Week 10 - Developmental Psych Flashcards
What are the four areas of development studied in developmental psychology?
Physical, emotional, cognitive, and psychosocial development.
What are the three stages of prenatal development?
Germinal stage (zygote), embryonic stage (embryo), and fetal stage (fetus).
Define teratogens and their impact on development.
Teratogens are agents like malnutrition, viruses, and drugs that can harm prenatal development, especially during critical periods.
What are the cephalocaudal and proximodistal trends in physical growth?
The Cephalocaudal trend refers to the pattern of growth where development proceeds from head to toe (e.g., head control develops before leg control). The Proximodistal trend describes development from the center outwards (e.g., control of the trunk develops before control of the fingers).
Name two newborn reflexes and their responses.
Babinski reflex (toes fan out when the foot is stroked) and Moro reflex (startle response with outstretched arms and legs).
According to Fantz’s research, what do infants prefer to look at?
Faces, sharp contrasts, moving objects, curved patterns, and complex designs. Objects/Movement that defy the laws of physics.
What was Harlow’s main conclusion from his monkey experiments?
Harlow’s experiments demonstrated that attachment is not solely driven by the need for nourishment. Infant monkeys preferred a cloth surrogate mother offering comfort over a wire mother providing food, highlighting the importance of contact comfort in forming attachments.
What are the two types of insecure attachment identified in the Strange Situation Test?
Insecure-avoidant and insecure-ambivalent/resistant.
Differentiate between Secure and Insecure Attachment in infants, as observed in Ainsworth’s Strange Situation Test.
Securely attached infants actively explore their environment, show distress when separated from their caregiver, and seek comfort upon reunion. Insecurely attached infants may display avoidant behaviour, resist contact, or exhibit excessive clinginess.
According to Thomas, Chess & Birch’s New York Longitudinal Study, what are the four temperament types identified in children?
The four temperament types are: Easy (adaptable, positive mood), Slow-to-Warm-up (slow to adapt, mild reactions), Difficult (intense reactions, irregular routines), and Unique (a combination of traits).
What are Piaget’s four stages of cognitive development?
Sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational stages.
Explain Piaget’s concepts of assimilation and accommodation in the context of cognitive development.
Assimilation is the process of incorporating new information into existing mental schemas. Accommodation involves modifying existing schemas to fit new information. These processes drive cognitive development.
What is object permanence, and in which stage does it develop?
The understanding that objects exist even when not seen; develops in the sensorimotor stage.
What is conservation, and in which stage does it develop?
The understanding that quantity remains the same despite changes in shape; develops in the concrete operational stage.
What is a gender schema and how is it formed
A gender schema is a mental framework that organizes information about gender roles, behaviours, and expectations. It is formed through social interactions, observations, and cultural influences, shaping an individual’s understanding of gender.
