Unit 3: Development & Learning

AP Psych Unit 3 vocab & key terms good luck soldiers 🫡

Developmental Psychology

examines development across a lifespan

cross-sectional study

comparing a group of people in different ages in a small period of time

longitudinal study

studies the same group of individuals over a long period of time to see changes/development

nature and nurture

the influence genetics and environment has on development

continuity stages

the idea that changes occur smoothy over a set period of time in predetermined stages

discontinuity stages

the idea that developmental changes occur slowly and gradually as one interacts with their environment

trait

relatively consistent pattern of behavior

stability in traits

traits that dont change; eg. kids who are undiciplined are more likely to get in trouble with the law when they’re older

change in traits

traits that change overtime; eg. children start getting brave aound age 4

prenatal development: germinal stage

from 0 - 2 weeks of fertilization; the fertilization/formation of the zygote, zygote goes down fallopian tube, implants into the uterine wall

prenatal development: embryonic stage

from 2 - 8 weeks; major systems begin to develop; eg. heart, brain, limbs placenta transfers nutrients and oxygen into the embryo

prenatal development: fetal stage

from 9 weeks - birth: fetus continues to grow and gains weight

teratogens

agents such as viruses and drugs that can harm the embryo; eg. alcohol, nicotine, marijuana

fetal alchohol syndrome (FAS)

caused by alcohol’s  epigenetic effects that leave chemical marks on DNA, causes genes to switch on/off and makes physical/cognitive defects

adaptive reflexes

rooting reflex: the cheek/side of face is touched → the baby turns their head to the side, opens their mouth

startle reflex: loud noise → arms/legs will spring out and the baby will cry

grasping reflex: object touches baby’s palm→ the baby will grasp on it tightly

habituation

increased stimulation causes less interest; eg. the more familiar the baby is with the stimuli, the more bored they become

social responsiveness (babies are developing this)

infants are responsive to things like:

• human voices

• face-;like images

• objects from an 8-12 in distance (equal to the distance between a mom’s eyes and a baby’s eyes while nursing)

• mother’s smell

maturation

biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior that are relatively uninfluenced by behavior

frontal lobe growth

from 3 - 6 years; enables rational planning and facilitates controlling

brain’s association areas

happens during puberty; happens in parietal/temporal lobe, aids in thinking/memory, language, and problem solving, maintains pathways supporting agility and control

pruning process

synaptic process that shuts down unused links; eg. forgetting how to play piano due to long periods of not playing piano

neuroplasticity

neural tissue is constantly changing due to new experiences; eg. when learning how to ride a bike, the brain forms connections to things like balance

fine motor skills

precise movement in building muscles of the body; eg. grasping, holding, pointing, and drawing

gross motor skills

involving large muscles in full body movement; eg. sitting, crawling, walking, jumping

infantile amnesia

the inability to recall memories from before age 4; weakens as children occur development in the frontal lobe (hippocampus)

lifespan perspective

when developmental psychologists take a look into how our lives influence us as an individual (infancy, childhood, teen years, adulthood)

maturation

the experiences we face and hold on to change who we are and how we live

adolescence

years spent morphing from child into adult; transition period that begins with puberty

cultural awareness (in regards to development)

culture does have an affect on the stages of life and how we develop

primary sex characteristics

innate; sex organs that are developed and presented at birth

secondary sex characteristics

traits that develop throughout puberty

puberty

a period of sexual maturation which a person becomes able of sexually reproducing

physical changes for women during puberty

breasts start to grow and menarche (first menstrual cycle) happens

physical changes for men during puberty

voice drops and spermarche (start of sperm development) happens

adolescent growth spurt

a significant physical change when hormones increase the height/weight of an individual

menopause

end of menstruation; biological changes as a woman’s ability to reproduce declines; causes depression/anxiety, hot flashes/night sweats, trouble speaking

what happens to brains as we get older

vision declines; becomes more susceptible to diseases; cognitive decline

Jean Piaget

had a theory about 4 stages of cognitive development

sensorimotor stage

from 0 - 2 years; a child is taking in the world through their senses; figuring out how to operate motor skills, starts head down

object permanence & stranger anxiety form

object permanence

the ability to know objects exist when they aren’t sensed

stranger anxiety

not recognizing new people because they don’t fit into schemas of people they already know

pre-operational stage

from 2 - 7 years; when the child starts to use their mouth to speak, but still not able to do mental operations

develops animism, egocentrism, and centration

reversibility

the ability to reverse operations; eg. if i have a sister, then my sister has a sister

egocentrism

difficulty perceiving the world from another’s perspective

animism

the belief that inanimate objects are alive and have feelings

concrete operational stage

from 7 - 11 years; when children start performing mental operations about concrete events and enables them to think logically

develops conservation and reversibility

conservation

recognizing that a thing hasn’t changed when it’s been physically altered

formal operational stage

from 12+ years; systematic reasoning, when reasoning expands to abstract and hypothetical

Lev Vygotsky

had a theory about how one’s social/cultural experiences affects cognitive development

social-cultural theory

the theory that cognitive development doesn’t go through a set number of stages, but occurs naturally as one interacts with their environment

scaffolding

giving children support for learning until they’re able to do it alone

zone of proximal development

the difference between what a child can do without help from the environment

theory of mind

the ability to understand others, thoughts, beliefs, feelings, etc. are different from your own; recognizing that everyone is their own person

terminal decline

occurs when cognitive decline accelerates when approaching the last 3 -4 years of life

prospective memory

the ability to remember to do future events

dementia

impaired memory cognition and decision making

fluid intelligence

ability to process new information, learn, and solve problems

crystalized intelligence

stored knowledge, accumulated over time

language

an agreed upon set of symbols/words used to communicate

phonemes

smallest sound units in a language; don’t always have meaning

morphemes

smallest sound units in a language that does have meaning

grammar

the rules of language

natural talent

the idea that infants have the natural capacity to learn language, but in order to do so, they need interaction

productive language

actively using language to convey meaning, thoughts, and ideas through various forms of communication

babbling stage

begins at 4 months; babies are trying to get used to speaking

they start to identify the language spoken at home at 10 months, and deaf kids can start to babble with their hands as well

one-word stage

 around 12 months; kids begin to understand that words/sounds carry meaning, and they start to use sound to convey meaning

cooing stage

a stage of early language development that typically occurs between 6 to 8 weeks of age, characterized by the production of soft vowel-like sounds, often resembling 'coo' or 'goo’

aphasia

difficulty understanding/producing language

broca’s area

area in left frontal lobe that is used for producing speech

wernike’s area

area in left temporal lobe that is used for understanding speech

semantics

how meaning is stored in the mind; the meanings of words, signs, symbols, and the phrases that represent them

syntax

the cognitive capacity of human beings that allows us to connect linguistic meaning with linguistic form; eg. understanding what “the boy kicked the ball” means, because it follows a subject-verb-object word order

telegraphic stage

when young children begin stringing more than two words together, perhaps three or four or five at a time

overgeneralization

a cognitive distortion in which an individual views a single event as an invariable rule; eg. failing a test and believeing that you’ll always be a failure

microsystem

an environment with the most immediate influences; family, friends, school, everyday life

macrosystem

broader social culture/beliefs that influence you; social media, people above you agreeing with your ideas

mesosystem

connections between different microsystems; family’s connection to the school, etc.

exosystem

external systems that indirectly affect one; parent’s workplace can affect them which can affect you

chronosystem

the dimension of time and how life events and transitions affect development overtime; eg. IQ scores and how they change overtime

ecological systems theory

theory of social environment’s effect on development; microsystem, macrosystem, mesosystem, chronosystem, exosystem

separation anxiety

fear resulting from the absence of a child’s caregiver

monkey experiment

Subjects: infant monkeys with artificial wire mothers

Condition 1: artificial mother: bare wire cylinder with a wooden head and an attached feeding bottle

Condition 2: artificial mother: cylinder with no bottle, but covered with foam rubber & wrapped with terry cloth.

results found that attachment is derived from nourishment & contact comfort

contact comfort

is important to make the baby feel safe/secure and improves mental abilities

secure attachment

when children show temporary distress when mom/caregiver leaves and content when they return

insecure attachment

avoidant, anxious, and disorganized attachment

avoidant attachment

children have working models of themselves as unworthy of affection; happens when the parent was less responsive to the child, child pushes away mother/caregiver

anxious attachment

when children crave affection & love bur fear rejection

disorganized attachment

shows signs of both anxious & avoidant attachment, lacks communication skills

temperament

the constellation of inborn traits that determine a child's unique behavioral style and the way he or she experiences and reacts to the world; how people react to the world

authoritative parenting style

warm & accepting, demanding; unconditional positive regard for the child

authoritarian parenting style

cold & unaccepting, demanding; conditional positive regard for the child

permissive parenting style

warm & accepting, undemanding; very little structure & consequence for the child; eg. trying to be friends instead of a parent

neglectful parenting style

cold & unaccepting, undemanding; doesn’t care/isn’t available for the child at all

adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)

things like trauma, neglect, and challenges faced while developing

Erik Erikson’s Psychological Stages of Development

8 stages of development, each with a different issue to face

infancy (Erik Erikson)

from 0 - 1 years; trust vs mistrust; building basic trust, requires a reliable and consistent response from parent

toddlerhood (Erik Erikson)

from 1 - 3 years; autonomy vs shame/doubt; toddlers learn to exercise their will and do things by themselves, they’re on their way to becoming unique individuals; synonymous with self-esteem

preschool (Erik Erikson)

from 3 - 6 years; initiative vs guilt; toddlers start gaining autonomy and make decisions by themselves

schooling years (Erik Erikson)

from 6 years to puberty; competence/industry and inferiority; develops confidence, becomes more industrious (learning to do basic skills, writing, bouncing a ball, etc.)

adolescence (Erik Erikson)

from teen years - 20s; trying different roles (music, values, sexual orientation), the main goal of adolescence is to solidify one’s sense of self