EXAM #1 - CHAPTER 1, 2, 4 Flashcards
how do we describe psych?
through content and frameworks
it is the study of mental processes and behaviours
how is psychological research organized?
disciplines and methods
structuralism?
There is a structure to the mind
a philosophical approach that studies the structure of conscious experience.
functionalism?
the way things function, why do we have these capacities?
a philosophical approach that considers how mental processes function to adapt to changing environments.
psychoanalysis
Offered different techniques to engage clientele
* Psychodynamic
o Focuses in quantifying emotions
Using our understanding of assessment
Emotion is a consideration of all scientists.
* It is cognitive, biological, psychanalytic, etc.
Behaviourism
A framework of what do we look at in an experiment
o Its about action and output
Action means motor output
disciplines in psychology?
basic –> applied –> disorder
o Biopsychology health clinical/ counselling
o Cognitive forensic clinical/ counselling
o Social industrial clinical/ counselling
o Development educational clinical/ counselling
o Personality sports clinical/ counselling
process of deriving information?
anecdotal
- describe
- measure
–> catalogue
basic
- empirical
- theoretical
–> understand and predict
applied
- normative
–> apply and control
how is psychological research carried out?
ethical considerations
- humans
- animals
the scientific method is used to do the research
how do we measure behaviour?
statistics
- descriptive
- inferential
ethical considerations?
informed consent
protect from harm & discomfort
confidentiality
debriefing
inducements
informed consent?
procedure?
freedoms?
asking a question
form a hypothesis
o Understandable & Voluntary
Procedure
- Purpose
- Foreseeable consequences (risk, discomfort, adverse effects)
- Benefits to research
- Limits to confidentiality
o Freedoms
- Right to withdraw
- Incentives
- Contact information
protect from harm and discomfort
design study
o Professional & scientific responsibilities
o Risk
- Physical
- Discomfort, pain, injury, illness
- Psychological
- Negative affective states, loss of self-esteem, and altered behavior
- Social
- Embarrassment, loss of respect, labeling, diminishing opportunities for powers
- Economic
- Payments, financial loss, damages to employability.
- Legal
- Criminal or civil liability
confidentiality
collect data
o Privacy
- Data
* Anonymity: results are disassociated from p’s identity
o Identifiers for withdrawal
* Legal exceptions
o Mandatory reporting laws
Abuse, neglect, crime
* Aggregate (averaged)
* Encryption
o Dep variable
* Destruction/ deletion of records
o Dep variable
inducements
report findings
o Compensations
- Benefits
* Reimbursements
o Costs, “out of pocket” expenses
Travel/ parking, child-care
* Renumeration
o Time
Appropriateness of population
* Honorariums
o Appreciation
Non-controversial
- Participation, not procedure or level of risk!
* Avoid undue influence
debriefing
analyze data from conclusions
o Education
- Disclosure
* Purpose in lay-language
* How/ why the measures were chosen
* How/ why the deception was needed/ used
- Transparency
* Contact information
* An opportunity to withdraw their data
* Offer further/ follow-up information
o Resources for distress
- Medical, counselling
* Assess state of mind
what are animal considerations in animal research?
who oversees them?
Canadian council for animal care (CCAC)
- Replacement
- Reduction of number of animals used
- Refinement of procedures
what is replacement?
- Finding alternatives to using animals
o Information already gained (reviews and meta-analysis)
o Physical and chemical analysis techniques
o Mathematical and computer models
o In vitro systems
o Human volunteers and human-oriented epidemiological approaches
o Invertebrates with less neuro-physiological development
reduction of number of animals used?
- Minimizing impact
o Obtain sufficient data to answer a research question
o Maximizing the information obtained per animal
Sharing animals, tissue, or data, possibly across different studies
o Limiting the number of experiments conducted
refinement of procedures
- Minimize pain/ discomfort
o Modifications to husbandry or experimental procedures
o Welfare-enhancing changes made to the animals living area
Environmental enrichment
o Providing extra care during complex studies
Vets, and animal care staff
scientific method?
a process of inquiry
Ask a question form hypothesis design a study collect data analyze data form conclusions report findings
form a hypothesis?
inquiry
- Predictive
- Deductive
o Based on previous research - Specific and defined
o Operationalization: describing a concept as a measurable construct (observable behaviour) - Testable
o Occam’s razor: parsimony
Falsifiability – simple theories are more easily disproven
design a study
inquiry
- Paradigm
- Design
o Generalizability
o Controlled
Quan (measure)
* Laboratory – describe behaviour in terms of parameters
Qual (categorize)
* Survey – explain behaviour in terms of motivations
o Natural
Quan (measure)
* Field study – describe situation in terms of actions
Qual (categorize)
* Case study – explain patterns of behaviour as tendencies
collect data?
inquiry
- Paradigm
- Design
- Generalizability
- Behaviour
- Operationalization
o Indep variable
Factor that is manipulated
o Dep varia
Outcome that is measured
o 2 DV descriptive (relationship) correlations
o IV/ DV predictive (cause & effect) inferential
analyze data from conclusions
o Measurement
- Paradigm
* Descriptive research
o Correlations: nature of the relationship
Describe how factors vary together
Predictive
Direction
* Positive: go together
* Negative: go opposite
Strength
* (-1) <r< (+1)
variability
a number that represents the most common difference around CT (i.e. “give or take”)
range
o Difference between max and min scores
standard deviation
o Average difference from the CT
measuring thoughts, feelings, and beliefs
Behaviour
o Thoughts, feelings, beliefs
Self-report:
* Interview, questionnaire, dairies
Limitation
* Subjective (bias)
measuring action/ ability?
o Action/ ability
Behavioral observation:
* Objective coding of movement
Limitation
* Reductionist
measuring event, situation, phenomenon?
o Event, situation, phenomenon
Documentation:
* Medical, school, lab records
Limitation:
* Interpretation
between groups
Expose each groups to one condition (e.g. different participants in control and treatment groups)
* Easiest to perform
within groups (repeated measures)
Expose a single group to two different conditions
(e.g. same participants in control and treatment groups)
* Reduces extraneous variables
factorial design
Manipulate more than one IV (e.g. several conditions)
* Allows for study of interactions
multivariate design
Measure more than one DV (e.g. several measures)
* More detailed understanding of IV
pros and cons of experimental research
- Advantage
- Can imply causation
- allows researchers precise control over variables and to identify cause and effect
- Disadvantage
o Low generalizability
High levels of control
Artificial situations
Ethical or practical issues - confounding variables
pros and cons of descriptive research?
Advantage
* Exploratory: describe or discover relationships between variables
* Can be used when manipulation is not possible
- easier to collect data
- good for developing early ideas
Disadvantage
* little or no control over variables
- researcher and participant biases
- Cannot imply causation
experimental research?
Correlation does not prove causation
* Experimental research
o Cause1-and-effect2
1why it happens
2what happens
Vary one condition between 2 groups
* Control group: no manipulation
* Experimental group: undergoes a “treatment”
Two similar groups (e.g. random assignment) –> manipulate IV for 1 group (e.g. experimental)
–> resulting differences between the groups due to change in IV
how do we measure behaviour?
statistics
- normal distribution
rules of probability
representative
homogenous (less variable)
sample size
multifaceted?
operationalization of abilities and boundaries
- domain specificity (modularity)
* Cognitions follow their own trajectory
- Quan vs. qual. Difference
- Continuous (“improvement”) discrete (“insight”) change
o Limitation: describing process or timing
neonatal abilities
maturation
motor
neurogenesis
the process by which new neutrons are developed in the brain
motor abilities
reflex
actions
reflex motor ability
Innate abilities (movement)
* Evolutionary perspective: facilitate survival
o Sucking – feeding
o Moro – startle/ defense response
o Tonic neck – prepare reaching/ grasping, crawling, or avoiding mobility
actions motor ability
Organized (intentional) sequences of actions
* Rely on cerebellum (physiology)
o Occur sequentially, increasing in complexity
o Conditioning
cognitive development
Piagets theory
o Development went through a series of “hard stages”
Age-related, one way
* Related more to experimental constraint
* Development happened one way, as opposed to a series of stages in development
* Explained cognitive development using the screaming crying baby example
cognitive development process
Schema
* Template to organize information
Assimilation
* Apply template to new information
Accommodation
* Change template in light of new information
sensory motor
ages?
0-2yoa
Object performance, symbolic thought
* Objects exist although they are not in immediate sensory perception
pre-operational
ages?
2-7yoa
Lack of conservation and reversibility,
* Video of that little girl who counted the 5 coins in two different rows, but later also believed one row was longer when infact a coin was removed, but the row was only stretched out.
Centration (focus on one salient aspect)
Egocentrism
concrete operational
ages?
7-11yoa
Thinking logically about concrete events (categorization), mathematical transformations (achieve conservation and reversibility)
* Video of child distinguishing the amount of juice in a glass.
o One glass was tall and skinny, and the other was short and stubby. Although they both had the same amount of juice, the tall, skinny glass appeared to have more juice
formal operational
ages?
12+ yoa
Abstract reasoning
* Using a premise to guide a conclusion.
o Ex. a feather can break a glass
Can a feather break a glass?
* Yes.
criticisms of the theory of mind?
- An individual’s beliefs about their own and other’s mental states
o False belief test – “social conservation/ reversibility”
Develops by 5y, before Concrete Operational
Ex. show a child a box of candles, and take out the candles inside it. - What did you think was inside?
o 4yoa: I thought there would be crayons inside.
o 5yoa: I already knew there were candles inside
“social child” Vygotsky
o Focuses on how children learn socially
Scaffolding: environmental support
* Relies on mimicry and instruction
o Hints, tutoring/ mentoring, examples
Zone of proximal development: the intellectual level at which a child would be challenged, but also complete a task
Artifact: an object that has a cultural meaning
* We learn to think by internalizing meaning
o Language
bi-directional influences alter development
connectionism
nature vs nurture
connectionism?
cognitions affect each other
nature vs nurture
limitation?
intrinsic vs extrinsic, genes vs. experience
reductionism and dualism
prenatal development - epigenetics?
nature vs nurture
- interactions affect boundary
sensory (experience)
- learning is the strenghening of neural connections
- activation of receptors in-utero lead to behavioural preferences
prenatal development - nurture?
chemical
- rely on availability of chemical
- omega-3 promotes coordination, increase IQ, weight
- hormones related to sex and gender identity
- teratogens : toxic substances that disrupt chemical processes resulting in developmental deficiencies
- Virus: zika, rubella
- Bacteria: toxoplasmosis
- Drugs: alcohol
- Neurotransmi-tters: cortisol
neonatal abilities - maturation?
onset or inhibition of (motor) abilities that do not require experience (i.e. learning)
maturation experiments methods
habituation (detection)
- decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation
preference
- increase in time engaged with stimulus
- objective (quantifiable) output
- proxy for perception
discrimination - sensory neonatal ability
the ability to perceive differences
Visual: face like stimuli, high contrast patterns
- Visual Cliff
- decreased heart rate at 2 months when placed on “deep side”
- 6 months will not crawl “over edge”.
Auditory: phonemes (i.e. “ ba and pa)
- Parentese (motherese): higher pitched slower speech
- mother’s voice, music & stories presented in utero
- Auditory more developed than visual because of experience!
social development - attachment
harlow experiments
- contact comfort disproves mother cupboard theory
emotional needs (not physical needs) facilitate attachment
- human evidence points to cognition/intelligence as well
“strange situation”
secure - high proximity, and low anxiety
anxious - high proximity, high anxiety
avoidant - low proximity, low anxiety
disorganized - high anxiety, low proximity
attachment and interpersonal relations
childhood –> adulthood
secure –> secure
resistant –> preoccupied
disorganized –> dismissing
attachment
1)Correlated with object permanence
- Cognition affecting interpersonal abilities
2) Attachment is variable across people/caregivers
3) Critical period (1 2y)
- Debate: cultural relativism and perception are not generally
measured as outcomes
4) Synchrony and Attachment do not always correlate
(e.g. overlearned schemas)
- Synchrony is the tone/quality of a (moment of) social exchange
5) Experience (culture) greatly affect child’s
interpretation/reaction to situation
neuro-plasticity: refinement of connections?
synaptogenesis vs. synaptic pruning
parenting styles
authoritarian
authoritative
neglectful
permissive
authoritarian
anxious
unhappy
low self-esteem
authoritative
upbeat
confident
high self-esteem
neglectful
impulsive
antisocial
delayed
permissive
impulsive
disobedient
rebellious
reciprocal relationships
temperament
situational (environmental factors)
age/ cognition of child
moral reasoning - hard stage theory
social cognitive perspective
- problem: no explanation of timing or process, and does not coincide with other stages
egoism (blind, and instrumental) –> social (relationships, and systems ) –> principle (contractual, and universal)
moral reasoning:
pre-conventional
preconventional (0-9yoa)
stage 1: punishment and obedience - avoid pain and no POV
stage 2: cost/ benefit - get reward and understands other’s goals/ preferences
moral reasoning: conventional
adolescence and adults
stage 3: good boy, nice girl - gain acceptance, avoid disapproval (persons), and recognizes intentions
stage 4: law and order - follow rules, avoid censure (authority), and recognizes abstract normative systems.
moral reasoning:
post-conventional
(10-15% of adults)
stage 5: social contract - promote society welfare, and contractual perspective
stage 6: ethical principles - achieve justice, and mutual respect
criticisms of moral reasoning
1) Cultural (Western) bias; Utilitarian
other forms of morality
2) Gender bias
Masculine (Justice) vs. Feminine (Care) based
3)Emotion or Cognition
Empathy vs. Impulsivity
identity status
identity foreclosure
- conferred
identity achievement
- constructed
identity diffusion
- unconcerned, easily swayed
moratorium
- struggling, torn b/wn alternatives
identity development
“soft” stages; series of challenges
- progression was a matter of culture
- conflicts are not resolved but balanced
- life-span perspective
- culminated in old age
throughout the lifespan
will
purpose
competence
fidelity
love
care
wisdom
criticisms of identity development
ethnocentrism
gender bias
no description of process or resolution
“identity” and “personality” are difficult to define/ distinguish
- cultural/ social operationalizations
- state-or-trait
self-concept as an organized belief system
5 stages model
information and communication
- denial
- anger
emotional support
- bargaining
guidance & direction
- depression
- acceptance
5 stages model - acceptance
1) Described the experience of dying not grief
Focused on ill/dying patients, not bereavement
2) The stages are states
No order, no necessary progression
Not all stages must be present
3) This is a process
No description of “resolution”, no specific timing
Changes in strength of emotions/cognitions
4)Too little or too much is maladaptive
Behavioural extremes do not represent coping
four goals of psychology?
description
explanation
prediction
control - limit or increase certain behaviours
levels of analysis in psychology
the brain
the person
the group - how the behaviour is shaped by social and cultural environments
four humors?
emotionally stable
extraverted
introverted
emotionally unstable (neurotic)
four temperament?
melancholic
choleric
phlegmatic
sanguine
voluntarism
a theory in which will is regarded as the ultimate agency in human behaviour; belief that much of behaviour is motivated and that attention is focused for an explicit purpose.
introspection
this was a method to study the conscious mind
literally means “looking inward”
a method of psychological study involving careful evaluation of mental processes and how simple thoughts expand into complex ideas.
introspection crit?
Introspection proved unreliable because regardless of how systematic an observation was, structuralists were not always able to agree
gestalt psyc
the field of psychology arguing that we have inborn tendencies to structure what we see in particular ways and to structure our perceptions into broad perceptual units.
Researchers using this approach studied illusions and errors in perception, memory, and judgment to identify why subjective experience differed from objective reality.
For example, when you look at a computer screen you see complete pictures, when in fact each picture is made up of thousands of small dots, called pixels. If you get close enough to the screen, you can see the picture break down, but our brains still favour integrating those dots into a cohesive picture or whole.
psychoanalytic theory?
Interactions between the conscious and unconscious mind govern virtually all behaviour; childhood experiences set the stage for later psychological functioning.
psychological theory that human mental processes are influenced by the competition between unconscious forces to come into awareness.
Freud further believed that childhood experiences help set the stage for later psychological functioning by contributing to effective or ineffective interactions among conscious and unconscious forces. According to Freud, certain developmental milestones must be achieved successfully in order for a person to achieve emotional adjustment. He also was interested in how children unconsciously adopt social and moral norms from their parents and, in turn, develop a conscious awareness of what constitutes acceptable and unacceptable expressions of their internal desires. Freud suggested that these conscious standards lead to unavoidable tensions between our unconscious primal needs and our conscious social or moral restraints. According to Freud, the back-and-forth tension within and between the conscious and unconscious mind is what shapes personality, helps produce abnormal behaviours in some cases, and governs virtually all behaviour (Smith, 2013). In fact, Freud and his followers saw the conscious mind as a thin mask over a deep unconscious mental world, a world that contains impulses and urges that cannot be expressed freely given the constraints of a person’s social environment.
behaviourism
branch of psychological thought arguing that psychology should study only directly observable behaviours rather than abstract mental processes.
negative reinforcement?
However, if the parent was nagging the child to eat broccoli and then stops when the child eats it, the child has been negatively reinforced—that is, the unpleasant nagging has stopped; therefore the child has been negatively reinforced in this situation and will eat the food the parent insists in order to avoid the unpleasant nagging.
removing something bad for the better.
punishment
an experience that produces a decrease in a particular behaviour
humanistic psyc
People can be helped to realize their full and grand potential, which will inevitably lead to their positive psychological growth.
theory of psychology that sought to give greater prominence to special and unique features of human functioning.
took an optimistic view of human nature and sought to give greater prominence to the special and unique features of human functioning rather than to the mechanistic principles that they believed characterized psychoanalysis and behaviourism. Humanists emphasized the unique qualities of humans and acknowledged their rationality as well as their central human drive for freedom and personal, positive growth.
difference between humanists and behaviourists?
Founding humanistic theorists Carl Rogers (1902–1987; see photo) and Abraham Maslow (1908–1970) rejected the approach of behaviourists. They felt that behaviourists looked at humans just as they looked at animals—that is, as machines that could be predicted and controlled—but giving little or no weight to consciousness and other distinctly human characteristics. Humanism, in contrast, focused on the potential of individuals and highlighted each person’s subjectivity, consciousness, free will, and other special human qualities. According to humanistic psychologists, all people have the potential for creativity, positive outlook, and the pursuit of higher values. They claimed that if we can fulfill our full potential, we will inevitably lead a positive life of psychological growth
client-entered therapy
based on the notion that the client is an equal and that positive gains are made by mirroring clients’ thoughts and feelings in an atmosphere of unconditional positive regard.
cognitive psyc
the field of psychology studying mental processes as forms of information processing, or the ways in which information is stored and operated in our minds.
cultural psychology
the study of how cultural practices shape psychological and behavioural tendencies and influence human behaviour.
cross-cultural psyc
the study of what is generally or universally true about human beings regardless of culture.
neuroscience
the study of psychological functions by looking at biological foundations of those functions.
behavioural genetics?
the study of psychological functions by looking at biological foundations of those functions.
sociobiologists
theorists who believe humans have a genetically innate concept of how social behaviour should be organized.
evolutionary psychology
a field of study believing that the body and brain are products of evolution and that genetic inheritance plays an important role in shaping the complete range of thoughts and behaviours.
cultural universality
behaviours and practices that occur across all cultures.
behavioural
Only observable behaviour can be studied scientifically. Perspective focuses on stimulus–response relationships and the consequences for behaviour.
socio-cultural
Norms and rules of society are learned through interacting with others. Such behaviours may be culturally universal or may vary cross-culturally.
academic psychology
a branch of psychology focusing on research and instruction in the various areas or fields of study in psychology.
applied psychology
the branch of psychology applying psychological principles to practical problems in other fields, such as education, marketing, or industry.
clinical and counselling psychology
the study of abnormal psychological behaviour and interventions designed to change that behaviour.
help individuals to cope more effectively or to overcome abnormal functioning.
psychotherapy
Clinical psychologists generally provide psychotherapy, which involves helping people to modify thoughts, feelings, and behaviours that are causing them distress or inhibiting their functioning
shared values of psychology
psychology is theory-driven
psyc is empirical
psychology is multi-level
psyc is contextual
collectivist
a culture whose members focus more on the needs of the group and less on individual desires.
individualistic
a culture that places the wants or desires of the person over the needs of the group.
cognitive neuroscience
the study of mental processes and how they relate to the biological functions of the brain.
social neuroscience
the study of social functioning and how it is tied to brain activity.
positive psychology
Positive psychology studies human strengths, fulfillment, and creativity
They argue that psychology ought to also consider the factors that make life worthwhile, including happiness, meaning in life, and character strengths, as well as increased attention to how those features of positive living might be more readily developed
two essential beliefs science is built upon?
the universe operates according to certain natural laws
such laws are discoverable and testable
deductive reasoning
reasoning proceeding from broad basic principles applied to specific situations.
If you have ever bet (with friends for no money, of course) that a particular team will win a playoff game because it is the home team and you believe the home team has an advantage, then you have used deductive reasoning. Home teams win more often than visitors, so I will bet that the home team wins
inductive reasoning
reasoning process proceeding from small specific situations to more general truths.
would avoid bias
hypothetico-deductive reasoning
process of modern science where scientists begin with an educated guess, perhaps based on previous research, about how the world works, and then set about designing small controlled observations to support or invalidate that hypothesis.
random selection?
identifying a sample in such a way that everyone in the population of interest has an equal chance of being involved in the study
descriptive research methods
studies that allow researchers to demonstrate a relationship between the variables of interest, without specifying a causal relationship.
disadvantage of case study?
researcher bias
researchers cannot confidently generalize to other situations from the study of a single person
naturalistic observation
crit?
study in which researchers directly observe people in a study behaving as they normally do.
researcher bias
Hawthorne effect
what happens when people who are being observed in studies or at their workplace improve or change some of their behaviour simply because they are being watched or studied, not in response to an experimental manipulation.
survey
pros and cons?
study in which researchers give participants a questionnaire or interview them.
pros
- surveys allow researchers to obtain information that they might not be able to gather using case studies or naturalistic observations.
cons
- Their data can be unreliable because people frequently answer in ways that are socially acceptable rather than in ways that are reflective of their true attitudes, a problem known as participant bias.
what’s an experiment used for?
controlled observation in which researchers manipulate the presence or amount of the independent variable to see what effect it has on the dependent variable.
experimental group?
control group?
group that is exposed to the independent variable.
group that has not been or will not be exposed to the independent variable.
random assignment
assigning individual research volunteers to experimental and control groups using a random process so that uncontrolled variables are randomly or evenly distributed across all groups.
double-blind procedure
study in which neither the participant nor the researcher knows what treatment or procedure the participant is receiving.
correlation coefficient?
statistic expressing the strength and nature of a relationship between two variables.
positive correlation?
relationship in which, on average, scores on two variables increase together.
negative correlation?
relationship in which, on average, scores on one variable increase as scores on another variable decrease.
perfect correlation?
one in which two variables are exactly related, such that low, medium, and high scores on both variables are always exactly related.
descriptive statistics
which describe or summarize the data gathered from a study
inferential statistics
which tell researchers what they can conclude, or infer, more broadly from their results
standard deviation
an index of how much the participants’ scores vary from one another within each group.
replication?
repeated testing of a hypothesis to ensure that the results you achieve in one experiment are not due to chance.
research ethics board
research oversight group that evaluates research to protect the rights of participants in the study
developmental psychology
the study of changes in behaviour and mental processes over time and the factors that influence the course of those constancies and changes.
cross-sectional design
a research approach that compares groups of different-aged people to one another.
longitudinal design
a research approach that follows the same people over a period of time by administering the same tasks or questionnaires and seeing how their responses change.
cross sectional vs. longitudinal research?
Cross-sectional research studies different participants of various ages at one point in time to examine age-related differences. Longitudinal research studies the same participants over a longer period of time to determine age-related changes.
cohort-sequential design
comprises two or more longitudinal studies, each covering the same spans of time but conducted with different age groups
blended cross-sectional and longitudinal research, designed to look at how individuals from different age groups compare to one another and to follow them over time.
cross sectional design pros and cons?
pros
- Quick, easy, and straightforward
- Convenient for both researchers and participants
- Yields information about age differences
cons
- Cohort effects are difficult to separate from age effects
- Does not explain how or when changes may have occurred—measures behaviours at only a single point in time
longitudinal design pros and cons?
pros
- Gives reasonably reliable information about age changes
- Gives information about the stability or instability of traits
- Gives information about the effects of early experiences
cons
- Requires considerable time and money
- Many participants drop out over the course of study
- Cohort effects are not controlled as all participants come from the same cohort
cohort-sequential pros and cons
pros
- Cohort effects can be separated from age effects
- Gives reliable information about age changes
- Gives information about the stability or instability of traits
- Gives information about the effects of early experiences
cons
- Requires considerable time and money
- Many participants drop out over the course of the study
epigenetic
changes in gene expression that are independent of the DNA sequence of the gene.
critical periods?
points in development when an organism is extremely sensitive to environmental input, making it easier for the organism to acquire certain brain functions and behaviours.
do sarges represent qualitative or quantitative shifts in development?
(a) Some theorists believe that individuals make qualitative, discontinuous jumps in development as they move from stage to stage. (b) Others think that development is a steady continuous process
teratogens?
a number of environmental agents, called teratogens, can cause damage during the prenatal period
Teratogens can negatively disrupt development during the prenatal period. A great number of agents (diseases, toxins, drugs, hormones, etc.) can interfere with typical prenatal development. The nature and extent of their impact upon the developing fetus vary depending on a number of factors, including the dose of the teratogen, the timing and extent of exposure, and the age of the organism (zygote, embryo, or fetus). It is important to note that not all teratogenic effects result in immediate physical impairment; instead, some health effects are delayed and may not appear until later in childhood or even until adulthood.
Synapses?
transmission points between neurons.
synaptic pruning?
developmental reduction of neuronal connections, allowing stronger connections to flourish.
myelination?
development of fatty deposits on neurons that allow electric impulses to pass through neurons more efficiently.
babinski reflex?
When the sole of an infant’s foot is stroked, the toes spread apart. This characteristic response is a sign of neurological health until a child is about 2 years of age. However, if present in children older than 2 years of age, it may indicate an injury or disease to the brain or spinal cord.
negative influences to a motor skills?
Negative influences, such as abuse, neglect, or poor nutrition, can slow a child’s motor development.
cognitive development
changes in thinking that occur over the course of time.
scheme
Piaget’s proposed mental structures or frameworks for understanding or thinking about the world.
assimilation
one of two ways of acquiring knowledge, defined by Piaget as the inclusion of new information or experiences into pre-existing schemes.
accommodation
one of two ways of acquiring knowledge, defined by Piaget as the alteration of pre-existing mental frameworks to take in new information.
object permanence
an infant’s realization that objects continue to exist even when they are outside of immediate sensory awareness.
sensorimotor
0-2
Infant or toddler uses senses and motor skills; initially has no thought beyond immediate experience but eventually develops object permanence.
Example: Babies enjoy games like peekaboo once they realize that people and objects continue to exist even if they can’t see them.
preoperational
2-7
Although children cannot yet perform “operations” they are able to hold representations or ideas of objects in imagination. They are unable to consider another’s point of view when it is different than their own (egocentric) or to understand that not all things that move or look “alive” are living (animistic).
Example: Children may believe that a doll experiences hunger.
concrete operational
7-11
Child can now operate on concrete objects and so they can think logically about complex relationships (cause and effect, categorization) and understand conservation. They are unable to think abstractly or hypothetically.
Example: Children in this stage begin to question concepts like Santa Claus or the tooth fairy.
formal operational
11-
Adolescent can think abstractly and hypothetically.
children achieve hypothetical deductive reasoning and the ability to think abstractly.
Example: Adolescent can now engage in scientific experiments.
egocentrism
flaws in children’s reasoning based on their inability to take another person’s perspective.
conservation
the understanding that certain properties of an object (such as volume and number) remain the same despite changes in the object’s outward appearance.
irreversibility?
Changes in relationships happen in one direction only
information processing theory
a developmental theory focusing on how children learn, remember, organize, and use information from their environment.
violation-of-expectation
an experimental approach capitalizing on infants’ and toddlers’ heightened reactions to an unexpected event.
habituation
the process of habituating, in which individuals pay less attention to a stimulus after it is presented to them over and over again.
they get bored - in a nutshell.
theory of mind
an awareness of one’s own mental states and the mental states of others.
some researchers have become very interested in young children’s awareness of their own minds and the minds of others
assessing theory of mind
Another way that researchers assess theory of mind is to assess children’s understandings of false-beliefs. False beliefs are based on a premise that is not true; the ability to understand false beliefs usually develops by the age of 5 years
scaffolding
developmental adjustments that adults make to give children the help that they need, but not so much that they fail to move forward.
zone of proximal development
the gap between what a child could accomplish alone and what the child can accomplish with help from others.
temperament and categories?
a biologically-based tendency to respond to certain situations in similar ways throughout a person’s lifetime.
easy
difficult
slow-to-warm-up
unique
two key aspects of temperament
temperament is inborn
temperament is stable across situations and time.
four basic attachment styles:
secure attachement (60 % of infants)
anxious/ avoidant attachment (15%)
anxious/ ambivalent/ resistant attachment (10%)
disorganized/ disoriented attachment (15%)
feature of adolescent egocentrism
personal fable
imaginary audience
erikson’s stages of psychosocial development
stage 1 - trust vs mistrust
stage 2 - autonomy vs shame and doubt
stage 3 -initiative vs guilt
stage 4 - industry vs inferiority
stage 5 - identity vs role confusion
stage 6 - intimacy vs isolation
stage 7 - generativity vs self-absorption
stage 8 - integrity vs despair
cellular clock theory
theory suggesting that we age because our cells have built-in limits on their ability to reproduce.
anger is built in our cells
wear and tear theory
theory suggesting we age because use of our body wears it out
argues that the more mileage we put on our bodies through living (augmented by factors such as stress, poor diet, and exposure to environmental teratogens), the sooner we wear out
free-radical theory
theory suggesting we age because special negatively-charged oxygen molecules become more prevalent in our body as we get older, destabilizing cellular structures and causing the effects of aging.
according to erikson, what happens between 20-30?
people form intimate relationships and sexual unions that call for self-sacrifice and compromise. In fact, Erikson believed that the primary goal of this period is to attain love.
according to erikson, what happens between 30-65?
people are inclined to turn their attention to younger people. Their focus is to help create, or at least contribute to, the next generation. Erikson used the term generativity to describe this focus. People in this stage care for younger people, whether through parenthood or by mentoring junior colleagues at work.
what happens in early adulthood, 22-40?
According to Levinson’s findings, the stage of early adulthood (which he defined as 22 to 40 years of age) is simultaneously characterized by high energy and abundance and by contradiction and stress. Individuals in this age range establish a niche in society, they may raise a family, and ultimately they reach a relatively “senior” position in the adult world.
what happens in middle adulthood, 30-65?
a stage in which biological functioning, although less than optimal, is still sufficient for an “energetic, personally satisfying and socially valuable life.” During this stage, people usually become “senior members” in their particular world. They take responsibility for their own work, that of others, and the development of younger adults.
chronological age?
the number of years a person has lived since birth, is regarded as little more than a “short-hand variable” because it is not a true indicator of an elderly person’s functional capacities.
functional age?
reflects the individual’s capacity to adapt his behaviour to the changing environment. This aspect of aging is influenced by a person’s coping skills, social pursuits, emotions, motivation, and self-esteem, among other factors.
