Psychology - Unit 6

Nature vs. Nurture

our genetic inheritance vs. our experiences that influence our development

Continuity vs. Stages

what part of development are gradual and continuous and what part changes abruptly in separate stages

Stability vs. Change

Which of our traits persist through life? How do we change as we age?

Longitudinal Method

Research that follows and retests the same people over time

Cross Sectional Method

Research studies compare people of different ages at the same point in time

Meta Analysis

A process that analyses data from different studies done about the same subject

Teratogens

agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm

Prenatal

before born

Teratogen Case Study : Alcohol

A pregnant women never smokes/drinks alone. When alcohol enters her bloodstream and that of her fetus. it reduces activity in both their central nervous systems

Fetal alcohol syndrome

marked by lifelong physical and mental abnormalities

Motor Development in Childhood

sit, crawl, walk, run

Critical Periods

an optimal period early in the life of an organism when exposure to certain stimuli/experiences produces normal development

Sensitive Periods

When we should learn a task/skill, if we don't learn it by that time, we will pick up the task more slowly

Adolescence

transition period from childhood to adulthood

Adults Physical Change

gradual decline in fertility and women experience menopause as mensural cycle ends

Sex

biologically influenced characteristics

Gender

socially influenced characteristics by which people defined as boy, girl, etc.

Intersex

present at birth, biological sexual characteristics of both sexes

Gender Identity

sense of being male, female, or both

Piaget's Four State of Cognitive Development

Sissy People Cant Fight - Sensorimotor, Preoperational , Concrete Operational, Formal Operational

Sensorimotor Stage

birth - 2yrs : young infants lack object permeance, they will gain it in 8 months, peak in stranger anxiety

Preoperational Stage

toddlerhood - end of childhood (2ys - 7yrs) : learn to use language, but not yet able to comprehend mental operations of concrete knowledge

Conservation

properties such as mass, volume all remain the same despite changes in forms of objects

Reversibility

the idea that actions, thoughts, or things can be reversed

Pretend play

fantasy or make believe play that includes an orientation of actions, objects, or peers

Animism

a tendency to believe that all things are living

Egocentrism

the difficulty taking another point of view

Theory of Mind

opposite of egocentrism, it is when the child starts to consider others when carrying out their own actions

Concrete Operational Stage

childhood - start of puberty (7 - 11yrs) : can do math transformations, capable of conservation and reversibility, can think abstractly but mostly about concert objects or things that have been personally experienced

Formal Operational Stage

late childhood - into adulthood : can logically think about abstract concepts and in terms of hypotheticals

Scaffolding

learning something in smaller chunks, processing easy to difficult with help

Vygotsky's View

zone of proximal development is the zone between what a child can independently and what they can do with help

Crystalized Intelligence

refers to our accumulation of knowledge

Fluid Intelligence

speed and efficiency with which we learn new information which steadily decreases as you get into adulthood

Dementia

the deterioration of memory and at least one other cognitive function

Language

a shared system of arbitrary symbols that are a rule governed language structure

Phoneme

the smallest distinctive sound unit

Morpheme

smallest unit that carries meaning

Receptive Language

outpaces productive languages

Formal Language

development occurs in predictable stages : cooing, babbling, one word stage, and telegraphic speech

Semantics

selecting the correct word to convey the meaning

Syntax

putting the words in the correct order

Cooling Stage

spontaneously utters various sounds

One Word Stage

child speaks mostly in single words

Telegraphic Speech

toddlers combine words into simple commands

Parent - Child Attachment

an emotional tie with another person

Harry and Margaret Harlow's Studies

demonstrated the importance of warmth and comfort in the formation of attachments with parents

Severe Attachments

come to the parents when they return

Avoidant Attatchments

they do not go to the parents for comfort when they return after an absence

Anxious/Ambivalent Attachments

may show extreme stress when the parents leave but resist being comforted by them when they return

Disorganized

characterized by conflicting feelings and behaviors

Inconsistent Behavior

oscillate between seeking closeness and pushing their partners away

Erik Erikson

having positive early parenting builds basic trust

Authoritarian

parents impose rules and demand obedience

Permissive

parents set few limits, make few demands and use little punishment

Negligent

parents are careless, inattentive and do not seek a close relationship with their children

Temperament

innate and inborn characteristics emotional reactivity and intensity

Authoritative

parents set rules but allow open discussion and exceptions

Identity vs. Role Confusion

teenagers work on refining a sense of self by testing roles and then integrating them to a form of a single identity

Intimacy vs. Isolation

young adults strive to form close relationships and gain the capacity for intimate love

Generativity vs. Stagnation

in middle age, people discover a sense of contributing to the world, usually through family and work

Integrity vs. Despair

late adulthood where your reflecting on your life

Trust vs. Mistrust

birth - 1 if needs are dependably met, infants develop a sense of basic trust

Autonomy vs. Shame/Doubt

toddlers learn to exercise their will and do things for themselves

Initiative vs Guilt

preschoolers learn to initiate tasks and carry out plans

Competence vs. Inferiority

children learn the pleasure of applying themselves to tasks

Object Permeance

the awareness that objects continue to exist when not perceived