Psych unit 6 Developmental

heritability

statistical measure of how much the variation in a given trait can be attributed to genetics

twin studies

identical twins have the same genotype, and fraternal twins have an average of 50% of their genes in common

adoption studies

similarities with the biological family support nature, while similarities with the adoptive family support nurture

discontinuity

Supported by:

\-Freud’s psychosexual stages

\-Piaget’s stages of cognitive development

\-Erikson’s theories of development

stability vs. change

whether personality traits that are present an in individual at birth remain constant or change throughout the life span

genetic plan

determines how all the organs will be formed

differentiation

stem cells that are capable of forming into any organ in the body begin to specialize as components of certain organs

mitosis

the process during which zygote divides the first into two cells, then four, then eight, then so on until the mass becomes a baby

fetal alcohol syndrome

physical and cognitive abnormalities in children such as facial disproportions caused by a mother’s heavy drinking

smoking

miscarriage, stillbirth, or complications, increases risk of SIDS

prenatal period

from conception to birth, divided into 3 phases (germinal, embryonic, fetal)

germinal stage

one-celled organism enters a 2-week period of rapid cell division, develops into an embryo, the outer part of the zygote becomes the placenta

embryonic stage

the developing human organism from 2 weeks to 2nd month, many vital organs form (beating heart), the baby can hear and recognize sounds and respond to light

fetal stage

developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception to birth, the organs of the fetus develop and become functional

age of viability

age at which the baby can survive premature birth (22-24 weeks gestation)

John locke

believed that newborns began life as a “tabula rasa” or blank slate

neonatal period

birth to one month old, babies are capable of responding to stimulation from all of their senses

infancy period

1 month to 24 months, period of rapid development but is still heavily reliant on reflexive behavior, our brain circuits are not fully developed

motor development

progression of muscular coordination required for physical activities

continuous growth

constantly add new lessons and skills on top of old lessons and skills as they get older

episodic growth

children grow in stages as they seem to develop chunks of abilities and to experience events at certain times in life

synaptic sprouting and pruning

necessary loss of neurons as unused synaptic connections and nerve cells are cleared away to make way for functioning connections and cells and new neural connections to form

preferential looking

assumes that the longer an infant spends looking at a stimulus, the more the infant prefers that stimulus over others

habituation

the tendency for infants (and adults) to stop paying attention to a stimulus that does not change

synchronicity

close coordination between the gazing, vocalizing, touching, and smiling of mothers and infants

easy

baby is regular in their schedules of walking, sleeping, and eating, adaptable to change, happy babies, easily soothed when distressed

difficult

opposite of easy babies, irregular in their schedules, unhappy about any kind of change, are loud, active, and tend to be crabby

slow to warm up

less grumpy, quieter but slow to adapt to change; if change is introduced gradually, they warm up to new people and new situations

critical period

attachement occurs instinctively very early in life

secure attachment

explorative, child believes and trusts that his/her needs will be met

avoidant attachment

not explorative, subconsciously believes that his/her needs probably won’t be met

ambivalent attachment

anxious, angry, cannot rely on his/her needs being met

disorganized attachment

depressed, angry, severely confused with no strategy to have his/her needs met

stranger anxiety

beginning by about 8 months, common fear of strangers

separation anxiety

peaks between 14 and 18 months, extreme emotional agitation, fear and distress when object/loved one leaves

Freud’s cupboard theory

infants become attached to those who provide the “cupboard’ containing food supply

Harry and Margaret Harlow

conducted studies that disproved Freud’s cupboard theory

psychological dwarfism

children in emotionally detached families showed slower growth and bone development

schemas

mental structures that guide thinking, Piaget thought they were the building blocks of development

assimilation

process that modifies new information to fit with existing schemas or with what is already known

accommodation

process of restructuring or modifying schemas to incorporate new information

sensorimotor

birth to nearly 2 years, experiencing the world through senses and actions

preoperational

2 to 6 years, representing things with words and images but lacking logical reasoning

concrete operational

7 to 11 years, thinking logically about concrete events, grasping concrete analogies, and performing arithmetical operations

formal operational

12 through adulthood, abstract reasoning

vygotsky’s zone of proximal development

the difference between what a child can do alone and what a child can do with guidance and encouragement

oral stage

birth to 2 years, pleasure from oral stimulation- tasting and sucking

anal stage

15 months to 3 years, primary focus on controlling bladder and bowels- eliminating/retaining feces

phallic stage

3 to 6, primary focus is on genitals, differences between male and female, child becomes rival for the affection of opposite-sex parent

latency stage

6 to puberty, sexual desires are pushed to background, focus on intellectual and social pursuits

anal expulsive

messy, wasteful, destructive

anal retentive

orderly, rigid, obsessive

Oedipus complex

boys in love with their mothers

Electra complex

girls in love with their fathers

identification

boys identify with their dads

penis envy

girls desire to have a penis, jealous of boys

fixation

occurs when development is stopped at a particular stage

authoritative

parent is warm, attentive and sensitive to child’s needs and interests

authoritarian

parent is cold and rejecting, frequently degrades the child

permissive

parent is warm but may spoil the child

uninvolved

parent is emotionally detached, withdrawn and inattentive

post-conventional stage 6

self-selecting universal principles

post-conventional stage 5

sensing the democracy and relativity of rules

conventional stage 4

fulfilling duties and upholding laws

conventional stage 3

meeting the expectations of others

preconventional stage 2

“getting what you want” by reciprocity

preconventional stage 1

avoiding punishment

personal fable

common feeling is “you just Don’t understand me, I’m different from you”, “it can’t happen to me”

imaginary audience

extreme self-consciousness

ahlzeimer’s disease

characterized by a gradual deterioration of memory, reasoning, language, and finally physical functioning

crystallized intelligence

one’s accumulated knowledge and verbal skills, tends to increase with age

fluid intelligence

one’s ability to reason speedily and abstractly, tends to decrease during late adulthood

social clock

the culturally preferred timing of social events (marriage, parenthood, retirement)

generativity

the process of making aa commitment beyond oneself to family, work, society, or future generations

denial

refusing to believe the individual is sick

anger

displays anger that individual is sick

bargaining

making a deal, in return for a cure, they will fulfill a promise

depression

general depression affecting sleeping and eating

acceptance

the realization that death is inevitable

crystallized intelligence

one’s accumulated knowledge and verbal skills, tends to increase with age

fluid intelligence

one’s ability to reason speedily and abstractly, tends to decrease during late adulthood