Psych Terms - Exam 3 (FINAL - not accumulative)

Major issues in developmental psych

nature and nurture, continuity and stages, stability and change

Continuity vs. Stages

Is development a gradual, continuous process or a sequence of separate (can be predisposed) stages?

Stability and Change

Do our early personality traits persist through life, or do we become different persons as we age? (life requires both)

cross-sectional research

research that compares groups of people who differ in age but are similar in other aspects (ex. air pollution w/ diff aged pgh residents)

Longitudinal Research

A research design in which the same individuals are followed over time and their development is repeatedly assessed.

Stages of Prenatal Development

germinal, embryonic, fetal

germinal stage

2 week period that begins at conception

Zygote

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

embryonic stage

2nd-8th week, when organs begin to form, up to 25% die

Fetal stage

3rd stage, lasts from the ninth week until birth, after 3rd month can see sex organs (only weighs 3oz at 3in long)

Stages of prenatal development: months 4-6

Huge brain development, age of viability (can survive on own if born)

Stages of prenatal development: months 6-9

Lungs, heart, arteries, and veins mature; fetus gains about 4.5 pounds

Stages of prenatal development (28th week, around 7th month)

auditory communication from mother to child (can hear voices/music etc)

Factors affecting prenatal development - check slide 15ish

- Teratogens - substances that cause birth defects

o Drugs and Alcohol

o Medications

o Diseases

o Critical period - period of prenatal development when a particular structure is vulnerable (?)

When do you have the maximum number of neurons?

at birth, but not enough neural connections

Sequence of motor development

Roll over, sit, crawl, walk, run (identical twins start walking on same day often)

cognition

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

Jean Piaget's Theories + Psychological Contributions

Stages of cognitive development, schemas, assimilation, accommodation

Name of cognitive development stage from Birth - 2 years

Sensorimotor (lack object permanence ex. peek-a-boo)

Name of cognitive development stage from 2-6/7 years

Preoperational (pretend play, egocentric, lack concept of conservation - think of glasses same height diff sizes same amt)

Name of cognitive development stage from 7-11 years

Concrete operational (begin to grasp conservation and math)

Name of cognitive development stage from 12-adulthood

Formal operational (capable of abstract thinking)

attachment

emotional tie with another (monkeys more drawn to comfort than nourishment)

insecure attachment

extra clingy or apathetic children (usually towards insensitive or neglectful mothers)

parenting styles:

authoritarian (Strict), permissive (spoiling), uninvolved, authoritative (resopnsive but demanding)

Kohlberg's stages of moral development

pre-conventional (self-interested, before 9), conventional (social appeal, early adolescence), post-conventional (ethical principles, adolescence + beyond)

Erikson's stages of psychosocial development

Infancy: trust vs. mistrust

Toddlerhood: autonomy vs. shame and doubt

Preschool: initiative vs. guilt

Elementary school: industry vs. inferiority

Adolescence: identity vs. role confusion

Young adulthood: intimacy vs. isolation

Middle adulthood: generativity vs. stagnation

Late adulthood: integrity vs. despair

crystallized intelligence vs fluid intelligence

our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age vs active recall (Decreases with age)

Psychodynamic theories

Id (unconscious psychic energy), Superego (internalized ideals), and ego (executive mediator)

Id (unconscious psychic energy)

a reservoir of unconscious energy that, according to Freud, aims to satisfy basic physical and sexual urges, operates on the pleasure principle (Example: having a desire to hit the vape on the ground)

Superego

ideal self, moral compass, judge, conscious

ego

middleground between ID and superego, operates on reality principle, balance between both

psychosexual stages (freud)

the childhood stages of development (oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital) where the id's pleasure-seeking energies focus on distinct areas

Oral Stage (0-18 months)

pleasure centers on the mouth- sucking, biting, chewing

Anal Stage (18-36 months)

pleasure centers on their bowel and bladder movements

Phallic Stage (3-6 years)

please arises from incestual urges, which makes us have to differentiate between romantic and platonic/family relationships

first 3 psychosexual stages

Oral, anal, and phallic

Latency (6-puberty)

dormant (inactive/sleeping) sexual feelings

Genital (puberty on)

maturation of sexual interests in light of lessons and societal expectations from previous stages

defense mechanisms

repression, regression, reaction formation, projection, rationalization, displacement, denial

Repression (defense mechanism)

blocking of unpleasant feelings and experiences from ones awareness, underlies other defense mechanism

Regression

slipping to an earlier stage of development when faced with stress (Ex. age regression -- hugging stuffed animals with painful operations)

Reaction formation

Defense mechanism by which people behave in a way opposite to their usual self (overly nice to someone you dont like - mom)

projection

disguising one's own threatening impulses by attributing them to others

Rationalization

offers self-justifying explanations in place of the real, more threatening, unconscious reasons for one's actions

Displacement

psychoanalytic defense mechanism that shifts sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person, redirecting anger toward a safer outlet, (instead of yelling at your mom, critique your father, "taking it out on someone else")

Denial

refusing to believe or even perceive painful realities (ex wouldn't cheat on me! jk bro why tf would he be at evas dorm and wear her clothes otherwise)

Psychodynamic theorists

Freud, Carl Jung, Alfred Adler, Karen Horney

Carl Jung's theories

Collective unconscious, archetypes

Carl Jung: Collective Unconscious

shared, inherited reservoir of memory traces from our species' history and genealogy

Carl Jung: Archetypes

father figure, mother earth, reveals how connected we are as humans

Alfred Adler

inferiority complex

Alfred Adler: inferiority complex

innate sense of inferiority and strive to overcome deficiencies by becoming superior, some struggling with these feelings throughout their life and others challenge and reject them as they grow by striving for superiority

Karen Horney

Childhood anxiety triggers desires for love and security, coping styles

Karen Horney and basic anxiety

a sense of uncertainty and loneliness on a hostile world and can lead to maladjustment, induces a craving for love and security (if not then deals with it by coping styles)

Projective Tests

Rorschach inkblots, thematic apperception task (tat)

Rorschach inkblot test

a projective technique in which respondents' inner thoughts and feelings are believed to be revealed by analysis of their interpretations of unstructured inkblots

Thematic apperception task (slide 19)

respondents write a story in response to a picture; used to measure motives including the need for affiliation, for power, and most often, achievement

Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

physiological, safety, love/belonging, esteem, self-actualization

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: Physiological

breathing, food, water, sex, sleep, homeostasis, excretion

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: Safety

security of body, employment, resources, morality, family, health, property

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: Love/belonging

friendship, family, sexual intimacy

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: Esteem

Self-esteem, confidence, achievement, respect of others, respect by others

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: Self-actualization

morality, creativity, spontaneity, problem solving, lack of prejudice, acceptance of facts

Carl Rodgers

growth-promoting climate of genuineness, acceptance, and empathy

Gordon Allport's Trait Theory

people have traits that make up personality

Allport's definition of trait

a characteristic behavior or a disposition to feel and act

The big 5 factors of trait theories

Conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness, extraversion

Conscientiousness

Organized, careful, disciplined

Agreeableness

soft-hearted, trusting, helpful

Neuroticism

anxious, insecure, self-pitying

Openness

imaginative, prefers variety, independent

Extraversion

sociable, fun-loving, affectionate

Social-Cognitive Theories

incorporate traits and social context

Reciprocal determinism

behavior, internal cognition, and environment interact to influence personality

What is the best way to predict behavior of a situation?

Past behavior in similar situations

The spotlight effect

feeling like everything revolves around you/everyone is looking at you

Self-serving bias

we tend to perceive ourselves favorably (tend to take credit for the good, blame others for the bad, and see ourself as above average)

narcissism

excessive self-love

Cultural Influences - Individualism and collectivism

people from individualistic cultures tend to be more independent and seek progress for their own life, people from collectivistic cultures tend to be more socially responsible and link their identity to a group (e.g., family).

social psychology

the scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another

attribution theory

the theory that we explain someone's behavior by crediting either the situation or the person's disposition

fundamental attribution error

underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition (assume it has to do with character)

peripheral route persuasion

uninformative cues, fast results, no systematic thinking (Sydney sweeney's jean ad)

Social thinking

offers evidence, best with those involved, durable results (burger king ceo eating burger ad)

Foot-in-the-door technique

tendency for people who have agreed to something small to agree to something bigger after (can i go out with friends? can i have cash for it? yesyes)

Door-in-the-face technique

tendency for people comply with a request that seems smaller than the first request (can i sleepover there? ok can i just hangout? noyes)

cognitive dissonance

when behaviors clash with beliefs (nurse smoking cigs)

cultural norms

rules for accepted and expected behavior

Asch's studies

Conformity- people don't like to contradict the opinions of a group (which is the longer line, clap when others do, cult anonimity)

Normative conformitive

wanting social approval (don't wanna be outcase/exception)

informational conformity

wanting to be correct (not trusting self)

Obedience - milgram's experiment

over 60% of participants produced harmful shock to the most extreme level "because they were told to" (gestapo inhumanity vibes/cult motivated killers)

Bystander effect

Diffusion of responsibility, pluralistic ignorance (when others don't do anything we assume we don't know whats going on)

Social loafing

tendency to work less hard when in a group

Group polarization

group becomes more radical as each person agrees with each other

Groupthink

not wanting to disturb others, losing critical thinking skills (cult)

just world phenomemon

world is just and people get what they deserve (stereotypes can help rationalize systemic inequalities)

in group + out group bias

favoring those similar to us even if it leads to cognitive dissonance

scapegoat theory

the theory that prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame