Psycology Flashcards
What are the goals of psychology?
- To describe how people behave
- To understand the causes of behaviour
- To predict behaviour under certain conditions
- To control behaviour through knowledge and control of its cause.
What are the 4 key approaches to psychology?
- behaviourist
- cognitive/development
- sociocultural
- psychodynamic
What is the nature/nurture debate?
The debate about whether characteristics come from our genes or from interaction with our environment
Define socialisation
Is how an individual acquires a personal identity and learns the norms, values, behaviours and social skills appropriate to their social position
What are the agents of socialisation?
Primary socialisation
Secondary socialisation
The family
What is primary socialisation?
The period when children learn language, acceptable behaviour and social skills that form the foundations for later learning
What is secondary socialisation ?
Is when children adapt to the wider world and learn to relate to a variety of people in a variety of ways
What is the family socialisation
It’s how you are placed in society by your family in terms of race, ethnicity, religion and class
What is lifespan development ?
The study of development recognising that an individual will continue to develop and change as they move through their life
What are the areas of development
Physical Intellectual Language Emotional Social Spiritual
What are the periods of development?
Pre natal(before birth) Infancy(1-2) Early childhood(2-5) Middle and late childhood(6-11) Adolescence(12-19) Early adulthood(20-40) Middle adulthood(40-65 Late adulthood(65 onwards)
What are the stages of prenatal development
The germinal stage
The embryonic stage
The foetal stage
Describe the germinal stage of prenatal development
Zygote undergoes rapid cell division that leads to the formation of a solid mass of cells that attaches itself to the mothers uterus
Describe the embryonic stage
The placenta and umbilical cord begin to develop and bodily organs and systems begin to form, the heart is beating strongly
Describe the foetal stage of prenatal development
The sex of the baby is now obvious, mouth nose, eyes and external ears are developed, the skin becomes covered with a fatty secretion called vernix caseosa. At week 24 the cells lining the lungs have secreted a layer of surfactant which facilitates the expansion of the developing alveoli.
What is the placenta
Composed of cells derived from mother and foetus, allows transfer of nutrients, oxygen, and metabolic waste. It allows antibodies to pass from mum to foetus.
What is the function of amniotic fluid?
It supports the embryo and protects it from mechanical shock
What are teratogens?
External influences that can cause birth defects, alcohol, drugs cigarettes
Describe the 3 stages of birth
- Contractions to open cervix, cervix will be fully dilated 10cm at end of this stage
- The baby’s head starts to move down the birth canal, can last between several minutes to 2 hours
- Delivery of afterbirth, placenta, umbilical cord and other membranes, shortest stage of labour.
What is the APGAR scale
Used to assess a baby’s health in first minutes of life,
What does the APGAR scale assess?
- Heart rate
- respiration
- muscle tone
- reflex response
- skin colour
Define growth
An increase in size and complexity
Define development
An acquisition of skills
Define fertilisation
When a woman’s egg is fertilised by a mans sperm
What is a zygote
A fertilised egg
What is a chromosome?
Tightly coiled molecules of DNA, 23 pairs in a zygote
What is genotype?
The specific genetic makeup of an individual, don’t change
What is phenotype
Phenotypes can be affected by other genes and the environment, they can change
Name 2 chromosomal disorders
Downs syndrome
Edwards syndrome
What is psychology?
The study of people, how they think, act, react and interact, it’s concerned with all aspects of behaviour and thoughts, and the feelings and motivation underlying that behaviour
