Psych Unit 3 - Development and Conditioning

Developmental Psychology

• physical, cognitive, language, and social-emotional changes across the human lifespan

Chronological order:
Infancy, Childhood, Adolescence, Adulthood

Cross-Sectional Studies

study individuals of different ages at one time on a behavior or skill

Cohort

group of people exposed to the same life experiences

Cohort Effect

chance result influenced by generation not age

Longitudinal Studies

study same individual(s) over long period of time

Stability vs. change

do our personalities stay the same or change?

Cohort-Sequential Studies

study participants of different ages over time

Meta-Analysis Studies

combine data from published studies to generate a hypothesis based on a large sample

Physical Development

changes in the body, nervous system, senses, and motivational drives

Maturation

biological growth processes

Prenatal

• Conception until birth

• Medical care, nutrition, emotional support, and hormone production (estrogen, progesterone, hCG) positively affect fetal development

Prenatal Risks

genetic mutations and environmental factors have permanent effects on fetus (malnutrition, pollution, illness, drug use, stress, mental illness)

Teratogen

chemical or virus that can result in birth defects

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

physical and cognitive abnormalities caused by drinking during pregnancy

Infancy Physical Development

Neonate (newborn) is very physically developed

• Motor skills: reflexes (unlearned involuntary behaviors)

• Sensory abilities: responsive to changes in environment

Reflexes

unlearned involuntary behaviors

Habituation

weaker responses to repeated stimulus

Childhood Physical Development

• Developmental norms: average age children achieve particular skills

• Related to maturation and influenced by environment (culture, parenting styles)

Developmental Norms

average age children achieve particular skills

Adolescence Physical Development

• Starts with growth spurt and puberty (sexual maturity)

  • Develop primary and secondary sex characteristics (menarche and spermarche)

• Related to maturation and influenced by environment (nutrition, health care)

Early Adulthood Physical Development

(20-40) physical peak

• Reaction time, speed, strength

Middle Adulthood Physical Development

(40-60) gradual decline

• Reduced mobility and flexibility, reproductive ability (menopause), sensory acuity (visual and auditory)

Late Adulthood Physical Development

(60 - death) rapid decline

• Health concerns, chronic illnesses, neurocognitive disorders

Cognitive Development

how thinking grows, changes, and declines

• Learning, problem solving, memory, comprehension

• Maturation + experiences

Infancy/Childhood Cognitive Development

• Synapses and neural networks grow

• Frontal lobes and association areas expand

Jean Piaget

theorized that children advance through a series of four stages to acquire adult intellectual abilities

• Sensorimotor

• Preoperational

• Concrete Operational

• Formal Operational

Schemas

mental frameworks that organize past experiences

Assimilation

fit new information into existing schemas

Accommodation

change schemas to incorporate new information

Sensorimotor

(0-2)

• Learning through sensory and motor experiences

Achievement of object permanence

Object Permanence

awareness that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen

Concrete Operational

(7-11)

• Learning through logical thought
  about concrete concepts

• Correct cognitive errors by mastering
  the skills of …

  • Conservation

  • Reversibility

  • Classification

Conservation

understanding that mass, volume, weight, and quantity remain constant

Reversibility

mentally perform actions and undo them

Classification

sort objects by various common attributes

Formal Operational

(12+)

• Learning through abstract reasoning to examine hypothetical concepts

• Able to evaluate potential consequences of actions and imagine future circumstances

Lev Vygotsky

• children are social learners who learn through interaction with others

• Scaffolding

• Zone of Proximal Development

Scaffolding

giving enough help for learner to understand

Zone of Proximal Development

gap between what children can do on their own versus with help

Adolescence Cognitive Development

• Idle neural connections pruned during puberty

• Frontal lobes develop (until mid-20s)

Early Adulthood Cognitive Development

(20-40)

• Vocabulary, planning, reasoning, memory improve

Middle Adulthood Cognitive Development

(40-60)

• Cognitive abilities stabilize

Late Adulthood Cognitive Development

(60-death)

• Decrease in problem solving and memory (affected by disorders like dementia)

Broca’s Area

language production

Wernicke’s Area

language comprehension

Aphasia

language impairment

Phenomes

smallest units of sound in a language

• First sounds infants make

• Difficulty learning how to pronounce new phonemes

Morphemes

• smallest units of meaning in a language

  • Combinations of phonemes

  • Lexicon

Lexicon

all of the morphemes in a language

Semantics

• the meaning of combined units (ex. sentence)

  • Needed for language fluency

Grammar

the rules of language

Syntax

the way words are combined into sentences

Receptive language

words one can understand

Expressive language

words one can produce

Cooing

• up to 3 months

• make noises to gain attention

Babbling

• 3-12 months

• First speech-like but meaningless sounds

One Words (Holophrastic)

• 12-18 months

• Uses single words (holophrases)

Telegraphic

• 18-36 months

• Uses 2-3 essential words (noun/ver

Speech

• 2+ years

• Uses sentences and understands questions

Overgeneralization/overregularization

Grammar rules applied to every example

Overextension

Word usage too broad

Underextension

Word usage too restrictive

Behaviorist Theory

language development is a result of environmental influences

• Learn via operant conditioning, imitation, modeling, association

• Critiques: 

  • Reinforced when incorrect

  • Does not explain errors

Interactionist Theories

language is a combination of biological (innate ability) and social (learning) factors

Linguistic Determinism

language decides how we think

Linguistic Determinism

language influences thought

Nativist Theory

language development is a result of genetically based ability

• Language Acquisition Device (LAD)

• Universal Grammar

• supported by developmental milestones and critical period

Language Acquisition Device

brain is hard-wired to learn grammar

Universal Grammar

all human languages have commonalities in basic structure

Critical Period

fixed time early in life optimal for learning certain behaviors 

• Young children can easily acquire any language

• Difficulty learning language later

Social Development

how relationships grow and change

• Temperament and parenting styles affect attachments

Ecological systems theory

how social environment influences development

• Microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, chronosystem

Microsystem

groups with direct contact

Mesosystem

relationships between micro groups

Exosystem

indirect factors

Macrosystem

cultural events

Chronosystem

current stage of life

Erik Erikson

theorized that people develop through social interactions

• 8 stages that involve a psychosocial crisis (turning point) 

• New demands result in adaptive or maladaptive outcomes

Erikson stage 1

Trust vs Mistrust

• Is my world predictable and supportive?

• 1

Erikson stage 2

Autonomy vs Shame and Doubt

• Can I do thinks myself or must I always rely on others?

• 2-3

Erikson Stage 3

Initiative vs Guilt

• Am I good or am I bad?

• 4-6

Erikson stage 4

Industry vs Inferiority

• Am I competent or am I worthless?

• 6- puberty

Erikson stage 5

Identity vs Confusion

• Who am I and where am I going?

• Adolescence

Erikson stage 6

Intimacy vs Isolation

• Shall I share my life with another or live alone?

• Early adulthood

Erikson stage 7

Generativity vs Self Absorption

• Will I produce something of real value?

• Middle adulthood

Erikson stage 8

Integrity vs Despair

• Have I lived a full life?

• Late adulthood

Infancy social development

• Temperament

• Easy babies: positive emotions, adjust it changes, eating and sleeping routines

• Difficult babies: negative emotions, trouble with changes, no eating and sleeping routines

• Slow-to-warm-up babies: least active, some negative emotions, adjust slowly to changes

Temperament

biological activity level, behaviors, emotional responses

Infancy/Childhood Social Development

• Attachment: bond between infant and caregiver that provides security and comfort

• Imprinting: animals are biologically programmed to attach to and follow the first moving object it sees

  • Konrad Lorenz studied newborn chicks

• Contact Comfort: positive emotions when baby physically touches caregiver

  • Harry Harlow studied  baby rhesus monkeys and their preference for the cloth artificial mother

Separation Anxiety

distress when caregiver leaves

Stranger Anxiety

stress and fear when around strangers

Critical Period

Fixed time early in life optimal for learning certain behaviors

Strange-Situation

scenarios designed by Mary Ainsworth to assess the type of attachment between child and caregiver

Mutual Regulation Model

child and caregiver reciprocate interactive behaviors

Parenting Styles

Diana Baumrind studied differences in discipline, expectations, communication levels, and emotional warmth

• Authoritarian, authoritative, permissive, uninvolved

Authoritarian

Focus on obedience, punishment over discipline

Authoritative

Create positive relationship, enforce rules

Permissive

Don’t enforce rules, 'Kids will be kids’

Adolescence Social Development

• Develop peer relationships → Adolescent Egocentrism: view world only from your perspective

  • Imaginary Audience

  • Personal Fable

• Pursue autonomy

• Expand self-concept

• Build identity

Imaginary Audience

believe other people are watching/talking about you