Allows for signals to flow faster. First happens in first trimester of pregnancy with the spinal chord
Lack of stimulation in a child’s environment?
Few synaptic connections are made. Brain will be less sophisticated and less able to process complex information, solve problems, or develop advanced language skills.
Teratogens
Agents that harm the embryo or fetus
Grasping reflex
Survival mechanism from young apes grasping their mothers.
When do baby’s walk?
On average at 12 months
Dynamic systems theory
View that development is a self-organizing process in which new forms of behavior emerge through interactions between a person and their cultural and environmental contexts
At what age do babies have full auditory function
6 months
What age can babies see as well as adults?
1 year
preferential-looking technique
Researchers show an infant two things, if the infant looks longer at one of the things, they know that the infant can distinguish them and finds one more interesting. Infants look at stripes with high contrast more than gray images
Habituation technique
Way to study how infants categorize a series of objects, based on the idea that after looking at objects that are all from the same category, babies will look for longer at objects from a new category.
Infantile amnesia
Inability to remember events from early childhood
Why was the Mozart effect invalid research?
They didn’t operationally define intelligence and they were testing college students and then generalizing to infants
John Bowlby Attachment Theory
Attachment is adaptive and infants have innate attachment behaviors that motivate adult attention.
Secure attachment style
Child that is distressed when the attachment figure leaves, and is quickly comforted when they return
Insecure/avoidant attachment style
Child is not distressed when the attachment figure leaves, and avoids them when they return
Insecure/ambivalent attachment style
Child is inconsolably upset when the attachment figure leaves, and will both seek and reject caring contact when they return
Schemes
Piaget’s idea. Children form structured ways of making sense of experience that change as the child acquires new information about objects and events. Assimilation: a new experience is placed into existing scheme. Accommodation: A new scheme is created or an existing one is altered to include new information.
Sensorimotor Stage
(Birth - 2 Years) Infants acquire information through their senses and motor skills. Differentiates self from others, achieves object permanence, begins to act intentionally rather than reflectively through more complex schemes.
Preoperational Stage
(2-7 years) Learns to use language and to think symbolically. Thinking is still egocentric, but can think about objects not in immediate view. Still thinks intuitively and not logically. Doesn’t understand conservation of quantity.
Concrete Operational Stage
(7-12 years) Can think logically about objects and events. Achieves conservation of number, mass, and weight. Classifies objects by several features, no longer fooled by appearances.
Formal Operational
(12 years and up) Can think logically about abstract propositions and test hypotheses systematically. Able to critically think.
In what ways have recent findings challenged Piaget’s theories?
Cognitive abilities related to physics and math develop earlier and stages of development are not as rigid as he thought. Object permanence also develops as early as 3.5 months
Theory of mind
Ability to understand that other people have mental states that influence their behavior. Positively correlated with pro social behavior.
3 levels of moral reasoning
Preconventional: self interest and event outcomes determine what is moral.
Conventional: Strict adherence to law and order. Also approval of others.
Postconventional: Depends on abstract principles and what is best for all.
Moral emotions
What motivate people to do good things and avoid doing bad things. Shame, guilt, disgust, embarrassment, pride, and gratitude.
Inequity aversion
A preference to avoid unfairness when making decisions about the distribution of resources. Innate sense of fairness as early as 16 months old.
When does puberty begin?
Age 8 for females and age 10 for males. Ends at 16 and 18 respectively.
Gender identity
One’s sense of being male, female, or non-binary
Couples with adolescent children report ____ marriage satisfaction.
Less
Who benefits most from marriage
Men because the wives incessantly improve their wellbeing
How does memory and intelligence change with age?
Working memory is affected, long-term memory not as much. Fluid intelligence decreases but crystalline intelligence increases.
Socioemotional selectivity theory
As people grow older, they view time as limited and therefore prioritize the meaningful aspects of life. This causes them to focus on positives and ignore negatives.
Synaptic pruning
The adaptive process of preserving synaptic connections that are used and eliminating those that are not.
