intro to developmental

Question 1

different definitions of children (coming from laws and social norms)

Answer 1

legal - aged 0 to 18
Social - developmental stage after toddler (4-12yrs)

Question 2

changing qualities of children

Answer 2

Aries - mini adults and the myth of childhood
Contemporary society - innocent and incomplete beings

Question 3

Gene-environment interaction debate

Answer 3

Nativists - nature - chomsky, Fodor
Interactionists - GEI - Rutter, Sameroff
Behaviourists - Nurture - Watson

Question 4

How can GEI influence develolment

Answer 4

The onset of early experiences can influence maturation according to Aslin’s model in various ways.

Question 5

Is it time to let the nature-nurture debate die

Answer 5

• saying both matter doesnt fix the problem
• nature and nurture are poorly defined.
• environemts exist at many levels, including cellural environments that help regular gene expression
• Genes arent the only thing we use (social/cultural context)

Question 6

Quatitiative change

Answer 6

Change in amount (Height)

Question 7

Qualitative change

Answer 7

Development in stages, change in kind, such as perceptions

Question 8

Discontinuity

Answer 8

Qualitative change

Question 9

Continuity

Answer 9

Quantitative change

Question 10

does develoment happen for everything all at once

Answer 10

• domain specific - child prodigies (isolated ability in one area)
• domain general - gradual development but everything in the area is more or less the same, wide range of ability.

Question 11

characteristics and context

Answer 11

• vulnerabilities - temperament, genes, physical characteristics.
• Protective factors (interaction between genes and environement, might need the right vulnerabilities) - socio-economic factors.
• Resilience - good outcome despite adversity.

Question 12

Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems model

Answer 12

Suggests that in the child is their microsystem (genes, internal), then mesosystem (peers, interactions with family), exosystem (other influences), then macrosystem (social context in the place you live. Then there is also the chronosystem, changes in person or environment over time, all leading to developments in the child.

Question 13

Habituation

Answer 13

Babies like novelty, they will look at faces/colours/etc that they do not know instead of ones they do. Studies can use this to show that babies can see colour.

Question 14

High amplitute sucking

Answer 14

babies can control some things, such as Langlois’ attractive faces studies, where babies sucked harder to see something they want.

Question 15

Visual preference technique

Answer 15

Babies look longer at things they like, such as parents in comparison to strangers

Question 16

Piaget’s cognitive development theory

Answer 16

Development is not smooth, children do not start as cognitive beings, they act on the environment and are active agents in their own development.