DSE212 Challenging Psychology - Chapter 1

Question 1

How do childhood relationships influence development? 3 points

Answer 1

Development of self
Support development of social understanding
Promote cognitive development

Question 2

What is the difference between a horizontal and a vertical relationship and who is the theorist?

Answer 2

Schaffer

Horizontal - between people of equal status and power
Vertical - one person has more knowledge and power than the other (older siblings may provide complementary reciprocal elements)

Question 3

Who studied siblings in observational studies?

Answer 3

Abramovitch & Dunn

Question 4

What did observational sibling studies highlight? 2 points

Answer 4

Developmental significance

Complexities of relationships

Question 5

What differences in sibling studies were noted between parent-child and sibling relationships?

Answer 5

Mothers focus on child’s feelings

Siblings focus on their own

Question 6

Who conducted research on ‘pretend play’?

Answer 6

Goncu

Question 7

What did Goncu argue about pretend play?

Answer 7

Complex activities involving negotiating shared meaning on different planes simultaneously

Question 8

According to Goncu what do children share and develop through pretend play?

Answer 8

Emotionally significant experiences and they develop social understanding, skills, perspectives and cultural roles

(video study doctor/patient roles, two girls)

Question 9

What is the experience of being aware of conflicting ideas held by peers enforcing a re-examination of ones own understanding of that idea?

Answer 9

Socio-cognitive conflict

Question 10

What did Piaget see childen doing with regard to their development and who was inspired?

Answer 10

Constructing their own understanding and identity through peer interactions

(Doise and Mugney were inspired by Piaget)

Question 11

What is symbolic interactionism?

Answer 11

Symbols or meanings that exist between people when interacting

Question 12

How did Mead describe the self?

Answer 12

As being divided into two parts, I and Me

Question 13

What does Mead’s I and Me mean when describing self?

Answer 13

Me consists of what we know, body, clothes and self as object
I is active process of experiencing capacity for conscious awareness

Question 14

What do Doise and Mugny suggest is required for cognitive development?

Answer 14

Exposure to conflicting perspectives
Recurrent findings - children who worked on tasks with others made greater individual progress

(Azmitia found similar findings in adults)

Question 15

What sort of study did Dunn do?

Answer 15

Naturalistic observational study of siblings

Question 16

At what age can children be seen to use social pretend play?

Answer 16

18 months

Question 17

What is Mead’s view on what children learn through pretend play?

Answer 17

Take perspective of others towards themselves

Ability to reflect on themselves

Question 18

What is required to work on a challenging task?

Answer 18

Meta-cognitive skills

Question 19

What can opportunities for interaction with peers promote?

Answer 19

Improve learning

Question 20

Who studied friendship pairs opposed to acquaintance pairs while working on scientific projects?

Answer 20

Azmitia

Question 21

What did Azmitia conclude about friendship pairs as opposed to acquaintance pairs in relation to scientific reasoning?

Answer 21

More challenging tasks requiring meta-cognitive skills were better carried out with friends

Question 22

According to Schaffer what do vertical relationships offer?

Answer 22

Protection, security, potential to gain knowledge and acquire skills

Question 23

Conclusion:

What should not be underestimated with regard to childhood relationships?

Answer 23

In childhood the importance of relationships with adults

Question 24

What was neglected in psychology until recently?

Answer 24

Later life and aging

Question 25

What has aging been seen as?

Answer 25

A stereotypically negative process

Question 26

What does research in the area of aging suggest?

Answer 26

Aging is a time not only of decline but also of growth

Question 27

How many stages did Erikson use to describe development through the lifespan?

Answer 27

8

Question 28

What criticisms are there of Erikson's narrow view of later life?

Answer 28

Suggestion that later life is about coming to terms with death and dying Time of stability

Question 29

How did Peck describe old age?

Answer 29

Crisis in valuing wisdom versus physical powers

Question 30

What was Peck's opposing view to Erikson's regarding middle age?

Answer 30

Time of flexibility and change | Time of coping with loss

Question 31

What is a criticism of Peck's claim?

Answer 31

Culturally specific

Question 32

What do Peck's and Erikson's theories have in common?

Answer 32

Both person centred Both holistic and humanistic approaches * other psychologists have taken a function-centred approach

Question 33

How does Baltes define aging?

Answer 33

Maximising gains whilst minimising losses

Question 34

What is SOC in Baltes definition of aging?

Answer 34

Selection, Optimisation and Compensation to balance gains/losses

Question 35

Give examples of SOC using a pianist

Answer 35

Selection - places fewer notes Optimisation - practices more Compensation - plays slowly prior to playing a fast piece

Question 36

With regard to episodic memory what is Ribot's law?

Answer 36

Older people remember past events better than new ones

Question 37

Memory change in later life is not necessarily about change - what is it about?

Answer 37

Qualitative changes taking place

Question 38

Who gave an example of qualitative change in age using Mastermind?

Answer 38

Mayor Performance of semantic memory (general knowledge) improved with age

Question 39

What can improve with age?

Answer 39

Semantic memory

Question 40

What did Noice et al find with regard to memory in old age?

Answer 40

Practicing memory tasks appears to improve regardless of age

Question 41

What did Kensinge & Schacter find in their experiment?

Answer 41

Younger adults recalled more words

Question 42

How did Kensinge & Schacter conduct their experiment?

Answer 42

45 words in sets of 15 Semantically associated with false target words Asked to recall

Question 43

What is crystalised intelligence?

Answer 43

Abilities that are a product of our experience eg vocabulary and general knowledge

Question 44

What is fluid intelligence?

Answer 44

Ability that reflects efficient information processing ie the speed of processing

Question 45

Who found that people with high verbal ability, high social class and better education are less likely to experience decline in verbal ability with age?

Answer 45

Deary et al

Question 46

Conclusion: What influences aspects of physical functioning in later life?

Answer 46

Individual differences and social contexts

Question 47

What is Bowlby's attachment theory based on?

Answer 47

Biological drive to achieve security through primary attachment to mother (internal working model)

Question 48

What did Bowlby consider was essential in terms of the internal working model?

Answer 48

Essential for later mental health, future relationships and social responsible behaviour

Question 49

What did Bowlby consider was critical to development?

Answer 49

Early attachment | early and late explanations of attachment theory co-exist

Question 50

What theory is associated with Ainsworth?

Answer 50

Strange situation therapy (SST) | Widely accepted, valid and used research method

Question 51

What are the three attachment types associated with Ainsworth's strange situation therapy?

Answer 51

Type A - insecure, anxious, avoidance Type B - secure Type C - insecure, anxious, ambivalent

Question 52

What type of attachment does a Type A child show?

Answer 52

Troubled attachment

Question 53

What type of attachment does a Type B child show?

Answer 53

Care-giver is a secure base

Question 54

What type of attachment does a Type C child show?

Answer 54

Distress at separation | Care-giver presence important

Question 55

What research did Hazan & Shaver conduct?

Answer 55

Quiz on people's attachment styles in romantic relationships

Question 56

What methodological problems were there with Hazan & Shaver's quiz?

Answer 56

Difficult to relate to one style

Question 57

How did Main conduct her research?

Answer 57

Standardised form of interview known as the adult attachment interview (AAI)

Question 58

What do Main's interview questions cover?

Answer 58

Asked the adult about their relationships with parents as a child

Question 59

What is earned security?

Answer 59

Gained as an adult and associated with secure adult attachments ie marriage

Question 60

Whose theory of adult attachment type classifications is similar to ABC classifications of Hazan & Shaver?

Answer 60

Main's

Question 61

What does Rutter et al suggest happens to enable secure attachments?

Answer 61

Ability to move on from difficult childhood | Associated with strong and positive relationships

Question 62

Which study highlighted the importance of lifetime events/experiences on attachment?

Answer 62

Biefield longitudinal study tracing development of children

Question 63

Who found a strong correspondence between SST and AAT?

Answer 63

Hamilton Stability related to stable family circumstances

Question 64

What did Vygotsky study?

Answer 64

Observation of sisters pretending to be sisters Ideas of self concepts develop through social experience and interaction (symbolic interactionism)

Question 65

What did Berndt find in relation to friends working together?

Answer 65

He found that there was no gain at all | in contrast to Azmitia

Question 66

Piaget and Vygotsky focus on examining stages of development in childhood. What does Bronfenberenner study?

Answer 66

Focus on change in terms of both influences in childhood and throughout adulthood Piaget, Vygotsky and Bronfenberenner are complementary

Question 67

What underlies many-function centred approaches?

Answer 67

Decreases in functioning memory etc

Question 68

What sort of methods do lifespan psychologists use?

Answer 68

Longitudinal and cross-sectional designs

Question 69

What methods does lifespan research use on development of children and elderly?

Answer 69

Methods appropriate for these populations | ethical concerns

Question 70

What sort of approach did Piaget favour?

Answer 70

Organismic approach