Developmental psychology Flashcards
What three aspects of change does developmental psychology look at ?
change in abilities, change in structure, change in understanding
Why do things typically change as adolescence begins?
teenagers have a drive for autonomy
What is miller’s magic number?
adults can rehearse and maintain between 5 and 9 chunks of information in their STM at one time. The magic number is 7 plus or minus 2
What are the two conflicting theories to explain the change in capacity of STM as children grow older?
cortical development vs functional changes. Cortical development being the ease of other mastered operations making space available. Functional changes being children get better at using the space that is already there.
how will it affect my child to start school at 4 years old rather than 5?
there may be difference in school readiness in factors such as intellectual development, social development, emotional development and behavioural development
what do I need for my child to do well at school?
Genes play an influence on factors such as IQ. The treatment from caregivers and peers can have an impact for example a parent with a positive attitude to school can improve the performance of the child. Individual children can experience differing effects of similar experiences. For example, a motivated child can be more persistent.
Explain continuity vs discontinuity:
Continuity describes development as continuous, smooth growth. Discontinuity theorises that children learn in stages and new changes can be sudden for example Piaget’s stages of development. These stages are described as plant growth and butterfly development.
The Bobo doll experiment provides evidence for what side of the nature vs nurture debate?
Nurture: Through the Bobo doll experiment children developed aggression through social learning where they copied the behaviour demonstrated to them.
How are aggressive tendencies explained according to the ‘nature’ side of the debate:
A weak positive correlation was found between testosterone levels and aggression (Book et al 2010). It was suggested that 56% of variance in levels of aggression could be explained through genetics. This is known as innate disposition
What was the procedure of the Gene X environment experiment (Caspi et al 2002)?
This was a longitudinal study of aggressive behaviour where 953 individuals were tested in two year intervals from the ages of 3 to 25.
What were the factors tested for in the Gene X Environment experiment?
1- environmental influence such as maltreatment
2- Genetic influence which tracked the activity of MAO-A (monoamine oxidase) which is responsible for breaking down Monoamines in the brain such as serotonin, dopamine and epinephrine
What factors resulted in an increased chance of violent behaviour in the Gene X Environment experiment?
Both maltreatment and low MAO-A increased the chances of behaviour being violent. Those who were both maltreated and had low MOA-A activity were responsible for 17% of the group and were responsible for 44% of the groups violent crime.
Briefly describe Freud’s theory of development:
Freud explained the mechanisms of development through sex drive leading the development of the ID, Ego and Superego which then lead to psychodramas
What are individual differences which explain how children become so different?
genetic influence, treatment from parents and peers, differing effects from similar experiences, and the child’s choice of environment
Describe the mirror test (American 1972):
infants has lipstick placed on head and are put in front of a mirror. If the infant can recognise that they are looking at themself in the mirror they will attempt to erase the lipstick from their forehead. Younger children will reach into the mirror to grab the lipstick.
What is an issue with the mirror test and the solution for this ?
there could be a methodological flaw where the infants don’t understand mirrors as opposed to lack of self awareness. A pre test doll cleaning was added into the test (Asendorpf et al 1996). After a demonstration of wiping the lipstick off the doll’s head, the child becomes more likely to look into the mirror and wipe their own head too.
At what age is a baby likely to grasp a hat lowered onto their head?
around 10 months (Berthenal and Fischer 1987)
What is the nature of brain activity of the temporal cortex in five months olds (Fillipetti et al 2014)?
five month olds have similar brain activation of the temporal cortex as those in adulthood
In Tronick’s Still Face Paradigm, how would a baby be expected to react when their mother stops responding?
The baby will try to get a response from their mum often becoming vocal, before eventually beginning to cry when the mum still doesn’t respond
What does Piaget mean by object permanence during the sensorimotor stage of development?
When an object isn’t seen it drops out of existence to the baby. This is why babies enjoy games such as playing peek a boo.
What are errors that an infant might make when understanding awareness of others?
some babies make similar errors with people as they do object permanence. Infants below 8 months show no search for their mother.
What is A not B errors?
this involves the idea of object permanence for babies up to 1.5 years. The child will repeatedly go back to the same place for an object, and when the object is moved it is likely to drop out of their existence.
How soon is a newborn expected to recognise their mothers face and how do they show this (Bushnell et al 1989)?
Babies supposedly begin to recognise their mother’s face at 5 days old. This has been indicated by having a stranger and the mum of the baby in the same room, there is a tendency for the baby to stare at the mother for longer. This is likely to do with lack of visual development
What is the evidence for developing intermodal recognition at 3 months old (Spelke and Owsley 1979)?
when played tapes of the mother and father’s voice, the baby looked longer at each when their voice was playing
How quickly can a newborn perceive faces?
babies can learn their mothers face within their first few hours (Bushnell, 1998). There is evidence that new born infants have a preference for face like patterns
What is the twin mechanism of face processing in babies (Johnson and Morton 1991)?
newborns posses a sub cortical mechanism-CONSPEC- which allows them to percieve the mechanisms of a face. They also have a second cortical mechanism- CONLEARN- that allows them to learn specific face recognition.
Explain the concept of imprinting (Konrad Lorenz)?
this is where baby animals for an attachment to the first thing they see when born. Imprinting is automatic, irreversible and a critical period.
What is the Kewpie doll effect?
The Kewpie doll effect is when their is a tendency for youngsters to have a disproportionated head and big eyes making them appear cute. This makes babies more appealing to look after. The act of crying and smiling elicit care taking behaviours and interactions.
How did the Rhesus monkeys experiment provide evidence against Freud’s theory of attachment?
During the monkey experiment, infants preferred the cloth (comforting) mother to the feeding mother and went to the cloth mother when feeling frightened. This disproved Freud’s theory that argues that food was the drive from an attachment bond.
What are Freud’s insights as to how early attachment relationships impact future relationships?
Freud theorised that early attachment relationships are a prototype of later love relationships.
According to Bowlby’s theory of attachment, what does a baby seek in the bond with their care giver?
the baby seeks organic affection in the form of contact and food. This promotes the goal of comfort and security.
Explain Bowlby’s thoery regarding the proximity seeking behaviour of a baby:
In early attachment a baby seeks proximity to their key figure. This allows the baby to develop a secure base. The baby can then begin exploring their internal working model and explore more knowing they have the framework of a secure base.
How does Waters et al (1991) explain the attachment control system?
the infant has a define goal of proximity to caregiver. The baby compares information they have about their environment to set goal of caregiver being in the same room. Behaviour patterns are activated in order to correct the gap between the environment and the goal.
Describe the reciprocal relationship?
beyond two years the relationship between a child and their primary caregiver is a goal corrected partnership as the beginning of a mutual understanding. the young child can be expected to decline in fear of strangers.
Describe the progression from phase 1 to the secure base phase of early development:
-Phase 1 (0-6 weeks): there is a beginning to interaction and there is some presentation of attachment behaviour
-Phase 2 (6 weeks to 6 months): infants begin to discriminate their caregiver, the attachment bond begins
-Secure base (7-9 months): the baby begins to experience separation anxiety and show a wariness of strangers. They have an attachment focused on their caregiver
According to internal models of relationship’s how can the relationship of a young child with their caregiver impact their social relationships?
the quality of the attachment built up over infancy guides future behaviour in close relationships and how a child allows themself to be treated
What does a child’s internalised working model of relationships include and in what wat can this impact their later behaviour?
representation of self, others, and the relationships they have. this can impact their behaviour in relationships, expectations, and attachment related goals
What does validity measure?
does the test actually measure what it’s supposed to measure. This could be concurrent (correlation with established measure of same concept), predictive (accurate prediction of performance on concepts and abilities), and discriminant (correlation with concepts it is not supposed to relate with)
What does reliability measure?
does a test reproduce the same results across different conditions. This can be test-retest (produce consistent results at different times) and inter-rater (different tests producing same results)
what are the eight episodes of strange situation procedure (Ainsworth)?
mother and child on their own, child in room with mother and stranger, child and stranger in room, child on their own, mother and child reunited
What are the four identifiable categories of behaviour in Strange situation procedure?
proximity and contact seeking behaviour, contact maintaining behaviour, resistant behaviour, avoidant behaviour
Assess the validity of the strange situation procedure:
concurrent validity= seems to be related to home based measures of attachment. predictive validity= strong continuity with measures of sociability. discriminant validity= seems to be relatively unaffected by temperament
Assess the reliability of strange situation procedure:
inappropriate to measure test-retest reliability. long term test reliability where kids tested at 18 months and then again at 6 years; 100% accuracy for those classified as secure, 75% accuracy for avoidant classified (Main, Kaplan, and Cassidy 1985). inter-rater reliability with high correlation.
How would a baby with secure attachment react in strange situation procedure?
the infant wants proximity and contact with PC especially after the reunion. infant seeks to maintain contact and has little to no desire to resist or avoid contact
How would a baby with insecure avoidant attachment react in strange situation procedures?
clear avoidance of proximity or interaction with PC in reunion episodes, with little or no tendency to maintain proximity or contact. tendency to also treat the stranger similarly to the PC.
How would a baby with insecure resistant attachment react in strange situation procedures?
infant displays conspicuous contact and interaction resisting. infant shows moderate to strong proximity and contact in order to give the impression of being ambivalent to PC. shows little or no tendency to ignore PC in reunion episodes or move away.
How would a baby with insecure disorganised attachment react in strange situation procedures?
clear avoidance in the first reunion followed by clear resistance in the second reunion, or a mix of avoidance and resistant behaviour across episodes
What is the method called when a parent/observer is given 90 statements about a child’s attachment behaviour and sorts them into 9 piles from typical to not typical?
the Q-sort, used with 12-48 month old children
Evaluate the validity and reliability of the Q sort:
Validity: SSP and Q sort moderately correlated, strong relationship with maternal sensitivity however weak relationship present with temperament.
Reliability: inter rate reliability is high, also high test-retest reliability
What happens in Adult Attachment Interviews?
a series of questions are aimed at assessing an adult’s working model. There is a semi structured interview concerning childhood attachments and meanings placed on them. Adults are scored on description of childhood, language used in the interview, coherence and believability of response
Describe the AAI classifications:
-secure/autonomous: balanced view of early relationships and attachment experiences valuable
-insecure/dismissive: dismiss early experiences and lacks coherence
-insecure/preoccupied: confused about the past, current anger towards parent
-insecure/disorganised: attachment related to trauma or abuse that have not been reconciled
Is there a link between adult attachments and their offspring’s?
there is a relation of offspring classification to parent’s classification
How do secure children relate with peers?
secure children are better likes and more likely to form close friendships (Schneider et al 2001). secure children are also less controlling in best friend dyads (park and waters 1989)
What classification of children have a tendency to show less externalising aggressive behaviour? (Schneider et al 2001)
secure children
What is the nature of empathy in non secure children?
non secure children show less empathy to distressed children (Kestenbaum et al 1989). they also have a reduced understanding of emotions compared to secure children (Steele et al 2008). Insecure children are more likely to interpret gestures as hostile
In the longitudinal attachment study (Bohlin, Hagekull and Rydell 2000) what was the relationship between attachment style and anxiety?
secure children in infancy reported less social anxiety and more social activity at school age.
What are advantages that secure children typically experience?
secure children are more likely to explore and play (Slade, 1987). Secure children become better problem solvers and responders to adversity (Matas et al 1978). Secure attachment with mother also predicts scholastic skill, and attitude towards learning (Aviezer et al 2002)
According to Lewis et al (2000), is attachment stable across life?
not really. 38% insecure maintained classification, 57% secure maintained classification
What is evidence that implies negative environments have more of an effect on insecure children (NICHD 2006)?
for insecure children a decline in parenting lead to a decline in functioning, and an improvement in parenting lead to improved functioning. there was no effect for secure children, leading to the belief negative environments have more of an impact on insecure children
What infants in day care are less likely to comply with adults (Belsky 1988)? What is an alternative explanation for this?
infants with an insecure attachment. an alternative explanation is that day care promotes independence that can be mistaken for poor behaviour in tests.
In the NICHD multi centre study in early childcare research (2006) what were the conclusions regarding quality of day care?
higher quality of day care meant that children showed less internalising and externalising behaviour therefore showing more social compliance. higher quality care associated with better mother child interactions and produced more positive interactions with peers. For children with mothers who showed less sensitivity, low quality care had a tendency to develop insecure attachment
In the NICHD multi centre study in early childcare research (2006) what were the conclusions regarding quantity of day care?
more than ten hours of day care a week increased the risk of insecure attachment if maternal sensitivity was weak. Problematic behaviour at ages 4 to 5 was related to hours spent in day care. children who were in day care since before 9 months were affected in school readiness by age 3. However, family variables were a much stronger influence on development than childcare variables (Belsky et al 2007)
What difficulties do children in orphanages tend to face?
children can become apathetic and experience long term emotional difficulties (Tizard and Rees 1975)
How do the rates of insecure attachment in institutionalised children relate to that of children in the community
Insecure attachment rates among institutionalised children are much higher than rates among community children. 62% disorganised in IC compared to 22% in community, 18.9% secure IC compared to 74% commmunity
What is Reactive attachment Disorder?
reactive attachment disorder entails increased social withdrawal and increased indiscriminately social behaviour. incidences of the disorder are higher among institutionalised children
Is it possible for a child’s attachment security to improve?
(Chisholm 1998) after adoption attachment security improved in children from 11 months to 39 months. Children did still show insecurity and indiscriminate friendliness did not decrease. In a sample of six year old children who got adopted before turning 4 there was evidence of attachment problems and cognitive impairment, however 24% were free of dysfunction
What were the incidences of registered cases of abuse in England and the USA?
30,000 in England
494,108 in USA
What is the tendency for the nature of attachment in maltreated children?
95% of maltreated children with insecure attachment compared to 19% in non maltreated children (Cicchetti and Toth 2006).
Why are there higher rates of insecure attachment among children who have been maltreated?
this can be due to insensitive child rearing practises, fear and no secure base, depressive symptoms in mothers and parentification of the child.
What are internal consequences of maltreatment in the development of children?
- emotional regulation; extreme or blunted effect in infants and increased distress viewing conflict
-understanding emotions; difficulty differentiating emotional expressions, physical abuse causing hyper vigilance for angry emotion
What are the consequences of maltreatment on the social development of children?
social information processing- increased hostility bias
preschool children- delayed theory of mind, girls show more shame and less pride
peer relations- more antisocial behaviour, less pro social behaviour, more likely to cause distress to and be disliked by peers
Does the attachment style of the mother and their infant correlate?
a meta analysis of 13 studies found 75% correspondence between secure attachment in mothers and infants
What is the mechanism behind mothers with trauma passing on insecure attachments to their infants?
mothers with unresolved trauma had reduced activation in the amygdala when viewing their own infant’s distressed face but not of unknown infants (Kim et al 2014). this impacts their ability to sensitively respond to their child’s needs and their expectations of their child which has a direct impact of emotional recognition
How does mothers reorganising their trauma improve their child’s attachment?
reorganising mothers were more likely to have securely attached mothers than non reorganising mothers (Lynegar et al 2014). infants of mothers with unresolved trauma were more likely to be insecure attached (74+%)
What are the three dimensions of parenting?
-acceptance (amount of emotional warmth directed to the child, and the acceptance of the child)
-strictness of supervision (control exerted over behaviour and how it is implemented)
-autonomy (child given the appropriate level of autonomy)
What is the nature of authoritative parenting?
high acceptance and involvement, in a warm caring way. high supervision in an appropriate and consistent manner, fostering self control through discipline. high autonomy, child encouraged to make own decisions and resolve disagreements through discussion
Explain the consequences of authoritative parenting:
early and mid childhood: well tempered, cooperative, good self control, persistent
late childhood and adolescence: good academic progress, high levels of maturity, high self esteem
what is the nature of authoritarian parenting?
- acceptance; low, cold and rejecting of child
-supervision; coercive discipline, behavioural and psychological control
autonomy; low, child heavily controlled
Explain the consequences of authoritarian parenting:
early and mid childhood- anxious and unhappy, low self esteem, tendency to act out when frustrated
late childhood and adolescence- poor academic performance, tend to be well behaved
What is the nature of permissive parenting?
acceptance; high, warming and acceptance of child
supervision; little direct control exerted over child
autonomy; high, child allowed to make decisions they are not mature enough to make
Explain the consequences of permissive parenting:
early and mid childhood; lack of self control, tend to be over dependent on adults, low persistence
late childhood and adolescence; defiant of authority figures, increased antisocial behaviour, poor school performance
What is the nature of uninvolved parenting?
acceptance; low, emotional withdrawal and distant, verging on neglect
supervision; low, little or no direct control of child
autonomy; high but no interest in the child’s viewpoint
Explain the consequences of uninvolved parenting:
early and mid childhood; low social skills, poor academic performance, attachment problems
late childhood and adolescence; poor emotional self control, increased anti social behaviour, poor school performance
How many parenting styles are there, and what are they called?
4; authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and uninvolved
In which style of parenting do parents provide good models of social and emotional competence?
authoritative (Lindsay and Mize, 2000)
What is the outcome of well received, reasonable discipline?
children comply and internalise more. disapproval is most effective from an agent that shows warmth and care (Hoffman 2000)
What is a benefit of good parenting in reducing risk of hardships in child’s later life?
supportive parenting can buffer effects of adverse environmental conditions like poverty, and family stress. (Petit et al 1997)
What characteristics of parenting are associated with a child developing a secure attachment style?
warmness, behaviour monitoring, and granting autonomy (Karavasilis et al 2003)
Explain the two types of parenting control:
behavioural- behaviours that try to manage or control a child’s behaviour
psychological- refers to control attempts that intrude into the psychological and emotional development of the child
Give five tactics of psychological control:
-constraining verbal expressions
-invalidating feelings
-personal attack
-guilt induction
-love withdrawal
What is the effect of psychological control on internalising and externalising behaviour?
issues with internalising problems such as depression, and externalising problems such as anti social behaviour (Barber 1996). psychological control of adolescents predicted levels of internal distress (Gray and Steinberg 1999)
does high affection counteract psychological control?
no, combined high affection and psychological control leads to problematic behaviour in kindergarten children (Anunola and Nurmi 2005)
What is adolescence characterised by?
search for autonomy, emotional relying on self, de idealising parents, making decisions based on informed judgment
what is the most effective way of parenting adolescents?
supportive parenting and fostering autonomy, but maintaining parental monitoring of behaviour (Crouter and Head 2002)
what are the impacts of controlling or coercive parents on adolescents?
mutual escalation of conflict which can negatively impact later social relationships out with family
What are recent advancements on the idea of ‘identity crisis’, characterised by conflict in teenagers?
evidence was found opposing this as 75% of adolescents reported happy and peaceful relationships with their parents. the remaining 25% were from families who already experienced difficulty
is conflict normal in parent-teenager relationships?
there is a tendency for high intensity conflict in families with adolescents (Steinberg 1990), conflicts that arise can be adaptive (Branje 2018)
Why do parents report increased distress from conflicts than teenagers?
may be down to differences in day to day conflicts where parents see the conflicts as moral conflicts and are more negatively effected, whereas adolescents see conflicts as concerning personal choice and are less affected
is parent-child conflict one of the bigger stressors for parents?
midlife changes and marital satisfaction had larger inpats on parental wellbeing than parent adolescent conflict (Kerestes et al 2012)
What are criticism regarding Piaget’s findings of the physical knowledge of infants?
there is a reliance on action tasks which might underestimate the infants physical knowledge due to either being unable to execute the actions necessary to retrieve the object, or being unable to simultaneously represent hidden object and carry out actions required to retrieve the object
How does the violation of expectation paradigm assess young infants’ physical knowledge?
infants tend to look longer at stimuli that is presented as novel and so these are looking tasks rather than action tasks
What is the methodology of the violation of expectations paradigm, and possible outcomes?
-habitual phase; show stimulus A
-test phase; show stimulus A and b
-examine how infant react to each stimulus
Possible outcomes: infant looks longer as A, infant looks longer at B, infant looks equally long at both
In the violation of expectations paradigm, what is indicated by evidence of the infant looking longer at the unexpected?
1- they possess the expectation under investigation
2- they detect the violation in the unexpected event
3- they are surprised by this violation
What has the violation of expectations paradigm told us about young infants?
young infants are far more cognitively competent than previously suspected. infants 2.5 to 6 months realized that objects continue to exist when hidden (object permanence)
What is a criticism of the VOE paradigm, and the solution for this?
infants may look longer at the unexpected than the expected test event because the familiarisation events used to introduce the task induces preference for the unexpected test event
solution: use VOE tasks without habituation phase
Explain two examples of simple action tasks:
1) 5 month olds were shown an object presented on the left or right. experimenter turns lights off. infants are more likely to reach to side where object was previously shown. indicates representation of hidden objects
2) 6 month olds shown two objects within reach. the object had different sizes and sounds, were either able to be held with one or both hands. experimenter turns light off and plays the sound of one object. infants reach for object with two hands when hearing large object, and one hand when hearing small object.
In what areas of physical knowledge are there lags determined in development?
occlusion events and containment events . 4 month olds attend to width information in occlusion and containment events.
What is a physical reasoning (PR system)?
infants are born equipped with this abstracts, computational system that provides framework for making sense of displacements and interactions of physical entities. this operates without conscious awareness.
What are the principles of persistence?
-object cannot appear or disappear
-object cannot occupy same space as another object
-object cannot break apart, fuse with another object, or change size, shape, pattern or colour
What is variable information?
PR basic info leaves out details. these details (e.g. shape, pattern, or colour) constitute variable information which is not included in representations until infants learn. as infant observes physical events they form distinct event categories where they identify variables enabling better interpretation and prediction of outcomes
Describe the information-processing model:
framework of how humans think, reason and learn analogous to operations of a computer.
input->perform operations->outputs a function
limited in space and speed, reliant on hardware
What are the assumptions of the information-processing model?
mental activity is continuous and mental activity takes time
according to the information processing model, what does greater time between input to output indicate?
greater mental activity is needed and therefore info processing is slower
what are the three ways of measuring information processing?
1) eye movement analysis
2) error analysis
3)micro genetic
Describe error analysis tests:
presented with a balance scale of weights with details of how many weights there are, and the distance of the weights from centre. the child is asked to predict the side that will go down. answer provides insight to problem solving development
Describe micro genetic tests:
the child is presented with a large number of trials of the same task. these are administered over weeks or months. tests reveal moment to moment changes in cognitive performance
what is the nature of cognitive growth according to the info processing model?
based on the info processing model, cognitive growth is constantly occurring
what are the limitations of cognitive development?
expansion of amount of info processed at one time, increasingly efficient execution of basic processes, acquisition of new strategies and knowledge
what is the nature of the development of long term memory across lifespan?
develops quickly and steadily followed by a plateau in older children and adolescence
what are the basic processes used most frequently in mental activities?
encoding, association, recognition, recall, and generalization
what is the nature of information processing speed?
develops most rapidly at a young age but increases through adolescence. increases in processing speed lead to developmental memory changes
Describe the Expert-Novice paradigm:
experts adults vs children chess games. chess experts encoded high level chunks of information that include the position of several pieces in relation to each other, rather than encoding separate info for each piece
Describe the overlapping waves model:
children use the simplest strategy but sometimes multiple. more experience means better strategies become available. children continue to use old strategies as they practise the new ones that develop
What is the evidence of the overlapping waves model?
six sessions of addition problems for 4-5 year olds. there were four main strategies to solve the maths problems. 20% consistently used one strategy when given the exact same problem twice, and 30% used a different strategy the second time
What is the proof that children are egocentric until the age of 7?
the three model mountain task. children could explore model from all angles. the child is then asked what viewpoint can be seen by a viewer seated directly across from them. children aged 4-5 struggled to answer, and by age 7 children could reliably answer correctly
What is a criticism of the three mountains task?
children might lack the ability to imagine what the other viewpoint looks like but may still have perspective taking abilities before age 7
which theory describes children as little scientists?
Theory theory; born with the tendency to form theories to make sense of the world
what are the four steps of theory theory?
1- children divide the world into fundamentally different categories
2- children understand each domain involves different causes
3- there are distinct underlying constructs in their understandings
4- concepts form a larger system
what evidence concludes infants may show object/person distinction by two months?
at 2 months an infant will smile and coo for a person over a toy monkey.
at 9 weeks infants smiled more at humans
What was the outcome of the case study in which a child and monkey were raised together?
Donald (the 10 month old son) imitated Gua (the 7 month chip) by crawling and food calls
at 3.5 months what do infants have a preference for?
human faces over primate faces, however no preference for the body
What is theory of mind?
the ability to imagine what other people are thinking, predict their behaviours and intentions, and speculate about their beliefs and perceptions
Explain the ability to understand intentions at 8 months, 1 year, and 2 years:
8 months: infant detects purpose of actions through intentions paradigm
1 year: adult turns gaze towards object and infant follows gaze
2 years: infants asked to show an item to somebody else, baby orients towards the person indicating the other persons intention to see objects
Describe the intentions paradigm:
Habituation phase- infants showed adult reaching for ball over barrier
Test phase- infants shown direct and indirect object reach
Outcome- infants recognised that there was no need for adult to reach over empty space. Infant understood goal and not simply the action
What are false belief problems?
understanding that other people may hold beliefs that may be wrong. the child is presented with problems where a person believes something a child knows to be false
What happens in the conceptual shift for four year olds?
representational theory of mind allows them to acknowledge false beliefs
How is a 3 year old and 4 year old expected to perform in false belief tasks?
3 years old: child doesn’t recognise that ‘sally’ has a different perspective than them
4 years old: recognise John would expect to find smarties in the smarties box
what is hypothesised regarding brain mechanisms and understanding humans?
hypothesised different brain mechanisms devoted to understanding other human beings, matures over first years sophisticating theory of mind
How could having siblings advantage or disadvantage children’s theory of mind competence?
advantage: child with many siblings could be benefitted by exposure to different viewpoints, especially if the sibling is of the opposite sex
disadvantage: potentially adult input will be divided
what can a toddler gain from verbal explanations?
verbal explanations in psychological terms by mind minded parents explaining behaviour can help children understand theory of mind. these children did better on false belief tasks
