Unit 3 Psych

Developmental psychology

The study of how we grow and change over time

Thematic issues

Problems that persist over the whole life (etc: nature vs nurture debate)

Longitudinal study

Watches a group for a long period of time to see how they change over time

Discontinuous vs continuous growth

In stages vs gradually

Cross sectional study

Studies numerous groups at different stages in their life. Cheaper and more possible, but susceptible to the cohort effect and cannot be used to deduce cause and effect

Cohort effect

Changes in the group being due to shared similarities (like being in the same generation)

Tetrogens

Chemicals that can cause birth defects

Visual cliff experiment

An experiment where infants were put on a fake cliff. They would not go to it, showing how early infants develop depth perception

Effects of smoking on pregnancy

Low birth weight, underdevelopment, premature birth

Fetal alcohol syndrome

Physical, behavioral and psychological deficits as a result of the mother taking lots of alcohol during pregnancy

Tummy time

Babies who spend more time playing on their stomach tend to develop back and neck muscles earlier and crawl earlier

Rooting reflex

Infant reflex - when you stroke the baby’s cheek, it turns toward it and opens its mouth for food

Plantar grasp

Infant reflex - when the foot is touched, the babies toes will curl around it

Babinski reflex

Infant reflex - when the foot is stroked, the big toe extends up and the other toes splay out

Palmar grasp

When a finger is put in the baby’s palm it’ll close around it

Sensitive period

A time where it’s very important to grow certain skills

Factors on socialization

Family, school and media

Jean Piaget

Studied how kids learn, found that they make schemas that become more defined over time

Sensorimotor stage

Ages 0-2, when kids are talking and moving and learning through that

Pre-operational stage

Ages 2-7, egocentric, symbolic thinking, pretend play, imagination, animism, difficulty with conservation and reversibility

Concrete operational

Begins at 6-7 years old, understanding of classification and seriation, difficulty with abstract thinking

Formal operational stage

Starts at 11-12 years old, this is when children develop deductive reasoning and abstract and logical thought

Lev Vegots

Sociocultural perspective, we learn many skills and values from our environment

Zone of proximal development

The skills a child is capable of learning as long as they have help and support

Scaffolding

Only gives the info to the child that allows them to get to the goal on their own

Crystallized vs fluid intelligence

Crystallized is specific skills and knowledge and increases with age

Fluid is the ability to think flexibly and decreases with age

Dementia

Significant cognitive impairments such as alzheimers