Developmental Psych Exam 1

Bahaviorism-who

Pavlov, Watson

Social Learning Theory-who

Bandura

Psychosexual-who

Freud

Cognitive development-who

piaget

sociocultural-who

vygotsky

ecological systems-who

bronfrenbrenner

evolutional-who

darwin

Behaviorists believe that development is a result of learning in what two ways?

classical conditioning, operant conditioning

Classical Conditioning

Pavlov’s Dogs and John Watson’s little Albert Experiment

Operant conditioning

learning comes through receiving consequences after operating on the environment

\--behavior→consequence→behavior increases or decreases

Pavlov’s Dogs

1. food causes salivation
2. bell causes no salivation.
3. bell and food causes salivation


1. bell causes salivation.

“Little Albert”

Was conditioned to fear white fuzzy animals. At first he liked the animals but then their presence was accompanied with a loud sound that conditioned Albert to fear them.

Operant Conditioning Types

Positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment, negative punishment

positive reinforcement

Giving a student a dum dum or a sticker every time they participate in class; buying movie tickets to make your day better

negative reinforcement

a professor taking away a class exam if there is perfect attendance for a whole month; a professor removing a work load to make a day better

Positive Punishment

putting a speed regulator on someone’s car to reduce the behavior of speeding on the interstate; soap in the mouth to reduce bad words; professor adds a pop quiz and makes your day worse

Response Cost (Negative Punishment)

Taking away a phone to decrease disobedience; roommate ate my cake so this made my day worse

What does Albert Bandura believe?

Believes we learn based on people and the environment around us--much like the observational learning

Social Learning Theory--Observational Learning

A child knowing to put their shoes and coat on because they have learned from their parents; athletes watching videos to improve themselves; children acting out things from TV

Bobo doll study

Researchers watch how a child reacts with bobo doll after watching adults acting aggressively towards it.

\--result: acting aggressive if adult was aggressive or was calm if adult was calm

Freud’s Psychosexual Development

believes we have drives that allows us to act and that we have drive toward sexual pleasure.

\--Id, Ego, Superego

id

seeks pleasure and immediate gratification of needs (ex: binge eating food)

Ego

reason

Superego

conscience (following the rules)

Infancy

oral stage

toddlers

anal stage

early childhood

phallic stage--leads to Oedipal (and Electra) complex.

middle childhood

latency

puberty through dulthood

genital stage

Fixation

ex: if parents didn’t allow baby to chew on things, there is now an oral fixation to chew on pencils

Erikson’s psychosocial development

was trained by freud and saw a central conflict at each stage. However, he did not see it as bad if the conflict was not resolved.

Piaget’s Cognitive Stage Theory

was interested in what kids thought so he sat sdown his own kids to determine to what extend children actually understand

Cognitive development happens by way of three processes:

organization, schedmas, adaption

Organization

ex: knowing soemthing with 4 legs, a tail, and fur is a dog

schemas

used to organize information

adaptation

adjusting to a new environment

\--assimilation and accommedation

assimilation

putting into an old category (old schema)

\--ex: it has four legs and fur so it is a dog

accomidation

putting into a new schema

\--ex: it has 4 legs and fur but it is a cat

Equilibration

not ready for a new category because it is not ready to accomidate

\--ex: Dr. Johnson’s daughter saying every vehicle that honks is a car

sensorimotor

birth-2yrs

preoperational

2-6years

concrete operational

6-11yrs

formal operational

12yrs-adulthood

Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory

applies his idea of what kids understand around us is through interactions with other people and these interactions do effect developement

\--said language is very important

scaffolding

trying to teach by walking her through the steps of things

\--ex: Telling CJ how to tie his shoes by walking his through the steps

Brenner’s ecological systems theory

creating the theory saying certain characteristics have a direct effect on an individual’s development

Information processing models

information from the world around us goes into our brain and then we can see the output from out brains depending on how we interact

How do kids know their numbers based on information processing models?

Input: we tell a kid to count their fingers

Output: Them counting

\--We do not know what is going on between input and output

DNA- A,C,T,G used to create a helix and code for proteins

Chromosomes contain certain genes

\--23 chromosomes

\--23autosomes

How are blood types determined?

Through codominant genes

Genotypes

genetic material passed along; we cannot see this

Phenotype

Physical attribution to genotype

Epigenetics

different that gene mutation; there is change to how the DNA is read because new DNA markers get put in. However, this gets passed along after multiple generations

\--There will be changes in a great grandchild even without direct exposure to them.

Dominant defects

If the defect is dominant then it will be expressed however it will likely be later in life

\--Huntingtons

Recessive Defects

If defect is recessive , then it will likely be expressed earlier in life

\--cystic fibrosis

Chromosomal Abnormalities

Can be a lack of or access of chromosomes

\--Down syndrome or Turner’s syndrome

genetic counseling

walking through different aspects of family disorder through discussion

Genetic screening

physically looking at DNA to determine something such as breast cancer

Heritability

the extent to which the variability in a sample of individuals on some characteristic is a result of genetic differences among individuals

ex: .85 heritability= 85% of the variability in the trait is attributable to the genetic differences in the group as a whole

\--It is found that ADHD contains a large percent of being due to heredity

Reaction Change in Genetics

Having a set genotype but it can vary due to environmental factors

\--ex: a kid has a genotype for aggressive behavior but the behavior can vary due to parenting styles

canalization

the genotype’s phenotype remains relatively invarient when individuals of a particular genotype are exposed to different environments

genotype by environment passive correlation

have genotype and the environment matches is

\--son’s and daughters become talented musicians just like their parents

genotype by environment reactive correlation

parent sees genetic predisposition in kids so they try to bring it out

\--ex: sees kids jumping on the couch so they put them into gymnastics

genotype by environment active correlation--Niche picking

kids picking out their own things that match their abilities

\--ex: kid wants to try acting so they enroll themselves into theater in high school

genotype by environment correlation

genes and the environment interact to strengthen the expression of a trait

Why are siblings different?

Through nonshared environmental effects there are many different environmental factors that affect siblings and therefore they can contain different behaviors

\--can be due to parenting styles, etc.

conception

zygote forms

\--200,000,000 sperm cells

\--the size of an egg is much larger than sperm

\--females are born with set number of eggs

Germinal Stage of development

Fertilization-- two weeks

\--most women do not know they are pregnant at this time, typically do not know until they miss menstruation

\--prenatal vitamins are important to take before and during pregnancy

embryotic development stage

2--8 weeks

\--zygote attaches to uterine wall and both the placenta and umbilical cord form

\--in this stage the embryo closes to form brain and spinal cord

\--there is also a high risk for miscarriage at this time because the heart is not yet beating (spontaneous abortion)

fetal development stage

8 weeks --birth

\--heart is beating at this time

\--stillbirth is when you lose the fetus after the heart starts beating

\--finger separation, burping, hiccups, etc

dizygotic twins

fraternal; two eggs released and both are fertilized

monozygotic twins

identical; one egg is fertilized but it then divides and they are sharing genetic material

Three teratogen factors that affect the fetus

1. timing
2. exposure


1. genetic variability

teratogen: Timing

drinking alcohol would have different effects at 9 weeks opposed to week 36

\--when it occurs can predict the issues of the child

teratogen: Exposure

Everyone has a threshold, meaning having a little bit of alcohol may not become problematic unless they pass the threshold

teratogens: Genetics

They play a huge role in whether or not the teratogen actually plays an effect

Teratogens

alcohol, smoking, diseases, other drugs, stressors, malnutrition

maternal health factors affecting fetus

physical activity- it is okay to exercise if it was a regular practice before pregnancy

gestational diabetes- see onset diabetes during pregnancy

high BP- very common but can result in early labor, otherwise child will die

In-utero activity

Fetus develops ability to taste and see in utero

Stages of Birth

1. Stage of contractions- cervix widens
2. pushing- up to 2 hours


1. delivery of placenta and umbilical cord is cut

Liquid Gold/Colostrum

The liquid expelled from the mother’s breasts right after birth. It takes a few days for milk to form

Neonates

Between 5.5 and 10lbs

18-22 inches at birth

Neonate characteristics

1. misshapen head- normally forms together after a few weeks
2. receding chin
3. pinkish skin tone--shows if getting enough oxygen
4. Lanugo- soft and fuzzy hair covering across body to preserve body heat


1. vernix caseosa- white cream on baby skin to protect it during birth

directionality

changes in proportions of the body

cephalocaudal

head to tail development

\--large heart at birth in comparison to body

proximodistal

development progresses from the center of the body outward

\--this is why babies do not have good control of their digits

independence of systems

different parts of the body develop at different types and at different rates

canalization in growth

acquiring a new skill like walking; most people start to walk around the same time (7-12 months) there is not much variability present

child norms

anything average for a characteristic--we have an idea of when kids should develop so it is easy to see if the kid is on track or if there is something else going on

How does the brain develop?

It starts as a neural tube and after 3 weeks it develops into a mass of cells

\--if the neural tube does not close properly, then medical issues can develop like spina bifida and anencephole (enlargement of the brain)

Plasticity

The malleability and recoverability of the brain

Synaptogenesis

the growth and connects between neurons (opposite of synaptic pruning)

synaptic pruning

loss of connections and networks between neurons (opposite of synaptogenesis)

Myelination

Coating on an axon used for signal transmission and speed of neural signals

Primitive reflexes

Instinctual; used for basic survival

\--breaking, speaking, rooting, etc.

Locomotor reflexes

gross motor movements

\--walking, stepping, swimming

Postural reflexes

Body orientation

\--parachute reflex where the baby spreads out their arms and legs to try and catch themselves

Why is touch so important in development?

It helps to develop relationships and provides the baby with comfort

Harlow’s Monkeys experiment

baby monkeys are separated from their mom and given a foster mom instead. There were two foster moms, a wire mesh and a cloth mom. The wire mesh mom provided nutrients while the cloth mom did not.

Result?: The baby stayed with the cloth mom the majority of the time and went to the wire mesh mom only during feeding time. However, they went straight back to the cloth mom shortly after. This shows how important touch and comfort are.

Hearing Development

Hearing is development prior to birth and is important for normal language development

\--It is found that babies actually perfer we speak in a high pitched voice