Class Notes Flashcards
Equifinality
Genetics
Parenting
Environment
LEADS to an OUTCOME (Psychopathology)
Mulitfinality
CAUSE ( Trauma, life experiences) LEADS to Psychopathology (Mood disorders, conduct problems, normal adjustments)
What helps us to learn and develop into who we are?
Biological Influences (physical appearance, sex, race, ability, I.Q., family history of inheritable conditions) and Environmental Influences ( parent relationships, church, school, neighborhood, community, culture, economic status, resources, time)
Bio-Ecological Model
Urie Brofenbrenner’s model about how human development as shaped by interactions between persons and their environment. Influenced by Vygotsky and Ceci.
Components of the Bio-Ecological Model
macrosystem - culture, industry, laws, policies
exosystem - media, community resources, parents’ workplace, local politics
microsystem - parents, siblings, teachers, friends, genetics, pastor
mesosystem - interaction between systems??
chronosystem - time
Proximal Processes
consistent and mutual social interactions that produces 2 developmental outcomes: competence or dysfunction
Heretiability
a way to describe how much a trait is related to genetics
a way to measure how much the differences in people’s DNA can explain the differences in their traits
heritability estimates
measures that range from 0-1.
0 indicates that almost all of the variability in a trait among people is due to environmental factors, with very little influence from genetic differences.
1 indicates that almost all of the variability in a trait comes from genetic differences, with very little contribution from environmental factors
traits
expression of genes - eye color, height, intelligence, temperament, mental health disorders
Group and Individual Differences
the causes of average differences aren’t necessarily related to the causes of individual differences.
i.e. average heights of north American males from 1822 to 2022.
Implications of Heritability Estimates
Heritability does not indicate what proportion of a trait is determined by genes and what
proportion is determined by environment. So, a heritability of 0.7 does not mean that a
trait is 70% caused by genetic factors; it means that 70% of the variability in the trait in a
population is due to genetic differences among people. Heritability is not deterministic.
Epigenetics
The study of changes in organisms brought about by modification of
gene expression through environmental influence (chemical, nutrition,
physical, relational).
* Turning off or turning on sections of the genome can alter gene
expression on the biological level and behavior level. This is not
an alteration to DNA code, just increasing or decreasing aspects
of how genes express. How long these last based on
environmental exposure is still being debated.
Bowlby’s Attachment Theory
Based in ethological (study of animal behavior), evolutionary )study of human evolution), and psychoanalytic theories (theory that human behavior is driven by unconscious urges and instinctual biological drives)
attachment theory
the strong reciprocal tie between an individual and attachment figure that promotes basic needs such as safety, security, and protection.
attachment timeline
first 8 weeks - pre-attachment behavior as the infant tries to attract the attention of a potential caregiver
2-6 months - infant increasingly discriminates between familiar and unfamiliar adults
6m-2y - clear cut attachment figures and the child’s behavior towards caregiver becomes organized and goal directed
Functions of Attachment
provide a sense of security
regulate affect and arousal
promote the expression of feelings and communication
serve as a base for exploration
Attachment Patterns
anxious avoidant
secure
anxious/ambivalent resistant
disorganized
Mind-Mindedness
developed by meins and fernyhough
refers to a caregiver’s tendency to view their child as an individual with a mind, rather than merely an entity with needs that must be satisfied
Personality
The culmination of biological and environmental forces that make you, you. combination of temperament and character.
3 Systems of Learning and Memory
associative conditioning ( habits, classical and operant conditioning)
intentionality (self-directed and purposeful goal seeking and cooperative behavior for mutual benefit)
self-awareness (transpersonal or self-transcendent behaviors including creative imagination, mental time travel, theoretical reasons, and appraisals of values from a transpersonal perspective)
Temperament
Innate biological predispositions that influence automatic emotional reactivity and habits. It is moderately stable throughout the lifespan, but can develop with behavioral conditioning and aging.
3 Dimensions of Temperament
Persistence
Harm Avoidance/Novelty Seeking
Reward Dependence
Character
The self-regulatory aspect of personality. The way a person shapes and adapts responses to ever changing internal and external conditions.
operant conditioning (skinner)
repeated acts that lead to favorable actions that can be modified by either reward or punishment.
positive reinforcement
strengthening a behavior by adding or continuing a positive outcome
negative reinforcement
strengthening a behavior by stopping or removing a negative outcome.
reinforcement and punishment
reinforcement INCREASES the likelihood of a desired behavior being repeated and punishment DECREASES the likelihood of an undesirable behavior being repeated.
positive punishment
weakening a behavior by adding something undesirable
negative punishment
weakening a behavior by removing something desirable
operant conditioning schedule
a series of reinforcers or punishments utilized to control behavior patterns. Controls the timing and frequency in order to elicit the desired behavior. The schedule is either a ratio(behavior) or interval (time).
Types of Operant Schedules
fixed ratio - reinforcement occurs only after a set number of behavioral responses
variable ratio - reinforcement occurs only after an unpredictable (varied) number of behavioral responses
fixed interval - reinforcement occurs only after a consistent interval of time had elapsed
variable interval - reinforcement occurs after an unpredictable (varied) amount of time has elapsed.
extinction
when an undesired behavior goes away due to a schedule of punishment
extinction burst
when an undesired behavior goes away but will return in a burst. However, will continue to decrease with use of consistent schedule
classical conditioning (pavlov)
conditioned stimulus- bell
unconditioned stimulus - food
unconditioned response - salivation to food
conditioned response- salivation to bell
social learning theory (bandura?)
observation + imitation = learning