Lecture 1 Flashcards
(17 cards)
Define Development
Process which organism grows and changes through lifespan
What are the 3 main types of changes in developmental psychology
- Systematic (genuine cause)
- Successive (one after another)
- Organised (occur across species)
What are the two concepts of development
1) Universals/Experiemental focus (variation unimportant, uses mean/averages, focus on stages to understand species)
2) Individual differences (correlations, why we differ, variation and quantitative differences between, naturally occurs (changing patterns))
Define Developmental Psychology
Scientific study of development, what develops & How?
- combines neural, cog, behavioural and social psych
Define continuous
similarities in group means - degree of consistency
Define discontinuity
changes in mean level of behaviour of trait
Define stability - give 2 types examples
stability = rank order in group stages stays the same / degree of consistency
1) Homotypic (measures same beh. dif time points)
2) Heterotypic (cant use same measurement beyond certain age e.g. with emotional control)
What are the two main focus types of developmental theories
1) Domain specific theories - behaviour/skill, emphasis on mechanisms/processes with narrow effects
2) Domain general theories - general dev processes that infleunce numerous outcomes. emphasis mechanisms with broad effects, range of beh./skills
What are the stages of age in developmental psychology (reoccurring ideas)
1) Prenatal (conception - birth)
2) Infancy (18-24m)
3) Early childhood (2-5yr)
4) Middle childhood (5-11yr)
5) Adolescence (12-20yr)
Age = ambiguous variable.
Define/Explain the Empiricism (nurture) view on dev.
-born blank slates
-all beh. & knowledge derived from experience
enviro stimulus –> behaviour –> consequenced (reinforced or not)
- Skinner: S-R: R (e.g. language)
Define/Explain the Nativism view on dev
- innate view
- come to world with specialised modules for processing dif. concepts - dev. triggers events to be refined
- Language: stimuli not objective. cant predict verbal beh. Come to world with innate LAD (lang acquisition device) which is triggered by enviro.
- Poverty of stimulus argument
- Omitting the child: underestimates childs abilities and contribution to lang. explains why most children show regular stages of lang dev.
Define/Explain the Pragmatism (cog dev) view on dev
- focus on action
- children bring skills to situ and their actions trigger and stimulate their dev. = active learners, update to world of objects/concepts when enviro challenges their schemas
- Piaget: progression through fixed order stages where we shift in how think.
- Universalist general theory
Define/Explain the Socio-Cultural theory view on dev
- cog. develops through social interactions with skilled members of culture.
- Development = process of internalisation. take in convos, thoughts and internalise them
- children move into zone of proximal development. = distance between actual dev. level as determined by independent problem solving and level of potential development, as determined through problem solving under adult guidance.
Define/Explain the develops systems view on dev
- can’t separate nature/nurture
- longitudinal studies: diversity, time, cultural settings
- focus: systematic changes and rship between variables at dif levels. change sensitive measure and change sensitive research design
Explain the nature-nurture dichotomy
- process of dev. involves mutually influencital relations between levels of organisation from biology/cultural/societal levels of organisation
- genes exert influence on behavour in an enviro
What are 3 pieces of supporting evidence of nature and nurture being a false dichotomy (supports systems view)
1) Genes influence enviro (evidence: adoptive studies - similar beh. with no shared enviro.)
2) Enviro influenced by genes (evidence: epigenetics - rat high/low grooming results in emotion in maze as enviro shaped gene expression)
3) Genes and enviro. interact (not all people maltreated as kids = depressed.
When are people (kids maltretaed) at risk of depression?
when pp has short allele of 5-HTT transporter gene
