Exam 1 Flashcards
True facts/false statements
Dualism
TE of Dualism:
Legitimate uncertainty
“All opinions are equal”
Multiplicity
TE of Multiplicity:
Support opinions with facts, arguements
“Theories”:
Relativism
TE of Relativism:
Facts are explained by causal theories
Steps in stage theories:
Stage 1) Dualism, Stage 2) Multiplicity Stage 3) Relativism, Stage 4) Commitment
Equilibrium and disequilibrium in stage theories:
Try to maintain equilibrium, can’t, get disequilibrium and this leads to transition experience
Who did William Perry Study?
At Harvard, students about their coursework. Cognitive and intellectual development.
Problems with causality:
Spurious, directionality, third variable explanations
Is there a theory or logical structure to explain the observed relation of the variables?
Spurious
What is the temporal relation of the variable? Does one occur before the other?
Directionality
Can another variable explain the relation between the two?
Third variable explanations
Approximation of the population in interest:
Representative sample
Groups in study randomly assigned:
Random Assignment
Why do quasi-experimental designs provide LIMITED evidence of causation:
1) too many variables (of as many as 3)
2) measure the variables over time to measure directionality
Advantages of cross-sectional designs:
quick and easy to administer. Grab kids at diff. age groups and measure them.
Disadvantages of cross-sectional designs:
Not longitudinal. Can’t compare within person change.
This is what happens when you have different eras and try to compare them:
History/Cohort effects
Advantages of longitudinal studies:
helps understand long periods of time
Disadvantages of longitudinal studies:
expensive, time consuming, attrition (people dropping out of the study)
Advantages of microgenetic designs:
Helps understand real changes over time, can capture an event as it is happening, can observe differences between children
What is microgenetic designs:
Consistent study of the same children during very short periods of time when you know (or expect) to see development
Disadvantages of microgentic designs:
expensive and time consuming
Are the findings replicable? Are the variables consistent and measured accurately?
Reliability
How well do the measures correspond with and generalize to the rest of the world?
Validity
What are some types of measurement?
Direct/Natural observation, artificial/controlled observation, surveys/interviews
Why is context important for causality?
No one thing is always the exact cause of the event.
Germinal:
Conception to 2 weeks
Embryonic
3rd-8th week
Fetal
9 weeks to birth (38 weeks)
Germinal, embryonic, and fetal represent _____ shifts in development
qualitative
Trimesters represent ______ shifts in development
quantitative
What are the 4 processes in prenatal developmental?
1) cell division (mitosis)
2) cell migration
3) cell differentiation
4) cell death (apoptosis)
What occurs in the germinal period?
Neural tube creation (brain and spinal cord), implantation of uterine lining, inner cell mass into hollow sphere
What is the embryo hand plate? and when does it occur?
when finger start to emerge. apoptosis of cells: if not, then webbed hands.
7 weeks
What occurs in the embryonic period?
Primitive heart beat, arm and leg buds, cells differentiate and start forming the structures of what they will become
Spina bifida:
Lack of folic acid
What plays a vital role in the dev. of the spinal cord?
Folic acid
What occurs during the first part of fetal period?
Nose, mouth, palate, neural tube develops, basic structures form, lots of movement (but so small you cant tell).
What happens at 9 weeks into fetal period?
Rapid brain growth, internal organs present, sexual differentiation starts
What happens to the fetus at 11 weeks?
Heart in its basic structure, spine and ribs visible
Fetus at 16 weeks?
Lower body growth accelerates, genitalia develop, some reflexes
Fetus at 18 weeks?
Thumb sucking! greasy coating and hair
Fetus at 20 weeks?
Head down, facial expressions, cramped quarters
Fetus at 28 weeks:
Brain/lung development= higher survival rate, eyes experience REM movements, weight x3
What is the age of viability now?
~22 weeks
Neurogenesis:
Occurs throughout lifetime in select areas of the brain: hippocampus. ~100 billion neurons at birth, 9-10x more glial cells develop through lifespan: astrocytes
Synaptogenesis:
Neuron connections= ~1000 with other neurons. Makes each brain uniquely different.
Synaptic pruning:
Synapses that arent used are removed
When can you see prenatal hiccups?
7 weeks
When have most movements present at birth appeared?
12 weeks
What are types of fetal behavior?
Swallowing, breathing, sight and touch, taste, smell, hearing
What is fetal habituation?
simplest form of learning. At about 30 weeks fetus decreases responses to repeated or continuous stimulus
Prenatal and Postnatal Continuity:
Activity level during the prenatal period is correlated with post-natal activity level
What is the APGAR?
Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity, Respiration
What is the NBAS?
Created by Brazelton. Measures neonatal behaviors and reflexes.
What is the role of the parents personality in the NBAS?
The higher their personality and interest the more likely they were to enjoy the NBAS and parenting quality was rated higher
Genotype:
Genetic make up, inherited
Phenotype:
What you can see
Polygenic inheritance:
Traits that are governed by more than one gene. Behavioral scientists are interested bc it applies to most traits and behaviors/ EX. shyness, aggression
Epigenetics:
How genes and environment interplay.
Regulator genes:
Switch on and off genes
All phenotypes that could theoretically result from a genotype, given all possible environmental differences.
Norm of reaction
Parents genetic make up contributes to the child’s genotype AND to the environment the child is provided.
Passive environment interactions
Children evoke certain responses from others
evocative gene-environment correlations
actively select surroundings and experiences that support their interests, talents, and personality characteristic
active gene-environment correlations
occurs when specific types of methyl builds up in the DNA. The rate at which this happens can be influenced by stress. Stressful environments have been shown to increase the level of methylation in DNA. Is thought to change or dampen the expression of genes.
Methylation
100% shared genetic makeup
Monozygotic twins
50% shared genetic makeup
dizygotic twins, siblings
fatty sheaths of myelin that form around axons to increase speed of information-processing
Myelination
Explanation for thrill seeking:
dopamine decreases from childhood to adolescence= increase in sensation seeking.
density of oxytocin receptors increase from childhood to adolescence= presence of peers makes rewards more rewarding
Risky behavior decrease?
Prefrontal cortex development
Formation of certain brain structures occur as a result of “universal” experiences
“that every human who inhabits any reasonably normal environment will have”
Developmental impairment results if expected experience is not available.
Experience-Expectant plasticity
Neural connections are created and reorganized throughout life as a function of an individual’s experience.
Examples: hippocampus size in London taxi drivers.
Experience-dependent processes
environmental agents that have the potential to cause harm during prenatal development.
Timing is a crucial factor in the severity of the effects of potentially harmful agents.
Many agents cause damage only if exposure occurs during a sensitive period in development.
Teratogens
The most sensitive or critical period of prenatal development is the embryonic period.
Sensitive period
Increases in exposure to potential teratogens (cumulative effect) are associated with greater probabilities of fetal defects and with more severe problems.
Dose-response relation
Successful development in the face of multiple and seemingly overwhelming developmental hazards.
Resilience
_________ children often experience responsive care from a particular caregiver and possess personal characteristics such as intelligence and responsiveness to others.
resilient
