Developmental Psychology Flashcards
Tabula Rasa
“The Blank Slate”, referring to the British empiricist school of thought which suggested that all children were born as blank slates and everything is learned through experiences. This term was originally coined by John Locke
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Proposed an opposite view to Locke regarding child development, suggesting that society was unnecessary (and maybe a negative influence) on a child’s development. His book on child rearing essentially created pedagogy.
Functionalist System of Thought
Centered around the belief that we should study the mind/brain based upon how the brain functions to help individuals adapt to the environment they are presented with.
G. Stanley Hall
Known as the father of developmental psychology and worked in the early 20th century. His work was influenced by Darwin, and consisted of the first empirical studies on children, and founding the APA.
John Watson
Watson was an extreme behaviorist, famously citing that he could raise a child to become any pre-determined specialist since every child was a tabula rasa that he could influence based on experience/learning.
He also was an advocate for objective methodology in research, and he believed psychology should only be used as a way to predict behavioral responses to stimuli.
Arnold Gesell
A early nativist, Gesell proposed that development occurred due to maturational/biological processes, regardless of practice or training. He believed that the majority of development was biologically based and wouldn’t be altered by experience.
Psychodynamic Orientation
A system of thought that arose from a clinical setting, it was originated in the work of Freud, and stresses the role of subconscious conflicts in the development of functioning/personality.
Cognitive Structuralists
Influenced by Piaget, cognitive structuralists emphasize the thinking ability of people, believing that children are actively involved in their own development.
Three Research Methods Used in Developmental Psychology
Cross-Sectional Studies
Longitudinal Studies
Sequential Cohort Studies
Cross-Sectional Studies
Studies which compare groups of subjects who are at different ages.
Longitudinal Studies
Studies which follow a specific group of people over an extended period of time.
Sequential Cohort Studies
Studies which combine cross-sectional and longitudinal methods by studying several groups of children at different ages over time.
Clinical Method Studies/Case Study Method
Studies which take a detailed look at the development of a single child. This method aims to gain greater perspective on development by examining a single child and their environment.
The Nature/Nurture Controversy
Nature: human capacities are innate and individual differences are due to genetic differences.
Nurture: human capacities are determined by the individual’s environment and experiences.
Now people get that it is actually a combo of nature AND nurture
Gregor Mendel
19th Century, known for initiating the study of genetics. Hypothesized that there were basic units of heredity (genes) and that traits are controlled by the alleles (which are either dominant or recessive).
Genotype and Phenotypes
Genotype: the total genetic makeup of an individual
Phenotype: The collection of expressed traits which makeup an individual’s observable characteristic.
R.C. Tryon’s Studies
Tyron studied the ability of rats to run in mazes in the mid 1900s, and found that maze-running ability was an inheritable skill. Found that as that ability was reproduced through generations, the skill (or lack of skill) further intensified.
Twin Studies Methodology
Twin studies compare MZ and DZ twins so that they can distinguish the relative effects of environment vs genetics. (HOWEVER, it has been demonstrated that MZ and DZ twins don’t necessarily share the same environment due to the treatment they receive based upon if they are MZ or DZ.
Family Studies Methodology
Family studies can help us look at heredity (and rates/risks of disorder development), but are significantly constrained due to the fact that families share genetics AND environment
Adoption Studies Methodology
Allow us to study the influences of genetics and environments on behaviors. These studies compare the similarity of adoptive parents to adopted child and adopted child to biological parent.
Lewis Terman
Ran first studies looking at gifted children (IQ about 135)
Down’s Syndrome
A genetic anomaly where individuals have an extra 21st chromosome can lead to varying levels of intellectual disability. Age of biological parents is something which leads to greater risk of bearing a child with Down’s Syndrome
Phenylketonuria
A degenerative disease of the nervous system which is a genetic disorder. Disorder makes it impossible for the person’s enzymes are unable to digest phenylalanine (amino acid found in milk). Now it can be tested in infancy, being the first genetic disease which could be tested in large populations.
Klinefelter’s Syndrome
Males who possess an extra X chromosome (XXY configuration). Leads to sterility and often ID.
Turner’s Syndrome
Females who possess only one X chromosome. Results in a failure to develop secondary sex characteristics (often resulting in physical abnormalities like short fingers and unusually shaped mouths).
Gametes
The two human sex cells which combine to form the zygote
Germinal Period
The fertilized egg travels down the fallopian tube and is implanted on the uterine wall
Embryonic Period
The eight weeks following the germinal period; the embryo increases in size by 2 million %
The Fetal Period
Begins in the third month of pregnancy with measurable electrical activity in the fetus’ brain
The Moro Reflex
Newborns have the Moro reflex, which is if there is an abrupt movement of a baby’s head, they will fling out their arms and then bring their arms back and hug themselves. Thought to have developed when pre-humans lived in trees and instinctive clutching could prevent falls. usually the reflex disappears at 4-5 months (and if it doesn’t that is a sign of developmental delays)
The Babinski Reflex
The reflex that infants will spread their toes automatically if the soles of their feet are stimulated.
The Grasping Reflex
Infants will automatically close their fingers around objects placed in their hands.
Jean Piaget
The most influential figure in developmental psychology, known for demonstrating qualitative though differences between adults and children.
Adaption Processes
Piaget proposed the principle of adaption, which takes place through assimilation and accommodation.
Assimilation: the process of interpreting new information in terms of existing schemata
Accommodation: Occurs when new information doesn’t fit into our existing schemata, it is the process of modifying existing schemata to adapt to new information.
Piaget’s Four Stages of Cognitive Development
The sensorimotor stage, the preoperational stage, the concrete operational stage, and the formal operational stage.
The Sensorimotor Stage
The first stage of cognitive development, occurring from birth to 2 years of age. Infant begins to develop primary and secondary circular reactions and object permanence.
Primary and Secondary Circular Reactions
Primary Circular Reactions: When an infant begins to coordinate separate aspects of movement, which is the advent of goal-oriented behavior. Primary Circular Reactions are restricted to motions concerning the body.
Secondary Circular Reactions: Similar to primary secondary circular reactions, except they are directed towards manipulation of objects in the infant’s environment.
Object Permanence
When children begin to realize that objects exist even if one cannot see them. Marks the beginning of representational thought, and the beginning of the pre-operational stage
Pre-Operational Stage
Begins when a child develops object permanence, and generally lasts from 2 years old to 7 years old. Characterized by the beginning of representational thought. During this stage, children develop centration but still struggle with conservation.
Centration
The tendency of children to only focus on once aspect of a phenomenon, or only recognizer their perspective. Often referred to as egocentrism.
