developmental psych. l and ll Flashcards
what are some issues within dev. psych?
nature vs. nurture, change in stability, continuity vs. stages
how long is pregnancy and how long are the three trimesters?
around 9 months
the trimesters are all about 3 months
what is the germinal stage?
the first stage, when the zygote is just forming and implanting into uterine wall, clump of cells
what is the embryo stage?
cells begin forming, neural tube forms
what is cephalocaudal and proximodistal?
head to tail, near to far
what is the fetal stage?
in the second trimester: movement, nervous system and brain dev.
in the third trimester: neurological, respiratory, and cardiovascular systems
what/when is the age of viability
22 weeks, the age where a baby can survive with extreme medical intervention
why does sound adaptation happen in fetuses?
sounds heard in the womb become habitual, therefore do not bother the fetus when born
ex: vacuuming noises
what are the three env. influences on a fetus?
maternal malnutrition, infections, teratogens
what are teratogens and what are some ways they reach the fetus?
toxins introduced by the carrier, can come from drugs/alcohol/tobacco/chemicals, viruses/bacteria, and health conditions
what are some innate skills a baby is born with?
breathing, crying, reflexes, looking for food
what are the three sets of reflexes that help survival in babies?
oxygen, maintaining body temp. manage feeding
what are some other reflexes? (3)
babinski, moro, palmar grasping reflex
what are the 4 different ways to examine maturation?
brain, motor skills, cognitive, social and emotional
what is maturation?
growth and development that is predictable and sequential in changes in behaviour
nurture adjusts the timing, nature sets the sequence
explain what happens to neuron connections through womb to early childhood
womb - rapid rate of neuron creation
birth - connections between neurons increase
infancy - neural connections grow in less complex parts of brain (body functions)
early childhood - neural connections increase in more complex parts of brain (thinking, memory)
what is motor development, and some examples?
predictable stages in body maturation
ex: sitting, crawling, beginning to walk, walking independently
what are the motor skills in order (6)
grasping - reaching - purposeful grasping - reach and grasp - controlled reach and grasp - pincer grasp
what are some examples of cognition (mental activities)?
problem-solving, storing/retrieving knowledge, understanding/using language
how do we measure cognition in infants?
looking, head turns, sucking
what is habituation?
something new = more time looking
something not new = less time looking
what does piaget think about nature vs nurture and continuity vs stages?
thinks its both nature and nurture, but only stages
define schemas in your own words
mental framework to organize our experiences
what is the difference between assimilation and accommodation
assimilation - adding new experiences into existing schemas
accommodation - adjusting schema to better fit expectations
what is the sensorimotor stage?
using senses and motor to investigate world, learning is without reflection
object permanence is in this stage
what is the preoperational stage?
thinking symbolically, imagination begins, ego-centric
what is the theory of mind?
the ability to understand that everyone has their own thoughts/perspectives
what is the concrete operational stage?
using logic/scientific framework to understand the world
what is conservation?
ability to understand that a quantity does not change even when it turns to another shape (think of the playdough experiment from christina)
what is the formal operational stage?
abstract thinking, reasoning, more complex ethical thinking
does piaget’s theory still stand?
yes, but not really. dev. is continuous and children show capabilities at different stages than he thought, and social context is important
what is vygotsky’s theory on social learning? thin of scaffold)
children learn skills by observing language from others and develop inner speech
ex: children talk to themselves while learning
what is attachment?
physical and emotional closeness to another person, specifically a caregiver for children
what is the stages of strange situation test?
test the attachment of the child, consists of a mother, baby, and experimenter
mother with baby, stranger joins, mother leaves baby and stranger alone, etc.
what are the four attachment types?
secure, insecure/ambivalent, insecure/avoidant, disorganized/disoriented
what is a secure attachment?
a positive and trusting relationship between child and caregiver, child feels comfortable exploring when caregiver is near
what is the insecure/ambivalent attachment?
child is clingy near caregiver and doesn’t want to explore, very upset and inconsolable when caregiver leaves and returns
what is the insecure/avoidant attachment?
indifference to their caregiver, not really upset when caregiver leaves and can be comforted by anyone
what is the disorganized//disoriented attachment?
confused behaviours, wants caregiver but is also afraid, ‘freezing’
what predicts attachment styles?
innate - temperament
learned - parenting behaviour
ainsworth talks about good parenting behaviour
why is attachment important?
helps development in resilience and well-being
helps perspective on later relationships, motivation towards risks, trust
what happens if attachment is absent for a long time? (4 examples)
difficulty forming attachments
increased anxiety and depression
lowered intelligence
increased aggression
what is the lifespan perspective?
that development is a lifelong process
what is puberty?
a time of sexual maturation, increased sex hormones, height changes, changes in mood/behaviour,
what stage in piagets theory are adolescents in?
formal operational stage
what is kohlbergs levels of moral reasoning?
preconventional
conventional
postconventional
what is chief challenge for in relation to social development?
for adolescents to form an identity
why is it important to test and integrate “selves” during adolescence, according to erikson
to avoid role confusion
what becomes the biggest influences on identity for adolescents?
peer relationships
when does physical development peak in life?
mid-20s
what are some factors that influence why we dont live forever?
wear and tear
programmed aging models
nurture/environment
genes
cells cannot replicate at a certain age
what parts of cognition do not decline with age?
ability to recognize information, ability to use previous knowledge
is the midlife crisis real?
yes, due to a “social clock” rather than a function of age
