Unit 3: Development and Learning

developmental psychology

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

stability vs change

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

Nature vs. Nurture

How does our genetic inheritance (our nature) interact with our experiences (our nurture) to influence our development? How have your nature and your nurture influenced your life story?

Continuous and Discontinuous Stages of Development

Which parts of development are gradual and continuous, like riding an escalator? Which parts change abruptly in separate stages, like climbing rungs on a ladder?

Cross-Sectional Research

Research that compares people of different ages at the same point in time

Longitudinal Research

research that follows and retests the same people over time

Teratogens

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

Maternal Illnesses

an illness a pregnant woman has that can negatively affect the fetus during prenatal development.

Genetic Mutations

Changes in the genetic material of cells that passes from one generation to another.

Rooting

a reflex in which a newborn turns its head in response to a gentle stimulus on its cheek

Imprinting

the process by which certain animals form strong attachments during early life

Critical Periods

an optimal period early in the life of an organism when exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces normal development

Menopause

the time of natural cessation of menstruation; also refers to the biological changes a woman experiences as her ability to reproduce declines

Visual Cliff

a laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals

Adolescence

the transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence

Puberty

the period of sexual maturation, during which a person usually becomes capable of reproducing

Primary Sex Characteristics

the body structures (ovaries, testes, and external genitalia) that make sexual reproduction possible

Secondary Sex Characteristics

nonreproductive sexual characteristics, such as female breasts and hips, male voice quality, and body hair

Menarche

the first menstrual period

Spermarche

the first ejaculation

Sex

in psychology, the biologically influenced characteristics by which people define males and females

Gender

in psychology, the attitudes, feelings, and behaviors that a given culture associates with a person's biological sex

Egocentrism

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

Jean Piaget

Known for his theory of cognitive development in children

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.

Schema

a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information

Assimilation

interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas

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

Preoperational Stage

in Piaget's theory, the stage (from about 2 to 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

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

Reversability

the ability to mentally reverse a mathematical operation

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

Lev Vygotsky

child development; investigated how culture & interpersonal communication guide development; zone of proximal development; play research

Scaffold

a framework that offers children temporary support as they develop higher levels of thinking

Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)

Vygotsky's concept of the difference between what a child can do alone and what that child can do with the help of a teacher

Crystallized Intelligence

our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age

Dementia

a slowly progressive decline in mental abilities, including memory, thinking, and judgment, that is often accompanied by personality changes

Language

our spoken, written, or signed words and the ways we combine them to communicate meaning

Phonemes

in language, the smallest distinctive sound unit

Morphemes

The smallest units of meaning in a language.

Semantics

the set of rules by which we derive meaning from morphemes, words, and sentences in a given language; also, the study of meaning

Grammar

in a language, a system of rules that enables us to communicate with and understand others

Syntax

The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language.

Cooing

early vowel-like sounds that babies produce

babbling

stage of language development at about 4 months when an infant spontaneously utters nonsense sounds

One-word Stage

the stage in speech development, from about age 1 to 2, during which a child speaks mostly in single words

Telegraphic Speech

early speech stage in which a child speaks like a telegram—"go car"—using mostly nouns and verbs.

Overgeneralization

applying grammar rules in areas they don't apply ("I writed a story"; goed; comed)

Ecological Systems Theory

views the person as developing within a complex system of relationships affected by multiple levels of the surrounding environment

Microsystem

the people and objects in an individual's immediate environment

Mesosystem

provides connections across microsystems

Exosystem

social settings that a person may not experience firsthand but that still influence development

Macrosystem

consists of cultural values, laws, customs, and resources

Chronosystem

historical changes that influence the other systems

Attachment

an emotional tie with another person; shown in young children by their seeking closeness to the caregiver and showing distress on separation

Authoritarian Parenting

style of parenting in which parent is rigid and overly strict, showing little warmth to the child

Authoritative Parenting

parenting style characterized by emotional warmth, high standards for behavior, explanation and consistent enforcement of rules, and inclusion of children in decision making

Permissive Parenting

A parenting style characterized by the placement of few limits on the child's behavior.

Secure Attachment

a relationship in which an infant obtains both comfort and confidence from the presence of his or her caregiver

Insecure Attachment

attachments marked by anxiety or ambivalence

Avoidant Attachment

attachments marked by discomfort over, or resistance to, being close to others

Anxious Attachment

attachments marked by anxiety or ambivalence. an insecure attachment style

Disorganized Attachment

a type of attachment that is marked by an infant's inconsistent reactions to the caregiver's departure and return

Separation Anxiety

emotional distress seen in many infants when they are separated from people with whom they have formed an attachment

Stranger Anxiety

the fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning by about 8 months of age

Temperament

basic emotional style that appears early in development and is largely genetic in origin; a person's characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity

Parallel Play

activity in which children play side by side without interacting

Pretend Play

make-believe activities in which children create new symbolic relations, acting as if they were in a situation different from their actual one

Adolescence

the transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence

Imaginary Audience

adolescents' belief that they are the focus of everyone else's attention and concern

Personal Fable

type of thought common to adolescents in which young people believe themselves to be unique and protected from harm

Social Clock

the culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement

Emerging Adulthood

for some people in modern cultures, a period from the late teens to mid-twenties, bridging the gap between adolescent dependence and full independence and responsible adulthood

Psychosocial Stages of Development

To Erikson, eight successive stages encompassing the life span. At each stage, we must cope with a crisis in either an adaptive or a maladaptive way.

Trust and Mistrust

1st stage in Erikson's model; infants must learn to view the world as a predictable, safe place or face a future of guarded skepticism

Autonomy and Shame and Doubt

2nd stage in Erikson's model; toddlers must be able to exercise some independence or will be ashamed and uncertain of their abilities

Initiative and Guilt

3rd stage in Erikson's model; preschoolers must learn to start and direct creative tasks, or they may feel guilty about asserting themselves

Industry and Inferiority

4th stage in Erikson's model; children must master the skills valued by their society or feel inferior

Identity and Role Confusion

5th stage in Erikson's model; adolescents must develop a sense of identity or suffer lack of direction

Intimacy and Isolation

6th stage in Erikson's model; young adults must form close, satisfying relationships or suffer loneliness

Generativity and Stagnation

7th stage in Erikson's model; in middle age, adults must discover a sense of contributing to the world or they may feel a lack of purpose

Integrity and Despair

8th stage in Erikson's model; when reflecting at the end of life, an older adult must feel a sense of satisfaction or experience despair (feelings of having wasted one's life)

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)

Stressful or traumatic experiences, including abuse, neglect, and a range of household dysfunction, such as witnessing domestic violence or growing up with substance abuse, mental disorders, parental discord, or crime in the home. (we'll learn this more in Unit 5)

Identity

our sense of self

Diffusion (of identity)

the individual is overwhelmed by the task of achieving an identity and does little to accomplish the task. no exploration, no commitment.

Foreclosure (of Identity)

To prematurely adopt an "identity"

Moratorium (of identity)

exploration of an identity but with no commitment

Achievement (of identity)

to find one's true sense of self

Associative Learning

learning that certain events occur together. The events may be two stimuli (as in classical conditioning) or a response and its consequences (as in operant conditioning).

Behavioral Perspective (Behaviorism)

the view that psychology should be an objective science that studies behavior without reference to mental processes

Classical Conditioning

a type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events

Acquisition

In classical conditioning, the initial stage, when one links a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus begins triggering the conditioned response. In operant conditioning, the strengthening of a reinforced response.

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)

unlearned cause

Unconditioned Response (UCR)

unlearned effect

Conditioned Response (CR)

learned effect

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

learned cause

Extinction

the diminishing of a conditioned response; occurs in classical conditioning when an unconditioned stimulus (US) does not follow a conditioned stimulus (CS); occurs in operant conditioning when a response is no longer reinforced.