developmental psychology

Question 1

what is developmental psychology?

Answer 1

• The scientific study of changes that occur in people over the course of their life. • Changes in thought, behaviour, reasoning and functioning (physical and psychological) occur. • Changes are influenced by biological, individual and environmental influences. • Theories help us describe, identify and explain this development and what effects it

Question 2

why is developmental psychology relevant to doctors?

Answer 2

Children as patients • Where is the child developmentally?; the answer will inform how they communicate with you, understand you and relate to you AND how you communicate with them, understand them and relate to them.
• Which developmental leap are they about to embark on – how does this interact with treatment / illness? • How does their social context support or hinder their health and developmental progress? • How can we recruit and engage parent(s) in facilitating treatment

Question 3

Consider the influences of heredity and environment in human development

Answer 3

Babies are like a raw material for a self. Each one comes with a genetic blueprint and a unique range of possibilities. There is a body programmed to develop in certain ways, but by no means on automatic. The baby is an interactive project not a self powered one. Many systems are ready to go but many more are incomplete and will only develop in response to other human input. Each baby can be customised to the circumstances and surroundings they find themselves in.

Question 4

: Babies’ contribution and process of reciprocal socialization

Answer 4

Biology ensures that by the time babies are delivered (40 weeks gestation) they are able to recognise their mother as a memory of her has been built up inutero via hearing, smell and taste

Question 5

babies hearing: what do you know?

Answer 5

Babies can hear in the womb Receptive hearing begins at 16/40 Functional hearing begins at 24/40 as a result, newborn babies are already familiar with their mothers’ voices when delivered. Prefer their mothers’ voices to the voices of other women when recorded voices were played back (DeCasper and Fifer, 1980)

Question 6

what do you know about how babies smell?

Answer 6

Babies seem primed to learn very quickly about the smells associated with their mothers. – Newborns can recognize the smell of their own amniotic fluid. (Varendi et al 1996) – Newborns recognise the smell of maternal breast odours (Varendi and Porter 2002) – Newborns showed preferrance to smell of their mother’s expressed breast milk compared to others’ EBM (Mizuno et al 2004)

Question 7

what do you know about how a baby tastes?

Answer 7

• A newborn senses all of these tastes except one: salt they cannot taste this until about 4 months old (Beauchamp et al 1986) • Newborns love sugar solutions-the sweeter, the better – Sweetease • Newborns also seem to like the taste of glutamate, which is found in breast milk (Beauchamp and Pearson 1991)

Question 8

what do you know about how a baby sees?

Answer 8

Babies 12 - 36 hrs old shown video playbacks of women’s faces. Preference for watching their mothers’ faces (rather than the faces of strangers). (Bushnell et al 1989). • Newborn infants have shown a preference for looking at faces and face-like stimuli (Batki et al 2000; Turati et al 2002). • Show a preference for faces with open eyes and look longer at happy face stimuli (Farroni et al 2007).
Babies are utterly dependent upon their caregivers • So it is a matter of survival that they get noticed • They look ‘cute’ for a reason!

Question 9

what is reciprocal socialisation?

Answer 9

Reciprocal socialisation is bidirectional; children socialise parents just as parents socialise children

Question 10

describe the still face experiment

Answer 10

play and then told to stay engaging with the baby

-Tronick 1975

Question 11

what does ‘ Parents provision of a supportive environment for development’ mean?

Answer 11

So Parents through scaffolding, reciprocal socialisation, provision of a stimulating and enriching environment (both physiologically and psychologically) give babies the resources to thrive and develop. • An “internal working model” Bowlby (1969) is established through this social process; The baby doesn’t do this on his own but coordinates his systems with those of the people around him

Question 12

what does ‘Attachment and how disruptions in attachment affect psychological devpt’ mean?

Answer 12

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 13

what process is mediates: ‘Attachment and how disruptions in attachment affect psychological devpt’ mean?

Answer 13

• Process of establishing the attachment bond begins even before birth (supported by reciprocal socialisation). • The Internal working models formed inform our expectations and behaviour in wider relationships throughout our lives. • This process is mediated by “Mind – mindedness” (Meins, 2012). Parents with mind-mindedness treat their children as individuals with minds; they respond as if their children’s acts are meaningful—motivated by feelings, thoughts, or intentions (an attempt to communicate); this ultimately helps the child to understand others’ emotions and actions

Question 14

development of attachment over 1st year

Answer 14

•Birth to 3M; baby prefers people to inanimate objects, indiscriminate proximity seeking eg clinging to carer •3-8M; smiles discriminately to main caregivers •8 – 12M; selectively approaches main caregivers, uses social referencing / familiar adults as “secure base” to explore new situations; shows fear of strangers and separation anxiety •From 12M; the attachment behaviour can be measured reliably

Question 15

describe the strange situation test

Answer 15

Strange Situation Test (Ainsworth et al 1978) was designed to present children with an unusual, but not overwhelmingly frightening, experience. It tests how babies or young children respond to the temporary absence of their mothers. Researchers are interested in two things: 1. How much the child explores the room on his own, and 2. How the child responds to the return of his mother

Question 16

-securely attached children (65%)

Answer 16

Free exploration and happiness upon mother’s return. The securely-attached child explores the room freely when Mum is present. He may be distressed when his mother leaves, and he explores less when she is absent. But he is happy when she returns. If he cries, he approaches his mother and holds her tightly. He is comforted by being held, and, once comforted, he is soon ready to resume his independent exploration of the world. His mother is responsive to his needs. As a result, he knows he can depend on her when he is under stress (Ainsworth et al 1978).

Question 17

insecurely attached children (35%)

Answer 17

Avoidant-insecure children: Little exploration and little emotional response to mother The avoidant-insecure child doesn’t explore much, and he doesn’t show much emotion when his mother leaves. He shows no preference for his mother over a complete stranger and, when his mother returns, he tends to avoid or ignore her (Ainsworth et al 1978).

Question 18

resistant-insecure (or ambivalent) children

Answer 18

Little exploration, great separation anxiety and ambivalent response to mother upon her return. Like the avoidant child, the resistant-insecure child doesn’t explore much on her own. But unlike the avoidant child, the resistant child is wary of strangers and is very distressed when her mother leaves. When the mother returns, the resistant child is ambivalent. Although she wants to re-establish close proximity to her mother, she is also resentful—even angry—at her mother for leaving her in the first place. As a result, the resistant child may reject her mother’s advances (Ainsworth et al 1978)

Question 19

Disorganized-insecure children:

Answer 19

Little exploration and confused response to mother. The disorganized child may exhibit a mix of avoidant and resistant behaviours. But the main theme is one of confusion and anxiety. Disorganized-insecure children are at risk for a variety of behavioural and developmental problems.

Question 20

what does secure attachment promote?

Answer 20

– Independence – Emotional availability – Better moods – Better emotional coping

Question 21

what is secure attachment associated with?

Answer 21

– fewer behavioural problems – higher IQ and academic performance • Contributes to a child’s moral development • Reduces child distress

Question 22

in adolescence and adulthood secure attachment is associated with:

Answer 22

– Social competence – Loyal friendships – More secure parenting of offspring – Greater leadership qualities – Greater resistance to stress – Less mental health problems such as anxiety and depression – Less psychopathology e.g schizophreni

Question 23

summary of secure and insecure attachments:

Answer 23

Summary
Secure attachments formed in early infancy are a protective factor leading to resilience throughout the life span
Insecure attachments place the individual at risk but are not causative for later problems

Question 24

impact of ‘play’

Answer 24

• Has important positive effects on the brain and on a child’s ability to learn • Animal studies show that rats in “enriched” environments have bigger and smarter brains and more BDNF (brain derived neurotrophic factor) which is essential for growth and maintenance of brain cells (Greenough and Black 1992; Huber et al 2007

Question 25

benefits of play

Answer 25

Engage & interact with world • Create & explore own world • Experience mastery & control • Practice decision-making, planning • Practice adult roles • Promotes language development • Promotes creative problem solving
• Overcome fears • Develop new competencies • Learn how to work in group • Develop own interests • Extend positive emotions • Maintain healthy activity level

Question 26

types of play

Answer 26

•0-2 Years Unoccupied / Solitary: He plays alone. There is limited interaction with other children. •2 to 2 ½ Years Spectator / onlooker : Observe other children playing around him but will not play with them. •2 ½ to 3 Years Parallel Play: alongside others but will not play together with them. •3-4 Years Associate: Starts to interact with others in their play and there may be fleeting co-operation between in play. Develops friendships and the preferences for playing with some but not all other children. Play is normally in mixed sex groups. •4 – 6Years Co-operative: Plays together with shared aims of play with others. Play may be quite difficult and he’s supportive of other children in his play. As he reaches primary school age, play is normally in single sex groups •6+ Years Competitive: Play often involves rules and has a clear “winner”

Question 27

piaget’s theory of cognition

Answer 27

Piaget’s Stage Model: proposed that children’s thinking changes qualitatively with age – The result of an interaction of the brain’s biological maturation and personal experiences

Question 28

what is schemas

Answer 28

Schemas: organised patterns of thoughts and action • Development occurs as we acquire new schemas and as our existing schemas become more complex • Process of assimilation (incorporating new experience into existing schema) and accommodation (the difference made by the process of assimilation) which leads to adaptation (whereby new experiences cause existing schema to change)

Question 29

sensorimotor stage

Answer 29

Sensorimotor Stage: birth to age 2; infants understand their world primarily through sensory experiences and physical (motor) interactions with objects

Question 30

define object permanence

Answer 30

*associated with the sensorimotor stage
Object Permanence: the understanding that an object continues to exist even when it cannot be seen – Gradually increasing use of words to represent objects, needs, and actions – Learning is based on trial and error (although errors do not become assimilated!)

Question 31

preoperational stage

Answer 31

Preoperational Stage: age 2-7; the world is represented symbolically through words and mental images; no understanding of basic mental operations or rules – Rapid language development – Understanding of the past and future – No understanding of Principle of Conservation: basic properties of objects stay the same even though their outward appearance may change – Irreversibility: cannot mentally reverse actions – Animism: attributing lifelike qualities to physical objects and natural events – Egocentrism: difficulty in viewing the world from someone else’s perspective

Question 32

concreate operational stage

Answer 32

• Concrete Operational Stage: ages 7-12; children can perform basic mental operations concerning problems that involve tangible (“concrete”) objects and situations – Understand the concept of reversibility – Display less egocentrism – Easily solve conservation problems – Trouble with hypothetical and abstract reasonin

Question 33

Adolescence; changes in cognition, emotion and relationships

Answer 33

Transition to Formal Operational stage; Where Abstract thought emerges. Adolescent begins to think more about moral, philosophical, ethical, social and political issues that require theoretical and abstract reasoning. • Adolescence is a transitional stage of physical and psychological human development that generally occurs from puberty (biologically defined period of rapid maturation in which a person becomes capable of sexual reproduction) to legal adulthood (a social construction). • Adolescence involves cognitive development and physical growth, as distinct from puberty, which can extend into the early twenties. • Chronological age only provides a rough marker of adolescence. • Begin to use deductive logic, or reasoning from a general principle to specific information.

Question 34

the adaptive adolescent brain

Answer 34

12 – 25yrs extensive brain remodelling (myelinisation, synaptic pruning – reason for so much sleeping!) • Cognitive changes may help journey from the secure world parent(s) provided to fitting into world created by peers • Thrill seeking • Openness to new experiences • Risk taking • Social rewards are very strong • Prefer own age company • Emotionality becomes less positive through early adolescence – But level off and become more stable by late adolescence • Storms and stress more likely during adolescence than rest of the lifespan but not characteristic of all adolescents.

Question 35

limits/criticisms of piaget:

Answer 35

• Outcomes have been replicated in populations around the world • Some researchers query whether children respond as they do to please the adult asking the question • Some argue the (repeated) question is so weird (as the answer is so obvious) the child thinks the adult wants or expects you to change the original answer– when more naturalistic ways of asking the questions were developed children performed much better (Goswami and Pauen, 2005).

Question 36

development of children’s concept of death

Answer 36

Under 5s: do not understand that death is final, universal, will take euphemisms concretely, may think they have caused death. • 5 to 10 years: gradually develop idea of death as irreversible, all functions ended, universal/unavoidable, more empathic to another’s loss; may be preoccupied with justice • 10yrs through adolescence: understand more of long-term consequences, able to think hypothetically, draw parallels, review inconsistencies • Dependent on cognitive development and experience (pets, extended family members