Lecture 10 - development Flashcards
Developmental psychology
the study of human growth and development
Stages of development
Prenatal environment
infancy
childhood
adolescence
adulthood
When is the prenatal stage
from conception to birth
- germinal stage (conception -> 2 weeks, zygote)
- embryonic stage (2 week -> 8 week, embryo)
- fetal stage ( 9 week -> birth, fetus)
what links the mother’s bloodstream the developing embryo/fetus
placenta
common teratogens
fetal alcohol syndrome: a developmental disorder that stems from heavy alcohol use by the mother during pregnancy
smoking: higher risk of sudden unexpected death in infancy (SUDI), having weaker lungs and having an unhealthy low birth weight.
Infancy
the stage of development that begins at birth and last generally. until baby is walking (motor development)
Motor development
the emergence of the ability to execute physical action
reflexes: specific patterns of sensory stimulation. for infancy: rooting reflex and sucking reflex (helps with feeding)
cognitive development
the emergence of the ability to understand the world
Piagets stages of development
Sensorimotor stage (birth-infacny)
Preoperational stage (2-6 years)
concrete operational stage (6-11 years)
formal operational stage (11-adulthood)
What develops during the sensorimotor stage?
schemas: a knowledge structure that allows babies to interpret and understand the world around them
object permanence: you know an object or person still exists even when they are hidden and you can’t see or hear them
what develops during the preoperational stage?
egocentrism -> perspective
a child’s thinking is self-centered and shifts to have a different perspective
What develops during the concrete operational stage?
conservation: something can stay the same in quantity even though it looks different
what develops during formal operational stage?
Logic, reasoning, abstract thinking, hypotheticals
What did Vygotsky have to say about culture and cognitive development?
Socio-cultural tools exert strong influence on cognitive development
what is the zone of proximal development (Vygotsky)
the distance between what a learner can do with help and without help
what is required for learning? (Vygotsky)
social interactions and communication
what is social referencing? (Vygotsky)
the process wherein infants use the affective displays of an adult to regulate their behaviors
joint attention (Vygotsky)
at 9-15 months, babies can direct their attention to a point in space in which another’s eyes are directed
private speech (Vygotsky)
spontaneous self-directed talk in which a person “thinks aloud,” particularly as a means of regulating cognitive processes and guiding behavior
Current view of cognitive development
-Cognitive abilities develop in continuous, overlapping waves (not stages)
- preschoolers are not as egocentric as piaget thought
- children understand more than Piaget thought
cognitive development is greatly affected by culture
- Piaget overestimated the cognitive abilities of some adults
Harlow’s Baby Rhesus Monkey experiment
preferred soft cloth monkey over wire monkey with food
shows attachment: the emotional bond that forms between newborns and their primary caregivers
what happened without attachment
there can be negative effects sometimes brain damage
what is the ainsworth’s strange situation test
mom playing with kid, stranger comes in, mom leaves and baby freaks, mom comes back and stranger leaves
what happens at reunion tells you about the relationship of the mom and kid
how does a secure attachment show up in the ainsworth’s strange situation test
kid is calmed by mom right away
how does an insecure attachment show up in the ainsworth’s strange situation test
baby is not calmed by mother
types of insecure attachment
avoidant - totally ignores parent and won’t calm down
ambivalent - cries and cant calm down after parent comes back (sign of inconsistent parenting - creis bc kid wants to be held)
disorganized - not well understood
what is the internal working model of attachment
a set of expectations about how the primary caregiver will respond when the child feels insecure
what are temperaments
characteristic patterns of emotional reactivity (genetic factor)
what are the three temperaments
easy/flexible
difficult/feisty
slow to warm/cautious
moral development model (piaget)
Moral thinking shifts (Piaget):
–from realism to relativism.
(Moral rules are real truths about the world Moral rules are
inventions and groups of people can adopt, change or abandon
them)
–from prescriptions to principles.
(Moral rules are guidelines for specific actions in specific situations
moral rules are expressions of more general principles (fairness/equality))
–from outcomes to intentions.
(Unintentional acts that cause much harm are worse than intentional
acts that cause mild harm Morality of action is critically dependent
on person’s state of mind and intentions)
what is the hienz dilemma
a story about an ethical dilemma faced by a character named Heinz that was used by Lawrence Kohlberg to assess the moral reasoning skills of those he asked to respond to it. Having exhausted every other possibility, Heinz must decide whether to steal an expensive drug that offers the only hope of saving his dying wife
current understanding of moral development
-shifts from punishment -> social rule -> ethical principles
- not discrete stages but variable
-kids develop empathy younger than kohlberg thought
- people believe differently based on situation (context in important)
- theoretical morality is different than how people actually act
what is power assertion
used to enforce punishment and authority to correct child’s misbehavior
problems: not very effective, higher rates of aggression/depression/anxiety, lower moral development, teaching aggression
what is induction
parents appeal to child’s good nature, empathy, love for parent and sense of responsibility and offer explanation for rules -> child internalizes and is more considerate of others
when does adolescence begin
begins with the onset of sexual maturity (11-14) and lasts until the beginning of adulthood (18-21)
puberty
the bodily changes associated with sexual maturity (primary and secondary sex characteristics)
adolescent brain development
brain continues to develop through mid twenties, especially the prefrontal cortex
boys vs girls
boys externalize problems as aggression
girls internalize problems by withdrawing or developing EDs
