PSYC1000 - Intro to Psych

Developmental Psychology

The science of humans development that seeks to understand how and why people change over time

Commonly known as the father of classical conditioning

Pavlov

3 kinds of developmental psychology

Physical, cognitive, social

Nature vs Nurture

The extent to which development is influences by nature or nurture.

Critical periods of development

The concept that the brain is set to acquire a function during a limited period of time.

Ecological systems theory

Relationships between an individuals and their environment are bi-directional.

Microsystem (Bronfenbrenner)

Most immediate surroundings

Mesosystem (Bronfenbrenner)

connections between Microsystems

Macrosystem (Bronfenbrenner)

culture in which individuals live

Chronosystem (Bronfenbrenner)

Changes that occur over time in the different systems

Maturation

Biologically based changed that follow a sequence

Stability and change

Whether the way we develop is rigid or if it can be flexible

Change (stability and change)

The acquisition or the loss of a behaviour or function

Continuous change

gradual alteration of behaviour

Discontinuous change

Stages of growth that are qualitatively different, usually in a fixed order

Normative events

events that most people experience at certain ages

Non-normative events

events that are unexpected and can alter a persons development

Cognition

Mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering and communicating

Schemas

Organised patterns of thoughts and actions that helps us interpret the world

Assimilation

The process of incorporating new experiences into existing schemas

Accomodation

The process by which new experiences cause schemas to change

Disequilibrium

An imbalance between existing schemas and new experiences

Constructivism (Piaget)

The way a child comes to construct schemas, through engaging with the world

sensorimotor stage

Birth to 2 years. Schemas are simple reflexes and interactions.

Object permanence

the awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived. (Sensorimotor)

preoperational stage

Ages 2 to 7. The child uses mental representation. Problem solving is limited. Language development.

Egocentrism

the inability to see the world through anyone else's eyes. (Preoperational)

Theory of mind

people's ideas about their own and others mental states

Concrete operational

Ages 7 to 11. Child performs mental operations and logical thinking.

Conservation

The ability to recognise that a given quality remains the same despite changes in shape. (concrete operational)

Formal operational

From 12 years. Abstract thinking and formal problem solving

Cross-sectional designs

Comparing people of different ages at the same point in time

Longitudinal design

Repeatedly tests the same cohort as it ages

Sequential design

Combination of cross-sectional and longitudinal designs

Temperament

The style and frequency of expressing needs and emotions

Attachment

An enduring and selective emotional bond between two people

Freud attachment

Infants become attached to the person who provides oral satisfaction

Erickson attachement

Stage of trust versus mistrust

Bowlby attachment

attachment is based on parent responsiveness, we are biologically predisposed to form attachments

Learning

the process of acquiring new and enduring information or behaviors

Learning is a result of

Experience, ability, and maturation

Simple learning

Learning can occur with a single stimulus if repeated

Habituating (simple learning)

Habituation is a learned decrease of a behaviour

Sensitisation (simple learning)

The increase in the strength of a behaviour

Classical Conditioning (Pavlov)

a conditioned response is paired with specific stimuli

Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

The stimulus that naturally elicits the response before conditioning

Unconditioned response (UCR)

The innate response that is elicited by the UCS

Conditioned stimulus (CS)

an initially neutral stimulus that begins to elicit a new response once paired with the unconditioned stimulus

Conditioned response (CR)

The response that is elicited by the CS after classical conditioning has occurred

Examples of behaviours that can be classically conditioned

Reflexes, taste aversion, emotional responses.

acquisition (CC)

The gradual learning of a conditioned response that occurs with the CS and UCS are paired

Extinction (CC)

The gradual weakening of the conditioned response when the CS is no longer presented with the UCS

Spontaneous recovery (CC)

The re-emergence of the CR after extinction when the CS is presented after a delay

Generalisation (CC)

The CR is not specific to the CS used during conditioning

Discrimination (CC)

The tendency for a response to be elicited more by one stimulus than another

Factors that influence conditioning

Timing, predictability, novelty, salience

Applications of classical conditioning

drug cravings, food cravings, likes and dislikes.

Therapy based on extinction

Exposure therapy

Operant Conditioning (Skinner)

Behaviours are shaped by their consequences

Law of Effect

Behaviours that lead to a satisfying outcome are strengthened, while behaviours that lead to an unsatisfying outcome are weakened

Reinforcement

increases behaviour

Punishment

Decreases behaviour

positive reinforcement

A stimulus presented after a response which increases the probability of that response happening again.

Negative reinforcement

Removal of a stimulus following a response, leading to an increase in the response

Negative reinforcement example

Taking Panadol, headache goes away, take Panadol more often

Positive reinforcement example

Work, get money, work more

Positive punishment

Presentation of a stimulus following a response that leads to a decrease in response

positive punishment example

Swat away bee, get stung, swat bees less often

Negative punishment

The removal of a stimulus following a response, which leads to the decrease of response

Negative punishment example

tease sibling, get sent to room, tease sibling less

Shaping (OC, CC)

Used to reinforce a behaviour that is infrequent.

Primary reinforces

Thins we find naturally reinforcing (food, water, sex)

Secondary reinforces

Things that have become reinforcing because they relate with primary reinforces (money)

ratio schedules

reinforcement depends on the number of correct responses

Fixed ratio schedule

Reinforcement occurs after a fixed number of responses that is always the same

Variable ratio schedule

reinforcement occurs after a variable number of responses that changes

Interval schedules

Reinforcement is given for the first response made after an interval of time has passed

Fixed interval schedule

Reinforcement occurs for the first response after a fixed time period has passed

Variable interval schedule

Reinforcement occurs after the first response made after a variable time has passed

Applications of operant conditioning

Animal training, behaviour management, clinical treatment

Memory

memory refers to the processes that allow us to record, store and retrieve information

Three stages of memory processing

encoding, storage, retrieval

Encoding

the 3 processes of information into the memory system.

Sensory memory

recording of sensory information in the memory system (under 1 second)

Working memory

information in short-term storage (under 20 seconds)

long term memory

permanent and unlimited amount of information stored

forgetting curve

forgetting occurs rapidly at first and the slows down

semantic memory (explicit)

facts and general knowledge

episodic memory (explicit)

personally experienced events

implicit memory

without conscious recall

Decay

Information gradually disappears from memory

Interference

Memory is impaired by other information

Retroactive interference

Learning new information makes it harder to retrieve old information

Proactive interference

Old memories affect the retrieval of new memories

Retrieval

The process of bringing information to conscious awareness

Source monitoring error

occurs when a memory derived from one source is misattributed to another source

Misinformation effect

occurs when misleading information has distorted one's memory of an event

Memory distortion

People fill in the gaps in their memory with assumptions based on schemas

Personality

The unique pattern of enduring thoughts, feelings and actions that characterise a person

The psychoanalytical approach (Freud)

Everything about a person is either set at birth or learned from parents