Psyc 500 – Human Growth and Development Flashcards
Accomodation
part of Piaget’s cognitive development theory, accommodation refers to the process of changing internal mental structures (schemas) to provide consistency with reality. It occurs when existing schemas must be modified or new schemas are created to account for a new experience.
- According to Piaget, two major principles guide intellectual growth and biological development: adaptation and organization. For individuals to survive in an environment, they must adapt to physical and mental stimuli. Assimilation and accommodation are both part of the adaptation process.
- This process can be seen in babies and continues throughout life.
Ex:Kim enters therapy showing signs of anxiety and distress due to her belief that all men are dangerous. The belief stems from her interactions with her father and other male family members growing up. Kim has recently become extremely close with a male co-worker. She finds him to be extremely respectful and genuine. Kim has to accommodate her scheme that “all men are dangerous” to accept the new experience of meeting a nice male.
activity theory
-a theory of socioemotional development in older adults- activity theory suggests that older adults will be happier and more satisfied with their lives if they continue to be active and involved, pursuing activities that stimulate them mentally, emotionally, and physically; they also have better cognitive and physical functioning, and have lower mortality rates.
Dean, a 65-year-old male, enters therapy with symptoms of depression and a decrease in life satisfaction.
-The therapist discovers that Dean has been sitting at home most days alone. Dean admits that after retirement he became withdrawn from his family and friends.
According to the activity theory, when older adults are more active, productive, and energetic, they tend to be happier with their lives than when they disengage from society.
- The therapist and Dean work together to come up with different social and physical activities that Dean would like to engage in each day. The therapist uses an activity log to track Dean’s progress.
Androgyny
A concept developed by Sandra Bem (WHO) in the area of gender-role classification (PART OF), androgyny is the presence of positive masculine and feminine characteristics in the same individual (WHAT).
-It is argued that androgynous individuals are more flexible, competent, and mentally healthy than their masculine or feminine counterparts(WHY). Measures, such as the Bem Sex Role Inventory, have been developed to assess gender-role orientations.
EX: Kim enters therapy showing signs of distress over her identity. Kim tells the therapist that she enjoys dressing up and shopping and the other typical “girl things” but she also loves playing basketball with the guys and working on cars. Kim doesn’t understand why she enjoys both masculine and feminine activities when all of her other female friends don’t enjoy the masculine activities. The therapist explains the concept of androgyny to Kim and tells her that enjoying both masculine and feminine activities doesn’t make her less of a girl. -The therapist suggests that she accept and be comfortable with her interests because they will lead her to be more mentally healthy, flexible, and competent than her strictly masculine or feminine counterparts.
APGAR test
Developed by Virginia Apgar (WHO), the APGAR test is a widely used, five factor evaluation (PART OF) that assesses the physical condition of newborn infants at 1 and 5 minutes after to birth to determine quickly if he or she needs immediate medical care (WHAT).
The five factors are (Appearance) skin color, (Pulse) heart rate, (Grimace) reflex irritability, (Activity) muscle tone, and (Respiration) respiratory effort; each factor receives a score of 0, 1, or 2. A total score below 3 indicates that the infant is in severe distress. A score between 4 and 7 indicates moderate distress. A score between 7 and 10 indicates that the infant’s condition is normal. The APGAR test is especially good at assessing the newborn’s ability to respond to the stress of delivery and the new environment and also identities high-risk infants who need resuscitation (WHY).
EX: A mother and father bring their child to therapy because they are worried that she may have significant developmental delays. During the first session, the therapist finds out that the child received an APGAR score of 2 at the time of birth. The therapist speculates that the low APGAR score could be a contributing factor to any developmental delays that the child may have.
Assimilation
In Piaget’s (WHO) theory of cognitive development (PART OF), assimilation is the process of integrating information into already existing schemes without modifying those schemes (WHAT). Assimilation allows individuals to make assumptions about how the world around them works without having to re-learn during every experience (WHY). Assimilation is one of two concepts used to explain how children use and adapt their schemes.
EX: A mother and father bring their 4-year-old child to therapy because the child has been stealing toys from friends. Child says he always has to give them back because his mom and dad tell him to. The child tells the therapist that he has to listen to adults because his mom and dad are adults. The child then tells the therapist that he will listen because the therapist is an adult. The child has just assimilated the information by fitting the therapist into his pre-existing schema of “children listen to adults.”
Attachment
the premise for attachment theory and part of socioemotional development (PART OF), attachment is a close emotional bond between two people (WHAT).
Attachment, especially the early attachment between an infant and the caregiver, plays an important role across all points in the life-span.
-Mary Ainsworth developed the strange situation to measure and assess infants’ attachments to their caregivers.
-She found 4 Attachment Types
Securely Attached: infants used caregiver as secure base to explore environment
Insecure Avoidant: infants avoided caregiver
Insecure Resistant: alternated from clinging to caregiver & resisting them
Insecure Disorganized: infants are disoriented/confused
.Ainsworth believes that a securely attached infant is more likely to have positive socioemotional development as a whole than an insecurely attached child.
Attachment also involves the tendency in adulthood to seek emotionally supportive relationships. Attachment styles can be part of many presenting problems seen in adulthood (WHY).
EX:Mary brings her 2 year old son, Charlie to see a child psychologist. The mother describes her trouble with drop off at preschool each day. Charlie refuses to let Mary leave him at school and clings desperately, then upon picking him up Charlie resists her and struggles/fights against mom.
The psychologist notes the child seems to be displaying an insecure attachment to his mother, and begins to ask mother how her relationship with charlie as an infant was. Mom admits she wasn’t the most reliable caregiver.
Child Abuse
Child abuse is physical, sexual, emotional, and neglectful maltreatment of a child that can be intentional or unintentional (WHAT).
Physical Abuse: any infliction of physical pain
Child Neglect: failure to provide for the child’s basic needs
Sexual Abuse: touching, fondling, intercourse, rape, sodomy
Emotional Abuse: (psychological/verbal abuse/ mental injury) act that could cause serious behavioral/cognitive/emotional problems
Children who have been maltreated are at a greater risk for psychological, social, and emotional problems. Some consequences of abuse- poor emotion regulation, attachment problems, problems with peer relationships, depression, delinquency, teen pregnancy, difficulty adapting in school
In the adult years, abused children often have difficulty in establishing and maintaining healthy intimate relationships, have a higher risk for violent behavior toward other adults, and a higher risk for substance abuse, anxiety, and depression (WHY). Therapists are mandated to make a report to the Department of Social Services if they suspect child abuse.
EX: Marianne came to therapy reporting difficulty in her relationships, especially with her boyfriend. During the initial session she told the therapist that she had been physically and sexually abused as a child. The therapist postulated that this abuse has contributed to her current struggle with close relationships.
Classical Conditioning
classical conditioning, or respondent conditioning, was initially discovered by Pavlov during his experiments with dogs. Respondent conditioning deals with instincts and reflexes that are beyond an individual’s control. In this type of conditioning, a stimulus (unconditioned stimulus) that elicits an unconditioned response is paired with a neutral stimulus (conditioned stimulus), eventually giving the conditioned stimulus the ability to elicit the same response as the unconditioned stimulus. Several trials are typically needed to form this association.
EX: Pam comes to therapy complaining of phobia of the dark. She tells the therapist that, when she was little, she was sexually molested by her uncle, who would come to her room when it was completely dark. The therapist hypothesized that classical conditioning played an important role in her fear of the dark: the molestation, which elicited fear, came to be associated with the dark, which then elicited the same response.
Cohort
In research and statistics (PART OF), a cohort is a group of people who share some characteristic, especially a group of individuals born during the same period (often the same year) (WHAT). Individuals in a cohort have experienced similar historical events and typically have a similar developmental timetable. (explains when certain key events in a person’s life should occur, such as getting married or having children) (WHY). Developmental researchers conclude that changing historical times and different social expectations influence how different cohorts move through the life span. Our values, attitudes, expectations, and behaviors are influenced by the period in which we live.
EX: A client COHEN comes into therapy presenting the problem of feelings of frustration over his son’s seemingly frivolous spending. Cohen grew up during the Great Depression, and has different feelings around spending money than his son because they grew up in two different cohorts.
EX: Colleen comes to therapy complaining of stress, anxiety, and guilt. She is a 34 year old highly successful real estate agent with, in her own words, a great life. However, her 58 year old mother is constantly berating her for not being married or having children, saying that it is “wrong” for a woman her age to be unmarried and childless.
Continuity vs non-continuity
A debate in the world of Developmental Psychology that focuses on the extent to which development involves gradual, cumulative change (continuity), or distinct stages (discontinuity). Typically, psychologists who support the continuous view of development also support the idea that it is the environment (nurture) which shapes us, while psychologists who believe in the non-continuous view also generally believe that it is genetics and biology (nature) which shapes our development.
Continuity: those that believe in NURTURE describe development as GRADUAL. * EX: a child’s first word may seem abrupt, but is really the result of weeks/months of patience, growth, and practice Non-Continuity: (Freud, Piaget, Erikson, are notable psychologists) those that believe more in NATURE describe development as having a series of distinct STAGES EX: a child growing from not being able to think abstractly about the world, to being able to. This is a qualitative change in development.
It is important for a therapist to be familiar with models of both theoretical approaches as they both provide insight into child development.
EX: A teenage client comes to therapy because she feels insecure and doesn’t know her place in society.
-She has started experimenting with drugs and alcohol.Although the therapist believes in continuous development, she is familiar with the Identity vs Confusion stage of Erickson’s theory of psychosocial development (discontinuous model). –The therapist knows that experimentation is important to the process of forming a strong identity and developing a sense of direction in life. The therapists works with the client to explore other roles and behaviors, that can be explored that will lead to a sense of control and independence.
Control group
In an experimental research design (PART OF), a control group is a comparison group that is as much like the experimental group as possible and that is treated in every way like the experimental group except for the manipulated factor (independent variable) (WHAT). The control group serves as a baseline against which the effects of the manipulated condition (independent variable) can be compared in order to show if the independent variable was the cause for the change (WHY).Random assignment to condition assures that everyone in a study has an equal chance of being in the control group or the experimental group
EX: In a clinical research trial, the effectiveness of an SSRI is being tested. There are two groups: the control group receives a placebo while the other group (treatment group) receives the SSRI (independent variable). Both groups are similar in characteristics affecting the treatment such as age, depressive symptoms, and race. If the trial results in a difference in the depression levels (dependent variable) between the two groups we can assume that the difference is potentially being caused by the SSRI (independent variable). More studies would need to be conducted to support this finding.
Correlational research
this is a form of research design that determines whether there is a relationship between two variables and, if so, what the strength of that relationship is. A correlation is a measure of a LINEAR relationship between two variables. Correlational studies yield a correlation coefficient (a number between -1.00 and 1.00) which represents the strength of the relationship between the two variables.
- Correlational research cannot establish causation, but rather can establish the existence of a relationship and the strength of that relationship. Correlational research is often conducted as exploratory or beginning research. Once variables have been identified and defined, experiments are conductable.
EX: A parent is concerned that her child will become a violent person if she keeps playing videogames. The therapist explains that most of the research related to this phenomenon is correlational. It is true a relationship exists concerning violence on television and in video games and violent children and adolescents.
While a correlation exists between the two,it is not necessarily a cause and effect relationship.
We do know that children who are aggressive tend to watch a higher proportion of violent television than children who are not highly violent or aggressive. However, it is unclear based on correlational research whether violent TV programs increase violence in children or whether violent kids prefer to watch violent programming. The therapist would comfort the mom in knowing that there are many other factors that could contribute to violent children.
Critical period
A concept developed by Konrad Lorenz as a result of his classic experiment with baby geese and imprinting. In developmental psychology (PART OF), a critical period is an early stage in life when an individual is especially open to specific learning, emotional, or socializing experiences that occur as part of normal development and will not recur at a later stage (WHAT). If certain events or experiences do not occur during the critical period, the individual may not develop certain abilities or skills, or may only develop them with great difficulty (WHY). There may be a critical period for language acquisition in human infants. For fetuses, critical periods may also signify time when they are especially vulnerable to teratogens. (agents and conditions, including viruses, drugs, chemicals, stressors, and malnutrition, which can impair prenatal development and lead to birth defects or even death)
A psychologist is consulted after a 5 year old child was removed from the home of a mother suffering from schizophrenia. The child’s language development is severely delayed because she was not exposed to much language in the household. The critical period hypothesis holds that first language acquisition must occur before cerebral lateralization is complete, at about the age of puberty. Therefore the therapist explains that with intense intervention services, it is not too late to help the child develop the necessary language skills.
Cross-sectional design
-this is a form of research design which utilizes different groups of people who differ in the variable of interest, but share other characteristics such as socioeconomic status, educational background, and ethnicity. For example, researchers studying developmental psychology might select groups of people who are remarkably similar in most areas, but differ only in age. By doing this, any differences between groups can presumably be attributed to age differences rather than to other variables.
The defining characteristics of a cross sectional design: 1.) Takes place at a single point in time
2.) Does not involve manipulating variables
3.) Allows researchers to look at numerous things at once (age, income, gender)
4.) Often used to look at the prevalence of something in a given population
-Typically, several dependent variables are measured, and the study itself rarely takes more than a few months to complete. Cross sectional designs are advantageous because they take less time and therefore less money, but are disadvantageous because they give little information about the stability of the dependent variables and the change in them over time.
Ex: A mother was concerned about her 5 year old’s arithmetic abilities. In a cross-sectional design different children at different ages are assessed at the same time.The therapist looked at cross-sectional research of different groups of children at ages 4, 5, 6, and 7. The tests assessed addition and the strategies children use to arrive at their answers. The therapist had an idea of how this important skill changes with age and was able to conclude that the girl had the desired age appropriate skills.
Defense mechanism
Defense mechanism – a term originally coined in Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, this refers to an unconscious process by which a person attempts to preserve the integrity of their self-image and keep their ego from experiencing anxiety.
This anxiety is a result of conflicts between the id and the superego, which the ego serves as the mediator.
Freudian psychology states that normal, healthy individual use defense mechanisms. Defense mechanisms only become unhealthy when they lead to maladaptive behaviors.
Defense mechanisms are most often learned behaviors, most of which are learned during childhood. As an adult, one can choose to learn some new behaviors and new defense mechanisms that may be more beneficial.
Some types of psychotherapy can help a person become aware of what defense mechanisms they are using, how effective they are, and how to use less primitive and more effective mechanisms in the future.
EX: Brian presented to treatment because his wife insisted he go to therapy or they would get a divorce. She says that he has anger problems. The therapist discovered that much of Brian’s anger was actually at his boss, but that the defense mechanism of displacement caused him to take out his anger on a safer target, his wife. Once he became aware of this displacement, he then learned beneficial ways of coping wit his anger.
Developmental level
- a time in an individual’s life marked by certain emotional, physical, or social milestones or features, also known as developmental periods
- dividing an individual’s life into developmental periods provides a frame of reference for when it is “normal” for certain events to take place (i.e. a child normally walks by this age, talks by this age). Although individual differences do exist, developmental levels make it easier to distinguish when something is wrong with an individual’s development and serve as an important tool for comparison.
EX: A mother brings her 3-year-old son to therapy because he is not yet speaking. The mother tells the therapist that he is only using gestures to communicate and she doesn’t understand why he is not yet talking. The child has been tested, and it was determined that there is no physical cause for his lack of speech. The therapist knows that at a “normal” developmental level, the child should have been talking around his first birthday. The therapist speculates that the child may be presenting with a developmental delay.
Difficult babies
A difficult baby, sometimes referred to as a difficult child, is a child who tends to react negatively and cry frequently, engages in irregular daily routines, and is highly resistant to change (WHAT). They may have irregular eating and sleeping habits; a difficult child temperament tends to be stable across the childhood years. When children are prone to distress their parents may eventually respond by ignoring the child’s distress and trying to force the child to “behave” which can create mutually reinforcing negative behaviors in both the child and the parents (WHY).
EX: Kim enters counseling because she has started to feel stressed, overwhelmed, and inadequate as a mother. She tells the therapist that he daughter is extremely needy, constantly cries, and won’t get into a sleeping or eating routine. Kim is concerned that she is a bad mother. The therapist realizes that Kim may have a difficult baby, and explains this concept. The therapist suggests that Kim attend a parenting seminar, which will offer training and extra support for mothers of distress-prone infants. The therapist tells Kim that the seminar has been shown to improve the quality of interaction between the mother and the infant.
Egocentrism
In Jean Piaget’s (WHO) theory of cognitive development (PART OF), egocentrism is the tendency to perceive the situation from one’s own perspective, believing that others see things from the same point of view and that events will elicit the same thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in others as in oneself (WHAT). Children in Piaget’s preoperational stage are often unable to distinguish between one’s own perspective and someone else’s. Egocentrism acts as a marker to show what stage of development the child is in which helps in deciding on the best way for a caregiver or therapist to communicate with the child (WHY).
Egocentrism is also studied in adolescence. Adolescent egocentrism is the heightened self-consciousness of adolescents which has two components, the imaginary audience and person fable.Imaginary audience refers to the idea that most adolescents believe that there is some audience that is constantly present that is overly interested in what the individual has to say or do. Personal fable refers to the idea that many teenagers believe that they are the only ones who are capable of feeling the way that they do
EX: A mother brings her 5 year old daughter, Kim, to therapy with concerns about her daughter’s stealing habits. The mother tells the therapist that Kim is always bringing home toys from kindergarten and is refusing to return them. The mother always tells Kim that she needs to return the toys because she is making the other kids sad since they can’t play with the toys anymore. Kim doesn’t understand why the other kids are sad because she is happy when she plays with the toys. The therapist explains to the mother that Kim is displaying egocentrism, which is normal for her age. Kim is not able to understand the feelings of other people because she believes that everyone is feeling the same as her.
Extinction
a principle of learning, extinction occurs both in respondent (classical) and operant conditioning. In respondent conditioning, if the conditioned stimulus is presented without the unconditioned stimulus for several trials, the conditioned response to the conditioned stimulus will gradually lessen. In operant conditioning, extinction refers to the systematic withholding of the reinforcers which had previously maintained a behavior. Adding reinforcers causes behaviors to increase. Withholding them makes behaviors decrease or disappear completely.
Sometimes, extinction in operant conditioning is initially accompanied by an extinction burst, in which the behavior occurs more often for a time.
Withholding our attention for inappropriate behavior is only a part of the strategy: applying attention for a desirable behavior is the most important part.
Jeremy, a child on the autistic spectrum, bangs his head when he doesn’t get what he wants quickly. He is wearing a helmet to protect his head, and the teacher and aide now are using a picture exchange system for Jeremy so he can use the pictures to let them know what he wants. He gets what he wants when he uses his picture exchange. He is ignored when he bangs his helmet on the table. His teacher has seen a consistent increase in his use of his picture exchange and they are nearing extinction, as he is only banging his head about once a day
Genotype
Discovered by Gregor Mendal (WHO) and a term coined by Wilhelm Johannsen (WHO), a genotype is a concept in the field of biology that (PART OF), refers to an individual’s full set of genes. (WHAT). It is a person’s genetic heritage and their actual genetic material. Not all of a person’s genetic material is manifested in observable characteristics. The parts of a person’s genotype that are expressed and observable are known as the phenotype. An individual’s genotype determines available genes to be passed on to one’s offspring and has implications in counseling in reference to genetic testing and genetic disorders (WHY).
EX: A married couple presents to therapy because of distress and disagreement about whether to have a child. The wife understands that her family has a history of a debilitating disease but the husband believes that since his wife doesn’t have the disease, then their children won’t either. The therapist offers genetic counseling for the couple in order to explain that there would be a potential for their offspring to have or be a carrier of the disease since the wife is a carrier.
