Psychology Unit 6 Flashcards
1
Q
Developmental Psychology
A
A branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span
2
Q
Three major themes of developmental psychology
A
Nature v nuture
Continuity and stages
Stability and change
3
Q
Nature v Nurture in Developmental Psychology
A
Genes predispose our share of humanity and individual differences
Differences are strengthened by nurture
4
Q
Continuity v Stages in Developmental Psychology
A
Slow continuous process of development
People pass stages in the same order (but not always the same time)
Research doubts that it’s neatly categorized by age
5
Q
Who contributed a lot to stage theories?
A
Jean Piaget
6
Q
Stability and Change in developmental psychology
A
Some characteristics are very stable: temperament, emotionality, happiness
Our personality gradually stabilizes
Less predictable: social attitudes (we learn new ways to cope)
We may change over time but still be the same as compared to others our age: a hard driven adult may be more mellow when older, but still be driven compared to other senior citizens
7
Q
Zygote
A
The fertilized egg; it enters a 2-week period of rapid cell division and develops into an embryo
8
Q
When is the germinal stage and what is it?
A
10 days after contraception, a zygote attaches to the carriers uterine wall
9
Q
Embryo
A
The developing human organism from about 2 weeks after fertilization through the second month
10
Q
When does an embryo’s organs begin to form and function
A
6 weeks
11
Q
When does an embryo look like a human?
A
9 weeks
12
Q
Fetus
A
The developing human organism from 9 weeks after contraception to birth
13
Q
When is it safe to say that a fetus will be born with a good chance of survival even if born prematurely? Why?
A
6 months. The stomach is developed enough
14
Q
Immediately after birth, newborns prefer their fathers voice to their mothers
A
False, mothers
15
Q
Ways prenatal babies demonstrate learning
A
Preferring their mothers’ language after they are born if its what the mother spoke at pregnancy
Respond less to repeated vibrational stimuli
16
Q
Teratogens
A
(Literally “monster makers”) agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm
17
Q
Affects of teratogens on prenatal development
A
- Reduces activity in the central nervous system
- Primes them to taste and alcoholism
- Dangerously low birth weight
- Birth defects
- Future behavior problems
- Lower intelligence
18
Q
Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)
A
Physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman’s heavy drinking. In severe cases, signs induce a small, out-of-proportion head and abnormal facial features
19
Q
Epigenetic Effect
A
Alcohol leaving chemical marks on DNA that switch genes abnormally on or off
20
Q
Teratogen examples
A
Alcohol, smoking, stress
21
Q
Newborn relfexes: poke a babies cheek
A
Baby will turn towards the poke (simulates looking for nipple)
22
Q
Startle reflex
A
When arms and legs spring out, quickly followed by fist clenching and loud crying
23
Q
Grasping reflex
A
24
Q
Habituation
A
Decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation. As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner
25
Maturation
Biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relativley uninfluenced by experience
26
Rate of developing nerve cells in womb
One-quarter million per minute
27
When is the most rapid growth in the frontal lobe
3 to 6 years old (requires most amount of energy)
28
Why do baby brains increase in size rapidly after in early days after birth?
The brain's neural networks that enable talking, walking, and remembering have a growth spurt
29
Last brain parts to develop
Association areas with thinking, memory, and language
30
Pruning process
The "use-it-or-lose-it" process of shutting down unused links in neurons
31
Most babies can walk at about
11-15 months
32
We consciously recall a lot before from before age 4 (true or false?)
False, a little (infantile amnesia)
33
Growth vs. Development
Growth: getting bigger
Development: a change occurs (ex. Brown to grey hair)
34
Morals vs. Ethics
Morals: is it good if we raise a child like this
Ethics: how do we do it
35
Babinski reflex
Run finger down arch of foot, baby will curl toes to simulate grabbing a tree branch
36
Moro reflex
Rest hand on torso then quickly release, babies will flair their arms to be easier to catch
37
APGAR Test
(7-10 is normal)
A = activity of muscles
P = pulse
G= grimace (suctioning mucus out of nose and mouse makes them flinch)
A = appearance (color, too yellow could mean problem in liver)
R = respiration
38
Jean Piaget
Studied children's cognition and developed intellegence tests
39
Piaget's core idea
Our intelligence progression reflects an unceasing struggle to make sense of our experiences. The maturing brain builds schemas
40
Cognition
All the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating
(The kangaroo raked the car)
41
Schema
A concept or framework that organizes and interprets information
42
Assimilation
Interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas
43
Accommodation
Adapting our current understanding (schemas) to incorporate new information
44
Piaget's two concepts in schemas
1. We assimilate new experiences
2. We accommodate new experiences
45
Piaget's four stages of cognitive development
1. Sensorimotor
2. Preoperational
3. Concrete operational
4. Formal operational
46
Sensorimotor Stage
In Piaget's theory, the stage (from birth to nearly 2 years of age) during which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities
47
Why are young babies so amused by peekaboo
While in the sensorimotor stage, they don't have any concept of object permanence. Thus, they really think its gone. "If I can't sense it, it doesn't exist"
48
Object Permanence
The awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived
49
Preoperational Stage
In Piaget's theory, the stage (from about 2 to 6 or 6 years of age) during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic
50
Before the age of 6, Piaget says thay children lack the concept of
Conservation
51
Conservation
The principle (which Piaget believed to be part of concrete operational reasoning) that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects
52
Why is pretend play significant to the transition between 2 to 3 year olds
It shows they can now symbolically think
53
Egocentrism
In Piaget's theory, the preoperational child's difficulty taking another's point of view
54
Theory of Mind
People's ideas about their own and others' mental states-about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and the behaviors these might predict
55
Kids with ASD tend to have difficulty
Understanding that other people's state of mind is different from their own
56
Concrete Operational Stage
In Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (from about 7 to 11 years of age) during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events
57
Formal Operational Stage
In Piaget's Theory, the stage of cognitive development (normally beginning about age 12) during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts
58
Key Milestones of Piaget's Cognitive Development Stages
Sensorimotor: Object permanence, stranger anxiety
Preoperational: Pretend play, egocentrism
Concrete Operational: Conservation, Mathmatical transformations
Formal Operational: Abstract logic, Potential for mature moral reasoning
59
Lev Vygotsky
Studied how a child's mind interacts with the physical environment
60
Scaffold
A framework that offers children temporary support as they develop higher levels of thinking
61
Vygotsky: Child zone of proximal development
Zone between what a child can and can't do, thus could do with help
62
Flaw in Piaget's theory
Development is more continuous than stages
63
Stranger Anxiety
The fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning by about 8 months of age
64
Attachment
An emotional tie with another person; shown in young children by their seeking closeness to their caregiver and showing distress on seperation
65
Critical Period
An optimal period early in the life on an organism when exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces normal development
66
Imprinting
The process by which certain animals form strong attatchments during early life
67
Why do duckling immediately chose the first animal they see as their mother?
Their critical period is just hours after birth
68
Familiarity brings unease to children. True or false
False, it brings safety and contentness
69
Strange Situation Experiment
A procedure for studying child-caregiver attatchment; a child is placed in an unfamiliar environment while their caregiver leaves and then returns, and the child's reactions are observed
70
Secure attachment
Demonstrated by infants who comfortably explore environments in the presence of their caregiver, show only temporary distress when their caregiver leaves, and find comfort in the caregiver's return
71
Insecure attachment
Demonstrated by infants who display either a clinging, anxious attachment or an avoidant attachment that resists closeness
72
Temperament
A person's characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity
73
Temperament is genetically influenced and can be predicted even from newborns (True or False?)
True
74
Basic trust
According to Erik Erikson, a sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy; said to be formed during infancy by appropriate experiences with responsive caregivers
75
Self-concept
All our thoughts and feelings about ourselves in answer to the question "Who am I"
76
About BY what age have children developed self concept?
Age 12
77
The four main parenting styles
Authoritarian, Permissive, Negligent, Authoritative
78
Describe authoritarian parenting and its effects
Coercive, impose rules and expect obedience without needing to explain why.
Children have less social skills, lower self-esteem, and overreact when they make mistakes
79
Describe permissive parenting and its effects
Unrestraining, few demands or limits.
Children are more aggressive and immature
80
Describe negligent parenting and its effects
Uninvolved, neither demanding nor responsive
Children develop poor academic skills and social outcomes
81
Sex
In psychology, the biologically influenced characteristics by which people define male and female
82
Gender
In psychology, the socially influenced characteristics by which people define boy, girl, man, and woman
83
Aggression
Any physical or verbal behavior intended to harm someone physically or emotionally
84
Relational Aggression
An act of aggression (physical or verbal) intended to harm a person's relationship or social standing
85
Aggression related to gender
Men are more likely to commit overt aggression, while women are relational aggression
86
Role
A set of expectations (norms) about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave
87
Gender Roles
A set of expected behaviors, attitudes, and traits for males or for females
88
Gender identity
Our sense of being male, female, or some combination of the two
89
Social learning theory
The theory that we learn social behavior by observing and imitating and by being rewarded or punished
90
Gender typing
The acquisition of a traditional masculine or feminine role
91
Androgyny
Displaying both traditional masculine and feminine psychological characteristics
92
Transgender
An umbrella term describing people whose gender identity or expression differs from that associated with their birth designated sex
93
An enriched developing environment promots
Brain cortex growth
94
Anything that is not taught in a maturing brain
Is a lose it situation. You can't learn any language if you were never talked to by a certain age
95
Adolescence
The transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence
96
Puberty
The period of sexual maturation, during which a person becomes capable of reproducing
97
Menarche
First menstrual period
98
Girls have been hitting puberty earlier than later as time progresses (True or false)
True
99
What strengthens in the brain to allow for better judgement during adolescence
Continuing growth of myelin
100
Frontal lobe maturation lags behind
the emotional limbic system
101
Preconventional Morality focus on ______ and is associate with the ages _______
Self-interest; obey rules to avoid punishment or gain concrete rewards
(before age 9)
102
Conventional Morality focus on ______ and is associate with the ages _______
Uphold laws and rules to gain social approval or maintain social order
(Early adolescence)
103
Postconventional Morality focus on ______ and is associate with the ages _______
Actions reflect belief in basic rights and self-defined ethical principles
(Adolescence and beyond)
104
Identity
Our sense of self; according to Erikson, the adolescent's task is to solidify a sense of self by testing and integrating various roles
105
Social Identity
The "we" aspect of our self-concept; the part of our answer to "Who am I?" that comes from our group memberships
106
Intimacy
In Erikson's theory, the ability to form close, loving relationships; a primary developmental task in young adulthood
107
Emerging Adulthood
A period from about age 18 to the mid-twenties, when many in Western cultures are no longer adolescents but have not yet achieved full independence as adults
108
Two ways biology influences gender psychology
Genetically (differing chromosomes)
Physiologically (differing concentrations of sex hormones)
109
X Chromosome
The sex chromosome found in both males and females. females typically have two chromosome; males typically have one. An X chromosome from each parent produces a female child
110
Y chromosome
The sex chromosome typically found only in males. When paired with an X chromosome from the mother, it produces a male child
111
Testosterone
The most important male sex hormone. Both males and females have it, but the additional testosterone in males stimulates the growth of the male sex organs during the fetal period and the development of the male sex characteristics during puberty.
112
Prenatal hormones influence our sex-related activities (true or false)
True
113
Primary sex characteristics
The body structures (ovaries, testes, and external genitalia) that makes sexual reproduction possible
114
Secondary Sex Characteristics
Nonreproductive sexual traits, such as female breasts and hips, male voice quality, and body hair
115
Spermarche
The first ejaculation
116
Stresses that can lead to early menarche
Father absence, sexual abuse, insecure attachments, or a history of mother's smoking during pregnancy
117
Intersex
A condition present at birth due to unusual combinations of male and female chromosomes, hormones, and anatomy; possessing biological sexual characteristics of both sexes
118
AIDS (Acquired immune deficiency syndrome)
A life-threatening, sexually transmitted infection caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). AIDS depletes the immune system, leaving the person vulnerable to infections
119
Influences that reduce teen sexual behavior
Communication about birth control
High Intelligence
Religious engagement
Father presence
Service learning participation
120
Influences that induce teen sexual behavior
Impulsivity
Alcohol Use
Mass Media
Absent father
121
Sexual Orientation
Our enduring sexual attraction, usually toward members of our own sex (homosexual orientation) or the other sex (heterosexual orientation); variations include attraction to both sexes (bisexual orientation)
122
Erotic plasticity
More common in women, an inconsistent and flexible concentration of sexual attraction
123
Environmental factors such as abuse and conditioning can change sexual orientation (True or False?)
False
124
Brain differences in heterosexual men and (women and homosexual men)
A cell cluster in the hypothalamus is larger
125
Fertile Females Theory
Maternal genetics may influence sexual orientation (more gay relatives on their mother's side than fathers)
126
Menopause
The time of natural cessation of menstruation; also refers to the biological changes a woman experiences as her ability to reproduce declines
127
Biological decay that causes aging
The tips of chromosomes-telomeres- wear down
128
Death-deferral
Death is more likely within days around Christmas, birthdays, etc.
129
Physical sensations that come with age
Diminishing in visual sharpness, distance perception, and adaptation to light-level changes. Eye's pupil shrinks, lens becomes less transparent.
130
Cross-sectional study
Research that compares people of different ages at the same point in time
131
Longitudinal study
Research that follows and retests the same people over time
132
Neurocognitive Disorders (NCDs)
Acquired (not lifelong) disorders marked by cognitive deficits; often related to Alzheimer's disease, brain injury, or disease, or substance abuse. In order adults, neurocognitive disorders were formerly called dementia
133
Alzheimer's Disease
A neurocognitive disorder marked by neural plaques, often with onset after age 80, and entailing a progressive decline in memory and other cognitive abilities
134
Social Clock
The culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement
135
Health benefits and disadvantages with aging
Immune system weakens, but les susceptible to common flus and viruses.
136
Physical changes of brain for memory with age
