Lec 11: Human Development

Question 1

What two factors shape human development

Answer 1

genes (nature) and the environment (nurture)

Question 2

genome

Answer 2

master blueprint for making an organism

Question 3

genotype

Answer 3

an organism’s genetic makeup; never changes

Question 4

phenotype

Answer 4

an organism’s observable physical characteristics; always changing

Question 5

what factors influence phenotype

Answer 5

genetics and environment

Question 6

twin studies

Answer 6

used by behavioral geneticists to assess the degree to which behavioral traits are inherited (phenotypes)

compare similarities between monozygotic (identical) and dizygotic (fraternal) twins to determine the genetic basis of specific traits

greater similarity of monozygotic twins (raised together or apart) due to genetic influence

Question 7

monozygotic

Answer 7

identical twin siblings that result from one zygote splitting in two and therefore share the same genes

DNA isn’t as similar as originally thought, due to subtle differences in how the mother’s and father’s genes are combined

Question 8

dizygotic twins

Answer 8

fraternal twin siblings that result from two separately fertilized eggs and therefore are no more similar genetically than non-twin siblings

Question 9

adoption studies

Answer 9

behavioral geneticists use this method to assess the degree to which behavioral traits are inherited

compare biological relatives and adoptive relatives

Question 10

Caspi experiment

Answer 10

Caspi and his colleagues followed more than 1,000 New Zealanders from birth until adulthood

every few years, info was collected about the participants and when the participants were 26 years old, they investigated which factors predicted who had become a violent criminal

Question 11

results of caspi experiment

Answer 11

not all mistreated children became violent

hypothesized that the enzyme monoamine oxidase (MAO) is important in determining how susceptible one is to mistreatment

low levels of MAO have been implicated in aggressive behaviors

in the experiment, mistreatment at home + low MAO gene accounted for nearly 50% of criminality

Question 12

prenatal factor: hormones

Answer 12

hormones that circulate in the womb influence the developing fetus

ex: if the mother’s thyroid does not produce sufficient amounts of hormones, the fetus is at risk for lower IQ and diminished intellectual development

Question 13

prenatal factor: emotional state

Answer 13

mother’s emotional state can affect the developing fetus

ex: high levels of stress hormones (cortisol) may interfere with normal development, producing low birth weight and negative cognitive outcomes that can persist throughout life

Question 14

teratogens

Answer 14

environmental agents that damage the embryo or fetus such as drugs, alc, bacteria, viruses, and chemicals

extent to which a teratogen causes damage depends on when the fetus is exposed to it, the length and amount of exposure, and genetic susceptibilitiy

Question 15

fetal alcohol spectrum disorders

Answer 15

drinking alc during pregnancy can lead to multiple defects aka FASD

most severe is FAS

alc interferes with normal brain development and can cause permanent brain damage

can negatively affect learning, attention, the inhibition and regulation of behavior, memory, causal reasoning, and motor performance

Question 16

how does the mind develop

Answer 16

adaptively
new skills appear at appropriate times, often in the absence of specific training

ex: raise head to 45˚ at 2 months; sit without support at 5.5 months

Question 17

grasping reflex

Answer 17

basic reflex for newborn that aid survival

newborn grasps your finger

some scholars believe this reflex is a survival mechanism that has come from our primate ancestors (monkeys)

Question 18

rooting reflex

Answer 18

basic reflex for newborn that aid survival

turning and sucking action that infants automatically do when a nipple or similar object touches an area near their mouths

Question 19

at birth the brain

Answer 19

is sufficiently developed to support basic reflexes, but further brain development appears necessary for cognitive development to occur

Question 20

synaptic pruning

Answer 20

when the synaptic connections in the brain that are used are preserved, and those that aren’t are lost

brain organizes itself in response to its environmental experiences, preserving connections it needs in order to function in a given context

ex: two children play the piano, one reasonable well, one becomes virtuoso. virtuoso will have more dense synaptic connections than the child who can play reasonable well

Question 21

myelination

Answer 21

brain’s way of insulating its “wires”, which helps to speed signal transmission

allows every brain to adapt well to any environment in which it may find itself

occurs in different brain regions at different stages of development

first 2 years involve incredible increases in myelination

Question 22

what affects aspects of brain development and myelination?

Answer 22

environmental stimulation, interaction, and nutrition

Question 23

sensitive (critical) periods

Answer 23

periods when specific skills develop most easily; more neuroplasticity

ex: language is one skill that’s easier to learn during early sensitive periods when the brain is more plastic (5-10 yrs)
ex: emergence of close emotional attachments with caregivers

Question 24

attachment

Answer 24

a strong emotional bond that persists over time and across circumstances

Question 25

bonding

Answer 25

an adaptive trait

forming bonds with others provides protection for individuals, increases their chances of survival, and increases their chances of passing along their genes to future generations

one of the fundamental needs infants have is to bond emotionally with those who care for them

Question 26

babies attend to

Answer 26

high pitched voices

in basically every culture, men women and children raise the pitch of their voices when talking to babies and babies respond by maintaining eye contact

Question 27

imprinting

Answer 27

a sensitive period during which young animals become strongly attached to a nearby adult

contact comfort (physical touch and reassurance) is crucial in building this attachment and aids in social development

Question 28

Harlow’s monkeys

Answer 28

scientist harlow placed infant monkeys in a cage with two different mothers

one was made of bare wire and could give milk through an attached bottle; the other was made of soft terrycloth and couldn’t give milk

monkeys clung to the cloth mother way more in times of comfort and threat and only approached the wire mother when they were hungry

established the importance of contact comfort

Question 29

results of harlow experiment

Answer 29

infants could survive without a real mother and as long as food was available, the monkeys underwent normal physical growth and development

however, lacked basic social skills, regardless of which mother was present

when they had their own young, they lacked mothering skills and even abused their young, showed no affection

did not get along with other monkeys

experiment showed that certain behaviors are not genetically programmed and are actually learned
lack of nurturing skills have long term neg. conseq

Question 30

separation anxiety

Answer 30

when the infants cannot see or are separated from their attachment figures or are left with babysitters and may become distressed

Question 31

strange-situation test

Answer 31

ainsworth developed it

in a small playroom, a child, their caregiver and a friendly but unfamiliar adult engage in a series of 8 semi-structured episodes

over the course of the episodes, the child experiences increasing distress and a greater need for caregiver proximity

extent to which the child copes with distress and the strategies he or she uses to do so indicate the quality of the child’s attachment to the caregiver

using this test, ainsworth identified infant/caregiver pairs that appeared secure as well as those that appeared insecure or anxious

Question 32

secure attachment

Answer 32

attachment style for a majority of infants.

the infant is confident enough to play in an unfamiliar environment as long as the caregiver is present and is readily comforted by the caregiver during times of distress

research shows that secure attachments are related to better socioemotional functioning in childhood, peer relations, and successful adjustment at school

Question 33

insecure (anxious) attachment

Answer 33

the attachment style for a minority of infants

infant may exhibit insecure attachment through various behaviors, like avoiding contact with the caregiver or by alternating btw approach and avoidance behaviors

Question 34

oxytocin

Answer 34

Hormone related to ‘intimacy’. Plays a role in
maternal tendencies, feelings of social acceptance
and bonding, and sexual gratification

Infant sucking during nursing triggers the release of
oxytocin in the mother and stimulates the
biological process that moves milk into the milk
ducts so the infant can nurse

Question 35

preferential-looking technique

Answer 35

Researchers show an infant two things.

If the infant looks at one
of the two things longer, the researchers concludes the infant
can distinguish between the two and finds one more interesting

Question 36

habituation

Answer 36

researchers can create a response preference in an infant for one stimulus over another

Researchers might show the infant a picture or an object until the infant is familiar
enough with it that the infant adapts to the stimulus.

At that point, the
researchers can measure whether the infant reacts to a change in the stimulus.

Question 37

visual perception

Answer 37

The ability to visually distinguish differences among shapes, patterns, and colors
develops early in infancy

Question 38

infant vision

Answer 38

Infants’ visual acuity is poor when
they are first born;

it increases
rapidly over the first six months and
reaches adult levels at around a year
after birth

due to motor coordination problems; two eyes are often not working together perfectly, so visual input is misaligned=poorer vision in first 5 months

Question 39

mobile experiment

Answer 39

to test infant memory researchers put babies in a crib with a mobile hanging over them that was attached to their ankle

infant learned that he could move the mobile by kicking

the rate at which the infant kicked when the mobile was not attached served as the baseline

when the infant was tested later, the ribbon was attached to the ankle but not to the mobile, so the kicks could no longer move the mobile

if the infant recognized the mobile, it would kick faster than the baseline rate to try to make the mobile move

Question 40

results of crib experiment

Answer 40

older infants remembered better the association between mobile and kicking

Question 41

infantile amnesia

Answer 41

the inability to remember events from early childhood

various explanations
1) Perhaps children only begin to retain memories after developing the brain
structure and ability to create autobiographical memory

2)Perhaps childhood memory develops with language acquisition
because the ability to use words and concepts aids in memory retention

3)Perhaps children younger than 3 or 4 do not process and understand
contexts well enough to store memories accurately

Question 42

Piaget’s stages of cognitive development

Answer 42

Piaget developed the theory that children go through 4 stages of development:
sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational

believed that each stage builds on the previous one through two learning processes, in which schemas evolve

Question 43

assimilation

Answer 43

The process by which we place new information into an existing ‘schema’

Question 44

accommodation

Answer 44

The process by which we create a new schema or alter an existing schema to
include new information that otherwise would not fit into the schema

Question 45

from piaget’s perspective

Answer 45

children’s views of how the world works are based

on different sets of assumptions than those held by adults

Question 46

example of assimilation and accommodation

Answer 46

banging is a favorite scheme used by babies to explore their world
(bang a rattle)

assimilation occurs when they incorporate new objects into the scheme
(bang a block)

accommodation occurs when the new object doesn’t fit the existing scheme
(bang an egg and it cracks)

Question 47

sensorimotor stage

Answer 47

birth-2 years

first stage

infants acquire info about the world through their senses and motor skills

one important concept that initially doesn’t exist, but develops during this stage is object permanence

Question 48

object permanence

Answer 48

the understanding that an object continues to exist even when it can’t be seen

ex: hiding a toy behind a paper; toy is still there

Question 49

preoperational stage

Answer 49

2-7 years

second stage

children think symbolically about objects, but they reason based on intuition and superficial appearance rather than logic

ex: pretend a stick is a sword or a wand

have no understanding of the law of conversation of quantity

ex: a 6 year old understands that 2 identical short glasses of water contain the same amount of water

she then pours from one of the short glasses into a tall glass

when asked which glass has more water she points to the taller glass even tho, the water amount is same

Question 50

law of conservation quantity

Answer 50

even if a substance’s appearance changes, its quantity may remain unchanged

Question 51

key cognitive limitations of pre-operational stage

Answer 51

centration and egocentrism

Question 52

centration

Answer 52

occurs when a child cannot think about more than one detail of a problem-solving task at a time

Question 53

egocentrism

Answer 53

the tendency for pre-operational thinkers to view the world solely through their own experiences

ex: a 3 yr old may play hide and seek by standing next to a large tree and facing it with their eyes closed; child believes that if he or she cannot see other people, other people cannot see them

Question 54

concrete operational stage

Answer 54

7-11 years
3rd stage

children begin to think about and understand logical operations and are no longer fooled by appearance

ability to understand than an action is reversible enables children to begin to understand concepts such as conservation of quantity

children at this stage reason only about concrete things and don’t have the ability to reason abstractly or hypothetically about what might be possible

Question 55

Formal operational

Answer 55

12-adult
final stage

people can think abstractly and they can formulate and test hypotheses through deductive logic

can think about many viewpoints at once

Question 56

challenges to piaget

Answer 56

his framework leaves little room for differing cognitive strategies or skills among individuals or cultures

many adults continue to reason in concrete operational ways, instead of employing critical and analytical thinking skills

piaget also underestimated the age at which certain skills develop
ex: object permanence develops in the first few months of life, instead of 8 or 9 months old

Question 57

rod-block experiment

Answer 57

a 4 month old is shown a rod that moves back and forth behind a block and the infant becomes habituated to this stimulus

infant is then shown one event, in which the block is removed to reveal a solid rod moving back and forth behind the block

then the infant is shown a second event: the block is removed to reveal two separate rods moving back and forth behind the block

infant spends more time looking at the two rods, indicating that they expected the rod moving behind the block to be one continuous object rather than two small ones

Question 58

object quantity

Answer 58

piaget concluded that children don’t understand quantity in terms of number but in length (marble experiment)

others found that 3-year olds chose the correct quantity as long as it was something motivating like candy (m&ms)

Question 59

theory of mind

Answer 59

describes the ability to explain and predict another
person’s behavior as a result of recognizing her or his mental state

Even though preschool-age children tend
to view the world through their own
perspectives, evidence suggests that they
understand others’ perspectives

Children’s development of theory of mind
appears to coincide with the maturation
of the brain’s frontal lobes