Chapters 1-7 Kail + Barnfield Key Words Flashcards
Baby Biographies
Darwin’s theory of selective evolution.
Wrote detailed systematic observations of individual children.
Often subjective, but still paved the way for objective, analytical research.
Applied developmental science
uses developmental research to promote healthy development, particularly for vulnerable children and families
Plato
believed that experience couldn’t not be the source of knowledge because human senses are too fallible.
Children are born with innate knowledge of many concrete objects and abstracts.
Aristotle
Denied innate knowledge;
Knowledge is rooted in perceptual experience;
Locke
The human infant is a tabula rasa - blank slate
Experience molds one into a unique individual
Parents should be strict and relax as the child gets older.
Supported by the Learning Perspective.
Rousseau
Newborns come with an innate sense of justice and morality;
Parents should be receptive to child’s needs.
Maturational Theory
Child development reflects a specific prearranged scheme or plan within the body
Ethological Theory
views development from an evolutionary perspective.
Many behaviours are adaptive and have survival value.
All animals are biologically programmed such that some kinds of learning only occur at certain ages (critical periods)
Critical period
The time when a specific type of learning can take place; before or after the critical period the same learning is difficult or impossible.
Supported by imprinting
Imprinting
Creating an emotional bond with the mother.
The first moving object a chick sees after hatching - they will follow anything
Psychodynamic Theory
Created by Freud using case hitories;
HOlds that development is largely determined by how well people resolve certain conflicts at different ages;
Three components of personality according to Freud
1) Id - a reservoir of primitive instincts and drives
2) Ego - practical, rational component of personality. Emerges in the first year of life.
3) Superego - the ‘moral agent’ in the child’s personality. Emerges during preschool yeras.
Psychosocial Theory - Erikson
Development comprises of stages, each defined by a unique crisis or challenge.
The earlier stages provide a foundation for the later stages.
Classical Conditioning
A previously neutral stimulus can become associated with a naturally occurring response and eventually come to elicit a similar response on its own.
Operant Conditioning
Consequence of a behaviour determines whether or not that behaviour is repeated in the future
Reinforcement
Punishment
Observational learning
AKA imitation
Children sometimes learn without reinforcement or punishment, by simply watching those around them
Social Cognitive Theory
Bobo doll
Example of direct observational learning and that observation doesn’t always lead to imitation
Children are more likely to imitate if they perceive the personal as smart, popular or talented.
Self-efficacy
Experience gives children a sense of self-efficacy - beliefs about their own abilities and talents.
This influences their behaviour.
Cognitive developmental perspective
How children think and how their thinking changes as they grow.
Children naturally try to make sense of the world.
Children are like little scientists - theories and revisions.
Piaget had a four-stage model about how children come to understand the world.
Culture
The knowledge, attitudes and behaviour associated with a group of people.
Contextual perspective
Vygotsky - learn your cultural skills.
Theory of ecological systems
Microsystem - consists of people and objects in the immediate environment;
Mesosystem - created by the connections among the microsystem;
Exosystem - social settings that a person may not experience first-hand but that still influence development;
Macrosystem - the subcultures and cultures in which the microsystem, mesosystem and exosystem are embedded;
These system all change over time, in a dimension known as the CHRONOSYSTEM
Continuity-vs-discontinuity issue
Early development is related to later development.
Continuity = if a child starts on a path, they continue that way
Discontinuity = previous way of being can’t predict the future way of being
It’s a mixture!
Nurture-nature issue
The roles of biology and environment in development
Active-passive child issue
Are children simply at the mercy of their own environment (passive child) or do they actively influence their own development through their unique individual characteristics (active child)?
Passive - Locke’s blank slate
Active - Rousseau’s natural unfolding that takes place within the child.
it goes both ways. Duh.
Parent-child relat is bidirectional.
Systematic observation
Watching children and carefully recording what they do or say.
Naturalistic observation
Children are observed as they behave spontaneously in a real-life situation.
Record predetermined variables.
Structured observation
The researcher creates a setting likely to elicit the behaviour of interest
Observer Bias
Occurs when the researcher tends to notice those behaviours that support the hypothesis and to discount those that do not, or interpret behaviours in such a way that they support the hypothesis.
Observer Influence
Form of participant bias, occurring when the the participants change their behaviour because they are being observed
Habituation
Allows participants to get used to the researcher’s presence
Self-reports
children’s own responses to questions about the topic of interest
Response bias
Some responses may be more socially acceptable than others and participants, particularly children, are more likely to select those than socially unacceptable answers
Validity
A measure has validity if it measures what researchers think it measures.
Consturct validity - if a test measures a theoretical construct tit is supposed to be measuring
Concurrent validity = when two forms of measurement correspond
Samples and population
We are interested in a population, but most studies only test a SAMPLE of that population. Mus tbe careful that the sample is representative.
Correlational study
Relations between variables as they exist in the world.
Correlation coeffecient = -1 - +1 where 0 is unrelated and then negative and positive correlation.
null hypothesis
nothing that they experimenter did has had any effect on anything done as part of the experiment
Longitudinal study
the same children are tested across a span of many years
microgenetic study
Special type of longitudinal design
Children tested repeatedly over a span of days or weeks to observe change directly as it occurs
Cohort effects
When children in a long. study are observed over a period of several years, the developmental change may be particular to a specific generation of people/cohort
Cross-sectional study
Developmental changes are identified by testing children of different ages at one particular point in their development.
Drawback - says nothing about continuity in development
Pro - faster becasue you don’t have to wait for kids to grow up.
Longitudinal sequential study
sequences of samples, each studied longitudinally.
Can determine if the study has cohort effects or practice effects.
Provides information on continuity
6 prototypic designs for experiments
Longitudinal, cross-sectional, longitudinal-sequential
can each be combined with
observational or experimental
quasi-experimental design
Includes multiple groups that were not formed by random assignment.
Help link with improving policy - so better research.
How many chromosomes in a nucleus
46 - 23 pairs
22 pairs are autosomes and the 23rd are sex chromosomes
gene
Each group of nucleotide bases that provides a specific set of biochemical instructions.
Come in different forms, called ALLELES.
genotype
The complete set of genes that makes up a person’s heredity
Phenotype prod by
Genetic instructions as well as env influences
Huntington’s Disease
Fatal disease - progressive degeneration of NS;
Caused by a dominant allele on chromosome 4;
Hemophelia
Sex-linked trait on X chromosome. Recessive, so more common in males;
Down Syndrome
Trisomy 21 - extra chromosome;
Physical differences and intellectual disability;
Behavioural genetics
deals with the inheritance of behavioural and psychological traits;
Often inheritance reflects polygenic traits;
Often use twin studies and adoption studies;
Twin studies
Studies of identical and fraternal twins to measure influence of heredity. If identical twins are more alike than fraternal twins, heredity is implicated.
adoption studies
If a behaviour has genetic roots, then the behaviour of adopted children should be more similar to their biological parents than their adoptive parents.
Reaction Range
the range of phenotypes that the same genotype may produce in reaction to the environment where development takes place.
Could be a matter of developing or not developing a disease. Ex. PKU
Heritability Coefficient
estimates the extent to which differences between people reflect heredity.
.5 would mean that 50% of of the differences in intelligence between people in a group is due to heredity. DOESN’T mean that 50% of an individual’s intelligence is due to genetics.
Niche-picking
The process of deliberately seeking environments that fit one’s heredity;
Non-shared environmental influences
The environmental forces that make siblings different from one another.
Siblings are raised in slightly different environment.
Darwin
His ideas sparked interest in the origins of behaviour in children as well as changes in behaviour over time.
Observation and research to promote healthy development.
Lended to applied developmental science (focus on vulnerable families and children)
Incomplete dominance example
sickle-cell anemia
Turner’s Syndrome
Appear female Short stature High risk of heart disease Skin folds at neck Widely spaced nipples
Way’s to treat genetic disorders
- In-utero surgeries
- Delivery of drugs/hormones
- Bone marrow transplants
- Surgical repair
- Routine screening for PKU and other metabolic disorders
The Epigenetic View
- Heredity and multiple levels of the env interact dynamically throughout development
- Our experiences are influenced by timing of when our genes are expressed.
- The timing of our genetic expression can be influenced by experience.
Period of the zygote
Weeks 1-2
Fertilized egg in fallopian tube to implantation in the wall of the uterus;
Period of the embryo
weeks 3-8
Once blastocyst is completely embedded int he uterine wall;
Body structure and internal organs developing;
transition from salamander to little person;
Period of the fetus
9-38 weeks;
Growth initially v rapid and then slows in final weeks;
Finishing touches on body systems;
Brain growth, specifically cerebral cortex;
age of viability
22-28 weeks
fetus can survive outside the uterus
when does fetal movement begin?
4thmonth
Nutritional risk factors
mother need enough folic acid to prevent spina bifida - embryo’s neural tube doesn’t close propoerly
teratogen
any agent that causes abnormal prenatal development
nicotine
risk factor that increases risk of miscarriage, prematurity, low birth weights, respiratory problems, ADHD, SIDS
cocain
can lead to neurological, medical and cognitive deficits
marijuana
can lead to neurocognitive deficits, low birth weight and less motor control
heroine
behavioural problems, attention deficits, slow growth
ultrasound
uses soundwaves
determine due date, position of fetus, physical anomalies, multiple births, sex
amniocentesis
Needle inserted into abdomen to get amniotic fluid containing fetal cells.
Screen for genetic disorders, a little riskier;
chorionic villus sampling
sample of tissue from chorion (part of placenta)
Safer;
Can be done earlier;
screen for genetic disorders;
postpartum depression
10-15% new moths
10-12% of new fathers
Hypoxia
lack of oxygen to fetus at birth
premature birth
born before 37th week
small-for-date
born 37th week or later, but smaller than expected. More serious
Apgar
assesses newborns’ health - activity, pulse, grimace, appearance, respiration
7+ is good physical condition
4-6 is intensive care
<4 is life threat
babinski reflex
baby toes fan when foot is stroked heel to toe
moro relfex
baby throws arms out and then inward in response to loud noise or when its head falls
rooting reflex
stroke baby cheek and it will turn head toward stroke and open mouth
four primary newborn states
alert inactivity waking activity crying sleeping cry 2-3 hours a day sleep about 18 hours a day
SIDS
A healthy baby dies for no apparent reason.
Risks: low birth weight, smoking, sleeping face-down, too hot while sleeping
perception and learning in the newborn
All basic perceptual processes are operating at birth
can learn and remember.
growth in children is
cephalocauda - head to foot
and
proximodistal - close in to further out
gross muscle control develops before extremities
Secular growth trends
generational changes in physical development.
we are getting taller
2 important factors in physical growth
sleep and nutrition
Why is sleep so important for growth?
8-% of growth hormone is secreted during sleep
sleep pattern development
6-12 weeks they shift ot night sleep;
Infants/toddlers - night waking problems;
preschoolers - falling-asleep problems;
Young schoolers - going to be problems;
teens/adults - going to/staying asleep probs or having enough time to sleep;
adolescent sleep
later circadian rhythms due to delayed release of melatonin
ABCs of sleeping
Age-appropriate
Bedtimes and waketimes with
Consistency
Schedules and routines Location Electronics Exercise and diet Positivity and relaxation Independence when falling asleep Needs met during the day Great sleep!
failure to thrive
serious growth and nutritional problem in infants (can lead to death)
malnutrition stats
worldwide, approx 1 in 3 children under 5 suffer fom malnutrition
especially damaging in infancy bc growth is rapid
Overweight vs obese
Overweight: BMI =/> 85%
Obese: BMI =/> 95%
causes of overweight
hertiable low basal metabolic rate
Genetically prone to low levels of activity
Too much TV time
Parents emphasize external eating signals
most common cause of death in NA for children over 1 yr
car accidents
prenatal brain dev
Brain originates from prenatal neural plate at ~3 wks
FOld at 4 wks and will bcm brain and spinal cord.
At 28 wks brain has pretty much all of the neurons ever. They are manufactured in neural tube and then migrate to final positions in brain.
synaptic pruning
occurs at the beginning of infancy and continues into adolescence, when it is more rapid
myelinisation
Neurons that carry sensory info are myelinated first ;
Neurons in the cortex receive it last.
early specialization of brain regions
left hem - verbal functioning
frontal cortex - emotion/decision making
both already specializing by birth. Right hem is later in infancy.
two form of brain specilization
1) the brain regions that are active during cognitive processes become more focused and less diffuse
2) the kinds of stimuli that trigger brain brain activity shift from being general to specific
Experience-dependence and -expectant growth
Dependent - your unique experience
expectant - all infants typically have wiring prepared for a number of normal experiences
adolescent brain dev in 3 categories:
1 - proliferation
2 - pruning
3 - myelination
sensory and perceptual processes
are the means by which people receive, select, modify, and organize stimulation from the world.
smell, taste, touch, hear, see, integrate sensory information
auditory threshold
the quietest sound a person can hear
Infants hear well, but not as accurately as adults
Early sensitivity to music
Visual acuity
the smallest pattern that can be dependably distinguished
Improves rapidly from one month to one year.
by 4 months infants have size, shape, brightness and colour constancy
also use texture, colour, motion to perceive objects
visual expansion
you know an object moves closer if it takes up a greater proportion of the retina
motion parallax
nearby objects that are moving move across our visual field faster than those at a distance
retinal disparity
the left and right eyes see slightly different versions of the same scene. Great difference if the object is closer.
dynamic systems theory
Motor development involves many distinct skills. Infants need to learn the different skills and then these must be organized over time to meet the needs of specific tasks.
Required DIFFERENTIATION (mastery of component skills) and their INTEGRATION into a coherent, working, whole.
when does stepping start
not until ~10 months
types of attention
selective
divided
sustained
executive
selective attentio
focusing on a specific aspect of experience that is relevant while ignoring others that aren’t
divided attention
concentrating on more than one activity at a time
sustained attention
ability to maintain attention to a selected stim for a prolonged period of time
exec attention
action planning, allocating attention to goals, error detection, monitoring prgress on tasks etc
attention in first year is dominated by
orienting/investigative processes
2 key aspect of ADHD
inattention
hyperactivity-impulsivity
alerting
the ability to prepare for what is about to happen.
may be an issue in ADHD and why sustained attention/vigilance is so hard
impulsivity in ADHD
problem with exec attention
- cognitive: disorganization, hurried thinking, need for supervision
- behavioural: difficulty inhibiting responses when situations require it
- emotional: impatience, low frustration tolerance, hot temper, irritability
DSM for ADHD
- apear prior to 12
- appear more often and with greater severity than in other children of the same age and sex
- continue for 6 months+
- accur across several settings
- impariment
- not due to other disorder or life stressor
other deficits in kids with ADHD
- impaired academic functioning
- distorted self-perceptions (positive illusory bias)
- speech and language impairments
- often have developmental coordination disorder
- many have tic disorders
- sleep disorders
- asthma and bedwetting
- accident proneness and resik-taking
positive illusory bias
exaggeration of one’s competence
common in ADHD
tic disorders
about 20% of ADHD kids
Sudden, repetitive, nonrhythmic motor movements or sounds such as eye blinking, facial grimacing, throat clearing, and grunting
prevalence of ADHD
5%+ school-aged children worldwide have ADHD
6-7% in Canada
causes of ADHD
Genetic influences - ~75% heritability
genes involved in DA regulation (reduced activity)
These kids are understimulated.
neurobiological factors in ADHD
- diminished arousal
- underresponsiveness to stimulation
- decreased blood flow to prefrontal regions and pathways connecting them to limbic system
- abnormalities in fronto-striatal circuitry (prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia)
assimilation
Piaget’s theory
new experiences are readily incorporated into existing theories
accomodation
piaget
existing theories are modified based on experience
equilibration
a process of reorganizing theories to restore equilibrium between assimilation and accomodation.
Results in new/different/more advances schemas
Piaget’s stages of cognitive development
sensorimotor stage
preoperational
concrete operational
formal operational
sensorimotor stage
birth - 2 years
Child is learning through the senses and motor abilities. Startes with reflexive responding and ends wtih symbolic processing.
- Object permanence develops at 1 yr
preoperational stage
2-7 yrs
Children use symbols to represent objects and events but they are subject to many errors in thinking: egocentrism, animism, centration
egocentrism
can’t see the world from anyone else’s POV
in preoperational stage
animism
credit inanimate objects with lifelike properties
preoperational tage
centration
child narrowly focuses on a specific aspect (thinks there is more water in the narrow glass - conservation task)
in preoperational stage
concrete operational stage
7-11 yrs
Thinking based on mental operations (strategies and rules)
Math etc
Focus on real and concrete, not abstract
conservation tasks
will be passed by children who don’t have issues with centration anymore - have moved into concrete operational tage.
Will think that a long line of pennies has more
Skinny glass has more
Long ball of dough has more
class inclusion task
tests whether children have moved to the concrete operational stage.
understanding that a subclass cannot be greater than its superordinate class.
‘there are more roses than sunflowers and more roses than flowers’
formal operational stage
11-adulthood
Increasing ability to think abstractly and hypothetically. Use deductive reasoning to draw conclusions.
piaget’s contributions to child development
constructivist view of children - they are active participants in their own development who systematically construct ever more sophisticated understandings of their worlds.
weaknesses in piaget
underestimate competence of infants.
Overestimate teens.
Stage model doesn’t account for variability in child performance.
Some components like accomodation and assimilation are too vague to test.
Undervalues influence of sociocultural forces.
Intersubjectivity
mutual, shred understanding among participants in an activity. Captures the social nature of cog dev
guided participation
cog growth results from children’s involvement in structured activities with others who are more skiled than they
zone of proximal dev
difference between what one can do alone or with assistance
scaffolding
teaching style that matches the amount of assistance to the learner’s needs
private speech
comments intended to reg own behav
inner speech
thought.
Information processing theory
we have hardware and software just like computers!
hardware = sensory, working and LT memory coordinated by the central exec software = task plastic
Changes in info processing with dev
1 more efficient strategies 2 increase WM capacity 3 more effective inhibitory exec processes 4 increased auto processing 5 increased speed of processing
Inhibitory processes
prevent task-irrelevant info from entering WM
Core knowledge theories
distinctive domains of knowledge, some of which are acquired v early in life.
rapid/easier learning of certain things as adaptive trait
Core knowledge theories domains
Understanding objects and their properties
Understanding living things
Understanding people
understanding objects and their properties
the impossible event.
Infants have accurate theories about basic properties of objects
understanding living things
infants and toddlers use motion to identify animate objects.
Teleological explanations - there is a purpose for living things and their parts
Essentialism - all living things have an essence that can’t be seen but gives identity
Understanding people
Naive psychology
Development of Theory of Mind bt 2-5
Theory of mind
People act on their mental states
Mental states can misrepresent reality
Permits accurate predictions about others’ thoughts and behaviours
Understand jokes, irony etc.
Assess with False Belief tasks. 3 years olds fail and 5 year olds pass
areas of brain associated with initial storage of information
amygdala and hippocampus
brain area related to retrieval of stored memories
frontal cortex
develops later around 24 mo
metacognition
selecting and monitoring cognitive strategies
metamemory
child’s understanding of their own memory, their understanding and gaps etc.
Scripts associated with ______
fuzzy trace theory - we can remember things in gist or verbatim.
more likely to use script for gist when you are older
preschoolers’ testimony influenced by…
suggestion and stereotype
means-end analysis
determine difference bt current and desired situations
heursitics
used by children and adolescents to solve problems. Rule of thumb
two important processes in skilled reading
word recognition - identifying a unique pattern of letters
comprehension - the process of extracting meaning from a sequence of words
phonological awareness
ability to hear the distinctive sounds of letters
decoding
first step in reading
identifying indv words by sounding them out
propositions
we get from parts of sentence and ocmbine to extract meaning
one to one principle
one thing gets one number name only
stable order principle
number names most be counted in the same order every time
cardinality principle
the last number name denotes the total number of objects
