Week 17 Flashcards
Guided movements
attempts to interact with one’s environment represents a sense of self in its most basic form
Mirror fighting
Rouge test used to test for the presence of sense of self in people and animals. The ability to have a sense of self were only found in some primates
Development through language
- As language skills increase, so does self-development
- By the age of two, children are able to refer to themselves verbally
- At the age of three and four, they start to describe personal characteristics
o They will also describe physically observable traits, their abilities and preferences, their relationships, and their psychological state - These self-descriptions usually identify the child in a positive light
o i.e.) the child may call themselves strong because they can lift a specific object, they don’t think about what they can’t lift
8 and up
at the age of eight, children become more likely to evaluate themselves and modify their behaviour
their self-concept changes and they increase their autobiographical memory, and use those memories in self-description
Children also make social comparisons about their abilities with others as well as use broader terminology
Self-concept
an individual’s perception of self, including knowledge, feelings, and ideas about oneself. It is used as a basis for how we describe ourselves
Autobiographical memory
memories about specific events that makeup a person’s life story. It influences development of self-concept
Social comparisons
evaluating one’s abilities and opinions by comparing oneself with others. We compare ourselves to others and consider how we differ
Adolescence
They are concerned about how they are perceived by others and may feel they are being watched by an imaginary audience
Imaginary audience
adolescents thought process in which they believe they are constantly on a stage and everyone is watching them, attending to their every move and mistake
this feeling can intensify self consciousness and questions about self concept
How does culture affect self-concept?
There are many such as culture
different cultures place different levels of importance on the individual and groups
different culture parenting styles can also affect the time when the infant is able to pass a rouge test
Theory of Mind
Expectations concerning how experience affects mental states, especially those of another
A reasoning process that attempts to predict how others might think or behave based on their motives, needs, and goals
encompasses the ability to understand differences in visual, philosophical, or experimental perspectives among people, and to understand differences in motives, goals, or desires
When do individuals start to develop ToM
starts around the age of four
False-Belief Problems
set of tests used to determine children’s ToM and false-belief understanding. Examples include the container and displacement test
Container test
Asks children to reason what is in a container based on what is outside the container, or what is in it, and adjust as they learn the truth
Displacement test
Explores how children reason through a change in location from two different perspectives
Precursors to ToM
Intersubjectivity
Infant Habituation
The simplest form of learning where a given stimulus is presented repeatedly
The child learns not to respond to unimportant events that occurs repeatedly
Milestones of Goals
- Six month old infants are able to distinguish the goals of animate and inanimate objects
- At 12 months, their understanding of goals expand by considering the situation of the other person when deducing their goals
o They take into account the goal, actions and situation of others when trying to understand an action - At 18 months, their system of action understanding becomes even more complex
When does lying develop?
Develops around the age of three and is considered to be part of normal cognitive development
Executive function
A factor that affects the development of ToM
Capacity to control impulses, plan complex actions, foresee consequences, and use working memories
Executive functioning develops independently form the ToM
Which part of the brain is responsible for executive functioning?
The prefrontal cortex
Preservation
Inability to disengage with an activity and is common in people with frontal lobe damage and in young children
Learning Theory of Mind
Practice helps develop theory of mind quicker
Some children can develop it quicker in rich social environment
ToM is influenced by the environment
Executive function is not a direct cause of development of ToM
Genetics and Theory of Mind
ToM develops out of the same cluster of genetic and epigenetic processes as Autism Spectrum Disorder
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Group of developmental disorders that affect the brain’s normal development of social and communication skills
it is a lifelong disorder
characterized by difficulty understanding social situations and forming relations as well as perseverative behaviours and sensitivity to sound, light, or touch
Brain Development and ToM
- Some believe ToM develops in a pre-specified way and it follows a predictable maturational timeline
- They believe a genetic or environmental factor during prenatal or early development may trigger the development of ToM
- Areas of the brain active during false-belief tasks include the right temporoparietal junction and parts of the prefrontal cortex
Altruism
Acts performed mainly for the benefits of others, at the cost to the person performing the action
Prosocial behaviour
Positive, constructive, helpful behaviour that is beneficial to others that are usually at cost to oneself
it is exhibited out of emphathy
Empathy
the vicarious experience of another’s feelings; putting oneself in another’s shoes
Why is altruism an evolutionary trait?
Modern hunter-gatherer groups had strong social structures that built and supported cooperation within the group to ensure everyone would survive
Altruism by the age of 12 months
infants begin to form expectations about relationship between actions and friendship in their social environment
Altruism by the age of 14 months
Some infants begin to provide random aid to others, such as passing objects that have been dropped or are out of reach to another person
Reciprocity
Increased tendency by people to help those who have helped them
An organism helps another because it expects help in return
Reciprocity is linked evolutionarily to survival
Aggression
- Aggression can be seen in infants as young as 18 months of age, and generally increase in frequency after that
- The majority of children display physical aggression
o This peaks until the age of 2.5 years old before decreasing, while verbal aggression increases as the child starts to master language
o Most of the conflict displayed early on is over objects
o As they enter elementary school, they become more defensive
o Aggressive children at this age react quickly to other’s action and view others as more hostile while using fewer social cues to make inferences about the intentions of others
Gender differences in aggression
Females engage in indirect aggression more frequently than males
males engage more in direct aggression
Aggression vs. Altruism
Aggression remains stable across the lifespan
while cooperation promotes survival, aggression and cheating does as well in some conditions, both aggression and altruism has had some evolutionary basis
Aggression and heredity
Adults that are anti social tend to have children that are anti social
genetics plays a role in aggressive behaviour
early family environment plays a role in how genes are expressed, which therefore affects aggression
Kohlberg
argues that altruism, reciprocity, cheating and aggression are all connected to socialization and socialized values
Longitudinal study
study of development that compares observations of the same individuals at different times of their lives
What are Kohlberg’s moral development stages?
Preconventional morality, conventional morality, and post conventional morality
Preconventional morality
includes heteronymous morality and instrumental morality
Heteronymous morality (pre-school)
base reasoning on self-interest and avoidance of punishment
Instrumental morality (7-8 years)
Become more interested in fairness of exchanges in evaluation of moral action
Conventional morality
includes ‘good child’ and ‘law and order’
Good child (10-11 years)
begins to see views of others as important and display concern about being seen as good
Law and order (late adolescence)
concern with the good of society
laws are obeyed because they prevent a breakdown of society and protect us from immoral behaviour of others
Post conventional morality (very few people enter these stages)
includes social contract, universal ethical principles, and cosmic orientation
Social contract
aware that people hold a variety of opinions/values, recognizes certain ideals (regardless of majority opinion) and obligation to the law
Universal ethical principles
Abide by a personally chosen set of ethical principles believed to reflect universal tenets of justice
Cosmic orientation
Grapple with questions of why moral behaviour is important construct a ‘natural theology’ based on experience, and have mystical or spiritual experiences
What are some criticisms of Kohlberg
some argue that his stages are not actual categories, rather they reflect the growing brain’s capacity to consider more sides to issues
others argue that people may develop early based on different circumstances or environments
His research focused only on boys and did not account for cultural differences
Compare western and non-western cultures
individuality is highly regarded in western culture while group cohesion and respect for authority is highly regarded in non-Western cultures
What influences a child’s moral behaviour
their parents, teachers, caregivers, etc.
Compare and contrast high levels and low levels of prosociality
higher levels are associated with a supportive style of parenting whereas lower levels are associated with inconsistent parenting styles (physical discipline or threats)
What is more common in traditional societies?
children whom are more prosocial because they are given more meaningful roles in the family’s survival
What kind of behaviours do aggressive fathers promote?
aggressive behaviours
Attribution
explanation for an event of behaviour, the process is automatic and familiar but do not always accurate reflections of reality
Internalized attributions
Often negative
Optimistic attribution styles
People feel good about themselves and their capacity for success
Pessimistic attribution
Tend to associate external circumstances for success
Satire
Requires ToM
The use of humour, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule
ToM in non-humans
- Less dominant chimps will approach food
o When hidden when dominant not looking
o When moved when dominant not looking
o When new dominant chimp brought in - Covids move cache when seen hiding
- This means they are able to recognize the other’s perspective
- Ravens not only remember whom they have seen at caching but also take into account whether the other’s view was blocked when storing food
What kind of expectations do children form?
Infants form goal related expectations rather than spatially related expectation for hand movements
