psych 130 first midterm ucla

human development

the multidisciplinary study of how people change systematically over time

what are 2 main characteristics of human development?

hierarchical and self-organizing

what does hierarchical and self organizing change mean?

each change is dependent on the preceding series of changes

what are the 5 key issues in human development

1. physical development

2. perceptual development

3. cognitive development

4. emotional development

5. social development

plasticity

changes in neural pathways and synapses due to changes in behavior, environment, neural processes, thinking, emotions, as well as changes resulting from bodily injury

why do we need theories?

they help us understand the mechanism of how things work, and help us make predictions

how do we get theories?

hypothesis testing, data

what is a theory

set of concepts and propositions designed to organize, describe, and explain observations.

constrain and interpret findings.

make predictions about future behavior

john lockes perspective on child development

like aristotle, saw the child as a tabula rasa, and advocated first instilling discipline, then gradually increasing the child's freedom

what 2 forces converged to create the research-based approach?

social reform movements and charles darwins theory of evolution

social reform movements

established a legacy of research conducted for the benefit of children and provided some of the earliest descriptions of the adverse effects that harsh environments can have on child development.

charles darwin's theory of evolution

inspired research in child development in order to gain insights into the nature of the human species

what are the 2 aspects of Darwin's theory of evolution

variation and selection

variation

refers to differences in thought and behavior within and among individuals

selection

describes the more frequent survival and reproduction of organisms that are well adapted to their environment.

how does developmental change occur

in an analogous way, variation and selection produce changes within an individual lifetime

for example: learning to retrieve a toy, to add numbers, to communicate

psychoanaytic

Sigmund freud; intrinsic drives and motives, qualitative stages, psychosexual in nature, irrational and unconscious, resolution of earlier stages affects later self.

why was freud revolutionary

drove field to recognize that unconscious motives can shape thoughts and behavior; early experiences

Watson's learning

behaviorism; environmental determinism, influenced by Pavlov's work on classical conditioning

Behavioral theory

conclusions about human behavior should be based on observable behaviors;

1. classical conditioning (watson)

2. operant conditioning (skinner)

classical conditioning

(watson) no inborn tendencies, all paired associations - little albert

operant conditioning

(skinner) avoid unfavorable outcomes and promote favorable ones

cognitive developmental viewpoint (piaget's theory of cognitive development)

active explorers who create schemas. when they encounter disequilibrium, they assimilate or accommodate knowledge. follows an invariant sequence.

three dimensions of developmental theories

1. nature vs nurture

2. actiity vs passivity

3. continuity vs discontinuity (quantitative vs qualitative)

nature

refers to our genetic endowment, especially the genes we receive from our parents

nurture

refers to the wide range of environments, both physical and social, that influence our development

how do children shape their own environment?

children contribute to their own development form early in life, and their contributions increase as they grow older

ex. sociality

older children and adolescents choose many environments, friends, and activities for themselves; their choices can exert a large impact on their future

continuous development

age-related changes occur gradually; quantitative

discontinuous development

age-related changes include occasional large shifts so that children of different ages seem qualitatively different

stage theories

propose that development occurs in a progression of age-related, qualitative shifts

the scientific method

to test a belief while retaining objectivity

steps of the scientific method

1. formulate a research question

2. develop a hypothesis

3. test the hypothesis; make a prediction, design study, collect data, analyze data

4. draw conclusions

5. disseminate findings

what are the two types of quesitons

normative development, and individual differences

normative development

how do people on average change with age (how most people are alike)

ex. at what age do most children start to walk?

individual differences

looking at individual variations in development (how people differ from each other)

ex. if your mother carried you a lot, will your walking be delayed?

longitudinal vs cross sectional research

longitudinal: following one individual and studying them throughout life

cross sectional: collecting observations and data from a group of individuals at a specific point in time

cohort effect

non-developmental effects caused by differences in group experiences

habituation

decrease in response to stimuli (boredom), then look for what causes dishabituation

carolyn rovee collier testing infant memory

assess baseline kicking. then tie mobile to 2-3 month old's ankle; takes a while for infant to realize that kicking does something. test to see if infant remembers kicking consequences

results of the mobile conjugate reinforcement

measure retention or savings in subsequent test.

results: 2 month olds remember up to 3 days and 3 month olds remember for more than one week

eye tracking in infants

movement and edges are most salient to infants

advantages and disadvantages of eye tracking

advantages: requires no explicit response from subject, same dependent variable across different ages and populations

disadvantages: difficult to achieve due to motion and calibration

neuroimaging

examining phenomena at a different level of analysis

neuroimaging tools

structural methods: MRI, Diffusion tensor imaging

functional methods: electroencenphalogram (EEG)/event-related potentials(ERP), PET, fMRI

ERP methods

non-invasivey measure brain activity form scalp; electrodes.

temporal resolution is great, but spatial is bad.

relatively cheap but sensitive to movement

fMRI

non-invasively measure brain activity with large magnet; spatial resolution is great, but temporal is poor.

expensive and sensitive to movement

subtraction method

subtract brain activation for task b (control condition) form task a (experimental condition) you are left with the activation of interest

lobes of cerebral cortex

major areas of the cortex that are associated with different categories of behavior

occipital lobe

primarily associated with processing visual information

temporal lobe

involved in memory, visual recognition, and the processing of emotion and auditory information

parietal lobe

governs spatial processing and integrates sensory input with information in memory

frontal lobe

organizes behavior and is responsible for planning

evolution of the mammalian brain

cortex control behavior. last to develop phylogenetically and ontogenetically; c shaped development

phylogenetics

the study of evolutionary relationships among biological entities - often species, individuals or genes

ontogenetics

the origination and development of an organism, usually from the time of fertilization of the egg to the organism's mature form

c-shaped development

axons and glia; brain develops in a c-shape

what are the stages of neural development?

proliferation, migration, aggregation, differentiation, synapse formation, apoptosis, myelination

proliferation

(1) overproduction of neurons

migration

(2) following chemical paths to its final destination

aggregation

(3) adhering to similar cells

differentiation

(4) specialization

synapse formation

(5) synaptogenesis; development of axons and dendrites - over produciton

apoptosis

(6) selective cell death and synapse elimination (pruning)

melination

(7) myelin covers neurons (speed)

what is the purpose of synaptogenesis?

period of overproduction followed by pruning. increases plasticity

watch/go over lecture 4

watch lecture 4

inhibitory control

delay of gratification task and go-nogo task + fMRI

delay of gratification task

present with one small marshmallow now, or wait until later for large marshmallow. the experimenter leaves the room and monitors the behavior of the child; preschoolers do very poorly, but by 6 they do much better

go-nogo task

press button whenever you see letter, don't press for X; children have a hard time doing this due to an increased false alarm rate (c-shaped development)

evidence from fMRI for poor inhibitory control

immature frontal lobe contribution

why does genotype not equal phenotype

environment plays a role

PKU

genetic disease that causes inability to metabolize phenylalanine and can lead to intellectual disability; environment can alter the fate of these individuals (do not feed these children phenylalanine)

plasticity; negative vs positive

the ability of the brain to change in response to the environment

negative: neglect - kitten's eyes

positive: violinists' left hand

william greenough's rats: enriched vs control environments

increased: learning on future tasks, synapse formation, dendritic spines (surface area), and neural growth

critical period

time in the early stages of an organism's life during which it displays a heightened sensitivity to certain environmental stimuli, and develops in particular ways due to experiences at this time. If the organism does not receive the appropriate stimulus during this "critical period", it may be difficult, or even impossible, to develop some functions later in life.

sensitive period

more forgiving version of a critical period

examples of experience-expectant

sunlight and vitamin D

language development

examples of experience-dependent

the ability to read

one particular language

cephalocaudal

head to toe

proximodistal

midline to outward

nerual tube

U-shaped groove formed from the top layer of differentiated cells in the embryo; eventually becomes the brain and the spinal cord

teratogen

anything that can harm the fetus (virus, chemicals, drugs, radiation)

when is a teratogen most effective

during the time of a given structure's rapid growth (sensitive period)

what are teratogens dependent on?

genetic diathesis: stress model serves to explore how biological or genetic traits (diatheses) interact with environmental influences (stressors) to produce disorders

reasons fetus may be affected when mother remains unharmed

dose of medicine for a mother compared to a small fetus; mother is not undergoing organogenesis; placenta is not fullproof

what can fetuses do? sensation

fetus experiences tactile stimulation as a result of its own activity, and tastes and smells the amniotic fluid; responds to sounds from at least the 6th month of gestation; prenatal visual experience however is negligible

babinski reflex

a baby's toes fan out when the sole of the foot is stroked from heel to toe; perhaps a remnant of evolution

blink reflex

a baby's eyes close in response to bright light or loud noise; protects the eyes

moro reflex

a baby throws its arms out and then inward in response to loud noise or when its head falls; may help a baby cling to its mother

palmar reflex

a baby grasps an object placed in the palm of its hand; precursor to voluntary grasping

rooting reflex

when a baby's cheek is stroked, it turns its head toward the cheek that was stroked and opens its mouth; helps a baby to find the nipple

stepping reflex

a baby who is held upright by an adult and is then moved forward begins to step rhythmically; precursor to voluntary walking

sucking reflex

a baby sicks when an object is placed in its mouth; permits feeding

withdrawal reflex

a baby withdraws its foot when the sole is pricked with a pin; protects a baby from unpleasant stimulation

example of habituation in a fetus

at 32 weeks gestation, the fetus decreases responses to repeated stimulation

what are the time restrictions to be considered premature

born before 36 weeks gestation

risks of prematurity

small, immature organs, immature CNS, less physical contact

schneider's experiment on prenatal stress

6 pregnant rhesus monkeys exposed to unpredictable noise 5X a week.

Infants whose mothers were stressed and had high levels of cortisol, were more anxious, antisocial, low birth weight, etc.

results of monkey experiment

During baseline, prenatally stressed monkeys displayed greater non-social stress related anxious behaviors.

both groups increased social contact during stress.

during stress, prenatally stressed monkeys displayed greater social related anxious behaviors (prenatally stressed group displayed age inappropriate behavior)

puberty

process of reaching sexual maturity; includes not only physical changes, but psychological changes as well (sensitive period)