Developmental Psychology 3

Question 1

Name Ainsworth’s four infant attachment patterns.

Answer 1

Secure, anxious/avoidant, anxious/resistant, disorganized/disoriented.

Question 2

What characterizes secure infant attachment?

Answer 2

Exploration of environment with or without mother; distress when mother leaves and contact-seeking when she returns; friendly to stranger in mother’s presence but prefer mother.

Question 3

What characterizes the behavior of mothers of secure infants?

Answer 3

Emotional sensitivity and responsiveness.

Question 4

What characterizes anxious/avoidant infant attachment?

Answer 4

Lack of interest in environment; little interest in mother when she leaves and when she returns; may or may not be wary of strangers.

Question 5

What characterizes the behavior of mothers of anxious/avoidant infants?

Answer 5

Either impatient and unresponsive or overly responsive and involved.

Question 6

What characterizes anxious/resistant infant attachment?

Answer 6

Anxious in mother’s presence more so when she leaves, ambivalent when she returns; wary of strangers. (a.k.a. ambivalent)

Question 7

What characterizes the behavior of mothers of anxious/resistant infants?

Answer 7

Inconsistency, ranging from indifference to enthusiasm.

Question 8

What characterizes disorganized/disoriented infant attachment?

Answer 8

Inconsistent responses to mother, alternating between avoidance and proximity-seeking; overall dazed, confused, apprehensive.

Question 9

What characterizes the behavior of mothers of disorganized/disoriented infants.

Answer 9

Maltreatment of child.

Question 10

Name the four patterns of adult attachment.

Answer 10

Secure/autonomous, dismissing, preoccupied, unresolved.

Question 11

What characterizes secure adult attachment?

Answer 11

Valuing relationships, able to integrate both positive and negative aspects of childhood experiences.

Question 12

What characterizes dismissing adult attachment?

Answer 12

Devaluing relationships, guarded and defensive about childhood, idealize parents but cannot give concrete examples.

Question 13

What characterizes preoccupied adult attachment?

Answer 13

Enmeshed relationships, incoherent about childhood, anger and resignation about parents.

Question 14

What characterizes unresolved adult attachment?

Answer 14

Negative and dysfunctional relationships, frightened by memories of trauma, may dissociate as coping mechanism. (Think DID or BPD.)

Question 15

Describe the female “enabling” style of peer relationship.

Answer 15

Increases intimacy and equality; characterized by agreement, suggestion, support; emphasizes emotion and intimacy.

Question 16

Describe the male “restrictive” style of peer relationship.

Answer 16

Interferes with continuing interaction; characterized by bragging, contradiction, interruption; emphasizes activity, shared interests.

Question 17

What characteristics are associated with popularity in children?

Answer 17

Skill at initiating and maintaining positive peer relationships; tendency toward being outgoing, supportive, communicative, cooperative, and nonpunitive.

Question 18

What characteristics are associated with non-popular (rejected) children?

Answer 18

More aggression, disruptiveness, other negative behaviors compared to average children.

Question 19

Compare the impact of being neglected vs. rejected status in children.

Answer 19

Rejection has a much stronger and more long lived effect, associated with aggression, feelings of loneliness; more stable over time and settings.

Question 20

When are teens most likely to be conforming to peers?

Answer 20

Ages 12-14.

Question 21

Compare peer and parental influence on adolescent behavior.

Answer 21

Peers are more likely to influence attitudes and behaviors related to status in the peer group; parents have a greater effect on adolescent’s life decisions and values.

Question 22

Describe Piaget’s heteronomous morality stage.

Answer 22

Children 4-7; absolute rules, imminent justice; actions based on consequences. A function of preoperational egocentrism and parental authority.

Question 23

Describe Piaget’s autonomous morality stage.

Answer 23

Children over age 8; rules as agreement; actions based on intention. A function of decline in egocentrism, increased social interaction, release from parental authority.

Question 24

Where was Piaget wrong about children’s lying?

Answer 24

He thought intentional lying did not start until age 7, but research has shown it beginning as early as 3 or 4.

Question 25

Name Kohlberg’s three stages of moral development.

Answer 25

Preconventional, conventional, post-conventional.

Question 26

What are the two substages of Kohlberg’s preconventional stage of moral development?

Answer 26

1: punishment and obedience; 2: instrumental hedonistic (satisfying own needs)

Question 27

What are the two substages of Kohlberg’s conventional stage of moral development?

Answer 27

3: social relations (approval of others); 4: authority and social order maintenance (obeying rules)

Question 28

What are the two substages of Kohlberg’s post-conventional stage of moral development?

Answer 28

5: social contract with individual rights (uphold laws that can be changed); 6: universal ethics (transcendence of legal standards)

Question 29

What ages are associated with Kohlberg’s moral development stages?

Answer 29

Conventional generally begins ages 10-13. Not all adults reach post-conventional; in those that do, it can begin in mid-adolescence.

Question 30

What are the key assumptions of Kohlberg’s theory of moral development?

Answer 30

a) development occurs in an invariable sequence [even if not all people complete it]; b) moral development is a consequence of cognitive development; c) each stage represents an organized whole

Question 31

What is the relationship between Kohlberg’s theory of moral development and behavior?

Answer 31

Correlation is low, except at more advanced stages, where it increases.

Question 32

What is the relationship between Kohlberg’s theory of moral development and gender?

Answer 32

None that can be demonstrated; research indicates males and females progress through the stages similarly.

Question 33

What is the relationship between fearful/lessness in children and parenting style in predicting conscientiousness?

Answer 33

To produce conscientiousness, fearful children are best disciplined gently, de-emphasizing power and capitalizing on a child’s internal discomfort, while fearless children are best disciplined with positive motivation inherent in a secure attachment.

Question 34

By what age do most children develop a gender identity?

Answer 34

Age 3.

Question 35

Name four theories of gender identity development.

Answer 35

Kagan’s social learning, Bem’s gender schema, Kohlberg’s cognitive-developmental, Freud’s psychodynamic.

Question 36

What is Kagan’s social learning theory of gender identity development?

Answer 36

Gender identity is developed through rewards and punishments, modeling, and imitation.

Question 37

What is Bem’s gender schema theory of gender identity development?

Answer 37

Schemata develop in a sociocultural context; these in turn influence behavior and eventually identity.

Question 38

What are the three stages of Kohlberg’s cognitive-developmental theory of gender identity development?

Answer 38

Gender identity (recognition, by age 3), gender stability (realization that girls become women/boys men, follows gender identity), gender constancy (understanding that gender does not change).

Question 39

What is Freud’s psychodynamic theory of gender identity development?

Answer 39

Resolution of the psychosexual crisis (identification with same-sex parent) of phallic stage.