Developmental Key Words👶🏼 Flashcards
(126 cards)
1
Q
Development
A
Study of change and stability
Physicall, cognitive, behavioural and social over time due to biological, individual and environmental differences
- the brain (neuroscience)
- mental processes (cognitive)
- behaviour and environment (behaviour and environment)
2
Q
Reasons to learn about developmental psychology
A
Choosing social policies-whether children can give eyewitness accounts, narrow attainment gaps etc.
Raising children- how to foster development
Understanding human nature-nurture vs nature
3
Q
Ontogenetic
A
Development of an individual over their lifetime
4
Q
Microgenetic development
A
Changes over very brief period of time, as it happens
5
Q
Phylogenetic
A
Changes over evolutionary time
6
Q
How to study development
A
Quantitative- measurable and quantifiable
Qualitative-changes in functions or processes
Stability-enduring characteristics
7
Q
Types of studies (time)to understand change
A
Cross section- children of different ages studied at the same time CONTINUOUS, PHYSICAL GROWTH
Longitudinal- same children tested repeatedly CONTINUOUS, PHYSICAL GROWTH
Microgenetic- changes examined as they occur (extreme longitudinal) DISCONTINUOUS STEP LIKE GROWTH
8
Q
Ways to gather data about children
A
Interviews or questionnaires
Naturalistic observation-field environment
Structured observation-lab
9
Q
Approaches to gathering data about children
A
Cognitive measures-tasks measure processes
Psychophysical measures-uncover basic biological processes to infer perception and cognition e.g. eye tracking
Cognitive neuroscience- EEG, fMRI
10
Q
Plasticity
A
To what degree is development open to change
When do things have the greatest impact on children
11
Q
Organismic world view
A
Person as biological organism
Continually interacts with environment, shapes development
Qualitatively different stages
12
Q
Mechanistic world view
A
Person represented like a machine
Passive until stimulated, acquired gradually
13
Q
Cohort
A
Group raised in the same environment
14
Q
Discontinuous function
A
Gradually adding more of the same skill
Series of stages, different to each other e.g. speech
15
Q
U-shaped function
A
Development increases then decreases e.g. eyesight
16
Q
Continuous function: decreasing ability
A
Worsens with age e.g. sound variations
17
Q
Continuous function: increasing ability
A
Improves with age e.g. reaching
18
Q
Overview of Piaget
A
Constructive theory
Children active learners, motivated and interact with environment
Make hypotheses and test like a scientist
19
Q
Assimilation
A
Integrate new info into existing schema
20
Q
Accommodation
A
Adjust schema into new knowledge, change of knowledge
21
Q
Disequilibrium
A
Imbalance between what was known previously and newly learnt info (difficult to assimilate)
accommodates new information later
22
Q
Piaget’s stages of cognitive development
A
Sensorimotor 0-2 (object permanence, mental representations, self awareness)
Pre operational 2-7(egocentrism, animism, symbolic thought)
Concrete operational 7-12(conserve task, metacognition)
Formal operational 12+(reason hypothetically)
DISCONTINUOUS DEVELOPMENT
23
Q
Object permanence, mental representations, self awareness
Sensorimotor
A
Object permanence- when hidden, objects still exist
mental representations- mental picture of absent object
self awareness- know body is theirs (rouge test)
24
Q
Egocentrism, animism, symbolic thought
Pre operational
A
Egocentrism- unable to acknowledge another’s perspective
Animism- attribute life like qualities to inanimate objects
Symbolic thought- e.g. banana as a phone
25
Conservation task, metacognition
| Concrete operational
Conservation task- compensation and equivalence in measurements
Metacognition- thinking about thinking
26
What must children organise to go through 4 stages of cognitive development
Organise schemas through assimilation and accommodation
Schemas- mental representations of rules that enable children to interact with world, develop through experience, more complex
27
Evaluate Piaget’s theory
Observations replicated with new methods, influenced education (active learners)
Argued children think differently, encouraged research
Comprehensive account from birth to adolescence
Different ages children master stages, abstract thinking can be improved with training
Subjective when stages met, affected by education and upbringing
Some tasks not child friendly so underestimate skills
28
Specific limitations of Piaget’s findings
6 week olds may form mental representations (tongue protrusion)
Can pass egocentrism tasks 3-5 years with different materials (modified three mountains task)
Conservation can be achieved 4 years when task instruction simplified (naughty teddy)
29
Vygotsky:how to attain higher mental functions
Through interaction with other people and environment
Attention
Sensation
Perception
Memory
30
Socioculture examples
Play- Efe and San Pedro children imitated adult work in their play, observe and interact with adults while working
Problem solving-Kpelle worse at estimating length than US but better at estimating rice quantities
Educated Uzbekistan farmers had more abstract thoughts than unschooled
Chinese students better at solving problem using Chinese fairytale while US solving Western problem
Language- differences in cognition, Amazonian can only solve problems with quantities up to 5 but when learn second language can solve
German children struggle to write numbers because they speak them oppositely
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Socioculture
Society and the social world of a child
Tools to use mental functions effectively. Determines what children engage in, how we think is a function if the culture we grow up in
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Marshmallow task
Delay gratification predicted great success in adolescence and academic success
33
Socioculture and delayed gratification
Less certainty, more risks (short rewards) but
Cameroonian children waited twice as long as Germans on marshmallow task
Germans showed more negative emotions, Cameroonian children learn to control their needs and moods
34
Self speech and inner speech
Children first controlled by adults
Self speech-said out loud
Inner speech-internal monologues
35
Self and Inner speech evidence
Used more in challenging task, making mistakes or confused
| Children prevented from using self speech perform poorly on planning task
36
ZPD and scaffolding
Vygotsky- cognition improves when interacting with those more knowledgeable. Difference between actual development level and potential development determined by supervision. Learn best in the zone
Bruner- more competent people provide a framework to support higher level thinking. Adjusted when more capable
37
Scaffolding aspects
Recruitment-engage child
Reduction of degrees of freedom- less acts to solution
Direction maintenance- motivate child
Marking critical features-highlight important features
Demonstration- model solution to stimulus’s learner to imitate this
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Contingentcy shifting
Mother withdraws help as child’s competency increases
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Why does collaborative learning help
Motivation enhanced
Child had to explain ideas, resolve conflicts
Examining ideas and articulate them
Increases self speech, modify behaviour for less skilled peers
40
Compare and contrast Piaget and Vygotsky theories of development
Similarities=children are active learners, interaction in the world is important, constructivists (build and understand through experience)
Differences=P child’s efforts , V social world and others
P discontinuous and quantitive, V continuous and qualitative
P nature with no interaction needed, V nurture with interaction
P culture not important, V culture important role
41
Nativism
Skills/abilities hard wired from birth
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Empiricism
Not born with inbuilt knowledge
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Heritability
How much variation in the traits results from genetic variation among individuals in population
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Environmentality
How much variation results from environmental factors
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Phenotype
Interaction of genetic and environmental influences
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Precocial/altricial
Human nurture reasons
Precocial- young born at advanced development
Altricial- young more helpless, need more nurture
Humans elicit nurture from caregivers: cute, look and smile so people enjoy interaction. Emotional expressions guide caregivers to try and please
47
Face preferences
Prefer faces compared to non faces
Look longer at faces, contain more information around periphery
May develop preference in first few weeks when interacting
Foetuses turn head towards face-like stimuli more than inverted stimuli but may just prefer top heavy stimuli
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Methods to study nature/nurture
Genetic studies- how DNA copies interact with each other, variation in bases
Heritability-variation in population
Family resemblance- compare DZ and MZ to unrelated individuals
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Poverty and development research
Indian farmers worse cognitive performance in harvest time
| Poverty reduces cognitive capacity, concerns take up
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Poverty and education
Longer in poverty, poorer educational attainment
Cycle of inequality and deprivation over generations
Early intervention improves child outcomes
51
Poverty and antisocial behaviour
MAOA gene (increased serotonin, dopamine) with abuse at greater risk of becoming violent offenders
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Genotype environment theory
| Types of gene interactions
Passive- decreases with age, parents provide genes and environment
Evocative-constant with age, temperament evokes responses from others
Active- increases with age, seek out environment consistent with genotypes
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The Flynn effect
IQ scores rising 3 points per decade
| IQ test standardised to accommodate this
54
Evidence for genotype environment theory
IQs of adopted siblings living together moderately correlated at= .25-39
But when moved out it measured 0
55
Gender development stages
Gender identity 2-3yrs- children label gender based on appearance
Gender stability 4-5 yrs- recognise gender remains constant over time
Gender constantly 6-7yrs- gender remains constant if appearance changes. Seek out same sex playmates and stereotyped behaviours
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How do males and females differ
Assertion- attempt to exert influence over environment
Affiliation- attempt to make connections with others
Collaboration-blends assertion and affiliation (gender role flexibility and more common in females)
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Biological theories of gender development
Evolutionary account
Favoured traits passed on, gender differences increase mating. Men polygamous and women monogamous. Women prefer older men with more resources, young boys have more physically rough play
Only related to mating, does not specify mechanisms, post hoc and cannot be tested. Don’t know environmental pressures. Large, self report
58
Biological theories of gender development
Hormone account
Androgens= hormones e.g, testosterone affect physical development, higher levels in males
Increases with threat, lead to aggression
Intersex; males with AIS and females with CAH
But transgender children identify gender not assigned at birth, socialisation cannot change
May have social influences, no relationship between prenatal hormones and gender linked behaviours
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Cognitive theories of gender development
Observation , inference and practice
Gender constancy: believe own gender is fixed, irreversible by biology. Congruent, at age of passing conservation task
High gender constancy children less likely to play with toy from opposite sex child
Before gender constancy; play with gendered toys and model behaviour of same-sexes. 2 year olds could classify gender stereotypes
60
Gender schema theory
Mental representations of everything known about gender. Knowledge of gendered activities. Want to be like same sex children
Girls greater flexibility, say activities are unisex unlike boys. Boys greater imitation of male compared to female activities. Girls no difference
Poor memory for gender inconsistencies, boy playing with doll
61
Gender schema theory years
2 yrs-identity as male/female
3-4yrs-learn about gender related topics
5-7 yrs-characteristics viewed as rigid
7-12 yrs-schemas become more flexible again
62
Modifying gender schemas
Week long intervention
Learn interests and abilities not gender are important for job
Showed decreased gender stereotyping and better memory for inconsistent pictures (female builder) but effect faded over time
63
Social cognitive theory
Interacting:personal, behaviour, environmental
Tuition- directly taught behaviour
Enactive experience= consider others’ reactions
Observational learning= seeing other behave, watching their consequences
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How parents influence stereotyping
Social cognitive theory
Tuition- 3x more likely to explain in a science museum to boys than girls
Enactive experience- Fathers gave more positive responses to children when they played with gender appropriate toy and negative when with inappropriate toy, especially boys
Observational- parent’s gender schemas related to child’s gender attitudes and interests
Maths-parents estimate boys’ ability as higher than girls
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Media influence in stereotyping
Colour labelling affects the toys children play with
| Marketing segmentation- companies sell more products if gendered
66
Gender differences in mathematical thinking
Girls higher maths anxiety despite same interest
Emerges in school in higher performing students where boys do better in advanced problems
Girls procedural strategies, boys are bolder
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Gender differences in spatial skills
Sex differences in mental rotation
Differences smaller with social change
Boys more experience in spatially complex environment:outdoor play
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Gender differences in aggression
Physical aggression around 1 year
5% male toddlers frequently aggressive vs 1% female
Direct aggression: boys, verbal and physical
Indirect aggression: manipulation, damaging social position
Differences in physical strength, girls groups smaller, more damaging. Parents may encourage boy aggression
69
Male variability hypothesis and criticism
Greater number of males at either extreme of intelligence spectrum
Seen more adaptable and desirable (Darwin)
Justified not educating women
Not empirically established
Doesn’t mean innately variable
Women lacked opportunities to thrive
70
Gender similarity hypothesis
Hyde- 128 reviews
78% small/close to zero effects in gender differences
Medium effects in throwing speed, distance and sexuality
Males and females more alike than different
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Emotions
```
Changes in following in response to stimuli or a situation
Physical factors
Subjective feelings
Cognitions and perceptions
Expressive behaviour
Desire to take action
```
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Emergence of positive emotions
```
Smiling- REM sleep (reflex not from socialisation)
3-8 weeks smile to stimuli
3 months social smiles
7 months smile at familiar people
1 year laugh
```
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Emergence of negative emotions
Distress- hunger pain and overstimulation
6-7 months fear strangers, no comfort
7 months-fear loud noises, movements (adaptive, parents move away)
8 months- separation anxiety, declines at 15 months (cross cultural)
1 year-1.5 years anger towards others
2 year-anger when control removed (new motor skills) Declines as language develops
74
Emergence of self conscious emotions
3 months- distinguish happy, surprised and angry faces
7 months fear, sadness and interest
2 years aware of other’s reactions to us
Guilt (regret, desire to undo) and shame (want to hide)
Doll breaks: shame when parents emphasise child is bad, guilt when parents emphasise effect on others and bad behaviour
75
Are emotions innate?
YES- Darwin facial expressions innate to species
Discrete emotions theory: emotions innately packaged with expressions
NO- emotions not distinct from another at first. Environment expresses 3 basic affect systems (joy/pleasure, anger/frustration,wariness/fear)
Functionalist approach: emotions achieve goal in a context (social goals)
76
Emotion regulation
Redirect or dampen down feelings of emotion
Bad memory suggests we self regulate
Initiating, inhibiting or modulating:
Physiological factors, subjective feelings, cognitions and perceptions, expressive behaviour
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Self regulation and the marshmallow task
Children who did better had better self regulation strategies to delay gratification
Better interactions with others, better adjusted and liked by peers and teachers
Social competence, achieve goals and maintain relationships
Better attention and behaviour at school
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3 developmental stages to emotion regulation
Caregiver to self regulation: parents soothe, 6 months avert gaze or self soothe, distract through play. Negotiate using language
Cognitive strategies: (not behavioural)re-think goals to adapt to situation e.g. downplaying
Select appropriate strategies: cognitive OR behavioural strategy for situation. See alternatives not frustration. Distinguish between controllable and uncontrollable stressors
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Temperament
Emotions and attention, self regulation that is consistent and stable over time
- fearful distress/inhibition
- irritable distress
- attention span/persistece
- activity level
- positive effect/approach
- rhythmicity
80
Measuring temperament
Scales/questionnaire=
Extensive knowledge in areas but may not be objective. No comparable behaviour
Lab measures=
Objective without bias but may only reflect mood for one day
Physiological measures=
Objective but difficult to determine if cause or consequence of temperament
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Habituation-dishabituation technique
| When does conscience develop
Assess infant’s discrimination of a variety of facial expressions
Conscience develops between 2-5 years, predicts later competence
82
Social referencing
7-12 months
Process and interpret social cues (vocal, facial expressions) to decide how to respond
Infants approach strange object is mother is happy and avoid if fearful
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How parents can socialise emotion development in three main ways
Own expression of emotions with child and other people
(shows when and how to express, if not children may think emotions should be avoided)
Their reactions to child’s expression of emotion
(Supporting child’s negative emotions helps them adjust)
Discussions they have with child about emotions
(Better emotional understanding)
84
Culture and emotion development
Reasons
11 month old US reacted stronger to unfamiliar stimuli than Chinese
US more anger, aggression when asked hypothetical situation
US emphases independence, self assertion and expression. China emphasises group presence, social harmony
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Methods used in infancy research
Use behaviours infants can produce
Sucking=establish baseline on dummy, see if rate changes to a stimulus indicating excitement
Looking=visual paired comparison task (VPC) habituated to picture then shown new. Measure how much looks at new picture, must counterbalance. See if can tell two things are different and if remember first picture
86
Fagan test of infant intelligence
How infants process information
Amount of time look at new objects vs familiar object to estimate cognitive capacity
Quicker habituation reflects more efficient information processing
Scores correlated with measures of intelligence
IQ correlation 0.37
87
Development of vision
Newborns-eye muscles undeveloped, see 30cm, cannot fixate
1-2 months-can fixate, distinguish between contrasting colours
4 months-depth perception, improved colour vision, track objects
8 months-increased visual range, recognise faces across the room
1 year- similar to adult vision
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Seeing faces
| Facial discrimination
Biologically prefer faces, recognise mother’s face from birth even without cues
Recognise faces of race most familiar with, lose ability to discriminate between faces (not needed) can retrain with exposure
6 month olds read picture books with Chinese faces, still discriminate at 9 months unlike control
89
Development of hearing
Sound perceived in the womb
26 weeks foetus change heart rate to sounds. Full term foetuses can recognise mother’s voice, prefer it (and higher/wider pitch)
Prefer story read in the womb even when read by a stranger
Can distinguish between phonemes in non native language but lose ability when develop own language
90
Perceptual narrowing
Exchange vast potential to process all types of information for greater expertise in particular environment
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Motherese
Exaggerate existing patterns of speech
| Help infants extract smaller chunks of language
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Development of touch
First sense to develop, for bonding
8 week foetus respond to lips being touched
10 week foetus reflexive grasp when palm touched
12 week foetus toes curl when sole touched
Use vision to identify object held previously: look at item habituated to and new object. Look longer at new object. Cannot touch object to identify what they’ve seen
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Apgar scale
```
Check newborns can take part in studies (0-10) want 8
Appearance blue-pink
Pulse absent-100bpm
Grimace no response-grimace
Activity none-all limbs flex
Respiration absent-robust cry
```
94
Motor skill development
Impaired by poor muscle strength and coordination at first
Changes affects cognition, improves memory and becomes automatic
```
1-3 months: lifts head
5-8 months: sits without support
5-10 months: stand with support
5-11 months: crawls
10-14 months: crawl and walk alone
13-18 months: walk backwards, run and climb
18-30 months:skips, jumps
```
95
Crawling and memory research
9 months: half sample could crawl and half couldn’t
All remembered the action
Crawlers generalised novel toy to new setting 24 hours after
Crawling brings new experiences from different contexts
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Crawling to walking transition
Requires muscle development, limb coordination
Skilled crawling better for movement than novice walking but it covers more distance. Allows access to objects with free hands
Walking 32 falls vs 17 falls an hour
But want to walk like adults
97
Children object permanence: Piaget
Acquired around 9 months
Children construct knowledge from environment, internally represent world around them
98
The A not B task
Sees object put in A and reaches but sees object in B and reaches for A still- 9 months
12 months can reach correctly
99
Violation of expectation task
Habituated to event, shown variation of same event (impossible vs possible)
If look longer at one event= surprised
100
Object permanence research-violation of expectation task
Baillargeon
6-8 month old looked longer at impossible event with a truck going through block
Replicated with 4 month olds who perceived a difference
Disproves Piaget
101
Explaining discrepancies: object permanence and Piaget
Looking based paradigms show object permanence but not when actions towards objects are measured (Piaget)
Children have knowledge early on but can only gradually act on it
102
Numbers in infants
Understand small numbers/approximate understanding of larger numbers but little evidence explicitly understand numerical skills
Violation of expectancy= infants looked longer at impossible sum with toys (remove object)
Approximate number system= estimating ratios improves with age 6 months 8vs 16 dots
103
Executive functions
Cognitive processes that underpin complex goal-orientated behaviour, DOMAIN GENERAL.
Complement automatic cognitive processes :
Learn a new skill, Carry our complex tasks, Do something difficult or dangerous
104
Miyake Executive functions
Inhibition
Working memory
Cognitive flexibility
105
Executive function
| Working memory
Stay focused in structured activities
| Temporarily store and manipulate info, maintain and update task goals and orders
106
Executive function
| Working memory- how assessed in children
Spin the pots (working memory)-stickers hidden, 2 empty pots covered, assess if search same pot twice
Backward word span (verbal working memory)
Recall objects shown as pictures in backwards order
2 back task (verbal working memory)
Press space bar if two numbers ago matches number on screen
107
Executive function
| Inhibitory control
Stopping habit or suppressing distraction
| Goal appropriate behaviour
108
Executive function
| Inhibitory control- how assessed in children
Stroop like tasks- remember two rules e.g. if see A say B
109
Executive function
| Cognitive flexibility
Change and update goal oriented behaviour to aims or environment e.g. adjust traffic rules for another country
110
Executive function
| Cognitive flexibility- how assessed in children
Dimension change card sort (DCCS) task
Match cards to target card by shape or colour
3 year olds fail to switch rule (preservation of tendency) can report rule but not follow it
6 year olds can freely switch, predicted by working memory capacity
111
How did EFs study arise
Characterising performance deficits in patients with brain damage (especially frontal lobes)
Impairments in conditions in adults e.g. depression and during development e.g. ADHD
Took off with advances in brain imaging in 1980s and 1990s
112
Assessing EF development
Shape school
Name characters who can play (happy)
Hat- say shape
No hat- say colour
113
Benefits of developed EFs in children
Maintain focus, interact with peers and teachers
Predict success in literacy, maths, reasoning
Cognitive development corresponds to myelination (neurons fire in synchrony) and synaptic pruning (bigger networks)
114
EFs and subject success
4 year olds better WM understand complex sentences better and acquire vocabulary; learned new labels for toys faster
6-8 year olds WM and inhibitory control better maths performance
EFs better predictor of literacy and numeracy at age 11 than IQ
115
Counterfactual reasoning
Reason about situations and events not in current reality
Hypothetical thought, mentally construct alternatives
“What if” helps us to improve
116
Piaget Counterfactual reasoning
Young children make realist errors and errors of egocentrism
Research shows three year olds have difficulty separating themselves from own view of world and poor ability to reason counterfactually
117
How does counterfactual reasoning work
Separate from current reality, mentally construct alternate world with a change. Track how the change would have affected the rest of the world
118
How does counterfactual reasoning develop
Separate from reality- engage in pretend play, still perceive current reality
What might have been- children re-imagine stories with one thing changed
119
Counterfactual reasoning research discrepancies
Standard theory of mind- 47% 3 year olds answered correctly
Harris- simple story, sally muddy feet
3 year olds 75% correct
Use knowledge about the world without thinking counterfactually
120
Counterfactual reasoning- past and future
Asked where car would be if drove other way
More difficult to think of past events, requires conditional reasoning (answer contrary to current reality)
3 year olds 30% correct past 3 year olds 90% correct future
Mouse game: harder to think about multiple possibilities in the future (putting out cotton for mouse if goes either way down slide)
121
Causal chains and processing demands
Contrasting evidence
German and Nichols-longer the chain (story) the worse the child was at working out
Affected by processing demands and working memory
Beck- inhibitory control and language ability predicted counterfactual performance not working memory
122
When do children solve counterfactual tasks
Around 5
123
Regret and relief
And research
Consider how situation compares to possible alternatives, compare outcomes to others
5 year olds showed no understanding how people would feel regret and relief in picture card outcomes but 7 year olds did
124
Negative outcome research:adults vs children
Mary and Susan negative outcome, varies if choice is typical or not for them
Mary always has chocolate, Susan changed to chocolate
Chocolate made everyone sick, who would feel worse?
Older children choose Susan more than younger
125
Self vs other judgements research
7 year olds felt worse if found out another better prize was available but reported others would feel equally happy
126
Age of anticipating counterfactual actions
Adults can
| Present from around 12
