DEVELOPMENT Flashcards
What is a schema, according to Piaget?
Structured cluster of concepts about how the world works
Mental framework that is created as children interact with their physical & social environments
What are Piaget’s four main stages of cognitive development? What occurs at each stage?
Sensorimotor
Preoperational
Concrete operational
Formal operational
Concrete operational
internal mental operations/manipulations (concrete not abstract), hands-on learning, conservation (2 diff sized glasses, same amount of water)
Preoperational
No internal mental operations /manipulations, egocentrism (cannot understand that others have different pov, cannot pass conservation
Formal operational
abstract concepts, problem solving that can go beyond trial & error, “what if” questions
Sensorimotor
interaction w/ environment, focus on here & now, object permanence
What are some criticisms of Piaget’s theory?
Reduced focus on individual differences
Abrupt stages vs. gradual & continuous
Mechanisms for moving to a new stage - what’s happening in child’s brain
What is Theory of Mind (TOM)? When does it emerge?
Extends Piaget’s concept of egocentrism, can a child understand another person’s pov?
Emerges at ~3 or 4 years
What is the false belief (Sally-Anne) test, and how does it test for Theory of Mind?
Crayon box w/ candles in it, ask kids what they thought was in the box & ask what snoopy thought was in the box
Young kids say snoopy also thought there were candles, cannot see other pov
Older kids say snoopy thought crayons, can see other pov
What is temperament?
Individual differences in patterns of mood, activity, & emotional responsiveness
Predictive of adult personality
How does Kagan’s test for reactivity work? What does it predict about low-reactive and high-reactive infants?
Predictive of temperament later in childhood, especially shyness
What is attachment? How is it tested?
Connection between infant & parent
Parent leaves child - test how they react w/ parent in the room, when parent leaves, & when parent comes back
What are the four different attachment patterns identified by Ainsworth and other researchers?
Secure - when parent leaves, child is upset; stranger cannot comfort child, parent settles child easily
Avoidant - avoid interacting w/ parent, is not distressed when parent leaves, interaction w/ parent & stranger are fairly similar
Anxious-ambivalent - resist parent interaction, especially during reunion; once parent settles them, very clingy
Disorganized - everything else
What did Harlow’s tests on attachment in monkeys reveal about the importance of food vs. comfort?
Prior idea - food most important to attachment formation
Harlow demonstrated importance of comfort - monkeys preferred soft mother monkey w/ no nipple over wire monkey w/ milk
What is Reactive Attachment Disorder?
Can occur w/ children from orphanages
Institutionalization & neglect during critical attachment (birth - 5yrs)
Early vs. later environmental influences
