Developmental Psychology

Question 1

Define nature and nurture.

Answer 1

Nature – sets out their course via gender, genetics, temperament and maturational stages
Nurture – shapes this predetermined course via the environment, parenting, stimulation and nutrition

Question 2

Define temperament.

Answer 2

Innate aspects of an individual’s personality, such as introversion/extroversion

Question 3

What is reciprocal socialisation?

Answer 3

Socialisation is bidirectional, children socialise parents as much as parents socialise children

Question 4

What are the two types of attachment?

Answer 4

Secure attachment – the baby freely explores the room and shows happiness on mother’s return
Insecure attachment – 35%
Avoidant-insecure: Little exploration and little emotional response to return of mother.
Resistant-insecure: Little exploration, great separation anxiety and ambivalent to mother’s return.
Disorganised-insecure: Little exploration and confused response to mother’s return.

Question 5

How is attachment assessed?

Answer 5

Ainsworth’s strange situation test - it tests how babies and young children respond to the temporary absence of their mother
It is interested in two things:
 How much the child explores the room on their own
 How the child responds to the return of the mothe

Question 6

Describe Piaget’s model of cognitive development.

Answer 6

Sensorimotor stage (0-2 years)
 Infants understand the world primarily through sensory experiences and physical (motor) interactions with objects
Preoperational stage (2-7 years)
 World is represented symbolically through words and mental images
 There is no understanding of basic mental operations or rules
Concrete operational stage (7-12 years)
 Children can perform basic mental operations concerning problems that involve tangible (concrete) objects and situations