Unit 1 (Ch. 1) Flashcards
Development
stability and change over time
Lifespan
Change at all ages from prenatal development to death
Nature-Nurture
Nature: biological / genetic factors that give rise to a certain behavior / characteristic
Nurture: influenced by environment and one’s experiences
*they interact!
Continuity
Quantitative change
-path marked by smooth progression
-EX: height
Discontinuity
Qualitative change
-path marked by abrupt shifts
-Any type of stage theory
-EX: Growth spurt
Universal-Context-specific
Universal: happens regardless of experience
-strong on the NATURE side
-one path that is similar across individuals and cultures
-EX: puberty (milestones)
Context-specific: many paths and the path depends on the experience
-EX: Age of puberty (due to malnutrition, sports early on)
what are the four interacting forces in Biopsychosocial Framework?
1) biological forces: hormones, genes, health conditions
2) sociocultural forces: background, ethnicity, culture, peers, family
3) psychological forces: personality, emotions
4) Life-cycle forces: same event is going to give a different outcome depending on the stage of development you are in
-EX: Pregnancy (teenage vs adult)
what should theories provide?
-Description of bx (WHAT the bx looks like)
-Explanation of bx (WHY the bx looks like it does)
-Prediction of bx (Bx should appear in certain ways under certain conditions)
what is Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory?
-your personality will develop across the lifespan through a sequences of fixed stages
-each stage there is a challenge or crisis you must overcome in order to move onto the next stage
-DISCONTINUOUS
what is Watson and Skinner theory of Behaviorism?
Bx is determined by experience (nature vs nurture)
-NURTURE side
what did Watson discover?
classical conditioning
-US (noise) -> UR (crying)
-CS (furry animals) + US (noise) -> UR (crying)
-CS (furry animals) -> CR (crying)
what did Skinner discover?
operant conditioning
-reinforcement (increases bx)
-punishment (decreases bx)
positive and negative reinforcement
(+): ADDING something to increase a bx
-Candy for good grades
(-): TAKING AWAY something to increase bx
-Taking away chores to get better grades
positive and negative punishment
(+): ADDING something to decrease a bx
-shoveling snow for cursing
(-): TAKING AWAY something to decrease bx
taking away phone to stop getting bad grades
what is Bandura’s Social (cognitive) Learning Theory?
People learn by observing others (nurture)
-The person doesn’t have to experience it, they can watch other people experience something
-They don’t exactly mimic
EX: If they see someone is aggressive by punching, the kids taking punching as violence and use other methods of violence such as guns
what is Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development?
Children construct their own understanding of the world
-Universal stages of development
-DISCONTINUOUS (qualitative)
-Abrupt shifts in thinking
what are the four stages of the theory of cognitive thinking?
Sensorimotor, Preoperational, Concrete operational, Formal operational
- learning through actions & senses
(birth-2) - learning through language & mental images (2-7)
- learning through logical thinking & categories
(7-12) - learning through hypothetical thinking & scientific reasoning
(12+)
what is Bronenbrenner’s Ecological Theory?
a developing person is embedded in series of systems
-Several systems impact how a child develops
what are the four systems in the ecological theory?
microsystem: Parents to child
mesosystem: Friends to child
exosystem: Social policy to child
Macrosystem: Ethnic group to child
what is Baltes Life-span approach?
Must pay attention to…
-Multidirectional: growth and decline
-Plasticity: flexibility, adaptation to circumstance
-Historical context
-Multiple causation: biopsychosocial forces
what is reliable?
-you are able to replicate the experiment
-get the same answer every time
what is validity?
-measures what you intend to measure
-Does the ACT really determine college capabilities?
what is a representative sample?
does the small group of people tested accurately depict the population of study
what are two types of Systematic Observation?
naturalistic & structured
what is naturalistic observation?
observing someone in their day-to-day life, they are unaware they are being observed
-NOT MANIPULATING an environment
what is structured observation?
anytime you are manipulating anything in the environment
what are Behavioral Tasks?
-Analyze performance of a task
-Test emotional components
what is Self Report?
Surveys, interviews
what is Physiological tests?
Heart Rate, cortisol levels, MRI, EEG’s
what is a Longitudinal study?
studying same group of people repeatedly over time
-spans over several years
EX: Kochanska investigates children’s internalization of social rules from infancy through early childhood
-All members of the cohort visit the lab every few months/years
what is a Cross-Sectional study?
study different aged people, studied one time
-you make inferences as they develop
-more common
EX: Examining how 4 yr olds, 5 yr olds, and adults remember the locations of objects
-Three groups of participants visit the lab one time
what is a Sequential study?
multiple groups tested at multiple points in time (same groups)
-combination of longitudinal and cross-sectional studies
-can compare the different aged groups over a long period of time without making inferences
EX: Seattle project studies cognitive functioning of multiple cohorts of adults over many years
-Study different groups over many years
what is a Microgenetic study?
study same individuals at several time points close together in time
-Mini longitudinal study (Weeks / Months apart)
EX: Siegler investigates math strategy development
-Children solve math problems twice a week for a few weeks
what is a Correlational study?
-seek relation among variables
-cannot manipulate the variables
-measures direction and strength of relation
what is positive correlation?
both are going same direction (both going up, both going down)
perfect positive: +1.00
what is negative correlation?
inversely related (ones going up & ones going down)
perfect negative: -1.00
what do you look at when looking at the direction of correlation?
look at the (+) and (-)
what do you look at when looking at the strength of correlation?
look at the number!
-Closer to 1.00, the stronger the relationship
0.00: not strong
1.00: strong!
why does correlation NOT equal causation?
Directionality Problem
-You don’t know if A causes B or if B causes A
Third Variable Problem
-you don’t know if there is something else driving the relationship
what are Experimental Studies?
-effect of the independent variable on dependent variable
-depends on random assignment to conditions
-control groups are tested
-can determine CAUSATION!!
EX: the effects of breastfeeding upon intelligence
-Independent variable: breastfeeding & not breastfeeding
-Dependent variable: standardized intelligence test
what is an independent variable?
-what you are manipulating
-We control everything!
-We cannot let the groups decide what they are doing
what is an dependent variable?
-what you are measuring
