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Developmental Flashcards

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1
Q

Difference between continuity and stability as developmental concepts

A

Continuity is the degree of consistency in group means, whereas stability is the degree of consistency in individual differences (stable being if their rank order in group stays the same over time)

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2
Q

Domain specific

A

Focus on a particular behavior, emphasizing things with a narrow effect

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3
Q

Domain general

A

Focus on a range of behaviors, emphasizing things with a broad effect

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4
Q

Empiricism and Nativism

A

Empiricism is the theory that development comes through experience, whereas nativism claims that development comes from genetics (is innate)

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5
Q

Pragmatism theory and example

A

Between empiricism and nativism, a child’s capacity for actions helps them adapt to objects and concepts, emphasizes cognitive development
Piaget’s constructionism is an example

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6
Q

Piaget’s constuctivism

A

Cognitive development (internalizing experience) is a progression through fixed stages and is necessary for learning… experience is filtered through natural schema, which is updated when challenged by experience (RW rule)… Children construct their understanding, are active in it

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7
Q

Socio-cultural theory

A

Development occurs due to interaction with more able individuals. Function changes are observed first then internalized

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8
Q

Zone of proximal development

A

Distance between actual development and the level of potential development

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9
Q

Explain false dichotomy of nature vs nurture

A

Genes exert influence on the environment yet the environment influences genetic expression (e.g. epigenetics)

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10
Q

Developmental systems theory (research more)

A

Emphasizes nature-nurture complexity, individuals interaction with the environment across time and individuals’ diversity and plasticity

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11
Q

Cross sectional research and limitations (3)

A

Conducted at a single time, describing the pattern of relationships
Not causal, nothing about an individuals development overtime and confounded by cohort effects

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12
Q

Longitudinal research

A

Measuring the same individual at more than one point in time (causal)

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13
Q

Types of longitudinal research (3)

A

Panel studies - one cohort studied overtime
Multiple cohort studies - staggered overtime
Intervention studies - manipulating the circumstances

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14
Q

Types of genetically sensitive research designs

A

Behavior genetics - focused on differences
Quantitative genetics - estimates genes / environments influence (e.g. twin studies etc)
Molecular genetics - grouping DNA variants with traits

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15
Q

Logic behind twin studies

A

Since Monozygotics share 100% DNA and Dizygotic 50%, if monozygotic twins score more similarly then the trait is more heritable

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16
Q

A, C and E in twin studies

A

A - Additive genetic effect (heritability estimate)
C - Common environment estimate
E - Non-shared environment estimate

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17
Q

Difference between heritable and innate

A

Heritability describes the proportion of individual’s variance than can be attributed to DNA
Innate describes human universals (2 eyes) that are only not the case due to the environment

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18
Q

Logic behind adoption studies

A

Can compare the adopted child to their parents and biological parents to see the impact of the environment

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19
Q

Describe habituation / dis-habituation toddler research

A

Present stimuli until uninterested, then change it. When the original stimuli returns, discrimination is apparent if the toddler reacts to it again

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20
Q

Describe anticipatory looking toddler research

A

Infants observe a predictable sequence. When repeated, their gaze is recorded to see if it anticipates

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21
Q

Describe violation of expectations toddler research

A

Shown events compatible with a principle. Looking times are measured when the principle is violated to see if the infant understands the principle

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22
Q

Piaget’s ideas on how children think

A

Children’s cognition (qualitatively different from adults) develops in a fixed, universal sequence - each part having a unique logic

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23
Q

Piaget’s stages of development (4)

A 
Sensorimotor (0-2) - beings to act intentionally and differentiates oneself from objects
Preoperational (2-7) - represents objects in mind, largely egocentric, classifies objects by single features
Concrete operational (7-12) - logically reflects, understands measurements, classifies objects by several features
Formal operational (12-...) - thinks abstractly and logically about hypothetical's and the future
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24
Q

Describe A not B test (for infants) and critisism

A

Object under container A until habituated, then moved to B in front of the infant. Under 6 months, infant doesn’t look under B.
This could be due to lack of concentration

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25
Conservation and why errors in it occur (3)
Knowing something is the same when it's appearance changes (water from tall glass to wide glass) Errors occur due to ego-centrism, centration (fixation on one feature) and reversibility (inability to reverse events
26
Criticism of Piaget's stages of development and evidence
Thought development was domain general, but it may be domain specific as children perform differently on tasks supposed to measure the same cognitive stage Piaget claimed this was only temporary
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Predictors of poor performance in A not B task (2)
Long delays before asking | More A trials before switching to B
28
Components of number cognition (2)
Abstraction (counting or estimating) - creating appropriate numerical representations Reasoning (adding etc) - understanding the principles of numerical manipulation
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Distance effect for numbers
The closer the numbers in question, the more errors
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Subitizing
Enumerating without conscious counting (in reaction time tasks)
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Piaget's ideas on children understanding numbers (4)
``` Counting doesn't show understanding They have no innate number sense They do not understand until 7, needing conservation, class inclusion and seriation (ordering) It is a domain general process ```
32
Principles of counting (5)
One to one - each item tagged with number Stable order - for tags, repeated the same Cardinal - Final tag represents total Abstraction - anything can be counted Order irrelevance - tagging order doesn't matter First 3 claimed to be acquired in pre-operational (cardinal = last) but the other two for older children
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Number sense hypothesis
Brain has an innate mechanism for numerical qualities, derived from evolutionary past
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How the number sense improves with age
Experiments show 6 months olds to discriminate at a 2:1 ratio, 3 year olds at a 4:3 and adults at a 11:10
35
Genetic influence of maths (2)
School test results show it to be highly heritable | And domain general as it correlates with IQ and literacy
36
Environmental influence of maths (2) and critisism
Socio-economic background and mother's education are strong predictors However this could be a passive genetic indicator
37
Difference between reliability and validity
Reliability is if the measure yields the same results on repetition whereas validity is if the measure is measuring what it claims to
38
Psychometrics
Science of psychological assessment concerning individual differences
39
What is (5) and is not (2) measured in psychometric intelligence tests
Is: understanding, adaption, working memory, processing speed and problem solving Is not: emotional intelligence, social ability
40
Single and multiple item intelligence tests and example of each
Single item ones measure one aspect of intelligence (Ravens progressive matrices test) and multiple item measures multiple (Wechsler's test)
41
Factor analysis
Determines the latent variables (factors) that account for the variation amongst observed measures, accounting for errors / anomalies
42
Catell's two factors of intelligence
Fluid - using no previous knowledge | Crystallised - using established store of knowledge
43
IQ test scores
Given a value based on where one is on a normal distribution for their age (mean = 100, SD = 15)
44
IQ definitions of (1) learning disability and (2) gifted person
1) 70 or below 2) 130 or above (Both are 2 SD's from mean)
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Correlations with IQ scores
School results, socio-economic status and self-control
46
Heritability of IQ tests
Very high, MZ twins show the same correlation as individuals retesting themselves. However environmental influences are also established
47
Genes that determine intelligence intelligence
Seems to be polygenetic - individual genes having a small effect on intelligence so is down to combinations
48
The Flynn effect and implications
Evidence was found for substantial gains in fluid intelligence across generations in 5 countries - 30 point increase in a century Shows the environments influence on intelligence
49
Theory of mind
Capacity to attribute mental states to others, enabling the predicting or explaining of their behaviour
50
Piaget's ideas on theory of mind development (2)
Only egocentric interaction between children until after the pre-operational stage (age of 8) Had a domain general view, seeing ToM and cognition development as inseparable
51
Describe the false belief identity task
Object enclosed in an unexpected package (pencils in a Smarties box). Ask children if their (e.g.) mother will know what is in the box. If they say pencils, shows the child has theory of mind
52
Describe false belief changing location task
Character A puts item in location. Character B then moves it without A's knowledge. Ask child where A will look for item. If they say in original location, shows the child has theory of mind
53
Nativist account for theory of mind and a study that supports it
It is innate, domain specific skill Box study: 15 month old found to look longer when the expectation of an object's location was violated as the experimenter reaches to another location - indicating ToM in infants
54
Constructivist account for theory of mind
That stages of it develop and increase in sophistication, depending on interaction with the environment
55
Relationship between theory of mind and executive function
Highly correlated (false belief and EF task performance), both impaired in ASD children. EF is thought to come before ToM as control of personal thoughts should predate understanding of others thoughts.
56
Social constuctivist account for theory of mind and study that supports it
Conversations with others are primarily responsable for ToM development as they help us understand others views (trial and error learning) Evidenced by study showing more discussion with parents about mental states means more ToM
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Mind-mindedness
Proclivity to view others as individuals with their own mental states
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What correlates with high theory of mind (3)
High mind-mindedness, larger families, higher socio-economic status
59
Piaget's ideas on moral reasoning (4)
Children are moral realists, following rules inflexibly until age 12 They are focused on consequences rather than motives until around 9 years old (subjective responsibility) They are keen on punishment (justice) for bad consequences Is domain general, cognitive shortcomings causing slow development (e.g. ego-centrism)
60
Kohlberg's moral reasoning dilemma
Husband cannot pay for a life saving drug for their wife so, after trying to raise the money, he steals it. Was he wrong?
61
Kohlberg's moral reasoning categories (3)
Pre-conventional reasoning - avoid punishment, conform to power, 'right' actions satisfy oneself Conventional reasoning - 'right' action pleases others, rules are fixed (to maintain order) Post-conventional reasoning - 'right' is what is agreed upon, rules are flexible and principles abstract
62
Kohlberg's theory of moral reasoning and support for it
It develops through stages that mirror Piaget's cognitive stages of development Longitudinal study found 94% of participants to adhere to this stage model
63
Evidence for an innate (nativist) moral sense and critisism
6 month old infants favored the helpful toy over the one that knocked it down the hill However maybe crashing downwards is more aversive than an object moving upwards in a controlled way (re-run of experiment indicates this is true)
64
Social-interactionist view on moral reasoning
A predisposition for helping may be present at birth yet social experience (praise/observing) very influential
65
Bowlby's theory of attachment
From research, he postulated that parental care was vital for strong mental health, maternal deprivation being particularly damaging. Said because of strong, innate affectionate bonds for contact and intimacy
66
Stages of early attachment (4)
Before 3 months - responds to others with limited discrimination 3-6 months - discriminates common figures (parents), greeting their return etc 9 months - 2 years - puts energy into maintaining proximity with them, clinging and crying etc 2-5 years - develops insight into their behavior, formulating an internal working model of their relationship
67
Bowlby's predictions of attachment (3)
Feeling secure encourages exploration, fear encouraging attachment Parenting quality influences mental health and personal relationships later in life Sustained, responsive parenting needed for attachment
68
Describe the strange situation test
A stranger enters the room, talks to the mother then plays with the infant. The mother then leaves, re-enters. Then the stranger leaves, the mother leaves again (child alone). Then the stranger re-enters, then the mother and finally the stranger leaves. Child's behavior is being measured and coded for attachment to mother
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General findings in the strange situation test
A child's exploration reduces and attachment increases when the mother leaves due to fear of mothers absence
70
Attachment status' derived from the strange situation test (3) and their prevalence
Avoidant (A, 20%) - not distressed when separated and doesn't greet parent Secure (B, 70%) - sometimes distressed when separated and responds positively to reunion Resistant (C, 10%) - consistent distress when separate, greets upon reunion and parent not effective in reducing stress
71
Ainsworth's measures for parental sensitivity (4)
Awareness of child's signals Accuracy of interpretation of signals Appropriateness of response to signals Promptness of response
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Temperament
Innate individual differences in reactivity / self-regulation
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What seems to correlate with high attachment
High parental sensitivity, negative temperament (with resistant attachment), quality family environment
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Criticism of the strange situation test
May only measure children's response to stress, more representing the temperament of the child
75
Diagnosing symptoms of ASD (3)
Deficits in social communication and interaction across multiple contexts Restricted/repetitive behaviors or interests High reactivity to sensory aspects of environment
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ASD prevalence and male:female ratio
4:1 ratio, 1 / 110 diagnosed - up from 1 / 5000 in 1975
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Heritability of ASD
Highly... 36% of MZ twins diagnosed and 0% of DZ, 0.93 genetic in ACE model
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Genetic cause of ASD
Like most psychiatric disorders, it is polygenetic (multiple genes causing it) - many different alleles have a small effect combined GWAS studies have found correlations of common (49%) and rare (3%) genes with ASD, and a 3% de novo mutation cause
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De novo mutations
Genetic mutations occurring from one generation to the next
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Potential environmental causes of ASD (3)
Prenatal stress has been linked to it when 3 times as many ASD births occurred with mothers with high exposure to severe storms compared to low Smoking and lead/other metal exposure also linked
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Relevant (to the module) impairments of ASD
``` Lack of ToM Executive dysfunction (frontal lobe abnormalities) Weak central coherence - explaining intense interests ```
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Central coherence
Tendency to draw together diverse information to construct higher levels of meaning in context
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Evidence against ASD having a single cause, and being a single disorder
Symptoms are independently heritable Polygenetic Symptoms have distinct cognitive causes
84
Conduct disorder and heritability
Angry, irritable, defiant vindictive etc (anti-social behavior) outside of age appropriate norms for at least 6 months Shown to be highly (50%) heritable
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Callousiunemtional traits
Lack of guilt / remorse / concern for others and shallow emotions - 50% of conduct disorder people
86
Experimental differences in those with conduct disorder (4)
Overactive amygdala when shown fearful faces Less accurate at labeling fear and sad faces More likely to attribute hostile intentions to others when in ambiguous situations Mirrors symptoms of frontal lobe damage (executive dysfunction), e.g. impaired inhibition
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Social learning theory on anti-social behaviour
Children learn aggressive behavior through imitation of others (Bandura's doll observable learning study)
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Parenting's role in anti-social behaviour
Harsh physical and psychological control of children correlate with anti-social behavior
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Gene-environment interaction in anti-social behavior
Passive correlation ruled out by adoption studies showing harsh parenting's effect in related and unrelated families Evocative gene-environment correlation likely - the child's genetic predisposition influences their and their parents behavior... child with conduct problems elicits more harsh parenting, worsening the problem

Psychology (9 decks)

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