Developmental psychology (1)

Developmental psychology

A branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span

interaction

We are not formed by either nature or nurture, but by their interrelationships — their \_______________

nature or nurture

The scientific, cultural, and philosophical debate about whether human culture, behavior, and personality are caused primarily by \__________ or \____________

Developmental stage theories

Theories that divide child development into distinct stages which are characterized by qualitative differences in behavior

Kohlberg

Believed there are three stages of moral development and include preconventional morality, conventional morality, and postconventional morality

Temperament

Our emotional reactivity and intensity

Temperament

A person's or animal's nature, especially as it permanently affects their behavior

stable

Some of our characteristics, such as temperament (our emotional reactivity and intensity), are very \____________

personality

As people grow older, \_______________ gradually stabilizes

social attitudes

Some traits, such as \____________ \______________, are much less stable than temperament, especially during the late adolescent years

Zygote

The fertilized egg; it enters a 2-week period of rapid cell division and develops into an embryo

zygotes

Fewer than half of all fertilized eggs, called \____________, survive beyond the first 2 weeks

uterine

About 10 days after conception, the zygote attaches to the mother's \____________ wall, beginning approximately 37 weeks of the closest human relationship.

Embryo

The developing human organism from about 2 weeks after fertilization through the second month

Placenta

Temporary organ that joins the mother and fetus, transferring oxygen and nutrients from the mother to the fetus and permitting the release of carbon dioxide and waste products from the fetus

Fetus

The developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception to birth

270

For 1 in \_________ sets of parents, two heartbeats will reveal that the zygote, during its early days of development, has split into two

sound

By the sixth month, microphone readings taken inside the uterus reveal that the fetus is responsive to \____________

language

And just after birth, the melodic ups and downs of newborns' cries bear the tuneful signature of their mother's native \_____________

Teratogens

Agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm

Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)

Physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman's heavy drinking. In severe cases, signs include a small, out-of-proportion head and abnormal facial features

800

1 in \_________ infants show visible signs of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome causing physical and cognitive abnormalities

Epigenetics

The study of potentially heritable changes in gene expression (active versus inactive genes) that does not involve changes to the underlying DNA sequence — a change in phenotype without a change in genotype — which in turn affects how cells read the genes.

Rooting reflex

A reflex that is seen in normal newborn babies, who automatically turn the face toward the stimulus and make sucking (rooting) motions with the mouth when the cheek or lip is touched.

rooting reflex

The \_____________ \___________ helps to ensure successful breastfeeding

Habituation

Decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation

Habituation

As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner.

stability and change

Developmental psychologists focus on three issues: nature and nurture (the interaction between our genetic inheritance and our experiences); continuity and stages (whether development is gradual and continuous or a series of relatively abrupt changes); and \______________ and \_________________ (whether our traits endure or change as we age).

mother

Babies are born with sensory equipment and reflexes that facilitate their survival and their social interactions with adults. For example, they quickly learn to discriminate their \_____________'s smell and sound.

habituation

Researchers use techniques that test \______________, such as the visual-preference procedure, to explore infants' abilities.

A

Alcohol is a teratogen that can slip through the
and damage the fetus or embryo.
a. placenta
b. nervous system
c. womb
d. brainstem
e. zygote

B

Even as newborns, we prefer sights and sounds that
facilitate social responsiveness. This can be seen by a
newborn's preference for
a. soft music.
b. face-like images.
c. low pitched sounds.
d. soft colors.
e. loud music.

C

As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a
visual stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away
sooner. The decrease in an infant's responsiveness is
called
a. concentration.
b. teratogens.
c. habituation.
d. stability.
e. transference.

D

Which question expresses the developmental issue of
stability and change?
a. Are individuals more similar or different from each
other?
b. How much of development occurs in distinct stages?
c. How much of development is determined by
genetics?
d. To what extent do certain traits persist through the
life span?
e. Which traits are most affected by life changes and
experience?

A

What is the prenatal development sequence?
a. Zygote, embryo, fetus
b. Fetus, zygote, embryo
c. Embryo, zygote, fetus
d. Zygote, fetus, embryo
e. Fetus, embryo, zygote

E

Some people think development occurs much in the
way a tree grows, slowly and steadily adding one ring
each year. Others think that there are rather abrupt
developmental jumps, like the transformation of a
tadpole into a frog. Which of the following issues would
this difference of opinion relate to?
a. Nature and nurture
b. Maturation and learning
c. Prenatal and neonatal
d. Stability and change
e. Continuity and stages

E

Which of the following is the longest prenatal stage?
a. Teratogen
b. Conception
c. Zygote
d. Embryo
e. Fetus

Maturation

Biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience

experience

Maturation (nature) sets the basic course of development; \_________________ (nurture) adjusts it

frontal lobes

From ages 3 to 6, the most rapid growth was in your \__________ \__________, which enable rational planning. This explains why preschoolers display a rapidly developing ability to control their attention and behavior.

last

The association areas — those linked with thinking, memory, and language — are the \______ cortical areas to develop

universal

With occasional exceptions, the motor development sequence is \______________.

Back-to-sleep position

Putting babies to sleep on their backs to reduce the risk of a smothering crib death

Genes

\________ guide motor development

Maturation

\__________ — including the rapid development of the cerebellum at the back of the brain — creates our readiness to learn walking at about age 1.

Infantile amnesia

The inability of adults to retrieve episodic memories which are memories of specific events before the age of 2-4 years, as well as the period before age 10 of which adults retain fewer memories than might otherwise be expected given the passage of time

consciously

Apart from constructed memories based on photos and family stories, we \___________ recall little from before age 4.

puberty

The brain's nerve cells are sculpted by heredity and experience. Their interconnections multiply rapidly after birth, a process that continues until \__________, when a pruning process begins shutting down unused connections.

maturation

Complex motor skills — sitting, standing, walking — develop in a predictable sequence, though the timing of that sequence is a function of individual \_______________ and culture

B

As the infant's brain develops, some neural pathways
will decay if not used. This use-it-or-lose-it process is
known as
a. motor development.
b. pruning.
c. spacing.
d. accommodation.
e. maturation

E

Which of the following depends least on the maturation
process?
a. Riding a bike
b. Writing
c. Talking
d. Bladder control
e. Telling time

E

Which of the following is true of the early formation of
brain cells?
a. They form at a constant rate throughout the prenatal
period.
b. They begin forming slowly, and then the rate
increases throughout prenatal development.
c. They form slowly during the prenatal period, and
then the rate increases after birth.
d. They form at a constantly increasing rate prenatally
and in early childhood.
e. They are overproduced early in the prenatal period,
and then the rate decreases and stabilizes.

A

Neural networks grow more complex by
a. branching outward to form multiple
connections.
b. keeping the nervous system immature.
c. controlling one another with a restricted response
system.
d. limiting connections.
e. associating behaviors that would not normally be
associated together.

True

True or False: Regardless of culture, humans share the same life cycle

True

True or False: A heartbeat can be detected as early as 8 weeks into pregnancy

False

True or False: Newborns see only a blur of meaningless light and dark shades

True

True or False: If a mother drinks heavily during pregnancy, her baby will be mentally handicapped

True

True or False: The first two years of life provide a good basis for predicting a person's eventual personality traits

True

True or False: People's personalities tend to remain stable over the course of their lives

False

True or False: In some cultures, infants sit up first and then crawl while in other they crawl before sitting up

Developmental psychology

How our behaviors, thoughts, and physical development change over time from womb to tomb

Temperament

\________________ is stable

Conception

Single sperm bonds with the egg cell and is called a human being... rapid cell division begins

touch receptors

By 12-15 weeks, they have \__________ \_____________

taste

By 20-24 weeks, they have a sense of \_____________ and smell form

6

By \_____ months, fetus is now responsive to sound

32

By \_____ weeks, their eyes open

Babinski reflex

A reflex action in which the big toe remains extended or extends itself when the sole of the foot is stimulated, abnormal except in young infants

Novelty preference

Refers to the fact that infants are more likely to pay attention to new objects or people than those they've seen before

Maturation

Biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior that are relatively unaffected by experience

Jean Piaget

Constructed a stage theory of Cognitive Development

Jean Piaget

Observed that children think differently than adults

Sensorimotor (BIrth to 2 years)

Stage where they think the world is experienced through the senses and through actions

Sensorimotor (BIrth to 2 years)

Stage when they develop object permanence around 8-10 months

Cognition

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

Schema

A concept or framework that organizes and interprets information

Assimilation

Interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas

Assimilation

We interpret new experiences in terms of our current understandings

Assimilation

Having a simple schema for dog, for example, a toddler may call all four-legged animals dogs

What concept is this?

Accommodation

Adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information

Sensorimotor stage

In Piaget's theory, the stage (from birth to about 2 years of age) during which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities

Object permanence

The awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived

Object permanence

In one test, Piaget showed an infant an appealing toy and then flopped his beret over it. Before the age of 6 months, the infant acted as if it ceased to exist because young infants lack \_____________ \_____________________.

Preoperational stage

In Piaget's theory, the stage (from about 2 to about 6 or 7 years of age) during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic

Preoperational stage

Stage when you are too young to perform mental operations (such as imagining an action and mentally reversing it)

Conservation

The principle (which Piaget believed to be a part of concrete operational reasoning) that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects

Conservation

The principle that quantity remains the same despite changes in shape

Symbolic thinking

Representing things with words and images

Egocentrism

In Piaget's theory, the preoperational child's difficulty taking another's point of view

Egocentrism

"Do you have a brother?"
"Yes."
"What's his name?"
"Jim."
"Does Jim have a brother?"
"No."

What concept does this dialogue illustrate?

Curse of knowledge

A cognitive bias that occurs when an individual, communicating with other individuals, unknowingly assumes that the others have the background to understand

Theory of mind

People's ideas about their own and others' mental states — about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and the behaviors these might predict

false beliefs

Between about 3½ and 4½, children worldwide come to realize that others may hold \________ \___________

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

A disorder that appears in childhood and is marked by significant deficiencies in communication and social interaction, and by rigidly fixated interests and repetitive behaviors

theory of mind

People with ASD are therefore said to have an impaired \____________ \_____ \________ since they have difficulty inferring others' thoughts and feelings.

ASD

\_________ afflicts four boys for every girl

Concrete operational stage

In Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (from about 6 or 7 to 11 years of age) during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events

Formal operational stage

In Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (normally beginning about age 12) during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts

Sensorimotor

Name the Piaget stage:

Birth to nearly two years

D

Social development researchers suggest that infancy's
major social achievement is attachment. Childhood's
major social achievement is developing which of the
following?
a. Basic trust
b. Into a sexually mature person
c. Intimacy
d. A positive sense of self
e. Object permanence