APsych- Unit 3 Development & Learning

3.1 , 3.2

Developmental psychology

The branch of psychology that focuses on how people grow & change throughout their lives

Nature VS. Nurture

Are on traits & characteristics primarly shaped by genetics (nature/ heredity) or by our environment & upbringing (nurture / environment)

Stability & Change

Do personality & behaviors stay consistent throughout our lives (stability) or do we become a different person (change)?

Continuous & Discontinuities stages of development

Is human development gradual process (continous) or does it occur in distinct, distinct stages or steps (discontinuous)?

Longitudinal Study

Netflix binge of research

A study that follows the same group of people over a period of time;

months, years, decades

used to gain insight into changes & patterns that occur over an extended period of time

Cross-sectional study

allows for quicker results in a short time

cheaper

cant show relationship between variables

or change over time

A study in which people of different ages are examined at the same time

Year of study→

Cohort A- 2yrs

Cohort B- 6yrs

Cohort C-8yrs

CAN BE AFFECTED BY COHORT EFFECT

Teratogens

Substances that can cause birth defects or developmental problems in a developing fetus

Ex:

Drugs

Alcohol

Chemical or toxins

Rooting Reflex

Pressing the side of a child’s cheek makes it turn towards that direction in search of food.

Genetic Mutation

A change in the sequence of DNA that impacts development

EX→

down syndrome

lactose intolerance

Cancer

Visual Cliff

test of depth perception in which a baby, is placed on a fake cliff & coaxed to climb over

fetal Alcohol Syndrome

Physical cognitive & psychological abnormalities result from consuming alcohol during pregnancy 

leads to→ 

low intelligence 

small head & flat face 

misshapen eyes 

flat nose 

Intellectual imparments range from minor to severe

Critical/ Sensative Periods

Time which certain environmental influences can have an impact on the development of the infant 

Ex: 

Genie Wiley case study “feral child” 

had difficulties in developing language development after 13yrs 

Imprinting 

Irreversible learning that happens at a specific time of an animals life or a small child’s, like identifying their mother at birth

Habituation

a person or animal is repeatedly exposed to the same stimulus—such as a sound, smell, or visual—and their brain determines that the information is no longer new or important.

the process of getting used to something so that you stop responding to it or even noticing it.

→ It prevents sensory overload, allowing you to ignore "noise" (like a ticking clock) so you can focus on more important things.

Maturation

Biological growth processes that enable orderly chnages in behavior- relatively uninfleunced by experience

Puberty

period of sexual maturation, during which a person becomes capable of reproduction 

• surge of hormones 

Hormones

Chemical messengers of the blood that impact development

EX→ melatonin/adrenaline/Growth hormone/ Insulin/ testosterone/ Estrogen

Adolescence

12-18yrs

Primary Sex characteristics 

Reproductive organs and ability to reproduce

Secondary Sex Characteristics

• Non-reproductive traits

• Body hair'; breast development

• Changes in voice & facial hair

traits indirectly related to reproduction, such as men having broader shoulders or women having less facial hair

Menarche

First menstrual period

Menopause 

The end of reproduction

Ex→ 

• Decline in estrogen 

• Loss of menstrual cycle 

• Anxiety 

• Poor Memory 

• Irritability

• Hot flashes 

Spermarche

Menomonic/ that one memory were you correlate to something emotional “Sperm march”

BOYS FIRST EJACULATION EXPERIENCE

Cognition

Thinking, knowing remembering & other mental processes

Jean Piaget

Found that children think very differently from ?

A developmental psychologist that focused on the differences in thought processes between children & adults

Answer→ adults

Sensorimotor stage

Birth to age 2

Infants & small children use their senses & motor abilities to learn about the world

• Looking

• hearing

• touching

• mouthing

• grasping

Object Permanence

Childs ability to understand an object still exists, even after it is no longer in sight

• Infants 8 months & younger tend not to have this ability

Preoperational Stage

Ages 2-6

Child uses language, but does not understand logic

• Lots of make-believe play & mentl representation of objects

Conservation

The principle that properties such as mass, colume, & number remain the same, despite chnages in the forms of objects

Egocentrism

An inability for a child to see any other point of view other than their own

Theory of Mind

the ability to infer others’ mental states

Concrete Operational Stage

7-11

• Children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events: cause & effect, size, distance

Reversibility

Understanding that things that have been changed can be returned to their original state

• Think addition or subtraction

Formal Operational Stage

Around age 12

People begin to think logically about abstract (non directly obervable) concepts

• Imained realites, symbols, algebra, hypothetical situations (What ifs)

Lev Vygotsky

• Developmental Psychologist

• Children learn best by interacting with others

Scaffold

• Temporary support to learners as they develop new skills

• Gradualy lessened as they become more competent

Ex: sentence stems

Zone of Proximal Development

• The ideal range of challenge for learning

• Not unbearably difficult, but not too easy

• Task can be done with guidance & encouragement from a knowledgeable person

Crystallized Intelligence

• Factual knowledge gained over time

• Increases with age

• General Intelligence “g”

Fluid Intelligence

• Ability to think abstaractly & problem solve

• Diminishes with age

Dementia

• Neurocognitive disorder

• Cognitive decline

• Deterioration of memory

Phonemes

• Smallest meaningful unit of sound in a language

• Changes one word into another

Morphemes

The smallest pairing of meaning to any given set of sounds

• A single word can have a bunch of meaning in it

Semantics

The meaning of words

Grammar

The systems of rules governing the structure and use of a language

Syntax

The arrangement of words & phrases to create meaning

Cooing

0--3 months

A baby’s vocalizations “Oo” “ah-ah” “eee”

Babbling

Begins at 4 months of age

• Various sounds related to language

• “ba-ba-ba” “da-da-da”

One-word Stage

Ages 1-2

• Speaks mostly in single words

• Whole idea can be expressed in one word

• “Go”

• “Car”

• “Dog”

Telegraphic Speech

Ages 2-3

In the two-word stage, wherein a child uses mostly nouns & verbs

• “Go car”

• “Open door”

Overgeneralization

The application of grammar rules in instances wherein they dont apply

• Mommy eat

• Daddy go

• Tooths (teeth)

Aphasia

Language disorder

Affects ability to communicate, including speaking, understanding, reading & writing

Broca’s Aphasia

Difficulty producing speech

Werricke’s Aphasia

Difficulty communicating meaningful speech

Authoritarian

Warmth → Low

Discipline → HIgh

• “Because I said so” - parent

• Hard working but unhappy- child

• Rebel

Authoritative

Warmth → HIgh

Discipline → Moderate

• Communication- both sides- “give & take”

• Children from functioning relationships

• Strive for this style

Permissive

Warmth → HIgh

Discipline → Low (rare)

• Allow child to do what they want

• Lacks self control & emotional regulation- child

Neglectful

Warmth- Low

Discipline- Erratic

• Added later due to future research

• Lonely, poor relationship skills- child

Securely atatched

Children have trusting relationships with caregivers which often carry over into adulthood

Anxiously attached

Children are clingy & nervous but also may show aggression

Avoidant attachement

Children seem detached overall, with little distress at being separated

Disorganized attachement

Shows inconsistency- sometimes showing fear, affection, anger, or even just freezing in place & staring into space

Separation Anxiety

Occurs when children express heightened anxiety or fear when away from a caregiver or in the presence of a stranger

Parallel play

Children play near each other but not together

Pretend Play

Children make up & act out scenarious

Adverse Childhoos Experiences (ACES)

Stressful or traumatic experiences

Egocentrism

Adolescents interact with peers, they demostrate a type of egocentrism that is often demostrated via

• Imaginary Audience

• Personal Fable

Imaginery Audience

the belief that everyone is always watching & judging you. »Stress & humiliation.

Personal Fable

Exaggerates sense of being special & unique & cannot be understood by others.

Social Clock

Culture plays a role in determining when adulthood begins & when major life events occur.

Theories of identity Status

• Trying to figure out who you are

Unconditioned stimulus

Naturally triggers response

Unconditioned response

Natural reaction to US

Conditioned stimulus

Learned trigger

Conditioned response

Learned reaction

Acquisition

Initial learning phase

Extinction

Weakening of learned response

Spontaneous recovery

Return after extinction

Generalization

Similar stimuli = same responce

Discrimination

Distinguish similar stimuli

Biological preparedness

Natural readiness to learn

Operant conditioning

Learning via consequences

Reinforcement

Increases behaviour likelihood

Positive reinforcement

Adding something to increase behaviour

Negative reinforcement

ex: Taking off a dog’s leash when he learns to not run away

Taking something away to increase behaviour

Shaping

Reward gradual steps

Extinction (operant)

Behaviour stops when unrewarded

Schedule of reinforcement

Timing of rewards

Fixed ratio

Reward after set responses

Varianle ratio

Reward after random responses

Fixed interval

Reward after set time

Variable interval

Reward after random time

Law of effect

Behaviour shaped by outcomes

Continuous renforcement

Reward every response

Partial reinforcement

Reward intermittently

Instinctive drift

Return to innate behaviour

Observational learning

Learning by watching others

Social learning

Modeling + reinforcement

Modeling

Copying someone else’s behavior

Vicarious reinforcement

Learning from others’ reward

Latent learning

Learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it.