PSY 323 Final

theory

a system of ideas that can be used to organize, describe, explain, and predict behavior from a certain point of view

people are always...

CHANGING

how does development occur?

over MULTIPLE domains (physical, cognitive, psychosocial)

physical domain of development

- focuses on how the body changes over time
- height/weight, regional brain changes, fine motor skills, puberty, etc.

cognitive domain of development

- focuses on how internal mental processes can change over time
- includes memory, logical reasoning, abstract inferences, moral reasoning, etc.

psychosocial domain of development

- focuses on how social and emotional needs and abilities change overtime
- most consistently changing!
- includes the development of romantic interests, self-esteem, temperament and attachment styles, emotional stability, identity development, career placement

characteristics of development

development is...
- lifelong
- multidimensional
- plastic (changeable)
- multidirectional (strengths and weaknesses)
- contextual (impacted by one's social and cultural surroundings)

cultural relativity

understanding that developmental patterns are best understood from within the appropriate cultural context

Freud's Psychosexual Theory

- 3 psychic structures that make up our consciousness
- caregiver actions lead to long-term impacts on child development
- id, superego, and ego

ID

- entirely unconscious; "pleasure principle/fanatose principle"
- drive to pursue pleasure/drive to adhere to the values of one's culture

superego

- origin of morality; drive to adhere to the values of one's culture
- handles right vs. wrong

ego

- "reality principle"; the mediator between id and superego

when do problems with consciousness arise?

when the ID and superego are unbalanced; leads to psychological distress

Oral psychosexual stage (Freud)

- Age: Infancy
- Sexual sensations centered on the mouth; pleasure derived from sucking, chewing, biting

Anal psychosexual stage (Freud)

- Age: Toddlerhood
- sexual sensations centered on the anus; high interest in feces; pleasure derived from elimination

Phallic psychosexual stage (Freud)

- Age: Early Childhood
- sexual sensations move to genitals; sexual desire for other-sex parent and fear of same sex-parent

Latency psychosexual stage (Freud)

- age period: middle childhood
- sexual desires repressed; focus on developing social and cognitive skills

Genital Psychosexual stage (Freud)

- age period: adolescence
-- reemergence of sexual desire, now directed outside the family

what are some common critiques of Freud's model?

- most of his theory has been discredited
- theory is based on observation, not experimentation
- vastly oversimplifies human development
- development is not set in stone by adolescence, peers influence

Erikson's Psychosocial Theory

- focuses heavily on social/cultural development instead of sexual development
- concerned with how people learned to ACT in society
- EIGHT major stages of social/psychological development

Trust vs. Mistrust

- first stage of Erikson development
- age: birth to 1 year
- a helpless infant must learn who to trust to meet their needs

Autonomy vs. Shame

- second stage of Erikson development
- age: 1-3 years
- kids learn to be independent beings... are they shamed for mistakes? (important to praise their autonomy)
- ex: choosing their own outfits

Initiative vs. Guilt

- third stage of Erikson development
- age: 3-6 years
- kids learning to perform actions with intention; tends to start involving other people more often
- "thinking about why you are doing what you are doing", more social

Industry vs. Inferiority

- fourth stage of Erikson development
- age: 7-12 years
- child starts judging themselves vs. their peers (do they measure up?)
- development of individual sense of worth; waivers in capability beliefs

Identity vs. Role Confusion

- fifth stage of Erikson development
- age: 12-18 years
- development of a SELF-IDENTITY; do you know who you are and what you value?

Intimacy vs. Isolation

- sixth stage of Erikson development
- age: 20s through 40s
- how do you balance the fear of EMOTIONAL VULNERABILITY with the need for interpersonal connection?
- fear of letting people in

Generativity vs. Stagnation

- seventh stage of Erikson development
- age: 40s-60s
- are you finding ways to GIVE BACK TO THE WORLD and meaningfully develop yourself?

Integrity vs. Despair

- eighth (and final) stage of Erikson development
- age: 60s-death
- Do you feel proud of the path you have walked? Do you believe that you have contributed to the world?

strengths of Erikson's theory

- identifies social element of personal development
- shows that development occurs across the lifespan
- identity development in adolescence and generatively in midlife hold up

weaknesses of Erikson's theory

- conflicts can occur at any point in life (may reoccur)
- conflicts will often reoccur when circumstances change
- Difficult to test; vague constructs (based on a lot of socialization)

Piaget's theory of cognitive development

- theorized that humans become better at abstract reasoning overtime
- learn to put information together into complex networks of understanding (schemas)

assimilation

fitting a new stimuli into an existing schema

accommodation

expanding schema to incorporate new stimuli
- ex: fitting online classes into your schema of education

Piaget's stages of development

1. sensorimotor
2. pre-operational
3. concrete operational
4. formal operational

sensorimotor stage

- birth to 2 years old
- children learn through physical exploration of their environment
- learning bodily control; focus on interesting physical sensations (lots of stuff in motion)
- object permanence

object permanence

- ability to understand that something still exists when it cannot be seen
- hallmark to get out of sensorimotor stage

preoperational stage

- 2-7 years old
- begins to understand the world symbolically (learning meaning to physical stuff)
- language development and imaginative play are at peak
- unable to understand the perspective of others (egocentrism)

concrete operational stage

- 7-11 years old
- logical thinking about concrete (physical) events
- understanding of numbers/mathematics
- ability to comprehend conservation and reversibility

formal operational stage

- 11 years-adulthood
- full abstract thought has come online (ability to make a prediction and test it, can think about "what if" questions)
- ability to plan for the long term future
- metacognition is strong

metacognition

ability to think about your own thoughts
- can identify unproductive thought patterns
- ability to know how you learn
- able to reflect on your own mental abilities/skills

strengths of Piagets theory

- successfully identified important skills that children develop over time (object permanence, conservation, etc.)
- order of development is accurate in most American samples

weaknesses of Piagets theory

- skills develop earlier than Piaget thought
- Development patterns change cross-culturally
- development does not tend to occur in "stages"; more continuous or difficult bundles based on environment

ecological systems theory

focuses on influences that impact development, rather than broad stages
- based off the idea that the individual does not develop in isolation
- 5 levels of influence: microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem

microsystem

immediate surroundings; family, school, etc.

mesosystem

- interconnections between microsystems
- ex: relationships with peers at work; Parent's expectations for grades

exosystem

- social systems outside of immediate surroundings
- ex: city planning commission, parent's workplace; Social Service agencies

macrosystem

- large scale cultural conditions
- economic status; cultural values, geographic location

chronosystem

how the other systems change overtime

strengths of ecological systems theory

- very holistic approach
- identifies factors not commonly studied in developmental research

weaknesses of ecological systems theory

- impossible to study all systems at once (interactions between systems)
- over application can be reductive

Maslow's hierarchy of Needs

- development is achieved by meeting ever higher needs
- we need to meet lower level needs before we can move up to higher stuff
- highest need is self-actualization: becoming the "best self"

sperm and egg formation

- gametes = REPRODUCTIVE CELLS

mitosis

normal cell duplication; division with 46 chromosomes

meiosis

- duplication and division with 46 chromosomes but in the process a division occurs to allow only 23 chromosomes (sperm and egg cells)

germinal period

- 1-2 weeks after conception - starts at conception ---> ends when blastocyst implants in the uterus
- 50% of blastocysts do not make it past this stage
- if successful, trophoblast (outer layer of blastocyst) forms into support structures

embryonic period

- weeks 3-8 of prenatal development
- sensitive period; organ development timeline

ectoderm layer of the embryo becomes...

skin, hair, nails, sensory organs, and the nervous system

mesoderm layer of the embryo becomes...

muscles, bones, reproductive system, and the circulatory system

endoderm layer of the embryo becomes...

the digestive system and respiratory system

timeline of organ formation in the embryonic period:

- neural tube: 3 weeks; guided by radial glia
- eyes, nose, and mouth: 4 weeks
- proto arms/legs: 5 weeks
- liver, digestive system, heart chambers: 8 weeks

fetal period

- weeks 9-38 before birth
- starting to look like a squishy person
- 9 weeks; hands and face develop
- month 3: genital differentiation
- month 4: movement
- month 6: responding to sound; lung development at week 24

Teratogens

agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm

what is the first fetal perception to develop?

touch (at 8 weeks)
- vision and taste quick to follow

in-vitro fertilization

The most common assisted reproduction procedure, in which a woman's eggs are mixed with sperm in culture dishes (in vitro) and then carefully inserted into a woman's uterus.

intrauterine insemination

- infertility treatment in which sperm is injected into the woman's uterus
- often a first choice (cost effective/low risk)

fetal hearing

- comes online at about 28 weeks
- increased response to mother's voice

fetal alcohol spectrum disorder

includes facial deformities, heart problems, misshapen limbs, and a variety of cognitive problems
- increased effects as child develops

chromosomal disorders

- caused by an issue during meiosis
- can cause too many or too few chromosomes in the cells of the zygote

Klinefelter Syndrome (XXY)

underdeveloped sex organs, breast development, large hands, and long arms and legs

Triple X Syndrome (XXX)

Extra X chromosome. Tallness and impaired verbal intelligence. Female sexual development and fertility are normal.

Swyer Syndrome

XY female; raised as a girl until adolescence

Turner Syndrome (XO)

- A missing X chromosome in females (no second chromosome)
- can cause intellectual disability and sexual underdevelopment

Intersex

development of genetalia which does not fit male or female structures

Trisomy 21

- Down syndrome
- extra chromosome on the 21st pair
- identifiable by physical characteristics
- cognitive deficits, speech problems, intellectual disability
- lower life expectancy

how are chromosomal disorders identified?

prenatal diagnosis
- ultrasounds: uses high frequency sound waves
- amniocentesis: utilizes amniotic fluid
- chronic villus sampling (CVS): utilizes cells from forming umbilical cord; detects genetic abnormalities

Infant birth weight

- 6 to 8 lbs at birth (about 5% of this weight is lost in the first week)
- 4-5 months ---> double in weight

low birth weight in infants can cause...

- failure to thrive
- insufficient growth

Marasmus

A disease of severe protein-calorie malnutrition during early infancy, in which growth stops, body tissues waste away, and the infant eventually dies.
- risk for malnourished infants

infant reflexes

1. simple reflexes; sucking reflex
2. primary circular reactions (reflective actions shift to personal interest)
3. secondary circular reactions (flailing, kicking, etc.) ---> leads to goal oriented thinking

infant motor development

- cephalocaudal development occurs first (movement of the head)
- motor development continues proximodistally (inwards to outwards from midline of the body)
- legs tend to be the last thing we learn to control

steps of infant motor development

1. holding up head (2-3 months)
2. rolling over (occurs around 3 months)
3. sitting ( occurs around 6 months)
4. crawling (5-8 months)
5. skilled crawling (8 months)
6. standing (7-10 months)
7. walking (12 months)

infant fine motor development

- includes REACHING AND GRASPING
1. pre-reach (pre-2 months)
2. intentional reach (5 months); bringing objects to mouth
3. pincer grasp (end of first year); beginning of fine motor grip, thumb and fingers interacting

Visual Cliff experiment

- testing infants vision and depth perception
- found that infants do have depth perception, but it can be overridden by guardian encouragement

Broca's area

production of speech

Wernicke's area

controls language comprehension

Ghomsky language theory

- all languages have a UNIVERSAL grammar
- children are born with a "language acquisition device" (LAD) that is innate

Skinner language theory

- children learn to speak by being rewarded
- actual language acquisition occurs through reinforcement (operant conditioning)

Toddlerhood Language Development

- by the end of the first year, babbling turns to first words
- early speech trends such as simplification, reduplication, fast mapping, and naming occurs emerge

fast mapping

rapid pickup of words in first few years (word spurt)
- knowing some words will help you learn others

overregularization

Applying a grammatical rule too widely and thereby creating incorrect forms.
- ex: "dad goed home, mouses, etc."

Rouge test

a self-recognition test that identifies a human child's ability to recognize a reflection in a mirror as his or her own
- found that at about 18 months, infants are able to recognize their own reflection

avoidant attachment style

- distressed by parent leaving, not interested in them on return
- little preference for familiar people over unfamiliar people
- less likely to seek out emotional comfort

resistant/avoidant attachment style

- scared by isolation, hard to comfort parent on return
- very worried about people leaving
- predicts being distrustful of partners in adult relationships

disorganized attachment style

- mixture of other behaviors, unpredictable
- sometimes immobility
- inconsistent parenting?
- may comfort parent instead

secure attachment style

- returns to parent when scared/uncertain
- prefers familiar people over unfamiliar people
- feels confident in exploring because they can return to secure base
- predictive of healthy emotional development

authoritative parenting style

- high involvement and high control
- considered the optimal parenting style
- long term outcome: internalized rules, self-discipline, follow through. life

permissive parenting style

- parent has high involvement, but low control
- Ex: "sure, you can go out to the movie. Also, I won't punish you if you're late getting home"
- long term outcome: legal trouble, substance abuse, disorganization, unemployment

authoritarian parenting style

- low involvement and high control
- ex: "no movie on a weeknight BECAUSE I SAID SO"
- long term outcome: rebellion, compulsivity, identity issues

rejecting/neglecting parenting style

- low involvement and low control
- ex: "where's our son? Ah, who cares. I'm sure he's fine."
- long term outcome: fear of emotional intimacy, substance abuse, emotional withdrawal

entity orientation

- early childhood academic motivation
- academic achievement is motivated by exterior factors/praise
- drawn to easier activities; less likely to take risks
- only motivation = completing the task