Exam #1 Flashcards
Science of Human Development
seeks to understand how and why people of all ages and circumstances change or remain the same over time
developmental psychology
focuses on how people grow and change over the course of a lifetime
*physical, social, emotional, and cognitive development
scientific method
answer questions using empirical evidence
*science-based effort to collect data and establish facts
Five basic steps of the scientific method
- begin with curiosity: pose a research question
- develop a hypothesis
- test the hypothesis
- draw conclusions
- report the results
empirical evidence
based on observation, experience or experiment, not just theory or opinion
replication
repeating the exact same study with different participants, in a different setting
nature
influence of genes we inherit; traits, capacities, and limitations inherited at conception
nurture
all environmental influences that occur after conception, that affects the development
environmental influences
health and diet of the embryo’s mother, school, family, community, society
what do most psychologists believe
development is the result of nature and nurture working together
epigenetics
how environmental factors affect genes and genetic expression (enhancing, halting, shaping, or altering the expression of genes)
differential susceptibility
people vary in how sensitive they are to particular experience (genes or past experiences)
- diverse development trajectories, despite similar environmental influences
life-span perspective
all phases, from conception to death
development is multidirectional
human characteristics change in every directioon
critical period
the time when particular development must occur for normal development
*if toxic substances prevent growth, it cannot develop later
sensitive period
time when a particular development is most likely to occur easily
- may still happen later
ecological systems
effects of climate, noise, population density, family size, and multiethnic communities on development
chronosystem
“time system” emphasize the importance of historical time
macrosystem
cultural patterns of values, political philosophies, economic policies, and social conditions
exosystem
external networks, local institutions that influence the microsystems
mesosystem
connections between and among the other systems
microsystem
intimately shape human development
*family, peer groups, classroom, neighborhood, house of worship
cohort
all persons born within a few years of one another
socioeconomic status
income, wealth, occupation, education, and neighborhood
how does this affect a person’s career prospects? (SES)
determines if who is more likely to be a part-time worker and an attorney
culture
system of share beliefs, normas, behaviors, and expectations that persist over time and prescribe social behavior and assumptions
social construct
an idea that is based upon shared perceptions, not on objective reality
utilizing american subgroups
native americans, latin americans, and some asians are raised to rarely talk, avoid eye contact, and seem very shy/introverted
difference-equals-deficit error
the mistaken belief that a deviation from some norm is necessarily inferior
lev vygotsky
theory of sociocultural development
*guided participation: mentors to teach cultural knowledge, skills, and habits
ethnicity
affected by social context, not a direct outcome of biology
ethnic group
certain attributes, almost always including ancestral heritage and usually national origin, religion, and language
race
group of people regarded as distinct from other groups on the basis of appearance
plasticity
idea that abilities, personality, and other human characteristics are moldable, and thus can change
dynamic systems approach
highlights how developmental change has always occured
in the first half of the twentieth century, which two opposing theories dominated the discipline of psychology
Sigmund and Erickson
Sigmund Freud (18-56-1939)
5 stages
- early conflict resolution determines personality patterns
Erik Erikson (1902-1994)
8 stages
- genes and biological impulses are powerfully influenced by the social environement
developmental crisis
particular challenge in each stage
conditioning
learning takes place through processes by which responses become linked to particular stimuli
classical conditioning
learning through association
- neutral stimulus becomes conditioned response
- Ivan Pavlov
operant conditioning
learning occurs through reinforcement and punishment
- B.F. Skinner
albert bandura (1925)
observational learning: learning through watching others, retaining the information, and then later replicating the observed behaviors
modeling
observe the actions of others and copies them
with regard to children’s cognitive development, what did Piaget argue
how children think is more revealing that what they know
cognitive theory
new experience can be jarring and incomprehensible
evolutionary theory
charles darwin
experiments
the researcher adds one variable and then observes the effect on another variable, in order to establish if there is a causal relationship among variables
independent variable
what is being added
dependent variable
what shows effect
cross-sectional research
compares people who differ in age but not in other important characteristics
quantitative research
numbers
qualitative research
cultural and contextual diversity, but is also more vulnerable to bias and harder to replicate
the universal
proteins that promote growth, development, and sustain life according to instructions in their DNA
gene
instruct the cell to manufacture the proteins needed to sustain life and development
approximately how many genes does a human have
20,000- 23,000
allele
variation that makes a gene different in some way from other genes for the same characteristic
epigenetic factors
determines if the gene is expressed or silence (genes and environment)
genotype
organism’s entiire genetic inheritance or genetic potential
phenotype
observable characteristics of an organism (appearance, personality, intelligence)
genome
full set of genes that are the instructions to make an individual member of living organisms
human genome project
(1990-2003)
- almost all genes are present in every human
- humans have far fewer genes than had previously been thought
sex ratio
boys to girls 104:100
monozygotic/identical twins
originate from on zygote that splits apart very early in development
- best possible match for organ donation
dizygotic/fraternal twins
result from fertilization of two separate ova by two separate sperm
polygenic
so many genes make me who i am
multifactorial
influence by many factors involved in causing a potential birth defect
additive genes
when the effects of genes combine to create the phenotype
carrier
a person whose genotype includes a gene that is not expressed in the phenotype
X-linked traits
female are more likely to be carriers of X-linked traits, males are more likely to express them
germinal period
first two weeks after conception, rapid cell division beginning of cell differentiation
embryonic period
third through the eighth week after conception, distinct as a human
fetal period
9th week until birth, grow in size and mature in functioning
primitive streak
down the middle of the cell mass become a neural tube and later forms the brain and spine of the CNS
age of viability
age at which a preterm newborn may survive outside of the mother’s uterus (22 weeks)
down syndrome
21st chromosome
huntington’s disease
dominant gene disorder
- 3 gene disorders, progressive breakdown of nerve cells in the brain
Fragile X syndrome
mild to severe intellectual disability
- recessive gene disorder
cystic fibrosis
lungs and digestive system, body produces thick and sticky mucus that can clog the lungs and obstruct the pancreas
thalassemia
blood disorder, body makes abnormal form or inadequate hemoglobin
sickle-cell disease
red blood cess contort into sickle shape
genetic counseling
consultation and testing by trained experts that enable individuals to learn about their heritability
teratogens
any agent or condition that increases the risk for prenatal abnormalities
fetal alcohol syndrome
embryo exposed t mother’s heavy drinking
dizygotic twins
alleles from the enzyme that metabolizes alcohol may differing FAS
preterm
birth that occurs at 36 weeks
small for gestational age
birthweight is significantly lower than expected given the time since conception
low birth weight in the U.S.
steady increase in LBW over the past 25 years
very low birthweight
under 1,500 g (3lbs 5 oz)
extremely low birth weight
under 1,000 g (2 lbs 3 oz)
maternal behavior and low birth weight
- health and illness
- drug use before and during pregnancy
- malnutrition
immigrant paradox
newborns born to migrants are generally healthier in every way (birth weight) than US
fetal brain
signals the release of hormones prepares the fetus for delivery and starts labor by triggering the female’s uterine muscles
labor begins
average duration for firstborn babies (12 hours)
apgar scale
evaluate health of newborn
- 4 means emergency care
induced labor
labor that is started, speeded, or strengthened with a drug
cesarean section
surgical birth
- increase the risk of complications after birth
brazelton neonatal behavioral assessment scale
measure responsiveness and records 46 behaviors including 20 reflexes
postpartum depression
physical problems after birth
- baby blues to psychosis
breast-feeding
studies indicate this may mitigate maternal depression
couvade
paternal experiences of pregnancy and birth
- weight gain, indigestion, pain during birth
