General Psychology Midterm 2 Rutgers NB Keiko Brynildsen

On lectures 6,7,8 and 9 as well as respective textbook parts

What is Maturation?

biological growth processes leading to orderly changes in behavior

\-mostly independent from experience

\-basic course of development

* ex: no amount of pleading/punishment-→ successful toilet training

Primitive Reflexes

* sucking
* rooting(cheek touch→ turn and suck)
* Moro: startle/flail arms when tilting back
* Grasping: palm touch→ grab
* Babinski: sole stroked→ toes fan out + curl in
* Swaddle: don’t wake up due to moro reflex

Understanding of right and wrong

Initial: moral behavior results from external factors

Later: internalization of morals

What does experience do to maturation?

adjusts maturation

What happens to brain growth from ages 3 to 6?

most rapid brain growth in frontal lobes

\-reasoning+planning

* control of attention
* behavior developes rapidly
* association areas(thinking, memory+language)=lst to develop

What rapid growth happens into going into puberty?

Fiber pathways supporting language+agility

What is the Pruning Process of the brain?

Use it or lose it

* shut down unused links + strengthen others

Rat brain development in relation to experience

Two groups: 1. lived alone w/ little to interest/distract 2. shared w/ objects + activities that might exist naturally

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enriched environment-→ heavier + thicker brain cortex

What is critical period

period early in life when exposure to certain stimuli/experiences=needed for proper development

Critical period in relation to language

In early childhood-→ excess connections still available

* easily master another language

Infantile Amnesia

Can’t consciously remember memories, but there is still constant processing + storing of information

Baby and mobile experiment by Carolyn Rovee-Collier

babies associated kicking with the moving of the mobile, and can tell the difference between the original and something else.

* can remember even after a month
* same with language
* Conscious mind might not remember, but nervous system+unconscious mind will

Cognition

all mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering+communicating

Piaget’s findings

child’s mind develops in stages

* construct understanding as they interact
* mind=spurts of change-→ more stability with each stage
* little scientists: test + learn from patterns
* basical physical laws learned
* Child’s mind developed through physical environment

What are schemas?

Concept or framework that organizes+interprets information

Example of a schema?

Most people before: marriage=union btwn man + woman

* now: same sex-marriage fits in

“Assimilating New Experiences” meaning?

interpreting new experiences in terms of pre-existing schemas

ex: toddler-→ dog=four-legged and furry, may call a cat a dog

“Accomodate” meaning?

adapting current schemas to incorporate new information

ex: dog=four-legged, furry and doesn’t meow

Piaget’s 4 major stages of cognitive development

* Sensorimotor
* Preoperational
* Concrete Operational
* Formal Operational

What is the Sensorimotor Stage?

birth-→ age 2

* take in through senses+actions
* hands+limbs begin to move
* learn by making things happen
* Object Permanence
* Stranger Anxiety

Object Permanence

Awareness of the existence of something even when not perceived

* before 6 months-→ babies do not have this

What was Piaget wrong about?

young children=more competent than he thought

What is the Preoperational Stage

age 2-7

* learns use of language
* cannot perform mental operations of concrete logic(imagining an option/mentally reversing)
* cannot grasp conservation concept
* representing things with words and images
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* intuitive than logical reasoning
* pretend play, egocentrism
* Animistic thinking: life to objects

What is the Concept of Conservation?

physical properties does not change when appearance changes

* two cups of water with same amt, placing one container in thinner+taller container
* water level taller, so babies will think that has more

Pretend Play

The connection between a model as a symbol for the actual thing

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Ex: 2 1/2 year olds cannot remember where a stuffed toy is in the actual room, but remembers where it is on the model.

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3 year olds can

Egocentric

Difficulty imagining things from another point of view(Piaget teaching)

Concrete Operational Stage

\~7-11yrs old

children gain mental operations enabling logical thinking abt concrete events

* reversibility
* transivity(refer info)

What did Piaget believe about the Concrete Operational Stage?

children become able to understand simple math and conservation

What did Piaget say about what happens by age 12?

Many children at this age become capable of Formational Operational Thinking

Formal Operational Thinking

Age 11-adulthood

abstract and systematic reasoning

future possibilities

development of frontal lobe

logic+reasoning→ arguing skills

Zone of proximal development

level where child can almost perform task independently

Long term effects of attachment

* size of vocabulary
* interpersonal interaction
* emotions

Ethological Theory(Bowlbu)

biologically programmed behaviors→ others to care for them

Who was Lev Vygotsky?

Russian Psychologist→ child’s mind grows through interaction with SOCIAL environment

* young apprentice

Why did Vygotsky think children were young apprentices?

Mentoring and teaching from parents and teachers

What is the concept of scaffolding?

Providing a stepping stool where children can go to higher levels of thinking

* sweet spot(not too easy not too hard)

What happens when we build what children already know?

Can engage them with demonstrations and stimulate them to think for themselves

What happens at age 7 in children in regards to language?

Increasingly think in words+use words to solve problems

* inner speech
* internalize culture’s language
* control their own behavior+emotions
* master new skills

What is “Theory of Mind?”

people’s ideas about their own+others’ mental states

* feelings, perceptions, and thoughts+behaviors these might predict

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Autism Spectrum Disorder(ASD)

A disorder appearing in childhood-→ limitation in communication, social interaction+rigidly fixated interests+repetitive behaviors

* look less at people’s eyes
* difficulty reading+remembering ppl’s thoughts+feelings

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*Impaired Theory of Mind*

Different levels of ASD Severity

High Functioning: normal intelligence, exceptional/talent in specific area

* lack social+communication skills+motivation
* distracted by minor/unimportant stimuli

Those at other end: struggle to use language

What is the rate at which ASD is diagnosed?

Three boys for every girl

* maybe cus girls=more skilled in hiding this

What contributes to ASD?

Genetic influences+abnormal brain development

* not vaccinations

Why are girls better at hiding the symptoms of ASD?

Boys tend to be systemizers

Girls tend to be empathizers

* those with ASD are systemizers with more difficulty reading facial expressions

Why is reading faces difficult for those with ASD?

poor communication among brain regions that allows us to take another’s viewpoints

Attachment

An emotional tie with others; shown in young children by seeking closeness + showing distress upon separation

When does stranger anxiety develop?

abt 8 months, when object permanence emerges

What was a reasoning about infants that turned out to be wrong?

That infants grew attached to those who satisfied their needs for nourishment

Harry Harlow + Margaret Harlow monkey experiment

1. eding bottle
2. newborn monkeys separated from mother, given blanket→ in distress when blanket taken

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1. two artifical mothers: cylinder wrapped with terry cloth, another: bare wire cylinder w/ wooden head+feeding bottle
2. preferred cloth mother

*secure base*

What discovery was made from the Harlows’ monkey experiment?

Human infants→ attached to parents who are soft, warm, rock, pat→ give comfort

* touch=emotional connection

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Concept of Secure Attachment

* how many babies usually display this?

in mother’s presence-comfortable, happy, explores environment

* when she leaves→ upset
* returns→ seeks contact with her

Concept of Insecure Attachment

Anxiety/avoidance of trusting relationships

* less likely to explore surrounding

Anxiously Attached Concept

infants cling to mother

* leaves→ cries loudly, remains upset

Avoidantly Attached Concept

does not notice or care for mother’s departure/return

What kind of mothers were usually attributed to securely attached babies

Sensitive, responsive mothers→ noticed what baby was doing→ responded appropriately

What kind of baby would *insensitive, unresponsive mothers* produce usually?

attended to babies when they like so→ ignored them other times

* insecurely attached

Temperament is…

genetically influenced

Relationship between children at 13 months and separation anxiety?

Peaks at 13 months→ gradually declines from then

* early attachment relaxes
* move to wider range of situations
* communicate with strangers more freely
* still emotionally attached to loved ones even with distance

What are humans?

social creatures

* gain strength through safe haven opportunities

What is the concept of basic trust?

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* Erik Erikson: world is predictable + trustworthy
* seen in securely attached children

What trend is usually seen with people who were securely attached as children?

* secure friendships
* secure relationship with parent

Those with secure relationships with their mothers usually what?

Have : good grades + strong friendships

What are two forms that may come out of being insecurely attached as a child?

Anxious attachment: crave acceptance but alert to possible rejection

* can annoy relationship partners

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Avoidant attachment: discomfort in getting close to others, keeps their distance

* decreases commitment
* increases conflict

What was seen in children left in understaffed Romanian orphanges during the 1908s later?

impaired brain, cognitive, and social development

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What happens when children raised in family homes from an early age?

do better on intelligence tests

What were seen in Harlows’ monkeys when raised in total isolation?

* cowered in fright
* lashed with aggression
* sexual maturity→ unable to mate
* females who had babies→ neglectful, abusive/muurderous

What trend is seen in isolated children later in their lives?

* unloved becomes the unloving
* 30% of those abused→ also abused children

Childhood abuse victims→

doubled risk of depression later, troubled romantic relationships, poorer physical health

* especially at risk of depression if carrying gene variation→ stress hormone production

What do apigenetics studies show about experience and genes?

severe child abuse→ affects normal expression

* increased risk of health problems
* psychological disorders
* substance abuse
* criminalism
* earlier death(especially in women)

What is a more positive effect of hardship in childhood?

mental toughness

* many unloved does not become unloving

What are wealthy children more at risk of?

* substance abuse
* eating disorders
* anxiety
* depression

What two traits make up parenting styles?

how responsive, how demading they are

What are the four parenting styles?

Authoritarian, permissive, negligent, authoritative

Authoritarian Parenting Style

coercive→ rules and expect obedience

What are some examples of authoritarian parenting style?

* don’t interrupt
* keep your clean room
* “Why? Because I said so.”
* don’t stay out late or you’ll be grounded

Permissive Parenting Style

Unrestraining, few demands, little punishment

* unwilling to set limits

Easy frustrated, low self control

Negligent Parenting Style

uninvolved- not demanding/responsive

* careless, inattentive
* do not seek close relationship with children

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Low self esteem, emotionally detached

What does authoritarian parenting result to

less social skill + self-esteem, brain over-reacts when mistakes are made

Results of Permissive Parenting

More agressive + immature

Results of Negligent Parenting

poor academic + social outcomes

Authoritative Parenting Outcomes

highest self-esteem, self-reliance, self-regulation, and social competence

* “just right” parenting

Correlation is not Causation!

* other factors explaining parenting-competence link
* children’s traits
* underlying third factor: social competence gene more likely, twins, etc

What is Culture?

set of enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values and traditions shared by a group of people

* handed down generations

Western parenting

western families- value independence

* some even say: ur more special than other children
* no longer prioritize: obedience, respect, sensitivity

Upper-class british parenting

nannies then 10-year-olds→ boarding school

Asian + African parenting

* emotional closeness
* family self: child actions effects family reputation

Traditional African Gusii Society parenting

* babies nursed freely, on mother/siblings; back
* lots of body contact
* little face-to-face + language interation
* mother pregnant again→ handed to to another family m.

Adolescence

transition period from childhood→ adulthood

* puberty to independence

How does Adolescence start?

physical event→ sexual maturity

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How does Adolescence ends?

Social event→ independent adult status

Cultures where teens are self-supporting→

adolescence hardly exists

Western cultures in terms of adolescence

sexual maturation=earlier, independence later→ adolescence= lengthening

Relationship between early life stages and puberty

same sequence of changes

All girls experience this when puberty takes place:

breast buds, pubic hair→ before menarche(first menstrual period)

What is something that is not set in stone in terms of puberty?

timing: could be earlier or later

What can happen with early maturation?

mental health problems attributed to stress+difficulties of transition

How can a girl experience early maturation and effects?

body + hormone-fed feelings far beyond emotional maturity + friends’→ seek older teens→ teasing/sexual harassment

→ anxiety/depression

What happens to the teenage brain?

pruning of unused neurons and connections

* frontal lobes continue to develop

Frontal lobe maturation relationship with emotional limbic system

lags behind emotional limbic system development

* impulsiveness, risky behavior, emotional storms

What are teens unable to do and more susceptible to?

making long term plans and curbing impulses

* weigh benefits of risky behaviors more heavily
* rewards more exciting