Lecture 3 (Ch.4) - Human Development Flashcards
Developmental Psychology
The study of how behaviour and mental processes change over time, and the factors that influence the course of those constancies and changes.
* Socio-Emotional
* Cognitive
* Moral
Habituation Paradigm
Babies Get Bored of Seeing More of The Same.
* They Look Longer At Something New or Interesting
Methods of Infant Psychology Video
Used Infrared Eye Tracking To See What Stimulus Baby Sees.
* Even as young as 4-5 months, you can see differences in how babies understand.
* Typically babies look at a face that is novel
Research found that babies who have shorter looking times very early in life habituate quicker, tend to have higher IQ’s, and better executive functions later in childhood (overall measure of better cognitive performance)
Confound: Right Side Preference In Babies. Research showed novel images on both right side and left side to account for this confound.
Research Methods In Developmental Psychology
- Longitudinal Studies: Observe one group of participants repeatedly over time
Pros: Detailed, Individual Changes Assessed
Cons: Expensive, Time-Consuming, Risk of Attrition
- Cross-sectional studies: Compare groups of participants of differing ages at a single point in time
Pros: Faster, Cheaper, No RIsk of Attrition
Cons: Generational Effects (Confounds), Individual Differences Not Assessed
- Cohort-Sequential Designs: Combine Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Designs By Looking at Several Different Age Groups and Following Them Over Time
Attachment Styles
- Familiarity
- Comfort
- Responsiveness
Konrad Lorenz (1903-1989): Imprinting and Familiarity
Newly Hatched Goslings and Ducklings Follow The First Moving Thing They Encounter.
* Caregiver Image Is Stamped Irreversibly In The Nervous System
* In humans, imprinting does not occur, but familiarity still plays an important role (at birth, babies prefer sound of mom’s voice)
Harry Harlow: Theory of Mother Love
Wire Mother (Food Giver) Vs. Cloth Mother (Comfort Giver)
* Monkeys prefer contact with Cloth Mother (explore more with her after frightening object is placed in cage)
Emphasizes importance of Affection and Emotional Nurturance In Mother-Child Relationships
Jim Coan: Handholding Experiment
Quality of Relationship Has Huge Effect (Less Hypothalamus Activation; Reduced Stress)
- People With Severe Heart Failure Can Live 2-3 TImes Longer With More Quality Relationships
- People after heart surgery heal quicker when they have quality visitors
- Individuals Who Show More Activity on One Side Of The Brain Than The Other Are More at Risk For Anxiety Disorders and Depression (associated with sadness and fear).
Mary Ainsworth: CareGiver Sensitivity Hypothesis
Researched Attachment Styles In Young Children.
Strange Situation Test:
* Observe Babies Reaction When Mother Leaves and left With Stranger (and Vice Versa)
Measured:
* Proximity and Contact-Seeking
* Contact Maintaining
* Avoidance of Proximity and Contact
* Resistance To Contact and Comforting
Ainsworth Findings
Ainsworth Found Babies Displayed One of Three Attachment Types:
- Secure Attachment 60%(Distressed When Seperated From Mother, Avoids Stranger Unless with Mother, Happy To See Mother)
- Ambivalent Attachment 10% (Show Intense Distress When Seperated From Mother, Significant Fear of Stranger, Approach But Reject Contact From Mother After Separation)
- Avoidant Attachment 15% (Show No Interest When Seperated From Mother, Play Happily With Stranger, Ignore Mother After Separation)
Main and Solomon (1990): Added Disorganized Attachment 15% (Inconsistent Attachment Behaviours)
Parenting Styles
Authoritative - Warm, Nurturing, Reasonable Demands
Child: Socially Mature, Self-Control, High Self-esteem
Authoritarian - Cold, Rejecting, Coercive Demands
Child: Low Self-Esteem, Anxious, Unhappy, Angry, Aggressive
Permissive - Warm, Accepting, Innattentive
Child: Impulsive, Disobedient, Overly Dependent On Adults
Uninvolved - Emotionally Detached, Little Time With Child
Child: Anxious, Poor Communication Skills, Anti-Social Behaviour
Summary of Social Development
Social Bonds Are Important To Development (Familiarity, Comfort, Responsiveness)
Individual Differences In Attchment Style (Due To Genes and Environment, Relates To Attachment In Adulthood)
Jean Piaget: Theory of Cognitive Development
Development Occurs In Stages, With a Qualitative Shift In The Organization and Complexity of Cognition at Each Stage.
Stages:
1. Sensimotor (Birth - 2 years)
2. Preoperational (2 - 7 years)
3. Concrete Operational (7-12)
4. Formal Operational (12+)
Schemas
Mental Molds Into Which We Pour Our Experiences
Assimilation
Fitting New Experiences Into Our Current Understanding (schema)
