Child development Exam 2 psys 2400

Annie Murray close fall 2025

What is language comprehension

what we understand (understanding what others say)

language production

speaking to others forming language

Which comes first:

Comprehension precedes production (kids comprehend more than they can produce on their own 

Ex: infants are seated on kids lap and caregiver cannot see screen researchers say one of the words of something that appears on the screen and then track where the children’s eyes go if you say mouth do the kids look at the picture of a mouth? Even young infants at 6 months most kids were loojuung at the right image more than they wiouldve been if it were just by chance. 

Language generativity

in any language there are a finite set of words that can be combined in different ways to create an infinite number of sentences to create a infinite number of ideas 

Semantic development

what are the systems for expressing meaning in language

Syntactic development

learning the grammar of a language. Rules that we use to combine words 

Ex: understanding that word order matters in a sentence

pragmatic development

how we use language in our everyday lives

Ex: how you might text a friend vs send an email to an employer

As we get older we may speak in different ways with different people

morphemes

Smallest Units of meaning 

Ex: walked has two morphemes walk is one and ed is the other because the ed means it is past tense 

Phonemes

 unit of sound 

Ex: rake means something different than lake r and l are phonemes

How Categorical perception of speech sounds develop

perceptual narrowing or honing inas we get older on things relevant to our environment

Infants start with a built in set of speech categories enough to learn any language and then we learn to ignore sound contrasts that are not used in our language/environment

Ages it changes:

• 6-8 months old can discriminate nonnative sounds

• 10-12 months old cannot discriminate between nonnative sounds

Infants perceive speech sounds as belonging to discrete categories

Infants (under 12 months) actually make more distinctions than adults

Voice Onset Time VOT

the length of time in milliseconds between when air is passing through your lips and when your vocal chords start moving

• ex: B and P have different VOT

• We as humans do not hear it as a continuum

• The perceptual boundary for when humans will hear a different letter is about 25 milliseconds

how do VOT and categorical perception of speech sounds relate

Speech sounds occur on a continuum of VOT 

What is the problem of reference in word learning

The problem with reference in word learning: somebody is pointing something out to you but you dont know what it is yet

• ex: how do you know when somebody is saying rabbit that they mean the whole rabbit or just the tail or the hopping or something else if you are hearing the word for the first time

What helps overcome problem with reference

• whole object assumption noun

  • Assuming it refers to an object and the ENTIRE object

  • Sometimes this can lead you astray

• Mutual exclusivity: assumption that no two words have the same meaning

Bobo doll studies 

kids watch a video where a model plays aggressively with bobo doll 

• group one sees this behavior rewarded 

• Group two sees this behavior punished

• Group three sees no contingencies/consequences for the behavior 

• Last group also experienced one of these three contingencies but then was told that if they immitated the model they would get an incentive

  • This demonstrated that all kids learned the behaviors but some didnt necessarily spontaneously perform them but could if the incentives were right

Results of bobo doll studies

Higher levels of aggressive play in children when they see the MODELING of aggressive play

girls were overall less aggressive than the boys in each category

Kids who were in either of these two groups: Model that was rewarded, or no consequences displayed relatively the same ammount of the aggressive behavior with the bobo dolls

Kids who saw the model be punished displayed the least aggressive behavior

All kids learned the behaviors and if contingencies in environment changed and we think we can be rewarded from the behavior we will imitate it.

Social learning theory

behavior arises from social contingencies

• observations of behaviors you are observing rewards and punishments. You are using other’s rewards and punishments shape your how behavior

Main approach of development proposed by Erickson 

overtime there are different things we have to deal with in life 

• qualitatively distinct stages 

What are differences between Freud and Erickson

• Erickson is is talking about learning about relationships not fixations

• Stages go through adulthood in Erickson but not in frued’s

• Developmental issues covered in the stages are more broad

  • Eg trust vs mistrust

ID, Ego, Superego

Id: pleasure principle — present at birth — sex and aggressio are the two major drives 

Ego: reality principle— develops over first couple years of life 

Super ego: conscience— later in preschool years — internalizing values of societies parents, — can feel guilt 

Vicarious learning

learning from others rewards and punishments

• vicarious punishment

• Vicarious rewards

Social cognitive learning

stimulus leads to thoughts leads to response

Social information processing model

emphasizes the importance of cognitive processes in social behavior

It is about individual differences and contexts it is not just a stimulus then a response. 

Steps in social information processing 

encode 

Interpret

Formulate a goal 

Generate strategies

Evaluate potential strategies 

Social information processing encode

attention on specific codes

Notice pay attention to things going on in your environment

Aggressive kids tend to encode more aggressive cues

• tendency to focus on angry faces even in a room full of happy people

Social information processing Interpret

hostile attribution bias: general expectation that others are hostile in ambiguous provocations 

• difference in how quickly people have hostile interpretations 

• Tendency to assume hostility is higher in people who are more aggressive 

• Hostile parenting is predictive of hostile attribution bias 

We differ in interpretations we make when we encounter ambiguous or unclear social situations 

Social information processing formulate a goal 

Aggressive children are more likely to identify instrumental goals (eg getting what you want) and less likely to identify with relational goals (eg maintaining relationship)

• what do you care most about when you are in a social conflict

• Aggressive kids are more focused on instrumental goals than relational goals 

Social information processes Generate strategies

• aggressive kids

  • Access fewer responses

    • Come up with fewer strategies overall

  • Access more aggressive and avoidant responses

social information processing Evaluate potential strategies 

• aggressive kids 

  • evaluate aggression more positively

  • Expect positive outcomes following aggression

  • Decide to behave aggressively

How do the id ego and superego influence personality development

Middle of road gratification for each stage you shouldn’t over or under satisfy

• if you dont navigate a stage in the right way it contributes to your personality in the future and your future behaviors can be fixated on that stage

Bronfenbrenner cological systems theory

description of developmental contexts 

• a set of nested structure each omsde the next like a Russian doll 

• Developing child is seen at center of these layers 

• Microsystems 

• Mesosystem 

• Ecosystem 

• Macro system 

• Chronosystem 

Microsystem

context the child themselves is actively involved in

Ex: at home interacting with siblings and parents , religious services, neighborhood, school system

Bronfenbrenner is pushing people to think about OTHER layers than just the microsystem which is what is studied a lot

Mesosystem 

Connections between Microsystems

• ex: parent teacher conferences 

Exosystem

contexts the child is not directly involved in but might influence development in important ways

• Ex: parents work, school board, local govt, mass media 

Macro system

dominant beliefs and ideologies

A lot of cross cultural research is at this system this is probably the second most common thing to research 

Chrono system

Time 

Ex: historical period you were raised in, 

Fast mapping

with very little information we are able to learn a new word because of how we contrast it with another word

• study on kids: go get me the chromium tray not the red tray

Syntactic bootstrapping

Using grammar of the sentence ( the whole structure of the sentence) to determine what the word means

Ex: a duck p[ushinh down rabbit visual and at the same time the duck and the rabbit both have their right arms in the air if you say the duck is cradding the rabbit the kid might think that you are referring to the duck pushing down the rabbit if you say the duck and the rabbit are cradding they will think your referring to their arms being in the air

Linguistic context 

using linguistic context to infer meaning 

• what you assume if one says “some sib vs sibbing vs sib” is using linguistic context to infer meaning 

pragmatic cues 

adult focus of attention 

• if the adult looks in one of the buckets and says their is a modi in here and then take out the objects the child will know which object the modi is because of the adults attention to that object 

Intentionality

when a person says lets “Dax” Mickey Mouse and then does one thing and says oops then does the second thing and the adult says there the kid understanding that “daxing” is what the adult said “there” to and therfore they associate a new meaning with Dax based on that intentionality

Emotional response

if adult is trying to find the gazzer they assume that whichever thing the adult responds positively to is the gazzer

Overextension- 

using a word too broadly 

Ex: doggy applied to all four legged animals 

Commonly happening at ages 4-12

Underextension

using a word too narrowly yo apply to too few things

Ex: they might use the word doll and think it only applies to THEIR doll

Common 1-1.5 years of age 

Over regularization

irregular words where typical grammatical rules do not apply. Kids apply grammatical rules they have learned to other words

• eg slept vs sleeped

Why do children make the over regularization errors

Children tend to extend rules to new words

Is language species specific vs species universal 

it is both species specific and species universal

Species specific

something that tends to only be happening in one species

• ie: humans and out complex systems of human language is species specific

  • Animals communicate but not with language

Species universal

virtuall all humans learn language of some sort 

• can primates learn language 

  • Nonhuman primate do not have the same vocal apparatus that humans do therefore it does not seem to work to teach chimps the way humans speak 

  • Teaching chimps sign language can sometimes work but in those example chimps struggle with syntax 

  • The bonobo konzie was the best at using a keyboard to communicate and could use word order at a rudimentary level but his comprehencsion was better than his production and struggled with syntax and grammar 

is there a critical period in language development 

yes

Ex: early language deprivation, alternative explanations for these effects 

The earlier the better to learn a language after 17-39 there is not much difference in language learning 

What brain processes might account for a critical period in language learninG

we process language differently depending on when we learned it

If we learned it between 1-3 right handed people tend to use their left hemisphere for speech in their native language

Infant directed speech

Distinctive mode of speech used when speaking to infants and toddlers

Louder slower higher pitched smoother with more connected pitch contours bigger pitch range and warm emotional tone

Is IDS universal?

yes but the degrees to which we engage it can vary from culture to culture. Americans have the most large differentiation between ids and ads as compared to Japanese’s Italian french and German 

Do infants prefer ids and how do we know

Yes they prefer it

Stuy on 4 months old showed that kids preferred ids even in different languages by using a head turn preference paradigm where a light on either side of infant goes on when infant looks at it and when the light is on the voice sounds play.

Evolutionary explanation for IDS

melody in language drawing out of sounds and it can be easier to learn a language with ids

Infants have greater brain activation and learn new words better with IDS

We may have evolved to use ids to help infants better learn language

Family nvionemtn and language development 

higher ses 

• use more words 

• Speak to kids more often 

• Use richer vocabulary 

• Use more complex language 

This creates a structural advantage for high ses kids 

Bilingual development 

can learn both la nguages and prefer them both equally if heard in the womb.

Preferences can be had for hearing someone speak native language 

Discriminate to more speech sounds in two language systems 

They have two linguistic systems 

May perform betterr on cognitive control measures 

30 million word gap criticisms 

By age three this gap apppeared in early research 

But the criticisms are:

Based on small sample

Big overestimation

Concerns about design

White researchers 

People with education may be more comfortable with researchers around the world

Placed blame on caregivers not structural disadvantages 

Actual word gap seems to be about 4 mil 

Phonological development

there are speech sounds that are import at in english that aren’t important in other languages r and l

Development of categorization

3-4 months infants can discriminate between cats and dogs

• made by parts and size/physical features

• 4-5 months categorization on function

• 3 years: categorization based on hierarchies as well as cause and effect

How do we test infants formed categories 

using habituation eg showing them multiple cats until they habituate and then try showing a dog 

Levels of categorization hierarchies

superordinate : most general

• furniture

Basic: middle ammount of general and specific

• chairs tables

Subordinate: most specific

Lay Z boy

Role of causal categories and cause and effect on categorization

Some categories are based onn what something does

• ex: light switch and pain killers

• Wugs and gillies study cause and effect helped kids learn it better and for longer

Theory of mind

Understanding that desires lead to actions

How does theory of mind develop

1 year: understand things that influence why we behave and the way we do things

• desires lead to actions

2 years: kids understand that people are going to act in accord with their own desires

3 years: understand that beliefs lead to actions

• still fail false belief task 

5 year: pass false belief task

This may happen earlier though as shown by stuffed kitten experiment 8 month old vs 12 month old 

ASD theory of  mind and empiricist views vs nativist views 

nativists believe false belief problems tend to be more challangeing and we see these kids pass these tests later than neurotypical 

Empiricists: how much time do these kids actually spend with others?

Nativists and empiricists theory of mind

natividts believe we have specialized learning mechanisms for theory of mind

• brain imaging studies during theory of mind tasks are not the same parts of brain use for complex tasks

Empiricists

• improved processing skills allow youth to learn about theory of mind

• Learn through interactions with others

• Children with siblings pass false belief tasks before other children

How does understanding of number develop

numerical equality: arguable most basic concept all groups of two have a twoness

• depends on ration

• Number of objects matter (abilities emerge earlier in smaller numbers)

Infant math

By 5 months an infant dishabituaties to a different number of objects and they can discriminate between 2 ND 3

BY 6 MONTHS INFANTS CAN DISCIMINATE BETWEEN rations of 1;2

9 months they can discriminate between rations of 1-1.5

Adding and subtracting infants

hand comes on screen with rabbit study

Dominant conceptions of intelligence: General intelligence

Intelligence as a single trait (general intelligence) 

Evidence: lots of different skills tested on IQ test and when we see a person do well on one type of test of question they are also doing well on the other subtypes of questions even though they are different skills 

dominant conceptions of intelligence: intelligence is more than a single trait with more specific types of intelligence 

what is the evidence for this??

Fluid intelligence

thinking on the spot solving new problems

• peaks at about 20 years old

• Ex: solving a new problem you have never seen before

Crystal intelligence

accumulated knowledge you have from living in the world

Ex: trivia

The more we are in the world the more we understand of the world

Closely tied to experience

Dominant perceptions of intelligence: intelligence is comprised of numerous distinct proceses 

infromation processing analysis: how do people solve intelligence test items and how they perform in everyday intellectual tasks 

Ex: walking through step by step about how we solve problems in real world, what are all the parts, and how easy it is for somebody to plan for example

Three stratum theory of intelligence:

try to acknowledge all the different easy psychologists think and talk about intelligence

alternative conceptions of intelligence: sternberg theory of successful intelligence 

when we are talking about a traditional IQ score we are only getting at a piece of what we need to understand, intelligence is the things that are going to set up to be successful 

• analytical (what IQ test measures)

• Creative

• Practical

• When you measure these three different types you can predict educational and career success better with measuring these three than just what IQ test measures 

Alternative conceptions of intelligence: gardeners multiple intelligence theory 

proposed 8 intelligences, little supporting evidence. Brain damage and prodigies identified different types of intelligence like music intelligence interpersonal intrapersonal and body/kineasthetic

• described as a neuromyth

•  

IQ change over development

Icrystal intelligence grows overtime

Fluid intelligence peaks in your twenties

Stability in IQ over development

• dont see high stability before age 6 as people get older IQ continues to get more and more stable

• Relatively high correlational stability

Outcomes associated on IQ 

higher IQ = better grades, better job success

Role of education vs role of IQ in predicting salary and other outcomes

iq plays a larger role in predicting salary than education. If there are two individuals with the same level of education but one has a higher IQ the one with the higher IQ has better salary

Grit

determination you accomplish long term goal

• includes perseverance of effort and consistency of interest

• Associated with GPA performance NOT positively related to IQ

Is grit the same as IQ

No because it takes into account another aspect of intelligence with determiniation and consistency of interest 

How does grit relate to outcomes

GPA

Performance

NOT associated with IQ

Recent criticisms of grit

Relations to contientiousness, responsibility, discipline etc

Perseverance of effort versus consistency of interest Associated

• perseverances seems to be a better predeictor of academic achievement than consistency of interest Associated

Pull yourself up by your bootstraps attitude that ignores st4ructural disadvantage

Sometimes there is a lofty wisdom in changing course

Is there a genetic influence on IQ 

more genetic relatedness = more similar IQ 

• most find heritability in the .50 range 

• Increase in genetic influence with age 

• Some genetic affects effects amerge later in development 

• genotypes effect environment (via phenotype

  • Evocative effects

  • ACTIVE effects

does the genetic influence on iq change with age 

yes as we get oler its more related to our genetic / biological parents 

This is the case because of evocative and active effects 

What’s the Flynn effect 

dramatic changes in IQ scores overtime 

How do researchers explain the Flynn effect

societal changes

In some countries this increase was bigger when looking at kids from low income families — changes made to policies to support families struggling with intensive levels of poverty

• helping get individuals needs met

In us change was similar across ses even from wealthiest familieswsome of the explanation may be to what we focus on in school ie shcool is doing a good job at training people in those kinds of IQ questions

• this IQ can be trained so it is not an unchangeable factor

Is schooling related to IQ

The more schooling people have the better they do on the same tests

How we know

• tests on different grades with same age children ie cutoff kids

• Kids in most disadvantaged circumstances in the us may be much more disadvantaged than those in japan who have the most disadvantaged circumstances which is why they might outperforms us

Problems with differences in race and IQ

the mean level differences are much different within groups than it is between different racial groups therefore race doesn’t tell you nearly as much about IQ

These differences can be explained by racism and SES

Interventions have been used to improve IQ among at risk youth 

early education 

These interventions are effective in reducing cognitive delays in early childhood, greater development of IQ while in interventions, long term effects in academic achievement and development later in life 

ID

operates on pleasure principle

Present at birth

Driven by sex and aggression

Ego

relatiy principle

Develops over first couple years of life

Super ego

concence

Develops later in preschool years

Internalizes values of society and parents and such

Can feel guild  

How id ego and superego may influence personality development

you want middle of the road gratification not under or over satisfaction

• if you dont navigate a stage in the right way you may get fixated on it and it contributes to your personality

Frauds contributions to current perspectives

early experience

Unconscious

Close relationships

Main approach of development proposed by erikson 

over time there are diffferent things we have to deal with in life 

• qualitatively distinct changes 

Differences between Freud and erikson

talking about learning about relationships not talking about fixations

Stages go through adulthood in erikson

Developmental issues covered in the stages are more brought

• eg trust vs mistrust