Midterm 1

Question 1

what is baby biographies?

Answer 1

detailed, systematic observations of individual children written by many scientists
->info in this was often subjective but it paved the way for objective analytic research

Question 2

what is applied developmental research?

Answer 2

branch of child-development research

->uses developmental research to promote healthy, optimal development, particularly for vulnerable children and seniors

Question 3

what two events set the stage for the creation of child development science?

Answer 3

1. industrial revolution (as children entered the workforce)
2. publication of charles darwin’s theory of evolution

Question 4

name the foundational theories of child development

Answer 4

1. the biological perspective
2. the psychodynamic perspective
3. the learning perspective
4. the cognitive developmental perspective
5. the contextual perspective
   * good summary of these on page 18 of textbook

Question 5

describe the biological perspective and its two associated theories

Answer 5

intellectual and personality development as well as physical and motor development is rooted in biology
1. maturational theory: child development reflects a specific and prearranged scheme or plan within the body (development is a natural unfolding of biology’s plan; experience matters little)
->this theory was eventually discarded as it had little to say about the impact of environment on children’s development
2. Ethological theory: views development from an evolutionary perspective
-behaviours in this theory are inherited and are
adaptive and have survival value (crying, grasping, clinging elicit caregiving from adults)
-includes a critical period in development where specific learning takes place (ex. imprinting or creating an emotional bond with the mother, can only happen within 24 hours of hatching)

Question 6

Describe the psychodynamic perspective

Answer 6

=the oldest scientific perspective on child development, originating in the work of Sigmund Freud

• Freud was convinced that early experiences establish patterns that endure throughout a persons life
• using his patients case histories he created the first psychodynamic theory which holds that development is largely determined by how well people resolve certain conflicts at different ages
• The role of conflict is evident in Freuds descriptions of the 3 primary components of personality. the “id” is a reservoir of primary instincts and drives, the *ego is the practical, rational core component of personality and is what resolves conflicts. the superego is the “moral agent” in the child’s personality where they begin to internalize adult standards of right and wrong.

Question 7

Describe Freud’s five psychosexual stages of personality development

Answer 7

• as the sex instinct matures, the focus shifts to a different area of the body
  1. Oral (birth-1year): babies put everything in their mouth
  2. Anal (1-3years): toilet training
  3. Phallic (3-6years): fascinated with their own genitals
  4. Latency (6-11years): not much happening in this phase
  5. Genital (12+years): interested also in others genitals
• he believed that conflicts or inappropriate parental response at any stage of development could lead to fixations, where mental energies are occupied in activities reminiscent of that stage

Question 8

describe the 8 stage Psychosocial theory (neo-Freudian theory) of development by Erik Erikson (1950)

Answer 8

development comprises a sequence of stages, each defined by a unique life crisis or challenge (conflict between two opposing tendencies)

• the name of each of the 8 stages reflects the challenge that individuals face at a particular age
• earlier stages provide the foundation for the later stages
• the “ego” as an active participant in development and personality is shaped through social/cultural conflicts
• how the individual resolves the crisis shapes personality

1. first year -> Basic trust vs. mistrust (challenge= to develop a sense that the world is a safe, “good place”)
2. 1-3years -> Autonomy vs. shame and doubt (challenge = to realize that one is an independent person who can make decisions)
3. 3-6years -> Initiative vs. guilt (challenge= to develop a willingness to try new things and to handle failure)
4. 6-12years -> Industry vs. Inferiority (challenge= to learn basic skills and to work with others)
5. 12-20years -> Identity vs. Identity/role confusion (challenge= to develop a lasting, integrated sense of self)
   + 3 more in adulthood

Question 9

describe the learning perspective

Answer 9

endorse John Locke’s view that the infant’s mind is a blank slate on which experience writes. john watson applied this approach to child development and argued that learning determines what children will be (experience was all that mattered in determining the course of development)

• focus on observable behaviour, not speculation about the unconscious
• Watson applied classical conditioning procedures to humans/babies to condition fear (ie little Albert)
• BF Skinner studied operant conditioning in which the consequences of a behaviour determine whether that behaviour is repeated in the future (influential consequences = reinforcement and punishment)

Social Cognitive theory (developed by Albert Bandura-1977): Learning by observing others (models), not dependent on reinforcement
-proposed reciprocal determinism (environment and child both influence each other)

Question 10

describe the cognitive-development perspective

Answer 10

focuses on how children think and on how their thinking changes as they grow (the mental aspect of development)
-as children try and comprehend their surroundings, they create theories about the physical and social world
-children go through 4 distinct stages in cognitive development with each stage representing a fundamental change in how children understand and organize their environment and each stage is characterized by more sophisticated types of reasoning
Piaget’s stages of cognitive development:
stage 1: Sensorimotor -> birth-2 (infants knowledge of the world is based on senses and motor skills, by the end of period, infant uses mental representations)
stage 2: Preoperational -> 2-7 (learns how to use symbols such as words and numbers, to represent aspects of the world, but relates to the world only through their perspective)
stage 3: Concrete Operations -> 7-11 (understands and applies logical operations to experiences; provided they are focused on the here and now)
stage 4: formal operations -> 11+ (thinks abstractly, speculates on hypothetical situations, and reasons deductively about what may be possible

Question 11

describe the Contextual perspective

Answer 11

Vygotsky emphasized cultural context in child development. he focused on ways that adults convey beliefs, customs, and skills of their culture to children (sociocultural (cognitive) theory) = cognitive development happens in a social context
ZPD= Zone of proximal development (difference between what a child can do alone and what a child can do with help)
-includes Bronfenbrenner’s theory of ecological systems

Question 12

Bronfenbrenner’s theory of ecological systems (part of the Contextual perspective)

Answer 12

• detailed characteristics of various environmental influences on development
• views the child as being embedded in a series of interacting systems:
  1. microsystem= consists of the people and objects in an individual’s immediate environment (ie parents/close family)*strongly influence development
  2. mesosystem= are connected microsystems (one happens in one microsystem, is likely to influence others)
  3. exosystem= refers to social settings that a person may not experience first-hand but that still influence development (ex. a mother may pay more attention to her child when her work is going well)
  4. macrosystem= the subcultures and cultures in which the microsystem, mesosystem and exosystem are embedded (a mother, her workplace, her child and the child’s school are part of a larger cultural setting)
  5. chronosystem= these dimensions change over time in a system known as the chronosystem (they are not static systems but are always in flux)

Question 13

what is the continuity-versus discontinuity issue?

Answer 13

continuity- believing that development is a continuous process (a cheerful 5 year old remains outgoing and friendly throughout their life) *once a child begins down a developmental path, they stay on that path throughout life.

• This issue is about the “relatedness” of development. are early aspects of development consistently related to later aspects?
• neither view is accurate, development is not perfectly predictable but early development is related to later development but not perfectly

Question 14

what is development ?

Answer 14

systematic continuities and changes in an individual over the course of life
*we focus on the scientific basis of knowledge about development

Question 15

what are the big 3 central issues regarding development ?

Answer 15

1. continuous or discontinuous
2. nature vs nurture (genetic vs. environment)
3. passive vs. active

Question 16

what are the three main domains of development that we will focus on?

Answer 16

physical, emotional/social and cognitive

*development in different domains is connected

Question 17

what derives development?

Answer 17

Maturation: Hereditary influences on aging process
Learning: Change in behaviour due to experience

Question 18

what are the goals of developmental psychology?

Answer 18

• > Describe
• > Explain
• > Optimize

Question 19

describe the active-passive issue of development

Answer 19

are children simply at the mercy of their environment/genetic influence (passive child) or do children actively influence/contribute to their own development through their unique individual characteristics (active child)

• the passive view corresponds to Locke’s blank slate on which experience writes; the active view corresponds to Rousseau’s view of development as a natural unfolding that takes place within the child
• parent/child relationship is bidirectional *they both influence each other
• therefore, children do influence their own development

Question 20

child development researchers follow the scientific method to test hypotheses which involves several steps; describe the scientific method steps

Answer 20

• > identify a question to be answered or a phenomenon to be understood
• > Form a hypothesis (based on theory) that is a tentative answer to the question or a tentative explanation of the phenomenon
• > select a method to collect data that can be used to evaluate the hypothesis
• > remain objective and evaluate the hypothesis

Question 21

what is a theory?

Answer 21

an organized set of ideas designed to describe and explain an existing set of observations; this allows one to make predictions about development

Question 22

what is a hypothesis

Answer 22

a theoretical prediction about some aspect of experience

->theory derives research

Question 23

describe normative vs ideographic development

Answer 23

normative= developmental pattern that describe the majority of species
ideographic- accounts for individual differences or variation in development

Question 24

what is resiliency in terms of development?

Answer 24

the ability to adopt effectively in the force of threats to development
->linked to genetic traits, parental relationships, social network/community

Question 25

what are environmental "threats" in development?

Answer 25

associated with statistical probabilities of negative outcomes (ex. poverty, divorce, drug use/abuse, family violence, etc.)

Question 26

define systematic observation

Answer 26

research method that involves watching children and carefully recording what they do or say there are to forms: 1. naturalistic- children are observed as they behave spontaneously in a real life situation -beforehand researchers must decide which variables to record 2. structured- the researcher creates a setting likely to elicit the behaviour of interest (ex. gets kids to play a game may create competition) -good for studying behaviours that are difficult to study naturally

Question 27

define self reports

Answer 27

research method that includes children's own responses to questions about the topic of interest - take the place of interviews and questionnaires - may use the clinical method (flowchart sequence, if child does A, then go to B)

Question 28

what is construct validity ?

Answer 28

if a test measures the theoretical construct it is supposed to be measuring

Question 29

what is research design and what are the two main forms?

Answer 29

how the study is set up to test the hypothesis (an overall conceptual approach) -child development researchers usually use one of two designs: correlational (more common for developmental research) or experimental studies

Question 30

describe correlational studies

Answer 30

investigators look at relations between variables as they exist naturally in the world. measures 2 or more variables and looks at how they are related - results expressed as a correlation coefficient (r), which stands for the direction and strength of a relation between two variables - correlations can range from -1.0 to +1.0 - when r =0, two variables are completely unrelated

Question 31

Describe experimental studies

Answer 31

researchers introduce a manipulation or change in the environment and measures the effect of that change (manipulation to test) - factor that is varied is called the independent variable - behaviour that is measured is called the dependent variable * allows for statements of causality

Question 32

what are quasi-experimental designs?

Answer 32

researcher manipulates independent variables in a natural setting so that the results are more likely to be representative of behaviour in real world settings (kids in an orphanage dont get much human interaction- you couldn't create this experience ethically but can be studied naturally)

Question 33

longitudinal design

Answer 33

the same individuals are observed or tested repeatedly at different points in their lives - less confounds but harder to do (more time) - children may drop out or get good at the tests due to practice - cohort effect (dev. change may be specific to a generation)

Question 34

microgenetic study

Answer 34

special type of longitudinal study where children are tested repeatedly over a span of days or weeks, typically with the aim of observing changes directly as it occurs

Question 35

cross-sectional design

Answer 35

dev. changes are identified by testing children of different ages at one particular point in their development - one task, multiple age groups participate (is there a difference b/w age groups?)

Question 36

longitudinal-sequential design

Answer 36

- combination of cross-sectional and longitudinal - participants of different ages selected at outset (like cross-sectional) - all participants observed repeatedly for a period of time (like longitudinal)

Question 37

what is dizygotic ?

Answer 37

fraternal twins: release and fertilization of 2 ova

Question 38

how are identical twins made?

Answer 38

zygote (fertilized egg) separates into two (identical) clusters of cells - approx. 1 out of 300-350 births - fertility drugs/in vitro fertilization linked to what type of twins/multiple births?

Question 39

what is the most common result of chromosomal abnormality?

Answer 39

natural termination of pregnancy (non-viable pregnancy) | -but resiliency to issues with the 23rd or 21st pair

Question 40

describe trisomy 21 and it's describing features

Answer 40

extra 21st chromosome = trisomy 21 (down syndrome) - > more chance when the mother is older (over 35 = high risk pregnancy) - intellectual disability, communication disorder, protruding tongue, distinct physical characteristics

Question 41

describe turners syndrome

Answer 41

= X_ Leads to decrease in secondary sexual characteristics -> smaller breasts, hips, things not directly needed for reproduction -> lower spatial skills and a webbed neck, sterile

Question 42

describe Klinefelter's syndrome

Answer 42

= XXY leads to a male with female characteristics (breast development, hips) -infertility, decreased verbal skills

Question 43

describe supermale syndrome

Answer 43

= XYY or XYYY | leads to acne, big feet/teeth

Question 44

what is amniocentesis

Answer 44

collection of amniotic fluid aided with ultrasound imaging | -also visual markers (distance between eyes; shape of nose) may be detectable

Question 45

what is chorionic villus sampling (CVS)

Answer 45

alternative to amniocentesis - 8-9th week of pregnancy - sample obtained through catheter - faster results and done earlier than amniocentesis (but risk of miscarriage is greater)

Question 46

what are concordance rates (what if the data is continuous?)

Answer 46

-way to estimate the contribution of genes vs. the environment a term that is used in statistics for the percentage or rate of probability that two people with shared genes will develop the same organic disease or trait -rates need yes/no/binary data. but what if it is continuous? then the correlation coefficient r is used to calculate (direction/strength of relation) the heritability coefficient

Question 47

what is the heritability coefficient ?

Answer 47

heritability coefficient = H it is the amount of variation that is attributed to genes H= r (identical twins) - r (fraternal twins) x2

Question 48

what about the effect of the environment on a trait? what are the two aspects of the environment to consider?

Answer 48

shared environmental influences: means anything that two people(twins) have in common – usually parents, siblings, household, and neighbourhood Unique (Non-shared) environment influences: experiences unique to an individual; not shared with other members of family in the same environment -> NSE = 1-r(Identical twins reared together) -> SE = r(Identical twins reared together) - H

Question 49

what is niche picking

Answer 49

tendency to actively choose environment that complements our genetic makeup -especially in adolescence -practice furthers skills so development: genetics X environment

Question 50

what are the reasons not to have children?

Answer 50

against: 1. freedom 2. costly 3. family/career conflict 4. anxiety/worry

Question 51

what are the three phases of prenatal development

Answer 51

1. germinal/period of zygote (0-2 weeks) 2. embryonic (2 weeks-2 months) 3. fetal (2 months+)

Question 52

describe the germinal stage of prenatal development

Answer 52

period of zygote: occurs first two weeks after conception , starts with single cell called zygote which then undergoes repeated mitosis/cell division and becomes a mass of cells - blastocyst= ball shaped structure formed within 4 days (approx. 100 cells) - implantation= blastocyst burrows into uterine lining - amnion membrane is formed/fills with amniotic fluid(protection) - chorion membrane develops- becomes lining of placenta - umbilical cord develops- attaches placenta to the developing baby

Question 53

describe the embryonic stage of prenatal development

Answer 53

from 2 weeks to end of second month - cell mass = embryo - cell differentiation; 3 layers of cells: ectoderm, mesoderm and endoderm - stage is marked by rapid growth and cell specification - ectoderm-> forms neural tube by 1 month - in month 2: becomes much more "human like" (or alian) and end up about 2.5cm

Question 54

describe the fetal stage of prenatal development before the 3rd trimester

Answer 54

"growth and finishing" - from 2 months to birth - embryo now = fetus - rapid body growth; bones, muscles and tissue - 2 months= 2.5cm, 3 month=7.5cm, 6 month=35cm - sexual development: Y chromo triggers the formation of testes-> release testosterone-> male genital development - sex of fetus detectable by end of 3rd month - all brain regions continue to grow, especially cerebral cortex

Question 55

describe the fetal stage of prenatal development after the 3rd trimester is reached

Answer 55

3rd trimester = "finishing" -age of viability-> somewhere around 22-28 weeks -neurological organization/cerebral cortex enlarges -emergence of personality? sensitivity to pain -recognize moms voice

Question 56

list the environmental factors in prenatal development

Answer 56

-maternal nutrition, maternal supplements, cigarette smoking(by mother and fathers), alcohol use, teratogens, other environmental hazards (lead, mercury (tuna), radiation, pollution), zika virus, toxoplasmosis (parasite transmitted by cats-> eye and brain damage/cog deficits)

Question 57

whats the target weight and calorie gain for maternal nutrition

Answer 57

target weight gain= 25-34lbs and 10-20% calorie increase

Question 58

what are the effects of maternal malnutrition?

Answer 58

germinal/embryonic: miscarriage; physical defects | fetal: low birth weight; small heads, higher infant mortality; weak immune system, irritability; cognitive deficits

Question 59

describe the maternal supplements (environmental factors in prenatal development )

Answer 59

- folic acid - calcium- related to bp - iodine- eliminates mental retardation * but too much can be harmful (too much vit. A -> muscle/heart defects)

Question 60

describe cigarette smoking (environmental factors in prenatal development )

Answer 60

- premature birth, low birth weight, miscarriage and childhood cancer rate increased - subtle neurological effects- colic, less attentive to sound, restless, future learning/memory problems?

Question 61

alcohol use (environmental factors in prenatal development )

Answer 61

fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) -heart defects, distinct appearance, irritability, hyperactivity, under-developed brains, perceptual/motor deficits, intellectual disability FAE= fetal alcohol effects/p-FAS= partial fetal alcohol syndrome/ARND = alcohol related neurodevelopment disorder

Question 62

what about pot as an environmental factors in prenatal development?

Answer 62

marijuana has no physical abnormalities, but.. -sleep disturbances, less attentive in first weeks, possible LT effects: highly variable, with some reports of attention issues in adolescence

Question 63

describe the three steps/stages of labour?

Answer 63

stage 1: dilation and transition -cervix opens, walls thin (contractions 15-20 sec long) -10-20 mins apart but can be 60sec long and 1-2 mins apart -10cm dilated means stage 1 over (for first child stage lasts 12-24hrs, 2-8hrs after first) stage 2: delivery stage 3: afterbirth/placenta has to come out

Question 64

what are the pain management options for childbirth

Answer 64

natural approaches, laughing gas(slightly stoned), epidural (can have partial/full), caesarian section (C-section)

Question 65

describe the types of depression for a mother following birth?

Answer 65

postpartum depression- hormonal changes and new stresses - long term depression (infants have elevated stress hormones, sleep issues, prone to bonding difficulty, subsequent risk of depression)

Question 66

what is the Apgar scale?

Answer 66

``` first test a newborn takes, done to assess the child 2= good 0= not good 7-10 score= good 4-6 score = monitored <4 score = medical emergency ```

Question 67

describe the neonatal behavioural assessment scale (NBAS)

Answer 67

- behavioural and reflex items | - four "systems" evaluated: autonomic (breathing/temp); motor, state(alert/sleep); social (interactions)

Question 68

whats a teratogen and what can it cause in development? (environmental factors in prenatal development )

Answer 68

= any environmental agent that causes abnormal prenatal development - effects depend on age of organism at time of exposure (linked to sensitive period) and effectiveness of placenta - >most drugs can pass through the placenta (eg thalidomide) - virtually all recreational drugs are harmful - > lead to miscarriage, premature birth, respiratory problems, heart defects, neurological deficits - Cocaine is especially dangerous

Question 69

Explain the difference between survival and primitive reflexes and give 2 examples of each.

Answer 69

Reflexes are involuntary and automatic responses that indicate proper neurological functioning. Survival reflexes have survival value. Primitive: - Babinski (stroke their foot and they curl and uncurl their toes like they are grabbing something), - Palmer Grasping reflex (if you touch they palm, they grab their finger) - stepping reflexea Survival: - breathing, sucking, swallowing - rooting (stimulation on cheek, they turn their head and open their mouth)

Question 70

Identify the 4 states of arousal in the newborn and how many hours are spent in each.

Answer 70

``` arousal= organized pattern of behaviour Sleeping: 16-18 hours Crying: 2-3 hours Waking activity/drowsiness: 1-3 hours Alert (inactivity): 3-6 hours ```

Question 71

what is the autostimulation theory?

Answer 71

neurological stimulation while we sleep!

Question 72

what is the general pattern of REM sleep in infants

Answer 72

REM sleep declines over first 6 months from 50% of sleep to less than 25%

Question 73

how are sleep issues related to development

Answer 73

relate to learning and emotional development - sleep regulation can be linked to sudden unexpected infant death (SUID) - > also explained by voluntary response deficit; respiratory weakness; overheating

Question 74

why might infants cry? what is colic?

Answer 74

communication? for comfort, food, stimulation, any distress (peaks at 6 weeks) colic= persistent crying, less responsive to soothing

Question 75

what are the two theories of what will happen if a parent responds to a crying baby?

Answer 75

respond: reenforce crying-> more crying | crying=need -> respond-> meeting need->less crying

Question 76

what is the importance of touch

Answer 76

soothes distress, stimulates early growth, foundation of emotional development, sensitivity is well developed at birth -emotional/tactile deprivation -> depresses endocrine system -> decreases growth hormones production

Question 77

what is non-organic failure to thrive?

Answer 77

growth disorder that appears by 18 months where infant appears to waste away -may have trouble feeding but no evident biological cause why? lack of touch and emotional response -caregiver characteristics: inconsistent, withdrawn, aggressive -infant responses: apathetic and withdrawn

Question 78

Define cephalocaudal and proximodistal patterns of growth.

Answer 78

Cephalocaudal: head to legs (top to bottom... ex. learn to hold head up first becayse of neck muscles ) Proximodistal: inside out

Question 79

what % of our weight is our brain at birth? At two years?

Answer 79

birth= 25% of weight | 2 years= 75%

Question 80

when are the major growth spurts for our brain

Answer 80

in the last trimester (prenatal) and first 2 years post natal and again in adolescence

Question 81

what produces myelin?

Answer 81

glia cells develop and produce myelin

Question 82

approx. what percent of synapses are pruned in childhood and adolescence

Answer 82

40-50%! ( the importance of stimulation) | -as we develop stimulation for one pathway, synapses that we don't need anymore are pruned away

Question 83

what are experiment expected and dependent growth?

Answer 83

``` expected= we expect that through experience, it will get more defined (ex. vision) ->fine tuning existing circuits dependent= unique experience (you learn your brothers name) ```

Question 84

what is positional plagiocephaly

Answer 84

=flat headed syndrome -> skull shaped flat on one side due to pressure such as from sitting in the same spot/chair too long. have to wear "pressure hats" to fix it so brain development isnt affected

Question 85

what is the dynamic systems theory ? (define what differentiation and integration are)

Answer 85

motor development involves many distinct skills that becomes organized over time to allow for a task to be mastered; eg walking -mastery of complex skills involves differentiation and integration differentiation= mastery of component skills' integration= combination of component skills

Question 86

describe puberty and its 2 defining features

Answer 86

growth spurt and sexual maturation -> pituitary gland/hormonal changes growth spurt: Rapid increase in weight and height (girls start by age 11, boys by age 13) sexual maturation: hormonal changes, primary sex development, development of secondary sexual characteristics (timing is different for genders) -great variability in terms of onset but is getting younger ->neurological growth spurt as well

Question 87

what is a secular trend

Answer 87

trend in industrialized societies toward earlier maturation and greater body size

Question 88

describe the neurological growth spurt during puberty

Answer 88

- prefrontal cortex growth: increase in size and #connections-> linked to impulse control, risk taking, sensation seeking, behaviour regulation - increased sensitivity to dopamine levels-> linked to increased alcohol tolerance - timing between puberty and prefrontal cortex growth= high risk behaviour (alcohol, smoking, drugs, sex, accidents)