Week 7

Question 1

What is developmental psychology

Answer 1

The study of continuity and change in physical, perceptual, cognitive, and psychosocial functioning throughout ones life.

Question 2

What are the two types of research methods for developmental psychology

Answer 2

• Longitudinal research

- Cross-sectional research

Question 3

What is longitudinal research?

Answer 3

A type of research in which the same group of people are tested over a length of time.

Question 4

What is cross-sectional research

Answer 4

A type of research that compares different groups of people of different ages.

Question 5

What is a cohort

Answer 5

A group who are in a category

Question 6

What is a disadvantage of cross-sectional research

Answer 6

Certain circumstances that only affect one cohort may affect data

Question 7

What are the three stages of prenatal development

Answer 7

• Germinal
• Embryotic
• Fetal

Question 8

What is a zygote

Answer 8

The first cell created when a sperm cell reaches an ovum

Question 9

Describe the germinal period

Answer 9

The zygote moves through the falopian tube to the uterin lining and is implanted to the wall of the uterus

Question 10

What is the length of the embryonic period

Answer 10

2-8 weeks

Question 11

What can occur during the Fetal period and how long can it last

Answer 11

It lasts 8 weeks until birth and the baby can make movements and this is when differences in gender appear

Question 12

What scenarios cause risks for fathers trying to have children

Answer 12

• If they are over 50
• If they are teenagers
• Are exposed to solvents or other chemicals

Question 13

What are teratogens and give example

Answer 13

Teratogens are substances that can cross the placental barrier

• German measles
• X-rays or other radioactive or toxic substances
• STDs
• Cigarettes
• Alcohol
• Other drugs

Question 14

Describe infancy

Answer 14

Stage that begins at birth and lasts until 18-24 months and is a time of rapid, physical, cognitive, and psychosocial development

Question 15

What type of reflexes do newborns display

Answer 15

Reflexes that promote survival

Question 16

What are reflexes

Answer 16

Specific patterns of motor responses triggered by specific sensory stimulation

Question 17

What is the cephalocaudal rule

Answer 17

Tendency for motor skills to emerge in a sequence from the head to feet

Question 18

What is the Proximodistal rule

Answer 18

Tendency for motor skills to emerge from the center to peripheral areas

Question 19

What changes occur to the brain in early development

Answer 19

• Axons are coated with myelin
• The brain triples in weight
• Neurons become arranged by function

Question 20

What is plasticity

Answer 20

Degree to which a developing structure can be changed through experiences

Question 21

What is the sensitive period

Answer 21

A period in time when an organism is most sensitive to the experiences they face

Question 22

What is a scheme

Answer 22

An internal cognitive structure that gives a person a procedure to follow within a given circumstance. We don’t begin life with many of these.

Question 23

What three processes lead from built-in schemes to complex mental schemes

Answer 23

Assimilation
Accommodation
Equilibration

Question 24

What is assimilation

Answer 24

Using schemes to make sense of an environment

Question 25

What is accommodation

Answer 25

Adjusting a scheme to fit a new environment

Question 26

What is equilibration

Answer 26

Balancing assimilation and accommodation to make schemes that suit an environment

Question 27

What are Piaget’s 4 stages of cognitive development

Answer 27

Sensorimotor
Preoperational
Concrete operations
Formal operations

Question 28

Describe the sensorimotor stage

Answer 28

The child learning to coordinate their motor behaviors with sensory experiences

Question 29

Describe the preoperational stage

Answer 29

A stage with rapid growth of vocabulary and thoughts are not limited to objects that are physically present, but conservation is not grasped yet.

Question 30

What is conservation

Answer 30

If an objects appearance changes, the qualitative aspects of the object stay the same

Question 31

Describe concrete operations

Answer 31

Children display observation and can now use previously learned relationships to make new ones (Transitive inferences)

Question 32

Describe formal operations

Answer 32

Age 11+, abstract thinking, metacognition, complex thinking

Question 33

What are the limitations of Piaget’s theory

Answer 33

• Overestimate of age differences
• Vague about the process of change
• Underestimates the role of social environment

Question 34

Describe a success in early attachment

Answer 34

Experiencing a secure social attachment with a caregiver.

Question 35

Describe attatchment

Answer 35

The emotional bond the forms between newborns and primary caregivers

Question 36

How does a baby identify who their primary caregiver is

Answer 36

The baby identifies whoever responds to their actions the most

Question 37

What is something Mary Ainsworth found

Answer 37

Found that across cultures, the mother is mostly the main caregiver and attachment can change over time.

Question 38

What are temperaments

Answer 38

Characteristic patterns of emotional reactivity

Question 39

What are Baumrind’s parenting styles

Answer 39

• Permissive
• Authoritative
• Neglecting/Uninvolved
• Authoritarian

Question 40

What were issues with Baumrind’s classification system

Answer 40

• Parents were not always consistent with their children and it depended on context
• There are cultural differences in parenting