HDFS 129 Exam 1, Molly Countermine

Multi-directionality

Development can take many directions.
Differences between individuals become bigger as we get older (babies all look the same); even if you are on a course, it can drastically change.

Plasticity

The degree to which characteristics can or cannot change throughout the lifespan.
Varies greatly between individuals, depending on personality and opportunity.
If you have a distinct aspect of personality when you are young, like being really shy, you tend to change less throughout life.

Contextualism

Development must be studied in various contexts.
Our behavior varies from one context to another.
How we act around our friends vs teachers.
The individual influences the environment just as much as the environment influences the individual.

Reciprocal Influence

Development is an ongoing interaction between a changing individual and a changing environment.
Every individual influences/ is influenced by other individuals in their environment.

Historical Context

Development must be viewed in terms of the time during which on lived, we are not very similar to our parents.
We are affected by events and improvements that happen in out lives.
ex: social movements, war, technology, changing opportunities, major historical events.

Multi dimensionality

many intra-individual factors interact to affect development.
Ex: biological, cognitive, physical, social, emotional factors

Motor Development

cognitive development (mind body connection.
ex: when you learn to walk, the world opens up to you and you are no longer dependent on being carried; you become in control/ autonomous.

Multi disciplinary

The study of human development should involve collaboration across various fields of study.
Biology, sociology, pathology, nutrition, kinesiology, anthropology, education.
ex: how does prenatal nutrition affect cognitive development- babies are born prematurely/ at a lower birth weight are much more at risk for cognitive delay/ non-optimal development.

3 Goals of Scientific Investigation

Science is not defined by what it studies, but by how it conducts investigation.
Description, Explanation, Optimization.

Description

Average Trends.
Newborns are typically 20" long and weight 7-7.5 lbs; infants fall into attachment categories; adults lose weight as they age.
Difficult because so many different variables.

Explanation

Why do we develop the way we do?
Newborns above or below average weight can have more problems at birth.
Attachment categories are a result of parenting.
Adults lose muscles as they age, less active, cells become less efficient.

Optimization

How can we help people develop in a positive direction?
How can we stimulate growth in premature infants?
Teach parents what it means to be sensitive.

Cycle of Science

Theory
Hypothesis
Observation
Operationalization

Theory

A set of assumptions that attempt to describe, predict, or explain a phenomenon.
A coherent set of ideas.

Hypothesis

A proposed outcome or explanation for a phenomenon; can be tested to determine the accuracy of a theory.

Operalization

Provide a clear definition of the concept
Designate a particular instrument, test, questionnaire, etc. to measure a concept.

Correlation Research

The goal is to describe the strength and direction of the relationship between 2 variables.

Correlation Coefficient

Positive variables= move in the same direction.
Negative variables= move in opposite direction

Correlation and Causation

We can predict one variable from the other, BUT correlation does NOT equal causation.
There could be a third variable which is driving the correlation between the 2 variables.
ex: drink= hid head when drunk= bad grades)

Developmental design

interested between the ages of the subject and another variable.

Cross sectional design

Individual of different ages are compared on a particular variable at one point in time.
This demonstrates AGE DIFFERENCES: ex. do people of different ages use technology differently?
Advantages: saves time and money.
Disadvantage: cohort effect: results may be due to subjects' membership in a particular generation rather than a developmental progress.

Longitudinal Design:

The same individuals are studied over an extended period of time.
This demonstrated AGE CHANGES: ex. do people use technology different as they age?
Advantages: truly studying developmental change.
Disadvantages: Time consuming and expensive, a risk of losing participants/ losing their attention, only studying one group, cohort effects: cant necessarily generalize results to another group.

Nature vs Nurture

Development is directed by the interaction of nature (drives and instincts) and nurture (early experience- primary parents)

Nature

The influence of heredity on the development or biologically based predispositions.
Temperament, IQ, skin/ eye color, height/ weight, reflexes, basic needs

Nurture

Forces in the environment that influence development.
Prenatal conditions, parenting/ child-rearing, life experiences, nutrition, medical care, school, community, neighborhoods, culture.

When can we say traits are heritable?

When they have a substantial genetic predisposition; meaning genes account for 30-60% of the variation you see in the trait

Gene-environment interaction

the environment/ our experiences (nurture) accounts for 40-70% of the variation in that trait.
The environment modifies of enhances traits we are predisposed to.

Stability vs change

Is personality stable over time?
To what extent do early experiences set the life path of individuals?
How well can we predict later development from early development?
How early or hard is it to change as we get older?

Freud's psychoanalytic theory

Development is directed by the interaction of nature (drives and instincts) and nurture (early experiences, primarily parents)

Three structure involved in formation of personality

ID, Superego, Ego

ID

(Devil)
Present at birth.
Our basic instinct is to seek pleasure and avoid pain- desire.
Our need to express the self.
Emotions- feelings that you cannot control; not right or wrong.

Superego

(Angel)
Begins in infancy, in place by 3-6 years old.
Constraints places upon infant/ child by parents and society.
The "rules"/morals- all babies have a diff superego based on how their parents raise them.

Ego

Begins to form in infancy.
Reflected in our decisions and our behaviors.
The way in which we cope with out instinctual drives (ID) and the demands made by parents and society (superego)

3 structures of the mind

Conscious
Preconscious
Unconscious

Conscious Mind

What we are aware of, what is going on in the moment.
Dominated by the here and now; immediate activity; current experience; that which we are.

Preconscious Mind

Store info that can be brought to the conscious mind.
Either by will or when something in the environment triggers a memory. (ex: a scent)
All of our knowledge/ memories.
Everything that we have experiences is stored somewhere in our mind.

Unconscious mind

That which is kept from our awareness, from our conscious mind.
Under preconscious surface.
A memory or experience that was too threatening and becomes repressed.
Primal drives that you have to keep in check.
Consists of implicit memories that formed in infancy and early childhood that we cannot remember but form our personality.

Implicit Memories

We have no conscious awareness of them, but they drive our present behavior- "known without being thought"

Emotional Brain

Amygdala
Thinking brain
Prefrontal cortex
Develops first

Erikson's Psychosocial Development Theory

Emphasized that in addiction to mediating between ID impulses and superego demands, the ego makes a positive contribution to development, acquiring attitudes and skills at each stage that make the individual an active, contributing member of society.

Stage 1: Trust vs Mistrust

Birth to 18 months.
Can I trust?
Is the world a safe place?
Trust= warm, responsive, consistent caregiving.
Mistrust= unresponsive, harsh, neglectful, abusive.

Stage 2: Autonomy vs Shame and Doubt

18 months to 3 years.
When child gets a sense of self and independence and exploration (crawling, running).
Autonomy= exploration/ independance.
Shame/ Doubt= belittling, discouraging..

Stage 3: Initiative vs Guilt

Can be done even if child had a rough stage 2 full of shame/ doubt.
4 to 5 years
What can I do?- curiosity, free play.
Initiative: allow child to try, encourage them, let them fail and try again, guide them.
Guilt: not allowing child to try, scolding when they do something wrong or different.

Stage 4: Industry vs inferiority

6 to 10 years
Can I keep trying?- persistence= an incredibly adaptive quality.
Capacity to work, to problem solve vs give up immediately.
Teachers play a large role in this stage.

Stage 5: Identity vs role confusion

11 to 22 years (adolescence, between childhood and adulthood)
Who am i? What makes me unique? What do I believe in?
Family, friends, teachers, coaches, mentors help you figure out who you are.
Where do I fit in? What do I want to do?
You have to answer these questions yourself to know who you really are so you will naturally gravitate to the people who make you feel yourself.

Stage 6: Intimacy vs Isolation

22 to 35 years.
How do I love? How do I want to be loved? (Both romantic and friendships).
Being able to have a commitment to someone vs wanting to be alone.

Stage 7: Generatively vs Self-absorption

35 to 65 years (middle adulthood).
What am I doing with my life?
Generatively= giving back.
Community
Achievement
What will outlive me?

Stage 8: Integrity vs Despair

65 to 85 old age.
How have I lived my life? (finding meaning in ones life).
If you have integrity, its about going within.

Stage 9: Hope and Faith vs Despair

90's and up; old age.
Transcendence.
Ready to move on vs regret.
Those who are dissatisfied with their lives fear death.

Skinner's Learning (reinforcement) Theory

Personality is shaped by early experiences that involved learning
Positive/ negative reinforcement
Positive/ negative punishment

Bandura's Social Learning Theory

Emphasizes modeling/ imitation/ observational learning, as a powerful source of development.
From watching others engage in self-praise and self-blame and through feedback about the worth of their own actions, children develop personal standards for behavior and a sense of self-efficiency (the belief that their own abilities and characteristics will help them succeed)

Bronfenbrenners Ecological Systems theory

Many possible courses: biological dispositions join with environmental forces at multiple levels to mold development in unique ways.
Both nature and nurture: the individual's characteristics and the reactions of others affect each other in a bidirectional fashion.
Both early and later experiences are developed.
Views the person as developing within a complex system of relationships affected by multiple levels of the surrounding environment.

Five Different systems

Microsystem
Mesosystem
Exosystem
Macrosystem
Chronosystem

Microsystem

The innermost level of the environment, consists if activities and interaction patterns in the persons immediate surrounding.
Third parties: other individuals in the microsystem also affect the quality of any two-person relationship. If they are supportive, interaction is enhanced.
Ex: When parents encourage each other in their child-rearing roles, each engages in more effective parenting.

Mesosystem

The second level of Brofenbrenner's model, encompasses connections between microsystems.
Ex: a childs academic progress depends not just on activities that take place in classrooms but also on parent involvement in school life and on the extent to which academic learning is carried over into the home.

Exosystem

Consists of social settings that do not contain the developing person but nevertheless affect experience in immediate settings.
Supports can be informal or formal. Children are affected by their parents' social networks- friends and extended family members who provide advice and companionship.

Macrosystem

The outermost level of model.
Consists of cultural values, laws, customs, and resources.
Ex: countries that set high standards for child care and workplace benefits for employed parents, children are more likely to have favorable experiences in their immediate settings.

Chronosystem

The temporal dimension of his model.
Life changes can be imposed externally or can arise from within the person, since individuals shape many of their own settings and experiences.
People are both products and producers of their environments: the person and the environment form a network of interdependent effects.

Vygotskys Sociocultural Development Theory

Both continuous and discontinuous: language development and schooling leas to stage wise changes. Dialogues with more expert members of society also lead to continuous changes that vary from culture to culture.

Sociocultural theory

Focuses on how culture- the values, beliefs, customs, and skills of a social group- is transmitted to the next generation.