Development Flashcards
What are the two central, unifying questions in the field of development psychology?
a. Stages vs gradual
b. Biology vs experience
What are the two key considerations for choice of research methods in development psychology?
- Does method work across age groups?
Example: Giving 6 month old a maths test - Does it allow comparisons across whole lifespan?
What are the three research methods in developmental psychology?
- Cross-sectional design: compares different ages at one point in time
- Longitudinal design: tracks one group of participants across time
- Sequential design: tracks multiple age groups across time. Example: comparing reading comprehension of 40 and 50 year olds and then doing it again in 10 years
What are the advantages and disadvantages of cross-sectional research design?
Advantage: understanding which abilities develop at which point in lifespan.
Disadvantage: cohort effect: effect due to members of an age group sharing similar life experiences. For example, if you test a 20 year old and a 60 year old on memory, internet use might influence the results.
What are the advantages (1) and disadvantages (3) of longitudinal design?
Advantage:
Lets you be v v confident that people are changing across time
Disadvantages:
–Time and resources
–Attrition
–Single generation or cohort so results might not generalize
What are the advantages (1) and disadvantages (1) of sequential design?
Advantage:
High confidence changes are due to development and not cohort effects, so can generalize across cohorts.
Disadvantage:
Time consuming and costly, but sometimes less that longitudinal (track 2 groups for 10 years instead of 1 for 20).
When are the effects of research design disadvantages more pronounced?
Disadvantages of all 3 methods are more amplified the longer the segment in lifespan is that you want to study. Choice tends to depend on time and resources.
What are the two types of possible disruption to prenatal development?
- Recessive genes and chromosomal abnormalities
2. Exposure to teratogens
Give two examples of how babies aren’t blank slates at birth
- Reflexes. Example: rooting.
- Hearing. Example: Will suck more vigorously on a pacifier if hearing mother’s voice rather than another woman or their father.
List four things newborns do very early
- Look at stimulus
- Recognize faces
- Imitate faces
- Like novelty
What is habituation?
Decreased response to repeated stimulation
Disinhabituation
Increased response to something novel after period of habituation
What is the novelty-preference procedure? (3)
What is it and what does it show? (2)
Checkerboard
Infants <4 days old
React more when new image shown
Shows they:
1) Perceive and store simple visual patterns
2) Respond to changes in environment
What are the two general rules of motor control development?
Head to feet
Center of the body outward
What 2 cultural practices speed up and slow down motor development in infants?
Caribbean cultures that massage babies, stretch their limbs, or prop them up–infants start sitting and walking earlier in these cultures.
Placing babies on back to sleep seems to slow development but “tummy time” can cure that.
Assimilation
Using existing schema to interpret new experience
What are Piaget’s four stages of childhood development and at what age do they happen?
- Sensorimotor birth-2
- Preoperational 2-7
- Concrete operational 7-12
- Formal operationsl 12+
Name the 3 important maturational processes in the brain
- Neural proliferation
- Synaptic pruning
- Myelination
What is a violation-of-expectation test and what do they tell us? (4)
Babies stare longer when things break physical laws like object permanence.
Understand earlier than Piaget thought.
Piaget study requires prefrontal cortex work which develops later.
Kids that pass Piaget’s test prefrontal cortex more activated.
What are the fastest areas of the brain to develop?
The ones that process sensory info, like occipital lobe. Hmm!
What 3 things does the frontal lobe do?
Rational planning
Working memory
Decision making
What emotional shit can kids under 1 do? (2)
Decode simple facial expressions
Some ability to predict others’ behaviour and infer intentions.
Social referencing
Relying on facial expression of caregiver to decide how to react
What’s the study that shows infants can infer intentions?
They’ll focus longer on hand going for new toy vs hand going in new direction.
Imprinting
Simple attachment mechanism–once duckling can walk (~12 hours post-hatching), attaches to first moving stimulus it sees
Describe Harlow’s theory of contact comfort.
Humans and monkeys get comfort from things like a hug or a soft blanket.
Rhesus monkeys went to weird robot with bottle for food but overwhelmingly preferred to cling to cloth robot.
What does a secure base let kids do? (3 + 1)
Explore
Investigate
Learn
While knowing that they can always return.
What happens with insecure/avoidant kids in strange situation test (2)
HR increases when mother leaves + stays high when she returns
Don’t show signs of distress
What two aspects of the infant affect how their attachment style develops?
- Expectations for caregiver
- Temperament
Training parents of irritable babies to be more responsive to their needs makes the babies less likely to develop insecure attachment.
Give 3 skills secure attachment helps kids with and 2 issues it helps them avoid.
Social appeal
Social skills
Language
Behavioural problems
Anxiety disorders
Weird ball study on attachment
Big ball and little ball. Big ball moves away from little ball and ball makes crying sound.
Big ball moves further away–securely attached kids look longer than insecure.
Big ball goes back to small ball–insecurely attached kids look longer than secure.
What is symbolic representation? (1)
Thinking about an object as two things at once.
Example: Kids show learning this by starting to play pretend!
The conservation task. What did Piaget say it means? What does it actually mean?
Describe.
Piaget said it requires 2 things:
1) Relate
2) Imagine
Frontal lobe to override automatic “height = volume” heuristic.
Sorting cards study
Kids are asked to sort red and blue bunnies and red and blue boats. First asked to sort by colour, then by shape.
When asked to sort by shape they understand the new rule and can describe it, but they sort by colour for a bit longer before doing it by shape. Shows difficulty overriding heuristics.
What is the false belief test?
At what age can kids pass it?
- Under 3, false belief
- 4-5, consistently correct
- look at right location 90% of time just before 3
Egocentrism
Difficulty imagining world from others’ PoV
What is the “food test” for theory of mind?
Adult makes yuck face when eating food 1 and broad smile when eating food 2.
Adult then asks 18 month old to give them a food. Kid gives adult food 2, even if kid prefers food 1.
Shows they understand adult is different from them.
What is Vygotsky’s sociocultural view?
“Little apprentices”
Learn through interaction with others who have knowledge
Scaffolding (3)
Promote cognitive development
Actively challenge and support child to do things beyond their current capabilities, but that they’d be able to do with considerable help
Challenged but not overwhelmed
How do parents help kids develop autobiographical memory? (3)
Parent-child convos about life events
Hear questions, sequence, level of detail
Learn what’s worth reporting and what to pay attention to
What are the two key ways parents differ in how they interact with their kids?
Responsiveness to child’s needs
How demanding or controlling they are of behaviour
Four parenting styles
Authoritarian
Authoritative
Permissive
Disengaged
What is an authoritarian parenting style? What impact does it have on kids?
Low on responsiveness, highly demanding.
Do not explain rules bc expect complete obedience. Severe punishments.
Obedient to adults but worse academic performance and lower self-esteem. However, African American girls raised by authoritarian parents are more independent and self-confident
What is a permissive parenting style?
High on responsiveness, low on demands.
Unstructured daily life e.g. no bedtime, few rules and little punishment, require little of their children
What is an authoritative parenting style?
What impact does it have on kids? (7)
Very responsive, very demanding.
Clear rules and structure, explain reasoning. Flexible to child’s opinions and reasonable requests. Kids play active role in determining rules of household. Kids have responsibilities + coaching to meet them.
Self-reliant Self-controlled Curious Happy Higher academic achievement Lower risk of depression Healthier weight
What is a disengaged parenting style? (2) What impact does it have on kids? (2)
Neither responsive nor demanding.
Few rules but insensitive to child’s needs. Can emerge when parents overwhelmed by other concerns, leading to neglect.
Worst outcomes. Lower academic achievement, higher depression, more unhealthy behaviours.
Higher risk of depression for Asian girls and African American boys than other groups
What 3 potentially inherent cognitive differences in children might cause different parenting styles?
What can we do about it?
1) Get reasons -> authoritative
2) Disobedient/aggressive -> not authoritative
3) Stubborn/impulsive -> demanding
Teaching authoritative techniques reduces behaviour problems.
How is early puberty associated with advantages for ‘boys’ and problems for ‘girls’. What’s it mediated by?
Girls: Social anxiety, fear of being viewed negatively, embarrassment
As adults: Less successful, less satisfied with life and relationships.
Mediated by:
stable home/neighbourhood
close with parents
Boys: Increased social status, confidence, risk taking, alcohol use
What brain changes happen in puberty? (2)
–Burst of synaptic proliferation, pruning and myelination, mainly in prefrontal cortex–improved self-control, judgement, and long term planning.
–Limbic system
Enhanced reward sensitivity
Happens before the prefrontal cortex fully matures –> risky behaviour
What are Kohlberg’s 3 stages of moral development? Give ages.
Preconventional: before age 9–self-interest, obey rules to avoid punishment, do right thing to get reward
Conventional: early adolescence–caring for others, upholding social norms
Postconventional: later adolescence–moral judgements flow from more fundamental moral principles
Social identity
Group membership, e.g. “I am a woman”, “I am a Canadian”
What are 4 ways conformity and social reasoning generally change over adolescence?
– Spend more time with peers and value their acceptance greatly.
–Young adolescents v sensitive to social norms, less as they get older
–Brain areas involving perspective taking and reasoning about causes of others’ actions growing and reorganizing.
–Marginalized usually find way to fit in once teenagers age and become more tolerant…
What’s the emerging adulthood stage? (4)
18-25
Feel “in-between”.
Exploring identity & trying on roles
72% report stressful, 64% full of uncertainty
Social clock
Set of social norms, why people expect you to get a job, get married, have kids, get a mortgage, and retire at certain ages in life.
According to Erikson, what struggle characterises early adulthood?
Struggle for intimacy
E.g. romantic relationships and marriage
Why are married people usually happier?
1) happier people tend to get married & 2) it provides small boost of happiness
What does Erikson think is the main struggle of adulthood?
Generativity
Does having kids make people happier
Lol no, no shit. They can be frustrating and hard work
Study showed parents in general were happier stuck in traffic than caring for their kids
How does cognitive functioning change in late adulthood? (2)
Gradual decline in fluid intelligence bc of disproportionate deterioration of frontal lobe, affects memory and attention.
Increase in concrete intelligence– easier to remember rich, meaningful information.
What 3 reasons affect whether people thrive cognitively into old age?
- Crystallized intelligence
- Increased bi-lateral activation
- Complex cognitive tasks and physical tasks
Do people become happier and more stable as they age?
Yes. Most people think well-being declines with age but people tend to become happier until mid-60s, and more emotionally stable–emotions become less rollercoaster-like–until old age
Socioemotional selectivity theory of old age (3 parts)
Perceive a shrinking future and this changes their priorities in ways that increase wellbeing.
Increasingly value emotional goals like feeling good over informational goals like learning new things.
More time nurturing close friendships than developing acquaintances -> greater relationship satisfaction.
What happens to an older person’s wellbeing if their health declines?
Declines but moderated by:
- Social support
- Beliefs about death
What did Erikson think is the main struggle that defines being old?
Integrity
Evaluating your life and seeking meaning and peace
What was Piaget’s model of learning and what model did it compete with?
Pre-existing model–Sponge: Dependent on teachers, one-way transmission from world to children, children v passive learners
Piaget’s model–Little Scientists/Constructivism: Independent, two-way interaction, active learners
Define equilibrium and disequilibrium
Equilibrium: Schema the kid’s already learned explain their observations. Looks a lot like boredom, or contentment/low level happiness.
Disequilibrium: Existing schema can’t accurately account for what the kid’s observing–so they seek out new information to build a more accurate schema. Looks a lot like surprise. Good kind of anxiety, enhanced attention, pupil dilation, increase HR. Piaget thought it was an innate emotion that drives us to learn.
Give three examples of types of tests you can do to see what kinds/levels of cognition a kid can do.
Find a hidden toy behind a screen
Conservation
Impossible events
Why is Piaget’s four stage model of childhood development wrong? (3 reasons)
- Reason 1: Stages overlap and blend together
- Reason 2: Critical events are gradual rather than threshold
- Reason 3: Progression through stages is shifting earlier in development
Describe the strange situation test.
- Mother + Baby: Baby allowed to get used to new environment for 3 minutes
- Stranger enters: Produces disequilibrium
- Mother leaves: Critical stage. Baby often cries. If baby shows stress, suggests mother is necessary for their comfort.
- Mother returns, stranger leaves: Child can respond in different ways. Often reacts by requesting comfort, trying to be near them. But may look away from mum when they enter. May not react at all.
- Mother leaves
- Stranger returns
- Mother returns
What are the four primary attachment styles? What percentage of kids have each?
- Secure: 55-60%
- Avoidant: 20%
- Anxious/ambivalent: 15-20%
- Disorganized: 5%
What does avoidant attachment look like in caregivers and children?
a. Caregivers distant, consistently unresponsive, come to child when they want when child asks
b. Child desires intimacy but fears expressing this desire
What does anxious/ambivalent attachment look like?
a. Caregivers unpredictable and inconsistent
b. Anxious, disorganized desires, wants contact but doesn’t know if caregiver will provide
What does disorganized attachment look like in caregivers and children?
Caregiver:
Abusive
Unpredictable
Volatile
Child:
Unstable
Fluctuating self-concept
What does secure attachment look like?
a. Caregivers consistently responsive when child asks for comfort
b. Child feels worthy, loved, confident
What four types of behaviour indicate differences in attachment in the strange situation test?
- Contact-seeking
- Contact-maintaining
- Resistant
- Avoidant
How does a kid show contact-maintaining behaviour in the strange situation test and what does it mean?
Resistance to release, clinging
Avoidant attachment: cling if offered comfort but won’t seek it out
Anxious/ambivalent attachment: may approach strongly but also push or hit
How does a kid show resistant behaviour the strange situation test?
Parent offers to comfort child when child asks. But child hits caregiver, rigid or avoids being held.
How does a kid show avoidant behaviour in the strange situation test?
Baby doesn’t acknowledge that parent has come back, doesn’t greet them, doesn’t gaze at them, may even be seeking comfort from stranger
What does proximity- and contact-seeking show in the strange situation test?
Baby purposefully approaches caregiver
Secure attachment: approach and remain with caregiver, no resistant or avoidant behaviour, will often go back to exploring after getting comfort
Give two roles biology plays in children’s attachment styles.
○ Temperament
○ Serotonin transporter gene 5-HTTLPR:
–1 or 2 short alleles = hypersensitive to caregiver
–2 long alleles = secure no matter what caregiver does
What 3 kinds of temperament do babies have?
–Easy: Easy to adapt, cheerful, cry less - 40%
–Slow-to-warm-up: Difficulty with change, fear new people but come around, irregular eating and sleeping 15%
–Difficult: Hate change, hate strangers, do not adapt, cry often 10-15%
~35% who are somewhere in-between
This is mostly set up 3 months old and is pretty stable til 2
What % of people’s attachment styles remain stable across their lifespan?
70-80% of attachment styles remain stable
What do people with avoidant and anxious/ambivalent attachment behave like when seeking relationships, compared to people with stable attachment?
Avoidant: Unlikely to initiate because they’ve learned they’re going to be rejected. May form self-justifications of why it’s better for them to be alone than with a partner.
Anxious/ambivalent: Conflicted feelings. Strongly desire intimacy and initiate contact but deeply fear rejection.
What do people with avoidant and anxious/ambivalent attachment tend to behave like in long term relationships?
Avoidant: Difficulty physically expressing love. Too painful to reach out and ask.
Anxious/ambivalent: More frequent conflict, fare worse psychologically after conflict, even if somewhat trivial.
What is the frog and magazine study? What does it tell us about how theory of mind develops?
Describe study
Describe outcome
Interpretation:
- If mum first, ToM @ 5 - If kid first, ToM @ 3
Does development happen in stages or is it gradual?
i. Both have applications–e.g. walking can be seen as a stage bc it fundamentally changes how you can interact with the world, but building or losing memory capacity is more gradual.
How do biology and experience shape development?
Obviously both are required–genetically determined neural processes respond to experience and change
Maturation
Genetically determined biological processes
Enable orderly growth
What school of thought in development psychology did Piaget found?
Constructivism
What approach did Piaget add to Binet & Simon’s work on IQ tests?
Qualitative: asked children to explain their incorrect answers
What is constructivism in development psychology?
Children are “little scientists” who learn through applying assimilation or accommodation when in disequilibrium
Sensorimotor period
Simple schema
Abstract relationships like object permanence not developed
Preoperational period
More complex schema
Developed some abstract schema but not others- e.g. conservation of matter not developed
Concrete operational period
Most schema about concrete things fully developed, inc. conservation
Formal operational
Developing schema about more abstract relationships
When do kids start being able to do mental representation? (3)
3 year olds able to use scale model of a room to find an object. 2 1/2 year olds not able.
Piaget thought it happened in preoperational period but actually gradual.
Dramatically affected by whether the situation accentuates or downplays the object’s objectness. Example: when scale model placed behind glass, 2 and a half year olds are better able to see it as a model rather than a toy.
Give 3 reasons Piaget’s model is wrong.
- Stages overlap/blend
- Critical events like getting object permanence more gradual than threshold
- Progression through stages shifting earlier in development
Accommodation
Schema has been violated, have to revise it to account for errors in our prediction
What does lacking a secure base cause? Give an example.
E.g. Romanian orphanages make kids withdraw, rock back and forth, not play. Those adopted before 2 recovered best.
What could a parent do if they wanted their kid to pass the false belief test earlier?
Use a lot of language about mental states
What’s wrong with Kohlberg’s model of moral intelligence?
Underestimate women
Underestimate people in less techy societies
What does the frog and magazine study tell us? (4)
Suppressing our desires is cognitively demanding.
ToM cognitively demanding, especially when kids are first learning it.
Both compete for cognitive resources.
When cognitive resources are low, we are more egocentric.
