Psychology Exam 2 Michigan State

Physical Development

the way your body changes physically (weight and Height)

Cognitive Development

The change in way a person thinks (thoughts and memories)

Socioemotional Development

Bonds, emotional connection, personality

age related differences

Cross-sectional studies (Different ages, one-time point, problem: Cohort effects)

Longitudinal studies (same participants assessed over lengthy period of time, study development change)

resilience

A person’s ability to recover from or adapt to a difficult time(children who are become more capable adults)

Cognitive Theory

How thought, intelligence and language processes change as people mature

Piaget’s theory (schemas)

concepts or framework that organize information

Piaget’s Theory (Assimilation)

Apply old (existing) schemas to new experiences

Piaget’s Theory (Accommodation)

Adjust/alter Schemas to new information

Piaget’s Theory (Sensorimotor stage)

from birth to 2 years, coordinate sensations with movements, object permanence, progress from reflexive action to symbiotic thoughts

Piaget’s Theory (Preoperational Stage)

2-7years, symbolic thinking (words and images), intuitive reasoning, egocentrism

Piaget’s Theory (concrete operations)

7-11years, Operational thinking (conversation(reversibility)), classification skills, reasoning logically in concrete context

Piaget’s Theory (Formal Operational)

11-15years, lasts through adulthood, abstract and idealistic thought, hypothetical deductive reasoning

Object permanence

the understanding that objects or people still exist even when they are not visible, audible, or tangible

Basic mental operations

he mental processes the brain uses to process information, interact with the world, and make decisions

conservation

he scientific study of the relationship between humans and nature, with the goal of encouraging people to care for the environment

egocentrism

the tendency to be overly focused on oneself and one's own needs, at the expense of others

mathematical transformations

the ability to do addition, subtraction, multiplication, division forwards and backwards

abstract thinking

the ability to consider ideas and concepts that are not concrete or physical, but are instead symbolic or hypothetical.

Critique of Piaget theory

Underestimating cognitive capacities of very young children and Overestimated cognitive ability of adolescents and adults

Vygotsky’s sociocultural cognitive theory

children as apprentice thinkers, interaction with adults (expert thinkers) provides scaffolding for child cognitive abilities

information processing theory

working memory, executive function

socioemotional Theory (Erikson’s Childhood stages) Thrust versus mistrust

basic needs met by sensitive caregivers

socioemotional Theory (Erikson’s Childhood stages) Autonomy versus shame and doubt:

Discover knowledge

socioemotional Theory (Erikson’s Childhood stages) Initiate versus guilt:

challenged to assume responsibility

socioemotional Theory (Erikson’s Childhood stages) industry versus inferiority:

mastering knowledge and intellectual skills

Erikson’s 5th stage (identity versus identity confusion)

explore their independence and develop a sense of self.

Marcia’s identity(identity Diffusion)

No exploration or commitment

Marcia’s Identity(Foreclosure)

commitment without exploration

Marica’s Identity (Moratorium)

Exploration without commitment

Maria’s Identity (Achievement)

Commitment after exploration

Critique of Erikson

Questionable perspectives on gender roles/relations

Impacts of culture

attachment to one’s minoritized group, attachment to larger culture

Baumrind’s Parenting styles (Authoritarian)

controlling highly, strict disciplinarians might occur in families under financial stress, children may lack social skills.

Baumrind’s Parenting style (Authoritative)

encourage independence, warm and nurturing, child social competence

Baumrind’s Parenting style (Neglectful)

parents generally uninvolved, less social competence and poor self control in child

Baumrind’s Parenting style (permissive)

parents are involved but place few limits, child’s poor social competence, lack of respect for others, poor self control

moral development Kohlberg (Preconventional)

behavior guided by punishments and rewards

moral development Kohlberg (Conventional)

standards learned from parents and society

moral development Kohlberg (postconventional)

contracts, rights, and abstract principles

Evaluating Kohlberg’s Theory

moral reasoning doesn’t equal moral behavior (what we say and do are not always consistent)

Misses gender-related reasoning styles (justice perspective (men) < Kohlberg))

care perspective (women) < Gilligan

Prenatal Development Teratogens (conception to birth)

agents that can disrupt development of the fetus (Nicotine, alcohol, certain illnesses and viruses, STIs)

Effects of Teratogens

timing of exposure, genetic characteristics, postnatal environment

physical Development Reflexes (infant)

genetically wired behaviors, some are crucial for survival, some persist through life (coughing and yawning), some disappear (gripping, rooting, and startle)

Motor Skills (infant)

locomotion (sitting up, crawling, and walking), reach and grasp

Preferential Looking (infant)

Give “choice” and measure preferences

Brain Development (infant)

Brain mass increases dramatically, pruning (removal or replacement of unused synapses, synaptic connections increase, myelination beings

Temperament

An individual’s behavioral style or characteristic way of responding.

Three cluster of Temperament

Easy, Difficult, Slow-to-warm-up

Infant Attachment

the close emotional bond between an infant and its caregiver

Harlow’s Monkey studies

They chose contact comfort over food, contact comfort is critical to attachment

Secure attachment: child

a style of relating to others that develops when a child has positive experiences with a caregiver

insecure attachment: child

develops from negative or unpredictable experiences. 

avoidant attachment: child

infant or child does not consistently receive the care and attention that they need to develop a healthy relationship with their parent or caregiver.

avoidant attachment: Adults

discomfort with intimacy, difficulty trusting others, and a strong sense of independence

Secure attachment: Adult

people with a secure attachment style are comfortable expressing their emotions and can depend on their partners.

Insecure Attachment: Adults

a lack of trust and a lack of a secure base

Adolescent physical: Puberty

Rapid skeletal and sexual maturation, occurs mainly in early adolescence

Hormones development

lead to the development of the body and secondary sex characteristics

Adolescent Brain: Early Amygdala

Emotions

Adolescent Brain: Late Prefrontal Cortex

reasoning and decision making, risk taking

Adolescence egocentrism Cognitive Development:

the belief that others are as preoccupied with the adolescent as they are (sense of invincibility —> risky behaviors)

Socioemotional parents and peers

parent as manager/counselor/monitor, balance involvement and allowing to explore, peer relations peak in importance

Early Adulthood

20s: peak of physical development / 30s:delcines in strength, speed

Middle Adulthood

hair loss, most lose weight, many gain weight, menopause(late 40s and early 50s)

Late Adulthood

accumulated wear and tear, less ability to repair and regenerate

cognitive Development: Adulthood Aging (early)

idealism gives way to realistic pragmatism, reflection on worldview

cognitive Development: Adulthood Aging (middle)

Highest level of functioning for 4 to 6 intellectual abilities

cognitive Development: Adulthood Aging (late)

speed of processing generally declines, memory retrieval skills decline, wisdom increases in some individuals, physical activity can improve cognitive function

Erikson’s theory (intimacy vs Isolation)

individuals form intimate relationships with others, people are marrying later

Erikson’s Theory (Generativity vs stagnation)

leaving something of value that will benefit future generations, related to higher levels of psychological well-being, accomplished through parenting

Erikson’s Theory (Integrity vs Despair)

process of life through review and reminiscence, find a sense of meaning or despair, coming to term with death

Sensation

the process of receiving stimulus energies from the external environment

Perception

the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information so that it makes sense

Top-Down processing

initiated by cognitive processing, internal/mental worlds influence on perception (expectations and prior understandings)

Bottom-Up processing

initiated by sensory input, outside world’s influence on perception

Absolute threshold

the minimum amount of energy an organism can detect 50% of the time

Attention

focusing awareness on narrowed aspects of the environment

Selective Attention

the ability to focus on a specific stimulus while ignoring distractions and irrelevant information

Inattentional Blindness

when someone fails to notice an unexpected object or event in their field of vision because they are focusing on something else

Subliminal stimulation

presentation of stimuli that are perceived by the brain but not consciously

Perceptual set

predisposition or readiness to perceive something in a particular way (top-down process)

wavelength

perceived as hue, some wavelengths beyond human sensation

Amplitude

perceived as brightness

Purity

perceived as saturation

Cornea

bends light to help focus the eye

pupil

constricts in response to the light

Iris

automatically adjust the pupil's size to control how much light enters the eye

accommodation

the eyes lens changes shape to focus on objects at different distances

lens

it bends or refracts the light

retina

convert the light energy into electrical signals which then travel through the optic nerve to the brain

Fovea

it directly stimulates cones

cones

are photoreceptors that support color vision and high acuity

rods

the hits it and it causes a change in its electrical potential

bipolar cells

they either depolarize(become more positive) or hyperpolarize (become more negative)

ganglion cells

fire action potentials and send visual information to the brain

optic nerve

converts the light into electrical signals that travel through the optic nerve to the brain, where they are interpreted as images

blind spot

nothing happens no light sensitive cells present

optic chiasm

allows each half of the brain to receive visual signals from both eyes

feature detectors

highly specialized cells in the visual cortex, respond to size, shape, color, movement or combination, brain “learns” perception