Psychological Development Flashcards
What does thriving after adversity look like?
An increase in the level of function after the event
How does culture fit into development?
All development takes place in a cultural context
What is a turning point?
A disruption to a trajectory that has the long-term impact of altering the probability of like destinations
What is the transactional model?
It states that development takes place through transacting factors
- Genetics
- Constitutional
- Biological/biochemical
- Psychological
- Environmental
What factors are protective from adverse outcomes?
Internal resources
External/environmental resources
Are all milestones universal?
No, more socially determined behaviours area characterised by enormous variability
Do babies and toddlers communicate?
Yes
What is does development encompass?
Change at the cellular and neurobiological level
Physical skills “milestones”
Cognitive and language function
Social and emotional functions
Personality and attitudes
Behavioural repertoire
What are Erikson’s life stages?
Infancy
Toddler
Play age
School age
Adolescence
Young adult
Middle adulthood
Old age
What are some resources that promote successful development?
Family factors
Community factors
Psychological traits
Positive self-beliefs
Coping skills
How does anxiety present in early childhood vs middle childhood?
Early: Separation anxiety
Middle: Specific fears/phobias
What are the strengths of Erikson’s theory?
Groundbreaking and creative
Makes intuitive sense
High level of abstraction leads to broad ways for further study
Enduring interest in his ideas
How does the presentation of depression differ between middle childhood and adolescent?
Middle: Irritability, Somatic complaint, school refusal
Adolescent: Sleep and appetite disturbances, hopelessness, suicidal
What is a matrix of disadvantage
Parents of children with disruptive behaviour disorders have higher rates of domestic violence, substance abuse, depressive disorder, social deprivation and tend to use harsh physical punishments
What is temperament?
The automatic associative responses to basic emotional stimuli that determine habits and skills
How much of temperament is inherited?
50-60%
What is resilience?
Positve adaptation in the context of adversity
What are the problems Erikson’s theory?
Hard to test empirically
Board and abstract
Reflect norms of 1950
Lack of clarity with regard to time limits for stages
Insufficient attention to negative or maladaptive development
Implies a linear progression
What do you want to know when investigating abnormal behaviour?
The age of the individual and the context of the behaviour
At what age is concrete operational cognitive development in place?
7 to 12
What is a “task”?
A developmental task is one which arises at or abot a certain period in the life of a individual, successful achievemnent of which leads to happiness and to success with later tasks, while failure leads to unhappiness in the individual and difficulty with later tasks
What are the weaknesses of the tasks model?
Sociocultural changes have transformed expectation of what is normative
Recent research has challenged the link between achievement of tasks and future happiness and stressed the importance of other constructs such as self-esteem
What did Havighurst propose as an alternative to stages?
Tasks
What are the important characteristics of Erikson’s theory?
Step by step growth
Critial time periods
Importance of psychosocial crises as a driving force
The value of both positive and negative emotions
What are the strength’s of the tasks model?
Integrates challenges from different domains
Stresses the individual’s active role in negotiating tasks
At what ages is preoperational cognitive development normal?
2-7 years old
What are the 4 dimensions of temperament?
Harm avoidance
Reward dependence
Novelty seeking
Persistence
How does Erikson’s life stages characterise young adulthood?
Intimacy vs Isolation
How does Erikson’s life stage characterise late adulthood?
Generativity vs stagnation
What age is emerging adulthood?
18-25
What is the focus of the emerging adulthood life stage?
Identity formation/consolidation
What is the average age of menopause?
51
How did Levinson’s housewives feel in mid-life?
Cheated
Resentful
How did Levinson’s professional women feel in mid-life?
Disappointed with their achievements
Why is the mid-life crisis theory misleading?
Rates of depression and anxiety are at their lowest in the 45-65 age group
What is the five factor model of personality?
Neuroticism decreases across adulthood until very late life
Openness to new experiences declines
Agreeableness increases
Conscientiousness diseases
Extraversion stable
How is menopause defined?
12 after amenorrhea
When are symptoms of menopause worse?
Perimenopause - Around the time of the last period when hormone instability is greatest
What are some risk factors for midlife depression?
Pre-existing depression
Prior history of troublesome premenstrual symptoms
Number of bothersome menstral symptoms
Poor attitude to ageing
What is fluid intelligence?
The ability to problem solve and deal with new situations
Personality changes are a red flag for which diseases?
Frontotemporal lobar degeneration
Alzheimer’s
Pituitary disease
Diogenes
