Developmental Psychology: Chapters 9 and 10

Comprehensive review flashcards covering Chapter 9 (Psychoanalytic, Learning, Social Cognitive, and Ecological Theories) and Chapter 10 (Development and Understanding of Emotions, Emotion Regulation, and Temperament).

According to psychoanalytic theories, what primary factor drives human development?

Biological maturation.

In Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory, what motivates human behavior?

The need to satisfy basic biological drives,

• operate at an unconscious level.

what is erikson’s psychoanalytic theory?

• uses basic elements of freuds theory

• outlines eight stages of human growth,

• each characterized by specific conflicts that must be resolved

• related to age and maturation

In Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic framework, what does the large submerged portion of this iceberg represent?

The unconscious mind.

What are the five stages of Freud's psychosexual theory of development in chronological order?

Oral stage, 0-1

Anal stage, 1-3

Phallic stage, 3-6

Latency stage, 6-11

Genital stage. Adolescence and adulthood

What age range corresponds to the Phallic stage in Freud's psychosexual theory?

$3\text{ to }6\text{ years}$.

What age range corresponds to the Latency stage in Freud's psychosexual stages?

$6\text{ to }11\text{ years}$.

According to Erik Erikson, what drives development across the lifespan?

A series of developmental crises related to age and maturation.

= stage resolution causes growth

How did Erikson expand upon Freud's psychoanalytic theory in his psychosocial model?

He incorporated social and cultural factors and contemporary issues, proposing eight stages resolved across the lifespan.

In Erikson's psychosocial theory, which crisis occurs from birth to $1\text{ year}$ of age?

Trust vs. Mistrust.

Which psychosocial crisis corresponds to $1\text{ to }3\text{ years}$ of age in Erikson's theory?

Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt.

What psychosocial crisis occurs between $3\text{ and }6\text{ years}$ of age according to Erikson?

Initiative vs. Guilt.

Which psychosocial crisis do children face between $6\text{ and }11\text{ years}$ of age in Erikson's theory?

Industry vs. Inferiority.

What psychosocial stage characterizes adolescence to early adulthood in Erikson's model?

Identity vs. Role Confusion.

How did Freud influence modern psychological science?

Importance of early childhood relationships

• informed current attachment theory

Existence of unconscious activity

• cognitive and neuroscience

How did Erikson influence modern psychological science?

quest for identity in adolescence → Laid foundation for research on adolescence

What major limitation is shared by both Freud's and Erikson's psychoanalytic theories?

Their theoretical claims are questionable and difficult to test empirically.

How are learning theories different from stage theories?

They focus on continuity in development, proposing that there are no qualitatively different developmental stages.

• look at mechanisms of change

• eg reinforcement vs observational learning

What philosophy did John B. Watson believe in?

Behaviourism - that development is determined by the child’s environment, via learning through conditioning

• Kind but objective, distant parenting

• advising parents to never hug or kiss children or let them sit on laps, but rather shake hands with them in the morning.

what was the little albert experiment

demonstrated classical conditioning in humans, where a young child was conditioned to fear a white rat by pairing it with loud, frightening sounds.

what is skinner’s main theory?

operant conditioning, which suggests that behavior is shaped by reinforcement or punishment, thereby influencing the likelihood of its occurrence.

• reinforcement through attention

What is intermittent reinforcement?

rewards given inconsistently, leading to increased persistence in the behavior due to unpredictability makes behaviors difficult to extinguish

• operant conditioning mechanism described by B. F. Skinner
  
  

• led to behavior modification therapies

what was Albert Bandura’s theory?

Social learning theory

human learning is inherently social and based on the observation and imitation of other people's behaviors.

What four cognitive processes are required for observational learning according to Bandura?

Attention, encoding, storing, and retrieving.

What is Albert Bandura's concept of reciprocal determinism?

The bidirectional influence between the child and their environment, where each continuously influences the other.

For example, a child who enjoys playing violent video games may encourage peers to begin playing violent games together. The child may then seek out these peers above others;

as their skill level in the games mounts, the members of the group may become desensitized to violence in games, encourage each other to behave more aggressively, and be rejected by other peers,

thereby becoming even more committed to their social group

learning theories influence on modern psychology

they allow explicit predictions that can be empirically tested

• inspired an enormous amount of research concerning parental socialization practices and how children learn social behaviours

Practical applications in therapy through behaviour modification

What are the primary limitations of traditional learning theories?

They lack biological influences, ignore the role of the brain or mind, and minimize the impact of perceptual, motor, cognitive, and language development.

What are the capabilities of children in social cognitive theories?

Are active processors of social information

• Have the ability to think and reason about their own and other

people’s thoughts, feelings, motives, and behaviors

In social cognitive theories, what term describes children actively shaping their own development?

Self-socialization.

• children’s knowledge and beliefs about themselves and other people lead them to adopt particular goals and standards to guide their own behaviour.

How does Robert Selman define role taking?

The ability to adopt the perspective of another person and think about something from another's point of view.

According to Selman, what characterizes perspective taking in children younger than $6\text{ years}$ of age?

They are unaware of others' perspectives, demonstrating limited social cognition due to egocentrism.

According to Selman's stage theory of role taking, what perspective understanding emerges between $6\text{ and }8\text{ years}$?

Children recognize that others have their own perspectives, which differ because they do not have the same information.

What role-taking ability develops between $8\text{ and }10\text{ years}$ of age according to Selman?

Children can recognize and actively consider another person's perspective.

What role-taking ability develops between 10-12 yrs of age according to Selman?

children can compare their own and others' perspectives

According to Selman, how do individuals aged $12\text{ years}$ and older understand others' perspectives?

They understand others' perspectives based on social norms and broader group contexts.

in Selman's Stage Theory of Role Taking, less egocentrism causes what?

Increasing capacity to consider multiple perspectives

Which social cognitive bias is depicted when an individual interprets an ambiguous event as an act of deliberate hostility?

Hostile attributional bias.

What increases the risk of developing a hostile attributional bias?

childhood experiences of physical abuse, which increases sensitivity to anger cues and leads to difficulty in reasoning about emotions.

• social cognitive processing interventions may be helpful

In Carol Dweck's theory, what are children motivated by?

Learning goals

• focus on improving competence and mastering new material

Performance goals

• focus on receiving positive evaluations or avoiding negative evaluations.

According to Carol Dweck, what type of feedback fosters an incremental mindset?

Praising a child's effort rather than their fixed ability or intelligence.

• develops belief that abilities can be improved through effort and learning.

According to Carol Dweck, what type of feedback fosters an entity mindset?

praising success

• belief that her intelligence is fixed.

• Her goal is to be successful, and as long as she is succeeding, all is well.

• However, when she fails at something, she feels “helpless.”

• Not succeeding leads her to feel bad and doubt her abilities and self-worth.

Current Perspectives in Social Cognitive Theories

Supported by empirical research showing that:

• Children are active seekers of information about the social world

• Effect of social experience is influenced by their interpretations

what are limitations of social cognitive theories

lack insight into biological factors in social development

• Like learning theories

In developmental social neuroscience, what biological consequence was documented in children raised in institutional orphanages?

Hormonal disruption leading to atypical social responses due to early social stress.

What do research findings show regarding the impact of mindfulness meditation on children?

Research suggests positive changes to executive functioning (EF) and emotion regulation, but not measurable neural structural changes.

What is the primary objective of ethological theories in child development?

To understand behavior in terms of its adaptive or survival value within an evolutionary context.

what i imprinting?

newborns become attached to their mother at first sight and follow her everywhere; provides protection, food

During what specific developmental timeframe does imprinting occur?

During a sensitive period in infancy.

According to evolutionary psychology, why are large brains combined with slow physical development advantageous for humans?

They provide extended neural plasticity necessary for learning and social adaptability.

in ecological theroies, how does evolution occur?

Individuals with certain genes that predisposed adaptive, survival behaviour were more likely to pass down genes

• obtaining food, avoiding predators, establishing social bonds

• play is an evolved form of social learning

What is parental-investment theory in evolutionary developmental psychology?

The view that parents make extensive investments in their offspring to ensure genetic survival.

Which theory illustrates the child's environment as a series of nested structures that impact development?

Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model.

In Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model, what is the exosystem?

Environmental settings that affect the child indirectly without the child being directly situated in them (e.g., parental workplaces, school boards, mass media).

In Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model, what is the mesosystem?

The interactions between different microsystems in a child's life, such as the relationship between their family and school, which collectively influence development.

In Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model, what is the microsystem?

The microsystem is the immediate physical and social environments in which a child interacts directly, including family, peers, and school, all of which have a significant impact on their development.

In Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model, what is the chronosystem?

Beliefs, values, customs, family structure and dynamics, and technologies change over time, with consequences for the child’s development

• including changes over the life course and sociohistorical events that impact development.

bioecological model view on media through ages

Younger years: mainly for entertainment, educational content

• Lower-SES households may have fewer resources for alternatives (structured activities, safe outdoor space) and more screen-based entertainment or childcare. Parents working long or irregular hours (an exosystem influence) have less capacity to monitor or co-view.

Older years: interactive media (gaming), social media (84% use daily)

in ecological theories, what are the concerns and solutions for media influence

violence, hate speech, cyberbullying, school grades, harmful social comparisons, involvement in extremist groups, etc.

parental control over access, discussing pornography with trusted adults, legal controls and gov’t regulations of content

Current Perspectives on bioecological model and evolutionary psychology

• Evolutionary: Incorporates genetic, evolutionary contributions

• Bioecological: Broad context of development highlighted how complex the development of every child is

limitations of bioecological model and evolutionary psychology

• Evolutionary: not testable, less emphasis on the active child

• Bioecological: lack of biological determinant factors

what are emotions?

Neural and physiological responses to environment, subjective feelings, cognitions related to those feelings, and the desire to take action

What are the core components that comprise an emotion?

Neural responses,

physiological reactions,

subjective feelings,

related cognitions or perceptions,

emotional expressions, and

the desire to take action.

What is the core premise of Discrete Emotions Theory (Differential Emotions Theory)?

Emotions are innate and discrete from one another from very early in life,

each emotion accompanied by a specific, distinctive set of bodily and facial reactions.

what are the 2 main theories on the nature of emotions?

discrete emotions theory and functional perspective

According to the functional perspective, what is the fundamental purpose of emotions?

To promote action toward achieving a goal in response to the social environment. Individuals experience emotions in order to manage the relationship between themselves and the environment

• responses are automatic and subconscious, disconnected from cognition

In the functional perspective of emotions, what is the goal and action tendency and self meaning of disgust?

Goal: avoiding contamination or illness;

Action tendency: rejection of the stimulus causing disgust.

meaning: stimulus may contaminate me or make me ill

In the functional perspective of emotions, what is the goal and action tendency and self meaning of anger?

Goal: Attaining the end state that the individual currently is invested in
Action tendency: approach and confront the source of anger.

Meaning: the stimulus is perceived as a obstacle to my goals

According to functional emotion theory, what is the goal and action tendency and self meaning connected with fear?

Goal: maintaining one's own physical and psychological integrity;

Action tendency: flight or withdrawal.

meaning: stimulus is threatening me

In functional emotion theory, what is the meaning regarding the self, goal and action tendency for sadness?

Meaning regarding the self: 'My goal is unattainable';

Action tendency: disengagement and withdrawal.

Goal: Attaining the end state that the individual currently is invested in

In functional emotion theory, what is the meaning regarding the self, goal and action tendency for shame?

Meaning regarding the self: 'I am bad, and others see that’

Action tendency: withdrawal and avoidance.

Goal: to protect one's self-image and regain social acceptance. preserve self esteem

In functional emotion theory, what is the meaning regarding the self, goal and action tendency for guilt?

Meaning regarding the self: 'I have done contrary to my values';

Action tendency: reparative actions or inform others, punish self

Goal: meeting ones own internalized values

In functional emotion theory, what distinguishes the meaning regarding the self in shame compared to guilt?

Shame implies 'I am bad (my self-esteem is damaged)',

whereas guilt implies 'I have done something contrary to my values.'

What is social referencing in infant development?

The use of a parent's or other adult's facial expression or vocal cues to decide how to respond to novel, ambiguous, or threatening situations.

By what age is social referencing reliably evident in infants?

Evident by $12\text{ months}$ of age.

how do children learn social competence?

learn social significance of emotions

• through understanding, identifying and knowing the meanings of emotions

At what age can infants first distinguish facial expressions of happiness, surprise, and anger?

$3\text{ months}$ of age.

emotional identification skills at 16-18 months

prefer toys with surprise and happy faces

At what age can children typically identify and verbally label emotions?

$2\text{ years}$ of age.

emotional identification skills at 3 yrs

identify situations that make people happy

realize that expressed emotion may not reflect true feelings.

emotional identification skills at 4 yrs

identify situations that make people sad

emotional identification skills at 5 yrs

identify situations likely to elicit anger, fear, surprise

false emotions improve more - display rules

emotional identification skills at 7 yrs

self-conscious social emotions (pride, guilt, shame,

embarrassment, guilt) emerge

What are display rules and what developmental change allows children to improve their mastery of them?

Informal social group norms about when, where, and how much to show or suppress emotions;

advances in understanding them are linked to increases in cognitive capacities.

what is emotional regulation?

A set of conscious and unconscious processes that develops gradually over childhood

• Used to monitor and modulate emotional experiences and expressions

types of emotional regulation

Emotional self-regulation

• The process of initiating, inhibiting, or modulating

Social competence

• The ability to achieve personal goals in social interactions while still maintaining positive relationships with others

• Comforting others in distress; cooperation; playing well with others

Co-regulation

• Process by which a caregiver provides the needed comfort or distraction to help a child reduce his or her distress

• External process

Self-comforting behaviours

• Repetitive actions that regulate arousal by providing a mildly positive physical sensation

Self-distraction

• Looking away from an upsetting stimulus to regulate one’s level of arousal

What is co-regulation in emotional development?

An external process by which a caregiver provides comfort or distraction to help a child reduce their distress.

In early emotion regulation, what is the difference between self-comforting behaviors and self-distraction?

Self-comforting behaviors are repetitive physical actions providing mildly positive physical sensations,

while self-distraction involves looking away from an upsetting stimulus.

type of emotional regulation strategies used by young vs old vs neurodivergent kids

young: behavioural strategies

older: cognitive strategies

neurodivergent: difficulties with emotional regulation

types of approach vs avoidance strategies for emotional regulation

Approach strategies:

• Seeking social support – e.g., ask a family member for advice

• Problem solving/self-reliance – e.g., try to think of different ways to solve it

Avoidance strategies:

• Distancing – e.g., make believe nothing happened; refuse to think about it

• Internalizing – e.g., cry about it; worry too much about it

• Externalizing – e.g., get mad and throw or hit something; yell to let off steam

(approach is better for emotional regulation

what is temperament

constitutionally based individual differences in emotional, motor and attentional reactivity and self regulation

• demonstrate consistency across situations and time

• from infancy

• genetically and environmentally based

What are the 3 groups of infant temperament?

Easy:

• adjusts easily to new situations

• quick to establish new daily routines

• easy to calm

• generally cheerful

Slow to warm up

• somewhat difficult at first but become easier over time with repeated contact

Difficult

• slow to adjust to new experiences

• react negatively to intense events

• irregular daily routines and body functions

what creates temperament?

• Large portion of the variance in three aspects of temperament (effortful control, negative affectivity, and extroversion) was explained by heritability.

• Key aspects of the home environments had a heritable component.

• Parents’ temperaments affected children directly through genetic transmission and indirectly through the home environment they created.

• Passive gene-environment correlation

5 aspects of temperament

fear, distress/anger/frustration, attention span, activity level, and smiling and laughter

• between person approach

• each aspect is rated on a scale to assess individual variances in temperament traits

within person vs between person temperament

Within-person temperament refers to the consistent patterns of behavior and emotional responses exhibited by an individual across different situations

• thomas and chess 3 category babies

while between-person temperament highlights the differences in these patterns among various individuals.

What concept is illustrated by this graph showing that susceptible individuals perform worse in negative environments but better in positive environments than non susceptible children?

Differential susceptibility.

characteristics of inhibited children?

problems with anxiety, depression, and social withdrawal at older ages, into adulthood

what is goodness of fit?

How well a child’s temperament matches the demands and expectations of a particular context (social environment)

what is the macrosystem?

the larger cultural and social context within which the other systems are embedded

• general beliefs, values, customs, and laws of the

  larger society

• opportunity structure: the economic and social resources offered and people’s understanding of those resources