ST dev psych study guide

what are the stages of Child Dev

Infant (0-1) → Toddler (1-3) → Preschooler (3-5) → School age (6-12) → Adolescent (13-18)

describe the stages of child dev

• Toddler: children are learning to walk; they “toddle”

• Preschool: children are able to do more but still depend on caretakers

• School age: peers and parents have a lot of influence on dev

• Adolescent: cog and social ability takes off, and independence really develops; logical thinking is developing, but frontal lobe is still not fully developed

what are Piaget’s stages of Cog Dev

Stage 1: sensorimotor

Stage 2: preoperational

Stage 3: Concrete operational

Stage 4: formal operational

describe the Piaget’s 4 stages and at what ages they occur

• Stage 1: sensorimotor (0-2): learns through senses and actions (touching, looking, Mouthing)

• Stage 2: Preoperational (2-7): develops language and uses symbols; thinking is egocentric; difficulty understanding conservation and logic 

• Stage 3: Concrete Operational (7-11): thinks more logically about concrete events; understands conservation 

• Stage 4: Formal Operational (12+): develops abstract and hypothetical thinking and thinks about the future and moral issues

what were the historical views of child dev in ancient Rome?

• Believed in Paterfamilias, which meant that children were the property of the father 

• They had high infant mortality 

• Children were valued as heirs, workers, future citizens

• Education was important for elite boys 

• Childhood was recognized, but the emphasis was on preparing for adult responsibilities

what were the historical views of child dev in midieval times?

• Children viewed as little adults 

• Very high infant mortality rate (30% in first year, and 50% before adulthood)

• Entered work and apprenticeship at young ages 

• Religious instruction was essential 

• Adolescence was less sharply distinguished from adulthood than it is today

what did John Locke (1632-1704) believe about child dev

• Tabula rasa - we are born a blank slate, and everything learned is through experiences 

• Empiricism 

• Guide children through reason and instruction

• Childhood focused on education

what did Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) believe about child dev

• Qualitative differences 

• Childhood innocence 

• Children corrupted by society 

• Natural freedom/natural consequences 

• Against education that taught children facts, and he encouraged teaching that advanced children’s natural curiosities and talents

what is the law and its functions

• A system/set of rules created and enforced by the government 

• It maintains order, ensures safety, resolves disputes, protects rights, and promotes public welfare

what are the 4 sources of the law

1. constitution

2. legislation

3. administrative law

4. case law/common law

Federalist constitutions

• Authority derived from US Constitution 

• Civil rights, immigration, federal crimes, interstate commerce laws

• IDEA (special ed laws), Constitutional rights, Federal child protection initiative, Federal constitutional protections

State constitutions

• (affect us the most directly)

• General police power, family law, child protection, education, most criminal law

• Child abuse investigations, custody disputes, adoption laws, juvenile delinquency

what falls under legislation

• Federal and state

• The statutes that Congress passes and other passed statutes 

• More specific

what falls under administrative law?

Rules not passed by legislators, but are created by the agencies that the legislator created

what falls under case law/common law

The precedents created by court decisions

____ is always a crime against the state

criminal law

give an example of criminal law

If someone were to pickpocket you, even though it is a personal crime, it would be considered against the state

what are the 2 sides of criminal law

what are the punishments for criminal law

what is burden of proof

• 2 sides: prosecution and defense

• Can be punished by fines, prison, or even the death penalty

• beyond reasonable doubt

____ resolves disputes between people

civil law

descrive civil law - the 2 sides, burden of proof, punishments

• Resolve disputes between people 

• The 2 sides: Plaintiff and Defendant 

• Burden of proof: usually preponderance of evidence 

• Often monetary damages or court orders, but not prison or fines

examples of civil law

 personal injury lawsuits, wrongful death, custody disputes, disputes over ownership, etc.

_____ is regulated by government agencies

administrative law

describe prosecution and defense - also mention what kind of law this involves

The prosecution is the government attorney who tries to prove a criminal defendant is guilty, while the defense is the lawyer who represents and protects the rights of the accused person

• occurs in criminal law

contrast burden of proof in criminal law vs civil law

• Beyond a reasonable doubt: Used in criminal law. The evidence must be so strong that no other logical explanation exists.

• Preponderance of the evidence: Used in civil law. It means the claim is more likely true than not true (over 50% certainty).

____ is any test or item that a court allows a judge or jury to consider during a legal case

admissible evidence

plaintiff/petitioner vs. defendent/respondent - also mention what kind of law this involves

The plaintiff is the person or group who starts a lawsuit, while the defendant is the person or group being accused or sued

• occurs in civil law

define felonies and give examples

• Definition: a crime where the punishment is potentially a year or more in prison (more serious crimes)

• Examples: murder, rape, mail fraud

define misdemeanors and give examples

• Definition: a crime where the punishment is less than a year in prison or a fine (less serious crimes)

• Examples: minor theft, simple assault, disorderly conduct

An ___ is something that must be true for the person to be guilty of the crime

element

what does Actus Rea mean?

a wrongful act

what does Mens Rea mean?

a wrongful mental state (wrongful intent)

what are the 3 types of courts?

trail courts, appellate courts, supreme courts

what are trial courts

the first court where a legal case begins, where witnesses testify, and where evidence is presented

what are appellate courts?

 look at cases where one side is making the argument that the trial court made a mistake

what is the Supreme Court

the highest court in the American federal judiciary and the final arbiter of the U.S. Constitution

The person who oversees a court case, makes legal decisions, and ensures the law is followed.

judges

made of individuals from the community who are asked to make decisions about the facts of the case; normally 6 people and unanimous

jurors

The lawyer who represents the government and tries to prove that the defendant committed a crime.

prosecutors

The lawyer who represents the defendant and protects their legal rights.

Defense attorney

The person who brings a civil lawsuit against someone else.

plaintiff

The person who formally asks a court to take a specific legal action or make a decision.

petitioner

The person accused of a crime or the person being sued in a civil case.

Defendant

The person who responds to a petition or legal action brought by a petitioner.

respondant

A person who provides information or testimony about what they saw, heard, or know about a case.

witness

A person with specialized knowledge or training who gives professional opinions to help the court understand something.

expert witness

Police and other officials who investigate crimes, enforce laws, and make arrests.

law enforcement

A government agency that investigates reports of child abuse or neglect and works to protect children.

Child Protective Services (CPS)

A person appointed by the court to represent the best interests of a child in a legal case.

Guardian ad litem (GAL)

A lawyer appointed by the court to represent a specific person’s legal interests in a case, often a child or someone who cannot fully represent themselves.

attorney ad litem

what does it mean when an allegation is substantiated?

Evidence is considered sufficient to support the allegation

what does it mean when an allegation is unsubstantiated?

Evidence is insufficient to support the allegation

what does disclosure mean

the victim tells someone what happened

the practice of releasing information, evidence, or documents in a staged, step-by-step manner rather than providing everything all at once

incremental disclosure

 some substantiated cases follow a pattern of ___ followed by disclosure

denial

__% of cases are recanted

23%

what is recantation

• Taking back the allegation 

• Recantation can occur even if the original allegation was true

an untrue or unproven claim that a person committed a wrongful, illegal, or immoral act

false allegation

occur when a person verbally rejects or claims an event, action, or fact did not happen, even though they know it is true

false denial

what were Piaget’s views of childhood memory?

• Infant cognition initially tied to action 

• Object permanence emerges around 8-12 months 

• Early memory thought to be limited 

• Infants mostly live in the here and now 

• Piaget underestimated infant competence

why is it hard to study infant memory?

• No verbal reports

• Limited motor response

• Rapid developmental change 

• Need indirect measures 

• Most of infant memory research depends on clever behavioral paradigms

what is habituation and dishabituation

1. Present stimulus repeatedly 

2. Looking time declines (habituation)

3. Present new stimulus 

4. Recovery of attention (dishabituation)

• Habituation reveals that infants can remember faces and voices

Habituation is a decrease in your behavioral response to a repeated, harmless stimulus, while dishabituation is the sudden recovery of that habituated response when a new, different stimulus is introduced

what is habituation across delays

the brain's ability to adjust and adapt its predictive timing when there is a consistent, artificial time lag (a delay) between an action and its sensory feedback

what is preferential looking in babies and what do babies prefer?

• How it works:

• Child shown 2 images 

• Looking time to both images measured

• Pre-exposed stimuli often preferred

• Preference for pre-exposed stimuli indicates memory

• Newborn preference for mother’s voice 

• Preference for mother’s face

• Preferences for experimentally exposed visual pattern

what is the infant mobile experiment?

How the experiment works:

• Ribbon attached to infant’s leg 

• Kicking moves mobile increased

• Kicking demonstrates learning 

Delayed memory

• 2 months - days 

• 3-month-olds - about a week 

• 6-month-olds - several weeks

what is deferred imitation

the ability to copy an action or behavior after a delay, rather than right away while watching it

Changes from early preschool to later preschool in memory

• They gain larger memory span and longer retention 

• They also have better memory of events with more details and more organized

during preschool years, children increasingly…

talk about past event, construct narratives, and develop self-concept

inability of adults to remember specific life events from the first three to four years of life

infantile amnesia

what are the 3 broad views of the development of memory span

• information processing - mind is like a computer

• sociocultural theory - cognition is influenced by culture

• neurofevelopmental - dev occurs neurologically

when can kids use rehearsal as a memory strategy

Preschool (4-5)

• No rehearsal 

Early elementary (6-7)

• Inconsistent rehearsal 

Around 7-8

• Consistent but inefficient rehearsal 

9-10 years and older

• Cumulative rehearse

what is Strategy Production Deficit

• Younger children can use a memory strategy if you point it out to them

• But they often don't spontaneously think to use the strategy

what is the influence of knowledge on memory

• Knowledge improves memory 

• Adults had a higher memory span than the children, but children were better at remembering positions on the chess boards

Meta-memory development

• Older children increasingly understand  that longer lists are harder to remember, but rehearsal and organization helps 

• Children become better at Planning study , Monitoring learning , and Allocating effort

Repressed memory camp

• Sometimes when something bad happens, the mind actively blocks retrieval - repression

• Therapists can uncover abuse by being attentive to symptoms of abuse

false memory camp

• Memory is reconstructive 

• Suggestive techniques used in recovered memory therapy can lead to the creation of false memories

what is repression

• Traumatic event happened

• Event is actively prevented from entering conscious memory

• May be recovered during therapy

how do repression and Sigmund Freud relate

• He argued there were 3 levels of consciousness: conscious, preconscious, unconscious

• He said there were 3 aspects of personality: id, ego, superego

• He also said we have defense mechanisms: denial, displacement, repression, etc.

The ____ holds the thoughts and feelings you are actively aware of right now, while the ____ stores memories you are not thinking of yet but can easily recall

conscious mind; preconscious mind

id, ego, superego

• id: primitive instinctual part of the mind

• ego: rational, decision making part of mind

• Superego: moral compass and internal sense of right and wrong

what are defense mechanisms according to freud

unconscious psychological strategies used by the ego to protect a person from anxiety arising from internal conflicts

what is denial according to Freud

an unconscious defense mechanism where a person rejects external reality or uncomfortable facts because they cause overwhelming anxiety or distress

what is displacement according to Freud

an unconscious defense mechanism where a person redirects an emotional reaction, impulse, or desire from its original, threatening target to a safer, less threatening substitute

ex: An employee who cannot shout back at an angry manager comes home and yells at their spouse or kicks a piece of furniture instead

what is recovered memory theraoy

a controversial, scientifically discredited form of psychotherapy that tries to help patients recall allegedly buried or forgotten childhood trauma

_____ is not practiced by most therapists

recovered memory therapy

a mind-body relaxation technique where you use your imagination to picture peaceful, positive settings and engage all your senses to calm your mind and body

guided imagery

what were the specific techniques that were resulting in false memories?

guided imagery, hypnosis, dream interpretation, journaling, visualization, age regression

evidence for repression/recovered memories

• 129 adult women who have documented histories of CSA

• Ages at time of abuse ranged from 1-12

• 17 yrs late, 62% of the women remembered the abuse 

• 16% of those who remembered the abuse said there was a time when they did not remember it 

• Most did not have detailed memories

• Critics argued that this showed that people can forget childhood abuse and later remember, but that repression per se is involved

false memory account

• In the 1990s, some researchers began to question the accounts of recovered memories 

• They argued that the specific techniques used by some therapists could create false memories of childhood traumas that never existed

occurs when a person's recall of an event becomes less accurate because they are exposed to misleading information after the event has happened

the misinformation effect

people who experience the misinformation effect are often…

highly confident and would even bet on if they were right

what is the example of being lost in a shopping mall example of false memory

• Researchers contacted parents of participants prior to the start of the experiment and asked them to provide stories of things that happened when the child was 4-6 yrs old

• Participants were given a description of 4 events and were told these events had been provided by relatives 

• 3 of the events were real events 

• 4th event was fake - you got lost in a shopping mall when you were little 

• Participants were interviewed multiple times about the events over several weeks and asked each time to recall details about the events

what are some crazy examples of false memories people have had in research studies

• False memory for spilling a punch bowl at a wedding 

• False memory for a hospitalization

• False memory for being attacked by a dog 

• False memory for receiving an enema

• False memory for riding in a hot air balloon

• False memory for meeting Bugs Bunny at Disneyland