Developmental Psychology Flashcards
(29 cards)
Changes within childhood
Hand preference
Gender roles
Pretend play
Motor skills
Changes within adolescence
Sexual maturity
Growth spurt
logical thinking
Changes in Middle Age
Stability within life, career, social life
Self Identity
Peak of cognitive development
Changes within Early Adulthood
Adjustment to new roles; marriage, parenting
Changes in Old Age
Physical and cognitive decline
3 Factors Included In Development
Physical/Biological Changes
- size, proportion, appearance, motor skills, coordination
Cognitive Changes
- thinking and reasoning, memory, attention, imagination, language
Social and Emotional
Intrapersonal, interpersonal relations
Piaget’s Theory of Development
Cognitive development relies on the biological maturation of the brain interacting with past experiences, and all children go through the same developmental milestones around the same age regardless of culture
Criticisms of Piaget
Not all cultures value the same aspects of “development”
Ethics of research - studied children
Egocentrism isn’t always evident; Gelman (1979) found 4 yr olds were able to modify their explanations for a blindfolded person, younger child
Sensorimotor Stage
(0-2 years)
Discover a relationship between actions and reactions
Learning through actions
Object permanence
Pre-operational Stage
(2-7 years) Symbolic thinking Egocentrism Animism Centration Seriation Conservation Irreversability
Concrete Operational Stage
(7-12 years) Display less egocentrism and centration Able to complete basic problems involving physical objects Understands reversibility, conservation Struggles with abstract thinking
Formal Operational Stage
Logical and methodical thinking
Flexible thinking
Importance of Play
Play is vital to social, cognitive, physical and emotional development of children
Types of Play
Solitary Onlooker Parallel Associative Co-operative
Nature vs Nurture
explores the influence of hereditary characteristics and environmental factors on development
Interactionist Approach
The belief that both nature and nurture contribute to development
Family Studies
used to determine the impact of genetics on a trait
Adoptive Studies
Used to determine the environmental influence on a trait
Twin Studies
Determines the genetic influence on traits
Separated twin studies - most effective in determining environmental and genetic influence
eg Jim Twins
Negatives of Separated Twin Studies
Doesn’t show an accurate representation of environmental influences, as adoptive families generally have similar households
(Hay 1985)
Nature v Nurture; Intelligence 1980
Bouchard et al (1980) Intelligence in hereditary 1. Identical twins together 2. Identical twins apart 3. Fraternal twins together
Nature v Nurture; Intelligence 1997
Sandtock (1997)
IQ scores between biological mother and child are more similar than adoptive mother and child
Nature v Nurture; Intelligence (1979)
Texas Adoption Project - Hom et al (1979)
Family influence decreases with time while genetic influence increases
Fine Motor Skills
Uses small muscle groups
eg holding a pencil
Develops after gross motor skills
