developmental psychology Flashcards
(36 cards)
what is developmental psychology?
• The scientific study of changes that occur in people over the course of their life. • Changes in thought, behaviour, reasoning and functioning (physical and psychological) occur. • Changes are influenced by biological, individual and environmental influences. • Theories help us describe, identify and explain this development and what effects it
why is developmental psychology relevant to doctors?
Children as patients • Where is the child developmentally?; the answer will inform how they communicate with you, understand you and relate to you AND how you communicate with them, understand them and relate to them.
• Which developmental leap are they about to embark on – how does this interact with treatment / illness? • How does their social context support or hinder their health and developmental progress? • How can we recruit and engage parent(s) in facilitating treatment
Consider the influences of heredity and environment in human development
Babies are like a raw material for a self. Each one comes with a genetic blueprint and a unique range of possibilities. There is a body programmed to develop in certain ways, but by no means on automatic. The baby is an interactive project not a self powered one. Many systems are ready to go but many more are incomplete and will only develop in response to other human input. Each baby can be customised to the circumstances and surroundings they find themselves in.
: Babies’ contribution and process of reciprocal socialization
Biology ensures that by the time babies are delivered (40 weeks gestation) they are able to recognise their mother as a memory of her has been built up inutero via hearing, smell and taste
babies hearing: what do you know?
Babies can hear in the womb Receptive hearing begins at 16/40 Functional hearing begins at 24/40 as a result, newborn babies are already familiar with their mothers’ voices when delivered. Prefer their mothers’ voices to the voices of other women when recorded voices were played back (DeCasper and Fifer, 1980)
what do you know about how babies smell?
Babies seem primed to learn very quickly about the smells associated with their mothers. – Newborns can recognize the smell of their own amniotic fluid. (Varendi et al 1996) – Newborns recognise the smell of maternal breast odours (Varendi and Porter 2002) – Newborns showed preferrance to smell of their mother’s expressed breast milk compared to others’ EBM (Mizuno et al 2004)
what do you know about how a baby tastes?
• A newborn senses all of these tastes except one: salt they cannot taste this until about 4 months old (Beauchamp et al 1986) • Newborns love sugar solutions-the sweeter, the better – Sweetease • Newborns also seem to like the taste of glutamate, which is found in breast milk (Beauchamp and Pearson 1991)
what do you know about how a baby sees?
Babies 12 - 36 hrs old shown video playbacks of women’s faces. Preference for watching their mothers’ faces (rather than the faces of strangers). (Bushnell et al 1989). • Newborn infants have shown a preference for looking at faces and face-like stimuli (Batki et al 2000; Turati et al 2002). • Show a preference for faces with open eyes and look longer at happy face stimuli (Farroni et al 2007).
Babies are utterly dependent upon their caregivers • So it is a matter of survival that they get noticed • They look ‘cute’ for a reason!
what is reciprocal socialisation?
Reciprocal socialisation is bidirectional; children socialise parents just as parents socialise children
describe the still face experiment
play and then told to stay engaging with the baby
-Tronick 1975
what does ‘ Parents provision of a supportive environment for development’ mean?
So Parents through scaffolding, reciprocal socialisation, provision of a stimulating and enriching environment (both physiologically and psychologically) give babies the resources to thrive and develop. • An “internal working model” Bowlby (1969) is established through this social process; The baby doesn’t do this on his own but coordinates his systems with those of the people around him
what does ‘Attachment and how disruptions in attachment affect psychological devpt’ mean?
Attachment is a theory defined by Bowlby which describes a biological instinct that seeks proximity to an attachment figure (carer) when threat is perceived or discomfort is experienced. • The sense of safety the child experiences provides a secure base from which they can explore their environment thus promoting development through learning whilst being protected in the environment.
what process is mediates: ‘Attachment and how disruptions in attachment affect psychological devpt’ mean?
• Process of establishing the attachment bond begins even before birth (supported by reciprocal socialisation). • The Internal working models formed inform our expectations and behaviour in wider relationships throughout our lives. • This process is mediated by “Mind – mindedness” (Meins, 2012). Parents with mind-mindedness treat their children as individuals with minds; they respond as if their children’s acts are meaningful—motivated by feelings, thoughts, or intentions (an attempt to communicate); this ultimately helps the child to understand others’ emotions and actions
development of attachment over 1st year
•Birth to 3M; baby prefers people to inanimate objects, indiscriminate proximity seeking eg clinging to carer •3-8M; smiles discriminately to main caregivers •8 – 12M; selectively approaches main caregivers, uses social referencing / familiar adults as “secure base” to explore new situations; shows fear of strangers and separation anxiety •From 12M; the attachment behaviour can be measured reliably
describe the strange situation test
Strange Situation Test (Ainsworth et al 1978) was designed to present children with an unusual, but not overwhelmingly frightening, experience. It tests how babies or young children respond to the temporary absence of their mothers. Researchers are interested in two things: 1. How much the child explores the room on his own, and 2. How the child responds to the return of his mother
-securely attached children (65%)
Free exploration and happiness upon mother’s return. The securely-attached child explores the room freely when Mum is present. He may be distressed when his mother leaves, and he explores less when she is absent. But he is happy when she returns. If he cries, he approaches his mother and holds her tightly. He is comforted by being held, and, once comforted, he is soon ready to resume his independent exploration of the world. His mother is responsive to his needs. As a result, he knows he can depend on her when he is under stress (Ainsworth et al 1978).
insecurely attached children (35%)
Avoidant-insecure children: Little exploration and little emotional response to mother The avoidant-insecure child doesn’t explore much, and he doesn’t show much emotion when his mother leaves. He shows no preference for his mother over a complete stranger and, when his mother returns, he tends to avoid or ignore her (Ainsworth et al 1978).
resistant-insecure (or ambivalent) children
Little exploration, great separation anxiety and ambivalent response to mother upon her return. Like the avoidant child, the resistant-insecure child doesn’t explore much on her own. But unlike the avoidant child, the resistant child is wary of strangers and is very distressed when her mother leaves. When the mother returns, the resistant child is ambivalent. Although she wants to re-establish close proximity to her mother, she is also resentful—even angry—at her mother for leaving her in the first place. As a result, the resistant child may reject her mother’s advances (Ainsworth et al 1978)
Disorganized-insecure children:
Little exploration and confused response to mother. The disorganized child may exhibit a mix of avoidant and resistant behaviours. But the main theme is one of confusion and anxiety. Disorganized-insecure children are at risk for a variety of behavioural and developmental problems.
what does secure attachment promote?
– Independence – Emotional availability – Better moods – Better emotional coping
what is secure attachment associated with?
– fewer behavioural problems – higher IQ and academic performance • Contributes to a child’s moral development • Reduces child distress
in adolescence and adulthood secure attachment is associated with:
– Social competence – Loyal friendships – More secure parenting of offspring – Greater leadership qualities – Greater resistance to stress – Less mental health problems such as anxiety and depression – Less psychopathology e.g schizophreni
summary of secure and insecure attachments:
Summary
Secure attachments formed in early infancy are a protective factor leading to resilience throughout the life span
Insecure attachments place the individual at risk but are not causative for later problems
impact of ‘play’
• Has important positive effects on the brain and on a child’s ability to learn • Animal studies show that rats in “enriched” environments have bigger and smarter brains and more BDNF (brain derived neurotrophic factor) which is essential for growth and maintenance of brain cells (Greenough and Black 1992; Huber et al 2007
