AP Psychology - Unit 3 key terms: Development and Learning

developmental psychology

the scientific study of how people change throughout their life span, including physical, cognitive, and social changes. development is not a process with a key ending

Life span psychologists

focus on understanding the various stages of human development from infancy to old age, examining the influence of biological, social, and cultural factors.

child psychologists

focus on earlier portion of typical life span. Specialize in children's mental, emotional, and social development, addressing learning disabilities, delays, and behavioral issues.

nature-nurture debate

Discussion on how genetics (nature) and environment (nurture) influence human development.

maturationists

Believe development is primarily driven by biological and genetic factors.

maturation

biological readiness. the natural, genetically-driven changes that occur throughout a lifespan, leading to physical and cognitive development, and eventual maturity

enviormentalists

Almost all development is a direct result of learning—infants are born as blank slates onto which experience etches its lessons. Organisms develop more complex experiences and interactions with their surroundings.

continuous development

the idea that a person’s mental, physical, emotional, and social abilities gradually unfold over time.

discontinuous development

a concept that proposes that growth and development occur in a series of sudden shifts or “leaps.” 

critical period

a specific time frame during which certain skills or abilities must develop in order for normal development to occur. if it doesnt develop then, it probably never will (EX. language; if not exposed to language by 12, ability to learn it diminishes/dissapears)

collectivist cultures

the needs of society are placed before the needs of individual.

individualist cultures

promote personal needs above the needs of society

normative development

the typical progression of skills and abilities that individuals are expected to achieve at various ages.

cross-sectional method

seeks to compare groups of people of various ages on similar tasks.

example: cross-sectional study involving giving cognitive tests ro a group of two year olds, group of four year olds, and group of six year olds, and then comparing the means of the groups. this reveals the average at which certain abilities appear

longitudinal method

studying the same group of individuals over an extended period to observe changes and development over time.

physical development

starts at conception; the growth and changes in the body and brain, including motor skills, sensory abilities, and physical health

teratogens

Environmental substances or agents that can harm a developing fetus during pregnancy, leading to birth defects or developmental issues.

fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD)

range of effects that can occur in a person whose mother drank alcohol during pregnancy. These effects may include physical, mental, behavioral, and/or learning disabilities.

reflexes

Involuntary, automatic responses to stimuli crucial for infant survival, such as rooting, grasping. These typically disappear as the infant matures.

rudimentary movements

the first voluntary movements performed by a child. include rolling, sitting, crawling, standing, and walking. they form the foundations on which the fundamental movements are built and are primarily dictated by genetics.

gross motor movements

whole-body movements: running, jumping, hopping

fine motor movements

smaller muscle groups: drawng,writing, earing with utensils

fundamental movement stage

occurs from age 2-7. child is learning to manipulate their body through actions such as running, jumping, throwing, and catching. highly influenced by the environment.

specialized movement stage

children learn to combine the fundamental movements and apply them to specific tasks.

this stage can be divided into two shorter stages:

1. transitional substage

2. application substage

transitional substage

combination of movements occurs:

examples: grasping, jumping, and throwing are combined to take a shot in basketball.

application substage

Defined by conscious decisions to apply these skills to specific recreational activities and sports. application of strategy to movement is possible (ex. child choosing to delay shooting a basketball till they have a clear shot)

examples: one child might choose to play basketball, whereas another might use the same set of skills and abilities to play baseball.

myelin

A fatty substance that insulates nerve cell axons to increase the speed and efficiency of transmission of information.

synaptic pruning

the brain rids itself of connections it no longer needs (old learning) to make room for new information.

environmental interaction

developmental of the nervous sysetm depends on environmental interaction on the part of the child.

plasticity

changeability. the brain's ability to change and adapt as a result of experience. It can reorganize itself by forming new neural connections throughout life.

puberty

period of rapid physical and hormonal changes that marks the transition from childhood to adolescence

gender identity

awareness that children are boys or girls by age two or three.

gender typing

aqcuisition of sex-related roles. understanding and adopting behaviors, preferences, and attributes typically associated with their own gender.

gender constancy

Understanding that a person's gender (their biological sex) is permanent and cannot be changed, regardless of how they appear or what they do. understand that items such as clothes or even behavior do not define the sex of the individual.

androgyny

a psychological state where an individual possesses both masculine and feminine traits. It's characterized by a blend of traditionally "male" and "female" characteristics, not necessarily indicating a specific gender identity.

Kinsey Scale

A scale developed by Alfred Kinsey that rates individuals from 0 (exclusively heterosexual) to 6 (exclusively homosexual).

equilibration

individuals strive to maintain a balance between what they already know (schemas) and new information.

assimilation

the cognitive process of integrating new information into existing schemas (mental frameworks)

schema

mental representational models

accomodation

the cognitive process of integrating new information into existing schemas (mental frameworks)

sensorimotor stage

(birth-2 yrs) reflexive reactions and then circular reactions (repeated behaviors by which the infant manipulates the environment)

ex. infant kicks its legs and hits the mobile on its crib with its food, stimulating movement, the infant is likely to repeat the action in the future.

object permanence develops

object permanence

the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they are not visible

preoperational stage

(2-7 yrs) children begin this stage with the development of language. language represents a shift to symbolic thinking.

egocentrism

artificialism

animism

symbolic thinking

ability to use words to subsitute for objects.

egocentrism

seeing the world only from one’s own point of view. inability to understand or take the perspective of others

artificialism

often seen in young children, that objects and events are created by human beings or an intelligent being, rather than naturally occurring or governed by physical laws

animism

belief that inanimate objects, like rocks or clouds, have lifelike qualities, feelings, or intentions

concrete operational stage

(7-11 yrs) stage when children develop the ability to perform mental operation and then reverse their thinking back to a starting point;

• reversibilty

• conservation

reversibility

cognitive ability to understand that actions can be reversed, leading to the same or original state. This concept is crucial in cognitive development, particularly in understanding conservation, where children realize that changing the form of a substance does not change its amount.

concept of conservation

The ability to understand that certain properties of objects, such as volume, mass, or number, remain the same despite changes in their outward appearance

formal operational stage

(starts around 12ys) children are fully capable of understanding abstractions and symbolic relationships.

• capable of metacognition

• point where child aquires hypothetical reasoning (the ability to figure out answers to problems with which a person does not have direct experience)

metacognition

ability to reognize one’s cognitive processes and adapt those processes if they arent successful.

internalization

aborption of knowledge into the self from environmental and social contexts.’

• individuals adopt the beliefs, values, and attitudes of others as their own, often leading to lasting changes

proximal development

the gap between a learner's current ability and the level they can achieve with guidance from a more skilled individual, like a teacher or mentor

actual development level

the level of learning and problem-solving a child can achieve independently

potential development level

the level of learning and problem-solving a child can achieve independently

fluid intelligence

ability to think in terms of abstract concepts and symbolic relationships,

crystallized intelligence

specific knowledge of facts and information.

phonemes

smallest unit of speech sounds in a given language that are still distinct in sound from each other

example: the difference between "pat" and "bat" is the phoneme /p/ versus /b/. 

morphemes

the smallest meaningful unit of language.

example: in the word "unhappy," "un-" is a morpheme (prefix) modifying the root word "happy". 

syntax

rules that govern how words are arranged in sentences to form meaningful phrases and sentences

semantics

the meaning of words and sentences in language.

prosody

the rhythm, stress, and intonation of speech. It's the way a speaker delivers words, adding emotional or linguistic cues beyond the literal meaning of the words themselves. often described as the "melody" of language. 

holophrases

single word used by a child to express a complete thought or idea during early language development.

ex: use one word to communicate a complex idea, like wanting milk by saying "milk"

overextension

common linguistic phenomenon where a child applies a word too broadly, using it to describe a wider range of objects or concepts than is accurate.

example: calling any passing woman “mama”

underextension

child uses a word to describe a narrower range of objects or situations than is typical for the word

example: child thinks that their “mama” is the only “mama”.

telegraphic speech

stage in language acquisition where a child, typically around the age of two, speaks using mainly nouns and verbs. Their sentences are often short and lack small connecting words.

example: a two year old would say, “mommy food” which means “mommy, give me food”.

overgeneralization

the rules of grammar are applied too broadly beyond exceptions. Children often make these mistakes when learning language.

example: language rules are overextended; “I goed to the store”. Go is an irregular verb, but the child applies the standard rules of grammar to it.

social development

involves the ability to interact with others and with the social structures in which we live

ecological systems theory

theoretical framework that emphasizes the influence of various environmental systems on an individual's development. It suggests that human development is shaped by interactions with different levels of social environments.

microsystem

This term refers to the immediate environment in which an individual directly interacts with (e.g., family, school).

mesosystem

This term describes the connections between different microsystems in an individual's life (e.g., how school experiences may impact family dynamics).

exosystem

external settings that indirectly influence an individual's development (e.g.,government and media).

macrosystem

cultural events that influence the child and important people in their lives

chronosystem

the individual’s current stage of life

authoritarian parenting style

characterized by strict rules, high demands, and little room for flexibility. Parents who practice this tend to be controlling and value obedience above all else.

authoritative parenting style

characterized by high levels of warmth and support combined with clear rules and expectations. Parents who practice authoritative parenting provide guidance while also allowing their children some autonomy.

set limits, give punishments, and forgive

permissive parenting style

lenient, with few rules or boundaries. Parents may prioritize being friends with their children rather than setting limits or providing structure.

psychosocial development

the eight stages of development proposed by Erik Erikson. These stages describe how personality and social skills develop from infancy through late adulthood, with each stage characterized by a unique psychological conflict or challenge. 

fidelity

truthfulness to one’s self

generativity

occurs during middle adulthood: desire to nurture and guide the next generation, often through activities such as parenting, teaching, or community involvement.

Stagnation

Failure to resolve the generativity stage (where we try to leave our ‘mark’ on the world) may lead an individual to become self-absorbed and lack a sense of purpose or contribution to the world.

temperament

the notion that some childhood behavior is biologically based rather than learned.

surgency

one of 3 temperament assesion scales:

essentially a measure of how upbeat, responsive, spontaneous, and social an individual is

negative affect

one of 3 temperament assesion scales:

experience of unpleasant emotions like anxiety, sadness, fear, anger, guilt, shame, and irritability

effortful control

one of 3 temperament assesion scales:

AKA self-regulation; ability to regulate behavior, emotion, and cognition

attachment

the tendency to prefer specific familiar individuals to others.

deep and enduring emotional bond with another person, often established in infancy through interactions with caregivers

strange situation

psychological experiment designed by Mary Ainsworth to assess an infant's attachment style with their caregiver.

a parent or prumary guardian leaves a child with a stranger and then returns

ainsworth’s attachment patterns:

secure

a parent or prumary guardian leaves a child with a stranger and then returns, results show:

secure = the child is generally happy in prescence of primary caretaker, distressed when caretaker leaves, and can be consoled quickly when caregiver returns

ainsworth’s attachment patterns:

avoidant

a parent or prumary guardian leaves a child with a stranger and then returns, results show:

avoidant= the child may be inhibited in prescence of primary caretaker and may pretend not to be distressed when caretaker leaves

(blood pressure and cortisol show that the child in honesty is stressed.

ainsworth’s attachment patterns:

ambivalent

a parent or prumary guardian leaves a child with a stranger and then returns, results show:

ambivalent= child may have “stormy” relationship with primary caretaker, is distressed when caretaker leaves, has difficulty being consoled when caretaker returns

ainsworth’s attachment patterns:

disorganized

a parent or prumary guardian leaves a child with a stranger and then returns, results show:

disorganized=

child has erratic relationship with primary caretaker and older adults.

more common in cases of severe neglect/abuse.

seperation anxiety

seperation anxiety

an emotional response, particularly in infants and toddlers, characterized by distress or fear when separated from a primary caregiver or attachment figure

parallel play

when young toddlers and children play next to each other but dont actually interact or create joint narratives or games

pretend play

when a child gets a little older they make mental representations of the world through their games, which may involve more joint play with others

peer relationships

social interactions and connections individuals have with their peers.

imaginary audience

when an adolescent believes that others are consistently paying attention to them, scrutenizing every detail of their appearance and behavior; not actually true

adolescent egocentrism

tremendous self consciousness

tendency of teenagers to focus primarily on themselves and their own experiences, often believing that others are as preoccupied with them as they are. It involves self-consciousness, heightened sensitivity to criticism or judgment, and a belief that one's thoughts and feelings are unique and exceptional.

adolescent identiy development:

achievement

development of a true self

adolescent identiy development:

diffusion

people who have been as yet unable to develop a true identity