psych unit 3: development and learning

stability and change

which traits persist throughout our lives? which change as we age?

continuity and stages

some learning based researchers think development is continuous, while stage theorists say otherwise

cross-sectional research

compares people of different ages at the same point in time

longitudinal study

follows and retests the same people over time

teratogens

things that can damage a fetus, like drugs or viruses

habituation

decreasing responsiveness with a repeated stimulus (babies)

maturation

orderly sequence of biological growth

critical period

an optimal period early in the life of an organism when exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces normal development

adolescence

transition between childhood and adulthood

puberty

sexual maturation

menarche

a female’s first period

menopause

when menstrual cycles end

sex

the biologically influenced characteristics by which people define male, female, and intersex

gender

the attitudes, feelings, and behaviors that a given culture associates with a person’s biological sex

primary sex characteristics

genitalia

secondary sex characteristics

other things you’d expect for differing sexes

rooting

a sucking reflex for babies

visual cliff

an apparent, but not actual, drop from one surface to another. was used to test babies’ depth perception. found that depth perception develops around when an infant learns to crawl

imprinting

when animals latch onto the first animal they see after birth

spermarche

when sperm production begins (12-16)

Jean Piaget

studied child development; came up with 4 cognitive developmental stages

sensorimotor stage

(birth to age 2) — infants know the world through sensory impressions and motor activities

object permanence

things still exist when out of sight (babies don’t develop this until 6 mos.)

preoperational stage

(2 yrs to 6-7 yrs) kid knows how to use language but does not yet comprehend concrete logic

conservation

tall glass has same amount as short glass, preop kids don’t get this

reversibility

understanding that actions can be reversed and systems can be restored to their original state, preop kids don’t get this

egocentrism

preop kids believe everyone sees the world they do

concrete operational stage

(7 to 11 yrs) people can think logically about concrete (actual, physical) things

formal operational stage

(12+) people become capable of abstract thinking (symbolic meaning, and abstract concepts like beauty)

theory of mind

others’ feelings, beliefs, etc. may be different from our own — opposite of egocentrism (you can predict mental states) the development of this begins in preop

Lev Vygotsky

believed that learning was continuous (not stage-based) and develops based on the socio-cultural environment

scaffold

a foundation given to a child by parents, teachers, and other children from which they can step to higher levels of thinking

dementia

cognitive disorder that impairs memory

zone of proximal development

what the learner can currently do with help; lev theory

crystallized intelligence

acquired knowledge, inc. w/ age, reflected in vocabulary and general knowledge

phonemes

smallest distinctive sound units in a language (th-, a-, t-, etc)

morphemes

smallest language units that carry meaning (reader has read, er, and s)

semantics

a language’s rules for deriving meaning from sounds

grammar

consists of semantics and syntax; a system of rules that a language has

syntax

rules for combining words into grammatically sensible statements

cooing

oohs and aahs — 6 to 8 weeks.

babbling

baby samples all the sounds they can make — 4 mos.

one word stage

1st birthday — they know sounds carry meaning and use syllables like ma or da to communicate

telegraphic speech

(1.5-2 yrs) — speech consists of mainly nouns and verbs

overgeneralization

taking grammar rules too far (e.g. tooths instead of teeth)

ecological systems theory

environments affect cognitive, social, and biological development

5 enivornments: microsystem, mesosystem exosystem, macrosystem, chronosystem

each is progressively broader

microsystem

immediate, direct contact groups (home, school community)

mesosystem

relationships between microsystem groups (parents and peers)

exosystem

environments that indirectly affect the child (parent’s workplace)

macrosystem

cultural influences (values, beliefs, economic and political systems)

chronosystem

life stage and related events (moving, COVID, economic recession)

stranger anxiety

fear of strangers, starts around 8 mos.

separation anxiety

fear of being away from caregivers, starts around 8 mos.

attachments

an emotional tie; demonstrated in young children by wanting to be close to caregivers and having separation anxiety

secure attachment

comfortably explore in the presence of carefivers, show only temporary distress when caregiver leaves, and find comfort when caregiver returns

caused by sensitive, responsive mothers

insecure attachment

consists of avoidant, anxious, and disorganized attachment styles

caused by insensitive, unresponsive mothers

avoidant attachment

resists closeness

anxious attachment

clingy

disorganized attachment

no consistent behavior when separated or reunited with caregivers

temperament

a person;s characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity

• often persist from birth

• difficult temperaments benefit from good mothers

Adverse Childhood experiences (ACEs)

causes insecure attachments, lower intelligence, abnormal stress responses, ADHD, etc.

a little stress is always good, but abuse and isolation isnt

authoritarian parenting

coercive; impose rules, often without reason, and expect obedience

permissive parenting

unrestraining; make few demands, set few limits, and use little punishment

authoritative

the good kind; set rules, but encourage open discussion

psychosocial stages of development

devised by erikson; each one has a dilemma associated with it. the outcome sticks for the rest of their life

trust v. mistrust

autonomy v. shame and doubt

initiative v. guilt

industry v. inferiority

identity v. role confusion

intimacy v. isolation

generativity v. stagnation

integrity v. despair

trust vs. mistrust

infancy (<1). if needs are met, then a sense of basic trust is developed

autonomy vs. shame and doubt

1-3 yrs. — they learn to do things on their own, or otherwise doubt their abilities

initiative vs. guilt

3-6. they learn to initiate (not get assigned) tasks, or they feel guilty about their attempts to be independent

industry v. inferiority

6 yrs to puberty: they learn the pleasure of long term commitment or feel inferior (eg. learning an instrument or sport)

identity vs. role confusion

teens to 20s: they experiment with roles and integrate them to form an identity, otherwise they become confused about who they are (diffusion, foreclosure, moratorium, achievement)

intimacy vs. isolation

20s to 40s; learn to form close relationships and love or be socially isolated

generativity vs. stagnation

40 -60s; midlife crisis — find a way of contributing to the world or feel a lack of purpose

integrity vs. despair

60 to death; satisfaction or dissatisfaction when reflecting on life

parallel play

where kids play alongside each other but not with each other; this happens in early sensorimotor

pretend play

giving inanimate objects human characteristics; sensorimotor

social clock

culturally preferred timing of big events (marriage, parenthood, retirement) think young sheldon

imaginary audience

the tendency to think that people are always scrutinizing you and that you’re the center of attention (adolescent)

personal fable

thinking that you are special or unique and protected from life’s problems (adolescent)

identity

sense of self

identity diffusion

completely unsure; little sense of self

identity foreclosure

identity commitment w/o exploration

identity moratorium

exploring identities and roles but haven’t gotten there yet

identity achievement

committed sense of self and a desire to achieve something personally meaningful that contirbutes to the world beyond oneself

associative learning

connecting things that occur in sequence (if you smell curry, eat the curry, and it tastes good, the next time you smell the curry, you expect it to be satisfying)

classical conditioning

learning to associate two stimuli (every time a bell is rung, there is food, so even when there isn’t food, the dog salivates when hearing the bell)

operant conditioning

learn to associate a behavior and its consequences (hangover after getting blackout drunk so you don’t party again)

neutral stimulus (NS)

stimulus that elicts no response before conditioning (the bell before conditioning)

unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

the thing that elicits the response before conditioning (the food)

unconditioned response (UCR)

the response associated with UCS (before conditioning) (drooling)

conditioned stimulus (CS)

the stimulus that elicts the CR after conditioning (the bell)

conditioned response (CR)

the response after conditioning (drooling)

acquisition

in classical conditioning, when one connections the neutral (bell) and unconditioned stimulus (food) so the neutral stimulus begins triggering the conditioned response (ucs has to follow ns)

in operant conditioning, this is the strengthening of a reinforced response

higher order conditioning

when a new NS can be paired with a CS to also become a CS (for example, if a light is introduced alongside the bell, then it can also cause salivation) this tends to be weaker

extinction

when the CS no longer results in the CR, the conditioning goes away (when the bell stops bringing food)

spontaneous recovery

the reappearance, after a pause, of a weakened CR

stimulus generalization

when similar stimuli can act as a CR (e.g being conditioned on a bell but drooling at a tuning fork) — most similar stimuli are strongest

stimulus discrimination

learning to respond to conditioned stimuli and not others

biological preparedness

a biological predisposition to learn associations that may help with surivival (eg between taste and nausea)

counterconditioning

kicking a habit (UCS = drug) by introducing a neutral stimulus (NS = gum)

one trial conditioning

when an association is learned after only one exposure to a stimulus (very strong stim)