Developmental Psychology

Question 1

Developmental Psychology

Answer 1

How people change over time (physically, cognitively, socially, emotionally)

Question 2

What two questions does developmental psychology address?

Answer 2

“What development happens in stages and what happens continuously?”
“What are the effects of nature and nurture on development?”

Question 3

Qualitative development

Answer 3

Development in stages (like a butterfly or frog)

Question 4

Quantitative development

Answer 4

Continuous development (more like humans)

Question 5

Nature

Answer 5

People develop similarly or differently depending on how many genes they have in common

Question 6

Nurture

Answer 6

Minds are shaped entirely by experiences

Question 7

Maturation

Answer 7

Series of genetically determined biological processes that enable orderly growth

Question 8

Reflexes

Answer 8

Automatic motor responses triggered by specific stimuli

Question 9

Rooting reflex

Answer 9

If you touch the cheek of a newborn, it turns its head (looking for food)

Question 10

Sucking

Answer 10

A infant will automatically suck on a nipple

Question 11

Grasping

Answer 11

Grabbing onto anything

Question 12

What is significant about infants responding to their mothers voice as soon as they are born?

Answer 12

It shows that infants are able to learn while in the womb, and learn their mother’s voice

Question 13

Habituation

Answer 13

Decreased response to repeated stimuli

Question 14

Dishabituation

Answer 14

Increased response to repeated stimuli

Question 15

Novelty Preference Proceedure

Answer 15

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

Question 16

Motor development

Answer 16

Ability to coordinate movement

Question 17

Patterns of motor development

Answer 17

Head to feet
Centre of body, outward

Question 18

Why do Caribbean cultures’ babies have faster motor development?

Answer 18

They often massage and stretch their children’s limbs, hold them in sitting position

Question 19

Why does the !Kung tribe have faster development of grasping?

Answer 19

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.

Question 20

Why does American babies have delays in motor development?

Answer 20

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

Question 21

Cognitive development

Answer 21

Change in all mental activities which includes thinking, knowing, remembering and communicating

Question 22

Jean Piaget

Answer 22

Pioneer of cognitive development studies
- Believed that children were active and self-driven learners

Question 23

Schemas

Answer 23

Units of knowledge that represent our experiences, used to interpret new information

Question 24

Assimilation

Answer 24

Use an existing schema to interpret the new experience

Question 25

Accomodation (Developmental Psych)

Answer 25

Revising schemas with new information

Question 26

Sensorimotor Stage

Answer 26

(Ages 0-2) Achieve object permanence

Question 27

Preoperational Stage

Answer 27

(Ages 2-7) Learn how to use symbols, and classify objects, struggle with egocentrism and predictions

Question 28

Concrete Operational Stage

Answer 28

(Ages 7-12) Learn to think through multiple perspectives, solving complex problems but only for concrete events, learn conservation

Question 29

Formal Operational Stage

Answer 29

(Ages 12+) Are able to use abstract reasoning and think about the future

Question 30

Social Referencing

Answer 30

Relying on facial expressions of their caregiver as a source of information for how to react (between 4-7 months)

Question 31

Operations

Answer 31

Imagining how things might be different than they are, or imagining consequences of an event without needing to see it

Question 32

Conservation

Answer 32

The idea that the physical properties of an object, such as mass, volume and number remain the same despite changes in the object’s shape of form

Question 33

Heuristic

Answer 33

Automatic mental shortcut
- in conservation, adults can override

Question 34

Why do children have difficulty sorting by a new rule?

Answer 34

They have difficulty overriding automatic impulses, and because of their developing prefrontal cortex

Question 35

Egocentrism

Answer 35

Difficulty perceiving situations from another’s POV

Question 36

When do children develop a sense of self?

Answer 36

Around 18 months they are able to recognize themselves in a mirror

Question 37

Gender Identity

Answer 37

The psychological identify of being male, female, or nonbinary

Question 38

Gender socialization

Answer 38

The way people internalize social expectations and attitudes associated with their perceived gender

Question 39

Influences on Gender Socialization

Answer 39

Media, toys, parents

Question 40

Gender schema

Answer 40

The way a person stores info to come up with a definition of how people of certain genders should act

Question 41

Around what age to children develop a gender identity?

Answer 41

Around age 3 (it’s binary to them)

Question 42

Gender constancy

Answer 42

The understanding that a person’s gender identity is constant, regardless of their actions