developmental psychology

Question 1

what is developmental psychology?

Answer 1

the study of how and why biological, physical, cognitive, emotional and social abilities develop throughout childhood

Question 2

what are some of the key debates in developmental psychology?

Answer 2

stability vs change. continuity vs discontinuity. nature vs nurture. critical vs sensitive periods

Question 3

how long does myelination and synaptogenesis continue until after birth?

Answer 3

about 2 years

Question 4

what is neural plasticity?

Answer 4

the ability of the brain to form and maintain synapses. this diminishes with age

Question 5

what are teratogens?

Answer 5

substances which cause atypical development for the child if they are exposed to them in utero. have an adverse effect on development

Question 6

what is foetal alcohol spectrum disorder? (FASD)

Answer 6

if a baby is exposed to alcohol in the womb, they can experience physical, mental and behavioural impairments

Question 7

what are some cognitive and behavioural impairments of FASD?

Answer 7

infancy: longer reaction times. pre-schoolers: decreased attention, hyperactivity. childhood: learning problems, memory deficits. adulthood: impaired problem solving and higher rates of substance dependence

Question 8

what are the four stages of Piaget’s development model?

Answer 8

sensorimotor (0-2 years), preoperational (2-6 years), concrete operational (7-12 years), formal operational (12 years- adult)

Question 9

what is one key cognitive ability children do not grasp in the sensorimotor stage?

Answer 9

object permanence: the idea that things exist in the world, even when we cannot perceive them

Question 10

what is the A-not-B error?

Answer 10

in the A-not-B error, infants display perseverative reaching usually until they are 10-12 months old. perseveration= when infants persist with a response, even when this response is no longer appropriate

Question 11

when do infants begin to use mental imagery?

Answer 11

at the end of the sensorimotor stage (around 2 years), infants begin to use mental imagery. they begin to understand that objects exist independently of themselves and can exist in different locations

Question 12

what is egocentrism and at what stage are children still displaying this trait?

Answer 12

egocentrism: an inability for children to see/understand things from another point of view. children still display this trait in the pre-operational stage (2-7 years)

Question 13

what can children in the concrete operational stage (7-12 years) begin to do?

Answer 13

children can begin to solve problems and perform operations, provided those problems are concrete (tangible in some way)

Question 14

what do children in the concrete operational stage (7-12 years) still struggle with?

Answer 14

children still struggle to understand hypothetical scenarios

Question 15

what stage do children learn how to conduct experiments?

Answer 15

formal operational stage (beyond 12 years)

Question 16

what is constructivism?

Answer 16

Piaget was a constructionist. constructionism- a child does not blindly absorb information from the world but actively constructs their understanding of the world

Question 17

what are considered to be some issues with Piaget’s theory of development?

Answer 17

he did not consider all the influences that affect children’s learning. he tended to measure things in limited ways. the majority of the developments Piaget observed focused on the child by themselves

Question 18

what theory of development did Vgotsky study?

Answer 18

Vgotsky was a social constructivist. social constructivism- children learn to construct knowledge through interactions with other people. learning is guided by communication and relationships with others

Question 19

what is Vgotsky’s zone of proximal development? (ZPD)

Answer 19

ZPD- the difference between what a child can do by themselves and what they can achieve with adult supervision or with peers. emphasises the importance of other people in learning

Question 20

what is social referencing?

Answer 20

when a child uses the emotional responses of others to guide their actions

Question 21

what is ‘motionese’?

Answer 21

when interacting with a baby, caregivers will use something called motionese. motionese- a specific action style adopted by adults when interacting with infants, like motherese for language. motionese helps infants to process actions

Question 22

what did Baillargeon et al (1985) find that 4-5 month olds looked longer at?

Answer 22

looked longer at impossible than possible events. suggests they had expectations about what was going to happen. Baillargeon et al. claim that expectations arise because children understood there contact principle at 4 months

Question 23

what is the contact principle and at what age are infants believed to understand it?

Answer 23

contact principle: inanimate objects in motion act upon each other only when they contact. children believed to understand at 4 months

Question 24

what is Theory of Mind?

Answer 24

refers to the ability to understand mental states of ourselves and of others

Question 25

what task of Piaget’s did Theory of Mind grow out of?

Answer 25

grew out of Piaget’s 3 mountain task. in the 3 mountain task children are asked to figure out how something looks from anothers perspective. Piaget found that children could not pass the task until age 7

Question 26

what is the false belief example?

Answer 26

Angela puts a chocolate bar inside a green box on the table, and then she goes away. then her mother takes the chocolate bar out of the box and puts it inside a red bag on the bed. Angela does not see her mother do this. later, Angela comes back and wants to get her chocolate because she is hungry. where will Angela look for her chocolate?
2- to 3-year-olds will look in the red bag
from age 4, children will look in the green box, understanding Angela’s different mental state

Question 27

what are executive functions?

Answer 27

a set of cognitive abilities that allow you to perform voluntary behaviour, to control your thoughts, emotions and actions

Question 28

what does explicit Theory of Mind require?

Answer 28

requires children to respond verbally

Question 29

what is the difference between hot and cool executive functions?

Answer 29

hot executive functions: person wants to give a certain response. cool executive functions: person doesn’t care much about giving one response over the other