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Flashcards in Lifespan Developmental Psychology Deck (132)
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1
Q

The life-span perspective of developmental psychology defines it as what?

A

the study of changes in abilities, thoughts, and behaviors that occur as one ages

2
Q

Which pervasive debate in developmental psychology deals with the extent to which heredity and the environment each influence behavior?

A

nature vs. nurture debate

3
Q

Define:

nature

A

As part of the nature vs. nurture debate, people who emphasize nature believe that people develop based on unique qualities inherent in their genetic code.

4
Q

________ is the half of the nature vs. nurture debate that states one’s development is based entirely in the experiences and environment that person has.

A

Nurture

5
Q

What is the difference between life-span psychologists and child psychologists?

A

both study development, but child psychologists focus on the earlier portion of the life-span

6
Q

What is defined as the typical sequence of developmental changes for a group of people?

A

normative development

7
Q

Describe the cross-sectional method.

A

this method compares groups of people of different ages on similar tasks

8
Q

Describe the longitudinal method.

A

involves following a small group of people over a long portion of their lives, assessing change at set intervals

9
Q

Describe the cohort effect.

A

when there are differences in the experiences of each age group as a result of growing up in different historical times

10
Q

In which study method are cross-sectional groups assessed at least two times over a span of months or years?

A

cohort-sequential studies

11
Q

What is maturation?

A

biological readiness

12
Q

Maturationists emphasize which of the following?

  • conceptualizing different learning cues and incorporating them into future interactions
  • genetically programmed growth and development of the body
  • learning through various social interactions over the lifetime
A

genetically programmed growth and development of the body

13
Q

From the maturation perspective of development, what is the benefit of greater preprogrammed physiological development of the brain?

A

more complex conceptualization and reasoning

14
Q

True or false:

Continuous development is gradual.

A

TRUE

One example of continuous development is social skill building.

15
Q

One example of stage-oriented, or __________, learning is experiencing a growth spurt.

A

discontinuous

16
Q

The time during which a skill or ability must develop is referred to as the __________.

A

critical period

17
Q

What are the two divisions of culture in developmental psychology?

A
  1. collectivist
  2. individualist
18
Q

Which type of culture promotes personal needs above the needs of the society?

A

individualist

Western cultures are typically viewed as individualist cultures.

19
Q

What do collectivist cultures emphasize?

A

the needs of society, which are placed before the needs of the individual

Many Asian cultures are considered collectivist cultures.

20
Q

Stages are patterns of behavior that occur in a __________.

A

fixed sequence

21
Q

How do the developmental stages of psychology work?

A

each stage has a unique set of cognitive structures (or sets of mental abilities) that build on the cognitive structures established in the previous stage such that one cannot skip a step

22
Q

What are the three realms of development?

A
  1. physical
  2. cognitive
  3. social
23
Q

What six reflexes is the neonate equipped with?

A
  1. sucking reflex
  2. palmar reflex
  3. Babinski reflex
  4. head-turning (rooting) reflex
  5. Moro reflex
  6. orienting reflex
24
Q

When I put my finger in a neonate’s hand and she grabs it, this exemplifies which reflex?

A

palmar reflex

25
Q

According to the Babinski reflex, what response will an infant have to being stroked on the bottom of the foot?

A

the toes will splay out

26
Q

When an infant’s head is suddenly moved, the infant’s limbs will splay out, they will extend their limbs, and then hug themselves. This exemplifies which infantile reflex?

A

the Moro reflex

27
Q

What is the head-turning, or rooting, reflex?

A

the response elicited by touching the baby’s cheek

28
Q

Which reflex is triggered by placing something in the baby’s mouth?

A

the sucking reflex

29
Q

__________ refers to the development of learning, memory, reasoning, and problem-solving.

A

Cognitive development

30
Q

Jean Piaget’s developmental theory is based on what concept?

A

a child’s attempt to reach a balance between what he encounters in the environment and what cognitive structures he brings to the situation (equilibration)

31
Q

What is one way through which children attempt to reach equilibration, according to Piaget’s theory?

A

assimilation- understanding new information based on a pre-exisiting schema

32
Q

Assimilation involves incorporating new ideas into already-existing mental representations, or __________.

A

schemas

33
Q

What process must a child undergo when faced with information that does not easily fit into an existing schema?

A

accommodation

34
Q

What are Piaget’s stages of development?

A
  1. sensorimotor
  2. pre-operational
  3. concrete operational
  4. formal operational
35
Q

Reflexive reactions and circular reactions (repeated behaviors through which the infant manipulates the environment) are typical in which of Piaget’s stages of development?

A

sensorimotor stage

36
Q

The pre-operational stage of Piaget’s theory of development is characterized by the shift to __________, the ability to use words to substitute for objects.

A

symbolic thinking

37
Q

What two important concepts appear during Piaget’s concrete operational stage?

A
  1. reversibility
  2. conservation
38
Q

Define:

Reversibility

A

This is the understanding that many mathematical and practical operations can be reversed.

39
Q

If I have a set amount of water that I pour into different sized glasses, a child in the concrete operational stage of Piaget’s theory of development will understand that the amount of water has not changed just because it was arranged differently.

This demonstrates the child’s understanding of what concept?

A

conservation

40
Q

Which stage in Piaget’s stages of development is characterized by the presence of theoretical thinking?

A

formal operational stage

41
Q

If a toy disappears from a child’s field of view, the child will continue to look for it. This exemplifies the development of which process during the sensorimotor stage?

A

object permanence

42
Q

The inability to see the world from anyone else’s point of view is __________.

A

egocentrism

43
Q

If your nephew believes that his stuffed animal is alive, he is subscribing to what belief, found in Piaget’s pre-operational stage?

A

animism

44
Q

What two abilities does a child at Piaget’s formal operational stage acquire?

A
  1. metacognition
  2. hypothetical reasoning
45
Q

What are the six basic things to know about Piaget?

A
  1. the child’s interaction with the physical world leads to logical cognition
  2. he has a stage theory and going through the stages leads to qualitative changes in the way you reason
  3. universal: everyone develops the same way and culture has only a small role
  4. the mind is active
  5. functional part of his theory has assimilation and accommodation
  6. structural part of his theory has schemes and operations
46
Q

What is metacognition?

A

the ability to recognize one’s cognitive processes and change or adapt those processes if necessary

47
Q

The opposite of egocentrism, __________, develops around age 4 and allows children to understand that other people see the world differently than they do, such as being able to recognize that a fictional character in a situation may not have the same understanding of a situation as they do.

A

the theory of mind

48
Q

How do psychologists test theory of mind?

A

false-belief task

49
Q

Who was the theorist responsible for stressing social factors as critical for developmental processes?

A

Lev Vygotsky

50
Q

What is internalization?

A

Internalization is the absorption of knowledge into the self from environmental and social contexts.

51
Q

According to Vygotsky, the __________ is the range between the developed level of ability that a child displays and the potential level of ability of which the child is capable.

A

zone of proximal development

52
Q

Vygotsky proposed that a child realizes his potential through a process that allows him to move across the zone of proximal development by being helped by a peer. Name this process.

A

scaffolding

53
Q

As people get older, they show a decrease in ________ intelligence, marked by the ability to think in abstract concepts and symbolic relationships. This is accompanied by a simultaneous increase in ________ intelligence, marked by specific knowledge of facts and information.

A

fluid; crystallized

54
Q

Which theorist is credited with successfully championing the view that development occurs across an entire lifetime?

A

Erik Erikson

55
Q

Which theorist developed a theory that viewed development as a series of “conflicts” that must be resolved?

A

Erik Erikson

56
Q

What are the eight stages of Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development?

A
  1. trust vs. mistrust
  2. autonomy vs. shame and doubt
  3. initiative vs. guilt
  4. industry vs. inferiority
  5. identity vs. role confusion
  6. intimacy vs. isolation
  7. generativity vs. stagnation
  8. integrity vs. despair
57
Q

Name and describe the first stage in Erikson’s psychosocial stage theory.

A

trust vs. mistrust

During this time, babies learn whether they can trust their environment and their caregivers to provide them with the things they need for survival.

58
Q

Which of Erikson’s stages is marked by potty training and temper tantrums?

A

autonomy vs. shame and doubt

This is the stage when children begin asserting their control over their bodies and behaviors, usually ages 1-3 years old.

59
Q

If your little brother asks, “why?” about everything you do, which of Erikson’s stages is he likely in?

A

initiative vs. guilt

This is the stage where children try to understand the world around them, and asking questions helps them solve problems, ages 3-6.

60
Q

What psychosocial stage begins in first grade, and is characterized by children comparing themselves to others more regularly than before (meaning they need more positive reinforcement)?

A

industry vs. inferiority

61
Q

The successful resolution of which one of Erikson’s stages results in fidelity, or truthfulness to oneself?

A

identity vs. role confusion

62
Q

From around 21-40 years of age, we attempt to find and navigate meaningful relationships. What stage is this?

A

intimacy vs. isolation

63
Q

The drive to be productive in one’s career and at home, and to leave our “mark” on the world is __________. While “solving” this can induce feelings of accomplishment, failure to resolve the stage can produce feelings of isolation or __________.

A

generativity; stagnation

64
Q

Which stage occurs during old age and involves coming to terms with successes and failures?

A

integrity vs. despair

65
Q

Which 1950s researcher was able to demonstrate that rhesus monkeys need comfort and security just as much as food?

A

Harry Harlow

66
Q

John Bowlby is considered to be the father of what theory?

A

attachment theory

67
Q

What tendency is defined as the preference of specific familiar individuals over others in infants?

A

attachment

68
Q

Describe the idea of self-referencing.

A

Self-referencing is to observe the behavior of others in social situations to obtain information or guidance.

69
Q

According to Mary Ainsworth, there are three types of infant attachment patterns. What are they?

A
  1. secure
  2. insecure/resistant
  3. insecure/avoidant

There is also a “disorganized” type of attachment, in which the child behaves erratically.

70
Q

This type of attachment, in which the child uses the parent for support, is the most common. What is it?

A

secure attachment

71
Q

What behaviors are consistent with anxiously/ambivalently attached babies in the strange situation experiment?

A

These babies often show signs of distress when parents leave the room, but resist or refuse comforting from them when they return.

72
Q

During the strange situation experiment, how do children with avoidant attachment behave?

A

Avoidant children do not receive a lot of affection from their parents. There is especially a lack of comfort when the child is hurt or sick. When the parent returns from being away, avoidant children will not seek comfort from their parent.

73
Q

Mary Ainsworth studied infant attachment using the “strange situation.” What is the “strange situation”?

A

the parent or primary guardian leaves a child with a stranger and then returns, observing behavior in absentia. This allows researchers to see the infant’s style of attachment.

74
Q

Name the three types of parenting styles.

A
  1. authoritarian
  2. authoritative
  3. permissive
75
Q

If a child is routinely spanked for disobedience and lacks curiosity and decision-making capabilities, what parenting style do her parents most likely identify with?

A

authoritarian

76
Q

What discipline patterns are consistent with authoritative parenting?

A
  • rules that are consistently but fairly enforced
  • behavioral standards that are clearly set but encourage a degree of independence from the child

Children of authoritative parents are typically more emotionally controlled and trusting than those from other parenting styles.

77
Q

What style of parenting is consistent with a lack of defined rules or rules that are inconsistently enforced?

A

permissive parenting

78
Q

Elisabeth Kubler-Ross pioneered a theory of social development about the stages of death and dying in which she identified stages of grief. What are the stages?

A
  1. denial
  2. anger
  3. bargaining
  4. depression
  5. acceptance
79
Q

List the six stages and motivators of Kohlberg’s moral schema.

A
  • Stage 1 : obedience and punishment
  • Stage 2: self-interest
  • Stage 3: conformity and seeking social approval
  • Stage 4: social order
  • Stage 5: social contract
  • Stage 6: universal principles
80
Q

Level one of Kohlberg’s theory of moral development occurs between ages 7 and 10 and is identified by what two-stage system of moral judgment?

A

preconventional morality

81
Q

Briefly describe the Heinz dilemma.

A

The participant is presented with a scenario in which a man named Heinz had a sick wife. The pharmacist has a cure, but he is selling the drug for 10 times what it is worth and refuses to give it to Heinz at a cheaper price. The participant is asked is it right or wrong to steal the drug and why?

82
Q

What does the Heinz dilemma test?

A

The way in which the participant defends his/her answers determines which phase of morality they are in.

83
Q

What is the difference between stage one and stage two of Kohlberg’s stages of preconventional morality?

A

In stage one, children make judgments motivated by fear, whereas in stage two they make judgments by evaluating benefits and reciprocity.

84
Q

Kohlberg’s level two of moral development is characterized by the utilization of __________ , or the internalization of society’s rules and morals.

A

conventional morality

85
Q

In Kohlberg’s third level of moral development, which occurs from around age 16 on, the individual adheres to postconventional morality, which is characterized by what?

A

the development of an internal set of values that may generate occasional conflict with societal values

86
Q

Carol Gilligan revised Kohlberg’s theory in order to place emphasis on the development of __________ as central to moral progress as more important to the moral reasoning of women.

A

caring relationships

87
Q

Between ages two and three, children realize they belong to a gender or __________. At ages three to four, a child is able to predict s/he will still be a boy or a girl as an adult, also called________. Between ages four and seven, a child realizes that no matter what states occur, gender is permanent, also called________.

A

gender labeling; gender stability; gender consistency

88
Q

What did Martin and Haverson propose regarding gender schematic processing theory?

A

They proposed that once children label themselves with a gender, they begin to pay more attention to that gender’s behaviors and stop paying as much attention to the behaviors of the opposite gender.

89
Q

True or false:

Bandura believed that sexual roles are acquired through social or vicarious learning so that each successive generation provides the model for the following generation.

A

TRUE

90
Q

Puberty is a sexual maturation, marked by the onset of what ability?

A

the ability to reproduce

91
Q

Emerging during puberty, __________ , such as the growth of reproductive organs, develop.

A

primary sex characteristics

92
Q

In women, widening of the hips and breast development, would be two features of __________.

A

secondary sex characteristics

93
Q

Thomas Hobbes, James Mill, David Hume, and George Berkeley were all members of the British empiricist school of thought; what did these philosophers believe about development?

A

That one gains knowledge through experience; the more more experiences you give a child, the more knowledge s/he will have as an adult.

94
Q

Locke proposed the idea of __________, which states that all development is the direct result of learning; the organism develops more complex behaviors and cognition because it acquires more associations.

A

tabula rasa

95
Q

Which French philosopher espoused his belief that society is unnecessary to a child’s development?

A

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

96
Q

What did Charles Darwin contribute to the changing of the developmental psychological thought?

A

He contributed detailed observational books of the developmental progress of children, which detailed the relationship between the environment and the individual’s changes to adapt to the environment.

97
Q

What work earned G. Stanley Hall the title of “Father of Developmental Psychology”?

A

He developed and tested a series of questionnaires for children at different ages, and he was the founder of the American Psychological Association.

98
Q

The psychologist ________ emphasized the role of the environment in shaping a child’s behavior, especially the importance of parents in creating well-formed children.

A

John B. Watson

99
Q

Describe Arnold Gesell’s theory of development.

A

Gesell believed that a child’s development was a biological process that has predictable stages that occur at differ paces for each child.

100
Q

Who invented the science of genetics?

A

Gregor Mendel

101
Q

Define:

genes

A

the basic piece of heredity

102
Q

Alternate forms of genes are called?

A

alleles

103
Q

For each allele, there is both a ________ and __________ copy of each allele.

A

dominant; recessive

104
Q

The ________ of a person is the exact series of genes in their biological code. The ________ is a person’s visible traits.

A

genotype; phenotype

105
Q

Each human being has all of their genes located on ____ pairs of _________.

A

23; chromosomes

106
Q

Describe R. C. Tyron’s studies and their implications for developmental psychology.

A

Tyron kept testing rats to select those who were best at solving mazes. He then bred subsequent generations of rats until he had an entire family who were excellent at solving mazes. These experiments showed that certain behaviors and the ability to learn is genetically inherited.

107
Q

True or false:

Monozygotic twins share fifty percent of the same genetic material.

A

FALSE

108
Q

___________ twins share fifty percent of the same genetic material, just like non-twin siblings.

A

Dizygotic

109
Q

Which psychologist created a huge longitudinal study comparing the IQs and behaviors of highly intelligent children with normative children in the general population?

A

Lewis Terman

110
Q

What are the characteristics of Down’s syndrome?

A

a genetic anomaly, an extra 21st chromosome, and mental retardation

111
Q

This genetic disease was the first to be tested for large scale populations in infancy. It is a genetic issue with the nervous system that prevents the person from digesting phenylalanine, an amino acid.

A

Phenylketonuria

112
Q

Name and describe two sex chromosome abnormalities.

A
  1. Klinefelter’s Syndrome (XXY in males, causing sterility and mental retardation)
  2. Turner’s Syndrome (X in females, which causes a lack of secondary sex characteristics and an oddly-shaped physical appearance)
113
Q

Two gametes, or human sex cells, fuse to form a __________.

A

zygote

114
Q

What are the three phases of gestation that the zygote experiences?

A
  1. germinal stage
  2. embryonic stage
  3. fetal stage
115
Q

During the ________ phase, the zygote begins to divide and is eventually implanted in the uterine wall. This whole phase takes about two weeks.

A

germinal

116
Q

Describe the embryonic phase of prenatal development.

A

During this phase, the embryo increases in size rapidly, it begins to develop fingers, toes, and genitals.

117
Q

During which stage of gestation does the zygote experience rapid growth, movement, and sexual differentiation?

A

the fetal phase

118
Q

Define:

babbling

A

the sounds an infant makes that form the precursor to language

119
Q

What did Lenneberg, Rebelsky, and Nichols discover about babbling that influenced developmental psychology?

A

They discovered that all children babble, whether they are deaf or can hear. Deaf children stop verbally babbling but will “babble” with their hands in a precursor to sign language.

120
Q

Noam Chomsky believed that children had an internal ability to acquire language, which was gathered through a region of the brain called the ______ .

A

language acquisition device (LAD)

121
Q

At what age do children begin adding multiple words together? At what age do they begin using simple sentences?

A

18-20 months; 2.5-3 years old

122
Q

Define:

categorical perception

A

the ability that infants have to denote different kinds of sounds that either differentiate meaning or do not

123
Q

When toddlers say things like “the cat runned” when they previously said “the cat ran” after learning about past tense verbs, this is an example of ________.

A

errors of growth

124
Q

Describe the case study of Genie.

A

Genie was a feral child who had been completely isolated from other human beings from the age of 2-13. She was unable to completely learn all aspects of language, which suggested that there was a critical period in youth in which a child must learn language, or loses the capability.

125
Q

According to Alexander Thomas and Stella Chess, what are the three kinds of infant temperaments?

A

easy, slow to warm up, and difficult

126
Q

Name three research methods that are most commonly used for studying infants.

A
  1. observing infant behavior in the laboratry
  2. observing infants in natural settings, such as the home
  3. from reports written by the parents/ caregivers
127
Q

What did Wolff discover by analyzing infant cry patterns?

A

He discovered that there are three basic kinds of cries that an infant uses: pain, anger, and a basic cry (usually because of hunger). He also found that parents and non-parent adults alike will respond physiologically to infant cries through increased heart rates.

128
Q

Define:

social smiling

A

It is the ability of young infants to smile as a method of communication before they can talk. After five months of age, only familiar faces will cause the baby to exhibit a social smile.

129
Q

Explain how the fear response changes as the infant ages.

A

Initially, anything can provoke a fear response in the infant, such as a sudden change in stimulus. Eventually, the infant will only demonstrate a fear response when a specific caregiver disappears or a previously harmful stimulus reappears.

130
Q

What does Konrad Lorenz’s work on imprinting teach us about the way infants bond?

A

He found that imprinting occurs during specific critical periods in organisms’ life, which he abstracted to the lives of humans- they, too, have critical periods for forming healthy attachments to parental figures.

131
Q

Define:

Imprinting

A

Imprinting is the process by which baby birds and other creatures recognize and become attached to their caregivers, such as when baby birds learn to recognize and bond with their mothers from birth.

132
Q

What are some major differences between fathers and mothers?

A

Fathers tend to play dynamically with children, often engaged in sports or rough-housing; mothers tend to spend more time talking to the children, and will have more verbal than physical interactions with their children.