CH 5 Psych Flashcards
(32 cards)
What do developmental psychologists study?
-the study of physical, social, emotional, and cognitive changes that occur over the lifetime
-nature/nurture
-continuity/stages
-stability/change
What factors are involved in the development of voluntarily controlled movement?
-in infancy, behavior is characterized by involuntary reflexes (grasping, sucking, rooting)
-Motor control developments as a result of biological maturation (the growth of synaptic connections among neurons) and experience
How do researchers study what infants know, remember, and sense? What is habituation?
-Difficult to study: can’t talk, don’t follow directions, by measuring what babies look at/for how long, we can get an idea of what babies perceive, understand, and remember
-habituation – decreased response to unchanging stimuli, infants only respond to novel and interesting stimuli
-habituation tells us about different stages in a child’s cognitive development
First stage of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development
- Sensorimotor, 0-2
-out of sight literally means out of mind—if a toy rolls away, they will not look for it, it has ceased to exist
-develop object permanence between 6-8 months of age
-separation anxiety—starts around 8 months
-stranger anxiety
-learning through senses and actions
-develop schemas
-assimilation and accommodation
Second stage of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development
- Preoperational, 2-6/7
-egocentric because they can’t imagine the world from someone else’s viewpoint
-theory of mind
-by the time kids are 4 or 5, kids have a much more developed theory of mind
-Difficulty with mental operations/mentally manipulating information (CONSERVATION)
Third stage of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development
- Concrete operational, 7-11
-Able to perform simple mental operations and use simple logic, able to perform the conservation tasks successfully
-still limited
-Can only reason logically about concrete things/things that exist in the real world/not good at abstract reasoning
-Once people reach the formal operational (adolescence - 12-14), better able to consider hypothetical situations, algebra, CONSERVATION
Fourth stage of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development
- formal operational, 12-adulthood
abstract reasoning and logic, algebra
How did Piaget view cognitive development? Know the stages of his theory and the
characteristics of thinking associated with each period (such as object permanence,
egocentrism, theory of mind, conservation, mental representations, mental operations, etc.)
-theory of cognitive development on the foundation that kids are active learners, little scientists
-Development occurred in stages, in each stage, the thinking is qualitatively different than it is in other stages
How is theory of mind related to autism?
-Lack theory of mind: being able to take another person’s point of view, being able to imagine the world from someone else’s viewpoint, understanding that other people have minds that are separate from one’s own
-People with autism oftentimes never develop theory of mind
What are schemas (text)?
concepts/mental representation that allows organisms to interpret and understand the world around them, assimilation (assimilation occurs when we modify or change new information to fit into our schemas) and accommodation (restructure of modify what we already know so that new information can fit in better)
What is temperament? On what is it based? What are the temperament classifications for
babies?
-typical behavioral and emotional state, reflection of an individual’s reactivity, sensitivity, intensity
-believed to be highly genetic because it is how reactive an individual’s nervous system is, parenting style also affects
-easy babies – predictable, easy-going, cheerful, relaxed, good with new situations
-difficult babies – irregular, irritable, new situations overwhelming
-slow-to-warm up babies – in between, less emotional, a little nervous in new situations, slowly come to enjoy them
What is attachment?
A close emotional bond between a child and its caregiver’s
What did Harlow’s monkeys reveal about attachment and maternal instinct?
-Took baby monkeys away from their mother’s and raised them in isolation
-Provided them with two fake mothers: one covered in a soft cloth, other provided food
-Spent all of their time clinging to the cloth, suggests that contact comfort might be an important part of bonding—mattered more than food
-TOUCH IS IMPORTANT!
-Attempted to have a few monkeys mate, refused
-maternal instinct is learned
What is the strange situation test?
-A baby (1-2 years old) and parents are brought into an unfamiliar room together
-There are toys for children to play with—what will they do
-Parents leave for a few minutes
-how do the children react?
-Parents return
-how do the children react?
What characterizes secure attachment, insecure avoidant
attachment, and insecure ambivalent/resistant attachment in childhood and adulthood?
-Secure: In strange situations, the child will play with the toys, check in with parents (cycle). distressed when parents leave but are comforted quickly when the parent returns. Responsive/sensitive caregivers
-Insecure avoidant: Don’t care when the parent leaves, don’t care when the parent returns. Show the same amount of interest in strangers—
More likely to have parents that are abusive or neglectful
-Insecure ambivalent/resistant: In strange situations, often cling to parents, do not go play with toys. When the parent leaves the room, they get very upset, and are frustrated when they return. Inconsistent parents.
effects of attachment styles in adulthood
-secure: adults feel secure in relationships, high level of trust, look towards their partner for support and comfort
-avoidant: adults are very independent, less able to make emotional connections, commitment
-ambivalent: fear rejection from partner, insecure, try really hard to maintain closeness in relationships
How do authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and negligent parents differ?
-authoritative: Parents—firm, demanding, consistent, provide their kids with lots of warmth, affectionate, explain the rules (helps children to self-regulate in unfamiliar situations)
-authoritarian: harsh, punitive, unsympathetic, provide little praise or warmth, demand unquestioning obedience, if the child asks “why?”, parents are likely to respond “because I said so.”
-permissive: give their kids almost complete freedom with very few rules
-negligent: provide for basic needs, but avoid getting emotionally involved with their kids
What child characteristics are associated with these different types of parents?
-authoritative: more successful/responsible/higher self-esteem
-authoritarian: unfriendly, distrustful, withdrawn
-permissive: tend to be immature, aggressive, unhappy
-negligent: worst of all, delinquent, low-achievement, low self-esteem
What are gender roles? How does gender differ from sex?
-Social roles kids learn is related to gender from
-Kids get messages on what their gender is supposed to be like from parents, peers, media, etc
culture, status, and role differences
-Sex = biological
Gender = socially defined characteristics of males and females, normal and appropriate behavior
What messages do boys and girls get regarding the gender roles of males and females in
American culture?
-males: In the media, much more likely to be…main characters, solving problems, giving orders, rescuing
achievement, competition, independence; parents are more likely to encourage boys to achieve, compete, be independent
-females: In the media, less likely to have speaking roles, appearance/sexuality is emphasized, portrayed as submissive; Parents are more likely to encourage girls to be expressive, nurturing, dependent, unselfish
What is adolescence?
-Period between childhood and adulthood
-Roughly corresponds to the teen years
What major physical changes take place during adolescence? What happens in the brain
during adolescence?
-Puberty – a series of bodily changes that result in a person becoming capable of reproduction
-menarche
-Brain maturation occurring as well
-Pruning: unused synaptic connections cut back (believed to make mental processing more efficient, gets rid of “excess noise)
-frontal lobes developing, greater myelination
Is the prefrontal cortex fully mature in adolescence?
-still not fully mature
-poor judgment, decision-making, impulsive, difficulty controlling behaviors, difficulty thinking of long-term consequences
Who postulated the existence of an identity crisis? When does it occur? What is it?
-Eric Erikson—neo-Freudian, proposed a theory of psycho-social changes that occur throughout life
-occurs during adolescence
-self of sense
-Very different people depending on who they’re with
-Start to wonder: which is the real me? Who am I?
-Explore different identities to answer this question
-Change the way they dress, the music they listen to, what they read/watch in an effort to develop an integrated identity
