Psychology 3

Stages of development

Prenatal: conception - birth

Infancy- birth to 18/24 months

Childhood- end of infancy to 10/14 years

Adolescence- end of childhood to 18/21 years old

Adulthood- end of adolescence to old age and death

Conception

1. Union of egg and sperm forms a zygote

2. zygote develops into an embryo

3. Embryo becomes a fetus

How does the brain grow and mature

• myelination

• synaptic connections among neurons

Synaptic Pruning

“use it or loose it”

• allows for the brain to adapt well to any environmental it may find itself in

• eliminates un-used synaptic connections and allows for adaptation to the developmental environment

• preserving synaptic connections that are used and getting rid of those that aren’t

Teratogens

agents that harm the embryo or fetus

can impair development in the womb

include: drugs, bacteria, caffeine, alcohol and viruses

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs)

exposure to alcohol during pregnancy

can lead to: low birth weight, face and head abnormalities, deficient brain growth, and evidence of impairment such as behavioral or cognitive problems or low IQ

Common features: small eye openings, and absence of the groove that normally appears between the nose and the lips, thin upper lip

Basic Newborn reflexes

• grasping reflex- grasping a finger

• rooting reflex- turning and sucking

• sucking reflex

Dynamic systems theory

Development is a self-organizing process where new forms of behavior emerge through consistent interactions between a person and cultural and environmental
/ contexts

Visual Acuity

ability to distinguish differences among shapes, patterns, and colors

Habituation

decreased response to an unchanging stimulus

Salient Stimulus

something that is visually attention grabbing or unexpected or new as opposed ti habituated

Humans have an innate tendency to pay more attention to salient stimuli

Orienting reflex

an infant will look away more quickly from something familiar than from something unfamiliar or puzzling.

Attachment

string intimate, emotional connection between people that persists over time and across circumstances

Bowlby’s attachment theory

Attachment is adaptive: Attachment motivates infants and caregivers to stay near each other increasing the security that infants need to survive and thrive

Piaget’s stages of development

Sensorimotor( birth - age 2):

• children acquire most of their senses through senses and motor exploration

• learn through the perception and observation of the results of their actions

• development of object permanence

Preoperational stage (2-7 years)

• begin to think about objects not in their immediate view

• children begin to think symbolically

• cannot understand the concept of conservation quantity (realizing 8oz in a fat glass is the same as 8oz in a tall glass)

• reason intuitively and not logically

• Egocentrism: engage in thought processes that only revolve around their own perspectives ( a child covering here face during hide and seek and thinking other people cannot also see her)

• Theory of mind

Concrete operational stage:

• able to think logically about actual objects

• understanding of conservation of quantity

• can reason logically about a problem

• understand with much more depth, how other people view and feel about things

• reason about concrete things, cannot yet reason about the abstract or what might be possible

Formal operation stage:

• critical thinking ( ability to form a hypothesis about something, test the hypothesis through deductive logic.

  • using information to systematically find answers to problems

  • relies on formal, abstract, cognitive operations

• Adolescents can form hypothesis and test them rather than just acting randomly

• Able to consider abstract notions and think about many viewpoints at once

Object permanence

Understanding that an object still exists even when hidden from view

assimilation

the process by which new information is placed into an existing scheme

accommodation

The process by which a new scheme is created or an existing scheme is drastically altered to include new information that otherwise would not fit into the scheme

Sensorimotor

• infants acquire information about the world through their senses and motor skills

• reflexive responses develop into more deliberate actions through the development and refinement of schemes

cbject permanence

The understanding that an object continues to exist even when it cannot be seen

Preoperational stage

Children think symbolically about objects, but they reason based on intuition and superficial appearance rather than logic

Concrete operational stage

Children begin to think about and understand logical operations and they are no longer fooled by appearances

Formal operational stage

People can think abstractly and they can formulate and test hypotheses through deductive reasoning

Theory of mind

Ability to understand that other people have mental states that influence their behavior

Pre-conventional

level

Earliest stage of moral development:

• self interest and event outcomes determine what is moral

Conventional level

Middle stage of moral development; at this level, strict adherence to societal rules and the approval of others determine what is moral

Post conventional level

Highest stage of moral development; at this level, decisions about morality depend on abstract principles and the value of all life (ideals or moral principles)

Inequity aversion

A preference to avoid unfairness when making decisions about the distribution of resources

Factors that affect development

Teratogens

maternal illness

genetic mutations

hormones

Environmental Factors

Parenting styles

• authoritarian: strict rules, little room for discussion (little flexibility with children)

• permissive parenting: Fewer rules and expectations, lots of freedom (still play a role in children’s lives)

• Negligent parents (completely uninvolved in their children's lives)

• authoritative parenting: Clear rules and expectations with room for discussion. Explain reasoning and being open to input. Encourage independence while also setting guidelines.

Secure attachment

child feeling comfortable, exploring new places with their caregiver nearby

child feels safe and supported by caregiver

Insecure attachment style

avoidant attachment: avoid or ignore their caregivers, showing little emotion if their parent leaves or comes back

anxious attachment/ambivalent or resistant: Overly dependent on parents and show extreme distress when separated. Resist parents comfort even when they return, showing distrust.

Disorganized attachment: inconsistent or frightening caregiving. Showing contradictory or confusing behaviors

Separation anxiety

When a child feels scared or afraid when their caregiver is not around

Foreclosure

high degree of commitment to a particular identity or idea without exploring other options

Diffusion

When an individual has not committed to a set idea or identity and has not explored any possibilities, often resulting in a lack of direction

Moratorium

When an individual is actively exploring their identity and possible options, however, they do not have a commitment to one particular identity or idea just yet (better understand who they are and what they believe)

Achievement

Individual has a set identity and has explored their options (able to come to their own conclusion about their identity.)

Erik Erikson stages of psychosocial development

1. Trust Versus Mistrust (Born-1 years old): if infants needs are met, they develop trust about their caregivers and world

2. Autonomy vs Shame and Doubt (Toddler): starts to explore their independence. if there is encouragement, the child develops confidence and autonomy. If met with criticism, shame

3. Initiative versus guilt (Pre-school (3-6)): Sense of purpose, ask lots of question. If children are supported in their creativity and questions, start to develop initiative.

4. Industry vs inferiority (childhood): Children start to compare, am i good, competence and pride

5. Identity vs role confusion (adolescence): Individual explores identity and personal values, peer groups become extremely important. Necessary strong development of self. Who am i question?

6. Intimacy versus isolation (early adulthood): young adults are looking for meaningful relationships. If able to form close and meaning relationships, more satisfied and happy. Struggle: become isolated and lonely

7. Generativity vs stagnation (adulthood): contributing to society and providing for the next generation, Success: useful and accomplished

8. Integrity VS Despair: Sense of fulfillment, allow them to accept their older age and the concept of death

Inequity aversion

A preference to avoid un fairness

Primary emotions

emotions that are innate, voluntarily adaptive and universal across cultures

• anger, fear, sadness, surprise and contempt

Secondary emotions

blends of primary emotions

• Remorse, guilt, shame,jelousy, pride, love, and contentment

Valance

positive or negative

Arousal

low to high

Cannon bard theory

information about stimuli is sent simultaneously to cortex and the body and results in emotional experience and bodily reactions, respectively.

Schachter singer model ( generalized physiological arousal and cognitive appraisal can

Balance theory

people are motivated to achieve harmony in their interpersonal relationships. A triad is balanced when the relationships are all the same direction or if two relationships are negative and one is positive.

Cognitive dissonance

The unpleasant feeling of being aware of holding two conflicting beliefs or a belief that conflicts with a behavior.

Core values

strongly held beliefs about the enduring principles that are most important and meaningful. Values promote emotions and actions when they are aroused or threatened.

Disparity rules

rules learned through socialization that dictate which emotions are stable in given situations

Drive

A psychological state that by creating arousal, motivates an organism to satisfy a need.

emotion

an immediate, specific negative or positive response to environmental events or internal thoughts

extrinsic motivation

motivation to perform an activity because if the external goals toward which that activity is directed

homeostasis

the tendency for bodily functions to maintain equilibrium

ideal affect

emotional and affective states that people want to feel or that cultures especially value

incentives

external objects or external goals rather than internal drives, that motivate behaviors

Intrinsic motivation

Motivation to preform an activity because of the value or pleasure associated with that activity, rather than for an apparent external goal or purpose

James-Lange theory

Theory of emotion stating that people perceive specific patterns of bodily responses and as a result of that perception feel emotion

motivation

A process that energizes, guides, and maintains behavior towards a goal

need

A state of biological, social, or psychological deficiency

need hierarchy

Maslows’s arrangement of needs in which basic survival needs must be met before people can satisfy higher needs

• physiological needs

• safety needs

• love and belonging

• Esteem

• Self actualization

need to belong

The need for interpersonal attachments, a fundamental motive that has evolved for adaptive purposes

Self actualization

state that is achieved when ones personal dreams and aspirations have been attained

self affirmation

a need for a sense of self that is coherent and stable

self efficacy

The belief that efforts toward a goal will result in success

Self regulation

The process by which people direct their behavior toward the attainment of goals

two factor theory

theory of emotion stating that label applied to physiological arousal results in the experience of an emotion

Yerkes Dodson law

Principle that performance on challenging tasks increases with arousal up to a moderate level. After that additional arousal impairs performance

Personality trait

pattern of thought emotion and behavior that is relatively consistent over time and across situations

temperament

aspects of a personality more determined by biology. Based on a childs activity level,emotionality,and sociability.

trait

patterns of thoughts,feelings,and behaviors that are relatively consistent over time and situations.

5 factor theory

The idea that personality can be described using five factors: openness to

experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism.OCEAN)

conscientiousness- describes how careful, organized, and detail oriented a person is

Extraversion-social vs retiring,fun loving vs sober, affectionate vs reserved

agreeableness- soft hearted vs ruthless,trusting vs suspicious,helpful vs uncooperative

Neuroticism-worried vs calm, insecure vs secure,self pitying vs self satisfying

openness to experience- imaginative vs down- earth, likes variety vs like routine, independent vs conforming

Trait approaches

Approaches to studying personality that focus on how individuals differ in

personality dispositions.

Eysenck’s Biological Trait Theory of Personality

personality is composed of traits that occur in three

dimensions: extraversion/introversion, emotionally stable/neurotic, and high

constraint/low constraint

Emotional stability

consistency in a persons emotions and moods

Neurotic

frequent and dramatic mood swings especially toward negative emotions compared to those who are more stable

often feel anxious, depressed, and hold very low opinions of themselves

psychoticism (constraint)

aggression, poor impulse control,self centeredness, and lack of empathy

how well or poorly someone is able to control their emotions

Extraversion vs Introversion Arousal

Extraversion: lower baseline of arousal, thrill seeking

Introversion:higher levels of arousal, seek calming activities

Behavioral Approach, Behavioral Inhibition, and Fight-Flight-Freeze

Systems

BAS (extraversion)reflects reward sensitivity. BIS(neuroticism) and FFFS reflect punishment sensitivity and serve separable functions.

BIS slows behavior and increases vigilance.

FFFS responds to direct threats by engaging in protective behaviors such as flight or freezing.

Humanistic approaches to personality

Emphasize personal experience, belief systems, the

uniqueness of the narrative of each human life, and the inherent goodness of each

person.

unconditional positive regard.

Parents should love and pride for their children no matter what

• leads to a fully functioning person

Locus of control

how much control people believe that they have over their lives ‘

• internal locus of control: your rewards come from the inside, you bring your own reward

• External locus of control: your rewards come from the outside, something else brings you the reward (forces beyond control)

Reciprocal determinant theory-bandura

three factors interact with one another to influence behavior: environment, person factors, and behavior.

self schema

integrated set of memories, beliefs, and generalizations about the self that helps us efficiently

perceive, organize, interpret, and use information related to ourselves

self serving bias

tendency for people to take personal credit for their successes but blame their failures on external factors

Ego, superego,id

Ego: conscious mind, controls impulses, deals with stimuli, decider between id and superego

superego: represents ideals and judgements (moral component of personality)

id: unconscious mind- strives to satisfy basic drive, immediate satisfaction (sx and hunger

Sigmund freud stages (psychodynamic theory)

Oral stage (birth-18 months)- individuals focus on oral stimulation

Anal stage (18-36 months)- individuals focus on being able to control their bowel movements

Phallic stage (3-6): children may start feeling their genitals and exploring their body

Latency stage )6-puberty): individuals sexual feelings are hidden, their focus is on past fixations

Genital stage (puberty-on): individuals get sexual pleasure from sexual behavior (mast. & inter)

Defense mechanisms to protect against stress

• repression

• projection

• denial

• sublimation

• compensation

expectancy theory

We react in a certain way to situations because we learned from a previous experience what happened before and expect the same result

• Control our outcome: Locust of control

• Internal locust of control: How we control and impact our own fate

• External locus of control: different outside factors that impact us and could determine our fate and outcome (how much money you have, people at school,) high eLC- don’t believe you can impact the situation

Banduras social learning theory

multiple factors that shape a personality

observational learning, self efficacy (our belief and ability to do something and be good at it (specific task), reciprocal determinism (environment, behavior, and beliefs).

Drive reduction theory of motivation

theory that we are motivated because our body is not at homeostasis and our drive kick in to tell us what we need to fix in order to maintain homeostasis

Arousal theory

Group homogeneity effect

tendency to perceive outgroup members as stereotypically more similar than in group members are

Group polarization

the process by which initial attitudes of groups become more extreme over time

group think

the tendency for a group to make bad decisions as a result of preserving the group and maintaining cohesiveness, especially when the group is under intense pressure, facing external threats, and is biased in a particular direction

social facilitation

social loafing

deindividualization

Cooperation and Subordinate goals

Implicit vs Explicit attitudes

explicit attitudes: attitudes a person can report

implicit attitudes: attitudes that influence a persons feelings or behavior at an unconscious level

Cognitive dissonance