Psychology 311 (child development)

Ted kaczynski

Unibomber

Development

Organized connections & changes in an individual over the course of life

Maturation

Process of learning to cope & react in an emotionally suitable way

Learning

Process of experiences producing lasting changes in our feelings, thoughts, & behaviors

What ideas are credit to John Locke ?

Original sin, tabula rasa

What ideas are jean-jacques Rousseau credited to?

Innate goodness, & natural education

Original sin

Children were perceived as being basically bad, born into world as evil things

tabula rasa

We are born with completely an open mind & that upbringing imprints beliefs & attitudes onto person

Innate goodness

We are naturally good & seek out experiences that help them grow

N natural education

If children can grow without restraints, they will develop their fullest potential educationally a morally

Natural selection

Traits that are most advantageous for a particular environment are more successful & more likely to reproduce

baldwin effect

transforming a culturally invented and acquired trait into an instinctive trait

nature

development influenced by genetic inheritance and other biological factors

nurture

development influenced by external factors after conception

john dewey learning by doing

(john dewey) each child is active, inquisitive and wants to explore their environment

maturational process

(g. stanley hall) a genetically determined series of events that unfold automatically

continuity

development is a gradual smooth process

discotinuity

development involves a series of age-related stages

active

development involves individuals being curious who determines how society treats them

passive

development involves individuals who are docile as society determines how to treat them

critical periods

timeframe when an individual is more sensitive to environmental influences

plasticity

experiences reorganize neural pathways in the brain

context

setting in which development occurs

culture

ideas, behaviors, attitudes, and traditions that exist within groups of people

ethnicity

a characteristic based on cultural heritage, nationality, race, religion, and language

socioeconmic status

grouping based on a person’s occupational, educational, and fiscal, characteristics

social policy

a government’s course of action designed to promote the welfare of it’s citizens

poverty

a condition in which a person is deprived of, or lacks the essentials for a minimum standard of well-being and life

vicious cycle

situation in which events are in a loop and the action is fortified by its result and continues on

biological porcesses

changes in an individual’s body

cognitive processes

changes in an individual’s thought, intelligence, and language

socioemotional processes

changes in relationships, emotions and personality

scientific method

standardized way of making observations, gathering data, forming theories, testing predictions, and interpereting results

theory

explain observable events in a meaningful way

hypothesis

a theoretical prediction about some aspect of experience

naturalisitc observation

researcher allows behavior to occur without interference or intervention at all

case study

detailed investigations of an individual or small group of people

psychophysiological methods

examining the relationship between physiology and mental events

surveys

method for collecting data as reported by individuals

standardized test

exam with uniform procedures for administration and scoring

descriptive research

study that involves observing and recording behavior

correlational design

gathering data to determine whether two or more variables of interest are meaningfully related

correlation coefficient ( r )

number from -1 to +1 that shows the strength and direction of the relationship among variables

positive correlation

variables move in the same direction

negative correlation

variables move in opposite direction

experimental design

detailed assessment of cause-and-effect relationship that might exist between two variables

independent variable

characteristic of an experiment that is manupulated or changed

dependent variable

variable that is being measured or tested in an experiment

field experiment

experiment conducted in a natural environement, where participants are exposed to different levels of a variable and observedc

cross-sectional research

individuals of different ages are comparaed at the same point in time

longitudinal research

people are study and restuddied over a period of time

psychoanalytic theory

personality develops via a series of stages each symbolized by a certain internal mental conflict

psychosocial development

considers external factors on development from childhood to adulthood

behaviorial perspective

how environmental factors affect observable actions, behaviorism believe people have no free will

classical conditioning

learning involves involuntary responses from events that occur before a response

operant conditioning

learning that occurs through rewards and punishments for behavior

behavior modification

learning used to eliminate some type of unwanted behavior

social cognitive theory

development occurs by observing others

cognitive perspective

understanding mental processes and how data can be used to reason and solve problems

sociocultural theory

culture is valuable and interface in the growth of cognitive abilities

bioecological approach

inherent qualities of a child and enviroment interact to effect how they will develop

information processing theory

individuals manipulate data, monitor it, and strategize about it

evolutionary perspective

behaviors come into existence as a result of changes to living conditions

humanistic perspective

how individuals perceive and interpret events in their environment affects development

eclectic theoretical orientation

selecting sections of each theory that is thought to be its best parts

developmental cognitive neuroscience

studies bond between changes in the brain and the child’s cognitive processes and behavioral patterns

developmental social neuroscience

studies relationship between changes in the brain and emotional and social development

chromosomes

store and transmit genetic data

gene

segment of DNA along the length of the chromosomes

fertilization

stage in reproductive during which an egg and a sperm combine to create a single cell

mitosis

process of cell duplication

meiosis

process of cell division

zygote

single cell formed at conception from the union of a sperm and an ovum

gametes

sex cells that contain half as from the union of a sperm as regular cells

haploid

cell that possess only one representative of each chomosome

blastomeres

full complement of paternal and maternal chromosomes

X chromosome

longer sex chromosomes; females typically have two and males typically have one

Y chromosome

shorter sex chromosomes; typically males have one and females have none

monozygotic twins

single zygote that later divides to form two genetically identical individuals

dizygotic twins

twins that developed from two seperate ova fertilized by two seperate sperm

x-link inheritance

gene causign the trait disorder occurs when recessive gene is caried on the x-chromosome

polygenic inheritance

pattern of endowment in which many genes influence a characteristic

fragile x syndrome

genetic condition causes learning disabilities and cognitive impairment

Down syndrome

chromosomally transmitted form of intellectual disability, caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21

klinefelter syndrome

chromosomal disorder in which males have an extra X chromosome

Turner syndrome

chromosome disorder in females in which either an X chromosome is missing, or the second X chromosome is partially deleted

sickle-cell anemia

genetic disorder that affects the red blood cells

adoption

process by which an adule legally and permanently takes over parental responsibility for a child

behaviorial genetics

discovering the sway of heredity and environment on individual differences in human development

twin study

behaviorial similarity of identical twins is compared with the behavioral similarity of fraternal twins

adoption study

studies the behavior of adopted children are more like their adoptive or biological parents

cohort effects

impacts due to a person’s time of birth, era, or generation but not to actual age

prenatal period

time from conception to birth

infancy

from birth to about 18 to 24 months

early childhood

from the end of infacny to about 5 or 6 years of age

elementary school years

from about 6 to 11 years of age

adolescence

developmental period of transition from childhood to early adulthood

germinal period

first 2 weeks after conception involves creation of the fertilized egg, cell division, and linking to the uterine wall

placenta

provides respiration and nourishment of the unborn child and the removal of its metabolic wastes

embryonic period

2 to 8 weeks after conception, cell differentiation intensifies, support systems for cells form, and organs appear