Unit 3: Development and Learning Flashcards
Development psychology’s goal is to explore 3 major themes. Define nature & nurture.
how does our genetic inheritance (our nature) interact w/ our experiences (our nurture) to influence our development?
Development psychology’s goal is to explore 3 major themes. Define continuity & stages.
what parts of development are gradual & continuous, and what part change abruptly in separate stages
Development psychology’s goal is to explore 3 major themes. Define stability & change.
which of our traits persist through life & how do we change as we age?
To explain how we use & adjust our schemas, Piaget proposed 2 more concepts. Define assimilation.
First, we assimilate – a child learns the concept of ‘cat’ being any animal w/ 4 legs, a tail & fur
To explain how we use & adjust our schemas, Piaget proposed 2 more concepts. Define accommodation.
through experiences we accommodate, meaning we learn that other animals fall within this category.
Jean Piaget’s stages of cognitive development: Sensorimotor Stage
- age range: birth to nearly 2
- explore the world using their senses & actions
- object permanence: objects exist even when not seen (develops around 8 months)
- baby physics & maths: infants show understanding of impossible events & basic numerical concepts
- separation anxiety
Assistance from teachers & parents who provide the support to help individuals progress to higher levels of understanding bridges the gap between what a person currently knows & what they have the potential to learn. What did Psychologist Lev Vygotsky refer to this transitional stage as?
the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)
Language structure: Phonemes
the smallest distinctive sound units in a language
Language structure: Morphemes
the smallest units that carry meaning in a given language
- ex: prefixes, suffixes, base words & roots
Language structure: Grammar
the system of rules that enables us to communicate with 1 another.
Language structure: Syntax
grammar structure
Language structure: Semantics
how words are combined for meaning
Jean Piaget’s stages of cognitive development: Pre-operational Stage
- age range: 2-7 years
- children develop language, symbolic thinking, engage in pretend play
- egocentrism: difficulty seeing things from other’s perspective
- conservation: not developed yet, children struggle to understand that quantity remains the same despite changes in shape
Babbling stage
stage of language development at about 4 months when an infant spontaneously utters nonsense sounds
One-word stage
- around 1 year old
- usually 1, single recognizable syllable (ma or da) until they’re able to produce a word to label objects or ppl (mama!)
Two-word stage (telegraphic speech)
- children begin to say 2 word sentences, but it might sound like a telegraph
- usually contains nouns & verbs & over generalized grammar rules (like “I runned”, “he hitted”, “you buyed”).
Jean Piaget’s stages of cognitive development: Concrete Operational Stage
- age range: 7-12 years
- thinking logically about concrete events
- conservation: developed, children understand that changes in form don’t alter quantity
- mathematical transformations: ability to perform operations like reversing numbers
Scaffolding
adjusting the support offered during a teaching session to fit the child’s current level of performance
Aphasia
whenever there’s an impairment of language due to damage in the cortical areas
The Ecological Systems Theory
argues that our cognitive, social & biological development is affected by the environments we encounter.
Ecological Systems Theory: Microsystem
immediate, direct contact groups (home, school, etc)
Ecological Systems Theory: Mesosystem
relationships between microsystem groups (parents & peers, etc)
Jean Piaget’s stages of cognitive development: Formal Operational Stage
- age range: 12 years & up
- abstract reasoning: can ponder hypothetical situations & consequences
- if-then thinking: deductive reasoning similar to scientific thinking
Imprinting
the process by which certain animals form strong attachments during an early-life critical period
Ecological Systems Theory: Exosystem
environments that indirectly affect a person (parent’s workplace)
Insecure attachment
infants will either be clingy or show anxious attachment or an avoidant attachment
Secure attachment
a relationship in which an infant obtains both comfort & confidence from the presence of his or her caregiver
Avoidant attachment
attachments marked by discomfort over, or resistance to, being close to others
Anxious attachment
attachments marked by anxiety or ambivalence.
- an insecure attachment style
Disorganized attachment
no consistent behavior during separation & reunions; type of attachment seen most often with kids that are abused
Ecological Systems Theory: Macrosystem
social & cultural influences
Authoritarian Parents
- imposing strict rules + expecting obedience
- think of ‘ian’ as ‘militarian’ (strict, controlling)
Permissive Parents
- unrestrained (submitting to children’s desires), few demands, little punishment
- outcome: children react poorly to fustration, lack self-control + emotional regulation
Negligent Parents
- neither demanding nor responsive + don’t seek close relationships w/ their children
- outcome: children tend to be immature, lonely & struggle with communication
Authoritative Parents
- both demanding + responsive
- set rules but encourage discussion + allow exceptions
- think of ‘ive’ as ‘supportive’
- outcome: best outcomes – happy, articulate children who form functioning relationships
Ecological Systems Theory: Chronosystem
life changes that influence the other systems (moving, graduation, etc)
Stages of Psychosocial Development: Trust vs. Mistrust
- infancy
- the crisis involves learning to trust the caregiver – will they be there when i need them?
Stages of Psychosocial Development: Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt
- toddlerhood
- toddlers begin to assert independence by making choices & performing tasks, or they may feel doubtful about their abilities
Stages of Psychosocial Development: Initiative vs. Guilt
- preschool
- young children start to plan & initiate activities, or they may feel guilty for wanting to be independent
Stages of Psychosocial Development: Competence vs. Inferiority
- elementary
- children work to master new skills & take pride in their accomplishments, or they may feel inferior & inadequate
Stages of Psychosocial Development: Identity vs. Role Confusion
- adolescence (teen to 20s)
- the crisis becomes internal as the person tries to figure out who they are & who they want to become
Stages of Psychosocial Development: Generativity vs. Stagnation
- middle adulthood (40s - 60s)
- the crisis is about feeling fulfilled and productive in your career, family, and contributions to society, or experiencing a sense of stagnation and a lack of purpose
Stages of Psychosocial Development: Intimacy vs. Isolation
- young adulthood (20s - early 40s)
- young adults seek deep connections & close relationships. Failing to do so may result in feelings of isolation & loneliness
Stages of Psychosocial Development: Integrity vs. Despair
- late adulthood (late 60s & up)
- older adults reflect on their lives, feeling either a sense of fulfillment & peace or regret & dissatisfaction
Social clock
culture’s preferred timing for social events, such as marriage, parenthood & retirement
Teratogens
agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development & cause harm
Habituation
decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation.
- As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner.
Primary & secondary sex characteristics
- primary: reproductive organs
- secondary: facial hair, breasts, male voice quality
Social learning theory
suggests children learn gender identity by observing, imitating & receiving feedback from others
Learning: Operant conditioning
learning that certain behaviors will trigger certain responses.
Gender identity is distinct from sexual orientation. Define sexual orientation.
who we are attracted to emotionally & sexually
Learning: Classical conditioning
learning to associate 2 stimuli (external events) to anticipate events.
- other animals also learn by association.
Learning: Cognitive learning
when the acquisition (obtaining) of mental info. guides behaviors
Unconditioned Stimulus (US/UCS)
- something that naturally triggers a reaction (e.g. food)
- no learning is needed for this – it automatically causes the response.
Conditioned Stimulus (CS)
- something that used to be neutral (e.g. the bell) but after being paired w/ the USC (food), now triggers a reaction.
- the subject learns to associate it w/ the USC.
Unconditioned Response (UR/UCR)
- the natural reaction to the unconditioned stimulus (e.g. salivation to food)
- this is an automatic & natural response
Conditioned Response (CR)
the learned reaction to the CS (e.g, salivating when hearing the bell, even if no food is present)
Higher-order conditioning (also called 2nd-order conditioning)
A form of learning in which a CS from one experience is paired with a new NS, so that the new stimulus also becomes a CS (though typically weaker).
- ex: an animal that has learned that a tone predicts food might then learn that a light predicts the tone and begin responding to the light alone.
Extinction
the diminishing of a conditioned response.
- occurs in classical conditioning when an US doesn’t follow a CS
- occurs in operant conditioning when a response is no longer reinforced.
Spontaneous recovery
the reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished CR
When someone else’s phone goes off & you still check for yours, what is that called?
Stimulus generalization
- responding similarly to similar stimuli
Recognizing that a different phone’s ringtone isn’t yours shows what?
Stimulus discrimination
- the ability to distinguish between a CS & other irrelevant ones
Operant conditioning: Law of effect
the concept that rewarded behavior is behavior that repeats
Operant conditioning: A reinforcer
encourages a behavior to continue
Operant conditioning: A punishment
will cause a behavior to stop
Positive Reinforcement
adding a pleasant stimulus to increase a behavior
Negative Reinforcement
removing an unpleasant stimulus to increase a behavior
- ex: taking aspirin relieves a headache, encouraging future use for headaches
Conditioned (or secondary) reinforcer
a reinforcer that gains its value due to the fact that it helps us attain primary reinforcers.
- ex: praise = primary reinforcer. It makes us feel good.
getting good grades = secondary reinforcer (when we go home, parents are going to give us praise).
Positive Punishment
decreases behaviors by adding an unpleasant outcome or consequence after the undesirable behavior.
- ex: spanking a child when he throws a tantrum
Primary reinforcers
events that are inherently reinforcing because they satisfy biological needs
Reinforcement Schedules: Ratio – Fixed
reinforcement after a set number of behaviors.
Reinforcement Schedules: Ratio – Variable
reinforcement after an unpredictable number of behaviors.
- ex: winning a prize from a slot machine after a random number of pulls.
Negative Punishment
removing a pleasant stimulus to reduce a behavior.
- ex: school takes away student’s right to go on senior trip after she/he is caught smoking bathroom.
Reinforcement Schedules: Interval – Fixed
reinforcement after a fixed amount of time
Reinforcement Schedules: Interval – Variable
reinforcement after a random amount of times.
Taste aversion
a form of classical conditioning where a food that was once neutral or appealing becomes disliked after being linked to a negative experience.
- ex: if someone gets sick after eating seafood, they’re more likely to avoid that food in the future but not the setting where it was eaten. These findings reflect how evolution favors behaviors that enhance survival.
Cognitive map
a mental representation of your environment
Latent learning
learning that happens but isn’t apparent until there’s a reason to show it.
- like how you have the layout of your house memorized, did you do that on purpose?
Vicarious conditioning
classical conditioning of a reflex response or emotion by watching the reaction of another person
- we’re especially likely to learn from ppl we perceive as similar to ourselves, as successful (or as admirable)
Insight learning
happens when we’re fixated on a problem for a long time & suddenly have the solution.
Modeling
the process of learning by observing others
- ^ Albert Bandura’s Bobo doll experiment demonstrated this.
- & is how we acquire behaviors like language.
Motor movement in Infancy & Childhood: Fine motor skills
coordinates small actions
Motor movement in Infancy & Childhood: Gross motor skills
coordinate large muscle movements like running, walking, skipping & throwing.
Critical periods
specific timeframes in development when an organism must have certain social or sensory experiences for normal growth to occur.
Abstract thinking
capacity to understand hypothetical concepts
Instinctive drift
the tendency for learned behavior to gradually revert to innate, biologically predisposed patterns.
