Psychology 204 Exam #1

Developmental Psychology

scientific study of age-related changes throughout the human life span

Nature

genetics

in development, ____ refers to genes. Thus, traits, capacities, and limitations inherited at conception are __.

Nurture

environmental

In development, __ includes all environmental influences that occur after conception, from the mother’s nutrition while pregnant to the culture of the nation.

Biopsychosocial Perspective

holistic perspective; interaction of biological, psychological, and social aspects of development

What does it mean to have genetic predisposition?

traits that can be passed on from parents to child; it does not necessarily mean the child can develop those traits. It also relates to nature and nurture.

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ex. a dad might have a gambling addiction and possibly pass on those traits to the child, but the child may not manifest that addiction trait.

Continuous Model

development is continuous process without distinct stages

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ex. a tree continually grows; a child continually grows over time

Discontinuous Model

development has distinct stages with tasks an individual must accomplish before progressing to the next stage

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ex. hard stop in between; a catepillar has to become a cocoon to then become a butterfly

Characteristics of Development: **Multidirectional**

changes in all aspects of life occurs in every direction, not always linear

Critical Periods

times when a developmental growth must occurs

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ex. an infant must develop sight and hearing within the first 6 months of their infancy

Sensitive Periods

times when a particular developmental growth is most likely to occur, although it may still happen later

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ex. a child’s ability to learn a secondary language

What are some examples of sensitive periods?

\-growth and decline: a person can be old and crippled but also wiser

\-linear: people continue to grow as they get older

\-stages: different stages that young people go through in develpment

\-unpredictable: if a parent’s behavior can tend to be unpredictable, it can affect a young child’s neural pathways

\-continuity: most things in life will stay the same (X, Y chromosomes)

Characteristics of Development: **Multicontextual**

humans are embedded in many contexts, including history, ecnomoic pressures, and family patterns

Historical context

how people are impacted during certain times

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ex. someone born during the war compared to someone born during time of peace

Cohort

people who can be grouped together based on when they were born

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ex. millennials, boomers, etc.

Socioeconomic Status

a person’s position in society as determined by income, wealth, occupation, education, place of residence, and other factors

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includes both advantages and disadvantages, opportunities and limitations, past history and future prospects

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ex. if your born into low SES, you may not have access to the same things such as education compared to someone born into a high SES

Culture

patterns of behavior that are passed from one generation to the next and serve as resources for current life of a social group; impacts how people develop

Multicultural

not only affected by one dominant culture but also regional, ethnic, school, and neighborhood subcultures

Ethnicity

group that shares certain attributes, such as a national origin, religion, and language

Heritage

customs and traditions passed down to the present

Ethnic categories arise from history, sociology, and psychology, but not from biology. Why?

just because you Irish and live in America doesn’t actually mean your Irish

Race

intended to classify people based on biology, group of people who are regarded by themselves or others as genetically distinct from one another on the basis of physical appearance

Intersectionality

the idea that various identities need to be combined. important for identifying and determining if discrimination occurred

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we each are pushed and pulled by gender, religion, generation, nation, age, culture, ethnicity. our identities interact, and influence, each other.

Plasticity

humans traits can be molded but also have a certain durability

humans have the capacity to change

dynamic-systems approach is the idea that in ongoing, every-changing interaction between the individual and all systems, domains, and cultures.

the study of development is a ______ based on objective evidence and systematic observations

science

Objective

based on facts and information

Systematic

utilizing the scientific method, analyzing, studying data

Scientific Method

systematic approach to research questions through objective observation, experimentation, collection and analysis of data, and replication; goal to describe, explain, predict, and control behavior

Cross-Sectional

comparing people at different ages at the same time

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begin with individuals in different age groups (several different cohorts)

study them at the same point in time; data collection occurs at the same time

Longitudinal

begin with one, single group of individuals (one cohort)

all the same age

follow these individuals as they age test them several times over a specified period

data collection occurs multiple times usually over a period of years

\-over time, participants drop out

Cross-Sequential

combinations of cross-sectional and longitudinal

begin with individuals in different cohorts while also following them as they age

data collection usually occurs over several years

Case Study

intensive study of one individual or small group of individuals

\-usually an individual with rare or unusual condition or one who has responded favorably to new treatment

\-can last for months or years

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ex. Genie (scientists were able to better understand parts of development because of her situation and story - experienced extreme abuse and neglect)

Survey

interviewing or administering questionaries to large numbers of people

examine similarities, differences, and trends and then make predictions

Epidemiological Research

survey study interested in diseases and health populations

Observational

observe and record behavior systematically

laboratory or naturalistic observation

ex. bringing children in and observing patterns of play and observing children with or without ADHD (can be in a lab or somewhere else like a playground)

Correlational

relationship between two variables with one variable being likely to occur when the other variable occurs

Positive correlation

as one variable increases so does the other variable and visa versa (ice cream sales and crime rates -→ both going up -→ because of the heat)

Negative Correlation

one variable increases while the other decreases (as temperature goes up, the solidity of the ice goes down)

Nonexistent Correlation

no relationship

no connection between a person’s horoscopes and their personality

Experimental

tests the effect of an independent variable (manipulated) on a dependent variable (observed)

an experimental design is the only type of research that demonstrates cause and effect

many times uses an experimental group and a control group

Cross-Cultural

examines variations existing across different groups (cultures) of people

societies have different norms, values, morals, attitudes, customs, and practices

Developmental Theory

systematic statement of principles and generalizations that provides a coherent framework for understanding how and why people change as they grow older

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theories differ in how much they try to explain

psychoanalytic Theory

grand theory of human development that holds that irrational, unconscious drives and motives originating in childhood underlie human behavior

Freud

\-father of psychoanalytic theory

\-5 stages during development characterized by sexual pleasures that are centered on a particular part of the body

Erogenous Zone

area that is sensitive to erotic stimulation

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\-if you don’t complete these stages in order, you have problems in adulthood.

Five Psychosexual Stages

Oral (0-18 months), Anal (18-36 months), Phallic (3-5/6 years), Latency (5/6 - puberty), Genital (puberty +)

Erik Erikson

has 8 psychosocial developmental stages

\-stages are characterized by challenging developmental crises/ social tasks that must be accomplished

\-emphasis is on family and culture, not sexual urges

Psychosocial Stage: Birth to 1 Year: **Trust vs Mistrust**

psychosocial stage that says that learning that the provider of comfort is reliable, consistent, and predictable

Psychosocial Stage: 2 to 3 years: Autonomy vs Shame and Doubt

psychosocial stage that says that learning to exercise independence and freedom of choice along with self-control

Psychosocial Stage: 3 to 5 years: Initiative vs Guilt

psychosocial stage that says that planning and executing a task for the sake of actively doing it

Psychosocial Stage: 6 to 11 years: Industry vs Inferiority

psychosocial stage that says that developing as a worker and producer

Psychosocial Stage: Adolescence: Identity vs Role Confusion

psychosocial stage that says that evolving sense of self that is reliable and consistent, both for oneself and for others

Psychosocial Stage: Young Adulthood: Intimacy vs Isolation

psychosocial stage that says that preparing for a commitment to affiliation with others and developing the ethical strength to abide by such commitments

Psychosocial stage: Middle Age: Generativity vs Stagnation

psychosocial stage that says that finding a ways to support in the establishment and guidance of the next generation

Psychosocial Stage: Old Age: Integrity vs Despair

psychosocial stage that says that interrogating the earlier stages into an acceptance of oneself and a sense of fulfillment rather than looking back in regret at what might have been

Behaviorism (aka Learning Theory)

grand theory of human development that studies observable behavior; describes the laws and processes by which behavior is learned

Learning

any relatively permanent change in behavior that is produced by experience

Who was the founder of behaviorism?

Watson

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“let us limit ourselves to things that can be observed, and formulate laws concerned only with those things… we can observe behavior - what the organism does or says.”

Classical Conditioning

learn through association

Operant Conditioning

behavior is changed through your environment, either reinforcing (increases behavior to happen) or punishing (decrease behavior to happen)

Evolutionary Theory

the idea that many current emotions and impulses are a legacy from thousands of years ago

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\-our fear instinct evolved to protect life millennia ago. however, fears have not caught up to modern life.

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\-ex. people who love fast cars and speed despite driving over the speed limit kills thousands of people

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\-although humans inherited irrational fears, such as snakes, blood, and thunder, human also inherited wonderful impulses, such as cooperation, spirituality, and compassion. people survived because they cared for one another.

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ex. protective parents instinct that allows mothers and fathers to care for children for decades which allows the human brain to grow much more than other primates.

Social Learning Theory (aka vicarious learning and observational learning)

learning that occurs within a social context, emphasizing the influence that other people have on a person’s behavior; learning through observation and imitation

social learning theory: modeling

when children observe an adult hit a Bobo doll, they are more likely to hit the Bobo doll

Conditions Necessary for Modeling

attention, retention, motor reproduction, motivation

Cognitive Theory

grand theory of human development that focuses on changes in how people think over time

Jean Piaget

\-field-testing questions for standardized IQ test

\-children same age tended to give the same wrong answers

\-how children think is more important than what they know

what are Piaget’s 5 Stage’s Theory?

sensorimotor period, preoperational thought, concrete operations, formal operations, postformal

Sensorimotor Period

Piaget said that a child’s cognitive system is limited to motor reflexes at birth, but the child builds on these reflexes to develop more sophisticated procedures. They use their motor abilities to understand their world.

Preoperational Thought

imagination; preoperational children can use these representational skills only to view the world from their own perspective

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ex. kid playing with a stick and they say it is a sword and they are a knight

concrete Operations

\-thinking involved in what’s in their senses -- a 5 y.o. vs a 10 y.o. -→ if you have 2 cookies, split 1 hamburger style and the other hotdog, the 5 y.o. will think that they are different and the 10 y.o. will understand that its the same

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\-takes into account more than one perspective simutaneously

Formal Operations

someone thinks about themselves more abstractly

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ex. if you ask a teenager who you are vs a 5 year old who they are

Postformal

thought becomes more practical, flexible, and dialetical

what is the difference between cognitive equilibrium and disequilibrium?

state of mental balance that when there is new information that comes into the world, when it comes into a child’s mind, it can throw off their equilibrium…

Schema

cognitive framework that we use to develop into organized information or knowledge

What are the two ways to adapt?

assimilation and accomadation

assimilation

integrating new information into already schema that exists

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ex. child sees four-legged animal for the first time; existing schema: has four-legged pet is a dog -→ child will call this a dog

accommodation

how we go from having cognitive disequilibrium (new idea throwing them off balance) and then to reach equilibrium they learn and accommodate

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ex. existing schema: has four-legged pet is a dog; someone points out that this is a cat although it also has four legs; realizes that all four-legged animals are not dogs

emergent theories: sociocultural theory

an emergent theory, holds that development results from the dynamic interaction between each person and the surrounding social and cultural forces

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ex. prayer at dinner

Lev Vygotsky

part of sociocultural theory; studied how war impacted children’s development

guided participation

a parent is teaching a child how to complete a task (learning how to read)

zone of proximal development

the space between the zones of what a person can do on their own, what they can do with some help, and what they are not able to do on their own regardless of the help

epigenetic theory

an emergent theory of development; examines how genes interact with the environment to allows for development

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\-environment can affect genetic expression

Which theory contributes the importance of early childhood experiences?

psychoanalytic

Which theory contributes the development is embedded in our cultural context?

sociocultural

which theory contributes the effect of the environment on learning?

behaviorism

which theory contributes the interaction between genetics and our surrounding environment?

epigenetics

which theory contributes the importance of intellectual processes and thinking in development?

cognitive

DNA

nucleic acid that contains genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of living organism

Chromosomes

molecules of DNA; we have 46 molecules of DNA (23 pairs)

Gene

section of the chromosome; contains instructions for making specific type of proteins

Genome

full set of genes that are instructions to make individual member of a species

Gamete

human reproductive cell (sperm or egg)

Zygote

single cell formed from 2 gametes (sperm and egg uniting)

what is the difference between an autosome and a sex chromosome?

humans have 22 pairs of autosomes and 1 pair of sex chromosomes

does the mother or father determine the sex?

the father

what is the name of the gene responsible for the development of male organs?

Y

what is the difference between genotype and phenotype?

genotype: all the genetic material that all 46 chromosomes have

phenotype: physical appearance of the genes

what is a polygenic trait?

traits that are influenced by 2 or more genes (height, skin color, hair color, cancer, diabetes, etc.)

what is a multifactorial trait?

polygenic traits that are influenced by the environment (identical twins… one with white skin and the other with black skin)

what is the difference between additive and non-additive genes?

additive: interact between genes and alleles (they add up to the phenotype. the phenotype reflects all the additive genes)

non-additive: genes that do not add up and not reflected (dominant-recessive patterns)

X-linked recessive genes

genes that are on the female chromosome; special case of dominant-recessive pattern; if an X-linked gene is recessive, there may not be a long enough Y from the male to cover the X (color blindness passed down - mother passes color blindness)