Developmental Psychology Flashcards
developmental psychology
study of how people change over time
3 domains of development
- physical
- psychosocial
- cognitive
how is culture acquired?
culture is socially acquired and not inherited.
individualism
cultures that place emphasis on independence, individual achievements, and self-expression.
collectivism
cultures that place emphasis on social harmony, contributing to the good of a group (family, community, etc.), obedience, and conformity.
Gender
set of cultural beliefs, values, attitude, behaviours, communications associated with being a man or a woman
Erik Erikson’s psychosocial theory
- an expanded theory based on Freud’s theory of development. Describes 8 stages of development each associated with a crisis to be resolved.
- states that conflicts arent usually completely resolved; but if not sufficiently resolved will have negative impact at later stage of development.
- development was reversible
8 stages of Erikson’s psychosocial theory
infancy = trust vs mistrust
toddlerhood = Autonomy vs shame and doubt
early childhood = initiative vs guilt
middle childhood = industry vs inferiority
adolescence = identity vs identity confusion
early adulthood = intimacy vs isolation
middle adulthood = generativity vs stagnation
late adulthood = ego integrity vs dispair
crossing over
during meiosis genes are exchanged between chromosomes inhereted from each parent
trisomy
extra chromosome
monosomy
missing chromosome
teratogens
any agent that can cause abnormality following fetal exposure during pregnancy
meiosis
a special type of cell division of germ cells that creates sexually-reproducing organisms that produces gametes such as eggs and sperm
gamete
a reproductive cell of an animal or a plant
prenatal development periods
- germinal
- embryonic
- fetal
germinal period
occurs at 1-2 weeks (first trimester), zygote divides and forms blastocyst, which implants in the uterus, and begins forming the amnion, placenta, and umbilical cord.
embryonic period (3-4 weeks)
synaptic pruning
unused neurons die, efficiency increases due to synaptic pruning
infant brain growth rate
1% per day; by age 2 it will reach 70%
exuberance
dendritic connections multiply
myelination
axons become encased in a myelin sheath
neurons (brain development)
they specialize in different regions of the brain for certain action and purpose
cerebellum (brain development)
doubles in size in the first 90 days; is purposed to muscle coordination, and movement
hippocampus (brain development)
slowest growth, increases only 47% in the first 90 days and is purposed to memory
plasticity
- development is flexible and responds to environmental circumstances
- adaptable to overcome damage, but young brains are more plastic (early intervention is important to help address damage as the brain is more able to reorganise and adapt itself)
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
- infants between 2-4 months at highest risk
- no clear cause but risk factors: sleeping on stomach instead of back, low birth weight and APGAR score, smoking, soft bedding.
gross motor development
- includes whole body movements like crawling
- children tend to develop motor skills in sequence
- sequence has genetic beginnings with environmental influences
major accomplishments of fine motor skills
include reaching and grasping
maturation (piaget)
development occurs due to an innate, biological program
schemes (piaget)
cognitive structures that allow us to process and organise information
assimilation (piaget)
cognitive processes for altering new information to fit an existing scheme
accomodation (piaget)
cognitive processes for changing a scheme to suit new information
simple reflexes (sensorimotor stage 1)
birth - 1 month: sucking grasping, but still inspires learning
first habits and primary circular reactions (sensorimotor stage 2)
1-4 months: adaptions of reflexes, learn to repeat body motions (hand to mouth)
secondary circular reactions (sensorimotor stage 3)
4-8 months: repetition and awareness, loop involving people and objects (rattle makes sound when baby shakes it)
coordination of secondary schemes (sensorimotor stage 4)
8-12 months: goal-directed behaviour (go looking for object)
object permanence
objects continue to exist even when not aware of them.
- <4 mo: no understanding
- 4 to 8 mo: some uncertainty about existence
- 8 to 12 mo: developing awareness
- lack of understanding of sense of self could contribute to this
- will still make A not B error
habituation (attention)
gradual decrease in attention
dishabituation (attention)
revival of attention with a new stimuli
social attention
how much attention is motivated or directed by social interaction
temperament
predictable pattern of reacting to people and events, pattern of arousal and emotion (precursor to personality)
dimensions of temperament
- activity level
- attention span
- emotionality
- soothability
- sociability
- adaptability
- quality of mood
goodness-of-fit
- a good fit between temperament of child and environmental demands
- cultures values different traits leading to cultural goodness-of-fit
primary emotions
- basic emotions we share with other animals
- distress, interest, and pleasure in first weeks of life
secondary emotions
develop later and are called socio-moral emotions, require experience to development (embarrassment, shame, guilt)
- sadness is rare unless mothers are depressed
stranger anxiety
fear unfamiliar adults, emerges as infant has attachments to familiar caregivers
infants emotional perceptions
- infants perceive emotions by hearing before seeing
- emotional contagion
- infants quickly learn to expect certain emotional reactions
- by 7 mo infants can match auditory to visual emotions
- social referencing
social referencing
observing others emotional reactions to figure out how to react, emerges about 9 to 10 mo
bodily growth age 1-2
- lose baby fat, become leaner
- around 6 mo solid food can be introduced to diet
- nutritional deficiency can impact cognitive and physical development
- growth is tracked to detect any areas of concern
toddler brain development
Early brain development is marked by two key developments:
- synaptic density
- synaptic pruning
synaptic density
- density of synaptic connections among neurons
- frontal cortex heavily impacted
synaptic pruning
- connections between neurons become fewer but more efficient
- increases efficiency by allowing used synapses to wither away
when does the greatest synaptic density occur in early childhood?
- synaptic connections increase through the first 2 years, but its at its greatest density at the end of toddlerhood
how much of the brain is developed at age 3?
- 70 %
what 4 parts of the brain have increased myelination by age 3?
- corpus callosum
- cerebellum
- reticular formation
- hippocampus
impact of increased myelination in the corpus callosum
- coordination between two hemispheres of the brain
- increase in speed of functioning through the cerebral cortex
impact of increased myelination in the cerebellum
- part of the brain involved in balance and motor movement
- further development of gross and fine motor skills
conservation
principal that the amount of a physical substance remains the same despite changes in appearance.
what does an inability to understand conservation reflect?
it reflects 2 cognitive characteristics:
- centration
- lack reversibility
impact of increased myelination in the reticular formation
- part of the brain involved in attention
- increased attention span
impact of increased myelination in the hippocampus
- involved in transfer of information from short term to long term memory
- myelination complete by age 5 - autobiographical memory improves
centration
focusing on one aspect of an object
lack reversibility
the ability to reverse an action mentally
egocentrism (cognitive limitations)
inability to distinguish between your own perspective and another person’s perspective
animism (cognitive limitations)
giving animals and objects human feelings and abilities
classifications (cognitive limitations)
younger children have limited ability to understand that objects can be simultaneously apart of more than one group or class
what are some inconsistencies in Piaget’s theory of preoperational stage?
- underestimation of children’s cognitive capabilities
- development as more continuous, and less-stage like
- underestimation of the role of sociocultural factors in fostering cognitive development
theory of mind
the ability to understand thinking processes in one’s self and others
false belief tasks
a research method to test how children understand the way they think and how others think.
how many words and at what age do children have a language explosion
at age 6 and on average around 2500 words
cultural differences in language development stages
- western languages learn nouns more than verbs
- eastern languages learn more verbs than nouns
language development complexities
- grammar is introduced and becomes more complex due to structure and rules. but some over genralizations may occur
- pragmatics improve: ability to adapt language to socio-cultural context (ie: using humour)
emotional development (early childood)
advances in emotional self regulation and understanding the emotions of others.
difficulties in emotional regulation
overcontrol
internalising problems eg: anxiety and depression
undercontrol
externalising problems eg: aggression
moral development (early childhood)
- further development of empathy
- ability to understand the perspective of others
- rudiments of moral reasoning
- more understanding of cultural rules/expectations
two dimensions to parenting styles
- responsiveness (warmth)
- demandingness (control)
tertiary circular reactions (piagets sensorimotor stages)
- 12-18 mo
- loop that involves active exploration and experimentation
- expansive, creative
mental representations, beginnings of thought (piagets sensorimotor stages)
- 18-24 mo
- symbolic thought, think first, less experimenting
- mental actions tried out before actual performance
elements of cognitive development in todlerhood
- object permanence
- deferred imitation
- categorisation
Vygotsky’s cultural theory of cognitive development
- viewed cognitive development as both a social and cultural process
toddler language milestones 12-18 mo
- holophrases: on word to represent whole phrases
- overextensions: using word too freely
- underextension: using word too narrowly
toddler language development 18-24 mo
naming explosion
- fast mapping: learning and remembering name of an object after just one exposure
- telegraphic speech: two word phrases
-beginning to understand rules of language
toddlerhood emotional regulation advances in 4 ways
- behavioural development: going to mother for comfort
- use of language: expressing oneself
- external requirements
- sociomoral emotions develop
terrible twos
occurs due to increased sense of self
toddlerhood emtions
- development of social/secondary emotions: shame, guilt
- empathy
- prosocial behaviour
Toddlerhood birth of self
- self recognition
- self reflection
attachment quality influenced by
- maternal sensitivity
- maternal responsiveness
obesity risks in middle childood
can lead to:
- psycho social:
emotional, behavioural problems, social exclusion
- physical consequences:
obesity
insulin
- stores fat
- has an affect of making you feel like you aren’t hungry
middle childhood and memory
- increased capacity of working memory
- mnemonic strategies: use increases with age
mnemonic strategies (middle childhood)
- rehearsal: repeat material
- organisation: chunk into categories
- elaboration: connect things to be remembered
metamemory
knowledge and awareness of your own memory improves
ADHD DSM diagnosis
either 1 and/or 2
1. inattention
2. hyperactivity/impulsivity
persistent pattern of symptoms (6mo or more), degree is maladaptive and inconsistent with developmental level.
neurological factors of ADHD
- Structural and/or functional difficulties in frontal lobes, basal ganglia and cerebellum.
- Although it appears to impact systems involved in attention and motor control, rather than just one or two parts of the brain.
- neurotransmitter deficiencies:
Dopamine and norepinephrine
Genetic factors of ADHD
family aggregate studies/cluster studies
- 10-30% of immediate family members of children with ADHD are also likely to have the disorder
- ADHD is highly heritable 60-90% heritability (less influence of environmental factors)
Environmental factors
- no significant contribution of parental rearing/management of ADHD symptoms
- diet etc.
ADHD treatment
medication:
- stimulant medication: aderoll, ritalin
behavioural:
- Parent training of behaviour modification techniques, behavioural classroom interventions
language development (middle childhood)
- rapid increase in vocabulary
- Grammar becomes more complex and can be seen with use of conditional sentences
- pragmatics understanding improves
Multilingualism (middle childhood)
cognitive benefits:
- better metalingual skills
emotional self regulation advances (middle childhood)
- increased ability to regulate own and understand others’ emotions
- understanding of ambivalence (mixed emotions)
self-concept (middle childhood)
- changes in how we view and evaluate ourselves
- becomes more complex- psychological, contextual, social comparison becomes more accurate
self-esteem (middle childhood)
- person’s overall sense of worth and well-being
- becomes more differentiated
- physical appearance - for most children and adolescents, strongest predictor to self-esteem
effects of middle childhood in divorce
- first 2 years post divorce particularly problematic
- changes in behaviour - externalising conflict
factors related to better adjustment of divorce
- function (income, stress, changes in child’s life
- harmony
- quality of mother-child relationship
- quality of relationship with dad
- stronger impacts of negative factors than positive factors
children’s responses to remarriage
- potential positive effects - less maternal stress
- ## negative effects: compared to non-div children impact on academic achievement, self-esteem and behavioural problems
four main categories of social status (middle childhood)
- popular: most often liked by others
- rejected: disliked by others
- neglected: rarely mentioned as liked or disliked
- controversial: liked by some children but not others
longer term implications of social status: rejected children
- internalising problems - lonely, depressed
- externalising problems - impulsiveness and aggression, conduct problems, conflict with peers and other people
Interventions: - building social skills - improve accuracy of social information processing (awareness and understanding)
the endocrine system and puberty
hormonal changes:
- are initiated when a threshold of percentage of body fat is reached
- this fat percentage triggers the hypothalamus to begin process of hormonal changes
two broad types of hormones
estrogens:
- oestradiol productions 8 times higher in females
androgens
- testosterone is 20 times higher in males
primary sex characteristics
directly related to reproduction:
- sperm
- eggs
secondary sex characteristics
other bodily changes due to hormonal increase (skin oily etc)
differences in timing of puberty
- cultural differences
- could be due to diet
- environment
- technology (medical care, food production)
- genetics
- family stress
- illness
- obesity
impact of difference in timing of puberty
- Maturational “Deviance” hypothesis - early and late maturing are different and thus experience more problems than on-time peers.
- adolescents of the same age are often at very different stages of development;
consequences of maturing early
Early girls
- Heavier and more mature appearance, but awkward and self-conscious;
- Depressed mood, negative body image, eating disorders;
- Early sex, delinquency, substance use.
Early boys
- Favorable body image;
- Higher popularity;
- Earlier delinquency;
- Long-term better careers & marital satisfaction.
consequences of maturing late
anorexia nervosa
main symptoms:
- restriction of energy intake leading to significantly low body weight
- intense fear of weight gain
- distorted body image or undue influences of shape and weight of self-evaluation
bulimia nervosa
- recurrent episodes of binge eating
- unhealthy compensatory behaviours following binge
- occurs at least once a week on average for 3 mo
- undue influence of shape and weight on self-evaluation
- can damage teeth from repeated vomiting
- tend to maintain normal or slightly higher weight and recognise abnormal eating patterns
binge eating disorder
- recurrent
other specified feeding and eating disorders (OSFED)
treating eating disorders
- hospitalisation for those medically at risk
- medication (always in conjunction with therapy)
- psychotherapy
substance use reasons (young adulthood)
- experimental
- social
- medicinal
- addictive
- new found independence
pragmitism (post-formal thinking)
- adapting logical thinking to the practical constraints of real-life situations
- aware of the impact of social factors
dialectical thought (post-formal thinking)
- problems may have no clear solution
reflective judgement (post-formal thinking)
- Capacity to evaluate the accuracy and coherence of evidence and arguments
dualist thinking (teens, reflective judgement)
- polarised, it’s right or wrong (not reflective)
multiple thinking (19-20, reflective judgement)
- awareness of duplicity, both sides are legitimate (judgement begins)
relativism (20s, reflective judgement)
- compare merits of competing views
commitment (mid 20s, reflective judgement)
- commit to certain viewpoint, re-evaluate if necessary
two main areas of cognitive development growth in young adulthood
- expertise
- creativity
brain development (young adulthood)
frontal lobe continues to mature
Erikson’s theory of identity development
- stage of identity vs role confusion
- identity formation historically thought to occur in adolescence
- emerging adulthood is a time period of importance
key areas to form identity
- love
- work
- ideology
- if not sufficiently balanced, it will have a negative impact at next stage
identity moratorium
time in life nearly free of responsibilities, free to explore options
James Marcia expanded on Erikson with identity status model based on two dimensions
- exploration of identity
- commitment to an identity
four identity statuses
- achievement
- moratorium
- foreclosure
- diffusion
Achievement
- completed exploration
- made commitments
Moratorium
- actively searching, sometimes struggling
- experimenting with roles
- temporary commitments
foreclosure
- identify with parents, socialisation pressure
- simply accept - no searching
diffusion
- identity issues not yet important
- choices are brief
- not trying to define self
Marcia’s identity status
- foreclosure most frequent among adolescents
- with age, more move towards achievement
- moratorium and achievement related to positive development
- diffusion and foreclosure less positive
- achieved have more success with intimacy
- achieved status not permanent - MAMA cycle
culture and identity
- culture influences identity
- many cultures view self as interdependent
- exploration to establish identity not possible in some cultures
- exploration of ideology occurs more in western countries
- globalisation impacts development of bicultural identity and/or hybrid identity
ethnic identity
- identity more complex if a member of ethnic minority group
- internal conflict between ethnic minority belief system and majority belief system
- four ways of responding to ethnic awareness:
bicultural, assimilated, separated, marginal
religious development
- emerging adults have more individualised approach to religion
- four main categories:
agnostic/atheists, deists, liberal believers, conservative believers
political development
- activism and political demonstration is high
- high involvement in political extremes:
=increases in political extremes impacted by fewer social ties and obligations to other age periods
=increased involvement could also be identity-related
family relationships
- in most western majority cultures, most young people move out of their parents’ home sometime during emerging adulthood
- increased quality of parental interaction occurs after leaving home
- 46% of Australian emerging adults will return to the nest at least once
- emerging adults understand their parents more than adolescents
friendship
- increased importance as moving from home
- intimacy grows in importance, less reliant on family for social support
- more self-disclosure and fewer shared activities
- increased time in unstructured activities
- there is a decline in leisure activities as people age
romantic relationships
- emerging adulthood generally includes experiencing a romantic and sexual relationship
- process of re-centring: the centre of life up to adolescence is the family: in adulthood this shifts to new family, usually romantic partner and children
- intimacy is a major component of emerging adult relationship
- seeking similarities in a partner (consensual validation)
sexuality
- by age 25 most have had intercourse, but much diversity in experiences
- most common pattern is one sexual/romantic partner per year
- contraceptive use high
- sexuality activity often linked to alcohol use
- premarital sex rates lowest in asian and middle eastern countries
- peak period for sexually transmitted infections
intimacy vs isolation stage (Erik Erikson)
- develop long-term committed and intimate relationships
- may occur after, at the same time or before identity development
- gender differences in development:
= women interested in intimacy younger than men
= women more likely to account for relationships as they explore identity related to other domains (education, work).
Sternberg’s triangular theory of love
- proposed different types of love based on three specific qualities:
= passion (physical attraction and sexual desire)
= intimacy (closeness and emotional attachment)
= commitment (pledge to love over the long run)
reasons for marriage in young adulthood
- uniting people to serve complementary gender roles
- reduces sexual competition
- necessary for the species
menopause
- usually takes place in late 40s early 50s
- timing influenced by genetics and lifestyles
changes that occur in menopause
- hormonal (decrease in oestrogen and progesterone)
- psychological and physical changes
interventions for menopause
Hormone replacement therapy can be used to alleviate distress caused by severity of symptoms
pros and cons to hormone replacement therapy
pros: decrease in symptoms eg: hot flushes…
cons: prolonged use may increase risk of stroke, heart attack and breast cancer
cardiovascular disease in middle adulthood
- heart disease leading cause of death
- risk factors: high fat diet, smoking, lack of exercise and stress
health issues in middle adulthood
- sleep problems
- osteoporosis
- cardiovascular disease
cancer in middle adulthood
- increased prevalence in middle age
- most common in women: breast cancer and men: prostate cancer
- risk factors for cancer
influences on midlife health and later development
- longitudinal study by valliant identified characteristics of midlife that predicted health outcomes 25 to 30 years later;
- sad sick: smoking habits, being overweight and alcohol abuse strongly predicted negative health outcomes;
- happy - well: years of education, marriage stability, forgiving and sociability predicted positive health outcomes.
seattle longitudinal study (cognitive development midaged)
found that
- crystalized intelligence peaks in middle age, little decline with age
- fluiid intelligence: sharp decline in perceptual speed; slight decrease in numerical ability
cog development mid age overview
expertise: - Knowledge and experience in a specific domain peaks in middle age.
info processing: - decrease in perceptual speed and reaction times;
- ability to respond quickly and accurately to sensory stimuli.
Attention and memory: - decline in divided attention;
- ability to multiskill;
- decline in ability to focus on relevant info and ignore what is relevant.
job satisfaction and ability to progress and not stagnate limited by
- features of the person: personal adjustment, skills/training, interests
- features of the job: structures, inequities, promotion, boredom, supervision, stress, expectations”
- features of the social context: work/family balance, discrimination
factors that contribute to work stress
- lack of control
- job insecruity
- expectations
- feedback and support
- physical stressors/hazards
effects of job stress
Behavioural/psychological
- impaired task performance
- PTSD
- positive effects: personal growth, new skills, overcoming adversity satisfying and increased self-esteem
Burnout
- both physical and psychological effects
self concept and acceptance
midlife is a peak time for contentment with self in relation to
- autonomy
- environmental mastery
- self-acceptance
midlife Erikson Generativity vs stagnation
successful resolution of the crisis
Glass ceiling
- invisible barriers preventing career advancement of women or ethnic minorities
genetic ageing theory
- ageing is the normal, natural result of the genetic plan for the species
- selection of genes
- progeria: genetic disorder, accelerated ageing
cellular ageing
- several theories explain ageing at the cellular level
- errors in cells duplication: due to toxins, stress, random mutations, accumulate and corrupt DNA instructions for new cells;
- free radicals; unstable atoms that can adversely affect other molecules; including DNA
primary ageing
- irreversible universal changes
secondary ageing
lifestyle factors; effects of illness and disease
changes in senses (older adults)
vision
- less acuity
- cataracts develop
etc.
Hearing
Taste and smell
telomeres
- chromosomal ends that shorten each time the cell divides, only affords 50 times
memory changes
declines
- working memory
- episodic memory
- source memory
- autobiographical memory
few declines
- semantic memory
- vocabulary can actually increase
- procedural memory
- areas of expertise, emotions and happy events
fluid and crystallised intelligence
fluid: biological, genetic mental processes, ability to learn something new, little impact from environment.
- memory, logic and reasoning
- example: what letter comes next? ADGJMP
crystallised: stored memory, gained from experience
- word comprehension, general knowledge
dementia
global term for a group of neurological conditions resulting in loss of cognitive function that interferes with daily life
alzheimer’s disease
- most common form of dementia
- characterised by a distinctive pattern of structural declines in the brain
= loss of memory for recent events including people
= personality changes - increased anxiety and aggression
alzheimer’s disease structural decline two distinct factors
Accumulation of amyloid plaques
- deposits of the amyloid protein with clumps of dead neurons
Development of neurofibrillary tangles
- bundles of twisted fibres that appear with neurons
stages of Alzheimer’s disease
- general forgetfulness
- more general confusion
- memory loss becomes truly dangerous
- need for full-time care as cannot care for self or respond normally
- completely mute, unable to respond with any action or emotion
treating Alzeimer’s disease
- ongoing efforts to develop medications
- possible development of vaccine to prevent formation of plaques in the brain
care for dementia patients
- disease trajectory unique for dementia and care must be tailored to the patients needs
- constant care eventually becomes necessary
- support for carer extremely important
- survey of experts determined 57 specific recommendations for care in 11 domains
wisdom (older adults)
- type of cognition associated with broad, viable, comprehensive approach to everyday life
- thought to reflect timeless truths
- dimensions: insight, knowledge, strategies for applying, promoting understanding, awareness of perspectives.
Eriksons final stage: ego integrity vs despair
Ego integrity - looking back on ones life and accepting outcomes
Despair - regrets and bitterness about the course of one’s life
Physical and cognitive problems can impact self-esteem and integrity: depression can increase risk of dispair
mental health issues (older adults)
- mental disorders underestimated and under-treated in older adults: stoicism limits reporting
- most common disorder is depression
- issues related to depression
family relationships: grandparenting
- remote: emotionally distant, seen as respected elders who should be obeyed by younger generations
- companionate: have fun and spoil grandkids, may avoid discipline
- involved: active in daily life of grandkids, live nearby, provide significant direct care
- surrogate: grandparents take on role of parent for grandchildren
family relationships: long-term marriages
- married older adults: healthier, wealthier, happier
- marital satisfaction tends to improve over time
- passionate love still exists
- sexual activity: depends on availability of partner, health factors
losing a spouse
widows:- 4x more than widowers
- women take better care of their health
- widows do not usually seek another husband
widowers: - adjustment more difficult for men
- social support
- historical gender role differences
- more likely to marry
siblings
-earlier distance or conflicts reduce
- roles: - companion
- emotional support, sharing family memories
- confidantes, caregivers, cherished friends
- death of sibling has profound effect.
frail elderly
- infirm, ill, cognitively impaired who often need extra care:
- assisting needs:
- Instrumental activities of daily life: involve intellectual abilities and/or forethought
- activities of daily life: involve physical tasks
retirement
- needs to be considered in historical and cultural context
- womens retirement might vary from men
- stop working to care for family
- transition to volunteer work or another career
- retire because husband retires
well-being in retirement
factors influencing well-being
- more money
- personality, positive attitude about retirement, better health
- higher status occupations
- health and financial security most important
new options available
- leisure, community involvement, continuing education
