Class Notes Flashcards
Reasons to study child development
a. raising children
b. social policy
c. understanding human nature
Examples of why developmental psych is important.
a. Autism and vaccines
b. Shyness and parenting
c. Nicaraguan sign language invented by kids
Why is raising children a reason to study child development?
Research allows for evidence-based practices to help us raise healthy, happy children and reduce controversy in parenting strategies.
Themes of child development
- Nature/Nurture
- The Active Child
- Continuity/Discontinuity
- Mechanisms of Developmental Change
- The Sociocultural Context
- Individual Differences
- Research/Children’s Welfare
Phenotype vs Genotype
Genotype is the genetic makeup, phenotype is how it affects physical characteristics. Phenotype depends on interaction with the environment
Why is social policy a reason to study child development?
Research facilitates informed decisions about social policies that affect children like education, child testimony, and health education.
Heritability
Heritability is the genes that parents pass along to parents (50% each) but environment also affects things
Why is understanding human nature a reason to study child development?
Interest in if there are critical periods and innate aspects of human behavior.
nature/nurture
Nature: genetics/innate endowment
Nurture: environment
Every trait is influenced by both interacting with each other, complex
the active child
Children contribute to their own development
• Elicit reactions from others
• Select environments
• This becomes more prominent the older you are
Form attachments and learn language by being interested in what’s around you
continuity/discontinuity
Pine tree: developmental continuity
• Gradual, can be difficult to notice unless looking over large period
Butterfly: developmental discontinuity
• Complete categorical change from what you were like before
Depends on how you examine
• Height can seem continuous or discontinuous
o Looking in centimeters = gradual
o Looking by year = discontinuous
Stage theories: development occurs in a progression of age-related, qualitative shifts
o Mechanisms of developmental change
Why/how does change occur?
• Interaction of genes and environment
• Adolescent and young adult risky behavior
o Spending more time with peers increases possibility of risk behavior
Allostatic load: wear and tear on body that results from chronic severe life stress
Predictor=chronic life stress, mechanism=allostatic load, developmental outcome=poor mental and physical health
o Sociocultural context
Physical, social, cultural, economic, and historical circumstances
Example: co-sleeping
• US emphasizes independence while other countries emphasize teamwork/codependence
Ethnicity, race, and socioeconomic status have strong implications for child development
• 16% of children in 2020 live below poverty line
o Matters because it is associated with poor environmental conditions
o Disproportionately affects people of color
o Parents have less time and less resources to provide for the kids
individual differences
How do children become different from one another?
• 4 key factors
o Genes
Impact but don’t determine everything
o Differential treatment
Teachers respond more positively to students who do well
o Reactions
Everyone reacts differently to their environment
• a loud bang may illicit a larger response from one person than another
o Environment selection
As you grow older, you’re more able to choose your environment
• Sports, friends, etc.
• research and children’s welfare
research and children’s welfare
Practical benefits to diagnosing and helping problems that arise in children
• Books, programs
Gene-environment correlations
occur when there are genetically influenced differences in exposure to environmental risk factors.
Evocative: child prompts changes in how people treat them. ex: Angry kid makes people scared to interact with him
Active: how the kid influences their own development. ex: kid that likes books reads a lot and gets smart.
genotype
the genetic material an individual inherits
heredity
how parents pass on genes to their child
gene-environment correlation
When genetic makeup is correlated with their environment
Passive gene-environment correlations versus parenting effects
• The association between a genotype inherits from their parents and the environment they are raised in
o The environment parents create at home is influenced by parents own characteristics
phenotype
individuals observable characteristics; results from interaction of the genotype with the environment. Can be turned on or off.
Gene-environment interactions
Early experiences in the environment affect how different genes manifest themselves
Shared and non-shared environments
Shared environments are the same. Non-shared environments are different.
How does environment impact child phenotype?
If there is family conflict, the child may misbehave more.
evocative
fussy children are more likely to evoke neglecting/hostile parenting.
active
children seek out environments that are compatible with their genetic dispositions
Brain development processes
a. neurogenesis: proliferation of neurons
b. migration: cells move to their ultimate destination
c. synaptogenesis: brain generates synapses
d. synaptic pruning: brain generates too many synapses, eliminates some.
e. myelination: neurons wrapped in insulation that allows for electrical signals
Plasticity advantages/disadvantages
Brain changes due to experience. Advantage: it allows for learning. Disadvantage: some experiences are bad but your brain still changes.
Types of plasticity
a. experience-expectant: general experiences shared by humanity are expected by individual brains and just happen.
b. experience-dependant: neural paths are changed. LEARNING.
c. brain damage/recovery: when brain gets damaged, plasticity can rewire things
Adolescent brain development changes
How can gene’s and environment interact.
recessive genetic disorders can appear later in life if child goes through maltreatment. For example, men who experienced severe maltreatment were more likely to engage in antisocial behavior.
MAOA gene
gene that can appear if child goes through maltreatment. It inhibits brain chemicals associated with aggression
Assimilation
Translate new information into existing schemas. e.x. have schema for horses, see zebra, think a zebra is a horse
Accomadation
Change schemas to adapt to new information. e.x. realize a zebra isn’t a horse
epigenetics
genetic inheritance is fixed, but gene expression is not because it is influenced by environment.
Equilibration
Process by which you use assimilation and accommodation together to make sure no information conflicts with any schemas.
Equilibrium
Schemas balanced, nothing conflicting
methylation
a process that silences gene expression. Parental stress during child’s first year causes gene expression to change
Piaget’s theory
- has stages
- universally applied
4 stages- sensorimotor
- pre-operational
- concrete operational
- formal operational
heritability
the variation in an attribute due to genotype variation. For example, cognitive abilities, psychopathology, and personality that you inherit.
Sensorimotor stage
- birth - 2 years
- deferred imitation
- reflexes
- exploration
- lack object permanence until 8 months
- A-not-B error until 12 months
Preoperational Period
- 2 - 7 years
- symbolic representation
- pretend play
- language
- drawing
- egocentrism: inability to take others’ perspective
- centration: lack of conservation
shared environment
environmental factors make individuals living in the same family like one another
nonshared environment
factors that make families different from each other. For example, parents can discipline siblings in the same way, but it can be helpful for one and detrimental to the other, making it nonshared environment
Concrete Operational
- 7 - 12 years
- logical thinking begins
- gain conservation
- have trouble with hypothetical reasoning
Formal Operational
- systematic and hypothetical reasoning
- internal reflection
- abstract reasoning
psychosocial factors
nongenetic influences such as the tv you watch and the books you read
biological nongenetic influences
trauma, nutrition, air quality
Piaget criticisms
- Development is more continuous and more gradual than Piaget believed
- Piaget underestimated cognitive abilities
- Not everyone develops at the same rate
- Cognitive development not universally generalizable in different cultures
Information Processing theories
- development is continuous
- children act as computers to solve problems
heritability estimates
predictions of what is effecting development, genes or environment, can vary. For example, someone who is in poverty may be more impacted by their environment. Things like nutrition can change their influence.
neurogenesis
proliferation of neurons that starts around 42 days after conception and complete after midway point of gestation
Memory
- slows down and becomes worse as you get older
- development happens faster at younger ages
migration
process in which cells move to their final destination. Can be errors, such as a genesis of corpus collosum or skitzansepheli (part of the cortex is missing), that lead to impairment/seizures
Executive functioning
- inhibition: resisting temptations/habits, delayed gratification
- flexibility: being able to switch goals and adapt
synaptogenesis
cells forming connections with one another so electric nerves can be transmitted between two nerve cells. Continues for years after birth
myelination
axons of some neurons have a fatty sheath that speed up transmission info. Glial cells wrap around axons of nerve cells. Begins prenatally and continues into early adulthood.
apoptosis
entire neuron degenerates
synaptic pruning
axon segments are selectively degenerated
what happens when the brain overproduces synapses and neurons?
Your brain has greater plasticity, so apoptosis or synaptic pruning must take place
What changes does the prefrontal cortex undergo during adolescence?
Myelination increases, you work towards goals and suppress inappropriate behaviors, more synapses pre-puberty, pruning post-puberty, and lots of brain development still happening
conversation surrounding more plasticity
Advantages: ability to adapt to circumstances
Disadvantages: if experiences are not optimal, we are adapting to bad environments. This makes us vulnerable
• Experience-expectant plasticity
o General experiences shared by the vast majority throughout human evolution are “expected” by the individual brain
Pattern stimuli, voices, sounds, etc
• Brain needs these experiences to develop in a typical way
• Advantageous because less info must be coded by the genes
• Can be a vulnerability if the expected experience doesn’t happen
o Brain may reorganize for the area to serve some other function
If you are born deaf, parts of brain used for hearing are used for visual processing
sensitive periods
sensitive parts of development that cause the biggest effect. experience is expected at certain times. This is why it is harder to learn a language the older you are
• Experience-dependent plasticity
o Neural connections are created/reorganized throughout life as a function of individual experience
Learning
• sport
o Persons specific experiences an individual experiences in their unique life (country, treatment by parents, siblings, etc)
o Highly specialized effects can occur
Cellists and violinists have increased cortical representation of fingers in the left hand because they use it so much
brain damage and recovery
o Brain especially vulnerable during neurogenesis and neuron migration
o Brain damage during synapse generation and pruning (early childhood) has the best prognosis for recovery
Plasticity is highest then and the brain can require
o As developmental processes are complete and plasticity lessens, successful recovery from brain damage is less likely
assimilation
translate new info to fit existing knowledge
accommodation
change current knowledge in response to new experiences/info
equilibration
when assimilation isn’t possible, use accommodation to achieve equilibrium
disequilibrium (in the context of assimilation)
something new happens that can’t be understood through existing knowledge
sensorimotor stage
Piaget’s first stage. Infants use reflexes, deferred imitation, exploration, object permanence, A-not-B error
preoperational stage (2-7 years)
second stage. capable of symbolic representation, are egocentric, and focus on a single aspect of an object or event and ignore other features (centration)
concrete operational stage (7-12)
third stage. logical thinking begins, no longer limited by centration, succeed at conservation tasks, have trouble with systematic and hypothetical reasoning
formal operations stage (12+)
final stage. systematic and hypothetical reasoning, internal reflection, abstract reasoning. this stage may require education
piaget was wrong about stuff
his studies on children were kinda hard and not the best. children have more object permanence and less egocentrism than he thought
Piaget’s key contributions
children are worth studying, the active child, children are “little scientists”, and provides an overview of cognitive abilities across development
task analysis
children have a goal, which creates a subgoal, which creates another subgoal
working memory
limited memory that we are actively attending to, gathering, maintaining, and processing.
long-term memory
information retained for extended periods of time. the sum-total of your knowledge
executive functions
control your cognition and actions and how efficiently your memory will work. enables you to respond appropriately rather than impulsively.
inhibition
allows you to resist habits when needed, resist temptation, delay gratification, and work towards a goal
flexibility
how well and easily you can change your goals based on what is happening in the situation
encoding
representing info in memory. People encode info that is relevant. children have a harder time encoding relevant info
processing speed
as children get older, they can process things faster due to more myelinated axons and more brain interconnectivity
strategies to improve working memory
rehearsal (5-8 years), selective attention (7-8 years), scripts to aid in memory (what are birthday parties like? what are fast food restaurants like? (3-4))
Content knowledge
experts remember more in a domain than novices, even child experts.
educational applications
early experiences in a domain will facilitate later achievement
sensation vs perception
sensation is processing basic info by the receptors in the sense organs and the brain. perception is the process of organizing and interpreting sensory info about the objects, events, and spatial layout of the world around us
visual development
continually changing sensations somehow allow us to arrive at a constant perception of things. (for example: we always see cats moving around and at different angles but we know the shape of a cat)
perceptual constancy
objects have constant shape, size, and color despite physical differences in retinal image
object segregation
being able to perceive boundaries between objects.
