Prof's midterm overview Flashcards
- Three key processes that shape human development (biological, cognitive, and socioemotional) and how they interact
Biology explains our growth in our body; weight, height. Cognitive is how our brain develops. Socioemotional is how our emotions and society affect us. All contribute to our overall growth.
- Resilience and characteristics of resilient children (provide examples)
Maintaining confidence despite going through adverse situations. Good problem solving skills and independence.
- Differential susceptibility
Children will react differently to negative life events.
- Four prominent issues in developmental psychology
Nature vs nurture, continuity vs discontinuity, stability vs change, early vs later.
- Research methods and designs
Naturalistic observation. Longitudinal research vs cross sectional.
- Ethological theory
How evolution and biology affect development.
- Ecological theory
The effects of the environment in our development - bidirectional.
- Evolutionary theory: natural selection and adaptive behaviour
NS: only the strongest will survive
AB: we need to adapt
- Genes (genetic code, chromosomes, DNA)
Genetic code is all of our genes. Chromosomes are in the nucleus which holds our DNA. DNA contains short segments of genes.
- Dominant-recessive genes principle
Sometimes one gene is dominant and one is recessive, and the dominant gene will be the one passed down.
- Genotypes vs. phenotypes
Phenotypes are our personal characteristic, genotypes are our genes.
- Factors that can influence gene expression
Hormones and stress can turn on our genes.
- Gene-gene interaction studies
Looking at how 2 or more genes interact in terms of development.
- Chromosomal vs. gene-linked abnormalities
Chromosomal: down syndrome, fragile X syndrome, Turner syndrome (missing X), XYY syndrome (extra Y).
Gene-linked: cystic fibrosis, diabetes, huntington disease, spina bifida, sickle-cell anemia.
- Twin and adoption studies
We can see the importance of genes vs environment
- Shared vs. nonshared environmental experiences (provide examples)
A shared environment could be the home of two siblings, but their school would not be shared.
- Heredity-environment correlations
Active, evocative and passive
- Epigenetic view (gene x environment interaction studies)
Genes and environment are bidirectional.
- Periods of prenatal development
Germinal, embryonic and fetal. Germinal lasts 2 weeks, cell differentiation begins; blastocyst and trophoblast. Embryonic is 2-8 weeks, cell differentiation intensifies; blastocyst now embryo. Fetal period is 7 months.
- Organogenesis (concept and timing)
Happens during the embryonic period. Is the development of organs.
- Neuronal migration
When the neural tube has closed, there is an influx of neurons being produced. All these neurons move to their respective places; the brain.
- Birth defects associated with failure of neural tube closure
Spina bifida - paralysis in the lower limbs & anencephaly - highest regions of the brain do not develop.
- Teratogens and hazards to prenatal development (and their timing)
Any threats to the child before birth; smoking, alcohol, chemicals. Most sensitive during the embryonic period.
- Assessing the newborn (purpose of scales)
NBAS, NNNS. The Apgar scale is used right after birth. Scales allow physicians to assess the health of newborns and if they need immediate care.
- Labels given to newborns (low-birth-weight, preterm, small-for-date…)
Low birth weight is an underweight baby. Preterm means it was born 3 weeks or more before the due date. Small for date means the baby is small in comparison to others, but born at the right date.
- Interventions for at-risk newborns
They would use the NNNS scale.
- Body growth and change patterns
Cephalocaudal pattern: top-down
Proximodistal pattern: centre-out
- Environmental factors that can influence onset and duration of puberty
Precocious puberty - family influence and stress can affect puberty.
- Function of neurons and glial cells
Neurons send electrical signals throughout the body, and glial cells provide support to neurons.
- Myelination and dendritic spreading
Myelination is where the axon of a neuron gets a coating of fat and protein. Dendritic spreading occurs when new connections are being made.
- Synaptic pruning
Dendritic connections are eliminated because they are not being used.
- The brain in infancy (role of early experience)
Children with a deprived environment have depressed brain activity. Experience stimulates brain plasticity.
- Brain growth in infancy, childhood, and adolescence
Vast changes in infancy for the frontal, temporal and parietal lobes. The brain still grows in adolescence, but with fewer, more selective neural connections.
- Plasticity in the brain (understand the concept and provide examples)
The brain can change in structure and function. Examples include learning a language, learning music, and knowing directions.
- Sleep patterns in infancy
Children should sleep on their backs, and get 16-17 hours of sleep. Half of which is REM.
- Major threats to children’s health
The two main causes of infant death are cancer and car accidents.
- Benefits of exercise in childhood and adolescence
Exercise leads to lower levels of metabolic disease, and increased cognitive skills.
c. Six sensorimotor stages
Simple reflexes, primary circular reactions (repeating actions), secondary circular reactions (repeating actions because the bring pleasure), cooperating secondary reactions (putting together the action), tertiary circular reactions (using objects) and object permanence (understanding an object is still there even if you can’t see it).
d. Two preoperational substages (symbolic function and intuitive thought)
Symbolic function is that the child understands the world using symbols, words, pictures. Intuitive thought is that their thinking becomes more logistical.
e. Three mountains task
Can the child understand the perspective of someone else, or only see their own perspective?
f. Limits of preoperational thought: centration and conservation
Centration: only focusing on one characteristic.
Conservation: If a property of an object changes it is still the same object.
g. Core knowledge approach
Children have domain specific innate knowledge systems.
h. Violations of expectations research methods
Children will look longer at an object that has violated their expectations. This sheds light for children having expectations and understanding them.
i. Criticisms of Piaget’s theory
Doesn’t look culturally. Does not give children credit for all their knowledge.
- Comparison of Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s theories (specifically focus on education and teaching implications- provide examples)
Piaget is cognitive and Vygotsky is social. Piaget states children should be constructivist, look at the child individually, and the classroom is exploratory. Vygotsky says use ZPD, take advantage of scaffolding.
Habit
scheme based on a reflex that has separated from its eliciting stimulus.
Intentionality
occurs during coordination period.
Internalization of schemes
infant has ability to use primitive symbols.
Operations
reversible mental actions.
Horizontal decalage
similar abilities do not appear at the same time within a stage.
Hypothetical deductive reasoning
Deduce the best path to use to solve a problem.
