AP Psych Unit 3: Development and Learning

Developmental Psychology

study of how people grow and change throughout their lifetime

Stability vs. Change

A thematic issue (like nature vs. nurture) that explores whether personality traits stay consistent or evolve over the lifespan

Continuous development vs Discontinuous development

1. growth is a gradual cumulative process

2. growth occurs in distinct stages with sudden changes

Prenatal Development + 5 Threats to Prenatal Development

the process of growth from conception to birth, divided into the germinal, embryonic, and fetal stages

1. Teratogens (eg alcohol, drugs, tobacco) can cause birth defects and developmental problems in a developing fetus

2. Fetal alcohol syndrome: caused by alcohol consumption during pregnancy, causes major physical/mental birth defects

3. Maternal illness: any illness experienced during pregnancy can affect the fetus

4. Down Syndrome: genetic disorder caused by an extra 21st chromosome, causes intellectual disability and certain physical traits

5. Turner Syndrome: genetic disorder, females are born with only one X chromosome, leading to developmental and reproductive issues

Infancy

the developmental stage from birth to ~2 years old

Infant Reflexes + 4 Examples

involuntary movements that aid survival

1. Palmar grasp: when a finger is placed in a baby’s palm, the baby will close their hand around it

2. Plantar grasp: when a finger is placed under a baby’s toes, the baby will curl their toes

3. Babinski reflex: when the sole of a baby’s foot is stroked, their big toe moves upward while their other toes fan out

4. Rooting reflex: when a baby’s cheek is gently stroked near their mouth, they will turn in that direction and open their mouth

Gross vs Fine Motor Skills

Gross motor skills: larger movements (crawling, walking)

Fine motor skills: smaller, more precise movements (feeding, drawing)

Gibson & Walk’s Visual Cliff Experiment

tested depth perception in infants

Imprinting

A newborn animal becomes attached to the first moving thing they see

Critical Period vs Sensitive Period

Critical period: a time when certain experiences must occur for normal development

Sensitive period: a time when certain skills can be learned more quickly

Adolescence + Growth Spurts

the transition period from childhood to adulthood, beginning with puberty

Growth spurts: rapid increases in height and weight

Puberty + Primary/Secondary Sex Characteristics

when an individual reaches sexual maturity and can now reproduce

• Menarche: the first time a woman menstruates

  • Menopause occurs mid-adulthood and marks the end of the menstrual cycle and ability to conceive

• Spermarche: the first time a man ejaculates

Primary sex characteristics: directly related to reproductive system and reproductive ability

Secondary characteristics: indirectly related to reproduction

2 Gender Theories

Gender theories examine gender as a social construct influenced by contexts

Gender schema theory: children develop a framework for gender roles from their culture that influences how they perceive people

Gender role theory: gender roles are learned through social norms, reinforcement, and modeling

Socialization

the process of learning what values, standards, and attitudes are appropriate

Jean Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development

explains how children’s thinking develops in four stages:

1. Sensorimotor stage (age 0-2)

2. Preoperational stage (age 2-7)

3. Concrete-operational stage (ages 7-11)

4. Formal-operational stage (ages 11/12 - death)

Sensorimotor Stage of Cognitive Development

• learning through experience and the senses

• develop object permanence

Preoperational Stage of Cognitive Development

• start of the Theory of the Mind: the ability to understand that others’ thoughts and perspectives are different from your own

• Symbolic thinking: using mental symbols to think about things that aren’t in sight

• Pretend play

• Animism: giving human qualities to non-living things

• Egocentrism: difficulty seeing the world from another perspective

Concrete-operational Stage of Cognitive Development

when a child becomes less egocentric, can think logically, and understands conservation and reversibility

• Classification: ability to organize objects based on multiple attributes (eg color and shape)

• Seriation: ability to arrange objects in quantitative order

• Conservation: amount stays the same even when shape changes

• Reversibility: the ability to mentally reverse an action

Formal-operational Stage of Cognitive Development

gain the ability to think abstractly, use logic in more advanced ways, can consider hypothetical situations and philosophy

• Abstract thinking: ability to think about concepts that aren’t directly observable

• Deductive reasoning: applying a general principle to specific situations

Lev Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory of Cognitive Development

children gain skills/knowledge through interactions with other people

• Zone of Proximal Development: the range between what a child can do alone and what they can do with guidance

• Scaffolding: providing structured support to help someone develop new skills

Dementia

cognitive disorders that significantly impair mental abilities, memory, and reasoning

What is the progression of linguistic ability starting from infancy?

1. Cooing stage: infants make vowel-like sounds

2. Babbling stage: infants make repetitive consonant-vowel sounds

3. One-word stage: children use single words to express entire throughts

• Holophrases: single words that express complex meanings

4. Telegraphic speech stage: toddlers form two-word sentences

Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory (5 different environmental systems)

explains how different environmental systems affect human development:

• Microsystem: immediate surroundings (family, school, peers)

• Mesosystem: the connections between microsystems

• Ecosystem: indirect environmental influences

• Macrosystem: cultural and societal influences on development

• Chronosystem: Life transitions and historical events

4 Different Parenting Styles

Authoritarian: strict rules enforced by punishment

Permissive: few rules and more freedom

Negligent: uninvolvement in the child’s life

Authoritative: clear rules with room for discussion

Different Attachment Styles

Formed in childhood and infancy and varies based on child’s culture and temperament

Secure attachment: healthy bond, child trusts caregiver and feels comfortable exploring new places with caregiver nearby

Insecure attachment: weak, unstable bond

• Avoidant attachment: child avoids/ignores caregiver and shows little emotion when caregiver leaves or returns

• Anxious/ambivalent/resistant attachment: child is overly dependent on caregiver and shows extreme distress when separated

• Disorganized attachment: a combination of anxious and avoidant behaviors, often linked to trauma

Harlow’s monkey study

showed the importance of comfort and attachment in infant monkeys

2 types of Adolescent Egocentrism

Imaginary audience: the belief that others are constantly watching and judging

Personal fable: the belief that your experiences are unique and no one else can fully understand what you’re going through

James Marcia’s Theory on Identity Development (4 Stages)

Foreclosure stage: you have a high degree of commitment to an identity

Diffusion stage: you aren’t committed to a set identity and haven’t explored any possibilities, resulting in a lack of direction

Moratorium stage: you are actively exploring your identity but don’t have a commitment yet

Achievement stage: you have a set identity and have explored your options

Erik Erikson’s 8 Stages of Psychosocial Development

Trust vs Mistrust (0-1 yrs): learning to trust or mistrust caregivers

Autonomy vs Shame and Doubt (1-3 yrs): developing independence or feeling doubt

Initiative vs Guilt (3-6 yrs): learning to take initiative or feeling guilty about efforts

Industry vs Inferiority (6-12 yrs): developing competence or feeling inadequate

Identity vs Role Confusion (12-18 yrs): exploring personal identity or feeling lost

Intimacy vs Isolation (20s-40s): forming deep relationships or feeling isolated

Generativity vs Stagnation (40s-60s): contributing to society or feeling unproductive

Integrity vs Despair (60+): reflecting on life with satisfaction or regret

Classical Conditioning + 1 Example

A neutral stimulus initially does not produce a specific response.

An unconditioned stimulus naturally triggers an unconditioned response.

The conditioned stimulus is the previously neutral stimulus that, after association with the unconditioned stimulus, now triggers a conditioned response.

Taste aversion: an individual learns to avoid a food/flavor because they associate it with illness

One-Trial Learning

a behavioral theory stating that an association between a stimulus and response can be formed in a single exposure (rather than gradually overtime)

Biological Preparedness

the evolutionary concept that people and animals naturally form certain associations between stimuli and responses more easily than other associations

these associations are also resistant to extinction

Acquisition vs Extinction vs Spontaneous Recovery (Conditioning)

Acquisition is when an association is established between neutral stimulus and unconditioned stimulus.

Extinction is when the conditioned response gradually diminishes.

Spontaneous recovery is the reappearance of a previously extinct conditioned response.

Stimulus Generalization vs Discrimination

1. the tendency to respond to stimulus that are similar to the conditioned stimulus

2. being able to differentiate between the conditioned stimulus and other similar stimulus

Higher-order/Second-order Conditioning

a conditioned stimulus is paired with a new neutral stimulus, creating a second conditioned stimulus

Counterconditioning Therapy

replaces a conditioned response with a new response by pairing the conditioned stimulus with a different unconditioned stimulus

Operant Conditioning

learning by associating behaviors with their consequences

Law of Effect

behaviors that result in positive outcomes are strengthened while behaviors that result in negative outcomes are weakened

Positive/Negative Reinforcement & Punishment

Positive reinforcement: adding something desirable to strengthen a behavior

Negative reinforcement: removing something undesirable to strengthen a behavior

Positive punishment: adding something undesirable to weaken a behavior

Negative punishment: removing something desirable to weaken a behavior

Primary & Secondary Reinforcers

1. naturally rewarding and satisfy basic needs

2. learned rewards, often associated with term 1

Reinforcement Discrimination vs Generalization

1. an individual learns to respond only to specific cues that indicate when a behavior will be reinforced

2. a response that has been reinforced in the presence of one stimulus also occurs in the presence of similar stimulus

Shaping

reinforcement is used to gradually teach a complex behavior by rewarding small steps that lead to the final desired behavior

Instinctive Drift

the tendency to revert to natural behaviors despite reinforcement

Coincidental Reinforcement

a behavior is mistakenly reinforced because it coincides with a positive outcome even if the behavior is not the actual cause of the outcome

Continuous vs Partial Reinforcement

1. reinforcement occurs every time a correct behavior is performed

2. reinforcement does not occur with every correct behavior, making the behavior more resistant to extinction

4 Types of Partial Reinforcement

Fixed-interval: reinforcement is given after a set amount of time

Variable-interval: reinforcement is given after an unpredictable amount of time

Fixed-ratio: reinforcement is given after a set number of behaviors

Variable-ratio: reinforcement is given after an unpredictable number of behaviors

• Variable-ratio is most resistant to extinction

Intrinsic vs Extrinsic Motivation

1. the drive to pursue a goal for personal satisfaction

2. the drive to pursue a goal for external rewards

Social Learning Theory + Observational Learning

1. the idea that people can learn new behaviors/knowledge by observing others without having to do the actions themselves

2. individuals observe the actions of others and the outcomes of those actions

Vicarious Conditioning, Reinforcement, and Punishment

1. learning to respond emotionally through observing others being conditioned

2. an individual who sees others receiving an award is motivated to try the same behavior because they expect the same reward

3. an individual who sees others receive a punishment will avoid the action to avoid punishment

Insight Learning vs Latent Learning

1. a sudden solution/realization pops up in your mind

2. you learn new information/skills without realizing

Long-Term Depression (LTD)

a neuroplastic process where the connections between neurons weaken because their synaptic connections aren’t used often