AP Psych Unit 3: Development Study Guide

developmental psychology

branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, & social changes throughout the lifespan

cross-sectional studies

research/study that compares people of different ages @ the same point in time

longitudinal studies

research/study that follows & retests the same people over time (through years, decades)

nature & nurture

genetic inheritance & experiences

continuity & stages

continuity

• development occurs gradually & smoothly over time, w/ no distinct stages.

discontinuity

• development occurs in distinct, qualitative (numeric) stages.

stability & change

stability

• believe that change is relatively difficult once initial personality traits have been established.

change

• family interactions, school experiences, & acculturation (adapting to/borrowing traits from another culture) modify personalities.

teratogens

agents (ex. chemicals/drugs & viruses) that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development & cause harm

fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)

physical & cognitive function deficits in children caused by birth mother’s heavy drinking during pregnancy

• small, out-of-proportion head

• distinct facial features

habituation

decreasing responsiveness w/ repeated stimulation

maturation

orderly sequence of biological growth/biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior

ex. standing then walking, using nouns then verbs

critical period

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

• also called sensitive period

ex. lacking exposure to any language = no mastering of any language, lacking visual exposure = never achieve normal eyesight

adolescence

teenage years

• transition period from childhood to adulthood

• from puberty to independent status

puberty

period of sexual maturation

menopause

time of natural end of menstruation

• biological changes those w/ a uterus experience as their abilities to reproduce decline

cognition

mental activities associated w/ thinking, knowing, remembering, & communicating

schemas

concept or framework that organize & interpret info

• understandings

ex. role schema: learned gender roles

assimiliation

interpreting new experiences in terms of existing schemas

accommodation

• developmental psychology = adapting current schemas to incorporate new info

• S&P = process by which the eye’s lens changes shape to focus images of near or far objects on the retina

Jean Piaget’s Cognitive Development Theory

cognitive development as a process guided by biological maturation & environmental

• believed children construct understandings of the world while experiencing it

4 stages:

1. sensorimotor

2. preoperational

3. concrete operational

4. formal operational

sensorimotor stage

(Piaget)

birth–nearly 2 years of age

• know the world in terms of sensory impressions & motor activities

key milestones

• object permanance

• stranger anxiety

object permanence

awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived

• babies do not develop this yet

ex. peekaboo!

preoperational stage

(Piaget)

2–6 or 7 years of age

• learns to use language & images but doesn’t yet comprehend mental operations of concrete logic (ex. back-tracking on where an item was last left)

key milestones

• pretend play

• egocentrism

conservation

Piaget principle

• properties such as mass, volume, & number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects

• before the age of 6, children lack this

egocentric/egocentrism

in Piaget’s theory, difficulty of taking another’s POV

ex. thinking you can’t be seen if you cover your eyes

concrete operational stage

(Piaget)

7–11 years of age

• can perform mental operations that enable logical thinking about concrete (actual, physical) events

• spatial, mathematical relationships

key milestones

• conservation

• mathematical transformations

formal operational

(Piaget)

12 years of age–adulthood

• begin to think logically about abstract concepts

key milestones

• abstract logic

• potential for mature moral reasoning

Lev Vygotsky

emphasized how the child’s mind grows through interaction w/ the social-cultural environment

• cooperative/collaborative dialogue

• MKO (More Knowledgeable Other)

• ZPD (Zone of Proximal Development)

• scaffold

scaffold

in Vygotsky’s theory, framework that offers children temporary support as they develop higher levels of thinking

ex. tutoring for intelligence, behavior therapy for behavior

cooperative/collaborative dialogue

(Vygotsky)

child’s social interaction w/ a skillfull tutor

• child learns from tutor

• tutor models behaviors & provides verbal instructions for child

• promotes cognitive development

MKO/More Knowledgeable Other

(Vygotsky)

one w/ a better understanding or more knowledge than the learner regarding certain tasks, processes, or concepts

ZPD/Zone of Proximal Development

(Vygotsky)

difference between child’s initial ability & child’s potential w/ learning from a tutor

theory of mind

people’s ideas about their own & others’ mental states — feelings, perceptions, thoughts, & behaviors these might predict

language

systems of spoken, written, or signed words & the ways we combine them to communicate meaning

Noah Chomsky

• argued that language is an unlearned human trait

• proposed the language acquisition device — allows us to learn any human language

phonemes

smallest distinctive sound unit

ex. single letters — c, a, t

morphemes

smallest units that carry meaning

ex. a small word, part of a word (prefix, suffix)

grammar

system of rules that enables us to communicate w/ & understand others

• semantics = deriving meanin from sounds

• syntax = ordering words into sentences

learning window closes between ages 5–10 (Genie Wiley)

universal grammar (UG)

built-in predisposition to learn grammar

babbling stage

stage in speech development beginning @ 4 months

• infants sample all sounds they can make

ex. “goo goo ga ga”

one-word stage

stage in speech development from about 1–2 years of age

• child speaks mostly in single words

ex. “doggy,” “kitty”

two-word stage

stage in speech development beginning @ age 2

• child speaks mostly in 2-word statements in telegraphic speech

ex. “want juice”

telegraphic speech

early speech stage in which a child speaks like a telegram using mostly nouns & verbs

ex. “go car”

aphasia

impairment of language caused by damage to the brain, usually in Broca’s area or Wernicke’s area

Broca’s area

impairs speaking, left hemisphere

Wernicke’s area

impairs understanding, left temporal lobe

linguistic determinism

Whorf’s hypothesis that language determines the way we think

• language 1st, thoughts 2nd

linguistic relativism

idea that language simply influences the way we think

ecological systems theory

theory of the social environment’s influence on human development, using 5 nested systems:

1. microsystem = family, school

2. mesosystem = friends, family

3. exosystem = local gov., friends, mass media

4. macrosystem = larger culture

5. chronosystem = historical events, life transitions, personal experiences

ranging from direct to indirect influences

stranger anxiety

fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning @ 8 months of age

Harry Harlow & Maragret Harlow

• separated baby monkeys from their mothers, placed them individually in cages w/ cheesecloth baby blankets

created 2 artifical mothers:

1. w/ an attached feeding bottle

2. no feeding bottle, covered w/ foam rubber & cloth (comfy material)

• monkey babies preferred cloth mother, their secure base, soothed by contact comfort

attachment

emotional tie w/ others

• shown in young children by seeking closeness to caregivers & showing distress on separation

imprinting

process by which certain animals form strong attachments during early life

ex. first thing a baby animal sees, they assume it’s their mother

Konrad Lorenz

experimented w/ ducklings & imprinting

• was the 1st thing ducklings saw as they hatched

• ducklings followed him everywhere

strange situation

(Ainsworth)

procedure for studying child-caregiver attachment

• child is placed in an unfamiliar environment while their caregiver leaves & then returns

• child’s reactions are observed

secure attachment

(Ainsworth)

• infants comfortably explore environments in the presence of their caregiver

• show only temporary distress when caregiver leaves

• find comfort in caregiver’s return

• healthy attachment

insecure attachment

(Ainsworth)

• infants display either anxious attachment, avoidant attachment, or disorganized (combo of both) that resist closeness

• unhealthy attachment

temperament

person’s characteristic emotional reactivity & intensity

basic trust

(Erikson)

sense that the world is predictable & trustworthy

• formed during infancy by appropriate experiences w/ responsible caregivers

self-concept

understanding & assessment of who you are

• all thoughts & feelings about ourselves in answer to the question: “who am i?”

authoritarian parenting style

(Baumrind)

parents are coercive (use threats)

• impose rules & expect obedience

• very controlling

not good for the child

permissive parenting style

(Baumrind)

parents are unrestraining

• make few demands

• set few limits

• use little punishment

not good for the child

neglectful parenting style

(Baumrind)

parents are uninvolved

• neither demanding nor responsive

• careless & inattentive

• do not seek close relationship w/ children

not good for the child

authoritative parenting style

(Baumrind)

parents are confrontive

• both demanding & responsive

• exert control by setting rules

• encourage open discussion & allow exceptions

healthiest way to be raised

trust & mistrust

(Erikson)

infancy–1 year

• if needs are dependably met, develop a sense of basic trust

autonomy & shame and doubt

(Erikson)

1–3 years

• learn to exercise wills & do things for themselves

• or they doubt their abilities

(autonomy = self-governing)

initiative & guilt

(Erikson)

3–6 years

• learn to initiate tasks & carry out plans

• or feel guilty about their efforts to be independent

competence (industry) & inferiority

(Erikson)

6 years–puberty

• learn pleasure of applying themselves to tasks

• or they feel inferior

identity & role confusion

(Erikson)

teen years–20s

• work @ refining a sense of self by testing roles & then intregrating them to form a single identity

• or they become confused about who they are

intimacy & isolation

(Erikson)

20s–early 40s

• learn to form close relationships & gain the capacity for intimate love

• or they feel socially isolated

generativity & stagnation

(Erikson)

40s–60s

• discover sense of contributing to the world, usually through family & work

• or they feel a lack of purpose

integrity & despair

(Erikson)

late 60s–older

• reflecting on lives, may feel a sense of satisfaction

• or feel failure

identity

our sense of self

• in Erikson’s theory, teenagers focus on developing this

social identity

“we” aspect of our self-concept, part of our answer to “who am i?” that comes from our group memberships

intimacy

ability to form close, loving relationships

• in Erikson’s theory, young adults develop this

emerging adulthood

period from about age 18–mid-twenties

• when many persons in Western cultures are no longer teenagers but have not yet achieved full independence as adults

ex. turning 18 and not being able to legally drink

Kubler-Ross Theory of Grief

not intended for death, but for diagnosis of terminal illness

5 stages:

1. denial

2. anger

3. bargaining

4. depression

5. acceptance

denial

(Kubler-Ross)

1st stage of grief

• refusal

anger

(Kubler-Ross)

2nd stage of grief

• stems from reminders that one is unable to perform tasks as healther human beings can

• directed @ the world, @ random

• bottled-up feelings bursting

bargaining

(Kubler-Ross)

3rd stage of grief

• negotiating (w/ a higher being, w/ their doctor, w/ the illness itself)

• done when denial & anger don’t have the desired outcome

• clinging to irrational hope

depression

(Kubler-Ross)

4th stage of grief

• prolonged period of negative emotions

• creeps in when it becomes clear the illness won’t go away

• acceptance rates are low

• periods of negativity reoccur

2 types of depression in grief:

1. reactive

2. preparatory

reactive depression

(Kubler-Ross)

reaction to current & past losses

preparatory depression

(Kubler-Ross)

deal w/ impending future loss of everything & everyone you love

acceptance

(Kubler-Ross)

5th stage of grief

• healthy, peaceful resolution

• gives oneself permission to feel negative emotions in their entirety in order to come to terms w/ their death, their “reality”

Genie Wiley

• a girl from the mid-20th century that experienced severe abuse as an infant from her father

• said abuse had rendered her unable to perform functions such as eating, speaking

• loved by many, was taken in by many researchers and experimented on (humanely) just to see her general thresholds

• as soon as her interactions died down, as the state isolated her, so did her intellectual & linguistic progress

• revealed truths about lexicon & grammar

lexicon

vocab. of language or branch of knowledge

• no age limit to learn (Genie Wiley)

Lawrence Kohlberg & Moral Development

3 sections:

1. preconventional morality

2. conventional morality

3. postconventional morality

preconventional morality

(Kohlberg)

birth–8 years

• based on self-interest

• individuals follow rules to avoid punishment or gain rewards

conventional morality

(Kohlberg)

8–14

• focused on societal norms & external expectations to discern right from wrong

• often grounded in tradition, cultural practices, or established codes of conduct

postconventional morality

(Kohlberg)

14–death

• base judgments on internal principles & values rather than relying solely on societal norms or external authority figures