Chapter 11 - Developmental Psychology

longitudinal studies

investigators observe one group of participants repeatedly over a period of time

cross-sectional studies

investigators compare groups of participants of differing age at a single point in time

example of a longitudinal study

100 infants from low-income families in North Carolina were followed from early infancy to their mid-30s to see whether special care as a toddler impacted their adult lives

developmental psychology

study of the chronological changes over the lifespan in physiology, cognition, emotion and social behavior

nature and nurture

the debate of weather you are shaped by your environment or genes

continuity and discontinuous stages

debate over which parts of development and gradual and continuous and which change abruptly

stability and change

which traits stay constant and which change through life?

heredity

genetic characteristics that influence development

environment

external factors that influence development

epigenetics

study of environmental influence that determines if genes are expressed

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)

traumatic childhood experiences, such as abuse, neglect, or death of a parent, that are linked to mental and physical health problems later in life

zygote

fertilized egg

teratogens

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

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

birth defects, head and brain abnormalities, behavioral problems, hyperactivity

Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS)

opioid withdrawal in the newborn

nicotine (impact on baby)

respiratory problems, low birth weight

motor reflexes

motor responses that are triggered by specific patterns of sensory stimulation (innate behavior)

maturation

the way we change, grow, and develop through life as seen in brain and physical development

gross motor skills

physical abilities involving large body movements, such as walking and jumping

fine motor skills

physical abilities involving small body movements, especially of the hands and fingers

sensitive periods

time periods where the effects of experience on the brain are unusually strong (ie critical period for learning language)

adolescence

period of development starting at the onset of sexual maturity (11-14 years) and lasts until the beginning of adulthood (18-21 years)

puberty

body changes associated with sexual maturity

primary sex characteristics

changes during puberty involved in reproduction

secondary sex characteristics

changes during puberty not directly involved in reproduction

proliferation and pruning in the brain

the formation of neural connections as a young child, and then the getting rid of unnecessary connections during puberty

crystallized intelligence

accumulated knowledge, like vocabulary

fluid intelligence

ability to reason speedily and abstractly

neurocognitive disorders (NCDs)

acquired disorders marked by decreased mental function not typical of normal aging

dementia and Alzheimer's

entails a progressive decline in memory and other cognitive abilities

cognitive development

process by which infants and children gain the ability to think and understand

how do children learn about the world?

children's maturing brains build schemas that are used to understand the word and adjusted through assimilation and accommodation

schemas

conceptual models of how the world works

assimilation

the process of applying the schema to situations

accommodation

adapting our current understandings/ schemas to incorporate new information

Jean Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development

the mind develops through a series of universal, irreversible stages from simple reflexes to abstract reasoning

Piaget's stages of cognitive development

sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational

sensorimotor stage

from birth to around 2 years, experiencing the world through senses and actions

developmental phenomena during sensorimotor stage

object permanence, stranger anxiety, trial and error, repetition

object permanence

an object continues to exist even when it's not visible

stranger anxiety

fear of unfamiliar people resulting when a child is unable to assimilate the stranger into an existing schema

preoperational stage

from 2 to 7 years, representing things with words and images; using intuitive instead of logical reasoning

developmental phenomena during preoperational stage

pretend play, egocentrism, language development, basic math, animism, irreversibility

egocentrism

assumption that other people see, hear, and feel exactly the same as the child does

animism

belief that inanimate objects have human feelings and intentions

lack of conservation

inability to determine that a certain quantity will remain the same despite adjustment of the container, shape, or apparent size

irreversibility

the quality of being unable to be changed or reversed

concrete operational stage

from 7 to 11 years, thinking logically about concrete events; grasping concrete analogies and performing arithmetical operations

developmental phenomena during concrete operational stage

conservation, mathematical transformations, reversibility, hierarchical classification

reversibility

ability to understand that the order of things can be reversed and still have the same meaning

hierarchical classification

the organization of objects into classes and subclasses on the basis of similarities and differences

formal operational stage

from 11 to adulthood, abstract reasoning

developmental phenomena during formal operational stage

abstract logic, potential for mature moral reasoning, predictions

abstract logic

contemplate ideas like love, free will, justice, etc

predictions

able to think about hypothetical situations and reason scientifically

moral reasoning

forming an identity and morality

Theory of Mind

ability to reason about what other people know or believe

false belief test

test in which children must infer that another person does not possess knowledge that they possess (ie swapping a ball from a basket to a box, where will the person look for the ball?)

criticisms of Piaget

development is more fluid than stages, milestones occur earlier than proposed, discounts role of culture

Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory

cultural tools like language and social interactions contribute to development of cognition

scaffolding

support for learning and problem solving that encourages independence and growth (instructions, modeling, encouragement, etc)

zone of proximal development

range of things children cannot do on their own that need guidance from a more knowledgeable individual that helps the child make meaning

metacognition

thinking about thinking

attachment

an emotional tie with another person

comfort contact

the physical and emotional comfort an infant receives by being in contact with its mother

strange situation experiment

baby enters room with mom, mom leaves, later returns, baby's behavior upon her return is observed to determine what type of attachment the baby had

secure attachment

child is positive and happy when the mother returns

insecure attachment

avoidant, anxious, or disorganized

avoidant attachment

not distressed when caregiver leaves, ignores upon return

anxious attachment

distressed when caregiver leaves, responds negatively upon return

disorganized attachment

no consistent pattern in the baby's behavior

secure attachment impacts on adult life

secure relationships and friendships, comfortable with affection and intimacy

anxious attachment impacts on adult life

craves acceptance but remains anxious to possible rejection

avoidant attachment impacts on adult life

avoids getting close in relationships, diminishes social support

disorganized attachment impacts on adult life

may experience a combination of anxious and avoidant attachment styles

imaginary audience

someone believes that others are constantly watching and evaluating them

personal fable

belief in one's uniqueness and invulnerability

authoritative parenting

parents set limits and enforce rules but are flexible and listen to their children

authoritarian parenting

parents are rigid and overly strict, showing little warmth to the child

permissive parenting

parents make few, if any, demands on a child's behavior

self concept

an understanding of who you are

self-efficacy

one's sense of competence and effectiveness

Baumrind believed what?

authoritative parenting resulted in the best outcomes

psychosocial stages of development

each stage of life is tied to a psychological struggle/conflict that contributes to your personality and overall development

development along the psychosocial stages

you move through each stage by solving the "crisis"; if the crisis is unsolved, the individual has a reduced ability to complete further stages

ego identity development

a period of active searching and exploring alternatives to current situations

stages of ego identity development

foreclosure, diffusion, moratorium, identity achievement

identity achievement

commitment to values, beliefs, and goals following a period of exploration