Developmental Psychology Flashcards
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
French philosopher; society is a detriment to optimal development. Wrote “Emile: Concerning Education” (Book on child-raising; was banned & R. fled France)
British empiricist school of thought
John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, George Berkeley, David Hume, James Mill, John Stuart Mill
All knowledge is gained through experience.
John Locke: tabula rasa
Child development is completely reliant on experiences & environment.
Darwin
Kept a baby biography sequencing physical and psychological development.
His evolutionary theory stressed the importance of studying the mind to help the individual adapt to the environment. Also, caused researchers to study individual difference in ability.
Functionalist system of thought
Concerned with studying how mental processes help individuals adapt to their environment
G. Stanley Hall
Father of developmental psychology; conducted empirical research on children (one of the first)
Also one of the founders of the APA.
Also the founder of child and adolescent psychology.
John Watson (1878-1958)
American psychologist; shared Locke’s tabula rasa view. “Give me a dozen healthy infants… train him to become any type of specialist I might select”
Objective methods must be used to study psychology; early behaviorist.
Goal of psychology should be to predict behavioral responses given a particular stimulus
Arnold Gesell
Psychological development occurs as a maturational biological process, regardless of practice or training.
Nativist (nature rather than nurture)
A developmental blueprint exists from birth.
Psychodynamic orientation
A system of thought that postulates the existence of unconscious internal states that motivate the overt actions of individuals and determine personality
Cognitive structuralists
Most influenced by Piaget; in opposition of behaviorists
Emphasize the thinking ability of people.
Breaks consciousness down to its elements.
Cross-sectional studies, longitudinal studies, sequential cohort studies
Cross-sectional: compare groups of subjects of different ages once (ex. Groups 1, 2, 3)
Longitudinal: compare a specific group of people over an extended period of time (Group 1 over time)
Sequential cohort: combines cross-sectional and longitudinal methods (Groups 1, 2, 3 over time)
Clinical method or case study
Studies the development of a particular child
Nature versus nurture controversy
Nature: human capabilities are innate and individual differences are genetic
Nurture: human capabilities are determined by the environment and shaped by experience
Now is more recognized as a dynamic interaction rather than holding two polar camps
Gregor Mendel
Initiated the study of genetics; hypothesized the existence of a basic unit of heredity (gene)
Suggested that a specific trait was controlled by an alternative form of gene called an allele (D/r)
Eye Color (B=Brown, b=blue)
Brown: BB, Bb, & bB
Blue: bb
Genotype
Total genetic makeup of an individual
Phenotype
Collection of expressed traits in observable characteristics
Identical genotypes can express different phenotypes due to environmental variation.
Likewise, differing genotypes can result in identical phenotypes (Bb and BB are both brown eyes)
Gametes
Sperm and egg cells; haploid (23 single chromosomes)
R. C. Tryon
Studied the inheritance of maze-running ability in lab rats.
Rats were divided into three groups based on initial maze performance: maze-bright, maze-dull, and intermediate.
Used selective breeding (B w/ B & d w/ d) over several generations. Difference between bright and dull rats intensified over generations. –> learning ability has a genetic basis
Research Methods (determining degree of genetic influence)
Family studies, twin studies, adoption studies
Lewis Terman
Conducted a large-scale longitudinal study following the development of children with high IQ and groups of children with typical IQ over time.
Down’s Syndrome
Extra 21st chromosome
Phenylketonuria (PKU)
Degenerative disease of the nervous system. Enzyme needed to digest phenylalanine (in milk and other foods) doesn’t function.
If untreated or undetected, can result in intellectual disability
(Easily avoid symptoms with a strict diet)
Klinefelter’s syndrome
XXY; males, often sterile and sometimes display intellectual disability
Turner’s syndrome
X; females, failure to develop secondary sex characteristics
Zygote
Single cell (sperm cell + ovum)
Germinal Period
2 weeks after conception; fertilized egg travels down the Fallopian tube and implants in uterine wall
Embryonic period
8 weeks after germinal period
Fetal period
Begins in third month with measurable electrical brain activity
Thalidomide
A tranquilizer prescribed to many English mothers in the 50s –> missing or malformed limbs and defects of the heart, eyes, digestive tract, ears, and kidneys
Moro reflex
Infants react to abrupt movements of their heads by flinging out their arms and the bringing their arms back to their bodies (like hugging themselves)
Babinski reflex
Toes spread apart automatically when the sole of the foot is stimulated
Neonatal reflexes
Rooting, Moro, Babinski, grasping
Jean Piaget
Four stages of cognitive development: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational
Believed that language development was directed by the development of thought.