Developmental Psych Exam 1

Pre-formationism

• Medieval 6th to 15th Centuries

  • Children treated as miniature adults

  • Childhood recognized as unique phase of life

John Locke

• Empiricist

• All things must be learned

• Newborns are a tabula rasa

  • Latin words for “blank slate”

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

• Children are born innocent, innately good

• Les sauvages nobles (noble savages)

  • They don’t know anything about culture, but they are born with good intentions

• We must nurture these tendencies

G. Stanley Hall

• “Father” of Developmental Psychology

• Founder of the American Psychological Association

• Was fond of ORP, applied it to moral development in childhood and adolescence

• Since we have only recently in our history become “moral creatures,” we should wait until late in development to begin moral education

  • Bad idea

Continuous vs. Discontinuity (stage) development

• Continuity: development occurs steadily and gradually

  • Developmental change is quantitative

• Discontinuity: development occurs in discrete stage

  • Developmental change is qualitative

Nature vs. Nurture

• Nature: biological factors — i.e. genetics — are the most important determinants of developmental outcomes

• Nurture: Environmental and experiential factors are the most important determinants of development — family, schools, peers, etc.

• Probably not an either/or question…

One Developmental Path vs. Many

One Path: proscribed, universal pattern followed by all typical members of the species

Many Paths: start and endpoints may be defined, but multiple ways to get there

Ivan Pavlov

known for his discovery of classical conditioning through his experiments with dogs

B.F. Skinner

Behavior of Organisms (1938)

known for his discovery of operant conditioning

Albert Bandura

developed the social learning theory

famous Bodo Doll Studies

• Child is taken into a room to watch a TV. either they watch the child play nicely with a bobo doll, play meanly with a bobo doll, or a control where they watched something completely unrelated

  • The kids who watched the violent play showed more violent behavior

  • The kids who watched the nice play showed less violent behavior

classical conditioning

• Very basic form of learning

• Always dependent on the prior existence of a reflex or automatic response

• What happens after the response?

  • Behaviors do not occur in a vacuum

  • Behaviors have consequences

• You can do the same thing with a child!

  • Ex: blow a puff of air into a child’s eyes after the sound of the bell, causing them to blink. After a while, the sound of the bell will cause the child to blink

operant conditioning

• Consequences can influence the likelihood that a response will occur again

• Two basic types of consequences:

  • reinforcement

  • punishment

• Ex: Child has to do chores

  • Reinforcement: sweet treat

  • Punishment: grounding, time out, spanking, etc.

reinforcement

Any consequence that makes the preceding response more likely to occur again

• Makes preceding behavior more likely to occur again

  • Positive (+) reinforcement: Presentation of a desirable stimulus following the response

  • Negative (-) reinforcement: Removal of an aversive or undesirable stimulus following the response

    • NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT IS NOT PUNISHMENT

    • Ex: don’t have to do chore

punishment

Any consequence that makes the preceding responses less likely to occur again

social learning theory

• Learning in the absence of reinforcement

• Children can learn via simple process of

  • Observation

  • Imitation

  • Bandura’s famous Bodo Doll Studies

imitation

the process where a person observes and copies the actions, movements, or words of another individual

observation

the process of acquiring new behaviors and skills by watching a “model” perform them and noting the results

vicarious reinforcement

the process of learning or changing a behavior after watching another person (a model) receive a reward for that action

bobo doll study

Sigmund Freud

created the psychodynamic theories

best known for his system of therapy called psychoanalysis but worked with adults

Erik Erikson

made two major deviations from freud

• Two major deviations from Freud

  • Turn focus away from internal, sexual urges to external, social issues

  • Life span theory: 8 Psychosocial stages extend into and through adulthood

Fredian Theory

• Three main aspects of his theory

  • Structure of Personality

    • Id, ego, superego

  • Topography of Personality

    • Conscious/Unconscious thought

  • Development of Personality

    • Psychosexual Stages

  • Where does personality come from?

    • Freud developed this list by assigning each stage to a sector of the body that gets “pleasure” at that point

id, ego, and superego

three parts of Sigmund Freud's structural model of the human psyche that work together to shape human personality and behavior

psychosexual stages

• Oral - 1st Year of Life

• Anal - 1-3 Years

• Phallic - 3-5 Years

• Latency - 5 to Puberty

• Genital - Puberty and onward

Oral

• 1st Year of Life

  • Putting anything and everything in their mouth

  • Attachment

    • To baby and his/her mother

    • To any caretaker/multiple care taker

anal

• 1-3 Years

  • Toilet training

    • According to Freud, pleasure is coming from the holding and release

phallic

• 3-5 Years

  • Sex typing

    • Child learns whether they are a boy or a girl and then begins to act with the cultural norms of that association

    • Oedipus complex - male child wants moms love but competes with dad, so he becomes more like dad

latency

• 5 to Puberty

  • Quiet period

genital

• Puberty and onward

  • Adult personality

Erikson’s psychosocial stages

• Infancy: Basic trust vs. Mistrust

• Toddler: Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt

• Early Childhood: Initiative vs. Guilt

• Middle Childhood: Industry vs. Inferiority

• Adolescence: Identity vs. Identity Confusion

• Early Adult: Intimacy vs. Isolation

• Middle Adult: Generativity vs. Stagnation

• Late Adult: Integrity vs. Despair

Jean Piaget

a pioneer in developmental child psychology

His theory outlines four stages of cognitive development

stages of cognitive development

• Sensorimotor Stage (0-2)

• Preoperational Stage (2-6)

• Concrete Operations Stage (6-12)

• Formal Operations Stage (12+)

Sensorimotor Stage

• First two years of life

• Knowledge = perception and action

  • A child knows about things only when they are actively involved with object/activity/etc.

  • Ex: thumb sucking. reflex is to suck nipple but one day finds its thumb and enjoys the sensation

• Gradual movement away from this

  • Object permanence tasks

  • A not B error

Preoperational Stage

• 2-6

• Child has symbolic representation

• Child CANT operate logically on those symbols

  • ex: If you pour the exact same amount of juice from a short, wide cup into a tall, thin cup, a preoperational child will say the tall cup has "more juice" because it looks fuller.

• Thus the preschool child’s thought is characterized by

  • Lack of logical problem solving

    • E.g. the conservation task

  • Egocentrism

    • Inability to take another’s perspective

    • Believe everyone shares their own point of view

Concrete Operation Stage

• 6-12

• Child can now operate logically on mental representations

• Can only do so for concrete, real, tangible problems and situations

  • ex: understands that flattening a ball of clay into a pancake does not change the total amount

• Has problems with abstract concepts and abstract reasoning

Formal Operations Stage

• 12+

• Fully formed adult logical abilities

• Logical operations are mental structures that can be applied to any content

• Scientific reasoning

• Abstract reasoning

  • ex. trolley problem

schemes

basic unit of knowledge

assimilation

using what you already know and fitting it into the environmental demand

Fitting new information/problems/etc. into existing cognitive structures

accommodation

learning what to do with the new environmental demand

Modifying cognitive structures in response to new information/problems/etc.

equilibration

mental structures move toward a state of balance, or equilibrium

balancing old knowledge with new information

Zone of Proximal Development

• One of Vygotsky’s most important concepts

• Not all conflict produces change, rather there is an optimal degree of conflict

• Defined as: difference in performance on a task alone and performed on the same task when assisted by a more competent other

  • This “zone” is where effective instruction and social interaction can occur

conflict (Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory)

• the root of all change — social, developmental, etc.

• Children are confronted with conflict during social interaction with more competent others

• Culture and its “tools” are transmitted to children during social interaction

• Allows for multiple developmental trajectories

• Distinct paths for different skills

• No strong stage claims

• Places cognitive development squarely within social contexts

Charles Darwin & Konrad Lorenz

Charles Darwin laid the foundational evolutionary framework for ethology, while Konrad Lorenz helped establish it as a formal biological discipline by focusing on innate behaviors and imprinting

adaptive significance

promotion of survival and therefore reproduction

imprinting

• (Lorenz)

  • Baby waterfowl follow their mother to the water

  • Adaptive

  • Only happens during a specific time period

critical/sensitive periods

Developmental period during which the organism is most susceptible to environmental effects (positive or negative)

imprinting

bonding/attachment

language development

ecological systems theory (bronfenbrenner)

frames human development as the product of dynamic, reciprocal interactions between an individual and five nested environmental levels. Rather than treating development as purely biological or isolated within a single setting, the model views the environment as a series of interconnected systems that influence one another.

genes

20,000 or less?

supply the raw biological potential (such as temperament predispositions, physical growth rates, and basic cognitive capacity), but they interact continuously with the environment (nutrition, caregiving, stress) to determine how a person actually develops

dominant-recessive transmission

• Autosomal Dominant Alleles: Expresses even if only one of alleles is dominant

• Autosomal Recessive Alleles: expressive only when BOTH alleles are recessive

x-linked traits

• Traits carried on the X chromosome

• Works like dominant-recessive transmission with important exceptions

• Not all traits on X chromosome are carried on the Y chromosome — Y lacks genetic materials

• Males express trait with only 1 recessive allele (only have 1 X chromosome)

  • Therefore these traits are expressed more in males

    • i.e. color blindness, male pattern baldness, albinism, muscular dystrophy, hemophilia

• Females carry traits on X chromosomes but must have 2 recessive alleles to express it

chromosome abnormalities

• Non-sex chromosomes

  • Down Syndrome (Trisomy 21)

    • Distinct physical characteristics

    • Mental disability

    • Congenital heart defect

  • Trisomy can occur on other chromosomes (18-Edwards Syndrom, 13-Patau Syndrome), most associated with unviable outcomes

• Sex Chromosomes

  • XXY (Klinefelter’s Syndrome)

  • X0 (Turner’s Syndrome)

  • Fragile X — most common cause of mental disability, some association with autism

down syndrome

• (Trisomy 21) — non-sex chromosomes

  • Distinct physical characteristics

  • Mental disability

  • Congenital heart defect

fragile x syndrome

• Perhaps the most common cause of mental disability and other cognitive delays

• Also associated with autism

• Abnormal repetition of a particular gene sequence on the X chromosome

• Expressed only when defective gene is passed from mother to child (genetic imprinting)

alleles

matched pairs of genes at identical location on chromosome pairs (autosomes)

DNA

the physical molecule that stores the hereditary instructions guiding biological, neurological, and behavioral maturation across the lifespan

Adenine, Cytosine, Guanine, Thymine

nucleotides or bases of DNA

A always paired with T, C with G

genotype

genetic makeup

phenotype

outward expression of traits

reaction range

Genotype sets lower and upper limits on expression of the phenotype

environmental factors

• Physical Environment

  • Prenatal

  • Postnatal

    • Quality of air, water, nutrition, etc.

• Social environment

  • Family

  • Peers

  • Schools

  • Community

Genotype->Environment Effects (Scarr and McCartney)

• Genes and environments are NOT independent factors, they are correlated

• Genetics determines to some extent what environments one experiences

• Extremely radical notion at the time

• 1 — Passive genotype → environment effect

• 2 — Evocative genotype → environment effect

• 3 — Active genotype → environment effect

Non-shared environmental influences

• Children in the same family experience different environments!!

• Even Twins

  • Monozygotic (identical)

  • Dizygotic (fraternal)

Experimental Method

• Independent Variable, Dependent Variable

• Great control, allows for casual conclusions

• Lack of ecological validity

independent variable

• The cause / predictor

• Manipulated or chosen by the researcher

• Split into conditions or levels (e.g., experimental vs. control)

• "What am I changing?"

dependent variable

• The effect / outcome

• Measured by the researcher (cannot be directly manipulated)

• Expected to change in response to the IV

• "What am I measuring?"

control group

a standard baseline in an experiment that does not receive the test treatment

correlational method

• Observation, interviews, surveys, case studies

• No manipulation of variables

• High ecological validity

naturalistic observation

a research method where scientists monitor subjects in their real-world environments without interfering or manipulating any variables

correlation vs. causation

Correlation means two variables move together, but causation means one variable directly causes a change in the other

cross-sectional design

Testing children of different ages at the same approximate point in time

• Most frequently used developmental design

  • Why?

• Strengths

  • Efficient and Economical

• Weaknesses

  • Doesn’t measure individual development

  • Must choose age groups very carefully

longitudinal design

• Testing the same group of participants across time

• Less frequently used, but becoming more common

• Strengths

  • Measures individual development

  • Measure stability and change in development

• Weaknesses

  • Expensive and time intensive

  • Participation Attrition

• studies can take YEARS

sequential (cross-sequential) design

A longitudinal series of cross-sectional studies

cohort effect

cohort is a group of people born at approximately the same time

an effect that is a function of date of birth (social/physical/economical conditions, etc.,)

germinal period

• First two weeks post conception

• Cell division, blastocyst

• Little differentiation

  • Organism and support systems

• Implantation in uterine wall by about a week after conception

embryonic period

• 2 to 8 weeks

• Major body components and organs begin to form, including brain

• Heartbeat by 4 to 5 weeks

• Sexual differentiation begins around 7 weeks (though not visually distinguishable until around 12 weeks)

• 1.5” in length at end of this period

fetal period

• From rudiments to fully formed infant

• Ossification (bone development)

• End of 4th month

  • Undeniably human form

• End of 5th month

  • Neurogenesis “complete,” myelination begins

• End of 6th month

  • Hemispheric cleft, production of surfactant which allow for independent breathing

• 7th month

  • Lungs capable, eyes open and close, great increase in brain fissures

• 8th month

  • Skin pigmented

  • Fat accumulation, especially on arms and legs

• 9th month

  • 50% weight increase

zygote

single-cell eukaryotic cell formed when a female gamete (egg) and a male gamete (sperm) fuse during fertilization

implantation

the biological process where a fertilized egg attaches to the lining of the uterus to start a pregnancy

blastocyst

cell division

amnion

a thin, tough membrane that forms a fluid-filled sac around the embryo

chorion

the outermost extraembryonic membrane that surrounds the embryo or fetus

placenta

a temporary organ that grows in the uterus during pregnancy to supply oxygen and nutrients to the baby while removing waste

umbilical cord

a flexible, tube-like structure that connects a developing fetus to the placenta during pregnancy

embryo

the early developmental stage of a multicellular organism

neural tube

the embryonic structure in vertebrate development that serves as the precursor to the central nervous system

lanugo

a very soft, fine, unpigmented hair that covers a fetus during development in the uterus

vernix

creamy, white, waxy biofilm that covers the skin of a fetus during the third trimester of pregnancy

Neural proliferation and migration

foundational early phases of embryonic brain development where neural stem cells rapidly multiply in the ventricular zone and then travel to their precise final destinations to construct the central nervous system

Neural differentiation and myelination

the developmental and plastic processes where uncommitted stem or progenitor cells transform into functional neurons or glial cells

Synaptic pruning

the brain's natural process of eliminating weak or unused connections between neurons to improve overall processing efficiency

Viability

the capacity to live, grow, function properly, or succeed over time

teratogens

• Any environmental substance that can cause damage during the prenatal period

• its influence is a function of the following factors

  • Dose

  • Age at exposure

  • Heredity

  • Other negative influences

thalidomide

type of teratogen that can cause damage during prenatal period (like acutane)

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

• Slow growth

• Facial abnormalities

• Brain injury and learning/cognitive disabilities

Tobacco and Prenatal Development

• approximately 15% of women in the U.S. smoke during pregnancy

  • LBW and VLBW

  • Attention and stimulus sensitivity issues

  • Colicky, negative temperament

  • Nicotine → vasoconstrictor

  • Oxygen deprived pre-natal environment

Drugs and Prenatal Development

• Can be born addicted

• Increased risk for low birth weight, birth defects, respiratory problems, prematurity, infant mortality

Disease and Prenatal Development

• Rubella

  • Major teratogen during embryonic stage — blindness, deafness, major organs, intellectual disabilities

• HIV/AIDS

  • Virus passed directly to fetus 20-30% of the time, extremely high risk of death

  • Drug treatment can reduce probability of transmission

• Toxoplasmosis

  • Parasite found in many animals

  • Can cause cognitive and vision defects

  • Transmitted via either eating raw or undercooked meat, or animal feces (house pets)

Prenatal Screening

• Regular check-ups, size estimation, ultrasounds

• The embryo and fetus and its protective and support systems share the same genetic material

Amniocentesis

• (14-18 weeks or after)

  • Very invasive, not done until second trimester

  • Takes a week to get results done

• removes a small sample of amniotic fluid from the uterus to test for genetic conditions, birth defects, or infections

Chorionic Villus Biopsy

• (9-12 weeks)

  • Can be less invasive

  • Results available more quickly

• a prenatal diagnostic test that removes a small tissue sample from the placenta to check for genetic and chromosomal conditions

3 stages of labor

• 1st Stage: Dilation and effacement of the cervix

  • From tightly closed to 10 cms

• 2nd Stage: Birth of the child

  • Through the cervical opening and vaginal canal aided by contractions

• 3rd Stage: Birth of the Placenta

  • Shortly after the birth of the child