Developmental Psychology Flashcards
1
Q
developmental psychology
A
the scientific study of age related changes in behavior and mental processes throughout a person’s lifespan
2
Q
Piaget’s theory of cognitive development
A
Piaget believed that we build an understanding of our world and develop thinking skills through active interaction with our environment
3
Q
schema
A
an idea about what something is and how to deal with it
4
Q
2 processes by which we gain and change our schemas
A
- assimilation: interpreting new experiences and information based on our current understanding
- accommodation: adjustments to fit particulars of new information
- we construct and modify our schemas as we interact with the world
5
Q
stages of cognitive development
A
- sensorimotor stage: birth to 2
- pre operational stage: 2 to 7
- concrete operational stage: 7 to 11
- formal operational stage: 11 through adulthood
6
Q
sensorimotor stage
A
- construct understanding of the world by coordinating sensory experiences with motor abilities
- live in the present and have very little understanding that things continue to exist even if they are not within sight
- foundation for cognitive abilities and growth through assimilation and accommodation
7
Q
concepts of sensorimotor stage
A
- object permanence
- understanding that things continue to exist even after they can no longer be seen, heard or touched
- infants will be able to search for hidden objects once they understand object permanence
- infants are presented with an interesting toy and then covering it with a beret:
- infants before 6 months failed to search for the toy
- by 8 months, infant begin responding to hidden object
- goal directed behavior
- ability to behave in purposeful manner in order to achieve particular goals
- combines and coordinates existing schemas to attempt new things and achieve goals
8
Q
pre operational stage
A
- represent the world with words, images and drawings
- stable concepts formed, mental reasoning emerges, ability to remember, pretend and imagine
- grouping similar objects together
9
Q
concepts of pre operational stage
A
- egocentrism
- inability to take another’s POV and only perceive the world from their own viewpoint
- believe that everyone sees what they see, hears what they hear and knows what they know
- not intentionally selfish as their world is self centred and might get angry if they don’t get their way
- animism
- tendency of children to believe that all objects and animals are living and capable of feelings and emotions
- believes that objects have the same feelings they do
- centration
- occurs when child only pays attention to a small range of aspects when observing a stimulus
- may pay attention to the height of an object and not its mass
10
Q
concrete operational stage
A
thinking logically and carrying our mental operations with concrete materials but not with abstract ideas
11
Q
concepts of concrete operational stage
A
- conservation
- understanding that the mass of an object remains the same even if its shape or appearance changes
- requires child to observe transformations in physical quantities that are initially equivalent and then the transformation
- classification
- ability to group sets of discrete items into a broader category
12
Q
formal operational stage
A
- adolescents develop ability to think about and solve abstract problems in logical manner
- reasoning based on logic that includes abstractions and systematic thinking about hypothetical events
- able to understand double meanings and proverbs
13
Q
concepts of formal operational stage
A
- logical thinking
- develop strategies to work through problems systematically, identify and hypothesise about various solutions to problems and systematically test solutions
- abstract thinking
- thinking that does not rely on being able to handle or see concrete materials in order to reason about them
14
Q
three mountain task
A
- tests egocentrism
- uses apparatus called diorama involving 2 model mountains made of paper mache of different sizes, shape and colour and different landmarks on top
- first child is asked to walk around and familiarise with the diorama
- second child was asked to sit facing 3 mountains and a doll was placed behind the first mountain
- the child was asked ‘what can the doll see’ and were shown several pictures of the mountains from different viewpoints, one of which was the actual viewpoint of the child
- process was repeated with the doll in front of the second mountain and then the third
- the child was asked the same question and was required to select a picture
- Piaget found that children up to 7 years old chose the picture that showed what they could see
- seeing things from different perspective occurs at a later age when children stop centering on themselves
15
Q
Martin Hughes
A
- policeman task
- children 3.5 to 5 years old could take another’s perspective
- no longer egocentric when asked to carry out task involving hiding a boy doll so that policeman can’t see him
- children were shown a model comprising 2 intersecting walls and then placed the policeman doll in several positions and asked child to hide the boy doll from the policeman
- very few mistakes were made as children were asked if they understood what was being asked of them
- second policeman doll was brought in and both policeman dolls were placed at end of 2 walls and child was asked to hide boy doll from both policemen
- 90% gave correct answers showing that children lost their egocentric thinking by 4 years old because they were able to take another’s perspective
16
Q
criticism of Piaget’s theory
A
- failed to distinguish competence and performance as many Piagetian tasks rely on verbal responses and questions where lack of skill in verbal responses may mask competence in reasoning
- underestimated cognitive abilities of pre operational children as they exhibited less egocentrism than Piaget believed
- Donaldson argued that young children passed the policeman task and failed to three mountain task because they were more familiar with hiding and 3 mountain task was more abstract and made little real world sense to them
- Siegal asked questions where the answer was obvious or repeated questions wheee the answers have already been given
- children assumed that their first answers were wrong and changed it to please the examiner
17
Q
Kohlberg’s theory of moral development
A
- proposed 6 universal stages of moral development
- suggested that development occurs when conflict between ones current stage and moral thinking of someone at higher stage is experienced
- emphasised type of thinking people engaged in when considering moral dilemmas
18
Q
pre conventional level
A
rules are truly external to self rather than internalised and morality is self serving
19
Q
punishment and obedience egocentric
A
- base moral decisions on fear of punishment where if an action is not punished or detected, it is not wrong
- shaped by standards of adults and consequences for following or breaking their rules
20
Q
naive hedonism/instrumental exchange orientation
A
- individuals conform to rules in order to gain rewards or satisfy personal objectives
- individuals have different viewpoints but their behaviors are motivated by hope of benefiting in return
21
Q
conventional level
A
- individuals strive to obey rules and social norms in order to win other’s approval or to maintain social order
- social praise and avoidance of blame replaces tangible rewards and punishments as motivators of ethical conduct
- perspective of others are given careful consideration
22
Q
good boy good girl orientation
A
- values trust, care and loyalty to others as basis for moral judgement
- moral decisions are made to please, help or to be approved by others
- interest in maintaining respect of others and doing what is expected of them
23
Q
social order maintaining morality
A
- moral judgements based on duty, social order, law and justice
- conforms to society rules and considers that right is what society defines it to be
24
Q
post conventional level
A
individuals define right and wrong based on broad principles of justice that could conflict with written laws or dictates of authority figures
25
Q
social contract orientation
A
- individuals view laws as instruments for expressing will of majority and furthering human welfare
- imposed laws that conflict with human rights are considered unjust and worthy of challenge
26
Q
universal ethical principles
A
- individuals define right and wrong on the basis of self chosen ethical principles of his or her own conscience
- moral judgements are based on universal human rights
27
Q
criticism of Kohlberg’s theory
A
- culturally biased
- Kohlberg didn’t take into account reasoning of a man with sophisticated understanding of his own culture
- Shweder presented Babaji, an orthodox hindu teacher with indian version of Heinz’s dilemma
- Shweder asked ‘why doesn’t Hindu Dharma permit stealing and Babaji’s reasoning put him in stage 3 or 4
- Shweder argues that Kohlberg’s coding system didn’t allow him to take into account the reasoning of a man with sophisticated understanding of his own culture
- gender bias
- all participants in the original research were males and Kohlberg’s choice of dilemmas lead him to develop a very western and male oriented view of moral development
- early research suggested that men typically reached stage 4 and women stage 3
- Carol Gilligan considered that this was due to different socialisation of boys and girls resulting in different values rather than men being morally more advanced than girls
- Gilligan considered that men adopt morality of justice based on abstract principles of fairness and rights of individuals and females adopt morality of care based on nurturance and responsibility
- conducted a research on men and women and found that men tended to focus more on justice and women focused more on care when answering questions about moral dilemmas
- found that Kohlberg’s idea of justice was not as applicable to women as they focus on protecting relationships and caring about people
- confound with verbal intelligence
- responding to Kohlberg’s moral dilemmas requires some basic smarts
- may be measuring people’s ability to understand and talk about problems in general rather than in particular
28
Q
Erikson’s theory of identity
A
- described development of identity as not just in childhood but throughout their entire lifespan and to be a series of continual challenges that have to be met by individual to move successfully to next phase in life
- identify formation: continuous challenges with dominant crises characterising various phases in life from infancy to adulthood
- describes normal conflicts that have to be overcome and shows how successful resolutions of these crises can lead to next stage and successful resolutions to future crises
- unsuccessful resolutions can lead to the person being stuck at a particular stage and not developing normally, resulting in abnormal personality development
29
Q
sense of identity
A
describes enduring personality characteristics of each and every one of us
30
Q
stages of identity
A
- trust vs mistrust: birth to 1
- autonomy vs shame and doubt: 1 to 3
- initiative vs guilt: 3 to 6
- industry vs inferiority: 6 to 12
- identity vs role confusion: 12 to 18
- intimacy vs isolation: 18 to40
- generativity vs stagnation: 40 to 65
- death integrity vs despair: 65 to death
31
Q
trust vs mistrust
A
- infants are dependent on others for food, warmth and love and must trust others to provide these
- needs are met consistently and responsively to secure attachment to parents and learn to trust others
- failure to bond with caregiver can lead to mistrust of world around them
32
Q
autonomy vs shame and doubt
A
- toddlers learn to walk, talk, feed themselves and use the toilet so they become more autonomous and less dependent on others
- success at being independent can lead to self confidence, self control and mistakes can be easily corrected
- overprotection or disapproval from parents can lead to shame and doubt on toddler’s ability to be independent
33
Q
initiative vs guilt
A
- child’s motor and social skills become highly developed
- dilemma is balancing wish to achieve more and take on more responsibility
- accepts parental control and discipline without guilt
34
Q
industry vs inferiority
A
- industry can be regarded as competence and is achieved through learning at school while relationships with friends and peers increase
- develops sense of mastery and competence when rewarded for industry and achieving success at school
- failure to achieve competence leads to feelings of inferiority
35
Q
identity vs role confusion
A
- major crisis to be resolved for successful transition into adulthood
- adolescents must integrate all resolutions to earlier crises and achieve sense of identity, incorporating all elements of self when answering question of ‘who am i’
- failure to resolve identity crisis can lead to role confusion, indecision and avoidance of commitment
36
Q
intimacy vs isolation
A
- achievement of intimacy with another person is important
- failure to develop sense of identity can mean that young adult is incapable of forming intimate relationship and sink into isolation
37
Q
generativity vs stagnation
A
- main focus is on work and maintenance of family relationships
- success in both areas can lead to feelings of accomplishment and leaving legacy for future
- failure to resolve conflict can lead to self centredness and and stagnation
38
Q
death integrity vs despair
A
- time to reflect on ones contributions and view life as satisfactory and positive or unsatisfactory and disappointing
- fulfilled life can lead to viewing death with integrity
- unfulfilled life can lead to viewing life in fear and despair
39
Q
criticism of Erikson’s theory
A
- cultural differences: timing of stages could be rather off due to cultural differences
- more applicable to boys than girls as Erikson agreed with Freud’s belief that personality differences between boys and girls are biologically based
- more attention to infancy and childhood and less emphasis on adults lifetime
