Human Growth and Development (1/3) Flashcards
General Topics
Development
systematic changes and continuities in the individual that occur between conception and death
Areas of developmental systematic change
- physical development
- cognitive development
- psychosocial development
Theories of development fall into these categories
- learning (behavioral/social learning/info-processing theories)
- cognitive theories
- psychoanalytic (Neo-Freudian/ego psychology theories)
- humanistic psychology/self theories
Human growth and development can be viewed as:
- Quantative or qualitative
- Continuous or discontinuous
- mechanistic or organismic
Human growth and development can be viewed as:
Qualitative
1a.
change in structure or organization (e.g., sexual development)
Human growth and development can be viewed as:
Quantitative
1b.
change in number, degree, frequency (content changes - e.g., intellectual development) - measured
Human growth and development can be viewed as:
Continuous
2a.
changes are sequential and cannot be separated easily (e.g., personality development)
Human growth and development can be viewed as:
Discontinuous
2b.
certain changes in abilities or behaviors can be separated from others (argues for stages of development) (e.g., language development)
Human growth and development can be viewed as:
Mechanistic
3a.
the reduction of all behavior to common elements (e.g., instinctual/reflexive behavior)
Human growth and development can be viewed as:
Organismic
3b.
- because of new stages, there is change or discontinuity
- more than stimulus-response
- organism is involved including use of cognition
- (e.g., more/ethical development)
Self-concept
your perception of your qualities, attributes, traits
Self-concept at:
Birth
infants have no sense of self
this changes in early months
Self-concept by:
24 months
most infants show signs of self-recognition
- can identify social categories they are in (ex. age, gender, “who is/isn’t like me”)
- exhibit various temperaments
Self-concept at:
Pre-school age
very concrete and physical
- by age 8ish, can describe inner qualities
Self-concept by:
Adolescence
become more abstract and psychological
- stabilization of self-concept attributes continues
- cultural/family factors influence development of some traits
Developmental concepts
Nature
Nature vs. Nurture
genetic and hereditary factors
Developmental concepts
Nurture
Nature vs. Nurture
learning and environmental factors
Developmental concepts
Genotype
genetic (inherited) makeup of the individual
Developmental concepts
Phenotype
the way genetic makeup is expressed through physical and behavioral characteristics
Developmental concepts
Tabula rasa
John Locke
children begin as a blank slate, acquiring characteristics through experience
Developmental concepts
Plasticity
lifespan development represents an easy and smooth transition from one stage to the next
Developmental concepts
Resiliency
ability to adapt effectively despite experience of adverse experiences
Neurobiology
Neuroscience
the missing link in mental health professions
Counselors use different theories to promote release of various neurotransmitters to promote related brain changes
Neurobiology
Neurotransmitters
- affect various cognitive, emotional, psychological, behavioral reactions that people have to their life experiences
- carry messages between neurons that stimulate reactions in brain
- these reactions stimulate different parts of the brain for different outcomes
Neurobiology
Acetycholine
important for memory, optimal cognitive functioning, emotional balance, control
Neurobiology
Serotonin
affects feelings, behaving, thinking; critical for emotional/cognitive processes; vital to sleep/anxiety control
Neurobiology
Dopamine
important for emotional wellness, motivation, pleasurable feelings
Neurobiology
GABA (gamma amino butyric acid)
reduces anxiety, promotes relaxation and sleep
Abraham Maslow is associated with this theory
humanistic psychology
- researched self-actualization by interviewing the best people he could find who escaped the “psychology of the average”
Maslow
Hierarchy of needs
people are always motivated to higher-order needs
Maslow
1st level of hierarchy
food/water
Maslow
2nd level of hierarchy
security/safety
Maslow
3rd level of hierarchy
belonging/love
Maslow
4th level of hierarchy
self-esteem/status
Maslow
5th level of hierarchy
self-actualization
- full realization of creative/social/intellectual potential through internal drive
Maslow
Levels of the hierachy
self-actualization (cognitive)
self-esteem/status (social)
belonging/love (social)
security/safety (physiological)
food/water (physiological)
Robert Havighurst is associated with this theory
Developmental task theory
- stages of growth: each requires completion of the last for success and happiness
Havighurst (developmental task theory)
Developmental tasks
- arise from physical maturation, influences from culture/society, personal values/desires
- the skills, knowledge, behaviors, attitudes a person acquires through physical maturation, social learning, and personal effort
Havighurst (developmental task theory)
Infancy and early childhood (0-6 YO)
learning to walk/talk, potty train, foundations of reading
Havighurst (developmental task theory)
Middle childhood (6-12 YO)
learning physical skills for games, play with kids of same age, personal independence, gender social roles
Havighurst (developmental task theory)
Adolescence (13-18 YO)
accepting body as it goes through changes, preping for partnership/family life/career, developing ethical system/ideology as a guide for behavior
Havighurst (developmental task theory)
Early adulthood (19-30 YO)
finding a partner, achieving a social role, starting home/family/career, developing civic responsibility
Havighurst (developmental task theory)
Middle age (31-60 YO)
achieving adult civic/social responsibilty, assisting own teenage children, developing adult leisure activities, adjusting to physiological changes
Havighurst (developmental task theory)
Later maturity (61-death)
adjusting to decreasing physical strength/health/retirement, meeting social/civic obligations
Maturation hypothesis
in behavioral sciences
behavior is guided exclusively via hereditary factors, but certain behaviors will not manifest themselves until the necessary stimuli are present in the environment
- individual’s neural development must be at a certain level of maturity for behavior to unfold
- counselor strives to unleash inborn abilities, instincts, drives
- childhood and past are important topics
Freud, Erikson, Gesell (who used one-way mirror to observe children) would be considered maturationists
Behaviorism
John Watson, Pavlov, Wolpe, and B.F. Skinner are associated with this theory
Behaviorism
Today, clinical applications of Skinnerian principles (and those set forth by behaviorists are called ABA (applied behavior analysis)
empiricists are behaviorists because empiricism = experience (empiricism is the forerunner of behaviorism). changes are quantitative
organicism is the opposite - developmental strides are qualitative (ex. gestalt)
- mind is a blank slate (tabula rasa - John Locke) and the child learns to behave in a certain manner
- passive theory - mind is a computer that is fed info
- Locke’s idea of empiricism - knowledge is acquired by experience. all behavior is the result of learning
Watson & Skinner (Behaviorism)
Behaviorism
environment manipulates biological and psychological drives and needs resulting in development
Watson & Skinner (Behaviorism)
Reward
a positive reinforcing stimulus which maintains or increases behavior
Watson & Skinner (Behaviorism)
Punishment
termination of a positive-reinforcing stimulus or beginning of a negative stimulus
- causes behavior to weaken/drop out
Law of Effect
Edward Thorndike
when a stimulus-response connection is followed by a reward (reinforcement), that connection is strengthened
- behavior’s consequences determine the probability of its being repeated
Conditioning Principles
Classical conditioning
food = salivation -> bell = salivation
Conditioning Principles
Operant conditioning
using rewards and punishments to modify behavior
Conditioning Principles
Reinforcement schedule
can be continuous or variable
Behaviors established through variable or intermittent reinforcement are tougher to extinguish
Conditioning Principles
Fixed ratio
Reinforce after a fixed number of responses
Ex. getting paid after every 5th day of work
Conditioning Principles
Variable ratio
reinforce, on average, after every nth (e.g., 5th) response
Ex. slot machine paying out intermittently (ex. after 3/10/5/1 pulls)
Think Ratio = # Responses
Conditioning Principles
Fixed interval
reinforce after a fixed period of time
Ex. getting a compliment after every 30 minutes of testing
Conditioning Principles
Variable interval
reinforce, on average, after every nth (e.g., 3rd) minute/hour/etc.
Ex. receiving an email - can’t predict when, and it varies over time
Conditioning Principles
Spontaneous recovery
after a rest period, the conditioned response reappears when conditioned stimulus is again presented
Conditioning Principles
Stimulus generalization
once a response has been conditioned, stimuli that are similar to the conditioned response are also likely to elicit the conditioned response
ex. they generalized Little Albert to be scared of all fluffy animals after the initial rat
Conditioning Principles
Successive approximation
shaping behavior by first rewarding the general behavior, then only rewarding behavior that is closer to the target behavior
Psychodynamic theories focus on
unconscious processes rather than cognitive factors (ex. psychoanalytic)
Freud is associated with this theory
psychoanalytic
There is an interaction between internal needs and environment
Psychoanalytic approach: stages of psychosexual development
Oral (birth to 18 months)
1
mouth and lips
conflict: weaning from breast/bottle feeding
fixation may lead to behaviors like smoking, overeating, or excessive talking
Psychoanalytic approach: stages of psychosexual development
Anal stage (1-3 YO)
2
anus and bowl control
conflict: toilet training/self-control
fixation: anal-retentive (overly neat and organized) or anal-expulsive (messy and rebellious)
Psychoanalytic approach: stages of psychosexual development
Phallic (3-5 YO)
3
genitals
conflict: Oedipus/Electra complex (sexual attaction to opposite-sex parent; rivalry with same sex parent)
fixation: identifaction with same-sex parent and development of gender identity
Conflictual times for the child
Phallic and Oedipus
Psychoanalytic approach: stages of psychosexual development
Latency (6-12 YO)
4
erogenous zones are dormant; focus on social-intellectual activities
conflict: none
fixation: no specific fixation; energy directed toward school, friends, hobbies
Psychoanalytic approach: stages of psychosexual development
Genital (12-19; others say it never ends)
5
genitals
conflict: establishing mature sexual relationships
fixation: healthy development leads to mature sexual behavior and emotional intimacy
Psychoanalytic approach
Libido
basic energy or force of life
consists of life/death instincts
Psychoanalytic approach
Fixation
incomplete or inhibited development at one of the stages
- when life becomes too traumatic, emotional development can come to a halt, although physical/cognitive processes may continue at a normal pace
Psychoanalytic approach
Castration anxiety
unconscious fear of penile loss that originates during phallic stage
Psychoanalytic approach
Penis envy
marks start of Electra complex during phallic stage
conflict that lasts forever
Psychoanalytic approach
Pleasure principle
instinctive drive to seek pleasure and avoid pain in order to satisfy both biological and psychological needs
the driving force of the id
Psychoanalytic approach
Reality principle
ability to defer gratification of a desire when circumstantial reality disallows immediate gratification
driving force of ego
Psychoanalytic approach
Erogenous zones
areas of bodily excitation such as mouth, anus, genitals
Psychoanalytic approach
Id
- most primitive part of mind and source of psychic energy
- driven by pleasure principle which seeks immediate gratification
- if there is not instant gratification, there is a state of anxiety/tension
Psychoanalytic approach
Ego
- realistic part of brain that mediates desires of id and superego
- operates according to reality principle, which strives to satisfy id’s desires in socially appropriate/realistic way
Psychoanalytic approach
Superego
- holds all of our internalized moral standards and ideals that we acquire from those around us
- provides guidelines for making judgements
Psychoanalytic approach: Defense mechanisms
Defense mechanisms
unconsicous protective processes that help us control primitive emotions and anxiety
Psychoanalytic approach: Defense mechanisms
Repression
rejecting from conscious thought (denying/forgetting) the impulse or idea that provokes anxiety (is involuntary)
Suppression is similar but is voluntary
Psychoanalytic approach: Defense mechanisms
Projection
avoiding the conflict within oneself by ascribing the ideas or motives to someone else
Psychoanalytic approach: Defense mechanisms
Reaction formation
expressing a motive or impulse in a way that is directly opposite what was originally intended
Psychoanalytic approach: Defense mechanisms
Rationalization
providing a reason for a behavior and thereby concealing the true motive or reason for the behavior
Psychoanalytic approach: Defense mechanisms
Displacement
substituting a different object or goal for the impulse or motive that is being expressed
Psychoanalytic approach: Defense mechanisms
Introjection
identifying through fantasy the expression of some impulse or motive
Psychoanalytic approach: Defense mechanisms
Regression
retreating to earlier or more primitive (childlike) forms of behavior
Psychoanalytic approach: Defense mechanisms
Denial
refusing to see something that is fact or true in reality
Psychoanalytic approach: Defense mechanisms
Sublimation
can be viewed as a positive defense mechanism
anxiety or sexual tension or energy is channeled into socially acceptable activities like work
Erik Erikson
ego psychologist (believes in man’s powers of reasoning to control behavior)
- proposes a developmental theory encompassess infancy - death
Erikson: Psychosocial Development
Trust vs. Mistrust
1
Birth - 1.5 YO
- Infant develops trust if basic needs are met
- Resulting ego virtue: hope
Erikson: Psychosocial Development
Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt
2
1.5 - 3 YO
- Infant asserts self; develops independence if allowed
- Resulting ego virtue: will (a sense of self)
Erikson: Psychosocial Development
Initiative vs. Guilt
3
3 to 6 YO
- Children meet challenges; assume responsibility; identify rights of others
- Resulting ego virtue: purpose (goal setting)
Erikson: Psychosocial Development
Industry vs. Inferiority
4
6 to 11 YO
- Children master social and academic skills or feel inferior
- Resulting ego virtue: competence
Erikson: Psychosocial Development
Identity vs. Role Confusion
5
Adolescence
- Individual establishes social and vocational roles and identities or is confused about adult roles
- identity crisis: in an attempt to find out who they really are, they may experiment with different roles
- Resulting ego virtue: fidelity (ability to commit)
Erikson: Psychosocial Development
Intimacy vs. Isolation
6
Early adulthood
- Seeks intimate relationships or fears giving up independence and becoming lonely and isolated
- Resulting ego virtue: love
Erikson: Psychosocial Development
Generativity vs. Stagnation
7
Middle Adulthood
- Desire to produce something of value and contribute to society
- stagnation = becoming self-centered
- Resulting ego virtue: care (investment in the future)
Erikson: Psychosocial Development
Integrity vs. Despair
8
Later Adulthood
- View life as meaningful and positive or with regrets
- Resulting ego virtue: wisdom
Piaget: Cognitive Development
Organization
- one of two tendencies that are inherited
- how we systemize and organize mental processes and knowledge
Piaget: Cognitive Development
Adaptation
- one of two tendencies that are inherited
- adjustment to the environment
Two processes within this: - assimilation
- accommodation
Piaget: Cognitive Development
Assimilation
modifying relevant environmental events so they can be incorporated into the individual’s existing structure
Piaget: Cognitive Development
Conservation
a substance’s weight, mass, volume remain the same even if it changes shape
This concept and reversibility happen during concrete operations stage (7-11)
Piaget: Cognitive Development
Accommodation
modifying the organization of the individual in response to environmental events
Piaget: Cognitive Development
Schema
a mental structure that processes info, perceptions, experiences
Piaget: Cognitive Development
Centration
occurs in preoperational stage
focusing on a feature of a given object or situation while not noticing the rest of it
Memory device for Piaget cognitive development stages
sensorimotor: first stage emphasizes the senses and child’s motoric skills (develops first when young)
pre-operations: has pre- in it, must be before operations
concrete operations: something has to follow the pre-
formal operations: people seem to be more formal as they age
NOTE: Piaget often studied his own children
Piaget is a structuralist who believes stage changes are qualitative (each stage is a way of making sense of the world)
Piaget: Cognitive Development
Sensorimotor
1
Birth to 2 YO
- the child differentiates self from objects; can think of an object not actually present; seeks stimulation
Piaget: Cognitive Development
Preoperational
2
2 to 7 YO
- language development is occurring; child is egocentric (child cannot view the world from the vantage point of someone else); has difficulty taking other’s POVs; classifies objects by one feature
- Acquisition of a symbolic schema (allow language and symbolism in play to occur - milk carton = space ship)
Piaget: Cognitive Development
Concrete Operational
3
7 to 11 YO
- begins logical operations; can order ojects (small to large; first to last); understands conservation
- Learn best through experience/own actions and interactions with others
Study hack: Concrete operations, Counting, Conversation all start with C
Piaget: Cognitive Development
Formal operational
4
11 to 15 YO
- moves toward abstract thinking; can test hypotheses; logical problem solving can occur
Vsgotsky vs. Piaget
Difference in Vsgotsky and Piaget
Vygotsky disagreed with Piaget’s notion that developmental stages take place naturally
Vygotsky insisted that the stages unfold due to education intervention!
Vygotsky - zone of proximal development (describes difference between child’s performance without a teacher vs what they are capable of with an instructor)
Kohlberg: Moral Development
Preconventional
1
Stage 1: punishment and obedience orientation exists
Stage 2: instrumental and hedonistic orientation prevails (obtaining rewards)
Kohlberg: Moral Development
Conventional
2
Stage 3: interpersonal acceptance orientation prevails; maintaining good relations, approval of others
Stage 4: law and order orientation exists; conformity to legitimate authorities
Kohlberg: Moral Development
Postconventional
3
Stage 5: social contract and utilitarian orientation exists; most values and rules are relative
Stage 6: self-chosen principled orientation prevails; universal ethical principles apply
Kohlberg: Moral Development
The Heinz dilemma is to Kohlberg’s theory as
a. a brick is to a house
b. Freud is to Jung
c. the Menninger Clinic is to biofeedback
d. a typing test is to the level of typing skill mastered
d. a typing test is to the level of typing skill mastered
Kohlberg: Moral Development
Heinz Dilemma
a woman was dying of cancer and only one drug could save her (but the guy charged a ton of money for a dose). The husband couldn’t come up with the money so he broke in and stole it. Should he have done this?
The reasoning for the decision (rather than the decision itself) allowed Kohlberg to evaluate the stage of moral development
Levinson: Developmental Tasks
Daniel Levinson wrote:
The Seasons of a Man’s Life
- found that 80% of the men in the study experienced moderate to severe midlife crises
- an “age 30” crisis occurs in men when they feel it will soon be too late to make later changes
Levinson: Developmental Tasks
Three major life transitions/times occurring between four major eras of life:
early adult transition (17 to 22 YO)
mid-life transition (40 to 45 YO)
late adult transition (60 to 65 YO)
Levinson: Developmental Tasks
In adulthood, individual copes with three sets of developmental tasks:
- build, modify, enhance life structure
- form and modify single components of the life structure such as: life dreams, occupation, life-marriage, family relationships, mentor, forming mutual relationships
- tasks to become more individuated
Levinson: Developmental Tasks
Midlife crisis
time of questioning their life structure including career
- occurs in transition period of age 40 to 45
- Sometimes both men and women may experience a painful self-evaluation process but not at a crisis level
Brofenbrenner: Ecological Approach
Importance
Important to look at all levels and systems impacting a person
ex. a troubled individual is a part of several systems such as family, school, peers, community, etc.
! Must be sensitive to influences of all these systems
Social-Learning Theories
Social-Learning Theories
Importance
see importance of social environment and cognitive factors
- go beyond behaviorism (the simple stimulus-response paradigm because we can think about connections between our behaviors and the consequences)
Social-Learning Theories
Bandura
self-efficacy
- the belief that we can perform some behavior or task
- can help explain how it is that people change
Self-efficacy is facilitated through:
- Modeling after other’s behaviors
- Vicarious experience (watching others perform the behavior)
- receiving verbal persuasion from others that one can do a task
- paying attention to own physiological states such as emotional arousal or anxiety involved in doing the behavior
Perry: Scheme for intellectual/ethical development
Perry
Developed a scheme for intellectual and ethical development
Perry: Scheme for intellectual/ethical development
Dualism
1
- authorities know
- there are true authorities and wrong authorities
- good authorities may know but may not know everything yet
Perry: Scheme for intellectual/ethical development
Relativitism is Discovered
2
- there may not be right or wrong answers, uncertainty may be OK
- all knowledge may be relative
- in an uncertain world, I’ll have to make decisions
Perry: Scheme for intellectual/ethical development
Commitment in Relativism
- initial commitment
- several commitments - and balancing them
- commitments evolve, and they may be contradictory
Women Development
Societal issues that make women second-class citizens
gender stereotyping
male-imposed standards
devaluation of feminine qualities
Women Development
Nancy Chodorow
one of the first to speak out against the masculine bias found in psychoanalytic theory
Women Development
Jean Baker Miller
wrote Toward a New Psychology of Women
- a large part of women’s lives has been spent helping others develop emotionally, intellectually, socially
- this ‘caretaking’ is a central concept differentiating the development of women from men
Women Development
Judith Jordan
Relational-Cultural Theory
- people grow toward relationships throughout life
- mature functioning is characterized by mutuality and deepening connections
- psychological growth is characterized by involved in complex and diversified relational networks
- mutual empathy and empowerment are at the core of positive relationships
- grow-fostering relationships require engagements to be authentic
- grow-fostering relationships stimulate growth and change in all people
- goals of development are characterized by an increasing ability to name and resist disconnections, sources of oppression, obstacles to mutual relationships
Women Development
Harriet Lerner
The Dance of Intimacy
Women need to re-evaluate their intimate relationships which may not be working, and choose a healthier balance between other-oriented and self-absorption
- competent relationships allow for each person to be appreciated and enhanced, and the woman should show strength, independence, and assertiveness
Women Development
Carol Tavris
The Mismeasure of Women
women are judged and mismeasured by their fit into a male world
- both genders are more alike than different but they are perceived as different because of the roles they have been assigned
- Society pathologizes women
Women Development
Carol Gilligan
In a Different Voice
women view relationships and experience of relationships differently than men do
-Their communication patterns are also different
Women Development
Differences on Kohlberg’s Moral Dilemma Test
Women score lower because they use criteria of human relationships and caring while men use criteria of justice and rights
There is overlap between men and women on the instrument
Gail Sheehy
Gail Sheehy
Wrote Passages: Predictable Crises of Adult Life in 1976
Gail Sheehy
Passages
transitional periods between life stages and are different between most individuals
- provide opportunities for growth - through the crises we face in making constructive changes between life stages
Spirituality
Over 90% of US population believes in a divine power/greater being
- more broad than religion
- May directly influence clients in view of self, relationships, worldview, nature/cause of perceived problems
- Counselors must be able to identify issues of spirituality important to client’s situation
Intelligence
adaptive thinking or action (Piaget) or ability to think abstractly
- not fixed or determined solely by genetics
- environment, experiences, cultural factors influence intelligence
Charles Spearman’s two types of intelligences
general intelligence (g)
special abilities (s)
Louis Thurstone and association with intelligence
identified several primary mental abilities
Is intelligence testing biased?
It may be biased against those who have not had opportunities to learn or experiences those things the test measures
Daniel Goleman in Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ
Emotional intelligence can operate independently of reasoning and thinking processes (is based solely on human emotions)
- learned developmental processes
- emotional intelligence = self-motivated, empathic, grasps social signals/nonverbals, strong interpersonal abilities
Propinquity
implies nearness/proximity
- ex. one is more likely to select a partner who lives nearby
Robert Perry
stresses DUALISTIC THINKING (common to teens in which things are conceptualized as good/bad or right/wrong)
he is known for his ideas related to adult cognitive development; especially college students
as young adults move into relativistic thinking, they’ll start to understand that not everything is right/wrong, but an answer can exist relative to a specific situation
Robert Kegan (Keagan?)
associated with adult cognitive development
- interpersonal development!
- a constructive model of development - individuals construct reality throughout the lifespan
- emphasizes meaning making
Holding environment: client can make meaning in the face of a crisis and can find new direction
Idiographic approaches
examine individuals (not groups of people) in depth
ex. Freud; Piaget
Nomothetic approaches
large numbers of people are studied to create general principles that apply to the population
ex. DSM, behaviorism
Epigenetic
Two definitions:
1. each stage emerges from the one before it
2. environmental factors can influence genetic expression
Menninger Clinic
a traditional psychoanalytic foothold and the site of landmark work in the area of biofeedback (which helps clients learn to control bodily processes more effectively using electronic devices)
Maslow
Positive Psychology
the study of human strengths such as joy, wisdom, altruism, ability to love, happiness, wisdom
popularized by Seligman (learned helplessness syndrome pioneer)
John Bowlby
Bonding and attachment have survival value (adaptive significance)
- in order to lead a normal social life, the child must bond with an adult before age 3
- if bond is severed at early age, known as object loss. This causes abnormal behavior (psychopathology)
- Object = target of one’s love. if the child was unable to bond with an adult by age 3, they would be incapable of having normal social reltaionships as an adult
Bowlby and Bonding
Harry Harlow
maternal deprivation and isolation in rhesus monkeys
- believes attachment is innate and not learned
- the monkeys that were placed in isolation during first few months of life displayed traits similar to individuals with autism (trouble communicating with others and forming social bonds)
Eleanor Maccoby and Carol Jacklin
found few differences that could be attributed to genetics and biological factors in relation to males outperforming females in mathemathical calculations
- found that males did not outperform females until high school/college, so these differences may come from child-rearing patterns rather than bodily chemistry
Approx. overall suicide rate in US
12/100,000
Stage theorists assume
qualitative changes between stages occur
Eleanor Gibson
researched depth perception in children by using the visual cliff
- seems to develop around 6 mo
An expert who has reviewed the literature on videos and violence would conclude that
watching violence tends to make children more aggressive
- even nursery school age children display more violent behavior after observing violence. The more we withness violence, the less it bothers us (we behave in more violent behavior)
Ethology
the study of animals’ behavior in their natural environment
- coined by Konrad Lorenz (work on inprinting in animals)
- Lorenz compared us to wolf/baboon and said we are naturally aggressive (aggressiveness is part of our evolution and was necessary for survival)
- catharsis is the only way to get anger out (using methods like competitive sports)
Comparative psychology
labratory research using animals and attempts to generalize the findings to humans
Reasons why elementary school counseling did not begin until 1960s
- common belief that school teachers could double as counselors
- counseling was conceptualized as focusing on vocational issues (not a concern for elementary school children)
- secondary schools utilized social workers and psychologists who would intervene if emotional problems were still an issue as the child got older
Ritualistic behaviors, which are common to all members of a species, are known as:
fixed-action patterns (FAP) elicited by sign stimuli
- FAP will result whenever a releaser in the environment is present
- the programmed action, or sequence of behavior, will not vary
Equilibration (equilibrium)
the balance between what one takes in (assimilation) and what is changed (accommodation)
- occurs when a child achieves a balance
- when new info is presented which the child’s current cognitive structures (schemas) cannot process, disequilibrium sets in - the child is forced to change schemas to accommodate the novel info, and equilibrium is mastered
G. Stanley Hall
founder of psychology in the US and the first president in the American Psychological Association
popularized study of the child and child guidance
- wrote seminal works on adolescence
