Development Flashcards
Unit 5 - Winter break reading (104 cards)
1
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Developmental Psychology
A
A branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive and social change throughout the lifespan
2
Q
Nature vs Nurture Controversy
A
the extent to which heredity and the environment each influence behavior
3
Q
Biological Psychologists
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Researches brain functions to understand human behaviors and how the effects of mental illnesses or injuries can cause a response in human behavior.
4
Q
Neuroscientists
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A scientist specializing in neuroscience that deals with the anatomy and function of neurons, neural circuits, and glial cells, and their behavioral, biological, and psychological roles in health and disease.
5
Q
Evolutionary Psychologists
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Believe all human behaviours reflect the influence of physical and psychological predispositions that helped human ancestors survive and reproduce.
6
Q
biological psychologists, neuroscientists and Evolutionary Psychologists
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Argue the nativist (nature) position; that basic structures for our behavior are genetically determined and their expression depends on the interaction with the environment.
7
Q
Maturation
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biological growth processes that bring about orderly changes in behavior, thought or physical growth, relatively unaffected by experience
8
Q
Behaviorists
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Argue that physical structures are genetically inherited and intellectual structures are learned; the environment shapes us.
9
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Chronological Development via Cross-Sectional Studies
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Comparing people of different ages
- Studied by developmental psychologists
10
Q
Lifespan Development
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Studies how humans learn, mature, and adapt from infancy to adulthood to the elderly phases of life.
11
Q
Longitudinal Research
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Following people’s development over a period of time - typically years
12
Q
Continuous Development
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The idea that a person’s mental, physical, emotional and social development gradually unfolds over time.
- It is a cumulative change from conception to death.
13
Q
Discontinuous Development
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Proposes that growth and development occur in distinct stages or series, where individuals make ‘leaps’ in development that are universal and linear.
14
Q
Stability vs Change
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- Researched by Developmental psychologists
- Which characteristics are most likely to remain stable and consistent, and which are more subject to change…
(Some aspects of temperament, such as energy levels and outgoingness, seem relatively stable, whereas social attitudes are more likely to change over time)
15
Q
Critical periods
‘sensitive periods’
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A time period in which specific stimuli has a major effect on development
- sometimes referred to as ‘sensitive periods’
- E.g. Exposure to language from birth to 2-3 years of age is one such critical period that has shown to be significantly important for adequate speech and comprehension development in later life.
16
Q
Teratogens
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Viruses, chemicals and/or drugs that can damage an embryo or foetus.
- Examples include smoking, drinking and drug use.
17
Q
Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)
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Physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman’s heavy drinking.
- Signs include a small, out of proportion head, low intelligence and abnormal facial features.
18
Q
Reflexes
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Simple, automatic responses
- Increase their chances of survival.
- A lack of these reflexes can be early indicators of brain damage.
19
Q
Rooting
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Is the baby’s reflex of turning his/her head to try and put a stimulus into his/her mouth. Sucking and swallowing are also automatic responses.
20
Q
Imprinting
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Is where animals form an extremely close and dependent bond with the first animal they see after being born.
- Some argue that the natural inclination for a baby to seek attachment, (e.g.) need for physical closeness and strong emotional response to the primary caregiver
21
Q
Fine motor coordination
A
Involving the small muscles of the body
- Brain enables this
(Infancy to Early Childhood)
22
Q
Gross motor coordination
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Involving larger muscles and whole body movement
- Brain enables this
(Infancy to Early Childhood)
23
Q
Puberty
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Sexual maturation, marked by the onset of the ability to reproduce
- Occurs in the adolescents stage
24
Q
Primary sex characteristics
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Ovaries/testes
- Start producing sex cells and the external genitals grow
- Happens in adolescents stage
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Secondary sex characteristics
Non-reproductive features associated with sexual maturity
- Such as widening of the hips and breast development in females, growth of facial hair and development of the ‘Adam’s apple’ in males.
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Growth spurt
Girls begin their growth spurt about two years before their first menstrual period
- Typically around 12 ½
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Menarche
A girls first menstrual period
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Spermarche
- The first ejaculation
- Happens around the age of 14
- For Boys
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Menopause
Cessation of the ability to reproduce
- In females at about age 50
- Men experience less frequent erections around the same time
- Characterised by a varying decline in mobility, flexibility, reaction time and visual and auditory sensory activity.
(Ageing)
30
Piaget (theory)
Claimed that children go through a maturational process of cognitive development.
- Theory tends to fall on the 'nature' side of the debate
- He claimed that intelligence develops progressively in a series of stages that are related to age. Regardless of a child's IQ, culture, environment or gender, all children go through each stage at the same time and none of these stages can be skipped.
31
Assimilation
Occurs when a child reacts to a new object or idea in a way that is consistent with the child's existing mental representations
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Schemas
Existing mental representations
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Accommodation
Occurs when after encountering a new object or idea, the child modifies the existing mental representation or even creates a whole new schema.
34
Stage 1: Sensorimotor Stage (birth - 2 years)
Characterised by physicality.
- A baby learns through actions and senses via exploration of its environment
- e.g. sucking, crawling and touching.
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Object permanence
The understanding that objects exist even when they cannot be seen.
- Infants begin to learn about this in the Sensorimotor Stage (birth - 2 years)
- Piaget found that when a toy was hidden while an infant was watching, they would often show surprise when the toy was visible again. A lack of object permanence is when an infant fails to recognise that the object still exists whilst out of sight. Object permanence occurs typically at 8 months to 1 year.
36
Stranger or separation anxiety
fear of unfamiliar people and acute anxiety when apart from parent(s)
- Infants develop at 8 months
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Pretend play
The stage of play engaged in by children who are capable of assigning action to symbolic objects.
(Pre-operational Stage)
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Stage 2: Pre-operational Stage (2-7)
Characterised by children becoming more proficient in using mental symbols and engaging in pretend play such as ‘feeding the doll’.
- By age 2 a toddler is mobile and can use language, but still lacks reasoning ability
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Parallel play
A form of play in which children play adjacent to each other, but do not try to influence one another's behaviour
- Means that they display some characteristic errors in reasoning.
- Between ages 2 and 3
(Pre-operational Stage)
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Theory of Mind
The ability to understand the mental state (beliefs, intentions, knowledge) of others.
- Children begin to develop this at the end of Pre-operational Stage (2-7)
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Egocentrism
The inability to see the world from another’s perspective.
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Conservation
The ability to appreciate that the quantity (e.g. number or volume) of objects or materials remain the same even when their appearances change.
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Reversibility
When a child is unable to mentally reverse the sequence of events.
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Animism
That all things are living just like humans - the belief that inanimate objects are capable of actions and have lifelike qualities similar to humans.
- Ex. the stars twinkle at night because they are happy, or the teddy bear falls down because he is tired.
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Stage 3: Concrete Operational Stage (7-11)
Children in this stage can generally correct the cognitive errors made in the preoperational stage and understand the world in logical, realistic and straightforward ways, but struggle to think systematically
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Systematically
To be able to see the outcome of your choices and decisions before you make them
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Stage 4: Formal Operational Stage (11+)
Characterised by the ability to think abstractly, hypothetically and can solve problems using logic in a systematic way.
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‘Personal fable’
A commonly held belief by many adolescents that they are special, unique, and invulnerable. Piaget proposed that not all people achieve this final developmental stage.
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Abstract thinking
The ability to understand that concepts such as ‘freedom’ or ‘vulnerability’ are real, but not directly tied to concrete physical objects and experiences.
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Hypothetical thinking
"what-if" situations that are not always rooted in reality.
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Vygotsky (theory of cognitive development)
He saw cognitive development as a social process; children learn through interacting with others.
- His theory sits on the ‘nurture’ side of the debate.
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The Zone of Proximal Development
- Vygotsky claimed that this is where learning occurred
- The gap between a child’s current level of development (defined by the cognitive tasks they can perform unaided) and what they can potentially do with help from a more expert other, who may be an adult or a more advanced child.
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Scaffolding
The breaking down of information or of parts of a new skill into pieces that are digestible for the learner
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'expert’ or ‘more knowledgeable other'
- Scaffolding involves this...
- Anyone who has a better understanding or a higher ability level than the learner, particularly in regards to a specific task, concept or process.
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Dementia
Not a specific disease but is rather a general term for the impaired ability to remember, think, or make decisions.
- A common disorder that affects adults
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Phonemes
The smallest possible sound units of spoken language
- have no meaning
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Grammar
The system of rules in a language that determines how sounds and words can be combined and used to communicate.
- E.g. ‘i’ before ‘e’ except after ‘c’
‘Friend’ / ‘Thief’ / ‘Ceiling’
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Morphemes
The smallest meaningful units of speech
- Most morphemes carry two or more phonemes
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Syntax
The rules that regulate the order in which words can be combined into sensible sentences
- E.g. Noun, Verb and Adjective in the English Language ‘George Ate the Delicious Cake’
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Semantics
The set of rules that enable us to derive meaning from words
- The word 'crash' can mean an accident, a drop in the stock market, or attending a party without an invitation.
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Cooing
Uttering of typically one repetition of sound
- e.g. ‘ahhhhhh’ or ‘oohhhh’
- 4-10 months
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Babbling
Spontaneous uttering of various sounds such as ‘nana-aaa-doooo’
- 4-10 months
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One-word stage
This is when speaking is mostly in single words
- E.g. a baby may point across the street and say ‘go’ - a single word to represent ‘I would like to go over there to the park and play’
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Ecological Systems Theory
Explores how the social environment influences development.
- There are five systems in this theory
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Telegraphic speech
(a verb + a noun) to communicate.
- E.g. ‘Eat cookie’ or ‘Play ball’
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Overgeneralization of language rules
To apply a regular grammatical rule in an irregular situation. E.g. in English, a past tense verb is commonly written with ‘-ed’
- E.g. ‘He phoned me last night’. However, there are other verbs that use an irregular rule such as ‘hit’. Young children might say ‘he hitted me’ as an example of overgeneralization.
People often learning a new language make this mistake.
65
Microsystem
Includes all the groups that have direct contact with the individual
- e.g. teacher, friends, family
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Mesosystem
Involves all the possible interactions between different microsystems in the child’s life
- e.g. open communication between a child’s parents and teachers provides consistency across both environments. Or if siblings don't get along, this may impact the parents attention to the child
67
Exosystem
Indirect factors in a child’s life). While not directly interacting with the child, the exosystem still influences the microsystems.
- e.g. a parent’s stressful job and work schedule affects their availability, resources, and mood at home with their child.
68
Macrosystem
Cultural events that affect the individual and others around them
- differs from the previous ecosystems as it does not refer to the specific environments of one developing child but the already established society and culture in which the child is developing
- e.g. boys raised in patriarchal cultures might be socialized to assume domineering masculine roles.
69
Chronosystem
The individual's current stage of life
- Relates to shifts and transitions over the child’s lifetime. These environmental changes can be predicted, like starting school, or unpredicted, like parental divorce or changing schools when parents relocate for work, which may cause stress.
70
Authoritarian parenting
Parents set up strict rules, expect children to follow them and punish any wrongdoing. Focus is on obedience, with minimal displays of affection. ‘Do it because I said so’.
High Control - Low Affection
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Authoritative parenting
Parents set limits, but explain the reasons for rules with their children and make exceptions when appropriate. Encourage independence and are affectionate toward the child. ‘Yes you can go out but please be back by 11:30pm’.
High Control - High Affection
72
Permissive parenting
Parents tend not to set firm guidelines, if they set any at all. The child sets the agenda. There is often lots of affection and warmth to the child.
Low Control - High Affection
73
Temperament
A temperament is something we are all born with and it is our tendency to show a particular mood, in a particular situation.
- Can have an impact on the type of parenting style and/ or attachment.
- Easy babies are cheerful, relaxed and follow patterns of eating and sleeping. Difficult babies are irritable, intense and unpredictable.
74
Attachment styles
Describe how individuals interact with and attach to the people closest to them
75
Secure Attachment
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Avoidant Attachment (INSECURE)
- experience discomfort being close to others, maintains distance
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Anxious (Ambivalent) Attachment (INSECURE)
- crave acceptance, but remind alert to rejection
78
Disorganized Attachment
Characterized by inconsistent and hard to predict behavior
- E.g. people with a disorganized attachment style pursue a loving relationship but then detach or lash out at a partner who gives them that love.
79
Trust vs mistrust
A crisis that infants face
80
Basic trust
Comes when parents provide a safe, consistent and loving environment for children to leave this stage healthily
- Makes them believe that the world is predictable, that others care and will always be there for them
81
Autonomy vs shame and doubt
A crisis that toddlers face
- Children who are encouraged to try new skills develop autonomy, while those who are ridiculed or overprotected may doubt their abilities and feel ashamed of their actions
82
Initiative vs guilt
Children (3-5) face the crisis of this
- To develop initiative children need to learn to make plans and carry out tasks through play, asking questions, making choices and using their imagination
- Children feel guilty if they are severely criticized, discouraged from asking questions, not permitted to make choices, or prevented from playing.
83
Industry vs inferiority
A crisis that School-aged children (6-12 years old) face
- Children need to be positively reinforced for productive activities, such as achieving in the classroom, on the sports field, or artistically or musically, in order to develop a healthy self concept and sense of identity.
- If children’s efforts are considered inadequate, feelings of social or mental inferiority in this stage can carry over to a poor self-concept in the future.
84
Self-concept
Self concept can be defined as all the thoughts and feelings about oneself, when answering the question ‘Who am I”?.
85
Identity vs role confusion
A crisis faced by Adolescents (12-20 years old)
- Answering the question ‘Who am I?’ is the major task, which involves building a consistent identity, a unified sense of self. Peer relationships are becoming more important.
86
Intimacy
Young Adults (about 21-40 years old)
Involves deeply caring about others and sharing meaningful experiences with them, especially a life partner
87
Isolation
Young Adults (about 21-40 years old)
Is what people feel without intimacy - alone and uncared for in life; they experience
88
Generativity vs stagnation
A crisis that ones in Middle Adulthood (about 40-65 years old) face.
- In this period, adults need to express their caring about the next and future generations by guiding or mentoring others or work that enriches the lives of others.
- People who fail to achieve generativity can become stagnant and preoccupied with their own needs and comforts.
89
Integrity vs despair
A crisis faced by ones in late adulthood (65 to death)
- Those who look back on their lives with satisfaction that they have lived their lives well develop a sense of wholeness and integrity. - Those in despair look back with regrets and disappointment in the lives they have led.
90
Adolescence
The transition between childhood to adulthood.
- Identity begins for form
90
Identity consists of...
-sexual orientation
-race/ethnic identity
-values and morals
-religious beliefs.
90
Identity Foreclosure
Characterised by high commitment and low exploration.
- Occurs when an individual blindly accepts the values and beliefs that their parents and those around them have without question or exploration of other alternatives or ideas for themselves.
91
Emerging adulthood
a new term for this development period as adolescence that is gaining popularity, it describes the period of between ages 18 to 29, experienced by most people in their twenties in Westernised cultures and perhaps in other parts of the world as well. It includes more responsibilities than adolescence, but not quite the same as those in full adulthood.
91
Identity Diffusion
Characterised by low commitment and low exploration.
- At this stage, the young person has not yet begun to explore possible identities and don't know what kind of person they want to be yet, they usually have trouble setting goals for themselves and seeing the possible future
92
Identity Moratorium
Characterised by high exploration and low commitment.
- when young people are in this stage they have usually experienced a crisis that lead them to an active exploration of their identity, they still haven't made any concrete decisions about who they want to be or what beliefs they want to live by
92
Identity Achievement
Characterised by high exploration and high commitment.
- This stage is reached when the person has extensively explored and committed to a system of beliefs and how they plan to live their life, these ideas are well-developed and thought out
93
Possible selves
The individuals' ideas of what they might become, what they would like to become, and what they are afraid of becoming.
- Happens within Identity Achievement
94
Personal fables
A bias commonly seen in a much earlier developmental stage (see Piaget), it can still be observed in teenagers.
- It shows itself when adolescents feel that no one else can understand what they are going through.
- It is a type of ecocentrism.
95
Imaginary Audience
Another egocentrism specific to adolescence/emerging adulthood
- Describes the feeling that other people are constantly watching, judging and thinking about you.
- Teenagers can often believe that their appearance, actions, and words are the focus of everyone else's attention.
96
Social clocks
The culturally preferred timing of events such as marriage, parenthood and retirement.
97
Adverse childhood experiences
such as severe deprivation (loss of something) or abuse can slow development BUT genetic growth patterns (maturational unfolding) are inborn.
E.g. a child will still develop basic fine and gross motor skills however, the extent to which these are advanced depend on the child’s life experience.
98
Resilient
May make children better equipped to deal with future stress. However, extreme trauma in childhood can alter the brain, affecting stress response and leaving epigenetic marks.
- Most children who grow up under adversity are resilient
