Chapter 9 Overview

Question 1

Identify the overall aims of developmental psychology

Answer 1

The branch of psychology that studies how people change over a lifetime (physical, cognitive, and social)

Question 2

DNA

Answer 2

A molecule that encodes instructions for cells to function. The molecular basis of genetic inheritance controls, the bodies biological processes throughout a lifespan

Question 3

Zygote

Answer 3

Fertilized egg

Question 4

Chromosomes

Answer 4

A bundle of twisted strands of DNA molecules. They are found inside cells and enabled to DNA to combine and producing a new human organism.

Question 5

Gene

Answer 5

The specific section of the DNA on a chromosome. And codes instructions for making a particular protein molecule. Each gene has a specific location on one of the chromosomes. The basic unit of heredity.

Question 6

Alleles

Answer 6

Multiple versions of a specific gene

Question 7

Genotype

Answer 7

The specific form (allele) possessed by an individual organism
– Genetic blueprint for a specific person’s characteristics
– All human beings have genes for the same set of biological functions

Question 8

Phenotype

Answer 8

The observable traits or characteristics of an organism
– Influenced by a gene or combination of genes
– Ultimately determined by interaction of genes and environment

One thing that makes the genotype different than the phenotype is not all genes are expressed – out of the 20,000 or so jeans, most are not expressed. they are in your genotype, but they don’t show up in your phenotype. Only jeans that are expressed show up in your phenotype.

Question 9

Discuss the concept of genetic predisposition and define epigenetics

Answer 9

People have genetic predispositions to develop in a particular way (mental health disorders, type two diabetes, breast, cancer, auto immune disorders)

Epigenetic is the study of cellular mechanisms that control, gene expression, and how that affects health and behavior

Question 10

Identify an example of environmental influences or genetic expression

Answer 10

Gene expression: when a gene activates its molecular instructions
– Not all genes are expressed
– Environment effects gene expression
– Different alleles react differently to environmental factors

Example: lactose intolerance, people who are lactose intolerant, the LCT gene is not expressed after infancy, leading to lack of lactase enzyme, and the inability to digest lactose properly

Question 11

List the correct order of the five stages of prenatal development

Answer 11

Conception: sperm penetrates the ovum (egg cell)
Zygote: fertilized egg
Germinal period .: 0 to 2 weeks
Embryonic period: 3 to 8 weeks
Fetal period: nine weeks to birth

Question 12

Define teratogen and identify examples of common teratogens

Answer 12

Teratogen: harmful agents or substances that can cause malformations or defects in an embryo or fetus
Examples: radiation, toxic chemicals and metals, certain viruses and bacteria, some prescription drugs, alcohol and addictive drugs, maternal smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke, maternal psychological state – anxiety/depression/stress

Question 13

Describe the newborn infants capacity for vision and hearing

Answer 13

Vision:
– Minimally developed at birth
– Optimal viewing distance, only 6 to 12 inches from face
– Still show some preference for human faces

Hearing:
– Already functional in the womb
– With an hours of birth preference for mother’s voice

Question 14

Define reflexes and explain how newborn reflexes promote survival, and the relationship with caregivers

Answer 14

Reflexes: automatic bodily reactions to specific stimuli
-Human infants are physically, weak and helpless
-can’t protect themselves or pursue needs
-Automatic reactions to critical situations help survival

Babinski: curling toes when foot is stroked
Grasping: gripping a finger so tightly that infant can be lifted upright
Sucking: rhythmic sucking when orally stimulated
Rooting: head turns and mouth opens when cheek is touched

Question 15

Define cephalocadaul and proximodistal patterns of physical development

Answer 15

Cephalocaudal pattern: top to bottom pattern of physical and motor skill development. Basically, the ability to control the head – turning to see and hear things in your environment.

Proximodistal pattern: development of muscle control from the center of the body to the outer area and limbs. Improved control over core and eventually limbs.

Question 16

Define temperament

Answer 16

Genetically based predispositions to certain basic patterns of behavioral and emotional responses.
– Genetically based
– Provides a foundation for later personality
– Usually stable across the entire lifespan
– Three basic categories of temperament (easy, difficult, slow to warm up)

Question 17

Identify examples of behaviors corresponding to each of the three types of temperament

Answer 17

Easy: adaptable, positive mood, regular habits
Difficult: emotions, irritability, cry frequently
Slow to warm-up: low activity, somewhat slow to adapt, generally withdrawn from new situations

Question 18

Explain how culture can affect temperament

Answer 18

Infants learn their emotional responses from their environment.

Infants in the United States tend to display more positive emotional responses than Russian or Asian infants. US parents tend to encourage positive emotions in their babies, such as smiling and laughing.

Question 19

Explain what Harlow’s experiments with monkeys were able to show

Answer 19

In the 1950s Harry Harlow took infant monkeys directly away from their mothers at birth and put them in captivity with two figures that were approximately the size and shape of an adult female monkey. The independent variable was that one of the fake mothers was made of wire so it could offer no comfort like warmth through contact, but it did have a bottle of milk. the other fake monkey was a cloth that had no food, but was soft and comfortable. The baby monkeys prefer the cloth contact. Comfort is as important as food in order to thrive and develop properly.

Question 20

Define attachment

Answer 20

The emotional bond formed between an infant and its caregivers in the first year of life

Question 21

Describe the difference between secure and insecure attachment styles

Answer 21

Secure attachment:
– Caregiver is a safe base
– Explores comfortably when caregiver is present
– Upset and explore less when caregiver isn’t present
– Comforted immediately when caregiver returns

Insecure attachment:
– Less likely to explore, even when caregiver is present
– Signs of anxiety and worry when a stranger is present
– Maybe hysterical when caregiver leaves
– May remain upset, or reject caregiver when they return

Attachment and infancy for the basis for emotional bond, later childhood and adulthood

Question 22

Explain how the “ strange situation” enable scientist to empirically study attachment infancy

Answer 22

Mother child payers were studied under four different situations in a monitored playroom

-Initial mother-child interaction
-mother leaves infant alone in playroom
-Friendly stranger enters playroom
-Mother returns and greets child

The experiment was designed to assess attachment style. House secure the bond? Is the caregiver a reliable source of safety and comfort?

Question 23

Gender

Answer 23

Cultural and social meanings that are associated with maleness and femaleness

Question 24

Gender role

Answer 24

Behaviors, attitudes, and personality traits that are given culture designates as either masculine or feminine

Question 25

Gender identity

Answer 25

A person psychological sense of being male or female

Question 26

Biological sex

Answer 26

Assigned at birth, based on multiple biological factors (genes, reproductive system, external genitalia, etc.)

Question 27

Identify the ages of which children typically began to use gendered pronouns, and apply those pronouns to themselves

Answer 27

– Use of gendered pronouns occurs around 18 months – Self identification with gendered pronouns at two years

Question 28

Identify empirical evidence for gender awareness in childhood

Answer 28

– Identifying toys, jobs, clothing, etc., as gendered at 2 to 3 years old – Preference for a certain gender role at 3+ years old

Question 29

Summarize the cognitive, social learning, and evolutionary theories of gender role development

Answer 29

Cognitive: – Children establish a gender schema of male versus female – New objects, people, experiences sorted into a schema – Helps children make sense of the world Social learning: – Gender roles reinforced through operant conditioning – Others tend to model gendered behavior (mom cooks and cleans, dad fixes things. Sister does gymnastics, brother does baseball.) Evolutionary: – Biological sex characteristics linked to gender-typical behaviors – Gendered mating strategies helps species survive – Cognitive and emotional traits for parenting roles

Question 30

Summarize Jean Piaget’s perspective on cognitive development

Answer 30

– Children actively try to make sense of their environment, rather than passively soaking up information – Progress through four distinct cognitive stages characterized by increasing logical capability

Question 31

Identify the four stages of cognitive development and Piaget’s theory and describe the child’s cognitive abilities and limits at each stage

Answer 31

Sensorimotor (0-2): – Information gained through sensation and body movement – Child interacts with world, but does not reason about it – Learns to use symbols through language – Cause and effect – Object permanence Pre-operational (2-7): – Language – Symbolic play (make believe, one object stands for another) – Child can think beyond directly perceived characteristics – Not yet to do logical mental operations due partly to egocentrism, irreversibility, centration Concrete operational (7 to adolescence) – Mental operations use more logic, but limited to concrete objects and things that can be illustrated visually – Becoming less egocentric can understand conservation – Still unable to abstractly The formal operational (11…) – Beginning of adolescence into adulthood – Logical thinking, develops fully. Applied to hypothetical situations, abstract concepts. (algebra, structures of government, etc..) – Abilities emerge, gradually, with practice and brain development

Question 32

Define object permanence

Answer 32

Objects still exist when not perceived

Question 33

Define symbolic thinking and explain how it affects the way children play

Answer 33

Symbolic, thinking: “ make believe” one object stands for another. A banana is a sword, etc.. playing pretend. Child can think beyond directly perceived characteristics.

Question 34

Identify examples of centration, egocentrism, and irreversibility, preventing children from reaching logical conclusions

Answer 34

Centration: choosing clothes: a child might insist on wearing a shirt because it’s their favorite – even if it doesn’t fit or is inappropriate for the weather Egocentrism: hide and seek: a child may cover their eyes and believe because they can’t see other others can’t see them Irreversibility: Play-Doh: if a child sees a ball of Play-Doh flattened into a pancake, they may not believe it can be re-shaped into a ball

Question 35

Describe the major characteristics of adolescent brain development, and how that affects their thinking and decision-making

Answer 35

Puberty: sexual maturity is reach through a sequence of physical changes, brought by hormones within the body Brain development: still work in progress – the prefrontal cortex is not developed until early 20s – control emotions

Question 36

Describe Ericksons psychological stage of identity versus role confusion

Answer 36

Integrated identity: stable sense of individual preferences, values, interest, that fit together into a coherent whole Confusion: uncertainty about one’s place in social context, lack of commitment, apathy, withdrawal

Question 37

Explain the concept of emerging adulthood

Answer 37

The stage of lifespan from approximately the late teens to the mid to late 20s. Characterized by exploration, instability, and flexibility and social roles, vocational choices, and relationships.