psych unit 2

developmental Psychology

explores how we grow throough infancy, childhood, adolecence, and adulthood

physical change

growth, change in brain, shift in hormone levels

socio-emotional

changes in learning who we are, how we form relationships, interact with others, how we experience and regulate emotions

cognitive changes

develop language, think, reason, and communicate

difference-equals- deficit error

incorrect idea that observing a developmental difference in a person means they are deficient or inferior in someway

germinal period

first 2 weeks - fertilization, rapid cell division, implantation

embryonic period

organs develop

fetal period

brain continues to develop, body structures are refined

zygote

first cell of new life

teratogens

factors that can harm prenatal development

1. drugs

2. infectious agents

3. envirmental agents

4. health factors

teragoens in germinal period

impact conception

teratogens in the embryonic period

physical defects

teratogens in the fetal period

effect certain processing abilities

maturation

physical development of the brain and body that produces growth and enables physical and psychological functioning

synaptogenesis

First critical change: myelinated arons form synapses with other neurons

neural pruning

connections that are not used will decay and disappear

attachment

an enduring emotional connection that can motivate care, protection, and social support

secure attachment

The attachment style for infants who are confident enough to play near a stranger as long as the caregiver is present but cry when caregiver leaves

avoidant attachment

don’t get upset when the caregiver leaves them alone with a stranger

ambivalent attachment

mixed feelings about the caregiver- cry when they leave, but both seek out and reject the caregiver upon the caregiver’s return

schemas

mental structures that contain info about how the world works

assimilation

we place new experience into an existing schema

accommodation

we create new schema or dramatically alter an existing one to indude new info that otherwise would not fit into the existing schema

sensorimotor stage

first stage in Piaget’s theory of cognitive development when infants develop schemas about the world related to their senses and motor skills

object permanence

understanding that an object continues to exist even when not in view

preoperational stage

second stage in piaget’s theory- children use schemus to think symbolically, but they use intutive thought, focus on superficial appearances, and view the world only from their own perspective

telegraphic speech

form 2 word sentences that show more complex thought

intuitive thought

cannot imagine the logical outcomes of performing certain actions on certain objects

egocentrism

Preoperational thinkers generally view the world through their own experiences - revolve around their own perspectives

concrete operational stage

3rd stage, children use schemas to perform logical mental operations, reason about objects that are physically present, and they are no longer fooled by appearances

conservation

the idea that even if the appearance of a substance changes in one dimension, the properties of the substance remain unchanged

formal operational stage

people can reason by using schemas

hypothetical

deductive reasoning- one can form a hypothesis about something and test through logic

specific areas of the brain that are important in adolescence

limbic system- motivational and emotional

prefrontal cortex

spermarche

production of mature sperm

menarche

first period

theory of psycholocial development

human development based on the psychosocial challenges we face at different ages and how they affect our social relationship

Identity versus role confusion

adolescents face the challengesof figuring out who they are

moral development

the way people learn to decide between behaviors with competing social outcomes

moral emotions

emotions that show an awareness of social expectations

preconventional stage

stage of oral reasoning that develops earliest, where decisions about what is moral are based on self-interest and event outcome

conventional stage

decisions about what is moral are based on laws and the social approval or disapproval of others

postconventional stage

decisions on what is moral depend on complex reasoning, abstract principles, the value of all life, and the greater good for all people

emerging adulthood

between the end of physical and sexual maturity and the completed transition to stable adult patterns of relationships and work

age of feeling-in-between

independent inin some ways, dependent in others

age of self focus

less self-centered than in adolescence - still focused on own needs and growth - relatively fewer obligations, able to do what they want to do at any moment

age of continued identity exploration

exploring lifestyle choices such as career path, where you want to live

age of instability

uncertainty about what path, roles, and responsibilities you want (or dont want)

age of possibilities

optimistic about options for future and what life can be

andropause

period of adulthood in which men experience declines in androgens such as testosterone, which reduces muscle mass, sex drive, and fertility

menopause

Women experience declines in estrogens such as estradiol, causing the end of menstruation and end of women’s ability to reproduce

plasticity

the brain’s ability to change overtime

dementia

severe impairment in intellectual capacity and personality, often due to alzheimer’s disease and stroke

neurogenesis

vigorous exercise that increases the heart rate also increases the size of the hippocampus by creating new neurons

intimacy versus isolation

6th stage of erikson’s theory of psychosocial development, where people in early adulthood face the challenge of forming committed long term friendships and romances

generatively versus stagnation

7th stage of erikson’s theory of psychosocial development, people in middle adulthood face the challenge of leaving behind a positive legacy and caring for future generations

integrity versus despair

8th stage of erikson’s theory of psychosocial development, people inlate adulthood face the challengeof feeling satisfied that they have lived a good life and developed wisdom

blue zone

place with a high concentration of centenarians (people age 100+) who have a high quality of life

life style factors of living in blue zone

move naturally, have a purpose, reducing stress, 80% rule ( only eat until 80% full), plant based diet, wine at 5, belonging, loved ones first, right tribe

synesthesia

condition in which one form of sensory input triggers an additional experience in another form

sensation

sense organ’s detection of physical stimuli from the world around you

physical stimuli

light waves, sound waves, food molecules, odor molecules, temperature changes, pressure changes

perception

The processing, organization, and interpretation of sensory information in the brain- conscious experience of the world

interpreting sensation

essence of perception - perceptual systems translate sensation into information that is meaningful and useful

sensory receptors

specialized cells in the sense organs that detect stimuli - detect physical stimulation from the external world and change it into information that the brain can process

transduction

the process by which sesory receptors change physical stimuli into neural signals that the brain can understand

steps in the process of changing sensory input into a personal experience

1. physical stimulus

2. sensation - Stimulus detected

3. Transduction - stimulus becomes neural signals

4. Perception - neural signals travel along nerve fibers to the thalamus- cortical areas in the brain process the signals and construct a representation

absolute threshold

The minimum amount of physical stimulus required before you detect the sensory input

difference threshold

The smallest difference that you can notice between 2 sensory inputs

weber’s law

Just noticeable difference between 2 sensory inputs is based on the proportion of the original sensory input rather than on a fixed amount of difference

sensory adaptation

The tendency for our sensory systems to become less sensitive to processing a constant level of input

steps of seeing

1. Light waves reflected from the image pass through the cornea and enter the eye through the pupil. The lens focuses the light on the retina

2. sensory receptors in the retina, called rods and cones, detect the light waves

3. rods and cones convert light waves into signals. those signals are processed by ganglioon cells, which generate action potentials that are sent to the brain by the optic nerve

4. signals from each visual field are processed on one side of each retina. they travel along the optic nerve and through the thalamus, and they are processed in the primary visual cortex that is opposite the visual field

presbyopia

muscles of lens lose their ability to change the shape of the lens - harder to focus on objects that are very close

retina

thin inner surface of the back of the eyeball

rods

lower illumination - dont support color or fine details

cones

higher illumination- fine detail/color

fovea

supports central vision, looking straight ahead

ganglion cells

receive info from rods and cones - responsible for processing color - generate action potentials

optic nerve

Axons of all ganglion cells are gathered into a bundle

optic chiasm

point where axons cross

why objects appear a particular color

1. wavelengths of visible light that the object reflects

2. how the receptors in the eye process the light

electormagnetic waves

light waves

amplitude

height of the light wave from base to peak - lower = darker - higher = brighter

wavelength

distance from peak to peak

hue

wave lengths

longer = red

shorter= violet or blue

trichromatic theory

explains how you process color based on cone receptors

Each type of receptor is sensitive to different wavelengths of light

short = blue

medium = green

long = red

m+l= yellow

gestalt approach

Our brain uses built-in principles to organize sensory

figure-ground organization

object is a figure that is distinct from the background

grouping

brain's perception of an object as a unified whole by determining what features and regions “go together”

top down processing

trying to make sense of what we experience based on what we already know

bottom-up processing

begins with the external world, then information is processed from lower to higher, more conceptual levels

perceptual set

tendencies to perceive stimuli in specific ways that make sense given prior experiences and expectaions