devpsych review questions Flashcards
What is phonology?
Sound system (e.g., /b/ vs /p/)
Phonology deals with the organization and patterning of sounds in a language.
What does morphology refer to?
Units of meaning (e.g., -ing, -ed)
Morphology studies the structure of words and the rules for word formation.
Define syntax.
Rules for word order and sentence structure
Syntax governs how words combine to form grammatically correct sentences.
What is semantics?
Word and sentence meaning
Semantics explores how meaning is conveyed through language.
What is pragmatics?
Rules of language use in social context (e.g., tone, politeness)
Pragmatics considers how context influences the interpretation of meaning.
What is a lexicon?
Vocabulary (all the words you know)
The lexicon includes all the words and their meanings in a language.
What does metalinguistics refer to?
Ability to reflect on language itself
Metalinguistics involves thinking about and analyzing language as a system.
What is the nativist theory of language acquisition?
Language is innate
Nativist theory, associated with Chomsky, posits that humans are born with an inherent capacity for language.
What is universal grammar?
Inborn structure that all languages share
Universal grammar suggests that all languages have a common underlying structure.
What is the ‘poverty of the stimulus’ argument?
Input is too poor for learning to come only from experience
This argument supports the idea that children can generate grammar they have not been explicitly taught.
What does the empiricist theory of language acquisition emphasize?
Language is learned via reinforcement and imitation
Empiricist theory, linked to Skinner, focuses on environmental factors and behavior shaping in language learning.
What is categorical perception in speech sounds?
Infants perceive speech sounds in discrete categories (e.g., /b/ vs /p/)
Categorical perception indicates that infants can distinguish between different phonemes.
At what age can infants distinguish all phonemes in all languages?
Birth to 6 months
Infants are born with the ability to perceive all phonetic contrasts present in languages worldwide.
By what age do infants lose the ability to distinguish non-native phonemes?
By 10–12 months
This change indicates that experience with a specific language refines phoneme perception.
What evidence suggests a critical period in language acquisition?
Earlier second-language learning leads to more native-like grammar
Studies show that exposure to language during a sensitive period is crucial for achieving full fluency.
What do ASL studies indicate about language exposure?
Deaf individuals exposed later in life never achieve full fluency
This supports the notion of critical periods in language acquisition.
What is statistical learning in infants?
Infants track syllable co-occurrence probabilities to find word boundaries
This ability allows infants to segment speech into recognizable units.
List the cues infants use to segment words from fluent speech.
- Statistical learning
- Stress patterns
- Familiar words
- Social cues
Infants combine these cues to understand language better.
What is the whole object bias?
New word refers to the entire object, not part
This bias reflects an assumption children make about the meaning of new words.
What is the taxonomic assumption in word learning?
Word refers to category (e.g., ‘dog’ → all dogs)
Children tend to categorize words broadly based on their learned experiences.
What is mutual exclusivity in word learning?
Assume each object has only one name
This principle helps children learn new vocabulary by ruling out known words.
What does fast mapping refer to?
Can learn a word after a single exposure
Fast mapping illustrates how quickly children can acquire new vocabulary.
What is overregularization?
Applying grammar rules to exceptions
Examples include ‘goed,’ ‘foots,’ ‘runned,’ showing children’s understanding of grammar rules.
What does the wug test demonstrate?
Children generalize grammar rules to novel words
The wug test indicates that children are learning language rules rather than merely imitating.
What is syntactic bootstrapping?
Kids use sentence structure to infer a word’s meaning
This strategy helps children learn vocabulary based on the grammatical context of words.
What is telegraphic speech?
2-word phrases around 18–24 months
Telegraphic speech typically includes only content words, reflecting early stages of grammar development.
What is Theory of Mind (ToM)?
Understanding that people have mental states (beliefs, desires, intentions, knowledge) that:
* May differ from reality
* May differ from your own
* Influence their behavior
Example: Someone might search for a toy where they last saw it—even if it’s been moved without their knowledge.
At what age do infants recognize goal-directed behavior?
6–12 months
Example: A hand reaching for a toy.
What do infants distinguish by 6–12 months?
What someone meant to do vs. what they actually did
Example: Broken toy box example.
What is an example of a child helping an adult that shows understanding of intention?
Handing a baby a dropped spoon without being asked at 18 months.
What is the purpose of false belief tasks?
To test whether a child understands that someone can have a belief that is false.
Describe the Smarties task.
A box labeled ‘Smarties’ contains pencils. Children are asked what another child will think is in the box.
What do 3-year-olds typically answer in the Smarties task?
Pencils (fail).
What do 5-year-olds typically answer in the Smarties task?
Smarties (pass).
In the Sally-Anne task, what happens when Sally leaves?
Anne moves the marble to a box.
What do 3-year-olds typically answer in the Sally-Anne task?
Box (fail).
What do 5-year-olds typically answer in the Sally-Anne task?
Basket (pass).
At what age does the understanding of false belief typically emerge?
Around age 4–5.
Why is false belief important?
Shows that children understand:
* Mental representations can differ from reality
* Others act based on their beliefs, not just facts
* It’s a key milestone in understanding others as thinking beings.
What types of experiences contribute to passing false belief tasks earlier?
Language development, having older siblings, pretend play.
Language development includes mental state verbs and conversations about thoughts and feelings.
What do children understand about desires by 18 months?
They understand people want different things.
What is the relationship between perception and knowledge in children?
They understand that seeing something leads to knowing.
What do children struggle with until around age 4–5?
Separating their own knowledge from what others know (egocentrism).
What role does language play in ToM development?
Language provides tools to label thoughts and beliefs and express complex ideas.
How does delayed language affect ToM development?
Delayed language = delayed ToM development.
What is a common characteristic of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) regarding false belief tasks?
They often fail false belief tasks well beyond age 5.
What social skills do children with ASD typically struggle with?
Joint attention, pretend play, eye contact.
What does the focus of children with ASD tend to be on?
Objects rather than people.
What does the delay or impairment of ToM in children with ASD suggest?
ToM deficits may underlie social difficulties.
Reading Development: Stage 0
Pre-K; Can recongize letters, understand print direction (words are read from left to right in English) and basic book conventions. gain phonemic awareness
Reading Development: Stage 1
Grades 1-2; Begin phonological recoding (sounding out words); recognize high-frequency words; early reading errors show understanding
Reading Development: Stage 3
Grades 2-3; Increased fleuncy, able to read longer and multisyllabic words aloud with ease
Reading Development: Stage 3
Grades 4-8; Shift from learning to read to Reading to Learn; children gain new knowledge through text
Reading Development: Stage 4
Highschool; Analyze multiple viewpoints, literary styles, and argument structure
Best Predictors of Reading Success
- Phonemic Awareness (able to hear and manipulate individual sounds in words, causal)
- Letter Knowledge: knowing names and sounds of letters before starting school
- Knowing alphabet before kindergarten (isn’t causal, but correlated with parent’s education… present in 86% of children who’s mother graduated college and only 36% of mother who didn’t graduate highschool)
4.Engagement with parents (reading to children, providing a literary rich environment) - Amount of Reading: US 5th graders-
top 10% read 200x as
much as bottom 10%.
What skills do children need to learn how to read?
- Phonemic Awareness (recognizing individual sounds)
- Phonological recording: soudning out unfamiliar words
- Visual Retrieval: recognizing whole words from memory
- Print concepts: how books and writing systems work
- Vocabulary knowledge: helps with comprehension as decoding improves
What do good readers do when reading?
Combo of phonological recoding and visual retrieval (for familiar words); read frequently and increase vocabulary; they monitor their own understanding and reread or adjust strategy if something doesnt make sense
Whole word vs Phonics
Focus on sound-letter correspondence or focus on whole word memorization; phonics is always better but blended approach is used in modern programs
Dyslexia
Learning disorder that may stem from:
* visual processing difficulties
* auditory timing problems
* trouble integrating sound with pring
* 5-10% of children affected
*cause unknown
Symptoms:
* inability to read easily despite normal intelligence
* difficulty sounding out words
* poor phonological processing
* trouble with pseudo-words and sounding out to read them
Treatment:
* Phonological training is most effective to strengthen sound-letter connections
* Early intervention improves outcomes
visual memorization of words helps but not ideal solution
Freud Psychosexual Theory
**Structures of subconcious mind: **
Id: Innate biological drives, operates on the pleasure principle, present at birth
Ego: Rational part that mediates between id and reality, develops in yr 1
Superego: moral conscience by understanding parental rules, develops yr 3-6
***Conflicts at each stage can later impact personality (eg: strict toilet training can lead to an excessive need for order, control, cleanliness **
Freud: Stage 1
Oral, Ages 0-1, Weaning
Freud: Stage 2
Anal, Ages 1-3, Toilet Training
Freud: Stage 3
Phallic, Ages 3-6, Oedipus/ Electra Complex develops and resolves
Freud: Stage 4
Latency, Ages 6-12; Repression of Drives
sexual interests are supressed as children focus on developing social and intellectual skills
Freud: Stage 5
Genital; Ages 12+, Mature sexual intimacy
sexual interests reemerge and individuals focus on establishing intimate relationships
Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages
Individuals progress through these in order: the “crisis” at stage must be resolved to progesss to the next one.
Erikson: Stage 1
Trust vs Mistrust, Ages 0-1, Developing a sense of trust when caregivers provide reliability, care, affection
Erikson: Stage 2
Autonomy vs Shame and Doubt, Ages 1-3, developing personal control and independence
Erikson: Stage 3
Initiative vs Guilt, Ages 3-6, asserting power through directing play and social interactions
Erikson: Stage 4
Industry vs Inferiority, Ages 6-12, coping with new social and academic demands, sense of comeptence
Erikson: Stage 5
Identity vs Role Confusion, Ages 12-20, developing a personal identity and sense of self
Erikson: Stage 6
Intimacy vs Isolation, Ages 20-40, forming intimate, loving relationships with others
Erikson: Stage 7
Generativity vs Stagnation, Ages 40-65, creating or nurturing things that will outlast oneself after death
Erikson: Stage 8
Integrity vs Despair, ages 65+, reflecting on life and feeling a sense of fulfillment or regret
Watson: Behaviourism
- Emphasis on all behaviours are learning through interaction with environment
- Classical Conditioning
Skinner: Operant Conditioning
- Behaviour is shaped by reinforcements and punishments
- negative vs positive reinforcement
Bandura: Social Learning Thoery
- Observation: learning occurs by observing and imitating others’ behaviour
- Modeling: learning new behaviours by mimicing models
- Behaviour is influenced by the interaction of personal factors, behaviour itself, and the environment
**Bobo Doll Experiment: demonstrated that children imitate agressive behaviour that is observed in adults **
Bobo Doll:
- children divided into 3 groups and each group is shown an adult model behaving aggressively or non-aggressively toward Bobo
- children are taken to a room with toys and their behaviour is observed
RESULTS:
- children who observed aggression were more likley to mimic it
- boys more likely to mimic aggression than girls
- children who saw the model REWARDED for aggression: more likely to mimic
-children who saw model punished for aggression: less likely to imitate it
Hostile Attribution Bias
Tendency to interpret other’s ambigious behaviour as having hostile intent; can lead to increased aggression and conflict in social interactions
EX: child assumes that another child bumped into them on purpose, leading to an aggresive response
Oedipus/ Electra Complex
-child’s unconscious desire for opposite sex parent and views same sex parent as rival
-resolves when the child identifies with same sex parent
Freudian; highly controversial
Reciprocal Determinism
Idea that behaviour, congition, environment all influence one another (Bandura)
EX: boy who likes violent video games starts hanging out with others like him and they encourage each other to play incraeasingly more violent video games and then start behaving aggresively IRL
Role of Child Across Theories
Review of 4 main social theories
- Psychoanalytic Theories (Freud, Erikson): Views child as experiencing internal conflicts as they progress through stages that shape development
- Learning Theories (Watson, Skinner): Emphasizes child’s behaviour as a response to environmental stimuli, the child is more passive in these theories
- Social Learning Theory (Bandura): Recognizes the child as active in observing and imitating behaviours from the environment
*Social Cognitive Theories: Highlight the child’s active role in interpreting and understanding social information
Stages of Achievement Motivation
Stages 1-3 with Ages
- Joy in Mastery: Infancy to 2yrs, infants enjoy mastering new skills withoutb seeking external recognition
- Approval Seeking: 2-3yrs, toddlers seek approval from caregivers for their achievements and feel pride or shame based on feedback
- Use of Standards: 3+yrs, children adopt objective standards and exhibit pride or shame based on their own evaluations of success or failure
Locus of Causality & Control
Internal Locus: attributing success/ failure to internal factors like effort and ability
External Locus: attributing success/ failure to external factors like luck and task difficulty
Internal Locus = associated with higher motivation and persistence
Refers to an individual’s belief about the extent to which they have control over events in their lives
Strategies for fostering intrinsic motivation
- Provide opportunities for autonomy and choice
- Offer tasks that are optimally challenging
- Give feedback that emphasizes improvement over innate ability
Dweck
Entity vs Incremental Views of Ability
- Entity (Fixed View): belief that ability is a fixed trait, leads to avoidance of challenges and less persistence
- Incremental (Growth View): belief that ability can be developed through effort, leads to embracing challenges and increased resilience
Mastery vs Helpless Attitudes
Mastery orientation: focus on learning and improvementl; views challenges as opportunities to grow
Helpless orientation: focus on performance and validations; views challenges as threats and may give up easily
Dweck: Two Types of Praise
Person Praise: focuses on the child’s traits & can lead to a fixed mindset and avoiding or quitting challenges
Process Praise: focuses on the child’s efforts and strategies & encourages a growth mindset and resilience
EG: you’re so smart vs you worked so hard on this
Rhesus Monkey Study
JK JK JK need to look up way more
- Rhesus monkeys are raised in environments designed to replicate natural habitats; examination of how early attachment experiences influence development
-
Attachment: Early interactions with caregivers significantly affected behaviours, etc: bold vs timid monkeys and how their rearing affects how they behave in challenging situations
–> monkeys raised in relaxed environments
Expirement: innate vs. learned personality traits of baby monkeys
Carol Dweck Study
- children are given easy puzzles to complete and that is followed by praise
- the type of praise affected their mindset
(level of performance doesn’t matter)
– person praise: avoid failure, avoid hard puzzles, overstate performance, self-esteem threatened by
failure
– process praise: seek challenge, honestly assess performance, self-esteem not threatened by failure
Motivation and Praise Expirement
Dunedin Longitudinal Study
Nicaraguan Sign Language Study
