Developmental and Educational Psychology

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Perception

The process of organising and interpreting sensory information about the objects, events, and spatial layout of the world around us 

Perceptual constancy

Perception of constant shape and size as things move further or closer, changing the retinal image

Object segregation

Perception of the boundaries between objects

Sensation

The processing of basic information from the outside world by the sensory receptors in the sense organs and the brain

Preferential looking

Showing a child two images simultaneously and using their longer looking as a measure that they can distinguish between 2 stimuli and have a preference

Habituation

Children lose interest in a stimulus that they have seen a lot, they pay more attention to new stimuli and less to known stimuli

Visual acuity

Sharpness and clarity of vision; worse in babies, but improves rapidly in the first few months

Object permanence & counter evidence

When an object is out of sight, young children don’t think it exists anymore

Counter evidence:

1. Grabbing objects in the dark

2. Violation-of-expectancy procedure

Violation-of-expectancy procedure

Showing infants events that should surprise them (by going against their knowledge) to study their cognition 

Optical expansion

Infant depth perception; as an object increases in size and covers more of the background, it is approaching (binocular disparity helps this process)

Binocular disparity

The slight difference in the images projected onto the left and right retinas, caused by the eyes' separate horizontal locations

Auditory localization

Orienting towards where a sound came from 

Intermodal (multimodal) perception

Combining information from 2 or more sensory systems 

Perceptual narrowing

Developmental changes in which experience fine-tunes the perceptual system

Embodied cognition

Cognition involves acting with a physical body in an environment in which that body is immersed

Reflexes

Beginning of mostly involuntary newborn activity

Rooting reflex

Turn the head to the side on which cheek is touched and open the mouth for breastfeeding

Sucking & swallowing reflex

Caused by oral contact with the nipple 

Tonic neck reflex

Extend limbs on the side of the body that the head is facing, while flexing the opposite 

Moro (startle) reflex

Throw head back and extend arms rapidly as a response to loud sounds and sudden movement 

Stepping reflex

Baby steps or dancing with feel when being held upright with feet touching a solid surface

Affordance

Opportunities for action by objects and situations; crucial for motor development 

Classical conditioning

Conditioning in which the conditioned stimulus precedes the unconditioned stimulus until the conditioned stimulus alone is sufficient to elicit the innate conditioned response 

Instrumental (operant) conditioning

Learning the consequences of your own behaviours 

Statistical learning

Learning patterns of events through repeated exposure to those patterns 

Goldilocks effect

Children will not pay attention to events that are too simple or too difficult because they do not facilitate development  

Rational learning

Using prior knowledge to judge whether an event was expected or not 

Active learning

Learning by actively engaging with the world, rather than passively observing objects and events (testing your expectations) 

Observational learning/ imitation

Learning by watching other people (social learning); imitating the goal rather than the action 

Genome

The complete set of DNA of an organism 

Genotype

Inherited genetic material of an individual

Phenotype

Expression of genotype that is visible and observable (both body characteristics and behaviour)

Chromosomes

Molecules made of DNA (2 twisted strands)

Gene

A segment of DNA that codes for a protein

Alleles

Different forms of a gene

Karyotype

A picture or map of all the chromosomes in a person's cell

Zygote

Single cell that develops into an organism, formed by a combination of sprem and egg

Causes of genetic diversity and individual differences (3)

1. Random assortment during meiosis 

2. Crossing over: ‘swap’ of DNA sections during meiosis

3. Mutations: changes in a section of DNA

Endophenotypes

Mediate the pathways between genes and behaviour 

Regulator genes

Genes that impact development if they are turned on at the right time, at the right position in the body, at the right time period

Polygenic inheritance

When one physical trait is controlled by the combined additive effect of two or more different genes

X-linked inheritance

• Genetic traits or disorders caused by genes located on the X chromosome

• As females have two X chromosomes (XX) and males have one (XY), X-linked recessive conditions generally affect males more frequently

Phenylketonuria (PKU)

Individuals homozygous for a defect recessive gene on chromosome 12 (unable to metabolize phenylalanine (an amino acid in food))

MAOA gene

Predisposition for aggression that is triggered by the environment

Genetic nurture

Parents' actions and genes may influence the development of the child (‘genetic nature’)

Active child

Children influence their own development by choosing the environments they interact with and create (temperament, interests, personality, etc.) 

Epigenetics:

Changes in gene expression are mediated by the environment 

Gene methylation

•  Methyl molecules bind to DNA, blocking transcription, causing no production of proteins (stopping gene expression)

• Effects can last long and can even be passed on to offspring

Heritability

Statistical estimate of the proportion of the measured variance on a trait among individuals in a given population that is attributed to genetic differences across those individuals 

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS)

A method that links DNA segments (single-nucleotide polymorphisms, SNPs) to specific traits

Genome-wide complex trait analysis (GCTA)

A method to estimate phenotypic variance of complex traits explained by genome-wide SNPs, including those not associated with the trait in a GWAS

Environmental effects:

Variance not attributed to genes 

Neuron

Nerve cell, the basic unit of information processing within the brain and between the brain and other parts of the body 

Cell body

Contains the basic biological material that keeps the neuron functioning

Dendrites

Fibres that receive the input from other cells and conduct it to the cell body in the form of electrical impulses

Axon

A fibre that conducts electrical signals away from the cell body to connect with other neurons  

Synapse

A small space between the axon terminal of one neuron and the dendrite of another neuron that has a role in information processing 

Myelination

Formed by glial cells to increase the speed and efficiency of information processing, and play a role in protection and regeneration

Cerebral cortex

• The “gray matter” of the brain, with four lobes, each associated with a set of behavioral characteristics

• Made of 2 hemispheres connected by the corpus callosum 

• Sensory input from one side of the body goes to the opposite side of the brain 

Frontal lobe

Working memory & cognitive control 

Parietal lobe

Spatial processing & integration of sensory information 

Temporal lobe

Speech and language, music & emotional information

Occipital lobe

Processing visual information

Cerebral lateralization

 The cerebral cortex’s hemispheres are specialized in different modes of processing

Neurogenesis

• Proliferation of neurons (production of new cells) through cell division

• Starts 42 days after conception , continues in adulthood

• Influenced by environment (experiences)

Arborization

Formation of new dendritic trees and branches

Formation of spines

Increases the capacity to connect

Synaptogenesis

Formation of synapses between neurons

Synapse elimination (pruning)

Loss of synapses between neurons due to lack of activity

Plasticity

The capacity of the brain to be affected by experience

Experience-expectant processes

Normal wiring of the brain resulting from species-typical experience

Experience-dependent processes

Creation and reorganization of neural connections as a function of an individual’s experiences (not necessarily shared with others)

Sensitive brain periods

Periods of heightened sensitivity where the brain is especially responsive to environmental influences; neural organization that does or doesn’t take place during this time is often irreversible

Jean Piaget theory assumptions

1. Children are scientists (constructivist); they play an important role in acquiring their own knowledge

2. Children can learn independently 

3. Children are intrinsically motivated to learn

What is learning and what processes does it include (Piaget)

Learning is a continuous process that includes: Schema, Assimilation, Accommodation, and Equilibration

Schema

Template of certain knowledge

Assimilation

Making sense of a new object based on the knowledge they already have

Accommodation

Update current understanding with new knowledge 

Equilibration

Find balance between existing knowledge and adapting knowledge to new info

What are the dscontinuous aspects of cognitive development (Piaget)?

Qualitative change, Broad applicability, Brief transitions, Invariant sequence

Qualitative change

Children of different ages think qualitatively differently

Broad applicability

The type of thinking characteristic of each stage influences children’s thinking across various topics and contexts

Brief transitions

Before children enter a new stage, they have a transition period, in which they transition between the old and new types of thinking

Invariant sequence

Everyone goes through the stages in the same order without skipping any

Piaget’s stages of cognitive development

1. Sensorimotor stage (birth to 2 years)

2. Preoperational stage (2-7 years)

3. Concrete operational stage (7-11 years)

4. Formal operational stage (12+ years)

Sensorimotor stage

• Birth to 2 years

• Learn through senses & movement

• Live in present (no past/future)A-not-B error:

• Use reflexes to explore

• Develop object permanence

• Show A-not-B error

• Begin deferred imitation

A-not-B error

Infants are not able to understand that objects have moved locations 

Object permanence

Understanding that people, objects, and toys still exist even when they cannot be seen, heard, or touched

Deferred imitation

Ability of a child to remember somebody else's behaviour and imitate them in the future 

Preoperational stage

• 2-7 years

• Use language & symbols

• Symbolic representation (e.g. pretend play)

• Egocentrism (reducing over time)

• Centration (focus on one feature)

• Lack conservation

• Can draw & communicate ideas

Symbolic representation

Something is used to represent another thing 

Centration

Focusing on a single, perpetually salient feature of an object or event to the exclusion of other relevant but less striking features 

Concrete operational stage

• 7-11 years

• Logical thinking (about real things)

• Understand conservation

• Handle multiple dimensions

• Less egocentric

• Still struggle with abstract ideas

Formal operational stage

• 12+ years

• Abstract thinking

• Hypothesis testing (systematic thinking)

• Think about morality & justice

• Not everyone reaches this stage

Criticisms of Piaget’s theory 

• Little insight into the underlying mechanisms

• Used complex tests

• No attention to the influence of the social environment

• Overestimation of consistency in children’s development

Core-knowledge theories - 2 main ideas

• Children have innate knowledge that is evolutionarily beneficial 

• Children are active learners 

Four central cores that infants are born with (proposed by Elizabeth Spelke)

Inanimate objects, minds of people and goal-directed actions, numbers, and spatial geometry 

Sociocultural theories fundamental assumptions

• Cognitive development is shaped by social interaction 

• Importance of cultural context 

• Guided participation

• Intersubjectivity (joint attention)

Guided participation

More knowledgeable individuals organizing activities in a way that enables less knowledgeable individuals to perform these activities at a higher level than they could manage on their own

Lev Vygotsky & Michael Tomasello

Children are social learners. Explored the relation of language and thought in development. Proposed zone of proximal development (Vygotsky)