ap psychology: development

maturation

growth over the time span that is due to BIOLOGICAL (genes, DNA, etc) mechanisms and NOT environmental

natural growth

developmental research type: cross-sectional

comparing different age groups all at once

PROS: very cheap, fast, convenient

CONS: differences in experiences → Cohort Effect

cohort effect

answers may be different due to ages and experiences

developmental research type: longitudinal

studying ONE same group of people over a timespan

PROS: reduces/eliminates cohort effect

CONS: takes a very long time, high cost, mortality (doesn’t have that good of sample → sampling bias)

prenatal development: germinal stage

ZYGOTE - first 2 weeks

(sperm meets egg) conception, cell division, implantation on uterine wall, formation of placenta

prenatal development: embryonic stage

EMBRYO - weeks 2-10

formation of vital organs

prenatal development: fetal stage

FETUS - weeks 2-40

movement, reaches age of viability (where baby can live independent of mom)

final stage of pre-natal development

teratogens disorder

substances that adversely/harmfully affect prenatal development

ex: thalidomide, alcohol, nicotine

developmental disorder

• trisomy 21 (down syndrome)

• tay sachs disease

• PKU → body is unable to break down a particular amino acid

imprinting

impression of parent based on what is seen first (NOT in human, in animals)

infant reflexes

these reflexes disappear by first year of life

infant reflexes: sucking

instinctive response to stimulation that helps with feeding.

infant reflexes: rooting

you stroke the baby’s cheek with something and the baby turns its head toward the stimulus and opens its mouth

infant reflexes: gripping

you put something in the baby’s hand and it will grip it

infant reflexes: swimming

if you put a baby into water, it will start to make a swimming motion

infant reflexes: babinski

when you tickle a baby’s foot, its toes curl upwards

infant reflexes: moro

if a baby feels like it’s falling/unsupported, it might thrust its arms and legs out as if to protect/prepare itself from impact

infant reflexes: galant

if you stroke one side of a baby’’s back, it arches its back in the direction of the side it was stroked

infant reflexes: fencing

you put a baby on its back, it puts one arm up and lifts one leg and it looks like its fencing

critical period

refers to a time early in life where there is optimal opportunities for learning

• where most of the connections are being made

• if learning does not happen here, learning will be affected later on

who’s experiment helped to develop the attachment theory?

mary ainsworth

Ainsworth’s Arrange Situation Experiment

A controlled observation designed to assess the nature of attachment between infants and their caregivers by observing their reactions to separations and reunions.

attachment theory: secure

attachment is characterized by trust and a strong bond between the child and caregiver, leading to a confident exploration of the environment.

attachment theory: anxious-ambivalent

attachment is marked by insecurity and anxiety, where the child struggles with the caregiver's absence and may display clinginess upon reunion.

attachment theory: avoidant

attachment is characterized by a lack of reliance on the caregiver, where the child tends to avoid or ignore them, showing little distress during separations.

who did the monkey with fake wired mothers to show attachment forms?

harry harlow

who conducted research on parenting styles and the type of discipline one must recieve?

diana baumrind

authoritarian

• parent is very dictatorial

• “my way or the highway”

• harsh punishments for breaking rules

• no flexibility

• no bargaining

permissive

• children are allowed to do whatever they want

• no rules

• no expectations

• allowed to explore

• few to none consequences

• “whatever, whenever”

authoritative

• there are rules and consequences for breaking them but they are reasonable

• there’s room for bargaining, discussion, exploring your own ways of doing things

• “best of both worlds”

stage theory

a period of time where we learn a couple things then we move on to the next stage

stage 5, 6, 7 → age dependent

unresolved stage persists throughout lift

who came up with the psychosocial theory/8 stages of life?

erik erikson

trust vs mistrust

FIRST YEAR of life

where infants develop trust when caregivers provide reliability, care, and affection. A lack of this leads to mistrust.

autonomy vs shame and doubt

ages 1-2

where children develop a sense of personal control over physical skills and independence (like potty training and eating by themselves) Success leads to feelings of autonomy, while failure results in feelings of shame and doubt.

initiative vs guilt

ages 3-5

where children begin asserting control and power over their environment through directing play and other social interactions

learns right and wrong

uses fantasy and imagination

Success leads to a sense of initiative, while failure results in feelings of guilt.

industry vs inferiority

ages 6-11

trying to figure out what you’re good at

where children develop a sense of pride in their accomplishments and abilities through social interactions and competition. Success leads to a feeling of competence, while failure results in feelings of inferiority.

identity vs confusion

adolescence

trying to figure out who they are and how do they fit into the world

intimacy vs isolation

young adulthood

“am i going to find a spouse and friends? if not, im going to be alone”

generativity vs sagnation

middle adulthood

to be a productive member of society.

if not, you feel like you aren’t doing anything

integrity vs despair

late adulthood

if a person looks back and is satisfied/content with their life, they feel feelings of integrity

if not, they will be in despair

lawrence kohlberg & moral reasoning

as we get older, our moral reasoning develops

preconventional

• avoid punishments

• gain rewards

conventional

• being a good person

• following laws (definition of justice being defined by society’s rules)

post conventional

• social construct (person has obligation to help others)

• self-concern, abstract ethical standards

what was kohlberg’s conclusion?

men have higher moral reasoning than women

carol gilligan: critique f kohlberg

she said that kohlberg did not account for gender and cultural differences between men and women

carol gilligan said..

women → care and compassion

carol gilligan said..

men → justice and order

carol gilligan conclusion

they are different, but one is not greater than the other

jean piaget

cared about the thought process that led kids especially to wrong answers

assimilation

takes new information and adds into pre-existing schema

ex: adds parrot to schema about things that have wings

accommodation

has to change schema in order to learn new information

ex: would add bat to wing schema but changes wing schema to has feather wings, a schema that is more specific

jean’s stages of development: sensorimotor stage

• birth to 2 years

• development of sensory and mother processes (interaction of sense, hand-eye coordination)

• develops object permanence (understanding when object is out of sight, it still exists)

jean’s stages of development: pre-operational stage

• 2 to 7 years

• egocentric (only see the world from their own perspective)

• centrated (can only see something as it is right now)

• Irreversibility (literally unable to reverse something in their minds)

• lacks conservation (perceive consistency in spite of changing appearance)

jean’s stages of development: concrete operational stage

• 7 to 12 years

• understands logic

jean’s stages of development: formal operational stage

• 12 and older

• thinks in abstract ways

not everyone enters this stage

lev vygotsky

a very big communist, his idea reflected the communisits ideal how society helps the individual, he says thinking develops through our interactions with others

scaffolding

new knowledge is built on older knowledge

zone of proximal development

• child’s ability with help of others

• circle grows to larger size due to help of others

• due to interactions, help from someone who knows more than you

• the larger the circle, the more able they are, cant do more than beyond the circle

for conception to occur…

a male and female must both have primary sex characteristics

adolescent development

primary sex development

primary sex development

specific to reproduction

female sex: menarche (when female has her first menstral cycle)

male sex: spermarche (when male first start to produce sperm)

secondary sex development

not specific to reproduction, but have an indirect role in reproductive process

neural development

finishing of the development of the nervous system

→ increase myelinization (more activity in brain)

→ prefrontal cortex is the last to fully develop (usually at 20 years old)