Development Flashcards
Development
age related changes that occur as individual progresses from conception to death
(predictable sequence, Life-history theory)
Continues through adolescence and adulthood
Prenatal and Childhood Development
Brain development
Cognitive development
Moral development
Attachment
Plasticity
brain’s ability to change structure and function overtime
Plasticity changes in structure:
Number of dendrites and connections increases dramatically following birth
2 years: 15,000 synapses/neuron; twice as many as adults
Plasticity changes in function:
Newborns: high activity in thalamus (for sensory input)
Highly dependent on reflexes
2-3 months: increased activity in cortex
8-9 months: increased activity in frontal cortex
Synaptic pruning
unused synpases are eliminated
- after pruning it makes it difficult to learn language
connections peak between 6-7 years
Neurogenesis
Creation of new neurons
- Humans produce new cells in olfactoery bulb and hippocampus
- New cells migrate to other regions of the brain and form connections with existing cells
- Associated with learning
White matter
myelinated neurons facilitate communication between regions
- growth increases between childhood and puberty, then slows
Grey matter
- information processing
- Second round of synaptic overproduction and pruning decreases volume
prefrontal cortex
- Changes most pronounced and continue until mid 20s
- High level cognitive functioning (planning, organization)
- Strengthen connection to limbic system; impulsive and subject to peer pressure
(emotional centres - influenced by emotional argument)
Jean Piaget
Interested in childhood thought processes leading to incoreect answers on IQ test
Four stage model of cognitive development
- sequence of stages is constant, timetable variable
- doesn’t account for individual differences
- evidence of mixing elements of different stages
Assimilation
Interpreting new experiences in terms of exisitng mental structures (different internal representations of the world per child)
Accommodation
Changing existing mental structures to explain new experiences
Four stages of cognitive development
- Sensorimotor period
- Pre-operational period
- Concerete operational period
- Formal operational period
Sensorimotor period
Coordination of sensory input and motor responses; development of object permanence
Symbolic thoughts begin to develop (eg mental images of favourite toy)
(birth to 2 years)
Object permanence
recognition that objects continue to exist in the absence of sensory stimulation
- Four months; no permanence (peek-a boo)
- Four to 8 months: partial permanence (completley covered object will be forgotten)
- 18 months: permanence mastered
Preoperational period
Development of symbolic thought marked by irreversibility, centration, egocentrism
(2 to 7 years)
Conservation: awareness that physical quantities remain constant in spite of changes in shape or appearance
Characteristics of preoperational thought
Centration: Focus on one feature of a problem
Irreversibility: inability to envision reversing an action
Egocentrism: inability to share another’s viewpoint (my sister vs her sister)
Animism: belief that all things are living (talking teddy bears)
Concrete operational period
Mental operations applied to concrete events; mastery of conservation (liguqid, mass number, area, leangth) , hierachial classification (problems that require two levels of classification)
(7 to 11 years)
Cant think abstractly
Operations performed on tangible objects: Reversibility, decentration, decline in egocentrisim
Formal operational period
Mental operations applied to abstract ideas; logical, systematic thinking
applies operations to abstract concepts (justice, love, freewill)
Further development reflect changes in degree (more systematic in problem-solving, less trial and error)
(11 throughout adulthood)
Habituation-dishabituation paradigm
Habituation: infant looses interest in stimulus presented repeatedly
Dishabituation: new stimulus elicits interest from infant
Habituation-dishabituation: What do Four month olds understand
- Add and subtract small numbers
- Objects are distinct entities
- Objects move in continuous paths
- Solid objects cannot pass through each other
- Objects cannot pass through openings smaller in size
- Objects on slopes roll down
if these don’t happen, their HR goes up
Theory of mind; the nature of “mind”
- Ability to recognize other minds are distinct from own
- Ability to know other mind have different content
- Ability to anticipate the content of other minds
- Ability to know that thoughts and desires motivated behaviour
- Ability to recognize that not all thoughts reflect reality (False beliefs)
Theory of mind: autism
poverty, underdeveloped theory of mind
Theory of mind: delusion
disruption to theory of mind
False belief task
ex. Candy box full of crayons
- Theory of mind develops at about 4 years of age
Morality
ability to discern right from wrong and to behave accordingly
What determines whether an action is good or bad
not consequences that judge moral judgment - its intention
- Theory of mind; critical in making moral judgement
Preconventional level of moral reasoning
Stage 1: Punishment Orientation
- right and wrong are determined by what is punished
Stage 2: Naive reward orientation
- Right and wrong are determined by what is rewarded (operant conditioning)
Conventional level of moral reasoning
Stage 3: Good boy/ good girl orientation
- Right and wrong are determined by close others approval or disapproval
Stage 4: Authority orientation
- Right and wrong are determined by society’s rules and laws, which should be obeyed rigidly
Postconventional level of moral reasoning
Stage 5: Social contract orientation
- Right and wrong are determined by society’s rules, which are viewed as fallible rather than absolute
Stage 6: Individual principles and conscience orientation
- Right and wrong are determined by abstract ethical principles that emphasize equity and justice
Motor development: Maturation
Gradual unfolding of genetic blueprint
- Early development (eg grasping)
- Requires environmental input (exploration)
- Specialized skills develop later and require training
Developmental benchmarks: Cephalocaudal Trend
progresses from head to foot
Development benchmarks: proximodistal trend
progress from torso to limbs
James Marcia: Search for identity
Identity status determined by 2 dimensions:
- Presence/absence of a sense of commitment to life goals/values
- Sense of crisis (active questioning and exploration of identity)
- Move between identity statuses
- Identity moratorium and achievement increase with ae
- Identity changes across adulthood
- “Identity crisis” can occur in midlife
Stages of Search for identity
- Identity diffusion: absence of struggle for identity, with no obvious concern about it
- Identity foreclosure: Unquestioning adoption of prenatal or societal values
- Identity moratorium: Active struggle for a sense of identity
- Identity achievement: successful achievement of a sense of identity
Transitions during Adulthood
Marriage:
- Median age increased since 70s
- Median age decreased from 20s to 70s
Parenthood:
- Rewarding experience
- More stress
- Decrease life + marital satisfaction
Empty nest:
- Less stress
- Marital and life satisfaction (returned)
