Unit 1: Fundamentals and basics of the psychology of human development Flashcards
What does the discipline of developmental psychology do?
describes and explains changes occurring in:
- thought
- behaviour
- reasoning
- functioning
What kind of influences does developmental psychology focus on?
biological
individual
environmental
-> across lifespan
What kind of perspectives are changes studied through?
all areas of psychology in different developmental stages
Which other fields address changes ?
Psychotherapy
Learning psychology
Psychobiology
What are some additional features in dev. psychology?
Changes normative or quasi-normative
changes related to age or life span
normative
sth that happens to vast majority of people
Quasi-normative
sth that’s very common but not inherent
What does idiosyncratic mean?
related to individuals
What are the objectives in developmental psychology?
Describe evolution of human behaviour in each stage of development
Identify processes that produce changes between stages of development
What does Developmental Psychology (DP) refer to?
periods/ stages of human development
Which stages are there?
Prenatal stage
Early childhood: 0-2
Years prior to compulsory schooling: 2-6 years
Primary school years: 6-12
Adolescence: 12-end of second decade
Maturity/adulthood: 20-65/70
Elderly/old age: from 65/70
Which interconnected domains are needed to study human development?
Biosocial development
Cognitive development
Psychosocial development
What’s included in biosocial development? (physical, sensorimotor)
Growth and changes in the body
Genetic, nutritional and health factors affecting growth and change
Acquisition of motor skills
What does cognitive development include?
development of cognitive processes and intellectual skills
development of ability to think about environment (e.g. perception, imagination and judgement)
Psychosocial (socioemotional) development
development and stability of emotions, temperament, personality and social skills
-> Large role of friends, family and larger society
What does the concept of growth describe?
Progressive change in size of body and body parts
-> quantitative
What does the concept of maturation describe?
Unfolding of genetically programmed sequence of events
-> qualitative
Does growth rate stay consistent? (in the individual as a whole across all stages of development)
No
-> Babies: rapid growth during first 2 years
-> 4-6 months: double weight
-> 1 year: triple weight
-> 2 years: quadruple weight
From 2 years until puberty: gain of 5-8 cm and 2.5-3 kg each year
How can the development of the body proceed?
Cephalocaudal
Proximodistal
Cephalocaudal development (growth)
head downwards
At birth: head 1/4 of body length
Trunk grows fastest during first year
1- adolescence: legs grow rapidly (60% increase in height)
Adolescence: legs and trunk grow rapidly
How much do legs and head account for during adulthood?
legs: 50% of height
head: 12%
Proximodistal development of the body
prenatal: chest and internal organs form first, then limbs, then hands and feet
Infancy and childhood: arms and legs grow faster than hands and feet
Just before puberty: reverses
-> hands and feet reach adult proportions first
What are skeletal structures during prenatal development?
soft cartilage
-> gradually ossify into bony material
Can bones support postures right after birth?
No
What does the neonate skull consist of?
several soft bones
-> can be compressed to pass through cervix and birth canal
What are the skull bones separated by?
fontanelles/fontanels (soft spots)
When is the fused cranium fully formed?
at around 2 years
Why do the structures between each bone of the cranium stay flexible for such a long time after birth?
to allow cranium to grow with the developing brain
Which are the skeletal structures that ossify first?
skull and hands
When is skeletal development approximately completed?
18
Muscular development
At birth: muscle tissue 35% water
-> 18-24% total body weight
Mature shortly after birth
-> cellular fluid in muscle tissue acquires more proteins and salt
Which direction does muscle development proceed in?
cephalocaudal
What is the growth spurt?
the acceleration of growth in adolescence (after gradual growth in childhood)
How does the CNS develop?
Begins with neural tube
-> forms brain regions and spinal cord through complex sequence of biological processes
What did new results show regarding neuron regeneration?
can be formed in hippocampus and olfactory bulb
Are synaptic connections always changing?
yes
Which brain structures evolve the fastest after birth?
Sub-cortical responsible for consciousness and regulation of biological functions
Which are the structures within the cerebral cortex developing the fastest?
Primary motor and sensory areas
What does development of the cerebral cortex allow the neonates to do?
over-ride primitive reflexes
Which environmental factors are there?
Physical: climate, geography, nutrition, etc.
Cultural: Social organisation, religion, etc.
Psychosocial: stimulation (how enriching is env.), education, etc.
What principally dictates development according to traditional views?
The environment
What does Gesell’s maturation theory say about development?
physical and psychological changes occur because they are biologically and genetically determined
-> born with developmental clock dictating developmental changes
-> Stages mainly reached because of genetic makeup
What does behavioural genetics try to do?
Determine extent to which behaviour/ characteristics are influenced by genes, environment or both
How is the main focus of behavioural genetics studied?
Family studies
Whats the main assumption in family studies?
if genetics control characteristics
-> similarity of characteristics should increase the more genes people share
How does a twin design work?
Are monozygotic twins more similar in a trait than dizygotic twins
If twins live together they should be exposed to same environment
-> similarities and differences can be attributed to genes
How does adoption design work?
Focus: characteristics of adopted child (genetically unrelated to adoptive family)
Who are they more similar to?
How can family studies help us understand the extent to which various abilities and behaviours are influenced by the environment?
Comparing monozygotic twins raised in same environment compared to ones raised in separate environments
-> Share 100% genes
-> Twins raised apart less similar in a trait compared to twins raised together
-> heavy environmental influence
Which calculations are typically carried out to determine the extent to which genes and the environment account for differences?
Concordance rates
Correlation coefficients
Concordance rates
Percentages of pairs of people in which both members display a particular trait
Correlation coefficients
More suited to study variables that cant be classified into different categories
-> continous variables like weight, etc.
indicate whether scores of children on a variable relate to scores of their twins
Whats the correlation coefficient for IQ in identical twins?
0.86
How do you mathematically measure how heritable a trait is?
Calculating difference between correlation coefficient of monozygotic twins vs. dizygotic twins
-> heritability coefficient (H)
Whats the formula to calculate H?
H = (r identical twins - fraternal twins) x 2
H
ranges from 0.00 to + 1.00
-> estimates the amount of variation in an attribute due to hereditary factors
When does genetic influence in mono- vs. dizygotic twins become observable?
by 18 months
Which are some mental illnesses that are more influenced by genetics?
Schizophrenia
Bipolar disorder
Neurotic disorders
Do people inherit behavioural disorders?
No, you inherit predispositions to develop disorders
What did Waddington come up with?
Canalisation principle
What does the canalisation principle state and what is canalisation?
genes influence some traits more than others
canalisation: the extent to which genes limit/ restrict development to smaller number of outcomes
Whats an example of a highly canalised trait?
babbling
Who came up with the Range-of Reaction Principle?
Gottesman
What does the range-of-reaction principle say?
Genes don’t rigidly canalise behaviour
-> establish range of possible behaviours/traits that the subject may develop due to environment
genotype sets boundary on range of possible phenotypes
Which perspectives about development exist?
continuity
discontinuity
Continuity perspective
human development additive process occurring gradually
quantitative changes: subject possesses more or less of a characteristic with increasing development
Discontinuity perspective
series of abrupt changes elevating the subject to more advanced level of functioning
qualitative changes: changes fundamentally different from previous stages
What do discontinuity theorists claim?
We progress through developmental stages with particular sets of abilities, emotions, etc.
What are some important examples for contributions of discontinuity perspectivists?
Freud’s psychosexual stages
Eriksons psychosocial stages
Piaget’s stages of development
