Developmental Psychology Flashcards
Why do infants seek predictability?
Uncertainty is expensive
Why is uncertainty expensive?
Infants often resolve uncertainty through strong emotional responses such as crying, which is exhausting on the body.
How does language development reduce uncertainty in peoples behaviour
It reduces uncertainty in the behaviour of other people by decoding sounds
How does physical development reduce uncertainty in our body
It reduces uncertainty about how to operate the body in which you were born
Evolution
the process by which all living things gradually change in ways that allow them to better adapt to their environment
Social Development
Study of how children interact with other people in their social world in order to reduce uncertainty and adapt to life
What is attachment
- Enduring emotional tie between an infant and their caregiver
- 2-way relationship
- Product of repeated daily interactions
- Infants can form attachments to more than one person (not limited to just their biological mother)
2 key aspects important to attachment
Touch is important - being help etc
Social gaze - looking at child in the eye
Precocial
capable of surviving on their own from birth
Altricial
incapable of surviving on their own from birth
Why are humans altricial when most other mammals are precocial
- Bipedalism narrowed our birth passage meaning we evolved to birth smaller, less developed babies
- Humans also evolved large brains, once again meaning the need to be born underdeveloped before their brain grows too large to fit through birth canal
Biological basis for bond between child and mother
- Oxytocin ( a hormone that is key in stimulating uterine contractions (inducing labour) lactation (breastfeeding) and there is evidence that its involved in social bonding
Imprinting
A process in which an animal instinctively becoming attached to the first moving thing that the animal sees during this critical period.
what experiment did Konrad Lorenz (1937) conduct?
Duck/goose imprinting experiment
Konrad Lorenz goose experiment method
Divide goose eggs into two groups -one hatched with the mother goose and the other hatched away from the mother in the presence of Konrad.
Konrad Lorenz goose experiment findings
- The group that hatched around their mother followed the mother around wherever she went
- The group that hatched around Lorenz followed him around wherever he went!
What happens to animals who fail to imprint during critical window
less successful finding a mate, and are less likely to adequately care for their offspring later in life
Critical period
A period that starts and ends abrubtly, during which the organism is extremely sensitive to external stimuli that are compulsory for developing a particular skill
What happens once critical period ends
brain regions that arn’t stimulated during the critical period
that are allocated to this particular skill will adapt to perform a different function (once this period is over, you cant go back)
Example of critical period
Develop of the visual system. If an infant is not sufficiently exposed to visual stimulation they may develop issues
Sensitive Period
- Starts and ends gradually
- During this period, the organism is still highly sensitive to particular external stimuli
- After the period ends, the skill can still be learned but it will be learned far less efficiently
Example of sensitive period
Language Development
Feeding hypothesis
Function of attachment is simply to access food (survival)
Psychoanalytic Theory of attachment
Attachment formed through drive reduction
Learning/Behaviour theory of attachment
Attachment formed through association with feeding
Social Needs hypothesis of attachment
Attachment is about fulfilling an important social need to be soothed or loved (creature comforts)
Why did Harlow choose Rhesus Monkeys
- Similar to us (genetically, physiologically, behaviourally)
- Shorter lifespans so easy subjects for studying development
- Live in complex groups (social hierarchies, cooperation, conflict resolution)
- Will live with their mothers for extended period (for several months but some as long as 2-3 years)
Harlows experiment
Used cloth/wire mother surrogates to investigate the feeding hypothesis
Findings of Harlows Study
- Regardless of which mother fed them, they spent more time with the cloth mother (strong evidence against the feeding hypothesis)
- Some support for the feeding hypothesis as there was an added benefit to attachment when the cloth mother was also feeding the monkey - less buildup needed
3 dichotomies involved in attachment
- Nature Versus nurture
- Universal vs. individual differences
- Continuous vs. discontinuous
Phase 1 of human attachment
Baby does not discrimate among people - 0-2 months
Phase 2 of human attachment
Baby begins to prefer familiar people (as their recognising aspects become an association); beginning of ‘stranger anxiety’ - 2-7 months
Phase 3 of human attachment
Developed strengthened attachment to primary caregiver; beginning of ‘separation anxiety’ - 7-24 months
Phase 4 of human attachment
Reciprocal relationship - child feels secure over prolonged separations - 24 months onward
John Bowlby (1908 - 1990)
A theorist and experiment, famous for theory of attachment
Bowlbys 4 theories of attachment
It is an all or nothing process
It is carried out by an innate behavioural system
The goal of infants attachment behaviours is to get closer to the caregiver
The closer they can get to the caregiver, the greater their access to food & comfort
What state do individuals have to be in to see their attachment behaviour
Distress - attachment is about how we handle fear, doubt, pain
Seperation Distress
(only seen when there is separation) - mitigated by crying, and caregiver comes back and closes the gap
“secure base” behaviour
see caregiver as a secure source of safety and comfort from which they can then go explore
What causes individual difference in attachments
Quality of care shapes infants’ predictions about the caregiver, and those predictions shape their attachment
How do predictions shape attachment
Our brains are constantly making predictions and over time infants develop expectations about the parents behaviour.
- How quickly do they respond to my needs?
- How likely are they to ignore my crying?
- How likely is my caregiver to respond to me with anger?
How likely is the parent to be unpredictable?
These expectations create an internal working model in the mind of the infant. This is a kind of logical flowchart about how the infant logically thinks about their mother to inform their anticipation of their behaviour
Generalisation of attachment
Instead, infants generalize their expectation about that caregiver for GENERAL expectations about how relationships work (this is how I SHOULD act, this is how others WILL act)
Inductive reasoning
Using a specific observation to form a general conclusion
Deductive reasoning
More like science
Use general ideas to form specific conclusions
Model
anything that represents some aspect of some things in the world.
Goal of Mary Ainsworths strange situation test
To measure the quality of attachment in infant-caregiver relationship
Hypothesis of Mary Ainsworth’s strange situation test
When an infant becomes distressed, their ‘attachment system’ is activated
Ainsworth hypothesis of securely attached infants
Ainsworth hypothesized that infants who are securely attached to their caregiver experience distress when they are seperated from the caregiver, and will attempt to alleviate their distress by crying (communicate their needs to caregiver)
5 specific predicted behaviours signalling secure attachment
- Should seek to be near the caregiver when possible
- Should show distress when separated from the caregiver
- Should not be soothed by the stranger when the caregiver is away
- They should be soothed when the parent returns
- They should orient their actions more towards the caregiver when they are present
3 types of insecure attachmet
- Insecure avoidant
- Insecure Resistant
- Disorganised
Insecure avoidant attachment behaviour during strange situation
Infant explores when they are with the mother
Infant is not distressed when she leaves
Infant avoids the mother when she returns
Infant does not react differently when alone with the stranger
The mother and stranger are able to comfort the infant equally well
What happens when an infant showed insecure resistant attachment behaviour during strange situation
Least likely to explore compared to other attachment types
Infant is more distressed when the mother leaves
Stay close to mother when she returns (but may act angry)
Infant avoids the stranger, may even be fearful.
Disorganised attachment behaviour during strange situation
Incoherent or bizarre behaviour
Typically associated with maltreatment of infant, or may indicate developmental disorder
Behaviour that creates secure attachment
Consistently responsiveness/sensitive to infants needs
Behaviour that creates insecure avoidant attachment
Consistently insensitive/unresponsive to infants needs
Behaviour that creates insecure resistant attachment
Inconsistently sensitive/responsive to the infants needs
Behaviour that creates insecure disorganised
Unsafe (frightening or frightened)
Securely attached individuals later in life
Research shows higher self confidence, self esteem, better able to cope with challenges, greater sense of curiosity, better relationships with with peers and adults
Insecure avoidant attached individuals later in life
- More likely to prioritise independence and self sufficiency. Therefore may not form close relationships.
- Have difficulty with intimacy and emotional problems
- Have difficulties with commitment in intimate relationships
- Experience toxic or abusive relationships
Insecure resistant individuals later in life
- More likely to develop dependency, have difficulty trusting others, be preoccupied with concerns of abandonment, have a fear of intimacy
- Are sensitive to perceived rejection
- Have difficulties resolving conflict
- Low self esteem
- Need assurance and validation from others
Disorganised attachment styles later in life
- More likely to dissociate
- Struggle to manage emotions
- Very disrupted by other peoples emotions
Benoit & Parker (1994)
Conducted a study looking at how stable attachment was from infancy to toddlerhood
Research question in Benoit & Parkers study
Would mothers and/or grandmothers attachment predict the infants attachment
Benoit & Parker (1994) method
- Sample containing 96 infants and their mothers and grandmothers (cross-generational transmission).
- Attachment in pregnant mothers and grandmothers was measured using AAI (Adult attachment interview)
- When the infant was 12 months old they took part in a strange situation test
- Once the infant was 19, they took part in the AAI
What is the Adult Attachment Interview
- 1-hour structured interview
- Asks about adults recollection and evaluation of early attachment experiences
What did Benoit & Parker (1994) find?
- Mothers and grandmothers attachment were in agreement 49% of the time
- If they were ‘at chance’ (meaning no relationship) we would expect about 25%
- Mothers attachment predicts infants attachment 68% of the time
Conclusion of Benoit and Parkers study
Attachment is (to some extent) being passed on between generations
One the one hand, its more likely to see stability in attachment however, 48% is far from 100%, so we do not necessarily pass on the attachment style we developed.
Can we reshape our attachment style
Yes (for better and worse)
Why is it difficult (but not impossible) to reshape attachment style
Attachment is a sensitive period in life, so changing one’s attachment style late in life does require more time and effort compared to earlier in life.
Why is attachment important in romantic relationships
- Vulnerability is the heart of all intimate relationships
- Vulnerability requires trust
- Trust requires security
Two reasons making poor choices are expensive
Unnecessary expenditure, Opportunity cost
Unnecessary expenditure
Expending the energy needed to do the (bad) action
Opportunity cost
Missing the opportunity to do the better action that would be more helpful in the long run
What is self control
Control of thoughts, emotions and actions
What does self control look like in childrens behaviour
- Complying with a request
- Starting and stopping activities according to situational demands
- Formulating a plan and sticking with it
- Controlling emotions in social settings
- Tolerating frustration
- Waiting
- Behaving appropriately (even when nobody is watching)
Generalisation in the context of attachment
expectations of our caregiver transfers to our expectation of ourselves/others)
Generalisation in the context of self-control
Patterns of behaviour that develop in one situation transfers to other situations
Why does your experience matter (for self control)
The choices you make will reinforce the choices your more likely to make later.
What is self-control correlated with
Academic success, longevity, happiness
What was the research question of Dunedin Multidisciplinary study looking into self control
Does EF during childhood predict health/behaviour/wellbeing outcomes in adulthood
What is a longitudinal study
The same participants are measured at multiple points during their lives
What is a challenge in longitudinal studies
Need to get all of these ~1,000 people to come back into the lab to complete EF tasks and interviews at multiple specific times!
What are correlations between EF and health
The more self control that children exhibit, the lower their poor physical health index, lower substance dependency
What is a notable feature of the relationship between self control and health outcomes
There is a very steep drop off between 1 and 2 - people rated 1 on self control are disproportionately suffering than whats expected with a linear trend - Resources must be concentrated to help group one as they are facing a bigger burden
Relationship between self control and crime
Linear downward trend (higher self control, lower rates of crime)
Does self control definitively predict life outcomes
No - there are other factors that play into this. You are not doomed or destined, just significantly more/less likely
Individual differences in EF of infants compared to adults
Not so much individual difference in infants, but lots of individual difference in adults
Two periods of major advancements in EF
Preschool years and adolescence
Why is there major development in EF during preschool years
A lot of social engagement at school, social interaction with peers
Why is there major development in EF during adolescence
Independence, opportunities to use self control
How can you test working memory
Verbatim Digit Span: Test the longest sequence of random numbers a person can repeat in the exact order the heard them
Findings of Verbatim Digit SPan
Performance increases with age
When are the most amount of hospital visits due to punching walls and what does this say about emotional regulation
15 years to 22 years = most hospital visits due to inability to regulate anger - this develops as you age
Histogram
Shows distribution of data where y axis is number of people in one category
What experiment did Walter Mischel (1930 - 2018) conduct
Stanford Marshmallow Experiments (1960s)
What aspect of self control does marshmallow experiment test
Delay of Gratification
Task given to 4 year olds during marshmallow test
If child can resist a smaller but immediate reward they will receive a larger reward later
Results of marshmallow test
~30% of 4-year-olds ate the marshmallow within seconds
~30% held out for 15 minutes
What were the correlations between success on the marshmallow test and other traits
- Better concentration
- Better coping with frustrating tasks
- Better cognitive and social competence
Follow up on children that took marshmallow test at age 18 found that…
Those who withheld for 15 minutes had better grades and fewer behavioural problems 18
3 strategies on marshmallow test
- Attentional Disengagement (look away, close eyes)
- Mental Distraction (think about something else)
- Distancing
What is distancing in marshmallow test
Mentally trying to distance oneself from the temptation by focusing on things that are unrelated to the temptation, or imagining a future context when they are no longer being tempted.
How did teaching children distancing improve their performance on marshmallow test
When children were taught to pretend the marshmallow was surrounded by a picture frame, waiting time increased from 60 seconds to 15 minutes
What factors affect development of EF
- Brain maturation
- Culture
- Parenting (modelling behaviours)
- Environmental contingencies
How do parents influence EF
Self-control more likely when parents model self- control in their own behaviour
Why do children from strict households demonstrate less self control
Strict household = removing the choice from the child = fewer opportunities to make decision to use self control!
How do environmental contingencies influence self control
More likely to trust experimenter in reliable conditions leading to increase in average wait times
How did marshmallow test change environmental contingencies
Art supplies - some children were told to wait for new art supplies and were never given them, while the other group were actually given art supplies
China vs USA self control
In China, there is a cultural emphasis on self control that is not present in USA
Inhibition
The ability to restrain oneself from performing a particular action (resisting temptation)
Task Switching
The ability to quickly change from one task (or from one goal) to another
Working memory
he ability to hold information in ones mind while also engaging in some effort to monitor or manipulate those items
Planning
The ability to mentally represent future events to guide future action
Attentional Control
the ability to regulate and direct
Emotional regulation
the ability to manage emotions to better control behaviour and reach our goals
What is executive function
Cognitive skills needed to organise information and make good decisions
What childrens game develops inhibition
Simon Says
What childrens game develops Task Switching
Red light, green light
What childrens game develops working memory
Hide and seek
What childrens game develops planning
Duck, duck, goose
What childrens game develops attentional control
Musical Chairs
How does psychological research measure young childrens EF
- Observation of Childrens behaviour
- Parent and Teacher Reports
- Standardized Experimental tasks
