Developmental Psychology Flashcards

1
Q

What is developmental psychology?

A

Study of how behaviour changes over time

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What is the post hoc fallacy?

A

False assumption that because one event occurred before another event, it must have caused the event

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What is a cross-sectional design?

A

A research design that examines people of different ages at a single point in time

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What are cohort effects?

A

Effects observed in a sample of participants that result from individual’s in the sample growing up at the same time

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What is a longitudinal design?

A

A research design that examines development in the same group of people on multiple occasions over time

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What is the infant determinism myth?

A

The widespread assumption that extremely early experiences are almost always more influential that later experiences in shaping us as adults

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What is the childhood fragility myth?

A

The assumption that children are delicate little creatures who are easily damaged

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What is gene-environment interaction?

A

The situation where the effects of genes depend on the environment in which they are expressed

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What is nature via nurture?

A

The tendency of individuals with certain genetic predispositions to seek out and create environments that permit the expression of those predispositions

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

What is gene expression?

A

The activation or deactivation of genes by environmental experiences throughout development

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

True or False: just because one event precedes a second event does not necessarily mean that it causes it

A

True

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

True or False: research shows that most children are passive recipients of their parents’ influence

A

False

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

True or False: most children exposed to severe stressors end up with healthy patterns of psychological adjustment

A

True

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

True or False: gene expression is predetermined at birth and doesn’t change in response to environmental experiences

A

False

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What is adolescence?

A

The transition between childhood and adulthood commonly associated with the teenage years

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What is puberty?

A

The achievement of sexual maturation resulting in the potential to reproduce

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

What are primary sex characteristics?

A

Physical features, such as the reproductive organs and genitals, that distinguish the sexes

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

What are secondary sex characteristics?

A

Sex-differentiating characteristics that do not relate directly to reproduction, such as breast enlargement in females and deepening voices in males

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

What is menarche?

A

The start of menstruation

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

What is spermarche?

A

A boys’ first ejaculation

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

What is menopause?

A

The termination of menstruation, marking the end of a women’s reproductive potential

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

What is cognitive development?

A

The study of how children acquire the ability to learn, think, reason, communicate and remember

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

True or False: androgens cause changes in boys at puberty, whereas oestrogens cause changes in girls

A

False

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

True or False: elderly people’s hearing, sight and other senses decline, but their ability to learn new motor skills are still intact

A

False

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

Who was the firs psychologist to propose a theory of cognitive development?

A

Jean Piaget

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

What is equilibration?

A

The desire for children to achieve a balance between their experience of the world and their understanding of it

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

What is assimilation? (Development)

A

A Piagetian process of absorbing new experience into current knowledge structures

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

What is accommodation?

A

The Piagetian process of altering a belief to make it more compatible with experience

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
29
Q

What are Piaget’s stages of development?

A

Sensorimotor
Preoperational
Concrete operational
Formal operational

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
30
Q

What is the sensorimotor stage?

A

The stage in Piaget’s theory characterised by a focus in the here-and-now without the ability to represent experiences mentally

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
31
Q

What is object permanence?

A

The understanding that objects continue to exist even when out of view

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
32
Q

What is the preoperational stage?

A

The stage in Piaget’s theory characterised by the ability to construct mental representations of experience, but not yet perform operations on them

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
33
Q

What is egocentrism?

A

The inability to see the world from others’ perspectives

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
34
Q

What is conservation?

A

A Piagetian task requiring children to understand that despite a transformation in the physical presentation of an amount, the amount remains the same

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
35
Q

What is the concrete operational stage?

A

The stage in Piaget’s theory characterised by the ability to perform mental operations on physical events only

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
36
Q

What is the formal operational stage?

A

The stage is Piaget’s theory characterised by the ability to perform hypothetical reasoning behind the here-and-now

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
37
Q

The beginning of which stage is characterised by the formation of object permanence?

A

Preoperational

38
Q

Which stage is characterised by egocentrism and the inability to conserve quantity?

A

Preoperational

39
Q

What are the downfalls of Piaget’s theory?

A
  • Most of development is more continuous than stage-like
  • Young children may not be able to effectively verbalise there experiences
  • Does not take cultural differences into account
40
Q

What was Vygotsky interested in?

A

How social and cultural factors influence learning

41
Q

What is scaffolding?

A

A Vygotskian learning mechanism in which parents provide initial assistance in children’s learning, but gradually remove structure as the children become more competent

42
Q

What is the zone of proximal development?

A

A phase of learning during which children can benefit from instruction

43
Q

What age do babies begin to recognise themselves in a mirror?

A

Between one and one and a half

44
Q

What age do children recognise themselves in photos?

A

Two years old

45
Q

What age do children recognise themselves in videos?

A

Three years old

46
Q

What is the theory of mind?

A

The ability to reason about what other people want, feel and think

47
Q

On what tasks do younger people perform better than older people?

A

Recall memory tasks

Speed processing tasks

48
Q

What tasks are not impaired with ageing?

A

Cued recall and recognition tasks
Everyday activity memory
Vocabulary
Crystallised intelligence (accumulated knowledge)

49
Q

True or False: Piaget argued that development was domain-general and continuous

A

False

50
Q

True or False: Vygotsky’s theory proposes that individual children vary in the age at which they achieve developmental readiness for particular cognitive abilities

A

True

51
Q

True or False: the ability to count precise quantities is absent in some cultures

A

True

52
Q

True or False: adolescents may not always make mature decisions about engaging in risky behaviours because their frontal lobes aren’t fully mature

A

True

53
Q

True or False: older adults perform worse than younger adults on tests that require memory for random lists of words, but perform better on tests of knowledge and vocabulary

A

True

54
Q

What is stranger anxiety?

A

The fear of strangers developing at eight or nine months of age

55
Q

What is temperament?

A

Basic emotional style than appears early in development and is largely genetic in origin

56
Q

What are the basic temperament styles?

A

Easy - adaptable and relaxed
Difficult - fussy and easily frustrated
Slow-to-warm-up - disturbed by new stimuli by gradually get used to them
Behavioural inhibition - become afraid of unfamiliar stimuli

57
Q

Which temperament style is at higher risk for being shy and/or anxious late in life?

A

Behavioural inhibition

58
Q

Infants with low behaviour inhibition are at risk for what later in childhood?

A

Impulsive behaviour

59
Q

What is attachment?

A

A strong emotional connection we share with those whom we feel closest

60
Q

What is a critical period?

A

A specific window of time during which an event must occur for normal development

61
Q

What is a sensitive period?

A

A window of time where the development of some behaviours is easier but not vital for normal development

62
Q

What is contact comfort?

A

The positive emotion afforded by touch

63
Q

What are the different styles of attachment?

A

Secure attachment
Insecure-avoidant
Insecure-anxious
Disorganised attachment

64
Q

What is secure attachment?

A

The infant reacts to mum’s departure by becoming upset, but greets her return with joy

65
Q

What is insecure-avoidant attachment?

A

The infant reacts to mum’s departure with indifference, and shows little reaction on her return

66
Q

What is insecure-anxious attachment?

A

The infant reacts to the mum’s departure with panic. He then shows a mixed emotional reaction on her return, simultaneously reaching for her yet squirming to get away after she picks him up

67
Q

What is disorganised attachment?

A

Children with this pattern react to mum’s departure and return with an inconsistent and confused set of responses

68
Q

What are the different parenting styles?

A

Permissive
Authoritarian
Authoritative
Uninvolved

69
Q

What is the permissive parenting style?

A

Permissive parents tend to be lenient with their children, allowing them considerable freedom inside and outside the household. They use disciple sparingly, if at all, and often shower their children with affection.

70
Q

What is the authoritarian parenting style?

A

Authoritarian parents tend to be strict with their children, giving their children little opportunity for free play or exploration, and punishing them when they don’t response appropriately to their demands. They show little affection towards their children

71
Q

What is the authoritative parenting style?

A

Authoritative parents combine the best features of both permissive and authoritarian worlds. They are supportive of their children but set clear and firm limits with them

72
Q

What is the uninvolved parenting style?

A

Uninvolved parents tend to ignore their children, paying little attention to either their positive or negative behaviours

73
Q

What is the average expectable environment?

A

An environment that provide children with basic needs for affection and appropriate discipline

74
Q

What is self-control?

A

The ability to inhibit an impulse to act

75
Q

What is a gender role?

A

A set of behaviours that tend to be associated with being male or female

76
Q

What is gender identity?

A

An individuals’ sense of being male or female

77
Q

What is an identity?

A

Our sense of who we are, and our life goals and priorities

78
Q

What is a psychosocial crisis?

A

A dilemma concerning an individual’s relations to other people

79
Q

What is emerging adulthood?

A

The period of life between the ages of 18 and 25 during which many aspects of emotional development, identity and personality become solidified

80
Q

What are the levels of Kohlberg’s scheme of moral development?

A

Pre-conventional morality
Conventional morality
Post-conventional morality

81
Q

What is pre-conventional morality?

A

Egocentric - how do the consequences affect me?

82
Q

What is conventional morality?

A

Interaction with others - appreciating laws and rules

83
Q

What is post-conventional morality?

A

Questioning how we interact with others and if it can be altered to benefit society

84
Q

What is a midlife crisis?

A

A supposed phase of adulthood characterised by emotional distress about the ageing process and an attempt to regain youth

85
Q

What is empty-nest syndrome?

A

An alleged period of depression in mothers following the departure of their grown children from their home

86
Q

True or False: studies of contact comfort suggest that nourishment isn’t the principal basis for attachment in primates

A

True

87
Q

True or False: studies suggest that within the broad range of the average expectable environment, parenting style may not be a crucial determinant of children’s development

A

True

88
Q

True or False: gender differences don’t emerge until parenting practices have the opportunity to influence children’s behaviour

A

False

89
Q

True or False: when evaluating Kohlberg’s moral dilemmas, the answers people give are more important than the reasoning process they used to arrive at these answers

A

False

90
Q

True or False: marriage and becoming a parent both exert an overall positive impact in adults’ stress levels

A

False