Development and Learning Flashcards
Zygote
The single cell formed at conception from the union of the egg and the sperm cell.
Embryonic Period
The early stage of prenatal development, following implantation, where a fertilized egg rapidly divides and differentiates into the major organ systems of the developing embryo, usually begins from 3 weeks till 8 weeks until it takes a human form and becomes a fetus.
Fetal Stage
Lasts around 9 to 37 weeks. It prepares for life outside the womb. Organs continues to grow.
Teratogens
Chemical agents that can harm the prenatal environment. They can cause abnormal development or even birth defects.
Ex - Alcohol
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)
It is caused by alcohol use during pregnancy. It is the number one cause of intellectual disability and is present in 1% of all births.
It causes damage to the CNS, low birth weight, and behavioral problems.
Habituation
In which infants show decreasing interest with repeated exposure to a stimulus, indicating their ability to recognize familiar patterns.
Babinski Reflex
When a baby’s foot is stroked a healthy infant will spread their toes.
Grasping Reflex
If you touch or place something in a baby’s palm they will grasp it.
Rooting Reflex
Touch the side of a baby’s cheek and they will turn their heads in search of a food source.
Sucking Reflex
Babies will suck on anything that is put into their mouths.
Moro Reflex
When startled a baby will fail out their arms and legs.
Maturation
The natural and biological process of changing over time in an individual
Synaptic Pruning
A “use it or lose it” process in the brain, where unused neural connections are trimmed away while frequently used ones are reinforced.
Fine Motor Skills
Involves using small muscles in the body.
Gross Motor Skills
Requires coordination of larger muscles for whole-body movements.
Adolescence
Transition from childhood to adulthood at around 11 or 12.
Growth Spurt
Involves rapid increase in height and weight.
Puberty
Process through which reproductive ability develops.
Egocentrism
Involves imaginary audience which is the belief that others constantly judge and observe you. While personal fable involves a sense of uniqueness and invincibility.
Gender Socialization
Involves teaching children the norms, values, and behaviors associated with their gender from young age.
Sensorimotor Stage (0-2 years)
Acquire knowledge about the world through actions that allow them to experience and manipulate objects. Infants expand knowledge by reaching, grasping, pulling, and pouring.
Preoperational Stage (2-7 years)
During this stage, children begin to develop a theory of mind, beginning to use words to communicate and represent ideas. Fantasy and imagination are used during play.
Concrete Operational Stage (7-11 years)
At this stage, the child becomes capable of actual thought. They can demonstrate the concept of conservation and have learned to think logically.
Formal Operational Stage (11+ years)
Individuals acquire the ability to think abstractly and hypothetically.
Object Permanence
The understanding that an object continues to exist even when it can no longer be seen (around 9 months of age).
Sociocultural Theory
Proposed by Vygotsky that learning and development take place through interactions with others, with more knowledgeable individuals acting as guides.
Zone of Proximal Development
Highlights the importance of challenging learners beyond their current abilities to foster cognitive growth.
Theory of Mind
Refers to the ability individuals have to understand their own mental states as well as those of others.
Phoneme
The smallest unit of sound in a language. There are 869 phonemes in human speech.
Morphemes
The smallest unit of meaningful sound. They can be “a” or parts of words such as the prefix or suffix.
Universal Grammar
Proposed by Noam Chomsky suggesting that we are inherently equipped to learn any human language.
Language Acquisition
Refers to the process by which humans learn or acquire language and the ability to produce and comprehend words and sentences to communicate.
Babbling Stage
This stage develops around 1-3 months and is characterized by spontaneous sounds. Babies create sounds from all languages. By about ten months, these sounds have been narrowed down to those of the language of the house.
One-word Stage
Around one year, children begin to use one word to identify objects. At this stage, family members can understand them.
Telegraphic Speech
Children around two years old enter the two-word stage and begin to use nouns and verbs to communicate. At this point, they are functionally deaf to sounds outside their language.
Critical Period
Refers to a timeframe in early childhood during which the brain is highly receptive to acquiring language skills.
Productive language
Involves the ability to articulate words, gradually emerges as children grow and interact with their environment.
Receptive language
Can understand conversations directed towards them.
Overgeneralization
Occurs when learners apply a grammatical rule too broadly, leading to mistakes in their speech or writing
Ex - “Goed” instead of “went”
Theory of Linguistic Determinism
Suggested by linguist Benjamin Lee Wholf that individuals who use languages lacking a past tense, like the Hopi language, may struggle to think about the past since their language does not explicitly represent it.
Concept of Linguistic Relativism
Proposes that our language influences our thoughts.
Ecological Systems Theory
This theory examines how the social environment influences an individual’s development through five key systems.
Microsystem (EST)
Refers to groups that directly interact with the individual, such as family and peers, impacting behaviors on a personal level.
Mesosystem (EST)
Explores the connections and interactions between different groups within the microsystem, like how family relationships can affect school experiences.
Exosystem (EST)
Includes external factors indirectly impacting one’s life, such as a parent’s job affecting a child’s well-being.
Macrosystem (EST)
Encompasses cultural events and societal norms shaping individuals and those around them, illustrating how cultural values influence behavior.
Chronosystem (EST)
Focuses on the current life stage of an individual, recognizing the evolving nature of behaviors and mental processes over time.
Imprinting
Occurs when animals become genetically predisposed to respond to sensory stimuli that imprint them on their caregivers.
The “Strange Situation” Experiment
A psychological procedure designed by Mary Ainsworth to observe and assess a child’s attachment style by exposing them to a series of controlled situations involving separations and reunions with their caregiver, often in the presence of a stranger, within an unfamiliar environment
Insecure/Avoidant Attachment
- Not distressed or upset when mom leaves
- Will interact and play with stranger whether or not mom is present.
- Indifferent to mom’s return
Secure Attachment
- Play happily and explore their new environment in the mother’s presence. When she leaves, they become distressed.
- Avoidant of stranger while mom is gone, but will interact with them while she is there.
- Seek contact with the mother when she returns.
Disorganized Attachment
- Show no consistent behavior during separation and reunions.
Authoritarian Parents
They are strict and expect that their children should be obedient and do what they are told. It can create an orderly home, but it can also make children feel frustrated or resentful.
Permissive Parents
They are lenient and allow their children to do almost anything they want. While this can make for a fun and relaxed home environment, it can also lead to problems if children don’t learn how to set their own limits.
Neglectful Parents
They are uninvolved and don’t show much interest in their children’s life maybe because of stress or other reasons. As a result, children can feel lonely, ignored, and unsupported.
Authoritative Parents
They strike a balance between being demanding and responsive. They encourage open discussions and value children’s opinions. This fosters a warm and supportive home environment where children feel heard and respected.
Social Clock
A cultural expectation of when people should accomplish certain life events, such as getting married, having children, or starting a career.
Classical Conditioning
Where we associate two stimuli together to produce a learned response.
Operant Conditioning
Where behaviors are reinforced or punished to increase or decrease the likelihood of them occurring again.
Observational Learning
Introducing the concept that behavior is learned through the environment.
Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)
A stimulus that elicits a natural, reflexive response.
- Food triggering saliva
Unconditional Response (UCR)
The natural reflexive response to the UCS.
- Salivation
Neutral Stimulus
A stimulus that by itself elicits no response.
- Bell Sound (no salivation)
Conditioned Stimulus (CS)
The former neutral stimulus has now acquired the ability to elicit the reflexive response.
- Bell sound (after being paired with food, it now triggers salivation)
Conditioned Response (CR)
The learned reflexive response to a conditioned stimulus
- Salivation after bell sound
Acquisition
The initial phase of learning when the neutral stimulus is paired with the UCS.
During acquisition the neutral stimulus is paired with the UCS over and over again. Timing is important during this phase. It is best to present the neutral stimulus right before the UCS.
Extinction
When the CS is no longer paired with the UCS.
After several pairings in which the CS is not presented with the UCS a loss of association may take place thus causing the CR to decline or become extinct. (It is also important to note that this is NOT a permanent change)
Spontaneous Recovery
After extinction has taken place a random reappearance of the CR after the CS is presented.
After a behavior has been learned and become extinct it is possible for it to reappear after a random presentation of the CS. This illustrates that extinction is really a suppression rather than elimination.
Generalization
The appearance of the CR in response to a stimulus that is similar to the original stimulus.
Generalization occurs when something is so similar to the CS that you evoke the CR. For example the sound of a tuning fork vs. the sound of a bell.
Discrimination
The appearance of the CR only in response to a specific stimulus.
Discrimination is the ability to differentiate between a stimulus that elicits the CR and one that does not.
Biological Preparedness
Refers to how animals, including humans, are biologically predisposed to learning specific stimulus-response pairings more quickly than others.
law of effect.
Determined that learning is a result of consequences. If a behavior is rewarded, it is strengthened. If the result is unpleasant, the behavior is weakened.
Reinforcement
Occurs when a stimulus or event follows a behavior, thus increasing the likelihood of the behavior being repeated.
Positive Reinforcement
Adding a pleasant stimulus after the desired response. Something is added to increase the likelihood of a behavior being repeated. EX: Receive a bonus check to meet your sales quota at work.
Negative Reinforcement
The removal of something unpleasant or an aversive stimulus. Escaping the aversive stimuli increases the likelihood of the same behavior increasing in the future. The learner has learned to avoid an event or aversive outcome. EX: Taking aspirin to relieve a headache. The headache is the aversive stimulus. Taking aspirin is the behavior that will be increased.
Shaping
This technique involves rewarding successive approximations of the desired behavior, gradually leading the individual toward the target behavior.
Instinctive Drift.
Some behaviors are more resistant to shaping due to instinctual tendencies.
Conditioned Reinforcers
Like money or praise, derive their reinforcing power from being associated with primary reinforcers through learning.
Primary Reinforcers
Like food and water are innate and do not require learning.
Continuous Reinforcement
This is when you reinforce the behavior EVERY TIME it occurs. It is most effective during the beginning of learning. With continuous reinforcement, acquisition is quick, but so is extinction.
Partial Reinforcement
This is when you reinforce the behavior only SOME of the time. With partial reinforcement, acquisition comes more slowly, but the behavior is not as quickly extinguished. There are four schedules for partial reinforcement.
Fixed-Ratio
A schedule that reinforces after a specified number of responses. Produces a high rate of responding.
Ex- Getting paid for every 10 envelopes you mail out for a company.
Variable-Ratio
A schedule that reinforces after an unpredictable number of responses. Produces a high steady rate of responding.
Ex- Slot machine
Fixed-Interval
A schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified amount of time. Responses increase as the reinforcement.
Ex- Studying increasing right before an exam, but then falls off at the beginning of the next unit.
Variable-Interval
A schedule of reinforcement that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals. produces a moderate steady rate of responding, especially when the interval is short.
Ex- If a teach gives pop quizzes regularly, students are more likely to study.
Superstitious behavior
Happens when consequences reinforce behaviors unrelated to the desired outcome. For example, athletes may wear the same pair of lucky socks during every game, believing it will help them perform better.
Learned helplessness
Occurs when individuals feel powerless and think they have no control over adverse outcomes.
Punishment
Unlike reinforcement, decreases the likelihood that a behavior will take place. Punishment is applied after a behavior has taken place with the goal of decreasing or eliminating that behavior in the future.
Positive Punishment
Positive punishment is the addition of something unpleasant to decrease undesirable behavior.
EX: Getting grounded for bad grades.
Negative Punishment
Negative punishment removes something pleasant to decrease unwanted behavior.
EX: Your parents take away your smartphone for bad grades.
Escape (RN)
Remove horrible stimuli following good behavior.
Ex- Turning off an alarm clock by pressing the snooze button.
Active Avoidance (RN)
behavior avoids horrible stimulus.
Ex- Studying to avoid getting a bad grade.
Latent Learning
It’s a type of learning that happens without us even realizing it until we need to use that knowledge.
Insight Learning
Involves solving problems through sudden and unexpected realizations rather than a step-by-step strategy.
Social learning.
Sometimes, learning takes place in the absence of a reinforcer.
Cognitive learning
Involves the acquisition of knowledge rather than simply changes in behavior. It aims to explain how information is obtained, processed, and organized.
Observational learning
Occurs through imitation and observation of others, called modeling.
Neural mirroring
Involves mirror neurons, which are believed to activate when we perform specific actions and observe others doing the same.
Prosocial behaviors
Such as helpful and kind actions, can positively affect those around us.
Antisocial behavior
For instance, individuals exposed to aggressive or dishonest behaviors are more likely to replicate these actions.
