Development

Question 1

Constructivism

Answer 1

knowledge is constructed through an interaction of:
what we already know and,
what we experience.

Question 2

Assimilation

Answer 2

People use schemas to interpret experiences

Question 3

Accomodation

Answer 3

Simultaneously use experiences to revise schemas

Question 4

Piagets view of development

Answer 4

Gradually knowledge is constructed across time

Question 5

Importance of play

Answer 5

• Children actively seek information to help them test and revise their schemas
• They play as a form of scientific discovery, to test and revise what they know about the world.
  -As children test and revise their schemas

Question 6

Sensorimotor (0-2)

Answer 6

-Use of sensory and motor schemas
Physical interactions with objects

Still developing:
Symbolic representation
Object permanence

Question 7

Object Permanence

Answer 7

Understanding that objects continue to exist even when out of sight.

Question 8

pre operational (2-6)

Answer 8

-Use of symbolic schemas
Language
Imagination

Still developing:
The ability to manage multiple schemas simultaneously and to mentally manipulate them.
Conservation
Perspective-taking (overcoming egocentrism)

Question 9

Conservation

Answer 9

-Certain physical properties (e.g., volume, mass, and number) stay the same despite physical transformations.
-Children struggle to understand this because it requires them to think about events in many different ways at the same time.

Question 10

Egocentrism

Answer 10

tendency to perceive the world only from one’s own point of view.
-Preoperational children fixate on one aspect of the problem (e.g., where the ball is).
Cannot mentally transform the ball to original location and take perspective of someone else (requires working with multiple schemas).

Question 11

Concrete Operational (6 to 11)

Answer 11

Ability to flexibly manage and manipulate schemas.
Ability to categorize in many different ways, use rules, logic.

Still developing:
More abstract, hypothetical, and systematic reasoning

Question 12

Formal Operational (12 to . . .)

Answer 12

Use of abstract and hypothetical, and systematic thought.

Question 13

Attachment

Answer 13

Special relationship between human infants and their caregivers. “attachment” to describe this first relationship
Attachment provides physical security (Safety, shelter, food) and psychological safety (predictable, reliable, secure).

Question 14

“Cupboard” theory

Answer 14

Parents start out as a neutral stimulus that becomes associated with the unconditioned stimulus of food.

Question 15

Contact/comfort (Harlow studies)

Answer 15

-Much of what Harlow saw in monkeys can be seen in humans as well, especially using the parent as a secure base from which to explore, and to return when things seem unsafe. That psychological security really empowers you to get out and learn.
-We believe that contact comfort has long served the animal kingdom as a motivating agent for affectional responses.

The contact comfort concept from Harry Harlow’s studies on rhesus monkeys shows that attachment is primarily formed through physical comfort and emotional security, not just feeding or nourishment.

Question 16

Securely attached

Answer 16

-60% of babies
-Treat the attachment figure as a source of security and safety.

Secure base: Explores when mother is present
Separation: Upset when mother leaves
Reunion: Calms down and greets mother positively when she returns

Question 17

Insecurely attached ( avoidant)

Answer 17

• 20% of babies
  -Treat the attachment figure as irrelevant

Secure base: Uninterested in exploring the strange environment
Separation: Shows little distress when mother leaves
Reunion: Shows little interest when mother returns

Question 17

Insecurely attached:
Resistant/Ambivalent/Anxious

Answer 17

-15% of babies
-Treat the attachment figure as unreliable source of safety

Secure base: Reluctant to explore, anxious
Separation: Very upset when mother leaves
Reunion: Continues to be upset when mother returns and may seek but then reject contact

Question 18

Disorganized/Disoriented

Answer 18

So:
Secure base: Not consistent in behaviors
Separation: No consistent way of coping
Reunion: often appear dazed or disoriented

Question 19

why do attachment styles matter

Answer 19

Basic trust: sense of world as predictable and reliable
Social and intellectual skills
Emotional stability
Adult relationships, including attachment to partners, even in late life.
Can change over time and with relationships

Question 20

Critisism of attachment styles

Answer 20

-Much of research done in US, predominately White (European American) mothers and children
-The general point about importance of attachments and secure base does seem to apply cross-culturally
-What is considered “insecure” (such as very upset when caregiver leaves) might be “secure” in other contexts
example: Co-sleeping

Question 21

Ecological Systems Theory/ Bioecological Model

Answer 21

To understand a child’s development we must understand their environment and interactions with their environment

Question 22

Microsystems

Answer 22

Things child has direct contact with (immediate environment)
Teachers, caregivers, peers in schools

Question 23

Mesosystem

Answer 23

Interactions between a child’s microsystems. Microsystems do not function independently, but are interconnected and assert influence upon one another
-E.g., Interaction between teacher and parents

Question 24

Exosystem

Answer 24

Social structures that indirectly influence the child through one of the microsystems (Media, neighborhoods, parent workplace) E.g., if the parent has a stressful workplace that will influence the child’s development

Question 25

Macrosystem

Answer 25

How cultural elements impact a child’s development. The culture individuals immerse within influences beliefs and perceptions about events in one’s life. Not a specific environment of one child, but an already established society and culture the child is developing in. Way impacts development will depend on prior systems and individual (e.g., a child raised Muslim in Christian society will have different experiences than child raised Christian)

Question 26

Chronosystem

Answer 26

Focuses on timescale All environmental changes that occur over the lifetime Natural disasters, wars, geopolitical shifts, life stages.

Question 27

Racial socialization

Answer 27

All children are receiving racial/ethnic socialization messages from their parents and these messages should shape their understanding of their social world and themselves

Question 28

What are some declining functions?

Answer 28

-Physical functioning (bone and muscle mass decline, cell damage) -Some cognitive functioning (fluid intelligence) -Neuron shrinkage and death (gray matter) -Myelin breaks down (white matter) -Unevenly distributed -PFC and hippocampus decline first This is normal aging

Question 29

What are some benefits to aging?

Answer 29

-Improvements in cognitive functioning in other ways -Crystalized intelligence -More skillful use of many cognitive systems

Question 30

Socio-emotional benefits to aging (Socioemotional selectivity theory)

Answer 30

-#1: Positive emotion increased up to age 64 and then leveled off. -#2: As people age, emotional experience is more stable -Perception of “time left” influences motives. -Younger people emphasize knowledge and experiences that will pay off in future. -Older people emphasize present-moment happiness and social motives. -Older adults focus on the “right now  So selecting how you want to spend your time, with whom, what emotions one’s perception of how much time is left in their life influences their motives such that older people tend to emphasize the present-moment happiness and social relationships (whereas younger people tend to be more concerned gaining knowledge and experience that will pay off in the future).

Question 31

Mitigating cognitive decline

Answer 31

-Staying mentally active -Engaging in cognitive activities predicts reduced decline