developmental psych Flashcards
in what ways do psychologists categorise development (2-2)
in psychological areas or time periods
quantitative or qualitative
difference between quantitative and qualitative development
quantitative = numerical changes (height, weight) qualitative = structurally different changes
observational studies
important to observe children in their natural environment, BUT they are correlational and so experimental studies may be more valuable to establish causation
longitudinal designs
very important to monitor development without individual differences, but they are expensive and high attrition rates
microgenetic method
examines change as it occurs; repeated measurements are taken from the same ppt over a period of transition
perry & pollard brain study
studied deprived children, found that their brains were abnormally small and underdeveloped
how is brightness useful in measuring developmental
it is a low-level processing task used to mark where children are in terms of visual processing
visual acuity
clarity or sharpness of vision
how is visual acuity tested in infants (2)
preferential looking method - ppl tend to look at stimuli which is more visually interesting, so infants are shown increasingly detailed stripes = they will look at the most detailed one they perceive before the stripes ‘become grey’
habituation - infants will only be interested in new stimuli if they perceive it as changed (they have become dishabituated)
faces in infancy
babies prefer their mothers face or happy faces
at 3 months, infants prefer proportionate faces or faces that are racially similar to their own
hearing in infancy
newborns prefer culturally familiar sounds
at 6 months they can interpret verbal intonation
smell in infancy
infants prefer breast milk to formula, and sweet smells (as well as tastes)
reflexes in infancy
these are the first levels of motor development
- they begin to disappear as the frontal cortex grows (and the ability to control motor movement develops)
intermodal perception
integrating information from 2 or more senses
- appears to be inherent from infancy
2 theories of motor development
maturational theory
dynamic systems theory
maturational theory of motor development
motor development occurs in a predetermined order by the brain’s motor program
& deprivation doesn’t lead to impairment (unless EXTREME)
dynamic systems theory of motor development
development is produced by multiple systems interacting with the environment; complex behaviours come from complex interactions
perceptual-motor development
developing the ability to produce voluntary action based on perceived stimuli, along with adjusting your own actions
vision in developing walking
blind children are often delayed = this shows the importance of visual flow fields
visual patterns of motion give feedback - infants are often knocked over by illusions
importance of contingent responding
forming connections is extremely important in development; contingency helps to form bonds and establish role models
bucharest early intervention project
comparing children who were randomly assigned to high quality foster care or remaining in institutional care
= foster care increased brain activity (on EEGs), language skills, recognition & decreased chances of experiencing severe mental health issues
prelinguistic language ability
mostly babbling
phonemes begin to be tailored to mimic native language
if deaf & exposed to sign language, babbling is done with hands
holophrases
early infancy speech - single words stand in for sentences
wug test
tests the application of language (verbs / nouns, etc) to ensure its not just memorisation
critical period in language acquisition
before 8 years of age
after this time, it sees a steady decline in score
nicaraguan sign language
school of deaf children created their own sign language to communicate with each other in the 70s; it is still functional and used today
how is self perception tested in children / other mammals
the mirror test; a mark is put on their head, then they face a mirror and observed to see if they touch the mark on their head by just seeing it in the mirror (=recognise their reflection as themselves)
6 types of LTM
explicit = consciously retrieved implicit = subconsciously effects behaviour declarative = knowing something is true procedural = how to do something semantic = knowlege/facts episodic = events/memories
3 theories for why infantile amnesia occurs
- memory format changes so it’s impossible to access old format
- neural change; late maturation of specific brain structures (hippocampus) limits early storage
- cueing; differences in types of cues that trigger memory retrieval limit recollection
3 components of a developed autobiographical memory
- orienting info (context about the event)
- referential detail (physical properties and descriptors)
- evaluative info (own response to event)
metacognition
awareness of one’s own thinking, moving away from absolutism
executive function
effortful, goal-directed regulation of action; predicts achievement better than intelligence when young & predicts life success in adulthood
joint attention [social]
coordinating attention with other people towards stimuli
social referencing [social]
referring to others in ambiguous situations
importance of eye movement in social dev
newborns look faster at items cued by gaze following; babies later diagnosed with autism have little reaction to eye movement
theory of mind
recognising that other people have a full range of mental states
5 stages of theory of mind
1 - imitative experiences with others 2 - understanding attention in others 3 - understanding others' knowledge 4 - understanding others' intentions 5 - understanding others' beliefs
tests for theory of mind (2r)
reading emotions from eye photos
sally-anne test; interpreting false beliefs and point of views on different information
3 types of smiling
endogenous - triggered by changes in nervous system / physical sensations
social - triggered by social stimuli
instrumental - to achieve a goal
development of laughter
changes from being triggered by physical stimuli to cognitive stimuli
development of crying
starts as a survival reflex response, changes to be emotionally or cognitively triggered
sex differences in play / attention
newborn girls look longer at faces & boys at moving mobiles
these differences often come out in play diff.
these were also seen in monkeys who had never seen toys before - girls went to dolls and boys to truck
tanner stages of development
5 stages to help determine where adolescents are at in terms of puberty
split into external genitalia, breast development, and pubic hair growth
BUT it’s based off of one ethnic group and small sampling
puberty age variation
shown to have a genetic component
the age of onset has decreased since the 19th century
psychological effects of puberty (3)
consequences of physical changes
hormonal
changes in brain structure
changes in brain structure in puberty
excess gray matter is pruned out = connections become more efficient
motor areas mature, but higher thinking isn’t finished maturing until early 20s
elkind & imaginary audience
adolescents give themselves an imaginary audience - they feel observed in their changes
they develop a personal fable, showing signs of egocentrism
marcia’s identity stages
interview technique to determine stages of identity status
- diffusion
- foreclosure
- moratorium
- achievement of identity
ADHD as a developmental disorder
present in children from v young age & cannot keep up with their peers throughout childhood
diagnosing ADHD
need 6+ of the inattention symptoms
need 6+ of the hyperactivity-impulsivity symptoms
symptoms must be present before age 7
must be affected in 2 settings
ADHD differences in brain structures (4)
frontstriatal circuit abnormalities prefrontal cortex basal ganglia cerebellum [these are associated with executive function]
ADHD treatments
stimulant medication
autism structural abnormality
brain overgrows in early years
sex differences in autism
M:F
4-5:1 in classic ASD
10:1 in asperger’s
autism treatment
long-term therapies
antidepressants/antipsychotics
no treatment available for social communication difficulties
