Unit 6: Developmental Psychology Flashcards
Describe the development of twins.
Identical Twins: develop from a single fertilized egg, creating two genetically identical organisms (100% shared genes). Share the same set of genes, a similar prenatal environment, and usually the same family and culture after birth.
Fraternal Twins: develop from two separate fertilized eggs. Genetically no closer than brothers and sisters (50% shared genes), but they share the same prenatal environment and usually the same family and social-cultural environment after birth.
What is epigenetics?
Epigenetics: the environment acts on the surface of genes to alter their activity/
What is pruning?
After brain maturation provides us with an abundance of neural connections, experience preserves our activated connections while allowing our unused connections to degenerate in a process known as pruning. Though this pruning process is most evident in the brains of young children, growth and pruning of synapses continues throughout life.
What is gender and sex?
Gender in psychology, refers to the socially influenced characteristics by which people define MEN and WOMEN. Sex in psychology, refers to the biologically influenced characteristics by which people define male and female.
What makes us male or female?
It begins with whether our 23rd pair of chromosomes looks like XX (female) or Xy (male). Testes develop, and at seven weeks, the testes produce a flood of testosterone. Hormones then guide the development of external sex organs.
What is social learning theory?
Social Learning Theory: Theory proposed by Albert Bandura, which assumes that children learn gender roles through observation and imitation, as well as through reinforcement and punishment.
List some biological influences on personal development.
- Shared human genome
- Individual genetic variations
- Prenatal environment
- Sex-related genes, hormones, and physiology
List some psychological influences on personal development.
- Gene-environment interaction
- Neurological effect of early experiences
- Responses evoked by our own temperament, gender, etc.
- Beliefs, feelings, and expectations
What is gene-environment interaction
Genes and environment interact in that genes can influence traits, which affect environmental responses, and environment can affect gene activity.
Example: A genetic predisposition that makes a child restless and hyperactive can evoke an angry response from his parents. A stressful environment can trigger genes to manufacture neurotransmitters leading to depression.
List some social-cultural influences on personal development.
- Parental influences
- Peer influences
- Cultural individualism or collectivism
- Cultural gender norms
What is conception?
Sperm and egg unite to bring genetic material together and form one organism: the zygote (fertilized cell).
What is an embryo?
The Embyro, 2 to 8 weeks:
- This stage begins with the multicellular cluster that implants in the uterine wall.
- Milestone of the implantation stage: differentiated cells develop into organs and bones
What is a fetus?
At nine weeks (about 2 months), hands and face have developed; the embryo is now called a fetus (“offspring”). At four months, many more features develop. Milestone of the fetal stage: by six months, the fetus might be able to survive outside the womb.
What are teratogens?
Teratogens (“monster makers”) are substances such as viruses and chemicals that can damage the developing embryo or fetus (Heroin, AIDS, Smoking).
What is fetal alcohol syndrome?
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) refers to cognitive, behavioral, and body/brain structure abnormalities caused by exposure to alcohol in the fetal stage. FAS is the leading cause of mental abnormalities.
What is the reflexes that (competent) newborns are born with?
Rooting reflex: when touched on the cheek, infants turn toward touch, open mouth, and search for the nipple
Sucking reflex: infants can suck, breathe air, and swallow twice in one second
Crying reflex: important signals for parents to provide nourishment and attention
What is habituation?
A simple form of infant learning in which responsiveness decreases with repeated stimulation to a visual stimulus. For instance, when infants are repeatedly exposed to a visual or auditory stimulus, such as colors, shapes, and sounds, the stimulus becomes familiar, they lose interest, and they begin to look away sooner.
What is the sequence of motor development?
Roll-Sit-Crawl-Walk-Run
6mts - Sitting unsupported
8-9mts - Crawling
12mts - Beginning to walk
15mts - Walking independently
What are schemas?
Mental molds or conceptual frameworks for understanding our experiences. Example: Our schema for a chair is a four-legged object usually with a back that we can sit in.
What is assimilation (in psychology)?
The process of incorporating new experiences into our current understanding (schema). Example: An infant constructs a schema for a dog as a four-legged animal. The infant assimilates her new experiences with other four-legged animals and calls all four-legged animals “doggies”.
What is accommodation?
The process of adjusting or adapting a schema and modifying it. Example: The infant then learns from experience that her original schema for “dog” was too broad and she accommodates the category for dogs by distinguishing between the heads of four-legged animals.
What are Jean Piaget’s stages of cognitive development?
Sensorimotor - Birth to nearly 2 yrs
Preoperational - 2 to about 6 or 7 yrs
Concrete operational - About 7 to 11 yrs
Formal operational - About 12 through adulthood
What is the sensorimotor stage of cognitive development?
Sensorimotor Stage: (birth - 2) children experience the world through their senses and actions
a. Object permanence- (8 mo.) when an object is out of sight, it still exists
b. Stranger anxiety- (8 mo.) fear of strangers
What is the preoperational stage of cognitive development?
Preoperational Stage: (age 2 - 6) children use words and pretend play, as well as intuitive reasoning rather than logical reasoning to understand the world
a. No concept of conservation- properties (mass, volume, etc.) stay the same despite changes in the form of the object
b. Exhibit Egocentrism- children perceive things from one’s own and not another’s point of view
c. Begin to develop Theory of Mind- inferring one’s or others’ mental states (feelings, perceptions, thoughts)
What is Autism?
Autism is a disorder that appears in childhood and is marked by difficulties in communication, social interaction, and understanding others’ and their own states of mind.
What is Asperger’s Syndrome?
Asperger’s Syndrome is a “high functioning” form of autism, which is characterized by normal intelligence, often accompanied by an exceptional skill/talent in a particular area, as and difficulties in social and communication skills.
What is the concrete operational stage of cognitive development?
Concrete Operational Stage: (age 7 – 11) children in this stage can use logical reasoning, perform mental operations, take others’ perspectives, and understand…
a. Conservation
b. Mathematical computations (basic)
What is the formal operational stage of cognitive development?
Formal Operational Stage: (age 12 – adulthood) children use abstract reasoning (symbols and imagined realities), logic, and show potential for moral reasoning.
What is insecure attachment?
When placed in a strange situation (where moms and strangers enter and leave the room), 30% of children express insecure attachment (anxious). These children cling to their mothers or caregivers, are less likely to explore the environment, and cry loudly when their mothers leave. Another 10% of children show insecure attachment (avoidant). These children seem indifferent to their mother’s departure and return.
What is secure attachment?
When placed in a strange situation (where moms and strangers enter and leave the room), 60% of children express secure attachment. This means that they explore their environment happily in the presence of their mothers. When their mother leaves, they show a normal level of distress.
What happens when children struggle with attachment deprivation?
If parental or caregiving support is deprived for an extended period of time, children are at risk for physical, psychological, and social problems, including alterations in brain serotonin levels.
However, some children are tremendously resilient (able to bounce back) in the face of adverse conditions. If placed in a more positive and stable environment, infants can recover from the distress of separation.
When does self-concept or self-identity emerge?
6 months
What are the three parenting styles?
Authoritarian “too hard”, Permissive “too soft”, Authoritative “just right”
How does the frontal cortex change during adolescence?
During adolescence, neurons in the frontal cortex grow myelin, which speeds up nerve conduction. The frontal cortex lags behind the limbic system’s development. Hormonal surges and development of the limbic system may explain occasional teen impulsiveness.
What are Kohlberg’s stages of moral thinking?
Preconventional Morality: Before age 9, children show morality to avoid punishment or gain reward.
Conventional Morality: By early adolescence, social rules and laws are upheld for their own sake.
Postconventional Morality: Affirms people’s agreed-upon rights or follows personally perceived ethical principles. (Not everyone attains this final stage, especially in non-Western communal societies.)
What are Erik Erikson’s 8 stages of psychosocial development?
Trust vs. Mistrust - Infancy (Monsters Inc)
Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt - Toddlerhood (Nemo)
Initiative vs. Guilt - Preschooler (Lion King)
Competence vs. Inferiority - Elementary school (Inside Out)
Identity vs. Role Confusion - Adolescence (Moana)
Intimacy vs. Isolation - Young Adulthood (Frozen)
Generativity vs. Stagnation - Middle Adulthood (Aladdin)
Integrity vs. Despair - Late Adulthood (Up)
How does the brain change with age?
- Myelin-enhanced neural processing speed peaks in the teen years, and declines thereafter.
- Regions of the brain related to memory begin to shrink with age, making it harder to form new memories.
- The frontal lobes atrophy, leading eventually to decreased inhibition and self-control.
- By age 80, a healthy brain is 5 percent lighter than a brain in middle adulthood.
What is Dementia?
Dementia: the progressive decline in cognitive function due to damage or disease in the body beyond what might be expected from normal aging. Some symptoms of dementia include loss of higher mental functions (including memory, attention, language, problem-solving, etc.) and disorientation.
**Alzheimer’s is a type of dementia where neurons that produce acetylcholine deteriorate and the brain shrinks in size. Risk for this disease, which is a gradual deterioration of memory, reasoning, language, and physical functioning, increases with age.
What biopsychosocial factors affect aging?
Biological Influences:
- No genes predisposing dementia or other diseases
- Appropriate nutrition
Psychological Influences:
- Optimistic outlook
- Physically and mentally active life style
Social-cultural Influences:
- Support from family and friends
- Meaningful activities
- Cultural respect for aging
- Safe living conditions
What is the Kubler-Ross model for grieving?
- Denial
- Rage and Anger
- Bargaining
- Depression
- Acceptance
