CPSY 0620 Midterm 1

Clark Doll Test

1940s study by Kenneth & Mamie Clark where Black children often preferred white dolls, showing internalized racism and its impact on self-esteem. Later used in Brown v. Board of Education to highlight effects of segregation.

Adolescent Brain & Law

Neuroscience research showing immaturity of prefrontal cortex in adolescents influenced U.S. Supreme Court rulings against juvenile death penalty and life without parole.

Nativism

View that certain knowledge/abilities (e.g., language, number sense, object permanence) are innate and hardwired into humans at birth.

Empiricism

Belief that infants are a "blank slate" (tabula rasa) and knowledge develops entirely through experience and learning

Constructivism

Theory that children are active learners who build knowledge by interacting with the world (e.g., Piaget's stages, Vygotsky's social learning).

Assimilation (Piaget)

Fitting new experiences into existing schemas (e.g., calling a zebra a "horse").

Accommodation (Piaget)

Changing schemas when new information doesn't fit (e.g., learning that a zebra is a new category)

Zone of Proximal Development (Vygotsky)

The gap between what a child can do independently and what they can do with support ("scaffolding") from a more knowledgeable other.

Reliability

The consistency of a measure (same results across time, observers, or items).

Validity

Whether a test/measure actually assesses what it claims to (accuracy).

Violation-of-Expectation (VoE)

Infant method where longer looking times to "impossible" events suggest surprise and mental representations. Example: Baillargeon's object permanence studies.

Habituation

Repeated exposure reduces interest; recovery of attention indicates noticing something new

Longitudinal Study

Following the same children over time to track developmental change

Cross-Sectional Study

Comparing children of different ages at one time point to infer developmental trends

Attachment (Bowlby)

Deep emotional bond between infant and caregiver, evolved to ensure survival. Creates "internal working models" for future relationships.

Strange Situation (Ainsworth)

Lab procedure to assess attachment styles by observing infant behavior when caregiver leaves/returns. Results in four categories: Secure, Avoidant, Ambivalent/Resistant, Disorganized

Secure Attachment

Infant explores freely with caregiver as secure base, upset when caregiver leaves, comforted when they return

Avoidant Attachment

Infant avoids/ignores caregiver, shows little distress upon separation, avoids comfort on return

Ambivalent/Resistant Attachment

Infant is clingy, very distressed when caregiver leaves, but ambivalent (seeks comfort yet resists) upon return

Disorganized Attachment

Confused, inconsistent behavior (e.g., approaching caregiver but looking fearful); often linked to neglect or trauma

Temperament

Early-appearing, biologically based differences in reactivity and regulation

Thomas & Chess

Identified "easy," "difficult," and "slow-to-warm-up" temperament styles.

Kagan

Focused on inhibition vs. uninhibited temperaments (shy vs. bold children).

Rothbart

Defined temperament by reactivity (how easily a child reacts) and self-regulation (how well they control responses)

Differential Susceptibility (Orchid vs. Dandelion)

Some children (orchids) are highly sensitive to environment (do very well in supportive homes, poorly in adverse ones), while others (dandelions) are resilient regardless of conditions

Basic Emotions Theory (Ekman)

Emotions (e.g., happiness, anger, fear, disgust, surprise, sadness) are universal, biologically hardwired, and expressed similarly across cultures.

Psychological Constructionism (Barrett)

Emotions are not innate categories but are constructed from core affect (valence + arousal) combined with learned concepts.

Development of Emotion

3-4 months: distinguish pleasant vs. unpleasant. 4-6 months: integrate multiple cues (face + voice). 5-7 months: distinguish smiles vs. scowls. 2-3 years: match words to faces. 10-12 years: understand mixed emotions

Empathy (Affective)

Affective: feeling with another (crying when another baby cries)

Empathy (Cognitive)

Cognitive: understanding another's perspective or emotions (recognizing a peer is sad)

Hoffman's Stages of Empathy

Global empathy (infants), egocentric empathy (toddlers), recognizing others' feelings, empathy for broader life conditions (older children).

Eisenberg's Stages of Prosocial Reasoning

From self-focused ("helping makes me feel good") to needs-oriented, approval-driven, role-taking, and finally internalized values

Davidov et al. (2020)

Found even infants show concern, inquiry, and prosocial behaviors in response to others' distress.

Theory of Mind

The ability to attribute mental states (beliefs, desires, knowledge) to oneself and others, recognizing they can differ from reality

False Belief Task (Sally-Anne, Wimmer & Perner, 1983)

Child predicts where Sally will look for her marble. 3-year-olds fail (say reality), 4-5-year-olds succeed (say false belief).

Unexpected Contents Task

A crayon box full of candles: Can children say what they thought was inside and what others will think?

Appearance-Reality Task

Sponge that looks like a rock: Do children distinguish appearance from underlying reality?

Advanced ToM (AToM)

Goes beyond first-order false belief. Includes second-order ("He thinks that she thinks..."), irony, sarcasm, lies, faux pas, and interpreting ambiguous info.

9-Month Revolution

Infants begin to understand intentionality and goal-directed action around 9 months (e.g., gaze following, pointing)

Sticky Mittens Experiment (Sommerville)

Infants given mittens to grab objects showed improved recognition of others' goal-directed actions.

Onishi & Baillargeon (2005)

15-month-olds looked longer when an actor searched incorrectly for an object, suggesting some false-belief sensitivity.

Nativitists

infants truly represent beliefs

Constructivists

infants only track perception/last-seen locations

Language & EF Hypothesis

3-year-olds fail verbal false-belief tasks due to underdeveloped language or executive function, not lack of ToM.

Psychological Essentialism

Belief that categories (animals, people, social groups) have an invisible, unchanging "essence" that defines them

Natural Kinds vs. Artifacts

Children treat natural categories (e.g., animals, plants) as biologically determined and unchangeable, but artifacts (e.g., tools, toys) as defined by human intention

Measures of Essentialist Thinking

(1) Immutability (can a raccoon become a skunk?)

(2) Underlying reality (looks like Y, but is X inside)

(3) Nature vs. nurture (raised by monkeys—eat carrots or bananas?)

(4) Category boundaries (rigid vs. flexible).

Rhodes et al. (2014)

Found children are more essentialist about animal categories than artifact categories

Generic Language Effect (Zarpie study)

Using generics ("Zarpies eat flowers") makes children believe categories have stronger, more stable traits, encouraging essentialist thinking.

Social Essentialism

Applied to groups like race, gender, or class → contributes to stereotyping, prejudice, and rigid group boundaries

Application of Clark Doll Test

Influenced Brown v. Board of Education by showing effects of segregation on children's psychology

Why Study Child Development?

Helps improve education, inform parenting, guide social policy, and understand developmental disorders

Example of Assimilation

A child calls a zebra a "horse" because it fits their schema for four-legged animals

Example of Accommodation

A child learns zebras are a new category, adjusting their schema beyond "horse."

Piaget vs. Vygotsky

Piaget: child-driven, universal stages.

Vygotsky: socially driven, no fixed stages, culture matters

Core Knowledge Theories

Propose that infants are born with domain-specific modules (e.g., number, physics, language)

Theory-Theory

Children form and revise "mini theories" about the world, similar to little scientists

Statistical Learning

Infants track probabilities in their environment (e.g., syllable patterns in speech) to learn structure

Reliability Example

If two observers code the same infant behavior and agree → high inter-rater reliability

Validity Example

A vocabulary test is valid if it truly measures word knowledge, not just memory.

Limitation of Correlational Studies

Cannot infer causation (third-variable problem)

Infant Reaching Method

Tracking where infants reach to infer expectations

Infant Sucking Method

Stronger sucking = attention/interest; weaker = habituation.

Paulus Critique of VoE

Argues infants' longer looking may reflect perceptual novelty, not deep reasoning

Stahl & Kibbe Defense of VoE

Counterargument that despite limitations, VoE remains a powerful tool for testing infant cognition.

Secure Attachment Example

Baby cries when mom leaves, calms when she returns.

Avoidant Attachment Example

Baby shows little emotion when mom leaves or returns

Ambivalent/Resistant Example

Baby is clingy, then angry when caregiver returns

Disorganized Example

Baby freezes, shows fear, or contradictory behaviors toward caregiver

Bowlby's Internal Working Models

Early bonds form mental templates for later relationships

Difficult Temperament

Intense reactions, irregular routines, slow to adapt

Slow-to-Warm-Up Temperament

Low activity, withdraws at first but adapts gradually

Inhibited (Kagan)

Shy, fearful, cautious around new people or environments

Uninhibited (Kagan)

Bold, sociable, enjoys novelty

Ekman's 6 Basic Emotions

Happiness, Sadness, Anger, Fear, Surprise, Disgust

Differential Emotions Theory (DET - Izard)

Emotions emerge in a biologically determined sequence (e.g., distress → anger → self-conscious emotions)

Core Affect

The combination of valence (pleasant vs. unpleasant) and arousal (high vs. low) in psychological constructionism

Mixed Emotions Example

Feeling both happy and sad when a friend moves away.

Affective Empathy Example

Baby cries when hearing another baby cry

Cognitive Empathy Example

Understanding a peer is sad about losing a toy, even if you don't feel sad

Unexpected Contents Example

A crayon box with candles → child fails if they say they always knew it had candles.

Appearance-Reality Example

A sponge painted like a rock → fail if child says it's "really a rock."

Second-Order False Belief

"He thinks that she thinks..." (more complex recursive reasoning)

Strange Stories Task (Happé)

Children tested on irony, sarcasm, or lying

Faux Pas test (Baron-Cohen et al. 1999)

Measures ability to detect socially inappropriate statements.

9-Month Gaze Following

Infants start following adults' eyes, showing sensitivity to others' attention

Goal-Directed Action Study

Infants expect agents to pursue goals (e.g., reaching for same toy consistently)

Criticism of Onishi & Baillargeon

Infants may just be tracking objects/locations, not beliefs

Language Hypothesis

Suggests passing false-belief tasks depends on acquiring complement clauses ("She thinks the ball is in the box")

Executive Function Hypothesis

Failure at age 3 may reflect inhibitory control limits, not lack of ToM.

Immutability Example

"Can a raccoon painted like a skunk become a skunk?" → children usually say no

Underlying Reality Example

"It looks like a rock, but it's really a sponge."

Nature vs. Nurture Example

A boy raised by monkeys: does he eat bananas or normal human food?

Category Boundary Beliefs

Children often think animal categories are rigid (a dog is always a dog).

Generic Language Example

Saying "Zarpies eat flowers" encourages kids to think all Zarpies share this trait

Essentialism & Social Groups

Leads to stereotyping (e.g., "boys are naturally good at math")

Cultural Transmission of Essentialism

Parents, teachers, and media pass essentialist beliefs through language and norms

What is the difference between Piaget's stage theory and Vygotsky's sociocultural theory?

Piaget emphasized universal stages of cognitive development; Vygotsky stressed the role of culture and social interaction in shaping learning

What does "domain-specific" vs "domain-general" mean in theories of child development?

Domain-specific = skills develop separately (e.g., language vs. motor). Domain-general = skills grow from a unified set of processes.

What is a strength of longitudinal research in child psychology?

It tracks the same individuals over time, allowing study of developmental trajectories.