Psychology SAC - Chapters 2-3 Flashcards
Nature (heredity)
Our genetics.
Heredity involves the transmission of characteristics from biological parents to their offspring via genes at
the time of conception
Nurture (environment)
The environment that we grow up in.
Environment is used to refer to all the experiences, objects and events to which we are exposed
throughout our entire lifetime
Sensitive Periods
Sensitive periods are times during development when an individual
is more responsive to certain types of environmental stimulation or
learning. They are the best time to learn a developmental skill.
How long does the sensitive period last?
The Sensitive Period for learning a native language ends at about age 12, with the window gradually closing from age seven.
Critical Periods
Critical periods are specific times during development where an
individual is vulnerable to being deprived of an environmental stimulus.
Imprinting eg. ducklings
Clearest example of critical periods, a newly hatched duckling will follow the first noisy moving object it sees. After 10 minutes of following this object, the duckling will assume that this object is its ‘mother.’
What are the areas of development?
-Emotional development
-Cognitive development
-Social development
-Physical development
The Biopsychosocial Model
Is a way of describing how biological, psychological and social factors combine to describe and explain a person’s development and wellbeing.
Social Factors (External)
-Interpersonal relationships
-Social media
-Ethnicity
-Access to healthcare
-Educational background
Psychological Factors (Internal)
-Learning and memory
-Ways of thinking
-Attitudes and beliefs
-Emotions
-Perceptions
-Coping skills
Biological Factors (Internal)
-Genes
-Age
-Male/female
-Race
-Hormones
-Disease
Developmental Change
A developmental change is any relatively permanent or lasting change that occurs during the course of the lifespan.
Eg: Learning to speak, walk, making friendships,
How is the biopsychosocial model a holistic view?
This means that factors from each area can affect each other, and influence how we develop as a whole person.
Example:
A person who is eating well and getting good sleep will think more clearly, which can improve how they interact with others at school or work, which will lead to less stress!
What is an emotion?
an emotion is a
complex reaction pattern to a personally significant event.
Attachment theory
Attachment describes the relationship between two people who feel strongly about each other. In infancy, it has been studied as the emotional bond.
-Infants form attachment with their main caregivers
-Some develop different levels of emotional bonds with different caregivers
What was the strange situation study
An observational study Mary Ainsworth had devised for assessing attachment. It is a standardised test measuring emotional attachment between infants and caregivers.
What did they measure in the strange situation study?
-Proximity and contact seeking
-Contact Maintenance
-Avoidance of proximity and contact
-Resistance to contact and comforting
What were the four types of attachment discovered?
-Secure attachment
-Insecure resistant
-Aviodant attachment
-Disorganised attachment
Secure attachment
-Show distress when separated from mother.
-Avoidant of stranger, unless accompanied by mother.
-Happy to see mother after separation.
Insecure resistant
-Show intense distress when separated from mother
-Significant fear of stranger
-Approach mother but reject contact after separation
Avoidant attachment
-Show no interest when separated from mother
-Play happily with stranger
-Ignore mother after separation
Disorganised attachment
Inconsistent attachment behaviours
Harlow’s Monkey studies
Harry Harlow (1958) conducted research on rhesus monkeys to study factors influencing attachment. Created ‘surrogate’ mothers for infant monkeys and observed their preference for which mother the monkey clung to for support.
Contact comfort
The infant’s need for physical closeness and touching is referred to as contact comfort. Contact comfort is believed to be the foundation for attachment.
Privation
Privation refers to the failure to form an attachment to any caregiver during early childhood, often due to a lack of opportunity.
Deprivation
Deprivation refers to the loss or absence of something that was once present or expected.
Effects of Privation studies
Privation studies suggest that the effects of privation are irreversible.
Cognitive Development
Is the typical acquisition and change in mental processes across
the lifespan.
Piaget’s Four Stages of Cognitive Development
-Sensorimotor
-Pre-Operational
-Concrete Operational
-Formal Operational
Assimilation
Fitting new information into a
pre-existing idea.
Accommodation
Changing our pre-existing
ideas to fit new information.
Sensorimotor Stage
Birth-2 years:
Infants explore the world through their senses and motor movements.
Sensation and motor movement begin uncoordinated.
Object permanence and goal-directed behaviour in the Sensorimotor stage.
Object permanence: the idea that objects exist even if they can no longer be seen, heard or touched.
Goal-directed behaviour: a sequence of actions that is meant to achieve a particular purpose.
PRE-OPERATIONAL STAGE
2-7 years:
The stage when a child has increased ability to mentally represent objects and experiences, and is able to communicate with language and readily ask questions, but has
not yet fully developed logical reasoning.
Symbolic thinking and egocentrism in the Pre-operational stage.
Symbolic thinking: the ability to use words and symbols to
represent objects that are not physically present.
Egocentrism: they cannot see the world from someone else’s point of view.
Animism (pre-operational stage)
the idea that everything that exists (rocks, trees, rivers) have a
consciousness.
Centration (Pre-operational stage)
the inability to focus on more than one quality at a time.
Transformation (Pre-operational Stage)
that something can change shape or substance. Eg. Knowing that if you leave ice out in the sun, it will become a puddle of water.
Reversibility (Pre-operational Stage)
being able to understand a concept in reverse; working backwards through a problem.
CONCRETE OPERATIONAL STAGE
7-12 years:
A concrete operational child is capable of logical thought and mental operations. They can imagine and predict consequences of actions without them actually needing
to happen.
Conservation (CONCRETE OPERATIONAL STAGE)
the idea that aspects of an object can remain the same even if their
outward appearance changes.
Decentration (CONCRETE OPERATIONAL STAGE)
the ability to pay attention to multiple aspects of an object.
Classification (CONCRETE OPERATIONAL STAGE)
the ability to separate objects from one another mentally, or to group
them together, according to their features.
FORMAL OPERATIONAL STAGE
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Abstract Thinking (FORMAL OPERATIONAL STAGE)
the ability to understand the meaning of something, without having to see,
visualise, or manipulate it.
Deductive Reasoning (FORMAL OPERATIONAL STAGE)
solving mental problems by using evidence to draw conclusions and build up to a solution.
Idealistic thinking (FORMAL OPERATIONAL STAGE)
being able to have a concept of perfection and determining what steps could be taken to achieve that goal.
Social behaviour
is defined more specifically as any action that is influenced, directly or
indirectly, by the actual, imagined, expected, or implied presence of others
PSYCHOSOCIAL STAGES OF
DEVELOPMENT
-Trust vs Mistrust
-Autonomy vs Shame/Doubt
-Initiative vs Guilt
-Industry vs Inferiority
-Identity vs Role Confusion
-Intimacy vs Isolation
-Generativity vs Stagnation
-Integrity vs Despair
STAGE 1 – TRUST VS MISTRUST
(BIRTH TO 1 YEAR)
Trust:
-If we develop a secure attachment, we will be more able to
develop healthy attachments at later stages.
-A caregiver who is attentive and responsive makes the world
predictable and comforting for the child.
Mistrust:
-A lack of love, warmth, attention and responsiveness from
a caregiver can lead to mistrust.
-Child will be insecure, suspicious and be unable to relate to
others easily.
STAGE 2 – AUTONOMY VS DOUBT
(1 – 3 YEARS)
Autonomy: is the sense of personal independence, or personal control over their own environment. It creates a sense of basic confidence in their own abilities.
Doubt: and shame refer to a child who is lacks confidence in their own abilities, feeling
inadequate.
STAGE 3 – INITIATIVE VS GUILT
(3-5 YEARS)
Initiative is the desire to assert control over one’s environment.
The child may develop a
sense of guilt over their choices of activities, perceiving them as something to be embarrassed about.
STAGE 4 – INDUSTRY VS INFERIORITY
(6 YEARS – PUBERTY)
Industry: refers to the sense of pride that an individual takes in their
work; the value they place on being productive.
Inferiority: is a feeling of inadequacy compared to others.
STAGE 5 – IDENTITY VS ROLE CONFUSION
(12 – 18 YEARS) who am i?
The conflict of this stage is to develop a sense of identity.
Role Confusion refers to an insecure sense of self, a teenager who is unsure of what they believe in or what they desire.
STAGE 6 – INTIMACY VS ISOLATION
(19 – 40 YEARS)
Intimacy is achieved if we can share experiences and care for another person without losing our sense of self identity.
Isolation is the resulting loneliness that an adult might feel if they are unsuccessful in romantic relationships and unable to form lasting, close friendships.
STAGE 7 – GENERATIVITY VS
STAGNATION
(40 – 65 YEARS) midlife crisis
Generativity refers to having concern for other people, and leaving a better
place for future generations; improving society in some meaningful way.
Stagnation refers to boredom, concern with personal comfort and lack of personal growth.
STAGE 8 – INTEGRITY VS DESPAIR
(65+YEARS)
Integrity is the sense of satisfaction from one’s achievements and
that what they have done has been useful or had meaning.
Despair refers to bitter feelings of hopelessness, obsession with
missed opportunities, and a sense that life has been
meaningless, with no time left to correct it.
Typical Behaviour
Being typical in relation to behaviour means that, at most times, the person is acting the way they usually do.
Atypical Behaviour
Atypical behaviour would mean that the person is acting in a way that is unusual for them.
Describing normality by:
-Social Norms
-Cultural Perspective
-Statistical Rarity
-Personal Distress
-Functionality (Maladaptive Behaviour)
Adaptive Behaviour
Involves actions that enable a person to effectively carry out their usual
everyday tasks.
Maladaptive Behaviour
interferes with a person’s ability to carry out their usual activities in
an effective way.
NEUROTYPICALITY
Describes people whose neurological development and cognitive functioning are typical, conforming to what most people would consider to be normal in the general population.
NEURODIVERSITY
Describes people whose neurological development and cognitive functioning are atypical and therefore deviate from what is considered typical or normal in the general
population.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
a neurodevelopmental condition characterised by impaired social interactions,
verbal and non-verbal communication difficulties, narrow interests, and repetitive behaviour.
Social Interactions with ASD
-Little or no response to social interaction
-Little to no initiation of social interaction
-Little eye contact
-Oversensitive to hugs or touch
-Show little to no interest in others
Social communication with ASD
-Delayed speech development
-Little to no initiation of social interaction
-Expressions do not match what is being said
-Little understanding of ‘social rules’
-Slow or fail to respond to being called upon
-Tone often mechanical and monotone
Repetitive behaviour, interests and activities with ASD
-Fixation on certain activities
-Hypersensitivity
-Repeating simple movements
-Repeating use of objects
-Excessively like routine
-Unique strengths and challenges for different people
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
A disorder involving a persistent pattern of inattention, and/or hyperactive-impulsive behaviour that adversely affects development or everyday functioning.
ADHD symptoms
-Inattention
-Distractibility
-Hyperactivity
-Impulsivity
Inattention (ADHD)
The individual has significant difficulty maintaining their attention on task that do not provide a high level of stimulation or are frequently rewarding in some way.
Hyperactivity (ADHD)
Excessive motor activity and difficulties with remaining still, most evident in structured situations.
Impulsivity (ADHD)
A tendency to act on the spur of the moment in response to immediate stimuli, without a plan or consideration of the outcome.
Dyslexia
A learning disability in significant difficulties with accurate and fluent word reading, spelling and writing words.
Symptoms of dyslexia
-difficulty distinguishing the sound of one word from another
-difficulty learning the letter names and sounds for reading and spelling
-difficulty in reading single words
-difficulty recognising ‘sight words’ like it, the, or and
-lack of accuracy and fluency when attempting to read
-reading or writing letters the wrong way around
-poor or inconsistent spelling.
Dyscalculia
a condition that affects the ability to acquire mathematical concepts and skills.
Symptoms of Dyscalculia
Difficulties with:
-counting
-understanding simple number concepts
-learning how to manipulate numbers
-learning how to measure quantities
-learning how to solve numerical problems.
Dyspraxia
a condition that affects coordination of physical movements,
which may include muscles for speaking.
Symptoms of Dyspraxia
difficulties with:
-dressing
-self-care skills
-domestic skills
-school skills
-recreation and sports participation
-general skills
Psychologist
Is an individual who is professionally trained in one or more branches or subfields of psychology.
Psychiatrist
Is a doctor who specialises in the diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and study of mental, behavioural, and personality disorders.
