Developmental Psychology (First Half)

Developmental Psychology

Study of physical, cognitive, and socioemotional development throughout lifespan

Nature vs. Nurture

Debate on the influence of genes and experience on development

Continuity & Stages

Debate on whether development occurs continuously or in separate stages

Stability & Change

Debate on whether certain traits persist throughout life or change over time

cross-sectional studies

a study in which people of different ages are compared with one another

longitudinal studies

A research method that studies the same participants multiple times over a period of time

Teratogens

Harmful agents that can damage the embryo or fetus

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)

Cognitive, behavioral, and physical abnormalities caused by exposure to alcohol during prenatal development

Factors that affect Prenatal Development

1. maternal illness

2. genetic mutations

3. hormonal factors

4. environmental factors

Reflexes

Innate responses that do not have to be learned

Rooting reflex

A baby's tendency, when touched on the cheek, to turn toward the touch and open mouth

Grasping reflex

A baby's tendency to grasp any object touching the hand or foot

Moro reflex

A baby's tendency to stretch out the arms and legs in response to a loud noise or an abrupt change in the environment

Babinski reflex

A baby's tendency to fans out the toes when the sole of the foot is touched

Maturation

The orderly sequence of biological growth process that is genetically designed. Its sequence is universal and practice does not have much influence.

Gross motor development

development of large muscles for mobility and posture

Fine motor development

development of small muscle groups for precise movements, especially in hands and fingers

Visual Cliff

A laboratory apparatus for testing depth perception in infants

Adolescence

Transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence

Cognition

Mental processes that help one function, including problem-solving, understanding, and using language

Jean Piaget

Psychologist who studied cognitive development in children and coined the idea of schemas

Schemas

Mental containers (file cabinets) into which we organize experiences

Assimilation

Interpret new experiences in terms of existing schemas for inclusion

Accommodation

Adapt current schema for incorporation (made into a

subcategory) or create new ones

Sensorimotor Stage

Stage of Piaget's theory of cognitive development, where infants explore the world through their senses and actions.

Object permanence

The awareness that objects continue to exist even when no longer visible (peekaboo)

Preoperational Stage

Stage of Piaget's theory of cognitive development, where children use symbols and pretend play

Conservation

Principle that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects

Reversibility

Principle that objects can be changed, but then returned back to their original form or condition

Egocentrism

Difficulty in taking another person's point of view

Theory of mind

Ability to understand that other people have their own thoughts & perspectives

Animism

Belief that inanimate objects are capable of action and have feelings

Artificialism

Belief that natural phenomena can be attributed to human action

Concrete Operational Stage

Stage of Piaget's theory of cognitive development, where children think logically about concrete events

Formal Operational Stage

Stage of Piaget's theory of cognitive development, where adolescents can test hypotheses, think allegorically, and perform abstract concepts like algebra

Lev Vygotsky

Psychologist who believed that children's minds grew in the context of sociocultural ENV.; coined scaffolding and zone of proximal development

Scaffolding

Framework that offers temporary support to get children to the next stage or level of thinking

Zone of proximal development

Range between what a learner can do independently & what they can do with guidance

Konrad Lorenz

Researcher who studied the critical attachment periods in baby birds, a concept he called imprinting

Imprinting

Process by which certain animals form attachments during a critical period very early in life

Critical period

Limited window of time during which certain skills must be acquired, or they may never develop properly

Sensitive period

Optimal time frame when brain is very receptive to specific types of learning; learning can still occur later, but with more difficulty

Sex

Biological properties that determine male or female

Gender

The socially constructed roles and characteristics by which a culture defines male and female

Gender identity

Individual's sense of belonging to male or female sex

Gender Roles

Social expectations that guide men's and women's behavior

Gender schema theory

Organized mental representations (concepts, beliefs, memories) for what is gender-appropriate

Side-by-side activity

Way in which boys engage in physical play that nurtures competitive or hierarchical interactions

Face-to-face activity

Way in which girls engage in conversation that nurtures collaborative dialogue

Social role theory

Theory that gender differences result from the contrasting roles or stereotypes of men and women

Puberty

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

Menarche

The first menstrual period that marks the beginning of puberty for girls

Spermarche

The first ejaculation that marks the beginning of puberty for boys

Primary sex characteristics

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

Menopause

Natural end of menstruation; also refers to biological changes a woman experiences as her ability to reproduce declines

Crystallized intelligence

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

Fluid intelligence

our ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood

Dementia

Symptoms include decrease in memory, reasoning, language, & other cognitive abilities; interferes with daily functioning

Alzheimer's disease

Symptoms include confusion, disorientation, & change in personality; due to loss of neurons & plaque formation

Language

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

Generative

Application of a finite set of rules to produce all items of a language

Phonemes

smallest unit of sound in language ("b")

Morpheme

smallest unit of meaning in language "-ed"

Semantics

meaning of words, phrases, or sentences ("ing" means ongoing)

Grammar

Rules that enable understanding & communication

Syntax

Rules for the arrangement of words into sentences

Nonverbal gestures

Transmission of a message or signal without speaking

Cooing

Early vowel-like sounds that babies produce besides crying

Babbling

when 4 month old kids utter a variety of sounds and phonemes from foreign languages are evident

One-word stage

when 1 year old kids use single words to represent entire ideas

Telegraphic stage

when 2 year old kids use two- or three-word combinations that resemble a tweet; mostly contains one noun and one verb

overgeneralization

Phonemona where children apply grammar rules to where they don't apply