Lecture 2 - Theories of Development Flashcards
What are important debates in developmental psychology?
Nature - Nurture
Activity - Passivity
Continuity - Discontinuity
Universality - Context specificity
What are the opposing views in the nature - nurture debate?
Development is the product of genes, biology OR experience, learning, social influences
What are the opposing views in the activity - passivity debate?
Humans actively shape their own environments and contribute to their own development OR they are passively shaped by forces beyond their control
What are the opposing views in the continuity - discontinuity debate?
Humans change gradually in quantitative ways OR they progress through qualitatively different stages and develop different competencies and characteristics
What are the opposing views in the universality - context specificity debate?
Development is similar from person to person and culture to culture OR pathways of development vary considerably depending on the social context
What supports the Nature side of the debate?
Facial expression of emotions is already present shortly after birth, twin studies
What is the goal of twin studies?
Explore the genetic contribution to differences between humans
What is heritability?
Amount of variation seen in a certain trait within a population that can be attributed to genes, as opposed to environment
When is the heritability coefficient the most important?
During middle adulthood
Explain the critical period.
Maturational period in which the nervous system is especially sensitive to certain environmental stimuli. If the organism does not receive the appropriate stimulus at the right time, it is impossible, to develop certain associated functions later in life.
Explain the sensitive period.
Maturational period in which specific experiences have maximal positive or negative effects: Periods of increased plasticity under the influence of specific condition factors.
In what ways do nature and nurture interact?
Gene - environment interaction, gene - environment correlation, epigenetics
What is the gene - environment interaction?
People with different genes are affected differently by environmental influences
What are the types of gene-environment correlations?
Passive, evocative, active
Explain the passive gene - environment fit.
Parents design partly the life of their children
Parent is social > likely to have sociable child bc exposure
Explain the evocative gene - environment fit.
Own inborn characteristics evoke certain responses from environment
Characteristic of child affect environment and get a response back
Explain the active gene - environment fit.
Individuals actively select a specific environment based on their genetic tendencies
What is the main principle of epigenetics?
Nurture affects nature - environment affects genes
Environment sensitive genes > gene expression can be changed by environmental influences
What is the main idea behind Erikson’s psychosocial development theory?
Personality develops throughout the lifespan and is influenced by culture, society, and history.
How many stages of development are there according to Erikson? What is their purpose?
- At each stage must cope with a crisis/conflict in an adaptive or maladaptive manner
Which are the 8 stages of development and their virtues?
Trust/Mistrust- hope Autonomy / Shame - will Initiative / Guilt - purpose Industry / Inferiority - competency Ego identity / Role confusion - fidelity Intimacy / Isolation - love Generativity / Stagnation - care Ego integrity / Despair - wisdom
What happens if one of Erikson’s developmental stages is dealt with in a maladaptive manner?
The following stages cannot be adequately attended. This leads to a maladaptive individual
According to Erikson what happens when we cope appropriately with a crisis during the stages?
For each successfully dealt with stage, we develop a virtue.
What is development according to the principle of classical conditioning?
Development = learning associations
What is development according to the principle of operant conditioning?
Development = individual’s learning experiences
Behavior is affected by its consequences
What is the main idea of Bandura’s social-cognitive learning theory?
Humans learn through observational learning = Modeling
What is the role of cognition according to Bandura (social-cognitive learning theory)
Anticipation of consequences likely to follow behavior
Bronfenbrenner: Ecological model - Which are the 5 environmental systems?
Microsystem Mesosystem Exosystem Macrosystem Chronosystem
What is the principle behind the ecological model?
Development reflects the influence of the 5 systems
What is the microsystem?
Living setting, immediate physical and social environment
What is the mesosystem?
Interrelation of microsystems
What is the exosystem?
Links between individual’s immediate context and social settings in which they do not play an active role
What is the macrosystem?
Attitudes and ideologies of culture
What is the chronosystem?
Sociohistorical conditions and time since life events
How does cognition develop according to Piaget?
4 stages, previous has to be finished before entering a new one. Each phase is qualitatively different. The driving motor of development is the person itself.
What did Piaget mean by discontinuous development?
A developmental stage has to be finished before entering a new one.
Which are the developmental phases according to Piaget?
Sensory-motor
Pre-operational
Concrete operational
Formal operational
What are the drawbacks of Piaget’s theory?
Restricted research, underestimated children’s skills, underestimated the influence of the environment.
Viewed language as a product of development, not the cause (Vygotsky).
What is the principle of the socio-cultural theory of Vygotsky?
Children develop intellectually by interacting with their sociocultural environment.
According to Vygotsky why is development a shared process
The ways in which people in a particular culture solve problems are passed from generation to generation > culture is embodied in language and bc of that it shapes thought
What is the zone of proximal development?
Gap between the child’s ability to solve a problem on its own and the potential development that it can make with the help of someone
What is scaffolding in the context of Vygotsky’s theory?
Degree of support adapted to a child’s level of ability and degree of support reduced gradually
What is Vygotsky’s view on language?
Language use by parents stimulates cognitive development
What is the idea behind Havighurst’s developmental task theory?
Developmental tasks drive what people do during their middle age
What is the difference between adult age and childhood according to Havighurst?
Adult age is less determined by biological and external regulation processes. Adults have more freedom to create their development and to adjust it
What is the social clock model? (Related to Havighurst)
There are shared societal expectations on which tasks should be fulfilled in which age.
A normative time schedule leads to life planning and personal goal setting
What is usual aging according to the MacArthur model of successful aging?
Normal age-related decline in physical, social, and cognitive functioning
What is successful aging according to the MacArthur model of successful aging?
Functional loss is minimized - absence of disease, maintenance of physical and cognitive functioning, active engagement with life
What is the problem with the MacArthur model of successful aging?
No subjective component, discrimination, based on Western culture
What is the difference between the quantitative and qualitative models of successful aging?
According to the qualitative model success is a process of adaptation rather than a state of being.
The qualitative moder is more subjective and less discriminatory
What is the selection-optimization-compensation (SOC) model?
Theory that looks at how to deal with age-related declines
What is adaptation according to the SOC model?
Three processes are involved: selection, optimization, compensation
What are the benefits of using selection, optimization, and compensation strategies?
Adaptation.
Maximize gains and minimize losses, maintenance of function, regulation of loss
What is selection according to the SOC model?
Focusing on a limited set of goals and the skills most needed to achieve them
What is optimization according to the SOC model?
Practice of most needed skills to keep them sharp
What is compensation according to the SOC model?
Develop ways around the need for other skills
