Unit 5 - Human Development

Developmental psychology

Studies physical, cognitive, and social-emotional development across the lifespan

Nature vs. Nurture

We are shaped by biological, psychological, and social-cultural forces

Continuity and Stages

Focuses on which parts of development are gradual and continuous, and which parts change abruptly in separate stages

Researchers who emphasize on experience and learning view development as

Slow and continuously shaping the individual

Researchers who emphasize on biological maturation view development as

A sequence of genetically predisposed stages and steps

True or false: everyone passes through the stages of development in the same order, just at different paces

True

Stability and Change

Some characteristics such as temperament and emotionality stay the same throughout lifee

End of history illusion

Recognizing you have changed but assuming that you will change little in the future

Rooting reflex

When an infant comes in contact with something around their mouth, they will turn their head and try to eat

Motor development

Gaining control over body

True or false: the fetus is responsive to sound by the sixth month

True: this is why babies prefer their mother’s voice and language

Teratogens

Agents such as viruses and drugs that can damage an embryo or fetus

Congenital disabilities

Disabilities present at birth that could have resulted from teratogens

Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)

Physical and cognitive function deficits in children as a result of the mom drinking during pregnancy, leaves an epigenetic effect

Epigenetic effect

Leaves chemical marks on DNA that switch genes abnormally on or off

Habituation

When infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a stimulus, they lose interest

Maturation

Biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior uninfluenced by experience

Critical period

Optimal period early in life when exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces normal development

Adolescence

The transition period from childhood to adulthood; puberty to independence

Puberty

Period of sexual maturation, person is capable of reproducing

What type of behavior does a developing prefrontal cortex in teenagers lead to?

More reckless, more prone to impulsive decisions

What type of behavior does a developing limbic system in teenagers lead to?

Moody, emotional outbursts

What does a developing corpus callosum in teenagers lead to?

Makes it harder to learn new languages in adolescence and adulthood

What does the increase in myelin during puberty suggest?

Adolescents are able to process information faster than children due to increased communication speed between neurons/brain regions

Synaptic pruning

The brain prunes unused neurons and weak connections in the brain; there is an increase in brain volume during early adolescence, then a decrease during late adolescence

What is the importance of synaptic pruning?

Allows the body to focus energy and resources on the connections that are used most

Emerging adulthood

18 to mid 20s

Early adulthood

20s to 30s

Middle adulthood

40s to 65

Late adulthood

65 and up

Piaget’s theory of Cognitive Development

All humans learn through assimilation and accommodation, children cannot think like adults, children progress through 4 stages and cannot move on until they attain all the cognitive skills associated with a stage

Piaget’s 4 major stages of cognitive development

Sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, formal operational

Sensorimotor stage

Birth to 2 yrs: infants learn about the world through sensory experiments and motor actions, progresses from being governed by reflexes to controlled and voluntary movements, developing schemas, must gain object permanence to move on

Object permanence

Ability to know that even though an object is not visible, it still exists

True or false: babies still have an idea of what is possible or not (ex: objects cannot just disappear out of plain sight)

True

Preoperational stage

2 to 7 years: child can use language and symbols but cannot perform mental operations, decrease of egocentrism and animism, as well as the understanding of theory of mind, reversibility, and conservation needed in order to move on

Conservation

Quantity remains the same despite changes in shape

Parallel play

When children play next to each other but have not yet learned to play with each other

Egocentric

Difficulty perceiving things from another’s perspective

Animism

Belief that inanimate objects are alive and have feelings

Reversibility

Understanding that things can be undone and redone again

Concrete operational stage

7 to 11 years: children develop logical thinking but only about concrete, real-world objects (black and white), very literal and rigid in their thought, increased theory of mind

Theory of mind

Being able to understand what others may be thinking despite having different information from them; being able to take another’s perspective (ex: Sally and the basket)

Formal operational stage

11+ years: Children are able to think abstractly and can make up hypothetical scenarios and work out the consequences without previous experience

Abstract thinking

Ability to understand and use concepts, ideas, and symbols that aren’t tied to a physical object (ex: beauty)

Lev Vygotsky’s views on cognitive development

A child’s mind grows through interaction with the social cultural environment and guidance

Scaffold

Framework that offers children temporary support as they develop higher levels of thinking

Zone of proximal development

Gap between what a child can do on their own, and what they can do with guidance

Personal fable

Teens assume their experience is only unique to them

Invincibility fable

Teens believe that misfortune only happens to others

Delay gratifiication

Being able to make choices that will benefit your future even if it does not benefit the present

Sex

Biologically influenced characteristics to define male, female, intersex

Gender

Attitudes, feelings, and behaviors that a given culture associates with sex

How do the average male and female differ?

Aggression, social power, social connectedness

How men and women differ in aggression

Men are more prone to aggression and physical violence, women are more likely to commit relational aggression

Relational aggression

Physical or verbal aggression intended to harm a person’s relationship or social standing

How men and women differ in social power

People tend to associate males as being more powerful and as negotiators

Male answer syndrome

Tendency for males to feel compelled to provide answers for questions, even if they lack the knowledge

How males and females differ in social connectedness

Female brains tend to be more interdependent and communal, males tend to be more independent

Prenatal sexual development

During 4th and 5th prenatal months, sex hormones influence brain’s wiring

Primary sex characteristics

Body structures for reproduction

Secondary sex characteristics

Nonreproductive sexual traits

Gender schemas

Organizes our experiences of male-female characteristics and help us form our gender identity

Klinefelter syndrome

Male with 2 or more X chromosomes as well as Y chromosome, can impact reproduction

Turner syndrome

Females with only 1 normal X chromosome, can impact reproduction

Social learning theory

We acquire our identity in childhood by observing and imitating others’ gender-linked behaviors

Gender typing

Taking on a traditional male or female role

Biological differences in straight people and gay people

Cell cluster in hypothalamus larger in straight people than gay people; gay men are more “female typical” in brain pattern responses and gay females are more “male typical”

Biological influences on sexuality

Exposure to certain hormone levels in the womb, older brother effect

Older brother effect

Men with older brothers more likely to be gay

Chomsky beliefs on language

Argued that language is an unlearned human trait separate from other parts of human cognition, we are born with a built-in predisposition to learn grammar

Universal grammar (UG)

Humans’ innate predisposition to understand the principles and rules that govern grammar in all languages

Receptive language

Ability to understand what is said to you

True or false: babies come prepared to learn any language, but leaning more towards the one they heard in the womb

True

Productive language

Ability to produce words

Role of nature and nurture in babies’ speech

Nurture molds babies’ speech, nature enables a wide range of possible sounds like cooing and babbling

Babbling stage

Occurs at 4 months, infants make various sounds that don’t relate to any language. At 10 months, babbling is more related to a certain language

One-word stage

Occurs at 1 years old, understands that sounds carry meaning, speaks with single words

Two-word stage

Occurs at 2 years, speaks in two word sentences

Telegraphic speech

Early speech stage where a child speaks using mostly nouns and verbs