child psych exam 1

Microsystem

Immediate social group — family and friends

Mesosystem

The connections between/among the other systems

Exosystem

Local institutions — school, church

Macrosystem

Larger social system — economic conditions, political processes, cultural values

Chronosystem

The time system; someone's historical context (e.g. growing up in the 1980s vs 2000s)

Creator of the Ecological Approach

Urie Bronfenbrenner

Emphasis of Ecological Approach

Development can't be understood by looking at the child alone — must look at the layers of context surrounding them

Butterfly Effect

Small, seemingly minor events early in development can lead to large, unpredictable effects later on

Order of Freud's stages

Oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital

Oral Stage (birth–1 yr)

Mouth is the focus of pleasure; feeding/sucking is the main activity. Fixation linked to sarcasm, nail-biting, pencil-biting

Anal Stage (1–3 yrs)

Anus is the focus of pleasure; toilet training is the main activity. Fixation = anal retentive (perfectionist) or anal expulsive (messy/chaotic)

Phallic Stage (3–6 yrs)

Penis is the important body part; boys are proud, girls wonder why they don't have one (penis envy). Includes Oedipal complex, castration anxiety, and Electra complex

Latency Stage (6–11 yrs)

Sexual needs go quiet; focus shifts to school, sports, and friendship

Genital Stage (adolescence–adulthood)

Genitals become the focus again; people seek real sexual stimulation; lasts through adulthood

Id

Born with it; animalistic, wants immediate pleasure and avoids pain at any cost; completely unconscious

Superego

Learned; your internal morality compass; makes you feel guilty. People adopt or reject their parents' morals

Ego

Manages the tug-of-war between id and superego; tries to balance them. No one is ever perfectly balanced

Ego Ideal

The image/expectation of yourself that you feel you're supposed to live up to

Pre-conscious

Doing something automatically without consciously thinking about how (e.g. getting in the car and driving)

Trust vs. Mistrust (birth–1 yr)

Babies either learn to trust others will meet their needs, or develop mistrust

Autonomy vs. Shame/Doubt (1–3 yrs)

Kids become self-sufficient in activities, or doubt their own abilities

Initiative vs. Guilt (3–6 yrs)

Kids try adult-like activities, or internalize parents' limits and feel guilty

Industry vs. Inferiority (6–11 yrs)

Kids practice/master new skills, or feel inferior/incompetent

Identity vs. Role Confusion (adolescence)

Teens figure out who they are, or get confused about their role

Intimacy vs. Isolation (adulthood)

Adults seek love/companionship, or isolate out of fear of rejection

Generativity vs. Stagnation (later adulthood)

Adults contribute to future generations, or stagnate

Integrity vs. Despair (late life)

People find meaning looking back on life, or despair over unreached goals

Eriksonian crisis of adolescence

Identity vs. role confusion

Classical Conditioning

The learning process where a neutral stimulus is connected to a meaningful stimulus

Operant Conditioning

An action is followed by something wanted or unwanted, controlling whether it's repeated

Reinforcers

Something desired that follows a behavior, making it more likely to repeat

Researcher associated with Operant Conditioning

B.F. Skinner

Social Learning Theory

An extension of behaviorism emphasizing that other people's behavior influences a person's own behavior

Modeling

Observing someone else's behavior and then copying it

Self-efficacy

A person's belief in their own ability to succeed at a task

Learning Theory determinants of development

Observable behavior, shaped by conditioning and reinforcement

Focus of Piaget's Theory

How children's thinking/cognition develops through distinct stages

Sensorimotor Stage (birth–2 yrs)

Infants use senses/motor abilities to understand the world; learn object permanence and start thinking through mental actions

Preoperational Stage (2–6 yrs)

Children think symbolically but only from their own perspective (egocentric)

Stage where child begins to think symbolically

Preoperational stage

Concrete Operational Stage (6–11 yrs)

Children understand/apply logic, but limited to direct/concrete experience

Formal Operational Stage (12–adult)

Adolescents/adults use abstract concepts and analysis, not just emotion

Piaget's most advanced stage

Formal operational

Assimilation

Reinterpreting new experiences to fit into old ideas

Accommodation

Restructuring old ideas to include new experiences

Basic types of adaptation (Piaget)

Assimilation and accommodation

Cognitive Equilibrium

A state of mental balance where you're not confused because your thought processes explain your experiences

Emphasis of Cognitive Theory

Changes in people's thinking over time shape attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors

Sociocultural Theory determinants

Development results from interaction with the surrounding society/culture

Apprenticeship in thinking

Vygotsky's term for how more skilled members of society stimulate/develop cognition in others

Guided Participation

The process of learning from others who guide your experiences

Zone of Proximal Development

The area surrounding a learner containing skills/concepts they're close to acquiring but can't reach without help

Nature

The internal influence of genetic/inherited factors

Nurture

The external influence of environmental factors (e.g. mother's diet during pregnancy, social experiences)

Epigenetics

The study of how environment alters gene expression; continues from conception through the entire lifespan

Differential Susceptibility

The idea that different people react to/process the same circumstances differently, due to genetics and past experience

Epigenetic Systems Theory determinants

Ongoing interaction between genes and environment, starting at conception

Critical Period

A window when a specific type of developmental growth MUST happen for normal development

Sensitive Period

A window when a certain type of development is MOST LIKELY to occur (not required). Ex: early childhood for language

Plasticity

The idea that human traits can be molded like plastic; most evident during childhood

Dynamic Systems Approach

Development is ongoing and ever-changing, never static, but always affected by many systems

Cohort

A group of people born within the same historical period

Historical Context

Someone's time period (the chronosystem)

Social Class

Socioeconomic status, determined by income and occupation

Culture

A system of shared beliefs, norms, and expectations

Social Construct

A concept created by society (e.g. childhood, adolescence, senior citizen)

Ethnic Group

People whose ancestors are from the same region, often sharing language and culture

Race

A group of people distinguished by physical appearance and skin color

Difference-Equals-Deficit Error

The mistaken assumption that deviating from a norm makes someone inferior

Poverty level income in the U.S.

Official threshold for a family of four is about $32,000/year (2024; updated yearly for inflation)

Group with greatest % living in poverty

Children — they have the highest poverty rate of any age group in the U.S.

Nature of the study of human development

A multidisciplinary, scientific study of how/why people change (or stay the same) across the lifespan

Domains of human development

Biosocial, cognitive, psychosocial

Biosocial Domain

Physical growth, health, motor skills, brain development

Psychosocial Domain

Emotions, personality, relationships

Theory

A group of ideas/generalizations about human development based on observations

Grand Theory

A comprehensive theory attempting to explain all aspects of development (psychoanalytic, behaviorism, cognitive)

Emergent Theory

A newer theory that hasn't reached grand status yet (e.g. sociocultural theory)

Major limitation of grand theories

Too broad/rigid, hard to test scientifically, and often culturally biased

Role of theories in human development

Organize ideas, generate hypotheses, help explain/predict behavior

Purposes of developmental theories

To describe, explain, and predict development

Psychoanalytic determinants of development

Inner drives, deep motives, and unconscious needs rooted in early childhood

Rights of children in research studies

Assent, right to withdraw, protection from harm, confidentiality, and debriefing

Scientific Observation

Recording behavior, often in naturalistic settings

Experiment

Proves what causes what by manipulating an independent variable (the cause) to see an effect on the dependent variable

Survey

Gathering info from a large number of people via interview/questionnaire

Cross-sectional Research

Different age groups are compared at the same point in time

Longitudinal Research

The same group of individuals is monitored/followed as they age

Cross-sequential Research

Hybrid: researchers study different age groups first, then follow those same groups over the years

Correlation

Exists between two variables when one is more likely to occur because the other is present

Causation

Exists between two variables when one is a direct result of the other being present

Quantitative Research

Research that provides data expressed with numbers (ranks, scales)

Qualitative Research

Research that includes qualities over quantities (narrative answers, open-ended questions)