Ap Psych unit 2

Critical Periods

rigid, specific time windows where essential experiences MUST happen for normal development

ex) visual development

Sensitive periods

more flexible windows where experiences that don’t happen can still happen later, but it’s harder

ex) learning a second language

Jean Piaget

theorized that children proceed distinct states of cognitive development, nature over nurture

Piaget’s theory of cognitive development (songs preoccupy chill fems)

sensorimotor stage, preoperational stage, concrete operational stage, formal operational stage

Sensorimotor stage

• 0-2 yrs

• children take in world through sensory impressions & motor activities

peroperational stage

• about 2-6 yrs old

• egocentrism, animism, artificialism, theory of mind

Concrete operational stage

• 7-11 years old

• think logically about concrete events

  • conservation

Formal Operational stage

• around 12 years old

• people begin to think logically about abstract concepts

Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory

• nurture over nature

• outside world provides “scaffolding” for personality

Zone of proximal development

basically the range where a child can learn a new skill if around a more skilled child

Language

spoke, written, or signed words and the way we use them to create meaning

Phoneme

smallest distinctive sound unit of a word

ex) ch, a, t

morpheme

smallest sound unit that carries meaning

ex) pre, ed, -ly

Grammar

system of rules that allows us to communicate with and understand others

semantics

set of rules for deriving meaning from sounds

• mean

syntax

set of rules for combining words into grammatically correct

• you get a tax if you arrange words wrong

Mechanics

set of rules that dictate how language is written

Babbling stage

• starts at around 4 months

• goo.

One-word stage/ holographic speech

• around 1 yr old

• (・∀・(・∀・(・∀・*)

telegraphic speech

• around 2 yrs old

• food. eat. now.

ecological systems theory

one’s social environment influences their human development

Separation anxiety

distressed when mother leaves

stranger anxiety

avoidant of stranger when alone, but friendly if mother is there too

the 4 parenting styles

1) permissive

2) authoritative

3) neglectful

4) authoritarian

Learning

the process of acquiring new and relatively enduring information or behaviors

Classical conditioning

link 2+ stimuli and associate events

ex) pavlov’s dog

operant conditioning

behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer and diminished if followed by a punisher

cognitive learning/ observational learning

learning by watching others

Acquisition

the initial stage where one links a neural stimulus to an unconditioned stimulus so that the NS begins triggering a conditioned response

generalization

tendency to respond to similar stimuli after conditioned response

discrimination

learned ability to distinguish between stimuli

Operant conditioning

behavior is strengthened by a reinforcer and diminished by a punisher

continuous reinforcement

reinforcing the desired behavior every time it happens

• good for quick acquisition, quick extinction after tho

intermittent/partial reinforcement

giving a reward for a behavior only sometimes

• slower acquisition, but solwer extinction too!

fixed ratio schedule

reinforces a response only after a certain number of responses

• but 2 get one free!

Variable-ratio schedule

reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses

• slot machine!