Module 14/16 (Lifespan development)

Question 1

Zygote

Answer 1

from conception until ~2 weeks

Question 2

Stages of prenatal development

Answer 2

zygote, embryo, fetus

Question 3

Embryo

Answer 3

when zygote attaches to the uterus; zygote’s inner cells become the embryo, the outer cells become placenta (weeks 2-8)

Question 4

Fetus

Answer 4

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)

Question 5

Teratogens

Answer 5

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)

Question 6

Effects of recreational drugs in prenatal development

Answer 6

Recreational drugs can interfere with brain development, they may also have epigenetic effects (making some genes more/less active)

Question 7

FAS (fetal alcohol syndrome)

Answer 7

associated with birth defects, later struggles with attention, memory, intelligence, behavior regulation, and an increased preference for alcohol themselves

Question 8

The womb

Answer 8

our first immersive classroom, influences taste preferences, auditory/language learning, and brain development

Question 9

Taste preferences from womb

Answer 9

Mother’s food choices (while pregnant/lactating) affect babies’ later preferences

Question 10

Auditory/language learning in womb

Answer 10

-Newborns prefer vowel sounds of mother’s language
-Brain activity at birth → evidence of word recognition
-Infant crying follows intonation of mother’s language

Question 11

Effect of extreme stress/malnourishment in womb

Answer 11

May calibrate brain development and trigger epigenetic effects that affect the child throughout development and across the lifespan

Question 12

Brain development

Answer 12

-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

Question 13

Synaptic pruning

Answer 13

-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

Question 14

Piaget’s theory of cognitive development

Answer 14

Sensorimotor, Preoperational, Concrete operational, and Formal operational

Question 15

Sensorimotor (Piaget)

Answer 15

-birth to ~2 years, experiencing the world through senses and actions (looking, hearing, touching, mouthing, grasping)
-Key milestones: object permanence, stranger anxiety

Question 16

Preoperational (Piaget)

Answer 16

-2-6/7 years, representing things with words and images (symbolic representation); using intuitive rather than logical reasoning
-Key milestones: pretend play, egocentrism, centration

Question 17

Egocentrism

Answer 17

tendency to perceive world solely from one’s own point of view

Question 18

Centration

Answer 18

tendency to focus on a single perceptually striking feature of an object or event when reasoning or problem-solving

Question 19

Concrete operational (Piaget)

Answer 19

-7-11 years, thinking logically about concrete events; grasping concrete analogies and performing arithmetical operations
-Key milestones: conservation, mathematical transformations

Question 20

Formal operational (Piaget)

Answer 20

-12-adulthood, abstract thinking and reasoning
-Key milestones: abstract logic, potential for mature moral reasoning

Question 21

Piaget’s view of children

Answer 21

-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

Question 22

Attitudes towards Piaget’s theory

Answer 22

-Often labeled constructivist because it depicts children as constructing knowledge for themselves (children as “little scientists”)

Question 23

Piaget’s stage theory central properties

Answer 23

-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

Question 24

Schemas

Answer 24

-cognitive structures, mental frameworks of understanding, that help us organize and interpret information and experience
-Piaget believed we have schemas

Question 25

Processes that develop/modify schemas

Answer 25

Assimilation and Accommodation

Question 26

Assimilation

Answer 26

-the process by which people mold of interpret new information to fit their existing forward

Question 27

Accommodation

Answer 27

the process by which people change or adapt their schemas in response to new experiences that don’t fit within their existing schemas

Question 28

Aspects of Assimilation

Answer 28

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)

Question 29

Aspects of Accommodation

Answer 29

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

Question 30

3 mountain task

Answer 30

-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

Question 31

Theory of mind

Answer 31

-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

Question 32

Test of conservation

Answer 32

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)

Question 33

Vygotsky’s theory of sociocultural development

Answer 33

-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

Question 34

Vygostsky vs Piaget’s view of children

Answer 34

-Piaget: children as scientist
-Vygotsky: child as apprentice

Question 35

Guided participation

Answer 35

-social activities between a child and a more knowledgeable individual
-central to Vygotsky’s theory

Question 36

Scaffolding

Answer 36

-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

Question 37

Zone of proximal development

Answer 37

-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

Question 38

Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development

Answer 38

-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