developmental Flashcards
define developmental psychology
study of change and stability over a lifespan
how we change physically, cognitively, behaviourally, socially over time due to biological, individual and environmental differences
what are the 3 different ways to study development?
quantitative, qualitative, study stability
what the difference between ontogenetic and microgenetic development?
ontogenetic = development of an individual over their lifetime microgenetic = changes that occur over a brief period of time
define cohort
group of people raised in the same environment and share certain demographic characteristics
what are cohort effects?
changes across generations in the characteristic being studied
what is a cross sectional design?
children of different ages are observed at a single point in time
what is a longitudinal design?
more than one observation of the same group of children is made at different points in their development
what is a sequential design?
combination of cross sectional and longitudinal designs that examines development of individuals from different age cohorts
studies behaviour changes with age
list the pros and cons of a cross sectional design
pros = least time consuming, quick estimate of changes with age cons = only describes age differences, can't look at how individual change as performance is averaged over different individuals at each age
list the pros and cons of a longitudinal design
pros = can look at within and between children change with age cons = expensive, high drop out rates, time consuming
list the pros and cons of a micro genetic study
pros = very precise descriptions are taken due to high intensity of measurements cons = intensive to run so small sample size, practice effects
what designs would show continuous growth?
cross sectional and longitudinal data
what design would show discontinuous growth?
microgenetic studies where infants are tested daily/weekly
list the tools used to study development
interviews/questionnaires naturalistic observation structured observation (lab study) psychophysical methods = eyetracking, HR cognitive neuro methods = PET, fMRI, EEG cognitive measures = memory tests, IQ tests
what is a schema?
mental representations/ set of rules that enable children to interact with their world through defining a particular category of behaviour
they change through the joint process of assimilation and accommodation
they develop through experience and become more complex with development
what is disequlibrium in terms of schemas?
imbalance between existing knowledge and input
occurs when new knowledge leads children to realise their current understanding is inaccurate
change from assimilation to accommodation
give examples of schemas
crawling, language development, categorising animals, adjusting grasp technique
what is assimilation? give an example
the integration of new input into existing schemas leading to more consolidated knowledge
e.g.
child sees a 4 leg animal similar to his own pet
existing schema = childs pet is called a dog
child calls new animal a dog and assimilates
what is accommodation? give an example
adjustment of schemas leading to growing and changing knowledge in order to avoid disequilibrium
e.g.
child sees another 4 leg furry animal (cat)
calls it a dog
mum tells child its a cat not a dog
child updates schema to include different words for 4 leg animals
what are the 4 stages of Piagets cognitive development theory?
- sensorimotor (0-2years)
- pre-operational (2-7years)
- concrete operational (7-12years)
- formal operational (12+years)
what are the 2 sub stages of the pre-operational stage of development?
pre-conceptual sub stage (2-4years)
intuitive thought sub stage (4-7years)
describe the key milestones in the sensorimotor stage (0-2years)
object permanance - realising when things aren’t visible they still exist
self awareness - being distinct from the environment
begin to develop mental representations leading to deferred imitation (repetition of other peoples behaviour)
describe the key milestones in the pre-conceptual sub stage (2-4years)
ecocentrism - seeing the world just from their point of view
can mentally represent ideas and objects (pretend play)
reduction of animism (idea that more living things than humans and animals)
describe the key milestones in the intuitive thought sub stage (4-7years)
develop symbolic thought
can systematically order and classify items but can’t pass all conservation tasks yet
describe the key milestones in the concrete operational stage (7-12years)
metacognition begins to develop (thinking about thinking)
conservation of mass, length, weight, vol is mastered
understand cause-effect relations
understand concept of compensation and reversibility
describe the key milestones in the formal operational stage (12+years)
abstract reasoning develops enabling children to speculate and reason
begin to formulate and test their hypotheses in the world
describe key features of piagets cognitive development theory
qualitative, universal, across all cultures, discontinuous (step like), children as constructivists, each child moves through the 4 stages in the same order at the same time (invariant)
what study was conducted to test object permanence?
A not B task
what study was conducted to test self awareness in the sensorimotor stage?
the rouge test
what study was conducted to test egocentrism in children?
the ‘3 mountains task’
evaluate Piaget’s theory considering its influence on developmental psychology
first insight into children’s minds
led to huge leads in research with replications and new methods
huge influence on education - child centred approach, children as active learners, different teaching for different ages
most comprehensive account from birth to adolescence
evaluate Piaget’s theory considering its limitations
some of the tasks were too advanced with memory and language demands which may explain why young children performed poorly
not child friendly
conservation tasks achieved at earlier age when task instructions were simplified
infants may be able to form mental representations - found 6w/olds could repeat tongue protrusion after 24hr delay (imitation)
methodological limitations
