Human Development Exam 1

Chapters 1-4

Child Development

an area of study devoted to understanding constancy and change from conception through adolescence

Developmental science

includes all changes we experience throughout the lifespan

What are the three domains of development?

physical, cognitive, and emotional (and social)

Physical development

changes in body size, proportions, appearance, functioning of body systems, perceptual and motor capacities, and physical health

Cognitive development

changes in intellectual abilities, problem solving, imagination, creativity, and language

Emotional and social development

changes in emotional communication, self-understanding, knowledge about other people, interpersonal skills, friendships, intimate relationships, and moral reasoning of behavior

Periods of development

prenatal, early childhood, infancy & toddlerhood, middle childhood, adolescence, and emerging adulthood

Prenatal

conception to birth

Infancy & toddlerhood

birth to two years

Early childhood

2-6 years

Middle childhood

6-11 years

Adolesence

11-18 years

Emerging adulthood

18-mid to late 20s

Theory

orderly, integrated set of statements that describes, explains, and predicts behavior

Continuous development

a process of gradually adding more of the same types of skills that were there to begin with

Discontinuous development

a process in which new ways of understanding and responding to the world emerge at specific times

Stages

qualitative changes in thinking, feeling, and behaving that characterize specific periods of development

Contexts

unique combinations of personal and environmental circumstances that can result in different paths of change

Personal context

heredity and biological makeup

Environmental context

immediate settings and more remote circumstances (resources, time period)

The Reformation

Puritan belief that children were born evil

John Locke

viewed the child as a blank slate, use of praise and approval

Jean-Jaques Rousseau

viewed the child as a noble savage, stage and maturation

Darwin

forefather of scientific child study, theory of evolution, development

Normative Approach

measures of behavior are taken on large numbers of individuals and age-related averages are computed to represent typical development

G. Stanley Hall

Founder of child-study movement

Arnold Gesell

used normative approach to help parents understand

The Mental Testing Movement

Alfred Binet, Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale

The Psychoanalytic Perspective

children move through a series of stages in which they confront conflicts between biological drives and social expectations

Freud’s Theory-Psychosexual Theory

emphasizes that how parents manage their child’s sexual and aggressive drives in the first few years is crucial for healthy personality development

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Three parts of the personality- id, ego, superego

Erikson’s Theory-Psychosocial Theory

the ego makes a positive contribution to the development

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normal development must be understood in relation to each culture’s life situation

Traditional Behaviorism

Watson tested classical conditioning on children, concluded environment is the supreme force, stimulus-response associations can mold children

Behaviorism

directly observable events are the appropriate focus of study

B.F. Skinner’s Operant Conditioning Theory

the frequency of a behavior can be increased by following it with a wide variety of reinforcers or decreased through punishment

Social Learning Theory

Albert Badura found modeling is a powerful source of development, stressed the importance of cognition, and children gradually become more selective in imitation and develop personal standards

Albert Badura

Emphasized modeling or observational learning

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Bobo Doll Experiment

Applied Behavior Analysis

observations of relationships between behavior and environmental events, followed by systematic changes in those events based on procedures of conditioning and modelling

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criticized for underestimating children’s contributions to their own development

Piaget’s Cognitive Developmental Theory

children actively construct knowledge as they manipulate and explore their world

Sensorimotor

baby’s use of the senses and movements to explore the world

Preoperational

thinking lacks logic in preschoolers

Concreate Operational

more organized reasoning of the school-aged child

Formal Operational

abstract, systematic reasoning of adolescent and adult

Information Processing

a perspective in which the human mind is viewed as a symbol-manipulating system

Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience

how does the brain change

Developmental Social Neuroscience

relationship between changes in the brain and emotional and social development

Ethology

non-human behavior

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change in behavior over time, similarity to mammals

Evolutionary Developmental Psychology

species-wide adaptive value

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aims to understand the entire person-environment system

Sociocultural Theory

focuses on how culture is transmitted to the next generation

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social interaction is necessary for children to acquire this way of thinking

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Lev Vygotsky

John Watson

Used Pavlov’s classical conditioning on humans

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Little Albert study

Ecological Systems Theory

Urie Bronfenbrenner found that the environment you grow up in affects every facet of your life.

Bioecological Model Rings

microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, chronosystem

Microsystem

family, childcare/school, neighborhood interactions

Mesosytem

How microsystem interacts with itself

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e.g. relationship between parent and school teacher

Exosystem

workplace, extended family, health services, friends and neighbors

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semi-regular basis, but not every single day

Macrosystem

values, laws, customs

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affect provided support at inner levels

Chronosystem

These levels can change over time

Dynamic Systems Perspective

Everything is changing all the time

Clinical Interview

natural progression, conversational tone

Structured Interview

set list of scripted questions

Case Study

Medical setting, in-depth report over one person

Ethnography

cultural lense

Correlational Design

looking for variable relationships

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e.g.: If someone is taller, do they weigh more than someone who is shorter?

Positive Correlation

As one variable goes up, the other variable goes up

Correlation Coefficient

number between -1 and +1 that includes strength of correlation and direction

Strength of Correlation

the further away from zero, the stronger it is

Experimental Design

randomly assigned participants, looking to see if group has an effect on outcome

Longitudinal design

__correlational__ or experimental, over long periods of time

Issues of longitudinal design

takes forever, lots of money, participation rates, and only one group

Cross-sectional design

studying different age groups at one time

Sequential design

combination of longitudinal and cross-sectional

Microgenetic design

children as they acquire skills, small longitudinal study

Phenotype

directly observable characteristics

Genotype

complex blend of genetic information that determines characteristics

Chromosomes

structures made up of DNA that store and transmit genetic information

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we have 23 pairs of chromosomes: 22 pairs of autosomes, 1 pair of sex chromosomes

Protein-coding gene

send instructions for creating proteins, which cause chemical reactions throughout the body

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directly affect characteristics

Regulator gene

modify instructions given by protein-coding genes

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we have approx. 18,000

Ova always carry

x chromosomes

Sperm carry

either x or y chromosome

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determines whether the individual is chromosomally male or female

Dizygotic (fraternal) twins

result from release and fertilization of 2 ova

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genetic and environmental factors

Monozygotic (identical) twins

one zygote separates into two clusters, 100% genetic makeup

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environmental factors

Incomplete Dominance

both alleles are expressed in phenotype

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e.g.: Sickle Cell Anemia

X-linked inheritance

allele only carried on X chromosome

Gene mutation

sudden, permanent change to DNA

Germline mutation

in development or damage to egg/sperm cells

Somatic mutation

cancer, tumor, DNA change in a certain part of your body

Down Syndrome

Trisomy 21 (three copies rather than 2)

XXY syndrome

taller than average, severe acne, larger teeth

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intelligence, sexual development and fertility normal

Triple X (XXX) Syndrome

taller than average, lower intelligence

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sexual development and fertility normal

Klinefelter Syndrome (XXY)

physiology resembling females, incomplete development of sex organs

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sterility and impaired verbal intelligence

Turner Syndrome (XO)

short stature, webbed neck, incomplete development of sex organs

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sterility and impaired spatial intelligence

Reproductive Choices

genetic counseling, donor insemination, in vitro fertilization, adoption, prenatal diagnostic methods, genetic engineering, gene therapy, and proteomics

When is an ova released?

Once every 28 days

How many sperm are produced per day?

300 million

How many sperm make it to the uterus?

300-500

How long can sperm live?

6 days

Successful fertilization

zygote to blastocyst to implantation

Germinal stage

0-2 weeks, zygote multiplies and forms blastocyst, blastocyst implants into uterine lining, structures to feed and protect begin to develop

Embryonic stage

3-8 weeks, grows from 1/4 in to 1 in, brain and spinal cord appear, heart muscles, ribs, backbone, and digestive tract form, external body parts appear, sense of touch develops, embryo can move, ultrasound

Fetal: First Trimester

9-12 weeks, 3 in

nervous system, organs, and muscles become connected

new behaviors appear

sex organs are evident

Fetal: Second Trimester

13-24 weeks (if the baby makes it to 24 weeks, 50% more likely to be born and healthy)

12 inches, 1.8 lbs

rapid growth

most neurons developed

eyes sensitive to light; fetus reacts to sound

vernix and lanugo protect fetus’ skin