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

Outline the stages of the development of attachment.

Answer 4

• 0-3 months = infants prefer people to inanimate objects –indiscriminate proximity seeking e.g. clinging
• 3-8 months = smile discriminantly at main caregivers
• 8-12 months = selectively approaches main caregivers – use social referencing/familiar faces as a secure base to explore new situations –shows fear of strangers and separation anxiety
• 12+ months = attachment behaviour is measured reliably

Question 5

What are the four types of attachment?

Answer 5

• Secure attachment = the baby freely explores the room and shows happiness on mother’s return
• Insecure attachment = little exploration and little emotional response to mother
• Resistant-insecure = Little exploration, great separation anxiety and ambivalent response to mother upon her return (wants to re-establish close proximity but is resentful at the mother for leaving)
• Disorganised-insecure = Little exploration and confused response to mother

Question 6

How is attachment assessed?

Answer 6

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 7

What are the stages of Piaget’s model of cognitive development?

Answer 7

• 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
• Formal operational stage (12 years onwards)
  
  • Abstract thought emerges, think more about moral philosophical, ethical issues. Use deductive logic/reasoning.

Question 8

What is attachment?

Answer 8

Attachment is a theory defined by Bowlby which describes a biological instinct that seeks proximity to an attachment figure (carer) when threat is perceived or discomfort is experienced. The sense of safety the child experiences provides a secure base from which they can explore their environment thus promoting development through learning whilst being protected in the environment.

Question 9

Define assimilation

Answer 9

incorporating new experience into existing schema

Question 10

Define accommodation

Answer 10

the difference made by the process of assimilation

Question 11

Define adaptation

Answer 11

whereby new experiences cause existing schema to change

Question 12

What are paiget’s schemas?

Answer 12

Organised patterns of thoughts and action

Question 13

What is Piaget’s thoery of cognition?

Answer 13

Proposed that children’s thinking changes qualitatively with age This is the result of an interaction of the brain’s biological maturation and personal experiences Development occurs as we acquire new schemas and as our existing schemas become more complex