AP Psychology Unit 7 -> Developmental Psychology

Cross-Sectional Research

Cross-Sectional Research

Research done on many subjects of different ages at the same time

Longitudinal Research

Research done on one group of subjects over many years

Cross-Sectional Research Advantages & Disadvantages

Advantages:

• Inexpensive

• Quick

• Avoids high attrition rate (people dropping out of the experiment)

Disadvantages:

• Subjects of same chronological age might NOT be same maturational age

Longitudinal Research Advantages & Disadvantages

Advantages:

• Generates DETAILED information about subjects

Disadvantages:

• Expensive

• Potential for high attrition rate (people dropping out)

Teratogens

Agents (chemicals & viruses) that can reach the embryo or fetus and cause harm

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)

Physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman’s heavy drinking

Favorable Outcome

Good nutrition + medical care = :)

Preferences

Human voices and faces that a newborn will prefer

Cognition

all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

Schema

A concept or framework that organizes and interprets information

Assimilation

Interpreting one’s new experience in terms of one’s existing framework

Accommodation

Adapting one’s current framework to incorporate new information

Object Permanence

The awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived

Sensorimotor: (Piaget Stage 1)

• Experiencing the world through senses and actions(, looking, touching, mouthing)

• Age range: birth to about 2 years

Preoperational (Piaget Stage 2)

• Representing things with words and images but lacking logical reasoning

• Age range: about 2 to 6 years

Concrete operational (Piaget Stage 3)

• Thinking logically about concrete events; grasping concrete analogies and performing arithmetical operations

• Age range: about 7 to 11 years

Formal operational (Piaget Stage 4)

• Abstract/hypothetical reasoning

• Age Range: About 12 through adulthood

Egocentrism

The inability of the preoperational child to take another’s point of view (Ex: playing hide and seek with a toddler)

Theory of Mind

Ideas about your own and others’ mental states- feelings, perceptions, and thoughts and the behavior these might predict

Conservation

Properties (mass, volume, quantity) remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects (Ex: the same amount of water in a glass is poured inside a big jug; the amount of water stays the same)

Concrete to formal operations

Move to a more abstract/hypothetical reasoning

Lev Vygotsky Social Development Theory

The theory that in order to develop, people must learn through social interaction and cognitive development

Scaffolding

Teachers model, providing steps to help students work independently

More Knowledgeable Other (MKO)

Teacher, professor, etc.

Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)

Task too difficult to master independently, but can be done with guidance & encouragement from MKO

Imprinting (Lorenz)

The process by which certain animals form attachments during a critical period very early in life (Ex: newly born baby ducks will follow the mother duck wherever she goes)

Stranger Anxiety

fear of strangers

Secure attacment

• Easily comforted by attachment figure (AF)

• Wil explore when AF is around

Anxious-ambivalent/resistant attacment

• Clingy with AF due to inconsistent support

• Won’t explore

Anxious-avoidant attachment

• Avoids AF; AF often unhelpful

• Will explore on own

Authoritarian

Type of parents that impose rules and expect obedience

Permissive

Type of parents that are lenient, little to no demands on children

Authoritative

• Type of parents that have a balance between demanding and responsive to child’s needs

• Encourages open discussion & explains reasons behind demands

Uninvolved/Detached

• Type of parents that have Limited time / energy

• Attachment issues + delinquency

Cisgender

Gender identity corresponds to sex at birth

Gender Dysphoria

a sense of unease for people who’s gender identity differs from their sex

Preconventional level (Kohlberg)

Morality of self-interest: To avoid punishment or gain concrete rewards

Conventional level (Kohlberg)

Morality of law and social rules: to gain approval or avoid disapproval

Postconventional level (Kohlberg)

Morality of abstract principles: to affirm agreed-upon rights and personal ethical principels

Social Clock

Culturally preferred timing of social events

G. Stanley Hall (adolescence: social development)

• Storm & stress

  • 3 key aspects

    • Conflict with parents

    • Mood disruptions

    • Risky behavior

Margaret Mead (Adolescence: social development)

• Easy transition

  • Not harsh and difficult - easy going

Imaginary Audience

The tendency of adolescents to see themselves as the object of others’ attention and evaluation (David Elkind)

Personal Fable

Belief of being special or unique can lead to feelings of invulnerability from struggles

Crystallized Intelligence

Accumulated knowledge and verbal skills (increased with age)

Fluid Intelligence

ability to respond speedily and abstractly

Alzheimer’s Disease

gradual deterioration of memory, reasoning, language, and physical functionality

Five stages of grief

• Denial

• Anger

• Bargaining

• Depression

• Acceptance