AP psych Unit 3 - Development Psychology

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phoneme

the smallest distinctive sound unit

• ex, BAT/B,A,T

morpheme

the smallest unit that carries meaning

• may be a word or part of a word

• most are 2 or more phonemes

• ex, un-reach-able

semantics

the set of rules by which we derive meaning from language

• ex, -ed = past

• ex, “bare arms” vs “bear arms”

syntax

the set of rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences

generativity

the ability to produce sentences never before said, and to understand sentences never before heard

nonverbal manual gestures

form of communication in which visible bodily actions communicate particular message, either in place of speech or together and parallel with spoken words

cooing

6-8 weeks, prelinguistic speech, single syllable/vowel sounds 

babbling

4 months, spontaneous various sounds unrelated to household language

• ex, ma-ma, da-da

one-word

1-2 years, speaking mostly in single words, by 1.5 years - babies are learning one word a day

telegraphic

2 years, mostly two-word phrases - “want snack”, follows basic grammar rules but is not semantic 

over generalization

extending something circumstances to which it actually applies

• common linguistic tendency of young children to generalize standard grammar rules to apply to irregular

• ex. “foot” becomes “foots”

developmental psychology 

study of physical cognitive and social change through-out the lifespan

• from womb to tomb

cross-sectional study

people of different ages are compared with one another at the same time

longitudinal study

the same people are studied and retested over a long period of time

maturation

the natural sequenced process of development

• regardless of nurture influences, all human progress through some of the same stage around the same time

• orderly sequence of biological development - crawling before walking, rolling before sitting

womb

brain cells develop very quickly in the womb - neural networks first, then frontal lobe, then association areas last

• includes embryo and fetus

embryo

cells begin to specialize and grow organs (2-9 weeks)

fetus

further organs develop (10 weeks - 40 weeks)

• this is when teratogens - chemical, viruses, infections, addictive substances the mother consumes, etc. can enter the placenta and harm the baby

infancy

• infants are born with reflex's that aid in survival, including the breast crawl, rooting reflex. grasp reflex, etc. 

• infants also develop particular emotional expressions to signal their needs and establish trust with caregivers

rooting reflex

tendency for infants, when touched on the cheek, to turn their heads towards the sensation 

depth perception

seeing objects in three dimensions; allows us to judge distance

• it appears that this is both due to nature and nurture: the capacity in innate, but it is developed in part due to experience and trial/error

visual cliff

a lab device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals

critical period 

a window in development when a person is best suited to learn a particular skill or behavior 

• if not learned during critical period…It cannot be learned successfully to 100% accuracy/ability in the future

• ex, language development

imprinting

process by which some animals form immediate, instinctual attachment during a critical period

• ex, baby geese

• human infants don’t imprint immediately, but do form strong attachments with primary caregivers

adolescence 

the transition period between childhood and adulthood

• the teen years

• the frontal lobe develops (personality matures, judgement/desicion making improves) 

puberty

the period of sexual maturation produced by a surge of hormones; lasts about 2 years

female sex characteristics

ovaries, breast, pubic hair, hips

male sex characteristics

testes, adam’s apple, pubic hair, increased body/face hair

menarche

first menstrual period marking the onset of puberty

spermarche

first ejaculation of semen

men’s aging

lower testosterone, decline in sperm count

women’s aging

decline in egg quality, lower estrogen

menopause

cessation of menstruation; begins in late 40s or 50s

chromosome for female 

XX

chromosome for male

XY

testosterone

male sex hormone, produced in the testes, spurs development of male sex characteristics during puberty

estrogen

female sex hormone, produced in ovaries, allows for menstruation, spurs development of female sex characteristics during puberty

object permanence

the awareness that objects exist when not seen

• why peek-a-boo is so entertaining for babies

egocentrism

inability to see another person’s point of view

• think the world exists to meet their needs; struggles to see things from another perspective

• understand past/present/future, but are more focused on the present and immediate

animism

objects are alive and conscious

symbolism

ability to use symbols to represent objects

theory of mind

ideas about one;s own and other people’s mental states/emotions and the behaviors these might predict

conservation

key properties of substance stay the same even if their shape or arrangement changes

reversibilty

mental operation that reserves a sequence of events or restores a changed state to original condition 

self-concept 

a sense of one’s identity and personal worth, develops by the end of childhood

sensorimotor stage

0-2, stranger anxiety, knowledge that they can cause things to happen

preoperational stage

2-6/7, improving language skills, still think about things in concrete terms, pretend play, developing and understanding the principles of conservation but DO NOT fully understand it in this stage 

concrete operational stage

6/7 - 12, ability to think logically but not abstractly, mathematical transformation, egocentrism begins to disappear, fully understand conservation, understand that a red square can belong in the red category and square category at the same time

formal operation stage

12+, abstract thought and reasoning

criticisms of paiget

too narrow and strict — underestimates children’s abilities, specific to western cultures, unscientific 

crystallized intelligence 

accumulated knowledge and verbal skills, increases with age

fluid intelligence

ability to reason abstractly and quickly, decreases in late adulthood

zone of proximal development

the range between what a learner can accomplish independently and what they can achieve with guidance from a more knowledgeable person, like a teacher or peer

scaffolding

help or guidance received that allows a child to work inside their zone of proximal development

Lev Vygotsky argues against Piaget that… 

• children learn according to their own schedule

• move through stage of cognitive development in an orderly fashion

• children have a range of abilities under which they are able to operate - following an adult’s example they eventually develop the ability  the ability to do certain tasks alone

ecological systems theory

a theory of the social environment’s influence on human development, using five nested systems, ranging from direct to indirect influences

• humans are social animals, and makes us want to actively belong

• psychologist Urie Bronfenbrenner developed this theory

• explains how our social environments impact our development

Microsystem

immediate family, neighborhood, school

mesosystem

connections between family, neighborhood, and school

exosystem

economic system, education system, government agencies

macrosystem

social values, cultural values, customs, beliefs

chronosystem

changes over time, historical events, biological changes, Physiological changes

Diana Baumrind

found that children raised by authoritative parents → correlates with higher self-esteem, self-reliance, greater social competence

attachment

an emotional tie with others who are close and familiar

• studied by Mary Ainsworth when addressing “What accounts for children’s differing attachments?”

• Ainsworth designed the Strange Situation procedure to observe child-caregiver attachment in an unfamiliar setting

secure

• 60% of children

• mild distress when parent leaves, happy upon parent return

• prefers parent to stranger

insecure - avoidant

• part of other 40%

• indifference when parent leaves and when parent returns

• ok with stranger as with parent

insecure - anxious

• part of other 40%

• intense distress when parent leaves

• avoidance and fear of stranger

• remain upset upon parent return

insecure - disorganized

• part of other 40%

• show no consistent behavior when separated/reunited

temperament

a person’s characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity

• tends to persist as we age; there seems to be a genetic link (twin studies)

• three “clusters”-- easy, slow-to-warm-up/shy, difficult/challenging

separation anxiety

 fear of separation from caregiver

• each baby is different depending on security

stranger anxiety

fear of anyone beyond caregivers

• develops by 8 months

contact comfort

instinctual need to touch and be touched, especially for babies (example: NICU babies)

Harry Harlow

• used baby monkeys & 2 fake mother monkeys cloth, no food (Comfort) wire, food (Nourishment)

• baby monkeys preferred COMFORT (cloth mother monkey without food)

parallel play

when toddlers will play near one another but do not try to influence one another

pretend play

children use imagination to create and act out scenarios

imaginary audience

a false but intense perception that peers are thinking about you

personal fable

the belief that you are unique/special, and that what happens to others won’t happen to you

social clock

the culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement

• this is under constant modification in many cultures around the world–especially in Westernized countries

emerging adulthood

a period from age 18 to the mid-twenties, when many people in prosperous Western cultures are no longer adolescents but have not yet achieved full independence as adults

Erik Erikson

theorized that each stage in life has its own “psychosocial dilemma” that needs resolution, these dilemmas work to shape our identity and self-concept

• he placed emphasis on NURTURE‘S influence on personal development.

Infancy(0-1)

• trust and mistrust 

• If needs are dependably met, infants develop a sense of basic trust

• feeding is key task

Toddlerhood