Dev Psych Exam 1 Flashcards

What is developmental psychology, and what do developmental scientists study?

Developmental psychology studies systematic change and continuity in people across the lifespan, examining physical growth, perception, cognition, language, emotion, social relationships, and the interaction of biology and experience.

What are the central issues in developmental science, and what is the current view?

Common issues include nature-nurture, continuity-discontinuity, and stability-change. Evidence comes from various studies, and no single side explains all development.

What is a developmental cascade?

A developmental cascade occurs when change in one skill or domain influences later development in other domains, such as improved motor skills leading to increased exploration and learning opportunities.

How has advice to parents changed, and how has developmental science affected policy?

Modern advice is based on systematic research about children's needs and development, influencing early intervention, preschool programs, caregiver guidance, and child-safety recommendations.

Why are theories important, and what makes a good theory?

Theories organize findings, explain patterns, and generate testable predictions. A good theory is clear, consistent, supported by evidence, falsifiable, and open to revision.

What are the main features of Freud's, Erikson's, Watson's, Piaget's, and Vygotsky's theories?

Freud emphasized unconscious motives; Erikson proposed psychosocial stages; Watson focused on observable behavior; Piaget argued for active knowledge construction; Vygotsky highlighted culture and social interaction.

How do modern theories differ from the grand theories, and what is dynamic systems theory?

Modern theories like Bandura's social learning emphasize observation and reciprocal influences, while dynamic systems theory views development as emerging from many interacting factors over time.

What is culture, and how does it influence development?

Culture includes shared values and practices that shape caregiving, expectations, and learning opportunities, leading to varied developmental pathways.

What criteria guide scientific research, and why are replication and transparency important?

Criteria include objectivity, reliability, validity, replicability, and transparency, ensuring that research can be evaluated and repeated.

What are the main parts of an experiment, and what are its advantages and disadvantages?

Experiments manipulate an independent variable and measure outcomes, allowing causal conclusions but facing ethical and practical limitations.

What are positive, negative, and zero correlations, and why does correlation not prove causation?

Positive correlation means both variables increase together; negative means one decreases as the other increases; zero means no relationship. Correlation does not imply causation due to potential third variables.

How do longitudinal and cross-sectional designs differ?

Longitudinal studies follow the same participants over time, while cross-sectional studies compare different age groups at one time.

What should be considered before conception, and how might considerations differ for men and women?

Preconception health includes medical conditions, medications, nutrition, and genetic history, with specific recommendations varying for men and women.

What are the three stages of prenatal development?

The germinal period (conception to implantation), the embryonic period (major organ formation), and the fetal period (growth and maturation).

What do studies of nonhuman organisms suggest about fetal activity?

Fetal movement helps shape developing muscles and nervous-system connections, providing practice and sensory feedback.

What are teratogens, and why does timing matter?

Teratogens are environmental agents that disrupt prenatal development, with effects depending on timing, dose, and genetic factors.

What develops early in fetuses?

Touch develops relatively early; taste and smell systems become functional before birth.

How do fetuses respond to sounds?

Hearing develops enough for fetuses to respond to sounds, including familiar voices and speech rhythms.

What is the visual capability of fetuses?

Vision is limited in the womb, but the fetus can respond to light late in pregnancy.

What did the Cat in the Hat research find?

Newborns showed preferences for a story heard repeatedly before birth, suggesting prenatal learning of sound patterns.

What are in-utero reflexes?

Fetuses show movement patterns and reflex-like responses before birth, including sucking and swallowing.

What is a strong predictor of newborn health?

Gestational age, especially reaching full term, is a strong predictor of newborn health.

What factors can confound gestational age?

Prenatal care, maternal health, socioeconomic conditions, and pregnancy complications.

What triggers childbirth?

Labor begins through interacting hormonal and physiological signals involving the fetus, placenta, and pregnant person.

What is the role of stress hormones around birth?

A surge of stress hormones around birth supports alertness and physiological adaptation.

What are common childbirth interventions?

Induction, pain medication, fetal monitoring, assisted delivery, and cesarean birth.

What does the Apgar score assess?

The Apgar score assesses appearance, pulse, grimace/reflex response, activity/muscle tone, and respiration.

What are the implications of low birth weight?

Low birth weight can result from prematurity or restricted fetal growth and is associated with higher risks.

What is neurogenesis?

Neurogenesis is the creation of neurons.

What is synaptogenesis?

Synaptogenesis is the formation of connections between neurons.

What is synaptic pruning?

Synaptic pruning is the elimination or weakening of less-used connections.

What is myelination?

Myelination is the development of insulating myelin around nerve fibers.

What is brain plasticity?

Brain plasticity is the nervous system's capacity to change with development and experience.

What is experience-expectant plasticity?

Experience-expectant plasticity relies on common experiences expected by the species.

What is experience-dependent plasticity?

Experience-dependent plasticity reflects individual experiences, such as learning a particular skill.

How do researchers study newborn perception?

Researchers use physiological measures and behavioral measures such as looking time and sucking rate.

What did Eimas demonstrate about newborn hearing?

Eimas showed that young infants discriminate speech sounds such as phoneme categories.

What are newborns' visual limitations?

Newborn visual acuity is poor compared with adults; they see best at close distances.

What is perceptual narrowing?

Perceptual narrowing is when discrimination of less-familiar face categories declines during infancy.

How do newborns respond to tastes and smells?

Newborns respond differently to sweet, sour, and bitter tastes and can recognize familiar odors.

What is intermodal perception?

Intermodal perception is coordinating information across senses, such as matching what is seen with what is heard.

How does categorization change during the first year?

Infants increasingly group objects, sounds, and events by shared features.

What do cephalocaudal and proximodistal patterns refer to?

Cephalocaudal development means control develops from head toward the lower body; proximodistal means from the body's center toward hands.

Does more practice make infants reach milestones sooner?

More practice can improve specific skills, but motor milestones reflect interacting influences.

How do reaching and grasping show growing knowledge?

Reaching and grasping demonstrate growing knowledge and control in infants.

How do reaching and grasping show growing knowledge and control?

Reaching progresses from poorly coordinated movements to increasingly accurate, goal-directed actions. Infants use visual feedback, repeated attempts, and the consequences of their actions to learn about object location, size, shape, and how objects can be handled.

Are infants wary of heights? What do visual-cliff studies show?

Visual-cliff studies show that infants' behavior depends on locomotor experience, visual information, and context—not simply a built-in fear of heights.

What are newborn reflexes, and why does the stepping reflex disappear?

Newborn reflexes include rooting, sucking, Moro/startle, grasping, and stepping. The stepping reflex may become less visible as the infant grows heavier and body proportions change.

What are newborn arousal states, and why is REM sleep common?

Newborns cycle through regular sleep, REM/active sleep, drowsiness, quiet alertness, and crying. REM sleep is especially common and may support brain development.

How do culture and other factors shape infant sleep, and what is SIDS?

Sleep arrangements reflect cultural values and beliefs. SIDS is sudden infant death syndrome, an unexplained death of an infant.

How do infant cries affect adults, and how does culture influence crying?

Crying attracts caregiver attention and can signal distress. Patterns vary with infant characteristics, caregiver responses, and cultural practices.

What can infants do in Piaget's sensorimotor stage?

Infants learn through perception and action, repeat interesting actions, coordinate means and ends, and gradually form mental representations.

How have newer methods changed our understanding of hidden objects?

Looking-time studies suggest infants may expect hidden objects to continue existing and obey physical rules earlier than previously thought.

What is the main criticism of Piaget's object-permanence method?

Manual-search tasks may underestimate infants' knowledge as they require memory and motor control in addition to representing a hidden object.

What is the A-not-B error, and what contributes to it?

The A-not-B error occurs when an infant reaches for a previously found toy at location A instead of the new location B.

What evidence suggests infants understand solidity, support, and gravity?

Infants look longer at events that violate physical expectations, suggesting early expectations about physical events.

How does attention develop during infancy?

Attention becomes more selective and sustained, with infants focusing on relevant features and disengaging from distractions.

How has infant number understanding been tested, and what are the limitations?

Researchers use looking-time tasks to test infants' numerical sensitivity, but results may reflect responses to continuous variables rather than number alone.

How do habituation-recovery, conjugate-mobile, and deferred-imitation studies examine memory?

These studies test different forms and durations of memory by observing infants' responses to repeated stimuli and actions.

How can joint attention and gaze following be interpreted?

Gaze following and joint attention may reflect sensitivity to another's goals or more advanced social understanding.

How can culture affect infant cognitive development?

Culture influences what infants observe, how caregivers communicate, and which skills receive practice.

What are examples of programs supporting infants and parents in poverty?

Programs may include home visiting, parenting support, early education, health services, and coaching in responsive interaction.

What does behaviorism emphasize in language learning?

Behaviorism emphasizes imitation, reinforcement, and learning from the environment.

What does nativism propose about language acquisition?

Nativism proposes an inborn preparedness for language and explains rapid, rule-like learning.

What does connectionism focus on in language learning?

Connectionism emphasizes learning statistical patterns through networks.

What do dynamic-systems approaches view language as?

Dynamic-systems approaches view language as emerging from interacting biological, cognitive, social, and motor processes.

What does sociocultural theory emphasize?

Sociocultural theory emphasizes communication and learning through social interaction and cultural tools.

How does Steven Pinker's 'wugs' example support nativism?

Children can correctly pluralize made-up words, showing they generalize patterns, supporting active grammatical acquisition.

What do language-deprived environments demonstrate about language acquisition?

Children can invent communicative systems without language input, but full language development requires meaningful exposure.

What is infant-directed speech?

Infant-directed speech has a higher pitch and exaggerated intonation, attracting infants' attention and conveying emotion.

Do special adult teaching behaviors predict language acquisition?

Responsive interaction supports language learning, and cultural differences influence how children acquire language.

How do infants perceive speech sounds?

Infants initially discriminate many speech-sound contrasts, but sensitivity to nonnative contrasts declines with age.

What is a language-rich environment?

A language-rich environment includes meaningful conversation and responsive exchanges, supporting stronger language growth.

How does language develop during the first year?

Early communication includes crying, cooing, and babbling, shaped by the sounds of the language(s) infants hear.

What are common first words and their errors?

First words refer to familiar things; overextensions use words too broadly, while underextensions use them too narrowly.

What evidence shows comprehension precedes production?

Infants respond to familiar words before they can say them, indicating a larger receptive vocabulary than expressive vocabulary.

What is fast mapping in language learning?

Fast mapping is forming an initial link between a new word and its meaning after limited exposure.

What do young children know about word order and grammar?

Children learn that word order signals meaning and acquire grammatical patterns through exposure and generalization.

How is bilingual language learning different from monolingual?

Bilingual children develop language skills across two languages, with vocabulary distribution differing from monolinguals.

Does learning two languages harm children?

Research shows ordinary bilingual exposure does not harm language development; quality of input matters.

What is pragmatics in language use?

Pragmatics involves using language appropriately in social contexts, requiring skills like turn-taking and topic maintenance.

How does culture influence caregiver communication?

Caregivers vary in communication styles, affecting how children learn language practices valued in their communities.

How do children's language skills improve during early childhood?

Children's vocabulary grows, sentences become longer and more grammatical, and pronunciation continues to develop.