Human Development Assessment (Part 1)

Perspective

An approach to the understanding of human beings from different viewpoints

Bias

A limitation in objective thinking: a tendency to experience information though a cognitive filter, including experience or preference.

EEG (Electroencephalogram)

Measures brain wave activity under certain psychological states, like alertness or sleep.

CT (Computed Tomography)

A combination of x-rays and computer technology to create slices of structure of your brain

MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging)

Uses a magnetic field & radio frequency to create a composite of images of the structure of the brain

PET (Positron Emission Tomography)

Uses sugar glucose in the brain to illustrate where neurons are firing to show brain activity. Uses an injection of a radioactive isotope.

fMRI (functional MRI)

Series of MRIS that are used to show brain activity over time, not just at one moment.

dMRI (diffusion

weighted MRI) - Measures the direction water moves throughout the brain. Uses to infer direction & orientation of neurons.

SPECT

Used to view blood flow through arteries and veins in the brain by injecting a small amount of radioactive drug. (Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography)

Artifact

something that could be affecting the results

Ecological validity

refers to the degree to which research findings can be generalized to real like settings.

Researcher triangulation

multiple researchers or observers interpret the data, analyze results, or conduct interviews to reduce bias

Ethical research

responsible researcher

Strict Localization

Suggests that each brain function is linked to a very specific and fixed area of the brain.

Relative Localization

Recognizes that while certain areas may specialize in certain functions, other areas may also contribute.

Distributed Localization

Emphasizes that functions are not isolated to one area but are spread out across several regions that work together in a network.

Lateralization of a Function

Describes how certain processes are more dominant in one hemisphere than the other.

Symbolic Play

When children pretend play, it involves understanding and re-enacting others' perspectives

Deception

Telling a lie or covering up something naughty involves intentionally instilling a false belief in another person's mind.

Reading/Media Comprehension

Needed for readers to make inferences and predictions and understand characters' intentions and desires.

Narratives (Written or Verbal)

Involves monitoring and maintaining the listener's attention, explaining characters' emotions, thoughts, and actions, and shifting between two characters' perspectives.

Sally-Anne Test

a false-belief task used to assess whether children understand that others can hold beliefs different from reality. Children are asked where Sally will look for her marble after it is moved without her knowledge, testing their understanding of another person's beliefs while control questions check memory and comprehension.

Sally-Anne Test Criticism

The Sally-Anne Test has been criticized for using language that may confuse young children rather than accurately measuring their theory of mind. Siegal and Beattie (1991) showed that when the question was reworded to ask where Sally would first look for her marble, about 70% of children under four answered correctly, suggesting earlier understanding than originally reported.

Theory Theory

Argues that children observe the world and, in doing so, gather data about how it works. Remember that Piaget said that children are 'active scientists.' As they accumulate data about the world around them, they develop schema that help them predict other people's behavior.

Schema

Argues that we are biologically designed to understand other people. To do this, we use our own mind as a model for understanding the minds of others.

Simulation Theory

argues that we understand others by comparing them to ourselves.

Mirror neurons

neurons that are activated by observing someone carrying out a behavior.

Empirical evidence

evidence that was actually tested or seen

Longitudinal studies

the study over time

Locke: Tabula rasa

the "tabula rasa," or "blank slate," to describe the human mind at birth. According to Locke, children are not born with innate ideas or predetermined traits; instead, all knowledge and understanding come from experience and sensory input. This view emphasized environmental determinism.

Rousseau's Naturalistic Theory

argued that children develop in natural stages and should not be treated as miniature adults. He believed education should allow children to learn through exploration and discovery rather than strict discipline. Rousseau emphasized that adults should guide and nurture children while allowing their natural curiosity to lead learning.

Intelligence testing

Originally designed to identify students who might need additional academic support, Binet's work introduced systematic methods for studying how thinking and reasoning abilities change with age. Binet's emphasis on age-related differences in intellectual performance laid the groundwork for later stage theories of cognitive development.

Sigmund Freud

one of the first major theorists to propose that early childhood experiences have a profound and lasting impact on personality and behavior in adulthood.

The Cognitive Revolution (1920 - 1970)

Jean Piaget, the founder of cognitive development theory, proposed that children go through four universal stages of thinking: Stage 1. Sensorimotor (0-2 years) - learning through senses and actions Stage 2. Preoperational (2-7 years) - using symbols and language Stage 3. Concrete operational (7-11 years) - logical thinking about concrete events Stage 4. Formal operational (12+ years) - abstract and hypothetical thinking

holistic process

that supports emotional, social, and cognitive development. Schools became central environments for both applying and advancing child psychology.

Neuroplasticity

is the mechanism that allows the brain to adapt, learn, and reorganize during those critical periods.

Critical periods

are specific developmental windows when experience shapes brain circuits most effectively. Once closed, changes become harder to induce.

Hubel and Wiesel's study on critical periods (1960s-1970s)

investigated how early visual experience shapes brain development in cats.

Maturation of a newborn's brain

Areas of fastest growth: Primary sensory cortex, Primary motor cortex, Brain stem, Cerebellum, Cingulate gyrus, Thalamus, Hippocampal region (These parts of the brain play a role in movement, touch, emotion, motivation, and learning.)

Brain Maturation (2 - 3 months)

Areas of fastest growth: Parietal lobe, Temporal lobe, Primary visual cortex, Cerebellar hemispheres, Basal ganglia (These parts of the brain play a role in sensation, perception, motor learning and muscle movement.)

Brain Maturation (6 - 12 months)

The area of fastest growth is the frontal cortex. The frontal cortex plays a key role in higher cognitive functioning, decision-making, memory, judgment and impulse control.

A sensitive period

is a broader, more flexible window when the brain is especially responsive to certain experiences, but learning can still happen later, just with more difficulty.

left hemisphere

of the brain controls most language functions, such as like speaking, reading, and understanding words.

synaptic exuberance

occurs between birth and three years old. This period is characterized by a rapid increase in synapses in the cerebral cortex,

Brain lateralization

refers to how different functions are specialized in different hemispheres of the brain. For example, the left hemisphere controls most language functions, such as speaking, reading, and understanding words.

Developmental milestones

are key skills or behaviors that most children develop at specific ages, such as learning to crawl, walk, talk, and develop hand-eye coordination.

Dose response relationship

means that the longer the deprivation, the greater the lasting impact on development. In the Romanian Orphan Study, children who experienced longer periods of deprivation showed greater cognitive and physical impairments.

Localization of function

refers to the idea that specific areas of the brain are responsible for specific functions, such as language, movement, memory, and perception.

Maturation

the process by which the brain develops in stages through growth, reorganization, and pruning of unused neural connections. As maturation occurs, brain functions become more stable and efficient.

Myelination

is the process by which neural pathways are coated with myelin, increasing the speed and efficiency of communication between neurons.

What is a stage theory?

suggest cognitive development happens in distinct, qualitative stages. Children move through these specific stages in a fixed order, and must complete one stage before moving to the next.

continuous theory

argue that skills build steadily over time without sudden leaps; development is more like a smooth increase in ability or knowledge over time. Not everyone experiences development the same way.

piaget's stage theory

of cognitive development argues that children are active learners, or "little scientists," who drive their own learning rather than learning solely through instruction. He believed development occurs in universal stages and that biological maturation places limits on what children can understand at each stage. According to Piaget, children progress through a predictable sequence of four stages: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational.

Object permanence

is the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they can't be seen, heard, or touched.

Baillargeon & DeVos (1991)

argued that babies as young as 3.5 months showed object permanence, by paying more attention to an impossible event than they did a possible event.

Piaget's concrete operations stage

is when children develop logical thinking but can only apply it to concrete, hands-on situations. During this stage, they master skills like conservation, classification, and seriation (ordering objects logically), allowing them to solve problems more systematically. However, they still struggle with abstract or hypothetical ideas.

Piaget's formal operations stage

is when adolescents develop the ability to think abstractly and reason about hypothetical situations. They can use systematic, scientific thinking to test ideas, mentally manipulate variables, and consider multiple possibilities at once. This stage allows for advanced reasoning, including reflective thinking.

Strengths of stage theories

Provide a clear, organized framework that allows researchers to study discrete aspects of development. Identify key differences over time, rather than just "more skills" being learned. Useful for identifying milestones. They show typical patterns of development, early signs of delays, and appropriate educational expectations.

Limitations of stage theories

Stage theories assume a fixed sequence, universal ages, and clear boundaries. But development is often uneven. Underestimates variability among individuals and the role of environmental factors. Assumes universality and overlooks the role of culture in development. Cognitive abilities improve gradually and often "overlap stages." Stage theories may be an oversimplification of the developmental process.

Continuous theory: Vygotsky

Vygotsky argued that cognitive development is not a result of interaction between an individual child and the physical world; it is social interaction with a more knowledgeable other that leads to development.He believed that all children are born with similar biological capacities, but the culture and social environment determine how those capacities unfold.

zone of proximal development (ZPD)

is Vygotsky's idea of the range between what a child can do independently and what they can do with help from a more skilled person.

Private speech

when children talk to themselves out loud to guide their thinking, behavior, and problem solving.

Inner speech

when private speech becomes internalized, allowing children to think silently, plan, and regulate their behavior.

Scaffolding

the support, hints, or modeling provided by adults or peers to help a child complete a task, which is gradually removed as the child becomes more capable.

Collaborative learning

a classroom practice where students work together in groups, allowing learning to occur through social interaction and shared problem-solving.

Strengths of continuous theories

Matches what we observe: skills build slowly over time, not in sudden jumps. Better explain individual differences. Allow for change at any age; less deterministic. Emphasize the role of experience and environment.

Limitations of continuous theories

Difficult to identify clear developmental milestones and identify delays in development. Less practical for guiding educational expectations. Not all changes are experience-based. Continuous theories often overlook patterns of biological maturation. May underestimate actual differences in thinking (e.g., abstract reasoning vs concrete reasoning).

Cognitive development

the process through which we learn about the world, including how we acquire, process, and use knowledge. It involves both neurological (brain) and psychological (mind) development and progresses from infancy through adulthood.

Developmental delays

occurs when a child does not reach expected developmental milestones within the typical age range, which may indicate the need for additional support or intervention.

Sociocultural factors

social and cultural influences, such as family environment, education, and socioeconomic status, that affect cognitive development.

Socialization

the process by which children develop cognitive and social skills through interactions with family members, peers, and others in their environment.

Risk factors

conditions or experiences that increase the likelihood of negative developmental outcomes, such as poverty or poor mental health.

Protective factors

conditions or supports that reduce the negative impact of risk factors and promote healthy development, such as family support or access to quality childcare.

Practice play

a type of play common in the sensorimotor stage that involves imitation and repetition of actions to practice skills.

Convergent problem

is a problem that has one single correct solution or answer.

Divergent problem

is a problem that has multiple possible solutions and requires creative thinking.

Transfer of skills

refers to the ability to apply skills or knowledge learned in one context to a different situation.

Participant variability

refers to individual differences among participants that may influence study results and act as a confounding variable.

Confounding variable

is an uncontrolled factor that may influence the results of a study, making it difficult to establish causality.

Validity

refers to the extent to which a study accurately measures what it claims to measure.

Farah et al. (2008)

found a positive correlation between environmental stimulation and language development, and between parental nurturing and long-term memory.

Russ, Robins, & Christiano (2010)

conducted a longitudinal study showing that early pretend play predicts later divergent thinking, supporting a causal relationship.

Meta-representations

objects that get put with(represent) a diff meaning (banna becomes phone)