U3 Social + Developmental Psychology

Developmental Psychology

Study of how people grow, develop, and change throughout their lives

Chronological Development

follows sequential stages from birth to old age

Nature

Genetic inheritance and biological factors

Nurture

Environmental influences after conception

ex: nutrition, upbringing, and culture

Continuous Development

Gradual and cumulative process

Discontinuous Development

development occurs in distinct stages

Stability

Traits and Behaviors that remain consistent over time

Change

traits and behaviors that evolve as individuals grow

Cross-sectional studies

a study in which people of different ages are compared with one another at one time

Cross-sectional Studies (advantages)

- efficient,

- immediate comparison

Cross-sectional studies (disadvantages)

- cannot track individual changes over time

- cohort effects may bias results

Longitudinal Studies

follows the same individuals over an extended period

Longitudinal Studies (advantages)

- provides detailed developmental trajectoriess

- identifies causal relationships

Longitudinal Studies (disadvantages)

- time-consuming

- expensive

- risk of participant dropout

Behavior

observable actions of individuals

Mental Processes

internal experiences

ex: thoughts, emotions, and motivations

Folic acid deficiencies

can leave to many complications for the fetus, such as spina bifida.

teratogens

Harmful agents like drugs, alcohol, viruses that can cause birth defects or developmental abnormalities

maternal illness

Diseases such as rubella or HIV can affect fetal development

Critical Period

A specific time when certain experiences are essential for development.

Sensitive Period

A time when the brain is particularly receptive to certain stimuli.

Imprinting in Animals

Immediate attachment to the first moving object seen

maturation

orderly sequence of biological growth.

reflexes

Involuntary movements in response to stimulation

Reflex stages

Sucking

Rooting - when a baby's cheek is touched it move their head to the side

Grasp - automatically close their fingers

Babinski - if you touch the sole of a baby's foot, they will fan out their toes and curl them back in

Moro - startle reflex, spreading arms and legs and curling back

Tonic neck - baby turns head to the side and the arm on that side extends out

Stepping - hold them upright and put them on a surface they will step like walking

Fine motor coordination

Small muscle movements, like grasping and manipulating objects

Gross Motor Coordination

Large muscle movements, like crawling, walking, and jumping

Visual Cliff Experiment

Assesses infants' depth perception

Adolescence

marked by significant physical and psychological changes. It begins with puberty and ends with transition into adulthood.

changes in adolescence

Physical changes

Cognitive changes

Social changes

Puberty

the beginning of adolescence - it's a period of growth and sexual maturation.

Brain development in puberty

infl. by hormonal shifts, genetic factors and environmental experiences.

Neural Pruning

- dev. of brain in puberty

- The brain eliminates unnecessary synaptic connection - focusing on strengthening the essential ones.

- Use it or lose it.

Prefrontal Cortex Development in Puberty

- Responsible for decision making and impulse control.

- Continues to develop throughout adolescence.

Myelination in Adolescence

increases during adolescence, enhancing the speed information can travel to the brain.

Emotional Centers in Puberty

heightened emotional responses due to the amygdala

rewards pathway (puberty)

Increased sensitivity to rewards

Changes in Adulthood

- Loss of muscle mass and strength

- Decline of hormones like testosterone

- Decreased physiological activity

Vision (adulthood)

Loss of elasticity in the lens makes it harder to focus, especially on items that are up close

Hearing (adulthood)

May become harder to hear higher-frequency sounds and decreases the ability to locate sounds.

Crystalized Intelligence

the accumulation of knowledge, skills and information learned through experience

- increases in adulthood

fluid intelligence

the ability to think logically and solve problems in novel situations

- decreases in adulthood

dementia

a slowly progressive decline in mental abilities, including memory, thinking, and judgment, that is often accompanied by personality changes

language

A system of communication through the use of speech, a collection of sounds understood by a group of people to have the same meaning.

phonemes

in language, the smallest distinctive sound unit

morphemes

The smallest units of meaning in a language.

Syntax

Sentence structure

Semantics

Meaning of words and sentences

grammar

a system of rules that enables us to communicate with and understand others

productive language

ability to produce words

receptive language

ability to comprehend speech

language development stages

cooing, babbling, one-word speech, telegraphic speech, whole sentences

Ecological Systems Theory

views the person as developing within a complex system of relationships affected by multiple levels of the surrounding environment

authoritative parenting style

parents give children reasonable demands and consistent limits, express warmth and affection, and listen to the child's point of view

authoritarian parenting style

parents place a high value on conformity and obedience, are often rigid, and express little warmth to the child

permissive parenting style

parents make few demands and rarely use punishment

uninvolved parenting style

parents are indifferent, uninvolved, and sometimes referred to as neglectful; they don't respond to the child's needs and make relatively few demands

secure vs. insecure attachment

- secure: children can play comfortably in mother's presence — sensitive, responsive mothers

- insecure: less likely to explore; may cling to mother or avoid attachment — insensitive, unresponsive mothers

temperament

a person's characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity

Separation Anxiety

emotional distress seen in many infants when they are separated from people with whom they have formed an attachment

parallel play

activity in which children play side by side without interacting

pretend play

make-believe activities in which children create new symbolic relations, acting as if they were in a situation different from their actual one

adolescent egocentrism

the heightened self-consciousness of adolescents

erik erikson's theory of psychological development

Identify formation is a lifelong process

Believes that stage development is never final and individuals have the potential to successfully rework developmental stages at a later time

Trust v. Mistrust

Autonomy v. Shame and Doubt

Initiative v. Guilt

Industry v. Interiority

Identify v. Identity Confusion

Identity v. Isolation

Intimacy v. Isolation

Generativity v. Stagnation and Self Absorption

Integrity v. Despair

classical conditioning

a type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events

Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

in classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally—naturally and automatically—triggers a response.

unconditioned response (UR)

In classical conditioning, the unlearned, naturally occurring response to the unconditioned stimulus (US), such as salivation when food is in the mouth.

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

in classical conditioning, an originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus (US), comes to trigger a conditioned response.

Conditioned Response (CR)

in classical conditioning, the learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus (CS)

operant conditioning

a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher

reinforcement

in operant conditioning, any event that strengthens the behavior it follows

punishment

an event that decreases the behavior that it follows

law of effect

Thorndike's principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, and that behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely

primary vs. secondary reinforcers

primary- help satisfy biological needs- food, water, social relations

secondary- derive their effectiveness from their association with primary reinforcers through classical conditions, learned

learned helplessness

the hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events

schedules of reinforcement

specific patterns that determine when a behavior will be reinforced

fixed-ratio schedule

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses

fixed-interval schedule

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed

variable-interval schedule

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals

variable-ratio schedule

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses

social learning theory

the theory that we learn social behavior by observing and imitating and by being rewarded or punished

vicarious conditioning

classical conditioning of a reflex response or emotion by watching the reaction of another person

insight learning

The process of learning how to solve a problem or do something new by applying what is already known

latent learning

learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it

Cognitive Maps

An internal representation of the spatial relationships between objects in an animal's surroundings.