Critical + Sensitive periods & how they Impact dment
critical: a specific period in dment when an organism is most vulnerable to deprivation/absence of certain enviro. exp.
→ will not recur at later stage → can have permanent/irreversible effect on develop
sensitive: a period of time during dment when an organism is more responsive/sensitive to certain types on enviro exp./learning
→ windows of opp. for learning ‘ (EG learning native language in this period is up to 12 yrs, window gradually closing from age 7).
Harlow’s theory -attachment
Wire Surrogate Mother vs Cloth Surrogate Mother
to find out whether provision of food or contact comfort was more important in formation of mother-infant attachment.
→ 8 newborn rhesus monkeys separated from mothers after birth.
- Grp 1: 4 isolated in cage where cloth mother provided food and wire mother didn’t.
- Grp 2: ““ wire mother provided food and cloth mother didn’t.
→ Result: all monkeys spent more with cloth surrogate mother → contact comfort over food
→ also found that privation was as important in attachment through
Exp 2: Deprived rhesus monkeys from Social Contact.
→ Taken from mothers after birth.
- Grp 1 - isolated 3 mths
- Grp 2 - 6 mths
- Grp 3 - 12 mths
→ Result: More destructive, withdrawn and unable to relate socially the longer they were isolated.
Privation - involves absence of the opportunity to satisfy something that is needed/desired (social contact in this case)
Ainsworth’s theory -attachment
the strange situation: a standardised test for measuring attachment relo a child has with caregiver.
→ infant and caregiver taken into unfamiliar room before infant is exposed to series of sep. and reunions involving infant, caregiver, and stranger.
→ found that infants can form diff. types of attachments w caregiver. - varies on who strong connection is.
Types of Attachment (Ainsworth’s theory cont.)
Secure Attachment: infant shows balance between dependence and exploration.
→ able to feel safe and depend on caregiver.
Insecure Avoidant Attachment: infant doesn’t not seek closeness or contact w caregiver and treats them like a stranger.
Insecure Resistant Attachment: infant appears anxious even when caregiver is near.
→ become upset when separated from cg, re-establishes contact upon reunion but then resists contact after.
Disorganised Attachment: shows inconsistent/odd and contradicting behaviours during sep. from and reunion w caregiver.
→ no reaction to caregivers’ return etc, or cries when cg leaves but also when cg returns
types of plasticity (Experience-Dependent & Experience-Expectant)
Experience Dependent: involves brain change that modifies some part its neuronal structure that is already present.
→ depends on exposure to various environmental experiences unique to each indiv. & may occur at any time during the life span.
Experience Expectant: involves brain change in response to environmental experience that is ordinarily expected.
Case studies
an in-depth investigation of some behaviour, event or problem of interest in a single individual, group, organisation or situation.
→for scientific research purposes often used when large no. of participants are not available for an investigation.
Pros:
- useful way of obtaining detailed information when large no. of people can’t be accessed.
- can avoid artificiality and provide a ‘snapshot’ of actual/real-life experience of indivs. at particular time/situation.
- useful for tracking + describing experiences & change over time. → can be conducted over a prolonged period
- valuable source of hypotheses for further research/data on theory
Cons:
- cannot test or establish a cause–effect relationship
- small sample size → (case studies focus on rare/unusual indivs, situations etc) tentative and limited support for drawing conclusions.
- can’t be generalised to others in relevant population (involve rare or unusual disorder/ability).
- painstaking and time-consuming → detailed + comprehensive
- susceptible to biased information from the participants or the researcher. → influence accuracy.
- usually conducted by one researcher → possible bias
Research methods
Aims: a statement outlining the purpose of the investigation.
Sample: the subset or part of the population that is selected for a research investigation
→ Sampling: process of selecting participants from a population of research interest
Population: the entire group of research interest from which a sample is drawn
Hypothesis: a testable prediction of the relationship between two or more variables (events/characteristics).
Variables: something that can vary in amount or type and is measurable
→Independent variable: variable that is manipulated (cause).
→Dependent variable: variable that is used to observe & measure the effects (effect).
→ Controlled variable: variable that is considered to have an effect on the DV in an experiment (constant).
→ Operationalising: how variables will be manipulated as measured
Controlled experiments
Experimental investigation to test the relo between indep. & dep. variable, whilst controlling all other variables
→ Experimental group = exposed to IV
→ Control group = not ^
Experimental designs (controlled experiments cont.)
Between subjects design: participants randomly allocated to one of two (or more) groups/conditions & provides one score for data analysis
Within subjects: each participant take part in both the experimental & control groups (all the treatment conditions if no control group)
Mixed design: combines features of both between subjects design and within subjects design.
→ can assess differences between two or more separate groups of participants (ibetween subjects),
& the change in the indiv. members of each group over time (within subjects).
Neurodivergence/Neurodiversity
used to describe people whose neurological dm & cognitive functioning are atypical and deviate from what is considered normal/typical in the population.
→ indivs diagnosed w intellectual disability (eg learning disabilities) may be described as neurodivergent
Nature (hereditary) v Nurture (environment) debate
A debate whether heredity (nature) or environment (nurture) determines how we develop.
→ Nature refers to how genetics influence an individual's personality,
→ Nurture refers to how their environment (including relationships and experiences) impacts their development.
Piaget’s theory - Stages of Cog. Dment.
suggests that children move through 4 diff stages of learning in cog. develop:
Sensorimotor stage (birth - 2 yrs)
infants explore & learn about the world through senses and motor activities
→ develops:
object permanence (understanding object exists if they can’t be seen, heard or touched),
goal directed behaviour (perform & complete seq of actions w purpose)
Pre-operational stage (2 - 7 yrs)
children become increasingly able to mentally rep. objects & experiences. (to think abt & imagine something)
→ develops:
symbolic-thinking (use of symbols to rep objects)
egocentrism (tendency preceives world solely from one’s pov)
animism (belief that everything that exists has consciousness)
transformation (understanding one thing can change from one state/form to another)
Concrete operational stage (7 - 12 yrs)
capable of true logic and thoughts & can perform mental operations - however, only applied to concrete objects/events
→ develops:
mental operations (ability to accurately imagine conseqs. of something happening w/o it needing to happen)
conservation (understanding that certain properties of object can remain same if appearance changes)
classification (ability to organise into categories based on common ft.)
Formal operational stage (12 yrs+)
more complex thought process is evident and thinking becomes more sophisticated.
→ develops:
abstract thinking (way of thinking that doesn’t rely on able to see, visualise, exp. or manipulate in order to understand)
idealistic thinking (ability to realistically think abt future & what is possible, then make plans to achieve goals)
CTE
A progressive brain degeneration and fatal condition thought to be caused by repeated blows to the head/repeated episodes of concussion.
Symptoms:
→loss of memory
→mood/personality changes
→difficulty controlling impulsive or erratic behaviour
→increasing confusion and disorientation
→difficulty thinking - making decisions, impaired judgements
→motor impairments - tremor, slow movement, slurred speech
Diagnosis:
Cannot be diagnosed in a living person, only during an autopsy → diagnosis is based on a history of contact sports, symptoms, repeated concussions
→ Autopsy may show atrophy of the brain/build up of tau protein that interferes with the functioning of neurons.
Research:
CTE is not very well understood and it an emerging area of research
→uncertain about the no. & types of head injuries that increase the risk of CTE.
→not all athletes who experience repeated concussions develop CTE - has been diagnosed in people without a history of brain injuries.
→contribution of confounding variables (e.g. genetic predisposition, alcohol/drug use, co-existing dementia) is not accounted for in research.
ABI
A brain injury acquired after birth → used to differentiate between brain injury from neurodevelopment disorders that people are born with
→ Can have sudden or insidious onset
Bio changes:
→movement disorders
→dizziness and balance problems
→eyesight, hearing problems
→impaired speech, reading, writing,
→fatigue and sleep problems
→hormonal imbalances
Psycho changes:
→memory problems
→difficulty problem-solving
→poor concentration and attention
→reduced ability to organise and plan
→lack of insight and awareness, and poor judgment
→personality changes
→mood disturbance, e.g. irritability, anger
Social changes:
→social isolation, e.g. difficulties in making and keeping friends
→disrupted family relationships
→different educational opportunities
→financial hardship
→legal restrictions
→social stigma
Wernickes and Brocas areas
Wernickes area (Temporal lobe): speech comprehension
Brocas area (Frontal lobe): speech production
Lobes of the brain
Frontal lobe:
→Prefrontal cortex: occupies most of the frontal lobe, involved with sophisticated mental abilities (reasoning, planning, problem solving), personality and regulation and expression of emotion
→Primary motor cortex: initiates and controls voluntary movements
→Broca’s area: speech production
Parietal lobe:
→Primary somatosensory cortex: receives and processes sensory information from the skin and body parts.
Occipital lobe:
→Primary visual cortex: processes visual sensory information
Temporal lobe:
→Primary auditory cortex: receives and processes sound → different areas are specialised to identify different sounds
→Wernicke’s area: speech comprehension
Sprouting and Rerouting
Sprouting: creation of new connections between neurons, or nerve cells. → new & stronger connections between neurons
Rerouting: creation of an alt. neural pathway by re-establishing damaged neurons & forming a new pathway between active neurons. → go around damaged areas.
Typical and Atypical behaviours
Typical: behaviour that would usually occur and is appropriate and expected in a given situation.
- It is what most people would ordinarily do in that situation at that time.
Atypical: behaviour that differs markedly in some way from what is expected in a given situation.
- It is uncommon and not what most people would ordinarily do in that situation at that time.
Maladaptive behaviours
Any behaviour that is detrimental or interferes with an individual’s ability to adapt tp enviro and fulfil typical goal in society
→ eg self-isolation due to anxiety, sleeping too much due to depression, and lashing out at others when overwhelmed or angry.
Statistical Rarity
behaviour that does not occur frequently in a population
refers to someone who is atypical in some way, and because of that, they are engaging in behaviour that is considered abnormal.
→ therefore, typical and atypical behaviour can be determined by how often or how rarely they occur.