Developmental Psychology Flashcards
What do empiricist a believe children are?
Tabula rasas. Blank slates.
Why was Rousseau forced to flee France?
Due to his book on child raising that posited society was unnecessary.
What is the functionalist system of thought?
Importance of studying the mind as it relates to facilitating an individual’s about to adapt to the environment.
Who is Stanley Hall?
One of the founders of the APA, the founder of child psychology, did empirical research on children and compared their ages.
How did Watson view children and what was his take on methodology?
Watson was a pure behaviourist, believing that even emotions and thoughts were acquired through learning. He also believed that psychology should only be measured objectively.
Who is Arnold Gesell?
A nativist believing that development occurred via maturation rather that learning.
What is the psychodynamic orientation?
A view posited by Freud stating that subconscious conflicts play a large role in the development of functioning and personality.
Which 6 people were part of the British empiricist school of thought?
John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, George Berkeley, David Hume, James Mill, John Stuart Mill.
How did Piaget’s view of development differ from that of psychoanalytic theorists?
Piaget was a cognitive structuralist and viewed children as having a more active role in their own development.
Which three research methods are often used in developmental psychology?
Cross-sectional, longitudinal, and sequential cohort studies.
Who initiated the study of genetics?
Gregor Mendel, he discovered genes that had alternative forms of alleles, either dominant or recessive.
What is the difference between genotype and phenotype?
Genotype : The complete genetic makeup of an individual.
Phenotype : Totality of expressed traits.
Where are genes located?
In chromosomes, the 23rd of which determines sex.
How did R. C. Tyron’s study demonstrate that genes can affect behaviour?
Tyron bred rats based on their traits (maze bright, maze dull, or intermediate). The difference over generations increased demonstrating some genetic effect in learning ability. (This difference was only noted in the specific maze Tyron used.)
Which three research methods determine degree of genetic influence?
Family studies, twin studies, adoption studies.
What population did Lewis Terman study?
Children with high IQs (over 135) for every five years.
What causes Down’s Syndrome?
Extra 21st chromosome, increased risk with older parents.
What is PKU?
Phenylketonuria : lack of enzyme needed to digest an amino acid often found in milk.
What is the result of having an extra X chromosome?
Klinefelter’s syndrome - men often sterile and have some degree of mental retardation.
What is it when females only have one X chromosome?
Turner’s syndrome - physical abnormalities, inability to develop secondary sec characteristics.
What are the four prenatal stages?
Zygote, germinal period, embryonic period, and fetal period.
Describe the process of prenatal development.
Human sex cells, gametes, form the zygote via fertilization. The zygote divides increasingly and shifts to the uterine wall. The embryo increases two million percent in the next eight weeks: Physical limbs are visible and nerve cells develop. Electrical brain activity is noticed in the fetal period (mo 3) and the fetus continues to grow after that.
List and explain four neonatal reflexes.
Rooting: Turning head in direction of stimuli on cheek.
Moro: Flinging out arms and then recoiling in reaction to abrupt movement of their heads.
Babinski: spreading toes when soles of feet are stimulated.
Grasping: automatically closing fingers around objects in hand.
What is schema?
Schema includes the action tendencies and organized pattern of behaviour.
What is th principle of adaptation and which two processes does it require?
Assimilation interprets new info based on old schema, accommodation is when new info doesn’t fit in pre existing schema and the schema are altered to fit the new info. Together, these processes allow an individual to adapt to their environments.