PSYC 205: Exam 2

Life-Span Development Psychology Exam 2

schemes

actions or mental representations that organize knowledge

T/F: Schemes do not develop through our experiences of the world

False

Assimilation

occurs when children incorporate new experiences into schemes

Accommodation

occurs when children adjust their schemes to account for new information and experiences

Organization

grouping of isolated behaviors and thoughts into a higher-order system

What do individuals use to overcome disequilibrium cognitive conflict?

A combo of assimilation and accommodation

T/F: Internal Search for equilibrium creates motivation for change

True

What psychologist’s theory include four rigid stages?

Piaget

What are the four stages?

sensorimotor, pre-operational, concrete, and formal operational

What are the 6 substages inside the sensorimotor stage?

simple reflexes, primary circular reactions, secondary circular reactions, coordination of secondary circular reactions, tertiary circular reactions, and internalization of schemes

When does simplex reflexes occur

1st month after birth

What are two examples of simple reflexes

sucking and rooting

When does primary circular reactions occur?

1-4 months of age

What is a primary circular reaction?

scheme that is baed on the attempt to reproduce an event that initially occurred by chance

When does secondary circular reactions happen?

4-8 months of age

T/F: During the secondary circular reaction, the orientation is still about the baby

False, the object

What biological aspect is coordinated during the coordination of secondary circular reactions?

vision and touch, hand and eye

What processes become coordinated?

schemes and intentionality

When does the coordination of secondary circular reactions happen

8-12 months

Name one key aspect of coordination of secondary circular reactions

Babies tend to knock things over

T/F: Infants become more intrigued by objects that surround them and how they can manipulate said object

True

When does the internalization of schemes happen?

18-24 months

Object permanence

understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen, heard, or touched

A not B error

• Toy hidden twice, first at A then B.

• Baby believes toy is still hidden at A even if they are showed

What is a key features that happens during the internalization of schemes?

• ability to use primitive symbols

• symbols internalized sensory image or word that represents an event

When does the pre-operational stage happen?

2-7 years old

What do kids have to have during the pre-operational stage?

physical representation

symbolic function substage

ability to mentally represent an object that is not present

egocentrism

can distinguish between their and others point of view

animism

aspects of nature have life-like characteristics

Intuitive thought substage

primitive reasoning and want to know the answer to all sorts of questions

When are kids in the intuitive thought substage?

4-7 years old

centration

center of attention of 1 characteristics that excludes all others

conservation

can recognize objects are the same size

an example of conservation

the liquid in different glasses

What should happen during the concrete operational stage?

reason logically, but only to specific or concrete examples

When does the concrete operational stage occur?

7-11 years of age

What is a key characteristic of the concrete operational stage?

An individual should be able to classify/divide things into different sets or subjects

Seriation

You’re able to order stimuli by different dimensions

transitivity

you’re able to logically combine relationships (A<B, B<C, A<C)

How do kids think during the formal operational stage?

think more abstract and logically

When does the formal operational stage happen?

11-15 years old

New developments during the Formal Operation Stage

• verbal problem-solving ability

• increased tendency to think about thought

• hypothetical- deductive reasoning

Idealism

thinking about ideal characteristics

Adolescent egocentrism

heightened self-conscious of adolescent which is reflected in their belief that others are interested in them as they are themselves

Examples of adolescent egocentrism

• imaginary audience

• personal fable (unique and invisibility)

What approach does Piaget take with education?

constructive

How should we teach children? How should we NOT?

We SHOULD facilitate NOT direct

How should a classroom be set up?

For exploration (i.e. stations)

Contributions of Piaget’s theory

• schemes and adoption of schemes

• classroom

• assimilation and accommodation

• object permanence

• egocentrism

Criticisms of Piaget’s theory

• estimates of children’s competence

• stages being rigid

• effect of training

• culture and education

What is a part of Vygotsky’s theory of cognitive development?

Zone of proximal development and scaffolding

What is the general idea of the Zone of Proximal Development?

It is a range of tasks that are too difficult to master alone but learned through guidance and assistance

What is a lower limit?

Skills of child working independently

What is an upper limit?

Skills of child working with additional help of instructor

How can the range of proximal development be enhanced?

• emotional regulation

• secure attachment

• absence fo maternal depression

• child compliance

scaffolding

• changing the level of support a child needs

• as the student’s competence increases, the instructor gives less guidance

What is speech used for?

• social communication

• solve tasks

• plan, guide, and monitor their behaviors

When do children use private speech?

when tasks become difficult

T/F: Children are less socially competent if they use private speech

False

T/F: Language and thought develop independent of each other

True

How is the zone of proximal development used in education?

It is a constant loop. Students start in the outer zone and move in.

What does the zone of proximal development encourage?

• use of private speech

• skilled peers as teachers

• instruction in meaningful context

Criticims of Vygotsky’s theory

• not specific enough about age-related changes

• lack of explanation about how changes in socio-emotional capabilities contribute to cognitive development

• overemphasis of language in thinking

Piaget or Vygotsky: All about the individual

Piaget

Piaget or Vygotsky: Social contexts and interactions play a major role

Vygotsky

Piaget or Vygotsky:

End point is formal

What are the four types of attention?

• selective

• divided

• sustained

• executive

At what age can infants selectively attend to an object?

4 months

Habituation

decreased response to stimulus

Dishabituation

recovery of responsiveness after change in stimulation

What should parents do to increase dishabituation?

rotate baby toys

What is joint attention?

an infant’s ability to track another’s behavior

What is joint attention linked to?

• Long Term Memory

• Prediction of hand-eye coordination

• 1st word

• sustain memory, attention, self-regulation, and executive function

What is linked to joint attention if there is a problem?

autism

What are some examples that cause issues with attention in children?

tv and video games

Things that happen pre-school

• salient v. relevant dimension

• playfulness

Benefits of good attention

school readiness and achievement

example of shifting attention

writing a story

Does attention get better in adulthood?

Yes

What are the exceptions to better attention in adults?

driving, distraction, selective attention and complex vigilance tasks

What is memory

retention of information over time

What are the parts of memory

encoding, storing, and retrieving

What is the schema theory?

fold memories to fit into schemas

Is there memory before birth?

Yes but its limited (recognize voices)

Implicit memory

natural, automatic

explicit memory

recollection

What is infantile amnesia?

Individuals cannot remember anything before our third year of life

LTM

permanent and unlimited

STM

retain info for 30sec, limited capacity

memory span

rehearsal of information, speed of processing and recognition

working memory

manipulate and assemble info, develops slowly, higher at adolescene and childhood

autobiographical memory

remember events at specific time and location

Does memory decline with age?

Yes, starting around age 65

How can you help improve and retain memory?

aerobic endurance, imaging strategies, and cognitive training programs

episodic memory

retention of when and where

semantic memory

knowledge about the world

what are the three types of semantic memory?

field of expertise, academic knowledge, and “everyday knowledge”

Does episodic decline less than semantic

No.

When does semantic memory increase

~50