PSY EXAM 2 Flashcards
1
Q
Medical/Biological, Sociological and philosophical perspectives on death
A
- Medical/biological perspective:
– Total brain death: legal definition of death
-Complete unresponsiveness to stimuli
-Fail to breathe for 3 minutes after being removed from a ventilator
-No reflexes
-Flat electroencephalogram (no electrical activity in the cortex) - Sociological perspective:
– Social death - person viewed as deceased - Philosophical perspective
- Seen by Socrates as the liberation of the soul and that is why it should be faced with serenity, as long as you know that you lived your life in the best possible way
2
Q
Leading causes of death for different age groups
A
Life expectancy: White Female: 81; White Male: 76
African Amer. Female: 76.5; Male: 70
African Countries (e.g., Zambia & Mozambique): 40
East Asian and European Countries (Japan, China, Sweden & Switzerland): 80
* Infants: congenital abnormalities
* Preschoolers: unintentional injuries (car accidents, drowning, falls)
* Adolescences and early adulthood: accidents, self-destructive, & homicides
* 45-64 years: cancer
* 65+ years: heart diseases
3
Q
End of life options
A
- Hospital
- Nursing home
- Home
- Hospice (emphasis on palliative care): A program that supports
dying people and their families through a philosophy of “caring”
rather than “curing”;
– Palliative care: aimed primarily at bringing comfort to and
meeting the physical, psychological, and spiritual needs of
patients with serious illnesses
– hospital-based programs, hospice centers, home-based programs
4
Q
Perspectives on dying
A
- No one “right” way to die or to grieve a death
- Various factors influence attitudes and perspectives:
- Developmental differences: cognitive and emotional understanding
based on age - Experiential differences (e.g., a near death experience, chronicle
illness, losing a love one in an accident) - Cultural beliefs (e.g., private mourning vs. celebration)
- Religious beliefs (e.g., judgment after death or karma)
5
Q
Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’s five stages of dying and grieving and their criticisms
A
- A Swiss-American Psychiatrist
- Denial and isolation: “No! It can’t be!”
- Anger: “Why me?”
- Bargaining: “Okay, me, but please…”; trying various methods
to reverse the diagnosis - Depression: more awareness of the reality leading to despair
and sense of hopelessness - Acceptance: struggle is over; accepting the inevitability of
death in a calm and peaceful manner
Criticisms:
* Dying process is not stagelike
* Does not take into account the disease a person has and its
course
* Individual differences; cultural differences
* Dying people focus on living, not just dying (e.g., setting goals,
controlling dying, valuing the present life, creating legacy)
* There is no right way to die and grieve
6
Q
The Parkes/Bowlby attachment model of bereavement
A
– Describes four prominent reactions:
* Numbness (few hours or days after the death): a sense of unreality,
disbelief, shock and empty feelings
* Yearning (most severe from 5 to 14 days): showing separation
anxiety, panic, and agony
* Disorganization and despair (most of the 1 st year; peaks around 4-6
months): depression and apathy
* Reorganization (graduate process): feel more readier for new
activities and new attachments
7
Q
The dual-process model
A
- The dual-process model of bereavement:
– Bereaved oscillate between coping with: - Emotional blow of the loss
- Practical challenges of living
– Loss-oriented coping
– Restoration-oriented coping
8
Q
Infants (Death and Grievance)
A
The infants: lack conceptual understand of death (i.e., do not grasp
death as cessation of life):
– Broad category of “being/present” vs. “non-being”
– When attachment is formed (starting roughly around 7 months),
infants begin to display separation anxiety
– Infant grief: poor appetite, a change in sleeping patterns,
excessive clinginess
9
Q
Preschoolers (Death and Grievance)
A
Preschoolers are highly curious about death but often fail to
understand death as:
* Finality: Cessation of life (e.g., movement, sensation, and thought)
* Irreversibility: death cannot be undone
* Universality: inevitable to all living beings
* Biological causality: a failure of internal biological processes
* Children’s understanding of death influenced by cognitive abilities,
cultural practices and life experiences.
- Dying children are more aware of what is happening to them than
adults realize; experience same emotions that dying adults experience - Preschooler’s grief: Problems with sleeping, eating, toileting, and other
daily routines - Older children’s grief: expressed directly; Somatic symptoms are also
common (e.g., headaches, stomach aches) - Although some children are more vulnerable to long-term negative
effects, most children are resilient and adapt well.
10
Q
Adolescents & Young adults (Death and Grievance)
A
- Clearly understand death as the cessation of biological processes
- Adolescents and young adults think of death as something that is
unrelated to them. - They are invincible
- Unrealistic thoughts about death (e.g., they could have prevented the death)
- Adolescents’ reactions to becoming terminally ill reflects the themes
of adolescence (e.g., concerns with body image, wanting to be
accepted by peers, and distressed by having to depend on parents)
11
Q
Adults (Death and Grievance)
A
- Mid-age: experience some anxiety (e.g., unfulfilled goals, time running
out, etc.) - Gender difference in social support: some research suggest that death
of a spouse may be more negative for men (i.e., social involvement) - 70+ yrs: show positive views about their “time lived” and show less
anxiety regarding “time remaining” and dying.
12
Q
Euthanasia
A
The practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering:
- Active euthanasia: mercy killing
- Passive euthanasia: withholding extraordinary life-saving treatments
- Assisted suicide: making available to a person who wishes to die the means by which she may do so
13
Q
Oregon’s ‘Death with Dignity Act’ (1994) and requirement
A
Permits “risky pain relief”
- An adult (18 years of age or older),
- A resident of Oregon,
- Capable (defined as able to make and communicate health
care decisions), and - Diagnosed with a terminal illness that will lead to death within
six months.
Requirements:
* Two oral requests to his or her physician, separated by at least 15 days.
* A written request to his or her physician, signed in the presence of two
witnesses.
* Physician must confirm the diagnosis and prognosis.
* Physician must determine whether the patient is capable.
* If either physician believes the patient’s judgment is impaired, the patient must
be referred for a psychological examination.
* Alternatives to assisted suicide, including comfort care, hospice care, and pain
control must be informed.
* Physician must request the patient to notify his or her next-of-kin of the
prescription request.
14
Q
Jack Kevorkian
A
Best known advocate for physician-assisted suicide in the United States. People who suffered from incurable pain and untreatable conditions wrote to him and asked, begged, pleaded for his help.
15
Q
Perspectives on dying
A
- No one “right” way to die or to grieve a death
- Various factors influence attitudes and perspectives:
- Developmental differences: cognitive and emotional understanding
based on age - Experiential differences (e.g., a near death experience, chronicle
illness, losing a love one in an accident) - Cultural beliefs (e.g., mourning vs. celebration)
- Religious beliefs (e.g., judgment after death or karma)
16
Q
How is COVID-19 impacting life expectancy and death?
A
COVID-19 pandemic triggered an unprecedented rise in mortality that translated into life expectancy losses around the world
17
Q
What is theory and purpose of theory
A
Theory: a set of statement that
(1) organizes existing
information about some phenomena
(2) provides an
explanation for the phenomena
(3) and serves a basis for
making predictions to be tested empirically
18
Q
Dimensions of theories of development
A
*Nature–Nurture: Is development due to nature (biological
forces) or nurture (environmental forces)?
- Activity–Passivity: Extent to which human beings are active in
producing their own development or are passively shaped - Continuity–Discontinuity: Focuses on whether the changes
people undergo over the life span are gradual or abrupt and
quantitative or qualitative - Universality–Context Specificity: Extent to which
developmental changes are universal or context specific
19
Q
Varying theoretical perspectives (psychoanalytic, learning/behavioral, cognitive, contextual/system perspectives)
A
- Focusing on the inner personality
– behavior is motivated by inner forces, memories, and conflicts
that are generally beyond people’s awareness and control
– Inner forces may stem from one’s childhood and continually
influence behavior through the life span - Sigmund Freud (Psychosexual theory)
- Erik Erikson (Psychosocial Theory)
20
Q
Sigmund Freud: Psychoanalytic Theory
A
- Unconscious forces act to determine personality and behavior. These unconscious
forces are primarily there to satisfy basic drives. - Three parts of personality (conflicts among the personalities)
– ID: The biological drives present at birth that are related to hunger, sex, aggression,
and irrational impulses - Pleasure principle: maximize satisfaction and reduce tension
– EGO: The part of personality that is rational and reasonable - Reality principal: instinctual energy is restrained in order to maintain the safety
of the individual and help the person into society
– SUPEREGO: The aspect of personality that represents a person’s conscience,
internalized moral standards
21
Q
Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial development
A
- Less emphasis on sexual urges and on the unconscious, irrational,
and selfish ID - More emphasis on social influences ,rational EGO, and on
development after adolescence - Viewed development as changes in individual’s understanding of
their interactions with others, of others’ behavior, and of their own
behavior as members of society. - Less on unconscious, irrational, and selfish id and more on rational
ego and individual power to adapt. - Development is driven by a series of age-related developmental
crises, or tasks, that the individual must resolve in order to achieve
healthy development.
22
Q
Changes in how we view adulthood
A
- Jeffrey Arnett (2000): it takes longer for us to grow up today than before:
– 1960: high school diploma; 40% didn’t even get that far
– 1960: 20 for Women, 23 for Men (median age of getting married) - Four major events
– Technology advancement = from factory economy to knowledge economy
– Delays in starting relationship and family
– Women’s movement: women in work place; 58% female in higher-
education
– Youth’s movement: freedom to explore; youth is celebrated
23
Q
Emerging adulthood
A
- New developmental phase between adolescence and adulthood (roughly of ages 18-29)
- Actively immerged in the social and psychological experiences of emerging adulthood:
– Age of instability: Frequent change in their situations and plans: living situations,
job changes, financial changes, and romantic relationships
– Age of possibility: level of independence and not yet taken on the heavy
responsibilities of adulthood, optimistic about their futures, feeling confident
– Age of self-focus: level of independence and not yet taken on the heavy
responsibilities of adulthood; can really focus on themselves
– Age of feeling in-between: feeling of either “adolescent” nor “adult”; often view
having a child is the entering of adulthood
– Age of identity exploration: trying out different possibilities in order to learn more
about ourselves
24
Q
Classical and emotional conditioning, systematic desensitization
A
- Classical Conditioning (Ivan Pavlov): A type of learning in which a stimulus
comes to elicit a response through its association with a stimulus that
already elicits the response - Emotional conditioning (Watson)
– Fears and emotional responses can be learned - Systematic desensitization: a form of therapy based on classical
conditioning, in which positive responses are gradually conditioned to
stimuli that initially elicit a highly negative response; especially useful in
the treatment and phobia.
25
Ivan Pavlo's Theory
Pavlovian conditioning centers around the concept of associative learning:
Classical Conditioning: A type
of learning in which a
stimulus comes to
elicit a response
through its
association with a
stimulus that already
elicits the response
*Pavlo's Dog*
26
B.F. Skinner's Operant conditioning
Operant conditioning: we
tend to repeat behaviors that lead to
favorable outcomes (reinforcement) and
suppress those that result in unfavorable
outcomes (punishment)
* Ways to strengthen or weaken a response to a stimuli
– Positive reinforcement: an increase in the future frequency of a behavior
due to the addition of a positive stimulus immediately following a
response.
– Negative reinforcement :an increase in the future frequency of a
behavior when the consequence is the removal of an aversive stimulus.
– Punishment: the introduction of an unpleasant or painful stimulus or the
removal of a desirable stimulus, will decrease the probability that a
behavior will occur in the future
* Emphasized the power of positive reinforcement; “Catch them being good”
* Physical punishment effects: increase aggression, increase mental health
problems; impair children’s intellectual and moral functioning
27
Albert Bandura's Social-Cognitive Learning theory
* Human learning is inherently social in nature and is based on
observation of the behavior of other people.
* Children learn most rapidly and efficiently simply from watching
what other people do and then imitating them.
* Children can also learn from symbolic models (e.g., from
reading books and from watching TV or movies)
28
Piaget's theory of cognitive development
* Piaget depicted children as constructing knowledge for themselves
in response to their experiences (constructivism).
– The child as scientific problem solver; little scientists
– Intrinsic cognitive motivation to experiment and learn
* proposed that all people pass in a fixed sequence through a series
of universal stages of cognitive development.
(1) sensorimotor intelligence birth - 2 yrs
*Acquire knowledge through sensory experiences and manipulating objects
(2) preoperational thinking 2 - 7 yrs
*foundation of language, pretend play, yet struggle with logic and constancy, egocentric
(3) concrete operational thinking 7 - 11 yrs
*become less egocentric and begin to think about how other people might think and feel, begin to understand one's thoughts are unique to them and that not everyone else necessarily shares their thoughts, feelings, and opinions
(4) formal operational thinking 12 - up
*increase in logic, the ability to use deductive reasoning, and an understanding of abstract ideas
29
Information Processing Theories and system
* The human learning is conceived to be a processor of information
in much the same way as computer is.
– registering input from the environment
– processing and storing in memory
– retrieving information
* Stimuli (environment) → Information processing system →
Response (output)
* Information processing system changes with development
– Changes in the capacity and speed of the brain
– Strategies used to process information
– Information stored in memory
The human learning is conceived to
be a processor of information in much
the same way as computer is:
1. Input: register information
from the environment using
our senses
2. Processing Unit: process and
store information in memory
3. Output: retrieve information to
be used in the future
* Memory: Capacity to hold/store information
* Processes: ability to process and manipulate information in
memory so that information could be retrieved faster
– Automatization
– The way people encode information (e.g., ability to attend to
relevant information)
– Make decisions based on relevant information
30
Cognitive Neuroscience and ways to study brain development
* Examines development through the lens of
brain processes
* Neurological activities and maturation of brain
as a result of external stimulation
* Brain activities of different ages working on
the same task (developmental changes)
* Brain activities of same age working on
different sorts of cognitive tasks
(localization of the brain)
31
Contextual/Systems perspective
* The theory that considers ongoing relationship between changing
individuals and their physical, cognitive, personality, and social
worlds.
– Development cannot be viewed without seeing how that person is
enmbedded within a rich social and cultural context
* Urie Bronfenbrenner (Bioecological Approach)
* Lev Vygotsky (Sociocultural Theory)
32
Bronfenbrenner's Bioecological Approach
* Person is embedded in a series
of four environmental systems
* Conceptualizes development as
unpredictable product of
biological and environmental
forces interacting within a
complex system
* A person is influenced by 4 different levels
– Microsystem: immediate environment in which children lead
their daily lives (e.g., homes, caregivers, friends)
– Mesosystem: connections between the various aspects of the
microsystem (e.g., children to parents, students to teachers,
friends to friends)
– Exosystem: broader societal influences (e.g., local government,
the community, schools, places of worship, and the local media)
– Macrosystem: larger cultural influences (e.g., types of
governments, religious and political value systems)
* Chronosystem: patterning of environmental events and transitions
over the life course; sociohistorical conditions
33
Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory
* Viewed human as social beings, intertwined with other people who are
eager to share and help teach skills and understanding.
* Focuses on how cultural tools--symbolic systems, artifacts, values, beliefs,
customs, and skills of a social group--are transmitted to the next generation.
– Tool use: Ability to use some part of the environment to solve problem
– Language/speech: ability to use symbols and signs to communicate with each
other about the ideas as well as about objects and event.
* Scaffolding: Competent people providing a temporary framework
that supports children’s thinking at a higher level than children
could manage on their own.
* Focused on the importance of culture; developing through
interactions with parents, teachers, and other knowledgeable
members in the society.
34
Infant state of arousal and sleep pattern
6 degrees of sleep and wakefulness throughout the night.
8 (50%) hours of active sleep (REM)
8 (50%) hours of quiet sleep (non-REM)
Go back and forth in sleep and non-sleep, sleeping at most 2 hours at a time
35
REM and non-REM sleep
Rapid Eye Movement Sleep: eyes move around rapidly, the brain is highly active, seems to make up for the lack of external stimulation (autostimulation theory)
Non REM: eyes remain still, breathing is heavy and slow, and minimal movement, when woken up, one is incoherent, disoriented, takes long time to become alert
REM and NREM make up a full sleep cycle
36
Basic Infant reflexes
Innate motor responses that are triggered by specific patterns of sensory stimulation
-Rooting reflex
-Stepping reflex
-Swimming reflex
-Moro reflex
-Babinski reflex
-Startle reflex
-Eye-blink reflex
-Sucking reflex
-Gag reflex
37
Gross and fine motor skill and major milestones
38
Cultural practices and motor development
Babies able to build muscles and practice coordination the better and faster they will develop physical skills
* Cultural practices lead to variations from the typical motor milestones.
* Some practices decelerate motor development
– the Ache in Paraguay carry their infants for three years
– East Asia and Central Asia
* Some practices accelerate motor development
– mothers in Mali (also in Kenya) exercise their infants
39
Traditional and contemporary views on motor development
40
Motor skills as dynamic action systems
* Early researchers believed that motor skills
were determined mainly by neurological
maturation of the brain.
* Current theorists take a dynamic systems
approach, viewing motor development as
resulting from the influence of neural
mechanisms, perceptual skills, changes in
body proportions, and the child’s own
motivation.
* Developments take place over time through a
“self-organizing” process
* The case of the disappearing reflex
* Motor milestones (e.g.,
walking) are the learned
outcomes of a process of
interaction with the
environment
* Researchers found toddlers
could adjust their walking to
changes in both their body
dimensions and the slope of a
walkway
41
Gross motor and fine motor skills
* Gross motor skills: ability to use major muscle parts
– Over the school years, improved balance, strength, agility, and
flexibility support refinements in running, jumping, hopping, and
playing sports(e.g., throwing and catching balls).
* Fine motor skills: ability to work with hands
– Ability to cut with scissors, tying one’s shoes, playing the piano,
writing, etc. progressively develops.
* Most preschool children show a clear preference for the use of one hand
over another (90% right-handed)
42
General pattern in physical development
Puberty causes
physical changes
related to
reproduction:
* body fat content
increases in girls
which helps trigger
the onset of
menstruation.
* Body fat content
decreases in boys
43
Variability in physical growth (gender differences, cultural differences, secular trends)
* Variability occurs across cultures and geographies.
– Profound differences in height and weight between children in
economically developed countries and those in developing countries.
– Differences in height and weight also reflect economic factors within the
U.S.
– Girls in the United States also menstruate earlier than girls from other
nations.
* Secular trends: marked changes in physical development that have
occurred over generations.
* In contemporary industrialized nations, adults are several inches taller
than their same-sex great-grandparents were.
* It is thought that improved nutrition and general health are largely
responsible for these trends.
* Girls in the United States menstruate earlier than did their ancestors.
* Because menstruation requires a certain level of body fat, this trend
may help account for the greater obesity in children today.
44
Sexual maturation
* Girls experiencing puberty tend to become self-conscious about their
appearance
* Early-maturing girls have a greater likelihood of experiencing long-
term adjustment problems, including anxiety and depression
* Later-developing girls outperform other students
* Boys are more likely to welcome their weight gain and voice changes
* Later-developing boys may experience difficulties and perform poorly
on school achievement tests
45
Obesity epidemic in the U.S. (environmental factors & physical consequences)
* Obesity: a body weight more than 20 percent higher than the
recommended weight for a person of a given age and height.
* Nearly 18% of American children suffer from obesity; 1/3 are
overweight.
* Childhood obesity leads to many health, social, and emotional
challenges.
* Over half American adults are overweight, and a quarter are
obese.
* 35% of African Americans meeting the definition for obesity compared to
24% of Caucasian Americans
Environmental factors contributing to
the obesity epidemic:
– Inactive lifestyles (e.g., Less than
one in five teenagers meeting the
recommended 60 minutes of daily
physical activity)
– Portion sizes
– Fat content
– Sugar
– Stress
– Poverty
Physical consequences include:
– increased risk of heart disease
– high blood pressure
– diabetes
– breathing problems
– trouble sleeping
– emotional problems
46
Aging, health and wellness
* Changes in appearance and functioning start to become evident during
middle adulthood
* Aerobic capacity and other physiological measurements vary widely among
70-year-olds
* 70-and-older age group have at least one chronic impairment (e.g., sensory
loss; arthritis 43% of elderly men; 54% of elderly women; hypertension;
degenerative disease)
* Importance of exercise; person must become more active over the years
– Aging adults feel less stressed and happier
– Can enhance their cognitive functioning
– Can delay the onset of physical disabilities by up to seven years
47
Role of self-locomotion in motor development
Attainment of self-locomotion is thought to be especially important for the development of spatial (linguistic and cognitive) skills. Once infants can engage in self-locomotion, they focus their attention on information needed to guide their locomotion
Locomotor functions bridges the entire life span but its development during fetal age and the first post-natal years of life is crucial for the acquisition of mature behavior
