Module 14/16 (Lifespan development) Flashcards
Zygote
from conception until ~2 weeks
Stages of prenatal development
zygote, embryo, fetus
Embryo
when zygote attaches to the uterus; zygote’s inner cells become the embryo, the outer cells become placenta (weeks 2-8)
Fetus
now recognizably human, in the next 6 weeks, body organs begin to form and function. By week 9, fetus is recognizably human (week 9-40/birth)
Teratogens
any environmental agent, such as a virus or chemical (e.g. lead, mercury, alcohol, etc.) that can reach the embryo/fetus during prenatal development and cause harm
(Alcohol, nicotine, marijuana)
Effects of recreational drugs in prenatal development
Recreational drugs can interfere with brain development, they may also have epigenetic effects (making some genes more/less active)
FAS (fetal alcohol syndrome)
associated with birth defects, later struggles with attention, memory, intelligence, behavior regulation, and an increased preference for alcohol themselves
The womb
our first immersive classroom, influences taste preferences, auditory/language learning, and brain development
Taste preferences from womb
Mother’s food choices (while pregnant/lactating) affect babies’ later preferences
Auditory/language learning in womb
-Newborns prefer vowel sounds of mother’s language
-Brain activity at birth → evidence of word recognition
-Infant crying follows intonation of mother’s language
Effect of extreme stress/malnourishment in womb
May calibrate brain development and trigger epigenetic effects that affect the child throughout development and across the lifespan
Brain development
-The human central nervous system begins to form when the embryo is approximately two weeks old
-At birth, 80+ billion neurons
-At birth, brain weighs ~350 grams
-By end of year, brain weighs ~1000 grams
-Adult brain weighs ~1200 grams
Synaptic pruning
-The “use it or lose it” elimination synapses during development
-enhances neural efficiency, by helping to finetune tissue and performance
-Synaptic pruning occurs at different times in different areas of the brain and at different times during development, and is not completed until adolescence
Piaget’s theory of cognitive development
Sensorimotor, Preoperational, Concrete operational, and Formal operational
Sensorimotor (Piaget)
-birth to ~2 years, experiencing the world through senses and actions (looking, hearing, touching, mouthing, grasping)
-Key milestones: object permanence, stranger anxiety
Preoperational (Piaget)
-2-6/7 years, representing things with words and images (symbolic representation); using intuitive rather than logical reasoning
-Key milestones: pretend play, egocentrism, centration
Egocentrism
tendency to perceive world solely from one’s own point of view
Centration
tendency to focus on a single perceptually striking feature of an object or event when reasoning or problem-solving
Concrete operational (Piaget)
-7-11 years, thinking logically about concrete events; grasping concrete analogies and performing arithmetical operations
-Key milestones: conservation, mathematical transformations
Formal operational (Piaget)
-12-adulthood, abstract thinking and reasoning
-Key milestones: abstract logic, potential for mature moral reasoning
Piaget’s view of children
-Active (engaging with the world, testing their ideas against their own experience)
-Learning many important lessons on their own (through their own experiences)
-Intrinsically motivated to learn
Attitudes towards Piaget’s theory
-Often labeled constructivist because it depicts children as constructing knowledge for themselves (children as “little scientists”)
Piaget’s stage theory central properties
-Qualitative changes (from one stage to the next)
-Manner of thinking typical of given stage applies broadly (across varying topics and contexts)
-Transitions between stages are brief
-All children proceed through the four stages in the same invariant sequence
Schemas
-cognitive structures, mental frameworks of understanding, that help us organize and interpret information and experience
-Piaget believed we have schemas
Processes that develop/modify schemas
Assimilation and Accommodation
Assimilation
-the process by which people mold of interpret new information to fit their existing forward
Accommodation
the process by which people change or adapt their schemas in response to new experiences that don’t fit within their existing schemas
Aspects of Assimilation
With preexisting mental structures (schema), no restructuring (overall beliefs and understanding of the world do not change as result of new info), add or combine new knowledge to own schema (existing mental structure)
Aspects of Accommodation
No preexisting mental structure, with restructure (tried something but did not get expected reaction), change own belief or schemas to “accommodate” the new info or knowledge
3 mountain task
-investigates egocentrism in children’s thinking
-Child looks are 3D model of 3 mountains, doll is placed on a spot on mountain, child selects from 10 photos that reflect’s doll’s vantage point. In children ages 4-7, photo would reflect their own view of mountains, while ages 7-8 could acknowledge more than one point of view and consistently select correct photo
Theory of mind
-involves the ability to read the mental state of others (e.g. appreciate that what you know or feel may be different from what others know/feel)
-Between ages 3-4, children worldwide develop a theory of mind to realize others may hold false beliefs
-By age 4-5, children can anticipate false beliefs of others
Test of conservation
Tests centration and child’s ability to see that some properties are conserved or invariant after an object undergoes physical transformation (e.g. pouring liquid into taller glass)
Vygotsky’s theory of sociocultural development
-Present children as social beings, intertwined with other people who help them gain skills and understanding
-Argues development is continuous, with quantitative rather than qualitative change
-Vygotsky though humans are unique because of their ability and inclination to teach and learn from each other. Development doesn’t happen in isolation
Vygostsky vs Piaget’s view of children
-Piaget: children as scientist
-Vygotsky: child as apprentice
Guided participation
-social activities between a child and a more knowledgeable individual
-central to Vygotsky’s theory
Scaffolding
-organizing activities in ways that allow children to engage-think, behave, and learn-at a higher level than they could manage on their own
-central to Vygostky’s theory
Zone of proximal development
-the difference between what a learner can do without help vs. what they can achieve with guidance and encouragement from a skilled partner
-part of Vygotsky’s theory
Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development
-Infancy (birth to 1 year): trust vs mistrust
-Toddlerhood (1-3 years): autonomy vs shame
-Preschool (3-6 years): initiative vs guilt
-Elementary (6-12 years): competence vs inferiority
-Adolescence (12-20): identity vs role confusion
-Young adulthood (20-40): intimacy vs isolation
-Middle adulthood (40-60): generativity vs stagnation
-Late adulthood (60+): integrity vs despair
