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
Accomodation (Developmental Psych)
Revising schemas with new information
Sensorimotor Stage
(Ages 0-2) Achieve object permanence
Preoperational Stage
(Ages 2-7) Learn how to use symbols, and classify objects, struggle with egocentrism and predictions
Concrete Operational Stage
(Ages 7-12) Learn to think through multiple perspectives, solving complex problems but only for concrete events, learn conservation
Formal Operational Stage
(Ages 12+) Are able to use abstract reasoning and think about the future
Social Referencing
Relying on facial expressions of their caregiver as a source of information for how to react (between 4-7 months)
Operations
Imagining how things might be different than they are, or imagining consequences of an event without needing to see it
Conservation
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
Heuristic
Automatic mental shortcut
- in conservation, adults can override
Why do children have difficulty sorting by a new rule?
They have difficulty overriding automatic impulses, and because of their developing prefrontal cortex
Egocentrism
Difficulty perceiving situations from another’s POV
When do children develop a sense of self?
Around 18 months they are able to recognize themselves in a mirror
Gender Identity
The psychological identify of being male, female, or nonbinary
Gender socialization
The way people internalize social expectations and attitudes associated with their perceived gender
Influences on Gender Socialization
Media, toys, parents
Gender schema
The way a person stores info to come up with a definition of how people of certain genders should act
Around what age to children develop a gender identity?
Around age 3 (it’s binary to them)
Gender constancy
The understanding that a person’s gender identity is constant, regardless of their actions
