***Chapter 9: Human Development Flashcards
developmental psychology
the study of how behavior changes over the life span
MAOA gene
a gene that causes low production of MAOA enzyme, which causing heightened risk for developing into a criminal
nature-nurture debate
gene-environment interactions
the impact of genes on behavior depends on the environment in which the behavior develops
nature-nurture debate
example of gene-environment interactions
MAOA gene + delinquent peer -> violent behaviors
nature-nurture debate
nature via nurture
genetic predispositions can drive us to select + create particular environments that influence our behaviors, leading to the mistaken appearance of a pure effect of nature
nature-nurture debate
example of nature via nurture
quiet children seek out quiet environments that reinforce the quiet nature
nature-nurture debate
gene expression
some genes “turn on” only in response to specific environmental triggers
nature-nurture debate
example of gene expression
early family loss triggers the genes that predispose one to anxiety to be turned on
nature-nurture debate
epigenetics
whether genes are active is regulated day-by-day + moment-by-moment environmental conditions
nature-nurture debate
example of epigenetics
genes that are turned on don’t necessarily stay on because of environmental factors
during the course of human development, developmental influences are ____
bidirectional
cohort effect
effect observed in a sample of participants that results from individuals in the sample growing up at the same time
cross-sectional design
research design that examines people of different ages at a single point in time
-snapshots
-no control for cohort effect
longitudinal design
research design that examines development in the same group of people on multiple occasions over time
-examines true developmental effect
-costly, time-consuming
post hoc fallacy
the mistake of assuming that because A comes before B, A must cause B
zygote
fertilized egg
blastocyst
ball of identical cells that hasn’t yet begun to take on any specific function in a body part
-zygote divides to form this
course of prenatal development
germinal period, embryonic period, fetal period
prenatal development
germinal period
first 2 weeks after conception
-first week: the fertilized egg (zygote) + divides to form blastocyst (a ball of identical cells that haven’t yet begun to take on any specific function in a body part)
second week: embedding of blastocyst in the uterine wall (implantation); differentiation of cells/task specialization begins
prenatal development
embryonic period
2-8 weeks after conception, blastocyst becomes an embryo
-limbs, facial features, major organs begin to take shape
-life support systems (amnion, umbilical cord, placenta) develop
-spontaneous miscarriages often occur during this period
prenatal development
in what period do spontaneus miscarriages tend to occur?
embryonic period
prenatal development
fetal period
2 months after conception until birth
-heart begins to beat
-embryo becomes fetus
-major job is physical maturation, fleshing out
-last third of pregnancy for bulking up
prenatal development
brain development time period
18 days of pregnancy + beyond
prenatal development
brain development
-brain continues to develop into early adulthood
-between 18th day of pregnancy + end of 6th month, neurons begin developing at astronomical rate (proliferation)
-4th month + throughout pregnancy, migration of cells begins to occur, moving to final positions in specific structures of brain
prenatal development
what occurs between 18th day of pregnancy + end of 6th month
neurons begin developing at astronomical rate (proliferation)
prenatal development
what occurs starting the 4th month + throughout pregnancy
migration of cells begins to occur, moving to the final positions in specific structures of the brain
obstacles to normal fetal development
-premature birth
-low birth weight
-hazardout environmental influences
-genetic disorder
premature birth time period
less than 36 weeks in gestation
viability point
premature birth higher chance to survive at 25 weeks or later
-if before 24 weeks, very low chance of survival
what is considered low birth weight
less than 5.5lbs for a full-term baby
teratogens
an environmental factor that can exert a negative impact on prenatal development (drugs, alcohol, x-rays, etc.)
fetal alcohol syndrome
condition resulting from high levels of prenatal alcohol exposure, causing learning disabilities, physical growth retardation, facial malformations, + behavioral disorders
cognitive development
study of how children acquire the ability to learn, think, reason, communicate, + remember
cognitive developmental theories differ in 3 core ways
-is cognitive development stage-like or continuous?
-is congitive development domain-general or domain-specific?
-is cognitive development out of physical experience, social interaction, and/or biological maturation?
domain-general
relies on social interaction as a source of support
domain-specific
depends on biological maturation
-continuous
Piaget’s theory of cognitive development
-1st to present a comprehensive account of cognitive development
-children are active learners with different understanding of the world from adults
according to Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, development is
-continuous or stage-like
-domain-general or domain-specific
-via ____ interaction
-stage-like
-domain-general
-physical interaction
according to Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, cognitive change is a result of what
children’s need to achieve equilibration
Piaget
equilibration
balance between the experience of the world + the understanding of it
-disequilibration -> equilibration -> disequilibration…
Piaget
assimilation
the process of absorbing new experience into our current understanding
Piaget
accomodation
the process of altering beliefs about the world to make them more compatible with experience which leads to stage changes
order of Piaget’s stages
-sensorimotor
-preoperational
-concrete operational
-formal operational
stages of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development
sensorimotor stage:
-0-2 years old
-child begins to interact with environment, no thought beyond immediate physical experiences
-mental representation is assessed by object permanance task
preoperational stage:
-2-6/7 years old
-child begins to represent the world symbolically, able to think beyond here + now, but egocentric + unable to perform mental transformations/operations
-mental transformation assessed by 3 mountain task
concrete operational stage:
-7-11/12 years old
-able to perform mental transformations but only on concrete physical objects
-assessesd by conservation task
formal operational stage:
-12-adulthood
-adolescent can transcend concrete situations + think about future
-ability to perform hypothetical + abstract reasoning assessed by pendulum task
Piaget
how is the sensorimotor stage assessed
object permanence task
Piaget
object permanence task
if you hide a toy under a blanket + infant knows the toy is under the blanket by finding it
Piaget
how is the preoperational stage assessed
3 mountain task
Piaget
3 mountain task
a child is faced a display of 3 model mountains while a researcher places a doll at different viewpoints of the display
-they should be able to recognize from all 3 views
Piaget
how is the concrete operational stage assessed
conservation task
Piaget
conservation task
if 2 children are shown 2 identical objects but in different organizations (like 1 cookie broken in half + the other broken in quarters)
-they should be able to recognize it is the same amount of cookie
Piaget
what assesses the formal operational stage
pendulum task
Piaget
pendulum task
compare motions of longer + shorter strings, with lighter + heavier weights attached, in order to determine the influence of weight, string length, + dropping point on time it takes for pendulum to swing back + forth