Final Modules Flashcards
Developmental psychology
A branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive and social development through the life span
Cross-sectional survey
Research that compares people of different ages at the same point in time
Longitudinal studies
Research that follows and retests the same people over time .
- temperament stable over time
- social attitudes less stable
Zygotes
The fertilized egg; it enters a 2-week period of rapid cell division and develops into an embryo. Less than 1/2 survive first week
Embryo
The developing human organism from about 2 weeks after fertilization through the second month
Fetus
The developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception to birth
Just after birth, the melodic ups and downs of new horns cries have tube signature of their….
Mother’s native tongue
Teratogens
Agents such as chemicals and viruses that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm.
Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)
Physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant women’s heavy drinking. In severe cases, signs include a small, out of proportion head and abnormal facial features.
Habituation
Decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation. As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner.
Major issues studies by developmental psychologists
Continuity and stages
Rooting reflex
Facilitation of feeding
Maturation
Biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behaviour, relatively i influences by experience.
Ex: babies stand then walk then run
When did you have the most brain cells you will ever have?
Day you were born
Cognition
All the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating
Schemas
A concept or framework that organizes and interprets information
Assimilate
Interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas
Accommodate
Adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information.
4 stages of cognitive development by piaget
Sensorimotor
Preoperational
Concrete operational
Formal operational
Sensorimotor stage
Birth till age 2
Infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities.
-object permanence: awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived (not before 8 months)
Preoperational stage
2-6(7) years old
A child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic
-no conservation (mass, volume, numbers remain the same despite changes in the forms)
-egocentric: difficulty taking another’s point of view
Concrete operational
7-11 year olds
Children gain the mental operations the enable them to think logically about concrete events.
-conservation
-mathematical transformations
Formal operational
12+ year olds
People begin to think logically about abstract concepts
-potential for mature moral reasoning
Scaffold
In Vygotskys theory, a framework that offers children temporary support as they develop higher levels of thinking.
-learn best when material is not too easy but not too hard.
Theory of mind
People’s ideas about their own and others mental states-about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts and the behaviours these might predict.
Stranger anxiety
The fear of strangers that infants commonly display beginning by 8 months
Attachment
An emotional tie with others; shown in young children by their seeking closeness to caregivers and showing distress on separation
Critical period
An optimal period early in life of an organism when exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces normal development.
Imprinting
The process by which certain animals form string attachments during early life.
When kids have dads who engage with them they…
Boys do better academically
Girls have less risky behaviour in relationships
Basic trust
According to Erik Erickson, a sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy; said to be formed during infancy by appropriate experiences with responsive caregivers
Self-concept
All our thoughts and feeling about ourselves (age 12)
4 parenting styles
Authoritarian - coercive
Permissive - unrestraining
Neglectful - uninvolved
Authoritative - confrontive, demanding + responsive, open discussion (highest self esteem, competence and self regulation)
Adolescence
The transition period from childhood, extending from puberty to independence
Puberty
The period of sexual maturation, during which a person usually becomes capable of reproducing
Ten brains are more biased to
Immediate rewards
Kohl bergs levels of moral thinking
- preconventional morality (<9) self interest, obey rules to avoid punishment or gain concrete rewards
- conventional morality (early adolescence) uphold laws and rules to gain social approval or maintain social order
- post conventional morality (adolescence+) actions reflect beliefs in basic right and self-defined ethical principles
Identity
Our sense of self; according to Erikson, the adolescents task is to solidify a sense of self by testing and integrating various roles
Social identity
The “we” aspect of our self-concept; the part of our answer to “who am I” that comes from our group memberships
Intimacy
In eriksons theory; the ability to form close, loving relationships; a primary developmental task in young adulthood.
- conflict greater between mother and first born child in adolescence
- positive parent-teen relations and positive peer relations go hand in hand
Emerging adulthood
Period from about age 18 to mid twenties, when many in western cultures are no longer adolescents but have not yet scheduled full independence as adults
Menopause
The time of natural cessation of menstruation; also refers to the biological changes a women experiences as her ability to reproduce declines. (50yr)
Telomeres
With age, tips of chromosomes called telomeres wear down and aging cells die without reproducing
Do brain games help aging adults
Help perform that game task but don’t apply outside of the game
Neurocognitive disorder (NCD)
Acquired disorders marked by cognitive deficits; often related to Alzheimer’s disease, brain injury or disease or substance abuse. Also called dementia in older adults
Alzheimer’s disease
A neurocognitive disorder marked by neural plaques, often with onset of after age 80, and entailing a progressive decline in memory and other cognitive abilities.
- loss of brain cells and deterioration of neurons that produce acetylcholine (memory and thinking!
- less likely in those who keep kind and body active
Social clock
The culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parent hopes, and retirement.
Two basic aspects of our lives dominate adulthood
Intimacy and generativity (productivity)
Couples that live together before marriage are more likely to
Divorce
In a successful marriage there is a 5 to 1 ration of
Positive to negative interactions
Amygdala’s responds less in older adults which results in
Less aggression
Are there Grief stages
No
Social psychology
The study of how we think about, influence and relate to one another
Attribution theory
The theory that we explain someone’s behaviour by crediting either the situation or the persons disposition
Fundamental attribution error
The tendency, when analyzing others behaviour to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition
Attitudes
Feelings, often influences by our beliefs that predispose us to respond in a particular way to objects, people and events
Foot in the door phenomenon
The tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request
Role
A set of expectation (norms) about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave
Cognitive dissonance theory
The theory that we act to reduce the discomfort we fell when two of our thoughts are inconsistent.
Peripheral route persuasion
Occurs when people are influences by incidental cues, such as a speakers attractiveness
Central route persuasion
Occurs when interested peoples thinking is influences by considering evidence and arguments
Norms
Understood roles for accepted and expected behaviour
Conformity
Adjusting our behaviour or thinking to coincide with a group standard
Normative social influence
Influence resulting form a persons desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval
Informational social influence
Influence resulting from a persons willingness to accept others opinions about reality
Social facilitation
I’m the presence of others, improved performance on simple or well-learned tasks, and worsened performance on difficult tasks
Social loafing
The tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when looking their efforts toward attaining a common goal than when individually accountable
Deindividuation
The loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity
Group polarization
The enhancement of a grips prevailing inclinations through discussion within the group
Group think
The mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives
Prejudice
An unjustifiable and usually negative attitude toward a group and it’s members. Generally involves stereotypes, beliefs, negative feelings and a predisposition to discriminatory action
Stereotypes
A generalized (sometimes accurate but often over generalized) belief about a group of people.
Discriminate
Unjustifiable negative behaviour toward a group or it’s members
Just-world phenomenon
The tendency for people to believe that the world is just and people therefore get what they deserve and deserve what they get
Ingroup
Outgroup
“Us” people with whole we share a common identity
“Them” people perceived as different or apart from our ingroup
Ingroup bias
The tendency to favour our own group
Scapegoat theory
The theory that prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame
Other-race effect
The tendency to recall faces of ones own race more accurately than faces of other races
Aggression
Any physical or verbal behaviour intended to harm someone physically or emotionally
Hotter temperatures cause
More violence
Social scripts
A culturally modelled guide for how to act in situations
Mere exposure effect
The tendency for repeated exposure to novel stimuli to increase our liking of them
Passionate love
Companionate love
An aroused state of intense positive absorption in another, usually present at the beginning of a romantic relationship
The deep affectionate attachment we feel for those with whom our lives are intertwined
Equity
A condition in which people receive from a relationship in proportion to what they give to it
Self-disclosure
The act of revealing intimate aspects of ourselves to others
Altruism
Unselfish regard for the welfare of others
Bystander effect
the tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to help if other bystanders are present
Social exchange theory
The theory that our social behaviour is an exchange process, the aim of which is to maximize benefits and minimize costs
Reciprocity norm
An expectation that people will help, not hurt those who have helped them
Social-responsibility norm
n expectation that people will help those needing their help
Conflict
A perceived incompatibility of actions, goals or ideas
Social traps
A situation in which two parties, by each pursuing their self-interest rather than the good of the group, become caught in mutually destructive behaviour
Mirror image perceptions
Mutual views, often held by conflicting parties, as when each side sees itself as ethical and peaceful and views the other side a sexual and aggressive.
Self-fulfilling prophecies
A belief that leads to its own fulfillment
Superordinate goals
Shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation
GRIT
Graduated and reciprocated initiatives in tension-reducing
A strategy designed to decrease international tensions
