psy 105 midterm 1

fixed mindset

a mindset where you believe something about you is fixed and unchangeable.

growth mindset

a mindset where even after setbacks, you feel like you can improve.

Entity View

Intelligence is stable; you are either smart or not smart, and working hard indicates lack of intelligence

Incremental View

Intelligence is acquired and malleable; you get smarter by practicing and working hard

blank slate

where infants have limited initial structure, and learn (via general purpose learning mechanisms) from experiencing their environment

core knowledge

also known as nature, where infants are born with an initial structure in place which guides maturation and development.

general purpose learning

a possible learning mechanism, where specific parts are associated with specific learning mechanisms. Brain is association finding engine, eyes + nose + ears is data acquisition, and hands are exploration devices

specialized learning mechanisms

possible learning mechanism where the brain is like a swiss army knife; multiple tools, but it doesn’t have every tool because it needs to be efficient

habituation

showing an infant the same stimulus over and over, until they get bored. when something novel occurs, the infant is more likely to react.

newborn

limited control of eye, head, and arm movements

no postural control or locomotion

3 months

increasing control of head and eye movements

learning to roll over

6 months

sit independently

skilled reaching and beginnings of object exploration

9 months

crawling, pulls up to standing, standing with help

fine motor skills improving, means-ends actions

12 months

age able to walk

Twin Study

Study by Arnold Gesell where one twin was given motor training and the other wasn’t. They found that the other twin caught up spontaneously and discovered that motor development is something that unfolds naturally over time.

context general

infants have to learn to crawl and walk adaptively in a lot of different contexts. As they get better at skill, they get better at judging their own abilities

action specific

what an infant learns in one mode of action does not transfer to another mode of action

social

motor skills are closely linked to ___ skills

discriminate

infants can ____ small numbers, but the system breaks down when there are 4 or more objects

approximate number system

a system for approximating numbers that gets better as infants grow older. Also known as ANS.

Jean Piaget

founder of cognitive developmental research. his theories have profound influence on the field today. he was most interested in reasoning errors, and was a stage theorist.

sensorimotor stage

beginning stage, 0-2 years old.

They have:

• sensorimotor intelligence, reflexes

Don’t have:

• mental representations, logical operations

Failures:

• object permanence

• A not B error

object permanence

“Out of sight, out of mind.” Babies younger than 8 months will tend to fail to reach for something once it has been hidden. It develops over the course of time and takes 18-24 months to fully develop.

A not B Error

After seeing an object hidden at A multiple times, infants search for it at A, even when they watch it being hidden at B, the new location

Pre-Operational Stage

2-7 years:

they have:

• Mental representations

• Capacity for pretend play

don’t have

• Logical operations

failures

• Egocentrism: see things only from their perspective

• Conservation tasks: centration (focus on one feature at the exclusion of other important ones)

Centration

focus on one feature at the exclusion of other important ones

Concrete operational stage

7-12 years

they have:

• Mental representations

• Logical operations

• Ability to solve concrete logical problems

don’t have

• Hypothetical general logic

• Ability to think outside of personal (concrete) experiences

failures

• Reasoning about logically impossible rules

formal operational

12+ years

What they have:

• Mental representations

• Logical operations

• Formal logical reasoning (outside own experience)

Assimilation

adding information to an existing theory

Accommodation

changing theory to match new evidence

Equilibration

processing to accommodate when new evidence does not match current understanding.

impossible event

children will look longer at the ___ ___ because they are able to differentiate it.

dependent

children are _____ on caretakers

skin soothing

skin to skin contact reduces pain in newborn infants, and stabilizes heart rate

bids for interaction

smiling, vocalizing

active proximity seeking

following mom/dad, approaching parent

harlow’s monkeys

Harry Harlow raised infant monkeys apart from their mothers, and provided them with alternative mothers to study attachment.

comfort

based on Harlow’s monkeys, infants are more driven to seek ____

functional

attachment is ____

• increased emotional security

• supports exploration and learning

Strange Situation

Developed by Ainsworth to evaluate infant attachment relationships.

Scripted and meant to create stress in a social setting

• New environment

• Adult stranger enters

• Parent exits

• Infant is alone with stranger

• Parent returns

secure

infant becomes distressed when parent leaves but is readily soothed when the parent returns

avoidant

infant has little overt stress when caregiver leaves, and is likely to ignore the caregiver when they return

ambivalent

infant is distressed when the caregiver leaves, and is not easily soothed when caregiver returns

stable

attachment style is ____ over time (9 to 18 months) and predicts later outcomes about the child.

authoritative

high acceptance, high demand.

* reasonable demands, consistently enforced, sensitive to child’s needs

authoritarian

low acceptance, high demand.

* many rules/demands, few explanations and low sensitivity to child’s needs

permissive

high acceptance, low demand

* few rules/demands, children allowed much freedom by indulgent parents

disengaged

low acceptance, low demand

* few rules/demands, parents uninvolved, insensitive to childs needs

permissive

result of ____ parenting style:

* kids are impulsive, lack self-control, perform poor academically, and have high rates of antisocial behavior

disengaged

result of ____ parenting style:

* kids have high rates of antisocial behavior, poor self-image, internal problems, and have poor academic and social performance

authoritative

result of ____ parenting style:

* kids are competent academically and socially, popular with peers, in control of their own behavior, and display high levels of self esteem

authoritarian

result of ____ parenting style:

* kids have average levels of social and academic skills, but low confidence. highly likely to conform to society’s social norms

temperament

individual differences in emotion, motor behavior, reactivity, and self regulation