psychology over the lifespan Flashcards
nature vs nurture
how do both genes & environment contribute to development
answer: both
continuity & stages
do we develop gradually & continuoulsy or in stages & abrupt changes
answer: both
stability & change
how stable are our thoughts, behaviors, & emotions over a lifetime? do they change?
answer: yes to both! both.
gametes
sex cells
-sperm
-egg
teratogens
agents that can reach embryo or fetus & cause harm
teratogens examples
-chemicals (alcohol, heroin, cocaine, environmental pollutants, caffeine, smoking)
-viruses (chicken pox, rubella, HIV)
-radiation
-diet, stress
what do infants see
8-12 inches away
prefernce for faces
preference for familar sounds & smells
fetus
-called this 9 weeks until birth
embryo
-called this 2 weeks to 8 weeks after conception
zygote
fertilized egg
-1st 2 weeks after conception is when it is called a zygote
chromosomes
-xx - female
-xy - male
temperament
biological aspect of personality
-approach style ( calm)
-withdrawal style (anxious)
two types of temperament
watched video of monkeys
-approach style ( calm)
-withdrawal style (anxious)
physical & motor development
milestones: roll over, sit, crawl, walk
perceptual development
-visual perception
(habituation technique, visual cliff experiment for depth)
memory development
-infantile amnesia
(babies at 3 months can retain learning for a month)
childhood & infancy
-physical & motor development
-perceptual development
-memory development
infancy & childhood: cognitive development man
-jean piaget
-he created states of cognitive development
schema
an organized pattern of thoughts or behavior that organizes categoties of information & the relationships among them
assimilation
modification of new information into an already existing schema
-for example: all men are Daddy
accomidation
creation or modification of schema to make them fir with new experiences
-ex: a cognitive category for men other than Daddy
piaget 4 stages
- sensorimotor period - below 2
- preoperational period - 2 to 7
- concrete operational period - 7 to 11
- formal operations - 11 to 15 years (into adulthood)
sensorimotor
-birth to 2 years
-language used for demand & cataloguing
-sensory curiosity about the world
-attempt imitation !
-object permanence !
-play with two objects together
preoperational
2 to 7 years
-egocenterism (cannot take view of point of others)
-theory of mind (ability to take others view & make conclusions)
-rigidity of though (no conservation skills)
-semi logical reasoning (classify objects by one trait)
-limited social cognition
-language(represents objects by images & words)
difference between egocenterism & theory of mind
if a child is egocentric, then they don’t have a theory of mind
-they don’t understand someone who may have a different like or dislike than them
-if they do have theory of mind, they will think of others and take into account their different opinions
concrete operations period age
7 to 11
concrete operationational
-logic reasoning begins
-conservation (numbers, math, and weight)
-classification (can classify objects according to several features)
-reversibility (can look at objects viewpoints)
formal operations
age 11 to 15
-scientific method approach to thinking
-can think logically about abstract concepts
-can consider hypothetical concepts
-if/then situations
things that are beyond piaget
-babies can understand naive physics & math (ex. walking through a podium, babies will stare)
-piaget underestimated children
-lev vygotsky & social self-talk (social child, scaffolding)
who is lev vygotsky?
-emphasizes talk matters
-talking them though things, talking to them, etc
-autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
–increased diagnosis in recent years
–difficulty taking another person’s viewpoint
–brain connections allowing such a function are inefficient
-boys are 4x likely to develop ASD
—have more brain activity ( it is not efficeint)
social development: attachment
this is in infancy & childhood
-separation anxiety (beginning at 6 mo-2yrs)
-strange situation experiments (used to discover how child reacts)
-secure attachment (60-70%)
-insecure attachment (avoidant, resistant, disorganized)
what did harlow’s monkeys experiment show
shows social development: attachment
-showed importance of comfort contact (with food and scaring them. went to wire money for food, but cloth monkey for comfort)
what are the child-rearing practices
authoritarian: impose tules, exact obedience
permissive: submit to children, use little punishment
authoritative: demanding & responsive
adolescence: physical development
puberty: period during which sexual organs mature
-children’s bodies begin producing hormones at an adult level
-androgens: male hormones
-estrogens: female hormones
-menarche
changes in males in physical development
-testes and penis start to enlarge, sperm starts to produce
secondary: armpit hair, voive
changes in females in physical development
-primary: ovulation and menstration
-secondary: breasts develop, growth of pubic arm pit hair, body changes (hips widen and waist narrows)
menarche
the first mentruation
adolesence: cognitive development
adolescent egocentrism: overly concerned with their own thoughts & feelings
imaginary audience: adolescents believe that other are watching them constantly
personal fable: belief that their experiences and feelings are unique
illusion of invulnerability: think that misfortunes happens mainly to others & not themselves
adolescence: moral development
-lawrence kohlberg
-moral dimensions
-three levels of moral development
1. Preconventional
2. Conventional
3. Postconventiona;
what is preconventional morality
-obedience & punishment: behavior driven by avoiding punishment
individual interest: behavior driven by self-interest & rewards
what is conventional mortality
interpersonal: behavior driven by social approval
authority: behavior driven by obeying authority & conforming to social order
post conventional morality
social contract: behavior driven by balance of social order & individual rights
universal ethics: behavior driven by internal moral principles
justice- what do you deserve
kohlberg’s dilemmas
-ex: heinz steals an expensive drug from a greedy pharmacist to save his dying wife
-boys were asked to reason about morality (aged 10 to 16)
-preconventional level: fear of punishment (stealing gets in trouble)
conventional: driven by what others thing, want to be a ‘good boy or girl’
postconventional: social contract, human life is highest principle, we have a duty to save lives, universal ethical principles
critique of kohlberg’s
-culture-specific, gender-specific, reasoning versus behavior
social & emotional development in adolesence
-conflicts with parents (begin in separation)
-most frequently in early adolescence
-most intense mid-adolescence
-mood swings (forging identity)
-dont think anything bad will happen to them
emerging adulthood
period from biological maturity to social independance
adulthood ages
early adulthood: 22-34 years
middle adulthood
-early middle: 35-44
-late middle: 45-64
late adulthood: 65+
physical changes in middle adulthood
athletes peak at 27 years of age
By 40, physical prowess decline accelerates (this mainly has to do with lifestyle choices, not age)
physical changes in middle adulthood
-fertility declines
-menopause (avg age is 50)
Immunosenescence- adulthood & aging
gradual deterioration in immune system as we age
-our capacity to respond to infections
-we maintain our long-term immune memory that was required
adulthood & aging
perception
-vision dims
-pupil shrinks
-lens less transparent
-hearing declines
-taste declines
processing speed
-slows, more accidents after 75
how much does the brain reduce by age 80?
5%
adulthood & aging: memory
terminal decline: memory based more on proximity to death than age
semantic: names mixed up
episodic: events.. remember slower but recall as much
working memory: recognition vs recall.. older adults good at recognition, worse at recall
social & emotional development in adulthood
-“midlife crisis” is a myth
-erikson’s psychosocial stages in adulthood (intimacy versus isolation) (generativity versus self-absorption)
-personality is stable through adulthood
-mature emotions
death & dying
-grief (death of a spouse of child)
-bereavement (longer fro some, other never get over. discussing help)
-cultural differences (showing grief publicly or not)
