Unit 9 Development Psychology Flashcards
Developmental psychology
A branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the lifespan
What three major issues does developmental psychology focus on?
- Nature and nurture
- Continuity and stages
- Stability and change
Zygotes
The fertilized egg; it enters a 2-week period of rapid cell division and develops into an embryo
Embryo
The developing human organism from about 2 weeks after fertilization through the second month
Fetus
The developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception to birth
Teratogens
Agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm
Fetal alcohol syndrome
Physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman’s heavy drinking. In severe cases, symptoms include noticeable facial misproportions
Habituation
Decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation. As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest waned and they look away sooner
What brain area experiences the most rapid growth? What are the last cortical areas to develop?
Frontal lobes
Association areas - those linked w memory, thinking, and language
What was Jean Piagets core idea?
The driving force behind our intellectual progression is an unceasing struggle to make sense of our experiences
Schemas
Concepts or frameworks that organize and interpret information
Assimilation
We interpret new experiences in terms of our current understandings (schemas)
Accommodation
The adjusting of schemas to incorporate information provided by new experiences
Sensorimotor stage (Piagets 1st stage of cognitive development)
The stage (from birth to about 2 years old) during which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities.
Preoperational stage (Piagets 2nd stage)
The stage (from about 6 or 7) during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic
Concrete operational stage (Piagets 3rd stage)
The stage (from about 6 or 7 to 11) during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete answers
Formal operational stage (Piagets 4th stage)
The stage (normally beginning about age 12) during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts
Stranger anxiety
The fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning by about 8 months of age
Attachment
An emotional tie with another person
Critical period
An optimal period shortly after birth when an organisms exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces proper development
Imprinting
The process by which certain animals form attachments during a critical period very early in life
Secure attachment vs Insecure attachment
With secure attachment when a child is with their mother they will explore, but with insecure attachment when the child is with their mother they will cling to her
Temperament
A persons characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity
What is basic trust? What type of children approach life with a sense of basic trust? Who declared this?
Asense that the world is predictable and trustworthy
Securely attached children
Erik Erickson
When does Darwin believe self-awareness begins?
When we recognize ourselves in a mirror which happens in about a year
Authoritarian parenting style
Parents impose rules and expect obedience
Permissive parenting style
Parents submit to their children’s desires; they make few demands and use little punishment
Authoritative parenting style
Parents are both demanding and responsive; they exert control by setting rules and enforcing them, but they also explain the reasons for their rules and encourage open discussion about them
Who sought to describe the development of moral reasoning (right vs wrong), in his stages of moral development?
Lawrence Kohlberg
Preconventional morality
Before age 9, most children’s morality focuses on self-interest: they obey rules either to avoid punishment or to gain concrete reward
Conventional morality
By early adolescence, morality focuses on caring for others and on upholding laws and social rules, simply because they are the laws and rukes
Postconventional morality
With the abstract reasoning of formal operational thought, people may reach a third moral level. Actions are judged “right” because they flow from peoples rights or basic ethical principles
Identity
Our sense of self: according to Erickson, the adolescents task is to solidify a sense of self by testing and integrating various roles
Social identity
The “we” aspect of our self-concept; The part of our answer to “Who am I?” that comes from our group memberships
Emerging adulthood
For some people in modern cultures, a period from the late teens to mid twenties, bridging the gap between adolescent dependence and full independence and responsible adulthood
When do our physical abilities peak?
By mid-twenties
What causes Alzheimer’s?
A loss of brain cells and deterioration of neurons that produce the neurotransmitter acetylcholine
What type of memory remains strong as we get older?
Prospective memory
Cross-sectional study
A study in which people of different ages are compared with one another
Longitudinal study
A research in which the same people are testified and retested over a long period of time
Crystallized intelligence
Our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase w age
Fluid intelligence
Our ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood
Social clock
The culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement
Chance events
Events that are unplanned and unexpected but can have lasting significance (Ex. Romantic attraction)
What are the two effective ways to study nature-nurture?
- Twin studies
- Adoption studies
Genetic plan
Determines how all of the organs will be formed
Differentiation
Stem cells that are capable of forming into any organ in the body
Mitosis
The process during which zygote divides first into two cells, then four, and so on till the mass of the cells becomes a baby
