Developmental Psychology Flashcards
Developmental Psychology
How people change over time (physically, cognitively, socially, emotionally)
What two questions does developmental psychology address?
“What development happens in stages and what happens continuously?”
“What are the effects of nature and nurture on development?”
Qualitative development
Development in stages (like a butterfly or frog)
Quantitative development
Continuous development (more like humans)
Nature
People develop similarly or differently depending on how many genes they have in common
Nurture
Minds are shaped entirely by experiences
Maturation
Series of genetically determined biological processes that enable orderly growth
Reflexes
Automatic motor responses triggered by specific stimuli
Rooting reflex
If you touch the cheek of a newborn, it turns its head (looking for food)
Sucking
A infant will automatically suck on a nipple
Grasping
Grabbing onto anything
What is significant about infants responding to their mothers voice as soon as they are born?
It shows that infants are able to learn while in the womb, and learn their mother’s voice
Habituation
Decreased response to repeated stimuli
Dishabituation
Increased response to repeated stimuli
Novelty Preference Proceedure
Infants are shown stimulus until they habituate, they are either shown new or old stimulus (habituation or dishabituation)
Shows that newborns can store simple visual patterns and respond to changes in their environment
Motor development
Ability to coordinate movement
Patterns of motor development
Head to feet
Centre of body, outward
Why do Caribbean cultures’ babies have faster motor development?
They often massage and stretch their children’s limbs, hold them in sitting position
Why does the !Kung tribe have faster development of grasping?
Because !Kung mothers carry their babies in wraps, and wear ornamental jewelry. The babies have easy access to the jewelry for them to grab while they are being carried.
Why does American babies have delays in motor development?
Because typically they have their babies sleep on their back (to prevent crib death), which means they aren’t learning to engage their core as often
Cognitive development
Change in all mental activities which includes thinking, knowing, remembering and communicating
Jean Piaget
Pioneer of cognitive development studies
- Believed that children were active and self-driven learners
Schemas
Units of knowledge that represent our experiences, used to interpret new information
Assimilation
Use an existing schema to interpret the new experience