Unit 3: Development and Learning

Developmental Psychology

The scientific study of how and why human beings change over the course of their life, focusing on cognitive, emotional, and social growth.

Stability vs. Change

The debate in developmental psychology regarding whether human traits and behaviors remain stable or change throughout a person's lifespan.

Cross Sectional Research

A research method that compares individuals of different ages at one point in time to understand developmental differences.

Longitudinal Research

A research method that studies the same group of individuals over an extended period to observe changes and developments in their behavior and traits.

Teratogens

Substances that can cause developmental malformations in a fetus when exposed during pregnancy.

Maternal Illnesses

Conditions affecting a mother's health that can impact fetal development.

Genetic Mutations

Alterations in DNA sequence that can lead to developmental disorders or diseases.

Rooting

A reflex action in infants that involves turning the head and opening the mouth in response to stimuli on the cheek, aiding in breastfeeding.

Critical Periods

Specific time frames during development when the presence or absence of certain stimuli has a profound effect on the formation of abilities or behaviors.

Imprinting

A rapid learning process occurring at a particular life stage, often seen in young animals, where they form attachments to specific individuals or objects.

Habituation

A decrease in response to a stimulus after repeated exposure, allowing infants to focus on novel stimuli.

Maturation

The process of development in which an individual becomes capable of more complex behaviors as they grow, guided by genetic factors and biological processes.

Adolescence

The transitional stage of development between childhood and adulthood, characterized by physical, emotional, and social changes.

Social Learning Theory

A theory that suggests individuals learn behaviors, attitudes, and emotional reactions through observing and imitating others, particularly in social contexts.

Gender Typing

The process through which children learn the behaviors, attitudes, and roles that are considered appropriate for their gender within a given culture.

Social Script

The process of learning through observation and imitation of others, influencing behaviors and attitudes.

Schema

A cognitive framework that helps organize and interpret information, guiding an individual's understanding and interactions with the world.

Sensorimoter Stage

The first stage of cognitive development in Piaget's theory, occurring from birth to about 2 years, where infants learn through sensory experiences and motor actions.

Object Permanence

The understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen, typically developing during the sensorimotor stage.

Preoperational Stage

The second stage of cognitive development in Piaget's theory, occurring from about 2 to 7 years, characterized by the development of language and symbolic thinking, but lacking logical reasoning.

Conservation

The understanding that certain properties of objects, such as volume or number, remain the same despite changes in their form or appearance, typically developing in the concrete operational stage.

Reversibility

The ability to mentally reverse or undo an action, process, or operation

Egocentrism

A state of being unable to see things from anyone's perspective except your own

Theory of Mind

The capacity to understand other people by ascribing mental states to them

Concrete Operational Stage

From age 7 to age 11 or 12, the beginning of logic in the child's thought processes and the beginning of the classification of objects by their similarities and differences

Formal Operational Stage

the ability to formulate hypotheses and systematically test them to arrive at an answer to a problem

Scaffold

How an adult, or more knowledgeable peer, might assist a child to learn something within their zone of proximal development

Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)

The space between what a learner can do without assistance and what a learner can do with adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers

Crystallized Intelligence 

Reflected in a person's general knowledge, vocabulary, and reasoning based on acquired information

Phonemes

The smallest unit of sound in a given language

Morphemes

The smallest units of speech that convey meaning

Cooing

A spontaneous vocalization behavior that infants typically engage in when they are in a comfortable state

Babbling

a stage of infants' prelinguistic speech development that consists of repetitive consonant–vowel utterances consonant-vowel

Telegraphic Speech 

A form of communication consisting of simple two-word long sentences often composed of a noun and a verb that adhere to the grammatical standards of the culture's language

Overgeneralization

a cognitive distortion in which an individual views a single event as an invariable rule

Aphasia

A language disorder that affects how you communicate. It's caused by damage in the area of the brain that controls language expression and comprehension.

Broca’s Area

A region of the posterior portion of the inferior frontal convolution of a cerebral hemisphere that is associated with the production of speech

Wernicke’s Area

Region of the brain that contains motor neurons involved in the comprehension of speech

Linguistic Determinism 

The semantic structure of a particular language determines the structure of mental categories among its speakers

Linguistic Relativity 

The proposal that the particular language we speak influences the way we think about reality

Ecological Systems Theory 

we encounter different environments throughout our lifespan that may influence our behavior to varying degrees

Microsystem

encompasses the relationships and interactions a child has with his/her immediate surroundings.

Mesosystem

All of a child's immediate influences (family, school, community, church, etc.) interact

Exosystem 

refers to one or more settings that do not involve the developing person as an active participant, but in which events occur that affect—or are affected by—what happens in the setting containing the developing person

Macrosystem

the overarching institutions, practices, patterns of beliefs, cultural values, customs, and laws that characterize society as a whole and take the smaller micro-, meso-, and exosystems into account

Chronosystem

looks at the experiences a child encounters throughout their development in childhood and how it affects their lives. It takes into account all of the environmental encounters, such as major life events or transitions

Attachment

a deep and enduring emotional bond that connects one person to another across time and space

Authoritarian Parenting 

typically engage in a 1-way mode of communication where they establish strict rules that the child is expected to follow without question or negotiation

Authoritative Parenting

a close, nurturing relationship between parents and children. Parents set clear expectations and guidelines and explain the reasoning behind their disciplinary actions

Permissive Parenting

a type of parenting style characterized by low demands with high responsiveness.

Secure Attachment

an individual's ability to develop secure and trusting relationships with others

Insecure Attachment 

complete dependence on a caregiver and extreme reluctance to explore one's environment

Avoidant Attachment

an insecure attachment style where individuals tend to avoid closeness or emotional connections with others

Anxious Attachment 

another type of insecure attachment where individuals crave closeness but also fear rejection or abandonment

Disorganized Attachment 

a form of insecure attachment in which infants show no coherent or consistent behavior during separation from and reunion with their parents

Basic Trust 

a child's sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy

Temperament 

an individual's characteristic level of emotional excitability or intensity

Self-Concept

is an understanding you have of yourself that includes elements such as intelligence level, gender identity roles, racial identity roles etc., which influence how we perceive ourselves both in the present and what we want to become in the future

Parallel Play

a type of play where children play alongside each other without actively engaging or interacting with one another

Pretend Play

a type of play where children use their imagination to create scenarios and act out different roles and events

Adolescence 

the transitory period from childhood to adulthood, generally beginning with puberty and extending into independent adulthood

Imaginary Audience 

egocentric state where an individual imagines and. believes that multitudes of people are enthusiastically. listening to or watching him or her

Personal Fable

a belief held by many adolescents telling them that they are special and unique, so much so that none of life's difficulties or problems will affect them regardless of their behavior

Social Clock 

a concept that explores the timetable determined by a culture or social structure, that specifies a proper time for certain events, like marriage, graduation, employment or social status

Emerging Adulthood

a period from the late teens to mid-twenties, bridging the gap between adolescent dependence and full independence and responsible adulthood

Trust and Mistrust 

the first stage in Erik Erikson's theory of psychosocial development. This stage begins at birth and lasts through one year of age. Infants learn to trust that their caregivers will meet their basic needs. If these needs are not consistently met, mistrust, suspicion, and anxiety may develop

Autonomy and Shame and Doubt 

the stage in which a child learns to be independent and make their own decisions in life. Parents are encouraged to promote their child's autonomy, particularly during this stage. However, it's important to remember that shame is part of the human experience

Initiative and Guilt 

If the child is placed in an environment where he/she can explore, make decisions, and initiate activities, they have achieved initiative. On the other hand, if the child is put in an environment where initiation is repressed through criticism and control, he/she will develop a sense of guilt

Industry and Inferiority 

the stage in which children enter into the greater society beyond the family for the first time. If they succeed in navigating this stage, then they are able to develop a meaningful social role to give back to society

Identity and Role Confusion 

characterized by the adolescent question of “Who am I,” during which time they are conflicted with dozens of values and ideas of who they should be and what they should think

Intimacy and Isolation 

is the ability to be able to open up romantically and emotionally to those closest to the individual. Those with intimacy have strong relationships with others. Isolation is the inability to form close relationships

Generativity and Stagnation

refers to making a positive impact and contributing to the world, such as through raising children, mentoring others, or engaging in meaningful work. Stagnation, on the other hand, represents feeling stuck and unproductive, lacking a sense of purpose

Integrity and Despair

a retrospective accounting of one's life to date; how much one embraces life as having been well lived, as opposed to regretting missed opportunities

Adverse Childhood

potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood

Diffusion

a state of not developing or possessing a distinct identity. Often, this is a result of a young person not yet developing a firm identity

Foreclosure

when someone accepts without question the values, skills, goals, and overall worth someone else has assigned to them

Moratorium

a status that describes those who are exploring in an attempt to establish an identity but have yet to have made any commitment

Unconditioned Response

Unlearned, naturally occurring behavior

Conditioned Response

Learned behavior

Conditioned Stimulus

Learned cause of behavior

Neautral Stimulus

Elicits no response before conditioning

Unconditioned Stimulus

unlearned, naturally occurring cause of behavior

Extinction

the gradual weakening of a conditioned response that results in the behavior decreasing or disappearing. In other words, the conditioned behavior eventually stops.

Spontaneous Recovery

when a behavior that is believed to be extinct (the conditioned behavior has disappeared or stopped occurring when the stimulus is present) unexpectedly and quickly returns after a period of rest or lessened response

Stimulus Discrimination 

It involves the ability to distinguish between one stimulus and similar stimuli. In both cases, it means responding only to certain stimuli, and not responding to those that are similar

Generalization 

occurs when a response that has been associated with one stimulus occurs for another stimulus that is similar is some way

Higher-Order Conditioning 

is a form of learning in which a stimulus is first made meaningful or consequential for an organism through an initial step of learning, and then that stimulus is used as a basis for learning about some new stimulus

Counterconditioning 

conditioning someone to change their response from fear to excitement or excitement to fear

One-Trial Conditioning

learning takes place in a single pairing of a response and stimulus and is not strengthened over time by repeated exposure to a stimulus

Biological Preparedness 

the idea that people and animals are inherently inclined to form associations between certain stimuli and responses

Habituation

a psychological learning process wherein there is a decrease in response to a stimulus after being repeatedly exposed to it

Operant Conditioning

a method of learning that uses rewards and punishment to modify behavior

The Law of Effect

responses that produce a satisfying effect after a particular stimulus are likely to occur again

Primary Reinforcers 

reinforcers that have innate reinforcing qualities

Secondary Reinforcers

a stimulus that reinforces a behavior after it has been associated with a primary reinforcer

Reinforcement Discrimination 

reinforcing a behavior (e.g., pecking) in the presence of one stimulus but not others

Reinforcement Generalization

when a behavior that has been reinforced in a specific context is also exhibited in similar contexts

Instinctive Drift 

the tendency of some trained animals to revert back to instinctual behaviors

Learned Helplessness

a state that occurs after a person has experienced a stressful situation repeatedly

Continuous Reinforcement 

the repeated reinforcement of a behavior every time it happens