PSY EXAM 2

Question 1

Medical/Biological, Sociological and philosophical perspectives on death

Answer 1

• 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

Question 2

Leading causes of death for different age groups

Answer 2

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

Question 3

End of life options

Answer 3

• 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

Question 4

Perspectives on dying

Answer 4

• 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)

Question 5

Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’s five stages of dying and grieving and their criticisms

Answer 5

• 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

Question 6

The Parkes/Bowlby attachment model of bereavement

Answer 6

– 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

Question 7

The dual-process model

Answer 7

• 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

Question 8

Infants (Death and Grievance)

Answer 8

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

Question 9

Preschoolers (Death and Grievance)

Answer 9

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.

Question 10

Adolescents & Young adults (Death and Grievance)

Answer 10

• 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)

Question 11

Adults (Death and Grievance)

Answer 11

• 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.

Question 12

Euthanasia

Answer 12

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

Question 13

Oregon’s ‘Death with Dignity Act’ (1994) and requirement

Answer 13

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.

Question 14

Jack Kevorkian

Answer 14

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.

Question 15

Perspectives on dying

Answer 15

• 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)

Question 16

How is COVID-19 impacting life expectancy and death?

Answer 16

COVID-19 pandemic triggered an unprecedented rise in mortality that translated into life expectancy losses around the world

Question 17

What is theory and purpose of theory

Answer 17

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

Question 18

Dimensions of theories of development

Answer 18

*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

Question 19

Varying theoretical perspectives (psychoanalytic, learning/behavioral, cognitive, contextual/system perspectives)

Answer 19

• 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)

Question 20

Sigmund Freud: Psychoanalytic Theory

Answer 20

• 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

Question 21

Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial development

Answer 21

• 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.

Question 22

Changes in how we view adulthood

Answer 22

• 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

Question 23

Emerging adulthood

Answer 23

• 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

Question 24

Classical and emotional conditioning, systematic desensitization

Answer 24

• 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.

Question 25

Ivan Pavlo’s Theory

Answer 25

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

Question 26

B.F. Skinner’s Operant conditioning

Answer 26

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

Question 27

Albert Bandura’s Social-Cognitive Learning theory

Answer 27

• 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)

Question 28

Piaget’s theory of cognitive development

Answer 28

• 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

Question 29

Information Processing Theories and system

Answer 29

• 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

Question 30

Cognitive Neuroscience and ways to study brain development

Answer 30

• 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)

Question 31

Contextual/Systems perspective

Answer 31

• 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)

Question 32

Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Approach

Answer 32

• 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

Question 33

Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory

Answer 33

• 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.

Question 34

Infant state of arousal and sleep pattern

Answer 34

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

Question 35

REM and non-REM sleep

Answer 35

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

Question 36

Basic Infant reflexes

Answer 36

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

Question 37

Gross and fine motor skill and major milestones

Question 38

Cultural practices and motor development

Answer 38

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

Question 39

Traditional and contemporary views on motor development

Question 40

Motor skills as dynamic action systems

Answer 40

• 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

Question 41

Gross motor and fine motor skills

Answer 41

• 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)

Question 42

General pattern in physical development

Answer 42

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

Question 43

Variability in physical growth (gender differences, cultural differences, secular trends)

Answer 43

• 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.

Question 44

Sexual maturation

Answer 44

• 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

Question 45

Obesity epidemic in the U.S. (environmental factors & physical consequences)

Answer 45

• 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

Question 46

Aging, health and wellness

Answer 46

• 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

Question 47

Role of self-locomotion in motor development

Answer 47

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