Set 3: Developmental Psychology Flashcards
A job in psychology that studies that physical, cognitive, and social-emotional development throughout a human or animals lifespan.
Developmental physcologist
Darwin believed in survival of the fittest. Those traits that were best able to aid in survival were kept, those that weren’t were lost.
Natural Selection
The unethical process for selectively breeding for desired traits.
Eugenics
is a complete set of instructions for making an organism.
Genome
Genes
are biochemical units of heredity
Mutations
Occur when there is a random error in gene replication that leads to change.
Conception
A single ______ cell penetrates the outer coating of an _____ and fuses to form __________ _________ __________.
Sperm
Egg
One fertilized cell
This is a fertilized cell with 100 cells that become increasingly diverse.
Zygote
At about 14 days the zygote turns into
Embryo
At 9 months the embryo turns into a
Fetus
are chemicals or viruses that can enter the placenta and harm the developing fetus
Teratogens
which are physical and cognitive defects because of a mother’s heavy drinking while pregnant.
An example of the harm of teratogens can be seen with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
Study different people across differing age groups to note changes in development. (Study at the same time).
Cross Sectional Study
Study the same group of people as they develop and note changes
Longitudinal Study
Infants are born with reflexes that aid in survival.
Reflexes
Baby turns head toward source of touch.
Nourishment
Rooting Reflex
Baby grasps on to object
Grasping Reflex
Arms and legs spring out, fists clench
Startle Reflex
Infants tend to pay attention to newer things for longer periods of time than older things
Habituation
Newborn to toddler
Infancy
Toddler to teenager
Childhood
The developing brain over produces neurons. Peaking around 28 billion at 7 months, these neurons are pruned to 23 billion at birth. The greatest neuronal spurt is in the frontal lobe enabling the individual to think rationally.
Developing Brain
The development of the brain unfolds based on genetic instructions, causing various bodily and mental functions to occur in sequence - standing before walking, babbling before talking
__________ sets the basic course of development, while experience adjusts it.
Maturation
Examples: Sitting up, walking, potty training, etc.
Motor development
Skills that require small muscle groups. Like pinching, picking up items, etc.
Fine Motor Skills:
Skills that require large muscle groups. Like walking, crawling, etc.
Gross Motor Skills:
The earliest age of conscious memory is around 3 ½ years (Bauer, 2002). A 5-year-old has a sense of self and an increase long-term memory, thus organization of memory is different from 3-4 years.
Maturation and Infant Memory
Jean Piaget believed that the driving force behind intellectual development is our biological development amidst experiences with the environment. Our cognitive (thinking) development is shaped by the errors we make.
Cognitive Development:
What did Jean Piaget believe.
are mental molds into which we pour our experiences.
Schemas
involves incorporating new experiences into our current understanding (schema).
assimilation*
The process of adjusting a schema and modifying it is called
accommodation
Piaget’s 4 Stages of Cognitive Development:
Sensorimotor
Birth-2 years (Level 1)
Explore the world through senses
Developmental Phenomena (Important milestones):
*Object Permanence – (knowing an object exists even if you can’t see it)
*Stranger Anxiety
Piaget’s 4 Stages of Cognitive Development:
Preoperational
2-6 or 7 years old (Level 2)
Thinking with their “gut”
Developmental Phenomena (Important milestones):
*Pretend play
*Egocentrism – (inability to see from a new perspective)
*Language Development
Animism - Giving lifelike traits to
inanimate objects.
Parallel Play - Kids play alongside
each other but play independently.
Piaget’s 4 Stages of Cognitive Development:
Concrete Operational
7-11 years old (Level 3)
Thinking logically
Developmental Phenomena (Important milestones):
*Conservation – Physical properties stay the same even if appearance changes
*Mathematical Transformations
Piaget’s 4 Stages of Cognitive Development:
Formal Operational
12- adulthood (Level 4)
Thinking abstractly
Developmental Phenomena (Important milestones):
*Abstract Thinking
*Mature Moral Reasoning
Criticism of Piaget’s Stages
Much research has proven that children reach developmental stages earlier than Piaget thought. One specific example is the discovery that young children have a theory of mind, which is the opposite of egocentrism.
However, today’s researchers believe the following: (3)
- Development is a continuous process, not stages.
- Children express their mental abilities and operations at earlier ages than Piaget thought. (Flynn Effect)
- Thinking is much more complicated than Piaget thought (not just formal logic problems).
Lev Vgotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development
The key is the gap between what a kid can do and what they can’t do. That gap covers everything they could do with help. That is the key to development. He worked with scaffolding which means to subtly make things harder and harder to improve learning.
Origins of Attachment (4): (example)
-Harlow worked with baby rhesus monkeys.
-Gave them wire mother with food
-Gave them cloth mother without food
-Baby monkey chose to spend time with cloth mother, proving contact comfort is a strong factor in attachment
Origins of Attachment (5): (definition)
-Contact comfort
-Nourishment
-Familiarity
-Imprinting - Some animals attach to the first thing they see
-Provide a secure base
Mary Ainsworth Attachment Differences:
Strange Situation
Parents with child, leave, then come back…
65% - Extreme stress when parent leaves, run to mother when she returns, calms down with mother in the room.
Mary Ainsworth Attachment Differences:
Secure Attachment
20% - Extreme stress when parent leaves, doesn’t want to be held when mother returns.
Mary Ainsworth Attachment Differences:
Insecure (Avoidant) Attachment
10-15% - Extreme stress when the parents leave, cannot calm down once the mother returns.
10-15% - Extreme stress when the parents leave, cannot calm down once the mother returns. Mary Ainsworth Attachment Differences:
Insecure (Ambivalent/Resistant) Attachment
Wandering/Confused throughout the whole process.
Mary Ainsworth Attachment Differences:
Disorganized Attachment
Separation anxiety peaks at 13 months of age, regardless of whether the children are home or sent to daycare.
Separation Anxiety
ACE (Adverse Childhood Experiences)
When children are deprived there are common symptoms:
Withdrawn
Frightened
Unable to develop speech
Deprivation
a sense of one’s identity and personal worth, emerges gradually around 6 months.
Related with…
Self-concept
a person’s mental, physical, and emotional traits.
Temperament
Diana Baumrind’s Parenting Styles:
Authoritarian
Parents impose rules and expect obedience.
Diana Baumrind’s Parenting Styles
Permissive
Parents submit to children’s demands.
Diana Baumrind’s Parenting Styles
Authoritative
Parents are demanding but explain their rationale for rules.
Diana Baumrind’s Parenting Styles
Neglectful
Uninvolved. Neither demanding nor responsive.
is defined as a life between childhood and adulthood
__________ begins with puberty (sexual maturation)
Adolescence
occurs earlier in females (11 years) than males (13 years). Thus height in females increases before males.
Puberty
Menarche
First menstrual period
Spermarche
First ejaculation
Primary Sexual Characteristics
Changes that occur during puberty that aid in reproduction.
Secondary Sexual Characteristics
Changes that occur during puberty that DO NOT aid in reproduction (ie: facial hair, deep voice, growth spurt).
Until puberty, neurons increase their connections. However, at adolescence, selective pruning of the neurons begins. Unused neurons are lost to make other pathways more efficient
Brain Development
During adolescence development of the frontal lobe lags behind the limbic system’s development. Neurons in the frontal lobe do grow myelin, though, which speeds up the connections that are there.
Frontal Cortex
According to Piaget, adolescents are in the Formal Operational stage of their cognitive development because they can abstractly think about issues and problems.
Developing Reasoning Power
Moral Thinking
One’s stance on a particular issue
Moral Feeling
One’s emotions when dealing with a particular issue.
Moral Action
One’s response to a particular issue.
Kohlberg’s 3 stages of Moral Reasoning:
Preconventional: Right and wrong is based on rewards and punishments.
Conventional: Right and wrong is based on what authority figures say
Postconventional: People have their own moral code
Carol Gilligan’s Response to Kolhberg
Kohlberg should have used both boys and girls, not just boys
Boys have an all or none view of morality, girls pay special attention to situational factors
Girls may ask for more information before making a call
Ecological Systems Theory
Microsystem
People in your direct group influencing you (family, friends)
Ecological Systems Theory
Mesosystem
Relationships between people in your microsystem (parents and friends both want you to get good grades)
Ecological Systems Theory
Exosystem
Environments that affect you (community, government rules)
Ecological Systems Theory
Macrosystem
Your cultural influences on you
Ecological Systems Theory
Chronosystem
Life and Stage events (parents divorce, starting college, etc.)
Erik Eriksons’s 8 Stages on Psycho-Social Development:
Infancy: Kid is being loved, fed, sheltered
Trust vs Mistrust
Erik Eriksons’s 8 Stages on Psycho-Social Development:
Toddlerhood: Taking over your own body (feeding yourself, potty training)
Autonomy vs Shame and Doubt
Erik Eriksons’s 8 Stages on Psycho-Social Development:
Preschooler: Showing preferences (favorite game, tv show, food, etc)
Initiative vs Guilt
Erik Eriksons’s 8 Stages on Psycho-Social Development:
Elementary School: Success and failure in school/sports
Industry vs Inferiority
Erik Eriksons’s 8 Stages on Psycho-Social Development:
Adolescence: Who am I? What is important to me? (friends, traits)
Idenitity vs Role Confusion
Erik Eriksons’s 8 Stages on Psycho-Social Development:
Young Adulthood: Marriage + Close Freindships
Intimacy vs Isolation
Erik Eriksons’s 8 Stages on Psycho-Social Development:
Middle Adulthood: Give purpose to your life (having kids, some careers, volunteering)
Generativity vs Stagnation
Erik Eriksons’s 8 Stages on Psycho-Social Development:
Late Adulthood: Look back on your life and either you are proud or regretful.
Integrity vs Despair
James Marcia’s Identity Development Theory;
Step 1: Diffusion
A person does not have a clear commitment to their identity (don’t know who they are as a person)
James Marcia’s Identity Development Theory;
Step 2: Foreclosure
Premature commitment with little exploration (ex: I’m a jock)
James Marcia’s Identity Development Theory;
Step 3: Moratorium
Actively seeking a meaningful identity.
James Marcia’s Identity Development Theory;
Step 4: Achievement
Committed sense of self. You know and are comfortable with who you truly are.
spans ages 18-25. During this time, young adults may live with their parents and attend college or work. On average, emerging adults marry in their mid-twenties.
Emerging adulthood
Group memberships that help you understand yourself. (Religion, culture, interest groups)
Around the time of Emerging Adulthood you start to form your social identity.
sometime after a person’s mid-twenties, defining adulthood into stages is more difficult than defining stages during childhood or adolescence.
Adulthood
People are typically at their physical peak at age 20, and then start to slowly decline imperceptibly from there.
Physical Development
Muscular strength, reaction time, and sensory abilities begin to decline after the mid-twenties. Around age 50, women go through menopause, and men experience decreased levels of hormones and fertility.
Middle Adulthood
Old Age: Sensory Abilities
WIth old age the brain starts to slow down.
Old Age: Motor Abilities
Motor abilities also decline. (Car accidents)
Old Age: Dementia
Some memory loss is normal, but the older you get the more at risk a person is for memory disorders. Dementia - an unnatural loss of memory.
Old Age: Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s Disease - A brain disorder that leads to severe dementia.
Some memory does not decline, such as prospective memory - the memory to do tasks at certain times.
Aging and Memory
Life satisfaction (how happy a person is with their life) remains steady throughout a person’s lifetime.
Well-Being Across the Life Span
Life expectancy continues to go up for all people. While women tend to outlive men globally.
Old Age: Life Expectancy
ability to reason speedily declines with age
Aging and Intelligence
Fluid Intelligence
intelligence (accumulated knowledge and skills) does not decline
Aging and Intelligence
crystalline/crystallized
The Culturally preferred timing of social events such as: marriage, parenthood, and retirement.
Adulthood’s Commitments
Social Clock
Death and Dying
Kubler-Ross 5 Stages of Grief:
- Denial
- Anger
- Bargaining
- Depression
- Acceptance
The Three Big Dilemmas Revisited
Nature vs. Nurture
Nature sets the mold, nurture determines where you end up within that mold
The Three Big Dilemmas Revisited
Continuity vs. Stages
Most psychologists today look at development as a continuous process
The Three Big Dilemmas Revisited
Stability vs. Change
The older a person gets the less likely their traits are to change, though change can happen at any age.
