AP Psych Unit 6

Developmental psychology

nature (genetics + innate) + nurture (enviro + learned); continuous and/or in stages; examines physical, cognitive, social development across life span

Stability and change

do our early personality traits persist through life, or do we become different persons as we age?

Teratogens

agents like viruses or drugs that cause prenatal harm to an embryo; ex. FAS

Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)

physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman's heavy drinking

Habituation

decrease in responding with repeated stimulation

Milestones

an action or event marking a significant change or stage in development

Three issues of developmental psychology

nature and nurture, continuity and stages, stability and change

Course of prenatal development

zygote, embryo, fetus

Newborn abilities

capability to smell mother and prefer sights and sounds that facilitates social response

Maturation

the orderly sequence of biological growth

Reflexes

specific patterns of motor response that are triggered by specific patterns of sensory stimulation

Rooting reflex

a baby's tendency, when touched on the cheek, to turn toward the touch, open the mouth, and search for the nipple

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE)

toxic stress, such as extreme poverty, severe neglect, maternal depression, and exposure to violence that can undermine the developing brain with lasting effects on development

How do the brain and motor skills develop

while in the womb, you produce almost ¼ million brain cells per minute; but that's all for life

Cognition

all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

Jean Piaget

stages; different skills appear simultaneously; abrupt transition

Schema

concepts or mental molds into which we pour experiences; mental representation of the world

Assimilation

add new info to existing schema; interpret in terms of current schema)

Accommodation

adapt schema to incorporate new info; modify existing schema

Sensorimotor stage

infancy-toddlerhood; beginning with reflexes, kid develops schema; matches actions with results of actions; major milestones - cannot conceive object permanence

Object permanence

the awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived

Preoperational stage

toddler-early childhood; represent with words and images, but not ready for mental operations like conservation and reversibility

Conservation

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

Egocentrism

the preoperational child's difficulty taking another's point of view

Theory of mind

ability to reason about what other people know or believe

Concrete operational stage

early-late childhood; logical thinking about concrete (non-abstract) events; benefits from manipulatives (arithmetic); struggle to think systematically; can do conservation and reversibility

Formal operational stage

late childhood-adult; abstract thought (algebra); scientific thought (inductive/deductive reasoning); not all adults reach this stage; Pendulum and Third Eye tests

Lev Vygotsky

development a continuum and is social; learn with scaffold, ZPD, and MKO

Scaffold

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

Zone of proximal development (ZPD)

the gap between what a learner can accomplish alone and what he or she can achieve with guidance from more skilled partners

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

a disorder that appears in childhood and is marked by significant deficiencies in communication and social interaction, and by rigidly fixated interests and repetitive behaviors; impaired theory of mind

Stranger anxiety

the fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning by about 8 months of age

Attachment

survival impulse; connection with another person

Critical period

an optimal period early in the life of an organism when exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces normal development

Harry and Margaret Harlow

researchers known for their controversial experiments with monkeys in which they showed that baby monkeys are drawn to mothers that provide comfort rather than simply food. Also showed that monkeys raised in isolation developed severe mental and social deficits

Imprinting

Lorenz; strong and long-lasting emotional bond

Strange situation

Mary Ainsworth's experimental procedure designed to assess security of attachment in infants

Separation anxiety

emotional distress seen in many infants when they are separated from people with whom they have formed an attachment

Secure and insecure attachment

secure attachment: child explores confidently, is distressed when parent leaves

insecure attachment:

infants either avoid, show resistance, or show ambivalence towards caregivers

Temperament

basic emotional style that appears early in development and is largely genetic in origin

Erik Erikson

conflict and outcome, shapes who we are; social identity and self-definition

Basic trust

according to Erik Erikson, a sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy; said to be formed during infancy by appropriate experiences with responsive caregivers

Self-concept

all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question, "Who am I?"; when we can recognize ourself in the mirror

Diane Baumrind

found that parents who use consistent parenting styles are most likely to have children who have the best social skills in elementary school

Parenting styles

authoritarian, permissive, and authoritative; cultural differences and norms

Authoritarian

coercive; impose rules and expect obedience; leads to distrustful kids

Authoritative

responsibilities, limits; leads to well adjusted kids

Permissive

unrestraining; make few demands, set few limits, and use little punishment; leads to immature and dependent kids

Negligent

uninvolved; leads to kids with low self-esteem

Sex

the biological distinction between females and males

Gender

the socially constructed roles and characteristics by which a culture defines male and female; more than boy or girl

Aggression

any physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt or destroy

Relational aggression

an act of aggression (physical or verbal) intended to harm a person's relationship or social standing

Carol Gilligan

moral development studies to follow up Kohlberg. She studied girls and women and found that they did not score as high on his six stage scale because they focused more on relationships rather than laws and principles. Their reasoning was merely different, not better or worse

Male answer syndrome

men are more likely than women to hazard answers rather than admit they don't know

Gender roles

sets of behavioral norms assumed to accompany one's status as male or female

Gender identity

our sense of being male or female, or some combination of the two, or neither

Albert Bandura

pioneer in observational learning (AKA social learning), stated that people profit from the mistakes/successes of others; Studies: Bobo Dolls-adults demonstrated 'appropriate' play with dolls, children mimicked play

Social learning theory

the theory that we learn social behavior by observing and imitating and by being rewarded or punished

Gender typing

the acquisition of a traditional masculine or feminine role

Androgyny

displaying both traditional masculine and feminine psychological characteristics

Transgender

an umbrella term describing people whose gender identity or expression differs from that associated with their birth sex

Pruning

the process of eliminating unused synapses, usually occurs during puberty

Ecological systems theory

views the person as developing within a complex system of relationships affected by multiple levels of the surrounding environment

Microsystem

immediate environment/daily interactions; family, peers, school, community

Mesosystem

interaction between components of microsystems; parents and friends, school and friends, parents and school

Exosystem

external environments with indirect influence (ripple effect); parent's workplace, neighborhood conditions, media, social policies

Macrosystem

broad cultural, societal and institutional contexts that shape individual's lives; cultural attitudes towards education, gender roles, religion

Chronosystem

time of life right now or events on immediate horizon ; moving, graduation, marriage, major historical events

Adolescence

the transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence

Puberty

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

Menarche

the first menstrual period

Spermarche

first ejaculation

Imaginary audience

adolescents' belief that they are the focus of everyone else's attention and concern

Adolescent egocentrism

the heightened self-consciousness of adolescents

Personal fable

type of thought common to adolescents in which young people believe themselves to be unique and protected from harm

Moral intuitions

quick gut feelings, or affectively laden intuitions

Identity process

A process in which the older adolescent examines alternatives, selects goals in various domains (personal, occupational, financial cultural), makes personal and interpersonal commitments to achieve these goals, and takes the active steps to achieve them.

Identity achievement

commitment to identity after having searched for it

Diffusion

have not searched for an identity, is not committed to them

Foreclosure

have not searched for identity, but committed to one

Moratorium

have searched for identity, but now committed to one

Social identity

the "we" aspect of our self-concept; the part of our answer to "Who am I?" that comes from our group memberships

Intimacy

the ability to form close, loving relationships

Stage 1

trust v. mistrust; if needs consistently met, basic trust develops; birth-1

Stage 2

autonomy v. shame and doubt; exercise will and do things themselves, or doubt abilities; 1-3

Stage 3

initiative v. guilt; initiate tasks and carry them out, or feel guilty about efforts towards independence; 3-6

Stage 4

competence v. inferiority; learn to apply themselves, or feel inferior; social comparison; 6-12

Stage 5

identity v. role confusion; refining sense of self, or becoming confused on who they are; James Marcia; 13-20s

Stage 6

intimacy v. isolation; form committed relationships and intimate love, or feel socially isolated; 20s-40s

Stage 7

generativity v. stagnation; sense of contributing to world, nurturing next generation, or lack sense of purpose; 40s-60s

Stage 8

integrity v. despair; reflecting on life, sense of satisfaction or failure; 60s+

Emerging adulthood

a period from about age 18 to the mid-twenties, when many in Western cultures are no longer adolescents but have not yet achieved full independence as adults

X chromosome

the sex chromosome found in both men and women

Y chromosome

the sex chromosome found only in males

Testosterone

the most important of the male sex hormones. Both males and females have it, but the additional testosterone in males stimulates the growth of the male sex organs in the fetus and the development of the male sex characteristics during puberty

Primary sex characteristics

bodily structures that are directly involved in reproduction

Secondary sex characteristics

the body structures that make sexual reproduction possible, but not involved in it (ex. voice)

Intersex

possessing biological sexual characteristics of both sexes

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)

a disorder in which the immune system is gradually weakened and eventually disabled by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)