Human Lifespan Development

Question 0

Define, and give examples of: Continuous Development.

Answer 0

Development that occurs in a smooth progression.

For example: growth in height, and interpersonal relationships.

Question 1

Define: Nature versus Nurture.

Answer 1

The degree to which genetic or hereditary influences, and experiential or environmental influences, determine the kind of person you are.

Question 2

Define, and give examples of: Discontinuous Development.

Answer 2

Development that occurs in a series of abrupt shifts.

For example: locomotion – roll, crawl, walk; reproductive capacity, some cognitive development theories.

Question 3

Explain the second component of the Biopsychosocial Framework, and give examples.

Answer 3

Psychological Forces: All internal perceptual, cognitive, emotional and personality factors that affect development.
For example: Cognitive development, agreeable personality traits, ability to regulate emotions.

Question 4

Explain Life-Cycle Forces in relation to the Biopsychosocial Framework, and give examples.

Answer 4

Life-cycle forces: Reflect differences in how the same eventaffects people of different ages.
For example: Impact of Alzheimer’s disease on 50
year old versus 85 year old; Impact of loss of parents on a child
versus middle aged adult.

Question 5

Explain the first component of the Biopsychosocial Framework, and give examples.

Answer 5

Biological Forces: All genetic and health related forces that affect development.
For example: prenatal development, puberty, reflexes, genetic predisposition to disease.

Question 6

Explain the third component of the Biopsychosocial Framework, and give examples.

Answer 6

Sociocultural Forces: Interpersonal, societal, and cultural factors that affect development.
For example: Influence of peers on smoking, poverty limiting access to healthcare, education system policy on physical education, cultural dietary factors

Question 7

Define: Theory.

Answer 7

An organised set of ideas that is designed to explain development.

Question 9

Define the five types of Major Theoretical Perspectives on Human Development.

Answer 9

1. Psychodynamic
2. Cognitive
3. Learning
4. Ecological and Systems
5. Lifespan

Question 10

Describe all eight of Erickson’s Psychosocial Developmental Stages, from the psychodynamic perspective of Human Development.

Answer 10

1. Basic trust vs. Mistrust (0-1yr); 2. Autonomy vs. Shame and doubt (1-3yr). 3. Initiative vs. Guilt (3-6yr); 4. Industry vs. Inferiority (6-ad); 5. Identity vs. Identity confusion (ad); 6. Intimacy vs. Isolation (y.a.); 7. Generativity vs. Stagnation (m.a.); 8. Integrity vs. Despair (l.l.).

Question 10

Define: Behaviour.

Answer 10

The manner in which a thing acts under specified conditions or circumstances, or in relation to other things.

Question 11

Describe the five stages of Freud’s Psychosexual Development, from the psychodynamic perspective of Human Development.

Answer 11

1. Oral (0-1 yrs): Weaning.
2. Anal (1-3yrs): Toilet training.
3. Phallic (3-6 yrs): Identifying with adult role models.
4. Latency (6-12 yrs): Expanding social contacts.
5. Genital (12+ yrs): Establishing family and next generation.

Question 12

Define: Learning.

Answer 12

Relatively permanent change in behaviour or potential behaviour that occurs as a result of prior experience

Question 13

Describe Classical Conditioning.

Answer 13

Unconditioned stimulus (UCS): any stimulus that produces a reflexive or innate response at the outset;
Unconditioned response (UCR): the reflexive / innate response to the UCS;
Conditioned stimulus (CS): a stimulus, which after repeated pairings with the UCS, comes to elicit the CR;
Conditioned response (CR): a response (similar to UCR), now elicited by the CS.

Question 14

What are the two types of conditioning, and how are they different?

Answer 14

Classical conditioning: response elicited by stimulus (involuntary); one stimulus is associated with another stimulus through CS-UCS pairs; learned association occurs before the response.
Operant conditioning: response emitted (voluntary); response is associated with certain consequences; consequences leading to learning occur after the response.

Question 15

Describe Skinner’s Operant Conditioning, from the learning perspective of Human Development.

Answer 15

Consequences of a behaviour determine whether it will be repeated: reinforcement (positive or negative) or punishment (positive or negative).

Question 16

Define: Self-Efficacy/Agency.

Answer 16

Our belief about our own abilities and talents that influences our behaviour. Ie an increase in self-efficacy equals an increase in persistence of that behaviour.

Question 17

Describe Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory, from the learning perspective of Human Development.

Answer 17

Learning can occur by imitating the behaviour of others. Models who are viewed as being competent and highly regarded are more likely to be imitated.

Question 18

What is Learning Theory?

Answer 18

Behaviourism: Operant conditioning (Skinner); and

Social Learning Theory (Bandura).

Question 20

Describe the four stages of Jean Paiget’s Cognitive Development Theory, from the cognitive perspective of Human Development.

Answer 20

1. Sensorimotor (0-2yr): mental representation.
2. Preoperational thought (2-6yr): own perspective.
3. Concrete operational thought (7-ad): here and now.
4. Formal operational thought (ad+): abstract.
   + Children develop “naive theories” that help predict future events.

Question 21

Describe the Ecological and Systems approach of Human Development.

Answer 21

This approach views all aspects of human development as interconnected: environmental, family, political, social, and how they interact.

Question 22

What are the four systems in Urie Bronfenbrenner’s Theory, from the ecological and systems perspective of Human Development?

Answer 22

1. The Microsystem: immediate people and objects.
2. The Mesosystem: connections between microsystems (family, school)
3. The Exosystem: social, environment, government forces.
4. The Macrosystem: Culture, ethinc group, historical events.

Question 23

Describe the Life-Span Perspective on Human Development.

Answer 23

Describes the ways in which various generations experience the biopsychosocial forces in their respective historical contexts. 
Four key features: 
- Multi-directionality
- Plasticity
- Historical context
- Multiple causation

Question 24

What are the three processes in the Compensation Model, from the lifespan perspective of Human Development?

Answer 24

1. Selection: elective and loss-based selection of goals.
   The following are used to maintain or enhance chosen goals:
2. Compensation;
3. Optimisation: best match between biopsychosocial and desired goals.

Question 25

Describe the first stage of Erikson's eight stages of Psychosocial Development, from the psychodynamic perspective of Human Development.

Answer 25

1. Basic trust vs. Mistrust (0-1yr): When caregivers responsively and consistently meet infants' needs, the infant developed a basic sense of trust and openness. Resolution = Hope: a balance of openness to new experience and wariness that discomfort or danger may arise.

Question 26

Describe the second stage of Erikson's eight stages of Psychosocial Development, from the psychodynamic perspective of Human Development.

Answer 26

2. Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt (1-3yr): Children develop a sense of control over their own actions. Resolution = Will: can act intentionally, but within limits.

Question 27

Describe the third stage of Erikson's eight stages of Psychosocial Development, from the psychodynamic perspective of Human Development.

Answer 27

3. Initiative vs. Guilt (3-6yr): Children develop imagination for possibilities for themselves. Resolution = Purpose: play becomes purposeful and includes playing the roles of mother, father, teacher, or athlete; initiative and cooperation are developed.

Question 28

Describe the development of attachment, and the four steps toward attachment.

Answer 28

Security in the presence of another, along with the need for physical closeness. 1. Preattachment stage (0 - 8weeks). 2. Attachment in the making (8w - 8months). 2. True attachment (8m - 18m). 4. Reciprocal relationships (18m+).

Question 29

What are the four different types of attachment (to a strange situation)?

Answer 29

Secure (60-5%): child is comforted. Avoidant (20%): child ignores mother. Resistant (15%): child remains upset and is difficult to console. Disorganised (5-10%): child is confused.

Question 30

What factors can affect the quality of attachment?

Answer 30

Parenting: warmth, sensitivity, responsiveness, dependability; Culture; Multiple attachments; Child's temperament; Parent's attachment history; Parent mental illness.

Question 31

Why is attachment important?

Answer 31

Children with secure attachments are more confident and successful with peers, meaning children use early attachments as prototypes for later relationships and interactions.

Question 32

Describe normal 'play'.

Answer 32

1 yr: parallel play 1.5 yr: simple social play 2 yr: cooperative play 2-3 yr: children prefer peers of their own gender. Children whose parents engage in play (and coaching) are often more socially skilful.

Question 33

What are the terms used to describe gender differences in play in children aged 2-3yrs?

Answer 33

Enabling: girls tend to support girl peers. Constricting: boys tend to contradict, threaten, and compete with boy peers.

Question 34

What are two types of play?

Answer 34

1. Make-believe play. | 2. Solitary play.

Question 35

Describe the development and behavioural feature in Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Answer 35

Impairments in social interaction and communication, with restricted repetitive patterns of behaviour interests and activities. There is also be a lack of creative and imaginative play. Interactive and imaginative play skills need to be taught.

Question 36

Define: prosocial behaviour.

Answer 36

Any behaviour that benefits others.

Question 37

Define: altruism. | At what age is a child likely to show altruism?

Answer 37

Behaviour that does not benefit oneself, but does benefit others. For example: helping and sharing. Children at 18months are observed to engage in altruistic behaviours.

Question 38

Define: empathy. | At what age is a child likely to show empathy?

Answer 38

Being able to take the perspective of others. | Empathy is more likely to develop when a child reaches school age.

Question 39

What are the principles of Jean Paiget's Cognitive Development Theory, from the cognitive perspective of Human Development?

Answer 39

Children are active explorers of their world, and make sense if the world through schemes (related events, objects, knowledge). Children adapt by refining their schemes and adding new ones. Schemes change from physical to functional, conceptual, then abstract, as the child develops.

Question 40

Define: Assimilation. | In relation to the Jean Paiget Cognitive Development Theory

Answer 40

Fitting new experiences into existing schemes. Assimilation is required to benefit from an experience. (Contrast with 'accommodation'.)

Question 41

Define: Accommodation. | In relation to the Jean Paiget Cognitive Development Theory

Answer 41

Modifying schemes as a result of new experiences. Accommodation allows for dealing with completely new data or experiences. (Contrast with 'assimilation'.)

Question 42

Describe the first stage (of four stages) of Jean Paiget's Cognitive Development Theory, from the cognitive perspective of Human Development.

Answer 42

``` Sensorimotor Period (0-2 yrs) Characteristics: the infant uses their senses and motor abilities to understand the world, and the object is known in terms of they can do to it. Major Gains: the infant learns object permanence (that an object still exists even when it is out of view), and the use of symbols. ```

Question 43

Describe the second stage (of four stages) of Jean Paiget's Cognitive Development Theory, from the cognitive perspective of Human Development.

Answer 43

Preoperational Period (2-7 yrs) Characteristics: the child uses symbolic, and sometimes egocentric, thinking to understand the world. But is unable to understand certain properties of objects (e.g. conservation and irreversibility). Major Gains: Imagination, use of symbolic thinking (e.g. language)

Question 44

Describe the third stage (of four stages) of Jean Paiget's Cognitive Development Theory, from the cognitive perspective of Human Development.

Answer 44

Concrete Operational Period (7-11 yrs) Characteristics: the child understands logical principles, and is able to interpret experiences objectively and rationally, rather than intuitively. Major Gains: Children learn to understand basic concepts, such as number, classification, and conservation.

Question 45

Describe the fourth stage (of four stages) of Jean Paiget's Cognitive Development Theory, from the cognitive perspective of Human Development.

Answer 45

Formal Operational Period (11+ yrs) Characteristics: able to think about abstractions and hypothetical concepts. Major Gains: ethics, politics, social, and moral issues become more involving as the adolescent becomes able to take a broader and more theoretical approach to experience.

Question 46

Define: Attention. | In terms of information processing.

Answer 46

When sensory information receives additional cognitive processing.

Question 47

Define: Orienting response. | In terms of information processing.

Answer 47

Emotional and physical reactions to unfamiliar stimulus; alerts infant to new or dangerous stimuli.

Question 48

Define: Habituation. | In terms of information processing.

Answer 48

Lessened reactions to a stimulus after repeated presentations; helps infant ignore biologically insignificant events.

Question 49

Describe Memory.

Answer 49

Fundamental cognitive skill broadly involved in academic, emotional, and social developmental skills. Memory begins at birth (earlier for auditory memory). There are four aspects of memory: encoding, storage, retrieval, access (recognition and recall, when the object is present and not present respectively).

Question 50

Define: Theory of Mind.

Answer 50

A coherent understanding of mental states including thoughts, beliefs, desires, and intentions. 2yrs: children understand desires and their relationship with actions.. 3yrs: children able to distinguish between mental and physical worlds. 4yrs: children have a firm grasp of the nature of how thoughts and beliefs explain behaviour.

Question 51

Describe Carey’s Conceptual Change Theory, in relation to cognitive development.

Answer 51

More emphasis on the role of experience in cognitive development (children as 'Naive Scientists'). Involves incremental cognitive development of intuitive theories, such as physics, psychology, and biology. 6-7yrs: psychology 8+: biology > mechanistic explanations

Question 52

Describe how children's understanding of death develops.

Answer 52

2-7yrs: death reversible, characterised by being still, eyes closed or departing 7-11yrs: universality, irreversibility, causes by elements outside the body (guns, germs, accidents) 11+ yrs: inevitable, universal, causality, cessation of bodily function. Can be influenced by: Exposure to death (universality); Protracted Illness/hospitalisation (irreversibility, biological causation); Religiosity (? Less understanding of irreversibility); Anxiety (less able to face universality).

Question 53

Define: Phonemes.

Answer 53

The smallest sounds. Studies show that as early as 1 month, infants can distinguish between sounds. Different languages use different sets of phonemes.

Question 54

What are the major milestones of language development?

Answer 54

0-1 yr: hear phonemes; they begin to coo and babble. 1 yr: begin to talk and gesture (using symbols). 1-2 yr: vocabulary expands rapidly (100s); two-word sentences; turn-taking; expressive language styles appear. 3-5 yr: vocabulary expands; grammatical morphemes added; begin to adjust speech to listener. 6 yr: child knows 10000 words.

Question 55

Define: Fast-mapping, in relation to language development.

Answer 55

Connecting new words to referents so rapidly that all possible meaning for the new word could not have been considered. For example: pointing to a cat and saying “cat” from the child’s perspective could be referring to it’s colour, fur or the action of pointing.

Question 56

Define: Telegraphic speech.

Answer 56

Two- and three-word sentences.

Question 57

How can parents assist in learning language?

Answer 57

– Speaking to children frequently. – Naming objects of children’s attention. – Using speech that is more grammatically sophisticated – Reading to them. – Encouraging watching educational television programs (after 2 years of age) with an emphasis on learning new words, such as Sesame Street or Play School.

Question 58

Describe Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory, in relation to language development.

Answer 58

The development of language is critical to the development of complex cognitive processes, guided by parents, teachers, and older siblings (social scaffolding). With assistance, children are able to perform at a higher level than on their own. (Private Speech: audible or sub-audible speech helps a child learn a new task.)

Question 59

What is the Zone of Proximal Development?

Answer 59

It is a 'pie-graph picture' that refers to the different between a child's performance with and without proficient help. The zone of proximal development is beyond that of the child's current achievement, but does not extend too far beyond reach.